The Adidas and Ben Proud Swim Clinic

Last month Simply Swim teamed up with Adidas and Ben Proud to offer an amazing prize. 5 lucky young swimmers were given the opportunity to learn from one of the very best in the world; Ben Proud. Ben is the 2017 50 metre butterfly World Champion and holds two British national records. He has also represented Britain in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and in the 50m butterfly at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships. So this expert swimmer was more than equipped to teach these children the way of the sport.

The swim training clinic took place on the 11^th of November at Surrey Sports Park, Guildford. A number of eager swimming enthusiasts waited patiently to learn swimming techniques from a member of Team GB. For six hours the children received tips and tricks from the world champion that they can apply to their future swimming in the hopes of making it as a star swimmer themselves.

Ben demonstrated various swimming techniques on the side of the pool throughout the swim clinic so that the young swimmers were able to see an expert's form in the water. This was a great way to show the correct form for different swim strokes without the need to look underwater. The group would then jump into the pool and perform the particular swim stroke they just saw. Proud and his team offered words of encouragement and advice, making each swimmer feel supported while also having fun.

During the middle of the day Ben spoke to the children about how he prepares himself for races and how he sets goals to achieve his ambitions. They hung on to his every word, soaking up his vast wealth of knowledge and experience. After his presentation, a sea of hand were raised, all desperate to ask the champion swimmer questions.

Everybody involved from the children to Ben Proud himself, had a constant smile on their face throughout the day. The children came away being inspired, hopefully to become future Olympic swimming champions themselves.