Competitive swim

A swimmer’s first experience in pre-swim team prep


Ages 4+

This curriculum is designed for swimmers who have a basic knowledge of freestyle and backstroke and are working to learn breaststroke and butterfly kicks. Our goal is that swimmers can move from a level 3 program to this pre-clinic at a very young age because they desire to learn the skills needed to join a competitive aquatics or swim team program. We prepare our swimmers to know the proper way to swim all 4 competitive strokes, as well as how to save themselves in an aquatic emergency.  The stroke technique curriculum learned in level 3, 4, 5, and our pre-clinic program are all the identical in the stroke technique taught for the 4 strokes.

The biggest difference in our Learn to swim program vs our Pre-competitive program is that our Pre-competitive program will add skills needed for competition including diving off of starting blocks. This class is meant for our swimmers that want to prepare to join a swim team at a very young age.

Skills to be worked on in Pre-clinic:

• Developing a love and respect of water through safety education and practical experience
• Introduction to streamlines
• Diving in from the starting blocks
• Treading water for 1 minute
• Mastering freestyle and backstroke technique
• Learning breaststroke timing
• Learning dolphin kick and butterfly timing
• Introduction to Freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly turns

Skills required to be eligible for Pre-clinic:

• Swimmer must be able to complete 25 yards on their front using no specific skills or stroke, without holding on to any supports (no time limit)
• Swimmers must be able to stay on their backs for 15 yards, at least, while kicking and/or pulling
• Swimmers must have passed level 2 in our program, and be ready for level 3+
• Swimmers do not need to have any prior knowledge of freestyle breathing

For swimmers who are ready to compete in all 4 strokes


Pre-competitive clinic 1: Ages 6+

Pre-competitive clinic 2: Ages 8+

This curriculum is designed for swimmers who have a basic knowledge of freestyle and backstroke and are working to learn breaststroke and butterfly kicks. Our goal is that swimmers can move from a level 4 program to these Pre-comp Clinics because they desire to learn the skills needed to join a competitive aquatics or swim team program. We prepare our swimmers to know the proper way to swim all 4 competitive strokes, as well as how to save themselves in an aquatic emergency.

The stroke technique curriculum learned in level 4, 5, and our Pre-comp clinic program are all identical in the stroke technique taught for the 4 strokes. The biggest difference in our Learn to swim program vs our Pre-competitive program is that our Pre-competitive program will add skills needed for competition including diving off of starting blocks. This class is meant for our swimmers that want to prepare to join a swim team.

The difference in our Pre-comp 1 vs Pre-comp 2 clinic is age, maturity, and ability to swim all four strokes legally. Our focus in this program will be introducing the scientific terms that apply to swimming such as buoyancy, propulsion, and body position in such a way that promotes greater speed and efficiency in the pool.

Skills to be worked on in Pre-comp 1 and 2 clinic:

• Developing a love and respect of water through safety education and practical experience
• Introduction to streamlines
• Diving in from the starting blocks
• Treading water for 1 minute
• Mastering freestyle and backstroke technique
• Learning breaststroke timing
• Learning dolphin kick and butterfly timing
• Introduction to Freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly turns
• Pre-comp 2 only: Mastering legal butterfly and breaststroke technique

Skills required to be eligible for the Pre-comp 1 clinic:

• Swimmers must be at least 6 years old
• Swimmer must be able to complete 25 yards of freestyle and backstroke legally
• Swimmers must be able to kick legal breaststroke and butterfly kick
• Swimmers must have passed level 3 in our program, and be ready for level 4+
• Swimmers need a basic knowledge of rotary freestyle breathing
• Swimmers do not need any prior competitive experience

Skills required to be eligible for the Pre-comp 2 clinic:

All of the requirements of Pre-comp 1 in addition to…

• Swimmers must be at least 8 years old
• Swimmers need to be able to swim all 4 strokes legally
• Swimmers must be able to dive off the starting blocks

Stroke improvement and advanced techniques

Competitive clinic 1: Ages 7+
Competitive clinic 2: Ages 11+

This curriculum is designed for swimmers who have a solid knowledge of freestyle and backstroke and are working to master breaststroke and butterfly more efficiently. Swimmers in this program have already competed in some type of swimming program, and are looking to improve technique and speed while also gaining the conditioning needed for upcoming competitions. Our focus in this program will be understanding the scientific terms that apply to swimming such as buoyancy, propulsion, and body position in such a way that promotes greater speed and efficiency in the pool. Many swimmers who already compete on surrounding teams will swim in this clinic in order to improve technique and speed.

