Swim Groups

The Kona Dolphins Swim Club offers training and practice groups for swimmers of all ages and ability levels. It is the goal of the Kona Dolphins Swim Club to offer age specific training for all of our athletes geared towards challenging each individual and developing each individual to the best of THEIR abilities.

We divide our swimmers into three groups based on age and ability. They are the Spinner Dolphins, the Spotted Dolphins, and the Racer Dolphins. Practice times are different for each group and are set forth below. This schedule is designed so that all of our swimmers will receive the attention and coaching they need to progress to higher levels.

Our Head Coach places each new swimmer in a specific group. He will move that swimmer up into a more advanced group when he thinks that he or she is ready. To be eligible to move up to the next group, a swimmer must have a good attendance record for a period of at least six months and be able to finish a whole practice session.

Once your child is assigned to a group, please remember on which days and at what time your child is scheduled to swim.

Please call us to schedule a tryout or click here to send us an email request for more information. 

Spinner Dolphins: Ages 7-11

These are our youngest beginner swimmers. A swimmer in this group should be able to swim 25 yards unassisted. Swimmers learn freestlye and backstroke technique, and skill aquisition is the primary focus. As swimmers in this group progress they are taught all four strokes (freestyle, ackstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly). Swimmers develop stroke and technique through drills, games, and demonstrations.Before leaving this group they learn competitive skills such as starts and turns and the ruled of competitive swimming.

Spinner Dolphins practice on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 3:00pm to 4:00pm. We recommend two to three practices per week. more is not better in every instance. Younger swimmers progress best at their own pace. As they move through the program over several years, we ask them to become more dedicated to swimming.

Spotted Dolphins: Ages 11 and up


Technique and skill development are still the major focus for the swimmers in this group, along with developing a sound aerobic base. There is an increasing emphasis toward a competing on a regular basis. Our training is meant to prepare swimmers for State, Zones, and Sectional level of competition.

Spotted Dolphinspractice Mondays, Tuesdays,  Thursdays, and Fridays from 4:00pm-6:00pm and from 3:00pm-4:00pm on Wednesdays and Holidays. We recommend at least four practices per week. Attendance, quality of workout and attitude will be used to determine advancement to the next group.

Racer Dolphins: Ages 11 and up

Racer Dolphins are the top training group in our program. This is a serious training group for motivated and committed swimmers who want to pursue National and International competitions. Dry land training and longer workouts give these swimmers ample opportunity to improve thier skills, aeropbic capabliity, strength, and conditioning.

The Racer Dolphins practice dry land crosstraining from 4:30pm to 5:00pm and swim training from 5:00pm-6:30pm  Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays and from 4:00pm to 6:00pm on Wednesday and Holidays. Attendance is a must and we encourage our Racer Dolphins to be at practice five days a week.

We also have occasional  "powow" sessions in which we have informal discussions on diverse topics (ie., nutrition, academics, family, goal setting, respect for others and community, etc.). We often stress the importance of education and make sure the children make it a priority in their daily routines. The "powows" are nomally held prior to practice and also serve to strengthen and further develop the bonds/relationships between swimmers themselves, as well as with their  parents, teachers,coaches, and elders.

With each of our groups, we emphasize good deck and pool behavior, a positive attitude toward swimming, and strong workout habits. Good attendance (appropriate to the swimmer’s group) and punctuality are also expected. If a swimmer is unable to meet these objectives, he or she may be asked to leavea practive for the day or a longer period.

Novice Swimmers

We only will accept a child in our Club who will be seven years old in the year he or she joins. Coach Harry will, however, have the discretion to accept a younger child who, in his view, shows maturity and advanced swimming abilities.

When your swimmer joins, he or she receives a free Kona Dolphin silicone team swim cap.