Developing swimmers for a Life Time.

Life Time is a SwimSwam partner.

“Golden Growth.” That’s what USA Swimming has said of the recent surge across the sport. Athletes like Michael Phelps, Nathan Adrian, Ryan Lochte, Simone Manuel and Katie Ledecky have paved the way for massive growth across the sport—USA Swimming claims more than 300,000 compete in nearly 2,800 teams stretching across the U.S.

But cutting through the clutter and finding the right swim team can be challenging, and both parents and swimmers alike agree that finding the right one is a game changer.

“As a company committed to providing the best places, performers and programs to help people achieve their health and fitness goals, we knew our Swim Team program needed to address all of the pain points felt by swimmers and their families,” says Alicia Kockler, Director, Swim Programming at Life Time Fitness, headquartered in Chanhassen, Minn.

“Many of us at Life Time grew up on swim teams and like many, gained skills we use for a lifetime both in and out of the pool,” Kockler adds. “We felt strongly about giving back to the next generation of swimmers to continue the great legacy of swimming in the USA, and wanted to make it easy for today’s busy families to choose swimming as their sport of choice.”

With those objectives in mind, Kockler and her team focused on three key areas when building out the Life Time USA Swim Teams, which span across 86 locations in 27 major markets. Today, the Life Time Swim program boasts 8,000 participants on 20 teams and is one of the largest providers of swim lessons in the country.

• World-class training facility.

From the moment you step inside a Life Time, you’re welcomed into your third home. Each Swim Team location boasts indoor and outdoor lap pools, as well as zero-depth entry leisure pools, whirlpools, saunas and eucalyptus steam rooms. Locker rooms, including family dressing rooms, provide a variety of complimentary items including lockers, hair dryers and towels.

Parents can enjoy a workout while their kids get their workout in the pool, too. Life Time offers more than 400 pieces of high-end cardio and weight training equipment, complimentary group fitness and yoga classes, and programs such as Pilates, small group training, one-on-one personal training and nutrition coaching. The facilities also have a LifeSpa offering full-service hair, nail, massage and skincare services, and healthy eats and drinks at the LifeCafe, serving foods free of highly processed and artificial ingredients and additives under the adage, “if it’s here, it’s healthy.”

• Same day, same time, same pool scheduling.

Knowing the challenges of busy schedules, Life Time organizes each swim team to have set practice schedules—same pool, same day and same time—so parents don’t need to remember a changing schedule or run their kids to different pools around town.

“A key differentiator of our program is that we already had a world-class training facility—we didn’t need to go out and find pools that will allow us to train, or work complicated schedules with changing dates and times due to pool availability,” says Kockler.

• Coaches who coach your child for life, not just the pool.

Life Time Swim takes coaching very seriously, recruiting both veteran coaches that are proven in the space and perfecting their own talent from within.  A focus for the company is hiring coached who are able to take a whole child approach to each swimmer.  Kockler says, “We want kids to love swimming for a lifetime instead of burning them out in the sport too quickly by putting undue pressures and excessive practice time on them at the expense of school, family and friends. We’ve even had coaches encourage swimmers to take a break from swimming for a few months, focus on another sport, and then come back renewed and refreshed.”  

Life Time also has a wealth of resources within its clubs to offer swimmers who want to reach their next level additional support. Coaches can direct swimmers to in-house nutrition coaches and personal trainers to help swimmers on the best path to reach their ultimate potential.

“At the end of the day,” Kockler says, “our goal is to get as many people swimming as possible. We know what this sport did for us as kids and we want everyone to be able to experience it, with a few less headaches to make it a fun and enjoyable experience for the whole family.”

With no end in sight for swim team growth, Life Time continues to set the bar as the premier destination for passionate, successful swimmers.

All Life Time Swim Teams across the country are set to host tryouts on:

• August 17 from 6 to 8 p.m.
• August 20 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• August 27 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

To sign up or find additional information on tryouts and the Life Time Swim Team program, visit https://www.lifetimefitness.com/en/programs-and-events/sports/swim/swimming-lessons-for-kids/swim-team-swim-club.html.