SANTA

 

Dear Santa 2024

Hey Santa I know you and your elves are busy tonight filling your sack and loading the sleigh for the big night.  

If it’s not to late Santa and it doesn’t cause your elf’s

to go into a panic there are a few things I would really appreciate them to pack in the sleigh for the trip.  The things I am looking for may require some special tools that I hope your elves can find laying around the workshop.

Santa, first off this sport is hard because I am always expecting a best time when I race and sometimes it's hard to understand and accept when that doesn't happen.  Although my coach and I talk and he explains that I can have a good race regardless of the time, it's still hard to accept.

So, Santa what I am asking for is to keep my positive attitude and the confidence to keep swimming forward when those tough times challenge me, as I know now they will.  There will be times this year that I will need the extra shot of motivation to hold onto my love for the sport in the bad times.  I promise I will keep training hard focusing on my streamlines, underwater's, turns and racing strategies.  

I would like you to pack the same things for my swimming group because they are my swimming buddies, my 2nd family.

Ne as thing Santa, could you also pack some awesome finishes for my races in 2025.

Thanks Santa and have a great trip tonight.

A MAKO SWIMMER

p.s. I left chocolate milk (good for recovery) with your cookies

HOLIDAY WORKOUTS GOLD

 

If you can’t make our workouts here are a few that you can pick from if you can find a pool.  Our warmups are “the usual” (3x3x3) which are a 300 mixer free/back, 3x100 followed by 3x50.  There is a variety for the.   The intervals can be individually set but don’t afraid to challenge yourself.

WARMUP #1

• 300 mixer (100 free/100 back/100 free) free no breath turns. Back challenge the underwater dolphins.
• 3x100 @2:00 (50 kick/50 swim free to back) little things
• 3x50 free descend to fast @50

WARMUP #2

• 300 mixer free/back by 50’s
• 3x100 @2:00 (25 kick/25 back)
• 3x50 free to back @50 (hold fast tempo on back)

WARMUP #3

• 300 mixer free back by 25’s. Long UW
• 3x100 @1:45 free build (no breath turns)
• 3x50 @1:00 (IMO/FREE)

PRE-SETS (technically focus here)

#1 16x25 breast @35 with fins and body dolphins (fast hand to full extension get to that streamline)

#2 20x25 free @30 fins-paddles-snorkels. 5 rounds of 4 (1st 25 Superman kick. 2nd 25 R HAND LEAD. 3rd 25 L HAND LEAD. 4th 25 fast free race on this one.)

#3 16x25 fly @30 fins add a stroke (start with one stroke finish breast.  When your stroke count gets you to the wall maintain that for the rest of the set

#4 20x25 back @30 fins (1st 25 streamline kick. 2nd 25 R ARM. 3rd 25 L ARM. 4th 25 fast tempo swim.  Pay attention to a deep pull and rotation

SET#1 IM 3 or 4 rounds

• 25 fly @30 (get your head down before arms come around)
• 50 back @1:00 (big UW off turn 2nd 25 faster than first)
• 25 breast @40 (hold your stroke counts)
• 75 free @1:30 no breath off your turns

SET #2 SPRINT (2 ROUNDS)

• 4x50 free @50 no breath off those turns
• Rest 1:00
• 1x200 race pace get heart rate (work that 3rd 50)
• 4x25 @35 (3 breaths)
• Rest 1:00
• 1x100 fast (all out)

SET #3 STROKE

• 8x25 @40 (2sets of 4) 1-3 and 5-7 drill same drill #4&8 build swim
• 2x4x50 @1:00 stroke/free 1-3 #4 all stroke 
• 100 stoke build work that 3rd 25
• Rest 1:00

SET 4 DISTANCE 2 or 3 rounds

• 4x75 @1:30  50 free+25 kick on back
• 3x100 free build work that 3rd 25 (don’t wait) @1:30
• Rest 1:00

HOLIDAY TRAINING FOR SWIMMERS

 

The holidays always presents a challenge for our swimmers, their parents and families, but also the coaches.  We have spent the last 4 months training working on techniques, and getting back into “ championship season”.  We are coming off of three championship meet where you all swam out of your minds with tons of personal bests.  This is not the time that you want to sit back on your laurels and lose your touch with the pool.