Skills to be worked on in Competitive clinic 1 and 2:

• Developing a love and respect of water through safety education and practical experience
• Mastering streamlines specific to all 4 strokes
• Improving quickness and speed off the diving blocks
• Improving freestyle and backstroke technique
• Improving breaststroke timing and power, with power kicking and pullouts
• Learning more efficient butterfly stroke, breathing, and underwaters
• Mastering Freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly turns

Skills required to be eligible for these clinics:

• Swimmers must have prior experience on a competitive team (summer league, ymca, private team, etc.)
• Swimmer must be able to complete 200 yards of freestyle and backstroke legally without stopping
• Swimmers must be able to swim a 50 of each stroke legally
• Swimmers must be able to swim a 50 freestyle in 40 seconds or less

Stroke improvement and advanced techniques

For high level competitive swimmers ages 11+

This curriculum is designed for competitive swimmers, from those just beginning a swimming career to those posting times at the national level and working towards college scholarships. It is also open to local college-level swimmers or those home on break from college program.
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Swimmers in this program are looking to gain a stronger knowledge of the technical aspects of swimming, while gaining speed and implementing race strategies. Our focus in this program will be to first gain an understanding the scientific terms that apply to swimming such as buoyancy, propulsion, and body position in such a way that promotes greater swimming success. Swimmers will also be coached in how to improve mental skills through visualization and understanding of sport and competition at a deeper level. Many swimmers who already compete on surrounding teams will swim in this clinic.

Clinics will be offered as full 12-week sessions to go over all strokes, mini clinics and camps to work on specific skills, and as private instruction for 1-2 swimmers. ***All high level competitive lessons are private, closed sessions, with no photography/video allowed and no posted attendance lists. All of our schedules are also kept private. This is to protect the privacy of our swimmers.

Skills to be worked on in Advanced competitive clinic:

• Developing a love and respect of water through safety education and practical experience
• Mastering streamlines specific to all 4 strokes
• Improving quickness and speed off the diving blocks
• Improving freestyle and backstroke technique
• Improving breaststroke timing and power, with power kicking and pullouts
• Learning more efficient butterfly stroke, breathing, and underwaters
• Mastering Freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly turns

Skills required to be eligible for this clinic:

• Swimmers must have prior experience on a year-round competitive team
• Swimmers must provide best times in 100/200 free and 100/200 of his/her best stroke. Eligibility will be determined based on age and posted times.

Stroke improvement and advanced techniques

For high level competitive swimmers ages 11+

North Jersey Aquatics has a strong vision to help national level athletes reach their full potential. This curriculum is designed for competitive swimmers, from those just beginning a swimming career to those posting times at the national level and working towards college scholarships. It is also open to local college-level swimmers or those home on break from college program. We know that coaches do not always have the time to go over details, so our goal is to teach your swimmers what they should be focusing on in practice, improve starts turns and other aspects of their races, and overall become stronger and more confident in their swimming.

From a mental perspective, we also know that athletes are looking for guidance in how to mentally prepare for races, achieve higher levels, and deal with the grueling day in and day out schedules. Part of our lessons will be spent giving your athletes the tools they need for success in higher level athletes as well as in life!
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North Jersey Aquatic Club offers private stroke technique lessons in either a one on one or a two swimmer, one coach format. These lessons are typically one hour long and focus on all aspects of swimming mechanics. After discussing technique goals with the swimmer, our coaches will evaluate the athlete’s mechanics and determine a course of action that will most appropriately and efficiently target the technique deficiencies. We believe that the discussion of what we are going to do, and why we are going to do it, is crucial to the swimmer’s success in learning new skills. Our technique coaches each have many years of coaching experience at summer league, high school, USA Swimming, and YMCA teams and are all well regarded stroke technicians. We utilize digital videography both above and below the water to assist in our technique correction.

During an underwater video session, our coaches video and review technique in order to provide immediate feedback and improvements.

NJAC uses several apps that allow us to review video frame by frame, in slow motion, or in a side by side comparison to other videos. Over several filming sessions this allows us to compare the swimmer’s stroke from the first sessions (without correction) to the new stroke mechanics that have been taught.