Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR SPORTS EDITOR
ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
So if you are a kid that loves to swim and can’t stay away from the water – what do you do to continue to improve your swim skills and compete against other kids as well?

You join the Typhoons Swim Club of course.

“The Typhoons Swim Club is a competitive team for all children ages 5 to 18 who know the basics of freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke,” said Kelli Broussard who is the assistant swim coach for the Elizabethton High School team.

“In countries around the world, swimming is equal in popularity and status to football, baseball or basketball for good reason. It is a sport that builds a great deal of physical strength and cardiovascular endurance while working to establish the most efficient technique possible to move through the water. I like to compare it to yoga in the water…balancing strength and form.”

As competitive swimming continues to grow throughout the states including Tennessee, participation in the club will allow future swimmers the opportunity to learn the correct way to do the different strokes needed to compete in high school and beyond while being taught by instructors who have studied the sport.

“Swimmers who join Typhoons are expected to be able to swim 25 yards of freestyle and backstroke and will have at least begun to learn the breaststroke,” Broussard added. “The introductory group of the Typhoons, the Water Spouts, will work to build endurance in the Free and Back and learn to swim properly the breaststroke and butterfly.”

According to Broussard, those who are members of the Typhoons will learn stroke drills that will train them to move through the water in the most efficient way possible.

The coaching staff makes use of swimming technology research in order to accomplish these goals.

A very special date that needs to be marked on the calendar for those interested is Friday, April 9, 2021, at 5 pm as there will be a skills assessment session.

The session will take place at the Elizabethton High School pool so coaches can determine which training group that each swimmer will begin in with the Typhoons.

Also, it will allow the coaches to determine whether swimming lessons are needed in order to help each child become ready to join the Typhoons.
Information about the swimming lessons will be distributed to parents at the assessment.

The Betsy Swim Boosters are providing lessons from April 12th to May 1st.

By participating with the Typhoons, Broussard said there are many benefits for children that cannot be taken from the water.

“The environment at each practice will promote camaraderie amongst teammates while developing confidence that extends beyond the water,” commented Broussard.

“As swimmers become stronger, fitter, and faster, they will walk away from each practice knowing they are mastering one of the only sports that is performed in water.”

The registration fee to join is $50 per swimmer and monthly dues are $125 for the first child in each family, $110 for a second child, and $95 for a third.

Practices will be offered every weekday, Monday through Friday. The summer season will run from May 1st through July 31st. The team is currently working to continue the program year-round after a short break at the beginning of August.

There will be a handful of swim meets throughout the summer according to Broussard as the Typhoons will host at the EHS pool while others may be held at the Kingsport Aquatic Center.

The schedule for the group swimming lessons are as follows and will be determined at the assessment session:

Session 1: April 12-17:
Levels 1 and 2
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 5:10-6:00 pm and Saturday 9:30-10:20 am.

Session 2: April 19-24:
Levels 2 and 3
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 5:10-6:00 pm and Saturday 9:30-10:20 am.

Session 3: April 26-May 1:
Levels 3 and 4
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 3:30-4:20 pm and Saturday 9:30-10:20 am.

Session 4: April 26-May 1:
Levels 1 through 4
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 4:30-5:20 and Saturday 10:30-11:20 am.

For information or to register, contact Kelli Broussard at (760) 277-5246 or kelli.broussard@ecschools.org. The cost of each session is $80.