SWS Juniors
South West Swim sessions for competitive junior swimmers & triathletes aged 11/12 plus, at a county qualification levelSupporting and encouraging young swimmers by supplementing their club programs
Encouraging and supplementing young club swimmers along their swim pathways
South West Swim offers individual coaching to junior swimmers from around the UK. Our aim is to provide supplementary technical coaching on a 1-to-1 basis, sessions in the open water or providing session types that may be difficult for a club to deliver. We have delivered sessions to swimmers from some of the top clubs in the South West of England
Having competitive swimmers in the Tait household we know what it is like to be swim parents, and have eager swim children. Our SWS Junior offerings are designed to complement a clubs training program, not replace it, and we provide in-depth technical stroke coaching and open water sessions.
South West Swim Junior Coaching
Support not replace
We look to support swimmers journeys and not replace their club training. We have worked with and alongside various clubs across the South West, but have also coached individuals from some of the biggest and most successful clubs in the region. All of our coaching services are provided as supplementary support to clubs and individuals, we do not run our own junior swim club.
Experienced Coaches
Head Coach Jason Tait has spent years working with age group swimmers across all four strokes. Volunteering for a local club he has coached learn to swim beginners through to national qualifiers.
Jason is a level 2 Swim England coach & teacher and specialises in stroke correction and open water swimming.
Learning through technology (Endless Pool Sessions)
We are able to use technology to show the swimmer how they are interacting with the water, which is a fantastic learning tool. Couple this with coach to swimmer headsets to correct the swimmer whilst swimming and we can really develop results in our sessions.
Stroke development
Our endless pool facility in swindon offers a unique opportunity for close up coaching and stroke development. We can offer Junior Video analysis sessions for front crawl stroke.
Open Water Swimming
We can coach junior swimmers on a 1-to-1 or group basis. We work together with our lake providers to give swimmers the safety, knowledge and skills to swim in open water and offer ‘lake sign off’. We work towards the Swim England Open Water Certificate standards in the open water environment.
Club Support
We can offer bespoke sessions for clubs in both our endless pool, open water or as front crawl swim smooth clinics. If you are a club official and wish to enquire about our services please email us, we would love to be able to get involved.
Full commercial insurance
South West Swim holds commercial level insurance for all activities we undertake. Commercial level insurance is required for coaches offering paid for (professional) services. If clubs utilise our services then our insurance is in effect for the session, rather than any club insurance.
What is an Endless Pool?
An Endless Pool is an amazing tool for coaching swimmers. The pool itself is small, however it has a counter current installed and you swim against this current for a ‘constant swim’. There are no turns or walls to push off so we get to view the swimmers natural stroke in the water.
They are not hard to swim in, but they really can highlight any inherent faults and flaws in your stroke instantly. An amazing tool for swimmers and coaching swimmers.
Where do we coach open water?
We coach from the stunning lakes of the Cotswolds and are resident at the two premier swim lakes in the area
Above: Lake 32 Outdoor Centre
Below: Lake 86 Cotswold Waterpark Hire
How to book Your Junior Swimmers Session
Once you have decided what session type you would like to join us in booking is pretty simple.
All of our sessions are scheduled and booked online through our booking system, or our funky South West Swim mobile App.
The session MUST be booked in the Junior swimmers name, this is for insurance purposes. You can register an account for yourself as a parent account, and then add a ‘child account’ in the swimmers name and switch to that account to book the session. Alternatively you can just create 1 account in the junior swimmers name and book. Please see the videos opposite / below for video guidance.
Scheduling a 1-to-1 means that you can search for the best time and venue to suit your needs without emailing us back and forth to agree a time. Simply head to the booking system on the links below (or download the app), create an account, search for your ideal 1-to-1 session time, select it, pay and then sit back and wait excitedly for your session to come around. If you can’t see a date and time that suits you then please do contact us. We are a full time coaching company and may be able to offer a bespoke time for you.
Group sessions are also booked online, just choose the date and time of the session you wish to join and book in.
Of course we are always open to talk and discuss your needs further so please do get in touch via email if you need additional advice, guidance or want to ask about specific times.
Creating a Parent / Child account to book your session
Our Session Types, Book Yours Online Now
Junior Video Analysis
Swim Smooth Certified Video Analysis is also available for competitive Junior swimmers aged 12+ with a County Level qualification time
More Details
Video Analysis is a much sought after method of improvement in any sport and is one of our most popular sessions for adult swimmers of all levels.
But we can also offer this class leading service to competitive swimming club or triathlon club junior swimmers who want to progress their front crawl times by means of improved technique within the stroke.
Junior analysis sessions are available to swimmers with County qualification times and who are aged 12 – 15 years (swimmers over 14/15 would be more beneficial with a full analysis).
A junior analysis session is simply a cut down version of the full adult service, with a shorter analysis part of the session in order to hold the younger swimmers focus and attention. We will work with the swimmer to highlight and work on areas of their stroke that are holding them back. We will use methods that will translate easily to their club sessions, either with drills or wirth focused swimming and key point thinking. This will depend on how their club trains in their sessions.
We are also happy to work with coaches from other clubs should they wish to attend the session with their swimmers.Cost: £60
Open Water 1-to-1 Sessions – Also includes lake86 & Lake32 competency sessions, gaining a Swim England Level 1 Open Water Certificate.
Get the very best individual attention with Head Coach Jason Tait. Our Open Water 1-to-1 session for juniors are available for swimmers aged 12 and over (age at end of current year) who can swim 400m non stop, and competant, front crawl*. The swimmer should hold a minimum of a county time in at least one stroke, or be within a second or two to achieving this time (see Wiltshire qualification times here for reference). These sessions are available at both Lake32 and Lake86, select the location of your choice when booking. We reccomend choosing the lake your junior is aiming to train at long term, as this will be where your swimmer will be signed off to swim and avoid further having to reatake a session at a specific lake.
This session works towards the Level 1 Swim England Open Water certification. Please note that attendance of a session does NOT guarantee sign off to swim at a lake, swimmers MUST complete all swim criteria to the satisfaction of the coach. If a swimmer does not pass the competency we will advise of our concerns and further sessions may be required. The final say of who swims at each lake is down to the lake owners and not South West Swim or its coaches.
We will only run junior sessions if the water temperature is around 16 degrees and upwards. In the Cotswold lakes this usually occurs mid – end of May.
*IMPORTANT: If the swimmer does not meet our swim criteria please do not book a session. The age of the swimmer and the 400m swim minimum is taken from the guidelines of lake86 who also stipulate this as a minimum standard to swim at their facility. A sign off is only valid from South West Swim at the lake where the session takes place, see above for selcting the lake location
More Details
All 1-to-1 sessions are taken by South West Swim head coach Jason Tait.
Jason is a fully qualified STA Open Water coach and coaches tutor, as well as a swim england open water coach, pool coach and teacher.
If you are booking a session for your junior swimmer please ensure the session is booked in the SWIMMERS name with their own account. Any sessions not booked in the swimmers name would be refused as it is a term of our insurance.
If the session is for lake sign off please read all the information above regarding this and all entry criteria. The swimmer needs to pass all the criteria to be signed off, attendance alone is not enough to be signed off. The desicion of who is allowed to swim in a given lake is with the Lake operators and not South West Swim.