Does your team have a "pre-team"?

Kari - it sounds as if YOU might be a good person to get others started off into the world of team dynamics & strokes & drills. Think about it or recommend someone else that you think will do this.

I love, love, love this idea for so many reasons. We recently had our head coach quit so we're looking for a new one. I'd love to get with whomever our new coach will be (and our board) to think about this idea once s/he settles in a bit. We had quite a few swimmers in our group who fit this category and honestly, coach spent so much time on them and so little time on the "seasoned" swimmers that we never felt like we were getting any gains or tweaks to our skills. This would be a win-win for both types of swimmers. Love it!

Thank you for the vote of confidence, Orca! :) I'm actually going to Albuquerque to get the level 1/2 cert this weekend. I love this sport, love teaching, and I love the energy that comes from great Team cohesion. Lots of ideas bubbling in my head for our Team so I can't wait to have a new head coach come in. And boy, I sure say "love" a lot huh? :)

I love this idea! I have a lot of friends on MyFitnessPal who like to swim but are too afraid to join Masters. Some of them ask me a lot of questions about the Masters program and my local club and after I explain it to them, they look into joining Masters but end up backing out because their local club is so different from mine - e.g., their clubs are either too advanced, they require try-outs, or they're not coached at all.

Don't be shy - suggest this idea to your team, even if you run it. You don't need to be state or National champ, just a swimmers that can take the time to teach others the rules & turns & touches & all the little things that add up to feeling OK at a team practice.

I see the Bernard Weinger JCC in Northbrook has a preMasters team. Wish there was one in the Evanston area. If any of you are considering starting up a pre team or "Masters Light" program here is how I have structured ours at the Minnetonka Masters: 15 min of free swim to allow swimmers to get in the water and get going. Than I do app 15 -20 min of drills which can consist of swimming, pulling, or kicking drills or a combination of all three. Than I finish up with a "main set" of app 1000 yds. Of course I write different main sets for different abilities such as 50's for newer swimmers and 100's -200's for the stronger swimmers. If there is time let in the hour session I do a few minutes of any stroke other than free. After a few weeks of this I start to encourage any of the swimmers to take in one of the regular Masters swims to see what they are like.

Don't be shy - suggest this idea to your team, even if you run it. You don't need to be state or National champ, just a swimmers that can take the time to teach others the rules & turns & touches & all the little things that add up to feeling OK at a team practice. I see the Bernard Weinger JCC in Northbrook has a preMasters team. Wish there was one in the Evanston area.

Dan, how often do you hold that Master's Light? Or do you hold it in conjunction with your regular workouts and just have a lane dedicated to this group? How many people do you usually get at these workouts and then get them to stay with the club?

Dan, that is a good operating set. We are into having all swimmers learn all 4 strokes for competition. We teach the drills that they will do on the team, turn rules, start rules & stroke tips. they must be able to swim 500 yards to start on the team. It is not a learn to swim basic course, it is a swim better for all 4 strokes pre-team.

It sounds like the team you swim on is geared for competition and I think that's a concept that scares away a lot of adults. Most adult swimmers never see themselves as competitors. It seems like if masters is true to its mission, to get more adults to swim, then setting standards before they're allowed on the team makes it even more daunting.