This is the time where your training and routines are interrupted and your consistency will be challenged with travel, social gatherings and families in and out of own.  For sure it’s a time to relax (a bit) and reconnect both physically and mentally.  It’s a challenge and it can become a struggle in your heads because you definitely don’t want to lose ground during the holidays.  

Mentally it's better to have a good mindset going into the next two weeks so your not feeling beat up.  It's a good time to bring a positive element with you to your training.  Training hard is only half of the process, the other half is training there right way.  Pick one or two things that you really want to improve in your swimming and make a commitment for the next two weeks and really focus on them during your training.

The holidays are also a time were you can get run down and get sick so stay HYDRATED,  get your proper amount of rest and wash those hands often.  You definitely can't keeping making strides forward if your sick.

Don't forget your GOALS!  This is all part of the training process that will help fuel your success in 2025.

We have moved are practices to late mornings so look at the schedule below and make a plan.  As you can see we have included days away from the pool so be smart when planning

MONDAY 12/23- GOLD /BLUE @11-12:15. 

TUESDAY 12/24- GOLD @9:30-11

SATURDAY 12/28 GOLD /BLUE @9-10:30

TUESDAY 12/31 GOLD /BLUE @9:30-11

THURSDAY 1/2 GOLD @9:30-11

SATURDAY 1/4 GOLD /BLUE @9-10:30

For those of you who might be traveling I will;l post several workouts that you can pick from if you can find a pool.

THE DISQUALIFICATION

 

Yes that dreaded disqualification, a little yellow piece of paper that is signed by the officials and in most cases given to the coach explaining the swimming infraction by the swimmer.  That is the moment that it becomes official whether we like it or not.

This past weekend I had several swimmers maybe 4 or 5 who came back after races and either said they thought they were DQ or asked if they were.  This happens at every meet and the one thing I normally ask is, What makes you think that?   What I’m looking for from the swimmer is a rule infraction that they think they may have had in the race.  The majority of the time the swimmer states they saw a hand raise.  

First thought,  why are you looking at the official ?  This tells me that no matter what you say and think your entire focus is not on YOUR race.  You can say it is but just saying it is doesn’t make it so.  

The stroke and turn judge is watching 2 or more lanes during the race and they make a judgement call on what they see or think they see.  Disqualifications will happen and they happen to swimmers at all levels. As a swimmer the one thing that you can do to reduce them is to focus on the little things (no matter how little you think they are) during your practice and training sessions.  Be aggressive with your turns, pay special attention to good stroke counts, stop floating into your turns especially backstroke, and two hand turns and finishes in breast and fly.

Take the feedback from the coaches from this past weekend, write them down and let’s get back to the pool and really focus on them going into the swim and rock meet and our mid season December championship meets. 

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS

 

When thinking about your goals and it comes down to times you have one constant and that is your time in any event at this moment in time.  Remember you need to have SMART GOALS and they must be RELEVANT to you.  You can't set goals that pertain to times based on other swimmers or things that are outside your control.

For our purpose we are going to base everything on one event (you can use any event) the 100 free.  In today's world people, swimmers not immune expect instant positive results and have a real problem when faced with conflict and for swimmers it's the time on the scoreboard.

Sometimes when you look up it's like getting smacked in the face, it stings but it's not the end of the world.  Is there a way that you can avoid that moment, I think YES and it comes down to managing your expectations depending on where YOU are in the process.

Think about setting upper and lower expectations when setting goals based on times in addition to your SMART goals.  When you do this you are creating a situation where it's all or nothing.  The goal is still important but you also allow yourself to think bigger and also give yourself a reality check.  

Now let's take an example such as the 100 free:

• Your time at the moment: 1:03:99
• Bare Minimum:  1:03:50
• Smart Goal:  1:01:99
• Stretch Target:  1:00:99

In this example if everything goes right you are slipping under 1:01:00 and that in itself would be amazing but if you don't get there it's not disaster because you have some other goals that are achievable.  Set some reasonable goals for yourself and at the same time don't be afraid to set a stretch target and you need to WRITE them down in your journal or they become meaningless.

