FOSS Swim Path®: The Swim Faster Program
A Swim Team Experience that Refines Strokes to Help Swimmers Build Speed
Graduates of the Swim Faster program will:
- Master the four competitive strokes
- Refine techniques tailored to increasing speed
- Achieve personal best times in each stroke
- Be prepared for a swim team experience
Our first goal at Foss Swim School is to help students learn to swim, an essential life skill that promotes safety and lots of healthy fun. But we also want to spread the joy of swimming at a high level and introduce more students to the excitement and achievement of competitive swimming.
Not all of our students pursue this path, though we hope they consider it; many of us here at FOSS have experience swimming on a team, and the bonds and confidence it builds – not to mention the amazing health benefits – can’t be found anywhere else!
After graduating from the Learn to Swim program, which covers the essentials, and the Swim Stronger program, where students refine their strokes, learn how to turn, and build endurance, we offer the Swim Faster program where students get a swim team experience and learn to, well, swim faster!
How Swim Faster Differs from Other Levels
Students in Swim Faster will notice differences from their previous FOSS experience.
Runs like a swim team
Each class will include drills, longer swims, instruction on stroke technique, and working on tips to increase speed.
Classes are longer
Swim Faster classes are 75 minutes, giving students more time to build endurance and practice strokes.
The teacher acts as a coach
The instructor is not in the water, instead coaching from the deck, letting swimmers swim continuously. Direction is given with verbal instruction and showing form and technique; no one in the water helps with body position.
Higher student to teacher ratio
Like a swim team, there will be more students per teacher.
More swimmers in a lane
With more students in each lane, students will learn how to swim in a cycle, a skill needed for swim team.
Focus on speed
For the first time in their FOSS education, swimmers will be timed and encouraged to push themselves to higher speeds.
In fact, the biggest difference between Swim Faster and a swim team is that there will not be any meets or competitions beyond Fun Meets.
Swim Faster is also the one program a student can repeat as many times as they like – there is no upper limit to how fast they can go.
Find Your Level
Is Swim Faster right for your swimmer? Since this program (level Big 6 in our Swim Path) assumes swimmers have mastered the four competitive strokes and are familiar with turns, finishes, and swimming longer distances, we recommend a Preview Lesson to assess skills, unless you are joining from another FOSS program.
Find Your Level
Where should your new swimmer begin? There are two ways to find the likely right class. You can use the Swim Path tool on our site and find the likely level by answering questions and estimating your students’ ability, or schedule a free Preview Lesson.
At the start of the program, we provide a target speed for each of the four competitive strokes. A swimmer may beat the speed for all four strokes in one quarter, and still want to come back to swim even faster next quarter, and the next. Or they may beat the time for one or two strokes one quarter, the others the next – or not at all. It’s up to the swimmer and family what they want to get out of the program at this level.
Who is Swim Faster for?
We tend to find that Swim Faster is a great option for a couple different groups:
- Students who love swimming and plan to join a team. They want to start swim team with all the basics under their belt – circle swimming, turns, and endurance – so they don’t have to work on those things after practices begin.
- Students who are curious about joining a swim team and want to give the experience a low-stakes “test drive” before committing.
- Swimmers who love to swim, enjoy the challenge and fitness benefits of swimming fast, but are not motivated by external competition and winning.
Graduating from Swim Faster: The Four Milestones
Over the course of the program, swimmers will learn to pace and push themselves to achieve a goal time for one lap of each competitive stroke (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly).
After this program, many students move on to a school or community swim team, although some simply carry the skill and achievement with them, knowing they can hop in a pool or other body of water whenever they want and put their swim skills to use.
From Learn to Swim to Swim Faster, we are proud to be able to help every swimmer reach their highest swimming potential by following the Swim Path. However far a student goes with FOSS, we’re happy to have the opportunity to equip them with improved skills for life!
