Early Season Skill & Team Building

WARMUP:  400 (or 10 minutes) on your own

WARMUP SET:  150
3 X 50
Each 50 starts with 6 vertical jumps with arms in Position 11.  At the top of each jump, quickly tuck knees to chest.  Use your 6th jump to launch yourself toward the starting wall and do an “up and out,” without letting your rear end touch the deck.  When everyone in your lane is out of the water, jump in feet first (one at a time), push off from the bottom and swim your 50.  Repeat!

FREESTYLE STROKE-COUNT PYRAMID:  1650
Swim once through the pyramid, taking 20-30 seconds rest after each swim.  On each swim, start counting strokes AFTER the first 50, i.e., after a bit of fatigue sets in.  Try to hold that count on every length of each succeeding swim, even as the swims get longer.  In other words, your stroke count on the final length of the initial 75s is the count you should hold after the first 50 of the succeeding swims.  For extra credit, descend 1-2 on each pair of swims.
2 X 75
2 X 100
2 X 150
2 X 200
2 X 150
2 X 100
2 X 50

MEDBALL TOSS:  00
Put up to 20 swimmers in one lane, arranged in two lines stretching the length of the pool.  Swimmers should face each other across the lines.  Grab two med balls (or water-polo balls) and give them to the two swimmers nearest the wall.  Swimmers should pass or toss the balls back and forth from one line to the other, so that the balls make their way all the way down the lane and back again.

BACK/BREAST/FREE STROKE-COUNT SET:  600
8 X 75 Back/Breast/Free on a sendoff that gives approx. 25 seconds rest
Count total strokes on the first 75 (and on all 75s).
#1-4: swim with hands in fists (or holding a ping-pong ball) and reduce total stroke count by 1 stroke on each 75.
#5-8: swim with naked/open hands and keep reducing your total stroke count by 1 stroke on each 75.
For example, you might be 60 total strokes on the first 75.  Your counts on the rest of the set would be 59..58..57….56..55..54..53.

WARM DOWN:  200 easy but not sloppy