Racer X Special Sets: Coach Jim Skirboll Is Leading a Youth Movement

Racer X Special Sets: Coach Jim Skirboll Is Leading a Youth Movement

The sporting world often thrives on David vs. Goliath stories. Aquatics are no different. Last April, Jim Skirboll’s Pittsburgh-based Racer X Aquatic Club made quite a splash at the ISCA East Elite Showcase Classic. With just 14 swimmers and no relays, his girls finished second and the team a combined fifth against much larger squads: e.g., All Star Aquatics 64; NBAC 47; St. Peters Aquatics 37; Tide Swimming 35. For the meet, Racer X athletes recorded 77 best times and had 62 final swims.

On the strength of outstanding performances in distance events, the team preemptively “took names and kicked butt.” In the 12-year-old age group, three Racer X swimmers (see below) swept the top three places in the girls’ 1000 yard free and 400 IM. They are a part of a training group Skirboll calls his “distant divas”:

1000 FREE

Elyse Brenenborg – 10:35.16

Whitney Calhoun – 10:36.84

Ellie Lange – 10:39.82

400 IM

Ellie Lange-4:40.76

Whitney Calhoun-4:47.44 (HP Runnerup)

Elyse Brenenborg-4:49.32.

Brenenborg, Lange and Calhoun also finished a respective second, third and fourth in the 500 free. Altogether they commandeered 25 fifth-place finishes or better (including 13 third-place finishes or better) in 14 different events. At the end of the 2022-23 swimming year, the three had recorded 19 SCY and 13 LC AAAA times and 14/13 AAA times.

Not to be outdone was 13-year-old Ava Jochims, winner of the 200 (1:52.36) and 1650 free (17:10.20). She finished second in seven finals (no sprints) and never worse than fifth to earn high-point runner-up.

Racer X stud muffins weren’t Skirboll’s only show stoppers. For boys, Ian Brenenborg was the meet’s high-point winner for 10 and unders, thanks in part to wins in the 100-200 IM (1:07.27, 2:24.11) and 200-500 free (2:08.35, 5:26.86). Charlie Lange copped runner-up honors for 12-year-olds, winning the 50 back (30.24) and 100 breast (1:17.23), and finishing no worse than sixth in his seven other events.

Skirboll founded Racer X in 2016. Previously he had been a Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League coach mentoring numerous high school All-Americans. His first high-profile Racer X athlete was his daughter, Zoe Skirboll, a national junior team member who set five USA Swimming NAG records and is now a sophomore on the national champion University of Virginia squad.

WORK WORKS

Racer X practices are not for the faint of heart. While volume rarely tops 7,000 yards per session, and doubles nonexistent except when visiting the Olympic Training Center, Skirboll has a method to his madness.

For starters, the team does a Racer X version of dry land. “Every day we start off with ankle straps doing monster walks, sidesteps and karaoke.”*

* Karaoke: Done by standing and performing a grapevine pattern while picking up speed in a sideways direction. With relaxed arms at the side while running, place one foot or step in front of the other leg, step out to the side, and bring the other leg behind. Repeat evenly on both sides. Turn pelvis and pull abs into the back of the spine.

“We follow that with three rounds of a minute jump-rope forward, then backward, and a final round of 20 fast/10 easy; 15 squats and 10 push-ups,” he says. Following that are three rounds of five pull-ups and assorted ab work with an ab ball. Also integral to Racer X workouts are 1,000-1,500 yards of kicking, parachutes, cords and “at least 500 to 1,000 yards of fly on a daily basis.”

SAMPLE RACER SETS

Friday, Jan. 6, 2023

4 x 100 on 1:40; snorkel, paddles dps

1:00 rest

10 x 50 on :45 best average

:30 rest

4 x 100 on 1:40; snorkel, paddles dps

1:00 rest

5 x 100 on 1:20 best average

:30 rest

4 x 100 on 1:40; snorkel, paddles dps

1:00 rest

500 for time

Ava Jochims 5:11; Elyse Brenenborg 5:31; Ellie Lange 5:31; Whitney Calhoun 5:31; Ian Brenenborg 5:44; Augustin Zahn 5:22

Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023

4 x 100 on 1:20, 251**

(251** Push off, glide 2 seconds streamline, do 5 underwater dolphins kicks, take first stroke with no breath)

4 x 100 on 1:50, kick choice
4 x 100 on 1:30, FRIM 1-4
4 x 100 on 1:20 kick stroke
4 x 100 on 1:30 IM, negative-split
24 x 25 on :30 fly, 1 drill, 2 no breath, 3 fast

2 x

Round 1, chutes and fins; round 2, fins

8 x 25 on :45/30 dolphin uw 15 meters; swim fly 2 belly, 2 back, 2 right side, 2 left side

:30 rest

50 on :30
100 on 1:30
50 on :35
100 on 1:25
50 on :40
100 on 1:20
50 on :45
100 on 1:15
50 on :50
100 on 1:10
50 on :55
100 on 1:05
50 on 1:00
100 on 1:00

500 kick for time

4 x 100 IM drill, no interval

10 x 200 on 3:00; odd ez free, even fly

400 every 4th lap underwater

Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023

4 x 50 on 1:20; towers, cords
75 on 3:00 ez

16 x 50 on :30; odd IMO drill, even fly

4 x 50 on 1:00, smooth free, 10 strokes per 25, 251 off walls
500/450 on 5:40 fast, record times
2 x 100 on 1:40 ez
500/450 on 5:40 fast, record times

Ava did 500s on all 5:15 average

Augustin, Elyse, Whit and Ellie did 450 until the last 500 and went 5:29

Ian did 400, then the last one did a 500 going 5:44

Michael J. Stott is an ASCA Level 5 coach, golf and swimming writer. His critically acclaimed coming-of-age golf novel, “Too Much Loft,” is in its third printing, and is available from store.Bookbaby.com, Amazon, B&N and book distributors worldwide.

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