Swim Groups

Group

Ages

(By JOs)

Eligibility

Group Size

Number/length of practices

Meet requirement

Attendance Requirement

Junior Team – Blue

Junior Teams are an introduction to USA Swimming focused on learning stroke technique, starts and turns as well as swim meet procedures. In addition athletes will learn HSC drills and terminology as they prepare to move into the more competitive groups.

Ages 5-8

Can swim 1 lap freestyle and 1 lap backstroke and have a working knowledge of breaststroke and butterfly

16

2 practices per week /

30 minutes per practice

1 meet per season

None

Junior Team - White

Junior Teams are an introduction to USA Swimming focused on learning stroke technique, starts and turns as well as swim meet procedures. In addition athletes will learn HSC drills and terminology as they prepare to move into the more competitive groups.

Ages 6-10

Can swim 1 lap freestyle and 1 lap backstroke and have a working knowledge of breaststroke and butterfly

16

2 practices per week / 40 minutes per practice

1 meet per season

None

Red Team

The Red Team is a developmental group in which athletes continue to focus on stroke technique, starts and turns.  Athletes will be introduced to interval training, distance swimming, and IM training with the goal of meeting the requirements for the Bronze Team.

Ages 6-10

Can swim 1 lap of each stroke legally

24

4 practices per week / Up to 45 minutes per practice

1 meet per season

None

Bronze Team

The Bronze Team is the top developmental group in which athletes will continue to develop stroke technique, starts and turns.  They will be introduced to more advanced interval training, distance swimming and IM training.  Bronze Team members will  begin to work on pace training with the goal of meeting the requirements for the Silver Team. 

Ages 8-12

Can swim a legal 200 IM and swim a set of 5 100s freestyle on 2:15

24

4-5 practices per week / Up to one hour per practice

2 meets per season

50% of practices

Silver Team

The Silver Team is the highest level in our age-group program.  Athletes will continue to build on the knowledge gained in previous groups and will be introduced to dryland, stroke-specific training, aerobic development and nutritional goals.  In addition, the Silver Team will focus on improvement of all 4 strokes through IM training.  The goal of Silver Team swimmers is to qualify for JOs and Zones as well to meet the requirements for Senior II.

Ages 11-13

Can swim a legal 400 IM and swim a set of 10 100s freestyle on 1:50

24

6-8 practices per week / Up to 90 minutes per practice

Must swim in most of the meets HSC attends

60% of practices

Senior II

Senior II is an introduction to senior training.  Athletes will continue to develop their aerobic base and fine-tune their stroke technique.  They will participate in a more advanced dry-land program and begin more stroke-specific training.  The goals Senior II athletes is qualify for JOs and Zones and to meet the requirements for Senior I.

Ages 13 and up

Can swim a set of 10 100s freestyle on 1:40 and swim a legal 400 IM

24

6-9 practices per week  / Up to 2½  hours per practice

Must swim in most of the meets HSC attends

65% of practices

Senior I

Senior I is our highest training group open only to high school age swimmers. The goal of Senior I athletes is to qualify for regional competitions such as Illinois Senior Champs and Sectionals, as well as national competitions such as Junior and Senior Nationals and the Olympic Trials.

High school age swimmers only

Can swim 10 100s freestyle on 1:20 and swim a legal 400 IM

24

6-9 practices per week / Up to 2½  hours per practice

Must attend meets as directed by coach

80% of practices