Millie Conner: The Remarkable Journey of an 11-Year-Old Rising Star

Special Sets: The Training of Up-and-Coming 11-Year-Old Star Millie Conner

It’s still early on. Nevertheless, that doesn’t prevent 11-year-old Millie Conner from envisioning her swimming journey. She has it all laid out in the 30-40 swimming logs she maintains, “filled with notes, timings and personal objectives, diagrams, and reflections on each competition she participates in,” her father, Nick, explains. One goal includes competing at the University of Virginia, while another is to achieve Olympic status.

Ambitious dreams? Certainly, but as of mid-December, she has the credentials to pursue those ambitions. Take into account that she is presently the fastest 11-year-old in the United States for the SCY 50 fly (27.20). She holds second place in both the 50 free (25.35) and the 50 back (28.63), fourth in the 100 back (1:02.26), and fifth in the 200 back (2:15.17). Furthermore, she is ranked eighth in the 200 IM (2:19.53) and ninth in the 100 fly (1:02.56). Millie also has six additional top-15 times and boasts 15 Team Greenville records.

Adding to her accomplishments, she leads the nation among 11-year-olds in USA Swimming’s combined IMX and IMR scores with a total of 7,962 points across its 10 designated events.

Something Unique

Courtesy: Nick Conner

Millie is homeschooled and also identifies as being on the autistic spectrum, which partially explains her intense focus. “She views that as her superpower rather than an obstacle and is wholeheartedly embracing the challenges that accompany it,” her father remarks. “Physically, she exhibits a distinct body composition that is uncommon for a girl her age, with particularly long athletic arms and shorter legs, allowing her to be highly explosive like an NFL linebacker. Her kicks are swift and powerful, and she excels at holding her breath,” he adds.

“Millie is an outstanding athlete embodying strength, endurance, and agility,” states Team Greenville head coach Karl Kozicki. “Her dedication to her abilities is fueled by an inner passion to excel. As a competitor, she flourishes in racing against the elite and challenges herself to push her limits. She has been part of Team Greenville for almost six years, starting from our developmental group. She now trains and competes excellently within our high-performance program. Our approach is centered around proper stroke mechanics and age-suitable aerobic and anaerobic conditioning. Additionally, athletes are instilled with character-building skills such as dedication and resilience to manage the pressures of competition,” he explains.

Beyond her intrinsic motivation, Millie has greatly benefitted from her U-10 years with Team Greenville coach Danyelle Parker, as well as her earlier association with her current coach Lorin Collins. “Millie functions on a different frequency compared to her peers,” remarks Collins. “She grasps the complete concept of what we are instructing, while most children concentrate on isolated tasks. She also has an exceptional innate feel for the water and is more attuned to nuances and subtle adjustments in strokes. Millie possesses an understanding of physical feedback that many don’t acquire until their mid-teen years.

“She is one of those kids who truly loves swimming. It represents a serene part of her day,” comments Collins. “It’s ‘I immerse my face in the water, silence my thoughts and distractions, and solely concentrate on swimming for two hours.’ Millie is simply passionate about swimming, dedicated to the process, and relishing what she is doing.”

Going Above and Beyond

Far from merely completing laps, Millie enhances her pool training with dryland exercises and participation in various developmental strength programs. This year at Team Greenville, her squad has initiated a focused dryland regimen with SwimStrong. “My training group is concentrating on building core strength, coordination, and acquiring fundamental strength training techniques. These components comprise push-ups, pull-ups, balance drills, jumping and bounding exercises, along with diverse core workouts. Millie has responded exceptionally well thus far. Her form and strength have shown significant improvement and are translating effectively into the water,” explains Collins.

“This season our focus is to refine the intricacies of race strategy, such as when to take a breath, keeping the head down for finishes, and determining the optimal number of kicks off the walls for specific events. The objective is to embed these habits into her racing so that they become instinctive.

“Millie excels in communicating and applying feedback during her races. Her intensity during challenging sets and competitions is a major factor behind her accomplishments,” states Collins. And those achievements are remarkable, including winning all seven individual (and two relay) events while securing nine first places in February’s South Carolina Age Group Championships.

