What Really Happens at a Teenage Performance Swim Camp

Swimpros runs Europe's most popular performance swim camp right now, and before sending a teenager away for ten days, every parent reasonably wants to know what actually happens hour to hour. Here is the honest walk-through.

I am David Karasek, an Olympian and former Swiss record holder, and I coach the mental side at our camps. So this is what your teenager's ten days really look like.

What a day looks like

It is structured and training-heavy. Teenagers train in the water with coaches on deck for every session, not watching from a distance. Between sessions there is technical work, recovery, and time with the group. This is a performance block that happens to be in a beautiful place, not a holiday with some swimming attached.

The flume channel session

The session swimmers remember most is the one-to-one Flume Channel Video Analysis. The swimmer swims against steady flow and watches themselves frame by frame, seeing exactly what is costing them time, and leaves with a personal fix-list. Swimmers routinely drop 0.5 seconds on a 15m underwater between day one and day ten.

Daily confidence training

Every day I run the mental side: the practical race-day frameworks Olympic medalists use, built for the swimmer who trains great but falls apart at meets. It is hands-on, not theory. Alongside that, teenagers train next to serious peers, and in summer 2026 our Summer Camp 2 also had world-record holders Milorad Čavić and Peter Mankoč as guest coaches.

Parents expect tired, sunburned kids. What surprises them is how much more confident their swimmer sounds on the phone by day four.

Supervision and peace of mind

For ages 13 to 20 we provide 24/7 supervision, secure facilities and certified staff. You can switch off knowing the only thing your teenager has to focus on is their swimming. And it works on the clock: 80 percent of swimmers hit a personal best during the ten days, with the rest within 90 days, guaranteed in writing.

Frequently asked questions