The swimmers at the Orca Swim Club are starting strong this season, and head coach Tom Best can hear it.

The sound of kicks in the water tells Best’s experienced ear not only how fast his swimmers are going, but the way they are kicking.

Best said the club has their first swim meet of the year coming up this weekend in Penticton. The swim club has a small group going to the meet.

“We have a lot of kids involved in a lot of different activities, sometimes its hard to get them out to swim meets.”

Best said that the club this year is a little bit different than last year. Picking up skills depends on the swimmer, said Best. For children around the age of five or six, their swimming ability is limited. Best said their swimming at that point becomes more about learning how, rather than how much they are doing. He noted that the group of new swimmers coming into the club this year is far above last year.

“They’re picking things up, and they want to go do some races and stuff – they’re having a lot of fun.”

The Orca Swim Club hosts a race night every week on Fridays for fun. Best said for the kids with more experience, this is their first try at racing.

“We have a series of fun meets planned this year within the club, we’ll get all the kids out to those.”

Best said the difficulties and challenges for swimmers through the year depend on what they bring in with them. Some swimmers are experienced because of the type of instructor they had before during a number of previous lessons. Others may have been swimming in the lake all summer, and have developed endurance levels.

“Endurance is probably the biggest thing,” said Best. “We teach them the four competitive strokes. A lot of people don’t realize how technical swimming is.”

Best said he is a technically oriented coach. He pointed out that if swimmers are not doing something properly, they are wasting a lot of energy in the water.

But bad habits take time to eliminate. Best said common wisdom says it takes about 10,000 repetitions to really develop a new habit.

“If you’ve performed that movement millions of times over the years, it’s hardwired. To break a bad habit and develop a new habit is very difficult.”

Best said that after spending a lot of time on technique last year, swimmers returning to the program this year are reaping the benefits.

“They’re doing the little things really well, and I’m really happy with them.”

Best said three of the more experienced young swimmers are trying to reach national times for their age group. He noted that this goal is a difficult one to reach, but the results so far in practice are impressive.

“Down the road, we should see some pretty good results. It doesn’t happen instantly.”

Best said training does not technically taper, but does change at different phases of the swimming season.

He said the final preparation phase before competition involves less swimming distance, but the intensity demanded over the distance is far greater. Because of the higher intensity, swimmers are given more rest time in between to recover. Best said that resting period can change depending on the swimmer as well.

“These are all teenagers, they don’t need as long a period as an adult athlete would.”

With the Masters-level swimmers, Best said the goal of what they are trying to do is a little bit different. He said he is hoping for good results at provincials since the approximately 30-member group has improved tremendously.

He noted that many of the Masters swimmers have spent the summer swimming in the lake or doing triathlons, and hit the ground running at the beginning of the indoor season.

Best said the technical skill level is impressive and new swimmers coming in always find it a bit of a challenge. He noted he is trying to emphasize kicking technique, which takes longer to learn for adults. Best points out the legs are larger muscles to move.

“Usually with adults the flexibility in the ankle is not as great, and it takes longer to develop.”

Best said the club is looking towards a good year.