In addition to her dryland training at Team Greenville, Millie trains four days a week with Tanner Pittman at 11.11 Elite Athlete Training. The focus there is on strength, explosive movement development, and injury prevention. She also attends Greenville Spine for specific core training.

Another notable feature of Millie Conner is her readiness to embrace…of diligent effort. “Swimming and competition is what she is passionate about and would do whatever is asked of her to maintain her progressive trajectory,” remarks Collins. “We often tease that Millie excels simply because she is Millie. Her character as an individual is the reason behind her achievements. Swimming is an arduous sport to cherish and frequently unyielding. It requires a remarkable athlete to meet their coach’s standards, possessing the consistency and focus/commitment demanded during practice.”

Select Millie Conner Sets

Saturday, October 12

Warmup

12 x 75 scull/drill/build @ 1:30. IMO 3x

16 x 50 fins; 8 kicks each wall. Sufficient break. Odd – free; even alternate fly/back

Main set

1 x 75 – 50 swim off block; 25 all out kick with board

25 easy kick

100 easy

4 x 50 fly smooth on :60

3 x 100: 25 fly burst 75 back smooth on 2:00

2 x 150 back: build kick on 2:45

3 x 100: 50 back/50 breast on 2:00

2 x 150 breast: build tempo on 3:00

2 x 175 – 50 breast/75 free build/ 50 breast on 3:00

1:00 break fins and paddles

6 x 25 free burst @ :30

100 easy

6 x 50 DD/DA back on 1:10

Wednesday, October 16

8 x 100 on 1:45 with snorkel

Right fin, left paddle

Left fin, right paddle

Both

None

8 x 75 drill/build/kick on 1:30 – 2 of each

Kick pyramid

AB

50 :50 1:00

100 1:45 2:00

150 2:35 3:00

200 3:30 4:00

100 Easy

4 x 200 on 3:00/3:15 (IM) b; completed 150 at 80%; 50 burst — held 2:35

4 x 150 on 2:30 (free); completed 150 at 80%; 50 burst — held 1:45

4 x 100 on 1:00; 1:50 if IM; 50 completed 90%; 50 burst — held 1:10

4 x 50 on 1:10, all burst P1 Butterfly — held :32

Saturday, October 26

Warmup

12 x 50 fins/paddles on 1:00; completed 25 scull/25 swim all choice flutter kick breast

8 x 100 on 1:50; completed 25 kick/25 swim/25 drill/25 swim; 2 of each

Main set

16 x 50 kick

4 on :60; 4 on :55; 4 on :50; 4 on :45

100 easy

4 x 200 free on 3:15 maintain 1 and 2; descend 3 and 4

1 x 50 all out kick on :60

4 x 200; maintain 75 free/build 50 IMO/maintain 75 free on 3:15

1 x 50 all out kick on :60

4 x 200 IM on 3:15 negative split concentrating on turns and underwaters

1 x 50 all out kick on :60

100 rest

200 IM all out off the block in heats

200 warmdown

Monday, November 11

Warmup 

300 mix

16 x 50 drill/swim on :60 (4 0f each)

Turn work

Main set

12 x 75 on 1:30 completed 50 build swim/25 burst kick; odd free, even choice

100 easy

3 x 200 on 3:00/3:15/3:30   held 2:20

2 x 300 on 4:30/4:50/5:20   held 3:30

1 x 500 on 7:30/8:05/8:45   held 5:59

500 rest/recover

1000 for time —  completed 12:06

Warmdown – swim by feel

“I take pride in Millie as she has demonstrated the capability to conquer obstacles and difficulties to attain her present level. Her future is promising. We will be patient, as we are with others, and guide her through our system optimizing growth at each phase,” states Kozicki. “Millie appreciates her teammates and recognizes that boosting them enhances her performance as well. Her parents have been encouraging of the journey, and comprehend that the coaching staff has her welfare at heart. This triangle of athlete, coach, and parent has fostered a composed fierce competitor,” he notes.