What to Expect From Your First Swim Squad Session

If you’ve ever hovered over the “book now” button and hesitated, you’re not alone.
For a lot of adults, joining a swim squad brings up the same questions: Will I be the slowest? Will I hold people up? Will I even understand what’s going on?

Those concerns are completely normal. Most people walking onto poolside for the first time feel exactly the same way. This post is here to remove the guesswork and give you a clear picture of what actually happens in your first swim squad session at TCC.

Who Swim Squads Are Actually For

Swim squads aren’t just for fast swimmers or former club athletes. At TCC, our swim sessions are built primarily for adult triathletes and adult swimmers who want to improve with structure and coaching.

That includes:

• People returning to swimming after years away

• Triathletes who feel swimming is their weakest discipline

• Athletes who can “get up and down” but want to swim better, not just harder

You don’t need perfect technique. You don’t need to be fast. You just need to be open to learning and turning up consistently.

If you can swim continuously for a short distance and are willing to follow simple instructions, you’ll fit in.

How a Typical TCC Swim Session Is Structured

Every coached swim session follows a clear structure. There’s a reason for each part, and nothing is random.

Warm-up
This isn’t just easy swimming for the sake of it. The warm-up prepares your body for the session and gives the coach a chance to observe how you’re moving in the water that day.

Technique or skill focus
This is where most of the learning happens. You’ll work on a specific element of your stroke using simple, repeatable drills. The aim is clarity, not overload. One or two key points, reinforced properly.

Main set
The main set has a purpose. It might reinforce the technical focus, build aerobic fitness, or help you apply skills under a bit of pressure. You’ll always know why you’re doing it.

Cool-down or reflection
Some sessions finish with easy swimming, others with a short pause to reflect on what you’ve worked on. Either way, you leave knowing what the focus was and what you’re trying to improve next time.

Throughout the session, the coach is on poolside giving feedback, adjusting sets, and supporting each lane.

How Lanes and Ability Levels Work

Lane allocation is one of the biggest worries people have, and it’s also one of the simplest things to manage.

Lanes are grouped by similar ability and pace, not by labels like “good” or “bad”. You’ll be guided into a lane that allows you to swim comfortably without pressure.

Lanes are not fixed. If something doesn’t feel right, it can be adjusted. As you improve, you may move lanes over time. That’s normal and expected.

There’s no judgement attached to lane choice. The goal is to help you train effectively, not compare you to others.

What You Don’t Need to Worry About

There are a few things you can leave at the door.

You don’t need:

• To be fast

• To own expensive kit

• To know swimming terminology

• To keep up with anyone else

You won’t be singled out or put on the spot. Everyone is focused on their own swimming, and most people are far more concerned with their own breathing and stroke than watching anyone else.

If you’re unsure about something, you ask. That’s part of coached group swim training.

What You’ll Actually Gain From Your First Session

Most people leave their first session feeling more settled than they expected.

You’ll gain:

• Confidence, simply from knowing what to expect

• Clarity, because the session has a clear focus

• Structure, rather than guessing what to swim

• Belonging, because you realise you’re not the only one figuring this out

You may not feel instantly fitter or faster after one session, and that’s fine. The real value is understanding what you’re working on and how future sessions will build on it.

Progress comes from stacking good sessions over time.

Final Reassurance & Next Step

Your first swim squad session isn’t a test. It’s not an assessment. It’s the starting point.

If you’ve been thinking about joining but weren’t sure what to expect, hopefully this gives you a clearer picture. The best way to understand it fully is still to experience it for yourself.

If you’re curious, come along and try a session. Turn up, swim, learn, and see how it feels.