The Riptide Experience

Thanks for your interest in the Riptide Swim Team! We’re pleased to share with you what we call “The Riptide Experience.” Riptide isn’t your typical USA Swimming Team. We place tremendous emphasis on providing a coordinated, full suite of services to support each family and their swimmer’s developmental process. Here’s how:

Bluewater Aquatic Center – Riptide swimmers have two, beautifully maintained, 25-yard pools all to themselves. We provide CLEAN, UV filtered water at an ideal temperature and chemical balance for training.  Riptide swimmers benefit from consistent access to 15 practice lanes. We have more private water, 100% of the time, than any other club in the state!

Riptide Senior Elite - The upper echelon of our training groups, Senior Elite, is led by ASCA Hall of Fame Coach and the 2019 USA Swimming and ASCA Swimming Coach of the Year - Head Coach Mike Parratto. Over Mike's 40 plus year career, he has coached Olympic Gold Medalist Jenny Thompson and Olympic Medalist Regan Smith as well as numerous USA National and USA National Junior Team swimmers. Mike is a USA Swimming National Team Coach, a 2018 Pan Pacific Championships Assistant Coach and a 2017 Junior World Championships Coach and is widely considered to be one of the best club coaches in the country.

The Riptide Development Process – The Riptide coaching staff takes great pride in the application of a consistent, structured progression plan for every Riptide practice group. Our swimmers learn proper, detailed stroke technique BEFORE eventually being transitioned into higher-intensity training environments. This patient approach results in fewer injuries and far fewer swimmers forced to “unlearn” inefficient and ineffective technique engrained as a result of tens of thousands of yards doing things wrong! We want swimmers to LOVE the sport and we value a patient, proven development process to ensure each swimmer has the best opportunity to improve as they progress through their years of swimming. Our coaching approach assures that our staff is “on the same page” when it comes to your swimmer’s development. At Riptide, EVERY swimmer matters!

Dryland Strength & Conditioning – Being your best IN the pool requires a great strength and conditioning program OUT of the pool. Coach Mike is very proud of his long history of strong, injury-free swimmers.  We emphasize a quality strength and conditioning program beginning in our novice practice groups. We build strong shoulders, a solid core, muscle flexibility, enhanced range of motion and a dedication to great stroke technique. This formula makes Riptide swimmers far more immune to the overuse injuries that plague other clubs. Riptide dryland practices are consistent, professional and expertly supervised to ensure your swimmer gets the dryland advantages they deserve.

Private Lessons - Riptide’s expert coaching staff is available to provide private lessons support to all swimmers. It’s important that our families understand we believe your swimmer should be getting the feedback and attention they deserve in every practice. However, we know some swimmers want more than we can provide in a typical practice environment. We, therefore, offer access to our full staff of coaches for private lessons. You may book 30, 45 or 60-minute sessions with any coach you’d like. Want more time with your daily coach? No problem. Prefer a fresh perspective from a different coach? It’s our pleasure. We can address stroke technique, work on starts, discuss racing strategy for the big meet, etc. We’ll address whatever is on your mind.

Clinics Series – Our Elite-Performance Clinics are offered multiple times per year. Each clinic addresses a specific stroke, start, or turn technique with emphasis on key learning points and in-water drills. Customer feedback is outstanding! We encourage you to check-out a clinic sometime soon.

Parent Training & Orientation – We know that, for many of our newer families, the world of competitive swimming can be somewhat overwhelming. We want you to feel at home…to feel confident that you know the “lay of the land” and have a working knowledge of what to expect going forward. Whether understanding the world of swim meets (MAC, MRC, Championship, etc.) the maze of “time standards” (Bronze, Silver, Gold, CH, Zone, Junior Nationals, Senior Nationals etc.), this thing called “taper” or your volunteer commitments and what in the world it means to be a lane timer, we have you covered.

Professional Administrative Support – Do you like your questions and concerns addressed in a timely, professional manner? Riptide has a full-time team dedicated to making sure your experience with Riptide is exceptional.

We’re proud of what we’ve built and continue to build. In only ten short years, we’ve become the largest USA Swimming Team in Minnesota. Riptide swimmers are proving to be a FORCE across the Twin Cities, the State, the Central Zone, the USA and the world! Want specifics?

  1. Riptide earned the prestigious USA Swimming Silver Medal Club Excellence Award for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022.
  1. Riptide's Regan Smith ("The Riptide Rocket")  is a five-time USA Swimming National Team member. Regan is a three-time Olympic medalist at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. She was a Silver medalist in the 200 meter butterfly, a Bronze Medalist in the 100 meter backstroke and a Silver Medal winner with the Women’s 4 x 100 Medley Relay. Regan is the 2019 FINA World Champion & Gold Medalist in the 200 meter backstroke while setting the World Record in that event. Additionally, she holds the World Junior Records in the 100 & 200 meter backstroke events. Regan was a member of the Women’s 4x100 Medley Relay (Smith/King/Dahlia/Manuel) that set the World Record in that event at the 2019 World Championships.

Additional accomplishments include:

  • American Record Holder in the Women’s 200 yard backstroke
  • 2019 National Champion in the 200 meter butterfly
  • 2018 National Champion in the 200 meter backstroke
  • Bronze Medalist at 2018 Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo in the 200 meter backstroke
  • 2017 FINA World Championship Finalist in the 200 meter backstroke
  • 2017 FINA Junior World Championship double-gold medalist in 100 and 200 meter backstroke
  • Holds numerous USA Swimming National Age Group Records in both yards and meters.
  1. Riptide sent eight Senior Elite swimmers to the USA Swimming Junior Nationals Meet in August of 2021 placing 11th in the combined scoring.
  2. Riptide sent eight Senior Elite swimmers to the USA Swimming Speedo Junior Nationals Meet in December of 2018 placing 15th in the women’s team scoring.
  3. Riptide sent 14 swimmers to the 2018 USA Swimming Speedo Sectional Meet in Akron, OH and won the Women’s Team Championship.
  4. Riptide sent 15 swimmers to the 2019 USA Swimming Speedo Sectionals Meet in Cary, NC and captured 4th place overall.
  5. Riptide won Senior State Championships in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022 short and long course seasons
  6. Riptide finished 3rd at the 2022 Long Course Age Group State Championships.

 

The future is bright for Riptide. We know that picking the “right” team for your swimmer is a big decision. We take your swimmer’s future very seriously and are committed to operating the best swim program available. Come join the Riptide Family…let’s get your swimmer on the fast track to excellence!

About Riptide

The Riptide Swim Team, a USA Swimming 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022 Silver Medal Club, is Minnesota’s largest swim team. Riptide is based in Apple Valley, MN and trains as the sole tenant of the beautiful Bluewater Aquatic Center. Since its inception in 2012, Riptide has grown to more than 575 USA Swimming registered athletes. Riptide swimmers participate in competitions ranging from novice meets up to the 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea and the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.