Summer is the season to send your kids to camp! Many universities host swim camps on their campuses while the bulk of the student population is away for the summer.
I have coached at a number of camps around the country and around Europe. Camps are a great way for your child to learn about swimming technique, interact with high-level coaches and swimmers, meet new friends, have an away-from-home experience and improve his/her swimming skills and endurance. Camps are also great for parents since it allows a few days to a week of child-free time!
There are camps all over the country for swimming, water polo, diving and also for masters swimmers. Here is a helpful site where you can search for a camp near you!
Here are a few of my personal recommendations for swimming camps this summer at outdoor pools in Arizona, Florida, California and Texas:
Arizona
- Nike Swim Camp at the University of Arizona. The University of Arizona has a fantastic swimming program with incredible facilities. In fact, their competition pool uses a Clear Comfort system.
California
- Nike Swim Camps have locations in Santa Cruz, Stanford, Berkeley, San Anselmo and San Diego. All of them are fantastic with great coaches.
Florida
- The Race Club. This is an exquisite experience — the Ritz-Carlton of swim camps — and only for those who are very serious about improving their technique and want to learn from some of the best sprinters in U.S. history. A few of my old teammates are coaches there now.
- University of Florida Gator Swim Camp. Since I swam at the University of Georgia, I competed at the University of Florida pool many times. The facilities are fantastic and the coaches are world-class (they coached Ryan Lochte) and fun people. Even though UGA and UF are rivals, the swimming programs are quite friendly and I am very impressed with their coaching staff.
- Florida Gulf Coast University Camp. When I coached for the University of North Carolina at Asheville, we competed against FGCU. The head coach is a phenomenal person with endless positive energy.
- Bolles School Camp. The Bolles School is a wealth of international knowledge and a history of success. Many of my previous teammates came from the Bolles School program.
Texas
- Aggie Swim Camp at Texas A&M. The head coach, Steve, is an incredible person and has worked his way up through hard work and sticking to his principles.
- University of Texas Longhorn Swim Camp. This camp is already sold out for this summer, but keep it in mind for future summers — there is a good reason it is already sold out this year!
- SMU Mustangs Camp. Southern Methodist University is a small school, but it is very nice. With both an indoor and outdoor pool, the facilities are great for a camp.
- TCU Swim Camp. This camp is geared more towards beginners, so if your child is not a competitive swimmer, this would be a good choice.
What are you waiting for? Go sign up for a swim camp (or a diving or water polo camp)! Be sure to check this link or this search engine for more camps in your area if you are not in the areas that I highlighted above.
Claire McDaniel
Claire is a swimming and nutrition expert who loves to educate and motivate others to healthier living. She swam competitively for 18 years, is a five time All-American, a Division I National Champion, was co-captain of Team USA at the 2007 World University Games and was named a finalist for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. She also has a master’s degree in nutrition and is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. After swimming, Claire started coaching and has coached all over the US and even in Switzerland! Her experience and expertise about both swimming and health fuel her passion for Clear Comfort’s mission – to make swimming a 100 percent healthy activity for swimmers, coaches, lifeguards and pool staff.
