Team Philosophy

The overriding emphasis is that all swimmers should be committed to the team, and the team process, and act with the utmost integrity. The philosophy for the YSF Barracudas is to create highly unified, motivated, and positive athletes of all ages, in training and competition.

Coaches’ Objective / Philosophy

In a broader sense, coaching is more of a life process than an athletic process. Not only are these athletes highly invested in the team, training, culture, and a coach, but in many ways, their emotional development, college decisions, and the person they become will be shaped by this process as well. Our mission is to be more than a coach, but rather a partner with our swimmers on their athletic journey, and to a greater extent, partners on their life journey.

YSF Swim League

The primary function of League is to expose swimmers new to the swim team environment by building upon the skills participants learned in the YMCA of South Florida's swim lesson program and exposing them to the basic techniques of all four strokes in addition to developing race strategies and team comradery.

YSF Swim Club

The primary function of Club is to be a year-round, USA Swimming and Y USA Swimming program focused on training and competitions on a year-round basis. All swimmers on our club team are expected to make a commitment to training, competition, and development, and to the team itself. While swimmers will have varying backgrounds and ability levels, it is imperative to the team’s competitiveness and team culture that swimmers are like-minded and dedicated to athletic and personal development.

Y Swim League Groups: 7-9,10-12, and 13&O

• Swimmers in our league group typically train 3-4 times a week depending on the practices offered. Some dryland movements are involved in the process but the main focus is on solid FUNdamentals. 
• Many League swimmers participate in outside activities while being involved with League as they are exploring and discovering the sport of swimming and their love for it.
• League groups are seen as a transitioning step from lesson or summer League into Club swimming.
• League runs separately from Club BUT there are mentorship opportunities and some combining that happens between the two programs to ensure success in both.

Swim Club Groups: Developmental Division (Bronze/Silver)

• Development swimmers are typically swimmers ages 10 and younger who have solid stroke basics and have discovered the urge to compete in the sport of swimming.
• Development swimmers actively want to work on developing foundational skills needed in the four competitive strokes.
• Development swimmers love to compete with their team

Swim Club Groups: Age Group Division (Gold/Champs)

• Swimmers in the Age Groups Division have more advanced training and growing opportunities to be leaders on the team.
• Many Age Group Division swimmers participate in outside activities. While this is common and good for personal balance, there needs to be a commitment to some degree of consistency of training and competing to experience reasonable development and team connection.
• Age group swimmers will also adjust to meets with a focus on swimming all events and all strokes. The general focus in competition with age group swimmers is stroke and race development, as opposed to time alone.
• As such, training for Age Group swimmers is primarily focused on technique and developing distance-per-stroke, and building endurance to compete in longer races. Other areas of focus are kicking endurance, underwater speed, starts and turns.

Swim Club Groups: Senior Division (Senior I&II, Sectional, National)

• Swimmers in the Senior Division have another uptick in training but may find themselves slowly phasing in the specialization of the sport and strokes (under coach guidance).
• Meets at the senior level will be focused on a combination of developing all strokes, expanding race distances, and developing an athlete’s primary stroke and race. It is important to enter all meets with full event schedules.
• The general transition into focusing more solely on swimming for senior swimmers can be daunting (and stressful). Swimmers must be proactive with their academics and diligent with time management. Although very demanding, we have seen swimmers truly flourish as student-athletes and leaders. It is important that swimmers communicate with their parents and coaches about any conflicts or heightened stress levels. We are here to help.
• At the senior level, while balancing rigorous academics, it is challenging to compete in multiple sports or engage in other activities that require a significant time commitment. Athletes should speak to their coach and make sure their commitment is in line with group requirements and swimmer objectives. (The SENIOR I group is the group that allows the most flexibility for this).

Group Requirements

Please read more about our group descriptions and requirements above. The criteria used in placing swimmers in their respective groups will be:

• Performance level
• Attendance/workout commitment history
• Ability to train at full capacity, with training discipline and focus
• Personal and athletic maturity
• Meet commitment
• Team support
• Technique; and, Injury