As our swimmers progress and improve, WST recognizes the need to support them by placing them in the proper swim groups. These groups are not based on age or skill level alone. Coaches will use a combination of age, skill, willingness to compete in meets, sportsmanship, and personal conduct to place swimmers in the group that they see fit. A swimmer must show competency in all of these areas and be at least the minimum age before being considered for advancement and the decision is ultimately that of the coaching staff.
Guppies- The Guppy group is for our beginner swimmers under the age of 9. This group is an introductory group which will teach these new swimmers about the basics of swimming, practice ettiquete, strokes, and the importance of being on a team! This group will practice 2 days a week for 45 minutes and at this time there is no meet requirements.
Blue Gills- The introductory group at WST for all kids 9 and over. Most first time swimmers over the age of 9 will start as a Blue Gill and then be moved along as the coaches see fit. To become a Blue Gill, a swimmer must demonstrate the ability to complete a 25 of freestyle and backstroke with little or no breaks. Coaches are looking for confidence in the water, the ability to take breaths on their own, and be able to complete laps back to back without panicking. The goal of the Blue Gill group is to build a solid foundation of all four competitive strokes and turns so that swimmers will be able to compete at USA Swimming sanctioned meets. Coaches will work mainly on stroke technique, focusing on breathing and kick. Blue gills will have 1 hour practices 4 days a week and at this time meets are not required, but are encouraged!
Sea Turtles- The Sea Turtles group is our age group competition group for swimmers between the age of 11-14. This group is for swimmers that have demonstrated a strong competency of all four strokes and are wanting to further their swimming commitment. Sea Turtle swimmers are required to swim in 1 meet per season, although more are strongly encouraged, and will help athletes work towards improving times and technique. Swimmers in the Sea Turtles will work on improving starts and turns in addition to working on stroke technique and endurance. Sea Turtles will have 1-1.5 hour practices 6 days a week.
Senior 1- The Senior 1 group is the first of our senior groups swimming for WST. Senior 1s are required to attend 1 meet per season, but they are strongly encouraged to compete in more. Practices will increase to 1.5 hour practices 6 days a week. There is no attendance policy for this group, but swimmers are strongly encouraged to attend 4x times a week to see a change in their swimming. Senior 1 swimmers will experience an increase in yardage and conditioning while still maintaining a focus on stroke work and drills. Dryland workouts will be added on some days to help with strength and conditioning.
Senior 2- The Senior 2 group is WST’s top level group and practices 6 days a week for 2 hours. Senior 2 group swimmers will focus strongly on strength training, conditioning, and injury prevention. In addition to pool workouts, Senior 2s will have dryland practices where they will run, do core exercises, and use some weight implements. Senior 2 swimmers are the leaders of the team and should be ready to encourage and foster younger swimmers by leading cheers and occasionally working with them on technique. Seniors will be trained to compete at the state and regional level and be prepared to move on to swimming at the collegiate level should they so choose.
