In remembrance of Armistice Day (11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month) and in honor of those who serve or have served their country, here's a practice that combines something for each branch of the military. Coaches are the Coast Guard!
WARMUP SET: 200
8 X 25 on :35 (fins optional)
Odds: Freestyle, start with at least 6 underwater dolphin kicks
Evens: Dolphin kick on your back with arms in the air (AKA water-boarding for swimmers)
MAIN SET: 550 + ?????
11 X 50 on 1:11 sendoff. #1 is Butterfly. #11 is Combat Side Stroke. All other 50s are choice of stroke, equipment, kick, or drill.
11 swims on 1:11 sendoff. Choice of stroke, equipment, kick, drill AND DISTANCE. E.g., faster swimmers might be doing 75s or even 100s. Slower swimmers will be doing 50s (or alternating 75 and 50). Sprinters might do 25s ALL OUT.
SEMPER FI RACE: ???
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* Team of two in each lane.
* All swimmers start at the same time and kick 25 dolphin kick on your back with a kickboard. You can hold the kickboard any way you want. If one team-mate is a slow kicker, the faster swimmer can go back and assist them.
* Both swimmers hop out and establish a "beach-head" with their two kickboards at a line on the deck designated by the coach. I.e., lean the kickboards against each other so they form an inverted "V" and do this about 10 feet from the edge of the pool.
* Both teammates dive into the water TOGETHER and swim 25 freestyle.
* Both teammates hop out and do 5 pushups.
* Both teammates slide back into the water, grab a pull buoy and push off TOGETHER for a 25 of sidestroke. You can hold the pull buoy any way you want.
* Each team has 2 chances (2 shots) to knock down their beach-head using the pull buoys. If they knock it down, they're finished. (Coach should time the race and keep track of each team's time.) If both shots miss, ONE of the teammates must swim to the middle of the pool, do a flip turn and return to the beach-head, where the team will have two more chances to knock down the beach-head. If they miss, the OTHER teammate must swim to the middle of the pool, do a flip, and return. Etc....until the team knocks down their beach-head.
* Repeat the entire race if teams want to try for a faster time. Coach can adjust the teams to make it a more even race.
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