TRAINING PLANS

The Dragons Swim Program and the 

Long Term Athlete Development Plan

The Dragons Swimming Programme 2023 - 2024

The key to maximising performance is to make sure that at all stages of the swimmers development they are consistently working on perfecting their competitive skills and technique at the correct time for their current development. In addition and more importantly the young swimmer needs to develop a ‘process driven/marginal gains’ outlook to their swimming and not be ‘outcome driven’ and governed by short term ‘glories’.  The Dragons swim program aims to produce resilient, self reliant swimmers capable of ‘maturely’ handling the stress of training and competition and therefore effectively managing their own swimming career to fulfill their potential.

The Long Term Athlete Development Plan (LTAD)

Building on from its implementation last year, each swim squad is split into their corresponding ‘LTAD National Framework’ guideline groups. 

For example, swimmers in the Water Dragons Squad correspond with the LTAD Stage 1: FUNdamental guidelines AGE: Female 5 to 8 years; Male 6 to 9 years. “The FUNdamental stage should be structured and fun! The emphasis is on developing basic movement literacy and fundamental movement skills across a range of activities.” (see the further description below)


What is the LTAD?

The Long Term Athlete Development framework initiative is a cross sport teaching and coaching worldwide model and seeks to achieve optimal training throughout an athlete’s career with particular reference to the early years of development. 

British Swimming has adopted the framework and this has in turn filtered down to Swim Schemes, Swim Schools and Clubs. The LTAD Formalises the overall structure of an young swimmers development and protects the young swimmer from doing potentially harmful activities at the wrong time in their development. If a teacher or coach is in any doubt of what sort of teaching/coaching they should be providing to a particular child/young adult – they have only to reference the Extensive LTAD National framework available online.

THE LTAD Framework Overview:

Stage 1 – FUNdamental 

AGE: Female 5 to 8 years; Male 6 to 9 years.

The FUNdamental stage should be structured and fun! The emphasis is on developing basic movement literacy and fundamental movement skills across a range of activities. The skills to be developed are the ABCs (Agility, Balance, Coordination, Speed), RJT (Running, Jumping, Throwing), KGBs (Kinesthetics, Gliding, Buoyancy, Striking with the body) and CPKs (Catching, Passing, Kicking, Striking with an implement). In order to develop basic movement literacy successfully, participation should be encouraged across as many different activities as possible. Speed, power and endurance should be developed using FUN and games. In addition, children should be introduced to the simple rules and ethics of sports. There should be well-structured programmes with proper progressions that are monitored regularly.

Stage 2 – SwimSkills: Building technique!

AGE: Female: 8 to 11 years; Male: 9 to 12 years.

During this stage young people should develop the skills of specific sports and learn how to train in a structured environment. There should be participation in complementary sports i.e. those sports, which use similar energy systems and movement patterns.

Stage 3 – Training To Train: Building the engine!

AGE: Female: 11 to 14 years; Male: 12 to 15 years.

During the Training to Train stage, there should be an emphasis on maintaining high skill levels whilst developing aerobic (endurance) capacity. This is the stage where there is greater individualisation of fitness and technical training. The focus should still be on training rather than competition and this training should be predominantly about maintaining high skills levels whilst undertaking high volume, low intensity workloads.

Stage 4 – Training To Compete: Optimising the engine!

AGE: Female: 14 to 16 years; Male: 15 to 18 years.

During the Training to Compete stage there should be a continued emphasis on maintaining high skill levels whilst focusing on maintaining high volume workloads but with increasing intensity. The number of competitions should be similar to the end of the previous stage but the emphasis should be on developing individual strengths and weaknesses through modelling and nurturing technical and tactical skills based around specific strokes or distances, but not both.


Stage 5 – Training To Win: Maximising the engine!

AGE: Female: 16+ years; Male: 18+ years.

This is the final stage of athletic preparation. The emphasis should be on specialisation and performance enhancement. All of the athletes’ physical, technical, tactical, mental, and ancillary capacities should now be fully established with the focus shifting to the optimisation of performance.


General Recommendations for Teachers and Coaches of Young Participants (3-12 years)

PERFORMANCE GROUPS

The Performance Squad have a yearly macro cycle with 4 mezzo cycles of 6 to 12 weeks throughout the year. Within the mezzo cycle of 6 to 12 week the swimmer will complete the training elements and distances required. The micro (Weekly) Cycle also has a specific emphasis for each week. The training plan is designed to have the swimmers swimming well at specific time of the year based on where the competitions fall.

NOTES:

Preparation Week: No Im Straight Sets, Single Stroke Sets. HVOs (High Velocity Overloads) on Start, Turns, Finishes. Kick/Pull

Endurance Week: Increased Distance, 40 X HVO's, Longer Single Stroke Sets on Aerobic Target Times

Quality Week: Swimmers do more IM work as Straight IM Sets, Increase HVO's to 60, Introduction of Critical Speed (CS) Sets based on Targets achieved in Testing 

Specifics Week: Preparing the Swimmer in detail for the Target Competition, more IM work as broken sets, 60 X HVO's, Turns, Starts, Finishes…..

Mixed Week: Combination of Endurance and Quality Training Weeks, 48/55 HVO's to maintain speed work, Starts, Turns, Finishes....

Taper Week 1: Reduction in Distance, 40 HVO's, 2 sets of CS work 2,400 max, Increased Recovery between Sets at Al, Competition pre-race Warmup prep practice 

Taper Week 2: Reduction in Distance, 40 HVO's, 2 sets of CS 1800 MAX, Increased Recovery between Sets at Al, Competition pre-race Warmup prep practice

NB: HVO = High Velocity Overload - (Zone 5) Short Sharp Sprint - 10m/12m/15m/25m on Kick, Swim, Pull, Starts, Finishes, Turns etc…...

Training_classification(1).pdf

JUNIOR GROUPS

Outline of Year Plan 

Water Dragons

The structure of the program is based on developing all four strokes and competition skills including starts, turns and finishes. 

Club Nights will be a great opportunity for Water Dragons to get a chance to compete in a friendly competition and get exposure to racing which will be held once a month at school,

Each week will be a stroke focus week and working on swimming  skills and preparation for competitions. 

Distance per session wil between 1.2 km-1.5km


Events focus of the year - 

Developing 50m on all four strokes, and 100m Freestyle and 100m IM 

Start, Turns, Finishes 


Development 

The program will include 6 week cycles which will include -

1/2.Preparation -After a break  to ease the swimmers back into training. 

3/4. Aerobic - base training, improving fitness 

5. Quality - preparation  for competition distance will be reduced focus on swimming skills and timed swims 

6.Adaptation - recovery, maintain training volume, week after competition lower intensity 

Distance per session will vary from 2.5km-3.5km 


Events  Focus will be adding to events  from Water Dragons -

200m IM 

200m FS 

100m BK 

100m BRS 

100m FLY ( depending on 50m FLY)

Start, turns, Finishes 

Developing a form stroke ( best stroke other than FS)