County Development Program (CDP) September 2023-August 2024
Find out more about Warwickshire's Country Development Program for September 2023-August 2024 here
Warwickshire County Development Pathway 2022 - Day 1 (29th October)
This year, 48 talented 11-year-old swimmers (24 boys and 24 girls) were selected for the Swim England Pathway to podium, the first stage of which is Warwickshire’s County Development Pathway. The in-person camps – one in October and the second in June - will both take place at the Alan Higgs Centre in Coventry. There will also be a half-day spent learning online in February, a format we felt worked extremely well last year.
Upon arrival, the athletes and parents met Warwickshire’s Head Coach Kim Mortimer, who introduced them to the format of the day and explained what Swim England’s Development Pathway is all about – what they will learn from it and how to develop and maintain the momentum to progress further along the talent pathway. They were then presented with a T-shirt, hat and water bottle to celebrate their achievement of a place on the programme.
They then split into 8 groups of swimmers, one per pool lane, and were introduced to their Skills Coaches and Team Managers. The emphasis was on mixing up both swimmers and coaches so that the learning potential was maximised for all involved. All swimmers had come prepared with a list of skills they wanted to work on or aims they wanted to achieve, which they shared with their lane-mates and coaches.
During Day 1, we focused on front crawl and backstroke, with a few medley skills added in for good measure. The swimmers worked hard during the first hour and a half in the pool, learning new drills and skills, and building up their appetite for lunch. We slotted in another activity before they were rewarded with their sandwiches, spending an hour in the gym learning some new land training techniques and getting just a bit competitive as the lane teams vied for victory over their pool-mates!
The second pool session followed some downtime out in the warm October weather, and focused on consolidating the good work done in session one, and ensuring their goals for the day had not been forgotten. During the feedback session at the end of the day, the athletes reflected on what they’d learned and achieved during Day One, and thought about their ambitions for the remainder of the programme and beyond!
We want to congratulate all athletes who took part – their happy faces throughout the day showed how much they enjoyed themselves, and it was great to see the interaction across and between different home clubs. Another major gain of the day was upskilling all coaches involved, and we’d like to say a big thank you to our Skills Coaches: Emily Gordon, Sam Fairchild, Sarah Collings-Hands, Ellen Ratcliffe, Jake Ashfield, Garyn Devenport, Ethan Devoy, Jude Denning, Sam Woodhall, Adrian Ting and Clarke Hopkinson, and our Team Managers Suzy Hawkins, Beth Hawker, James Spence, Lisa Robertson, and also Derrick Dyas, Elaine Gale, Keith Munday and Lisa Newey-Keane as representatives of WASA’s Executive Committee.
We can’t wait to see you all again for our online half-day in February! In the meantime, we hope everyone keeps up the great work and holds their goals front of mind!