National Youth Development swimmers make strong start to programme

A number of swimmers from Swim England’s National Youth Development Programme (NYDP) enjoyed a four-day training camp to start off 2025.

The NYDP is the fourth step on the Swim England Talent Pathway where 15 and 16-year-old swimmers and para swimmers get the opportunity to continue their progression through various training camps and workshops throughout the season.

Swimmers were chosen based on the long course rankings from the first half of last year, with 43 of the more than 100 swimmers selected taking part in the distance specialised camp earlier this month.

The aim of the camp was to provide distance focused training to educate the young athletes on what effective world class distance training looks like.

It had four overarching aims of self-awareness, independence, being coachable and having a growth mindset to help support their development.

During the camp, which ran alongside the Swim England Youth Performance squad camp, the athletes took part in a number of in pool sessions, as well as undergoing a distance freestyle technique workshop and some strength and conditioning training.

They also took part in a variety of educational workshops on topics such as UKAD, rest and recovery, reflection and were even treated to an inspirational talk from 2008 Olympic bronze medallist, Cassandra Patten.

‘A strong willingness to improve’

The remaining swimmers on the NYDP will all attend their second training camp of the programme next month as they continue on phase two of the year-long scheme.

They joined the full cohort that were welcomed onto the programme late last year with a one-day induction camp at Loughborough College.

During the opening few months they have worked on skills such as goal setting, reflective practice and understanding the importance their support network can play in their journey.

Speaking on the group, Swim England’s national talent officer, Tom McManus said: “The camp was a resounding success, with the athletes demonstrating exceptional drive and a strong willingness to improve and gain deeper insights into themselves as athletes.

“They were supported by an outstanding team of coaches, team managers and SSSM staff who played a vital role as facilitators of learning and understanding.

“Moving forward, the talent team and I will visit each athlete at their home club. We will collaborate closely with both the athletes and their home coaches to apply the lessons learned to ensure continued development and progress.”

Reflecting on the camp, Swim England national technical lead for swimming, Danielle Brayson, added: “It was great to have this cohort together and provide them with some distance focused training ahead of their upcoming events.

“They’re a really talented group that are constantly improving so it’s important to us that we work closely with them and their home club throughout the rest of the programme.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming the rest of the squad to our camp next month and continuing to form those strong connections with our athletes and their coaches during our visits.

“A huge thank you to all of the coaches and staff that gave up their time to come down and support us and the athletes throughout the four days.”