Practice Groups

The Greater Philadelphia Aquatic Club offers training and practice groups for swimmers of all ages and ability levels. It is the goal of GPAC to offer age specific training for all of our athletes geared towards challenging each individual and developing each individual to the best of THEIR abilities.

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This group is for swimmers who are new or relatively new to competitive swimming and have progressed beyond the instruction they receive in swim lessons. The emphasis in this group is teaching the swimmers the correct way to swim the four competitive strokes and will progress into teaching racing starts and flip turns. 

Prerequisites: Swimmers must be able to complete a lap of freestyle without stopping demonstrating knowledge of breathing to the side and must be able to endure a 1-hour practice session in the pool.

This group is for our top swimmers ages 8 and under as well as some swimmers in the 9-12 age group who need stroke refinement. Swimmers entering this group should know how to perform the four competitive strokes, a racing start and turns but might not be able to do everything legally. The emphasis of this group is to teach the swimmers better stroke technique in all four strokes and progress them into swimming longer distances in all four strokes and the individual medley.

PREREQUISITES: Swimmers must be able to complete a 25 of each individual stroke as well as 50s of freestyle. Swimmers must show knowledge of how each stroke, the freestyle flip turn and the racing start are properly performed. Swimmers must also show the ability to pay attention when a coach is giving direction and be able to sustain the hour-long practice three times per week. 

GOALS: Attendance at 2 to 3 practices per week; full participation in team meets; competing in all 50s of stroke in their age group as well as the 100 IM and 100 Freestyle.

This group is for our top 8 year old swimmers as well as swimmers ages 9-12. There is still a strong emphasis on stroke mechanics with this group but there is an equal emphasis on training and meet preparation. This group will refine the strokes where it is needed and prepare the swimmer to swim the longer freestyle distances (100 through 500) as well as the 100s of stroke and the 200 IM. 

PREREQUISITES: Swimmers must be able to complete 4 x 50 of each stroke; 5 x 100 freestyle; and swim a legal 200 IM with proper turns for each stroke. Swimmers must also show the ability to retain instruction and adjust their strokes as they are told even when a coach is not working specifically with them. Swimmers must also demonstrate some knowledge of using the pace clock during practice. 

This is the group for our top 9-10 year old swimmers as well as those ages 11 through grade 8. The focus on this group is mainly training with 25% emphasis on mechanics. While attendance is not a requirement to remain in the group, the coaching staff feels it is imperative swimmers attend 4 out of the 6 practice per week from September through May. Practices in season will continually reach up to 5,000 yards. The swimmers in this group will be focusing on improvement in the various distances for backstroke, butterfly and breaststroke (50, 100 and especially the 200) as well as all freestyle distances (50 through 1650) and the IM distances (200 and 400 IM).

Swimmers must also be able to sustain a 90-minute in-water workout after doing 30 minutes of dryland on a regular basis. Also, because of the size of this group it is important for the swimmers to be able to listen to stroke mechanic corrections and make those corrections in a group setting as much as they do one on one. 

The first of our three senior groups, this is for the swimmer who is looking for more than what they get from their high school team but is not yet ready for the level of practice or commitment in Senior 2 or the National groups. This group will emphasize on mechanics, training and racing throughout the year. Particular attention will be paid to the high school events during the high school season so that the swimmers in the group are able to perform at peak level in their high school meets.

PREREQUISITES: Swimmers must be in 8th Grade. Swimmers must show a commitment (to be set forth by the coaching staff) to swimming above just the high school level and must come to practice with a good mindset and ready to follow the directions of the coaching staff.

This group is for the dedicated high school athlete who wants a high level of training but is either not ready for the National group or cannot make the 12-month commitment to that group but is serious about reaching a higher level in USA Swimming. This practice group is only for the swimmers who are serious about the sport at the club level and will regularly attend 80% of the offered workouts throughout the season. The emphasis on this group will be achievement on the local level as well as reaching the regional level through qualification for the Eastern Zone Sectional meets and beyond. 

PREREQUISITES: Recommendation from coaching staff; demonstrate a positive attitude and acceptable practice attendance on a regular basis; swimmers must be able to complete the following sets:

This group is for the top swimmers on the team who have achieved Sectional time standards. The swimmers in this group have made swimming their sport of choice and must sign a contract indicating their willingness to maintain at least 80% practice attendance all year long (September through the beginning of August). The National group is made up of perennial finalists in the NJ State High School Meet of Champions as well as the NCSA Junior Nationals, USA Swimming Junior and Senior Nationals. The GPAC National progam is recognized as one of the best in the entire country. 

PREREQUISITES: Swimmers must have Sectional qualifying times and must meet with Head Coach Matt Sprang before entering the group.