Now is the time to sit down and put pencil to paper and figure out what your dreams and goals are for this season before we get into SWIM and ROCK and the DECEMBER MID CHAMP MEET. Be Honest with where you are in the process when thinking about this.  There are many things that will affect the results that happen outside the pool such as; health, nutrition, hydration, sleep habits.  Are you making your training sessions consistently or are you in and out.  When you are at your training session, are you there both physically and mentally and doing what will make YOU a better person and swimmer   It's not to late to do it, SO DO IT NOW and make it happen.

ELECTION DAY

 

So, today is Election Day and although you may still be to young to cast a ballot, I’m sure you will enjoy your day off from school and welcome Wednesday morning will bring an end to all the news surrounding the election.

PRE-COMPETITION ROUTINE:  

Do you have a routine that steady you and eases your anxiety?  Watching and talking to some of you at the last meet I sensed your anxiety and the fact that mentally we failed to prepare.  First of all, it's not the end of the world and it is something that we can work on.  Having those feelings does not make you a bad swimmer, it's just another step in the process that you have to commit to working on.  It's as important as the time you put into your time in the pool.

First step is to think back to that one or two times when you had incredible races and start working backwards.  Journals are great for these exercises.  Think back to that dyad write down short notes to yourself of what you did leading up to those races.  What did you eat?  What was your warmup like

?  What were your thoughts leading up to the race?  Don't over think this basic step.  Just write down what comes to mind.  Maybe even draw a line down the middle and lable them ass positive/negative and that way you are aware of things that help you and things that get in your way.

This is a true and tested way of preparing mentally.that is part of the process that just may lead to that spectacular swim.

How well do you know your history?  Our first three Vice Presidents were chosen by the electoral college and was changed when the 12th amendment to our constitution was passed.  There was a time when the electoral college voted for two candidates with the candidate receiving the majority becoming president and the second place candidate becoming the vice president.  It worked well for George Washington and John Adams, however during the 1797 election the winner and runner up were from opposite parties.  This was the only time in US HISTORY that the president and vice president were from opposing parties.  The 1800 election ended in a tie between Jefferson and Aron Burr which took 36 votes to break, and so before the 1804 election the 12 amendment to the constitution was adopted and passed.

Can you imagine what today might look like without the 12th amendment?

TALKING BACKSTROKE

 

Over the last couple of weeks we have spent a lot of time working on our backstroke.  We have covered a wide range of topics with this long axis stroke starting of course with our STREAMLINES and UNDERWATER DOLPHIN KICKS, to the breakout, the catch, the rotation and finally the kick.

First off for all you Air Hogs out there you get to swim this stroke with your face out of the water so enjoy breathing.

The first and most important thing we talked about was your body position and how that begins up top with your head and how important it is to hold your head still an d looking straight up.  this allows you to keep your hips in alignment and high in the water.  If your constantly changing the position of your head your hips start riding that "rollercoaster" creating a lot of drag decreasing efficiency and making you swim slower.

THE CATCH and PULL: We begin the pull with your hand exiting the water thumb-first keeping your arm straight and slowly rotating the body setting up the catch with the pinky entering first.  We talked about the clock and how we wasn't to make the catch at the 11 and 1 on the clock. We don't want to enter at the 12. notice the picture on the right.  The pull feels similar to a high-elbow freestyle pull. 

THE KICK:  Think SHORT and FAST here.  Kick is driven from the hips not the knees.  Toes are pointed and legs not too wide. Smaller and faster kicks will produce more speed.  Too slow or no kick and your hips drop creating drag and slower times.

ROTATION: With a small rotation on the catch you reduce shoulder drag and resistance, but be careful not to rotate too much (a little less than in free).  Remember Humans are not made to swim in the water efficiently so we are looking for ways to decrease drag and resistance at every opportunity.  This should be your focus during training.  It may take time but eventually it will produce speed and power.  Notice the rotation in the first picture.

TEMPO: Fast backstroke comes down to arm speed and that is challenging for young swimmers because it's hare and uncomfortable, so again we have to work on becoming uncomfortable if we want to swim fast.

FUN FACT

Half of the American population does not know how to swim