On Sunday, September 15, 2013, 11 Seahorses traveled to Monmouth, IL, to attend a Fitter and Faster Swimming Tour featuring two 2012 Olympian Gold Medal Winners. Tyler McGill was a Gold Medalist in the 2012 Olympics in the 400 Medley Relay, and he was a 2012 Olympic finalist in the 100 Butterfly. He was also a three-time World Champion, a bronze medalist in the 100 Butterfly at the 2011 World Championships, and a two-time NCAA Champion. Lauren Perdue was a Gold Medalist in the 2012 Olympics in the 800 Freestyle relay. She was also a 2012 CC Champion and a 2011 NCAA Silver Medalist.
The clinic started with the swimmers getting their pictures taken wearing Tyler and Lauren’s gold medals. The swimmers commented that the gold medals were really heavy, as each medal almost weighs one pound.
The swimmers then met with Perdue to learn the importance of maintaining tight core muscles while swimming. Core muscles include abdominal, pelvic, lower back, and hip muscles. She then led the kids through several dry-land exercises to work on their core muscles.
Next the swimmers met with McGill, who talked about the importance of setting goals. He also talked about the importance of doing dynamic stretches before racing and practice. Dynamic stretching is moving and stretching at the same time to allow the muscles to properly warm up before swimming. He led the kids through several dynamic stretches.
The swimmers headed to the pool next where Perdue talked about proper freestyle technique. She had the kids get into the pool to practice freestyle swimming drills to reinforce what she had taught.
Tyler then worked with the swimmers on proper butterfly technique. His swimming drills focused on proper head position and proper breathing.
The pool session ended with each swimmer getting a chance to race either Tyler or Lauren. Some of our Seahorses even “beat” them!
The clinic ended with an autograph session with the Olympians. The Seahorses enjoyed their afternoon with the Olympic Gold Medalists and learned a lot about the sport of swimming. It was definitely a fun and inspirational day for our kids.