Our Squads

Our Club proudly caters for swimmers of all abilities, with all different sorts of goals. Our Coaches have the skills to be able to take a swimmer from transition from Learn to Swim programs all the way to competitive success at the State and National level. It's a long journey, but a journey we think is really worth taking.

The squad structure of the Bendigo Hawks is inclusive and enables the movement of swimmers across groups aligned to goals, availability, and motivation. The coaching team actively assesses swimmers each month and commits to working with swimmers and families to achieve aquatic excellence and sustainability.

You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.

• Hatchlings SquadThe Hatchlings Squad provides a supportive and encouraging environment to swimmers joining a club environment from a learn to swim program. Swimmers here are exposed to a fun learning environment that fosters a sense of community and connection.

  At each session, there are activities to help everyone to get to know each other and practice being supportive teammates. The focus for these sessions is foundational stroke technique, body movement through the water, and breathing. For some swimmers, this is where they begin to learn aspects of the more technical strokes, Breaststroke and Butterfly, for the first time.

  Swimmers are provided with an opportunity to participate in time trails to build exposure to competition in a supportive club setting.

• Sparrowhawks Squad The Sparrowhawks Squad provides an introduction to competitive swimming and aims to further develop the technical skills gained in the Hatchling Squad or other swim school squads. Each session aims to develop technique across all strokes in addition to race skills covering turns, dives, breakouts.

  Swimmers build their knowledge on the technical swimming terms and knowledge, stroke development, and fitness learning to equate effort to outcomes.

  For most swimmers in this squad, this will be their first exposure to competitive swimming in a club environment. Swimmers will be provided with an opportunity to explore competition through active participation in time trials and encouragement to participate in local meets, with support from our club, families, and coaches.

• Falcons Squad The Falcons Squad builds on the foundations in the Sparrowhawk Squad across technique and fitness seeing swimmers focused on increasing their competition race distance and speed across all strokes.

  Our sessions focus on a mixture of technical swimming, race skills, and endurance working with swimmers to create goals and focus for their training aligned to performance and personal best. Swimmers in this squad will be introduced to a mixture of drills, tools, and equipment designed to challenge and enhance performance in the water so strong foundational skills are required for all strokes.

  Swimmers and care givers in this squad will need to be actively involved in local competition in addition to club Time Trials where dedicated coaching support can be provided. Swimmers in this squad will also be encouraged to actively participate in district and targeted meets.

• Hawks Navy Squad The Hawks Navy Squad provides swimmers with an opportunity to realise competitive goals with an active focus on the achievement of Country Championships qualifying times.

  Swimmers in this squad work actively with the coaching team to identify and commit to performance goals with the sessions designed to drive personal accountability, autonomy, and technical skills to realise success. Our coaching team actively work with swimmers to enable them to critically analyse their technique, body position and race craft to achieve performance outcomes.

  This squad requires a focus on supportive fitness practices which include pre-training activation and dryland training to compliment the in-water program. Equally swimmers and families will be actively involved in district competition.

• Hawks Gold Squad The Hawks Gold Squad represents the peak of performance within the club where swimmers are seasoned competitors having achieved State qualifying times.

  The sessions follow a seasonal plan that is tailored to the achievement of outcomes targeted to key meets and milestones in the year. Our coaches work across the physical and psychological pressures of a competitive environment to ensure swimmers thrive focusing on next race mentality.

  Our Hawks Gold swimmers as seasoned competitors take a leadership role within the club supporting and guiding our other swimmers at meets and being role models on deck.