Featured Camp: 2017 Alabama Rising Tide Swim Camp

by Taylor Brien

29 March 2017, 08:46pm

The Alabama Rising Tide Swim Camp is all about teaching athletes the skills and drills needed to perfect technique. It is also about training the brain to make sure that what you do correctly is imprinted in a way that helps you reproduce these perfect skills without having to think about them. It involves critical thinking and exploring new ways to achieve new skills. Our camps have everything you need to take your swimming to the next level including underwater filming, stroke video analysis, mental preparation, team and character building, motivational speaking, race day preparation, training and conditioning and world class instruction for stroke development, starts and turns.

Your performance on race day will be determined by how effective you’ve been at helping your brain understand all facets of the performance. The strongest computer in the world is the human brain, and no different from the machine counterpart, it can be extremely ineffective if it’s programmed incorrectly. Recognizing that you’re essentially training the brain to manage your goals, then what you do in day to day training is critical to achieving those goals. This Alabama Swim Camp is all about teaching young athletes how the brain does this, how it takes information on board, and how to make sure that what you do correctly is imprinted in a way that helps you reproduce perfect skills without having to think about them. It will involve critical thinking, and exploring new ways to achieve new skills. Learning how to swim and train this way is the next paradigm in swimming and is the future of all sport.

The Alabama Swim Camp has space and time to accommodate athletes of all levels and will group them accordingly. They cover every stroke discipline and all skills used by our SEC and NCAA Champions to compete at a higher level. We also provide workouts for elite athletes so you will maintain fitness levels while you are away from your club.

Alabama Head Coach: Denny Pursley

With a career that has taken him all over the globe – including stops as the first head coach of the Australian Institute of Sport, the inaugural director of the United States National Team and most recently the head coach of Great Britain’s 2012 Olympic squad – Pursley is a proven program builder who has made an immediate and significant impact on every team he has touched.After getting his start as a volunteer coach on Crimson Tide legend Don Gambril’s first Alabama staff, Dennis Pursley has gone on to one of the most extraordinary careers in the sport of swimming, a career that led him to be named one of the 25 most influential people in the history of USA Swimming in 2003.

That’s why when Alabama was looking for a head coach to take its program back to the highest levels of collegiate swimming and diving, it turned to Pursley

Jonty Skinner  |  Associate Head Coach

Former world record holder, NCAA Champion and International Hall of Famer Jonty Skinner is currently in his third stint as an Alabama swimming and diving coach after rejoining the Crimson Tide in the summer of 2012 as a member of head coach Dennis Pursley’s staff.

“We could not have a more qualified coach than Jonty Skinner,” Pursley said. “As a former world record holder and coach of Olympic gold medalists and national championship teams, Jonty has done it all at the highest levels of national and international competition. He is primarily responsible for our sprint program but all of the swimmers and coaches on the team will benefit from his broad range of experience and expertise.”

After joining the staff as an assistant in the summer of 2012, Skinner was promoted to associate head coach following the 2013 season. In addition to his coaching duties, Skinner serves as the Tide’s technical director, a post he previously held with both USA Swimming and British Swimming.

 Lisa Ebeling |  Camp Director

Northern Colorado named Lisa Ebeling the new head coach of the women’s swimming and diving program in August of 2016. Ebeling came to UNC after four seasons as the assistant at the University of Alabama where she helped coach both programs and was the recruiting coordinator for the women’s team.

“We are very pleased to have Coach Ebeling joining our department,” said Director of Athletics Darren Dunn. “She brings a wealth of swimming knowledge to our team, especially in the state of Colorado with her familiarity of the high schools and club programs. I am excited to have someone with her experience and passion for the sport join the Bear family, along with her husband, Eric and daughter, Elizabeth.”

In her first season with the Crimson Tide, the women’s team enjoyed a standout season in the classroom. After turning in the highest team grade point average in the nation during the fall of 2013 the women’s team finishes third during the spring semester with a 3.65.

James Barber  |  Assistant Coach

James Barber is in his eighth season as an assistant coach with the Crimson Tide.

“I’m excited to have James as part of the staff,” Alabama head coach Dennis Pursley said. “I’ve known him since he worked with the USA Resident National team in the 1990s. He is a talented and hardworking coach who is a perfect fit for our program philosophy, which is based on character and commitment in the pool, in the classroom and in life.”

