The Swimming Triangle: A Holistic Approach to Competitive Swimming
Nick Baker has been involved in the great sport of competitive swimming since 1961. He swam competitively for eleven years, coached club for twenty-one years, and has coached swim camps exclusively for the past eighteen years. He started his coaching career in Canada in 1972, then moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, in 1993 to operate a swim camp there. In 1995 Nick published 101 Winning Ways, a motivational book for competitive swimmers. The material for the book came from observing the winning ways of successful swimmers he coached. Nick cofounded the original Peak Performance Swim Camp in 1996. In 2005 he branched out on his own and founded the present-day version. Since then Nick has traveled throughout the United States and abroad, conducting his holistic camps and clinics. Past international locations include: Antigua, Aruba, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, China, Curacao, England, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, and Venezuela. Past US locations include: Alabama, Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Peak Performance Swim Camp currently offers more than two dozen swim camps and clinics annually including clinics for triathletes and master swimmers. More than 800 swimmers from over 30 countries participated in 2011. Private coaching as well as start, stroke, and turn video analysis are also available throughout the year. In 2007 Nick formed a dynamic partnership with US Sports/ Nike Camps, America’s largest sports camp network and official operator of Nike Sports Camps worldwide. Over the past thirty-nine years Nick has coached swimmers of all ages and abilities, including Olympic finalists, Olympic trial qualifiers, NCAA champions, senior national champions, junior national champions, state champions, national qualifiers, junior national qualifiers, zone champions, and junior Olympic champions. In 1992 one of Nick’s former swimmers, Lisa Flood, qualified for the 1992 Canadian Olympic team in the 100 BR, placing fourteenth overall. Nick attended the Olympics with Lisa as her personal coach. Nick has been a featured writer in Swimming World magazine and presented at numerous coaching clinics throughout the world. He also acts as a consultant to various swim teams including the Greenwich YMCA in Greenwich, Connecticut.