In addition to his on the deck coaching duties, Barber serves as the recruiting coordinator for the men’s program.

Upcoming Alabama Rising Tide Swim Camp Dates

CAMPER COMMENTS

“It was very helpful. It helped me with my strokes, turns, and starts. The outdoor games were a lot of fun! I liked that we had the opportunity to have a harder practice early in the morning.”

“Everything in this camp showed and taught me more about team work and attitude. I’ve learned to not feel sorry for myself and to push myself the extra mile. I wish this camp lasted longer than a week.”

“What I loved about this camp was that I improved 3x or more in my swimming. I’ve only been swimming for 6-months and this camp has been the single most constructive experience so far. I obtained a new favorite stroke, improved my worse strokes, and learned things I didn’t know before arriving such as open turns and spinal alignment. Thank you for holding this camp to help swimmers improve. You’ve done a fantastic job.”

“I liked that the coaches taught us and helped us a lot and guided us if we were doing something wrong. The games were a lot of fun. Coach Skinner did a great job of helping us understand the skills. The motivational talks with coach Pursley were very thoughtful and helpful. This camp has made me a better swimmer.”

“Team activities, dorms, pool sessions, food, coachers and councillors, games (really fun), definitely should do camp again.”

“I really enjoyed the pool sessions and the motivational presentations. I feel like I learned a lot of new things that will help me with my swimming mentally and physically. I believe that I have learned many things to help me improve my technique. Also, I believe I learned a lot about confidence and being tough.”

“I miss camp and everyone that was a part of it already!  I just wanted to let you know that I had a home meet yesterday (SCY).  I went around my best times in everything and won 4/5 of my races which won me high point!  I went a 1:06 in my 100 BR and a 54.05 in my 100 FR.  I know it had a lot to do with the camp and I wanted to say thank you!  I hope to drop more and see y’all soon!  Tell everyone else I said thank you too, please!”

“I liked everything. It was fun and I learned lots.”

“It is awesome, the coaches are nice. The filming helped me a lot. Thanks to everyone.”

“It was super informational and helpful.”

“I really enjoyed the camp. Everyone was so nice and helped out a lot. I wish I could spend another week with everyone I’ve learned a lot that will hopefully help me out. Thank you.”

“I really enjoyed the practice, games, motivational speeches and everything else.”

“Before our sessions I really enjoyed the technique sessions. They helped me learn the techniques and gave me a visual and idea about what we needed to do. During the sessions I enjoyed actually doing the techniques and learning things that I haven’t before. I loved all the coaches helping and giving advice. I appreciate the coaches for not giving up on me & everyone else even when we struggled.”

“The pool sessions were really helpful to me. I saw a lot of differences to my strokes. I loved all the games we did. All the coaches were really nice. I really like the way the coaches told you that you can do this in my worst moments.”

“I liked the classroom reviews with Coach Skinner and Coach Pursley. I thought the technique was very helpful and I really liked getting coached by Coach Davidson and Coach Skinner in the water. The cameras in the pool were very helpful to correcting myself.”

“Everything else was great and very very very very fun.”

“Hey Coach Jonty, it’s Elijah Wheeler. I just wanted to tell you I had a meet Saturday and dropped over 2 seconds in the 50 fly & 50 free. I made it to finals for the boys 11 & 12 50 freestyle LCM. I came first by a body length and I qualified for Junior Olympics & FLAGS which is our states. I watched the video you made me & I’m going to work really hard to improve every day. Thank you for teaching me new things. I can’t wait to come back next year and learn more!”

Alabama Rising Tide Swim Camps are offered each week for four consecutive weeks beginning May 31st and are open to any and all participants age 9 and up. Remember, this is not a learn to swim program so please make sure campers are proficient in all four stroke disciplines. We hope to see you this summer!

Contact Information:

Phone: (970) 451-1476

Email: lisa.ebeling@unco.edu

Address: The University of Alabama, Box 870387 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487

Dates: May 28 – June 2, June 4 – June 9, June 11 – June 16, June 18 – June 23

Register by Mail by downloading this Form

Register Online by clicking Here

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