HOW ARE YOU GOING TO FINISH?

 WEEK AHEAD: All of the groups will have normal practice at their normal times through Wednesday March 5th.  George Mason will be hosting Junior/Senior Champs for Potomac Valley starting Thursday March 6 thru Sunday March 9.  Because of this our groups will not have practice on those days.  We are trying to work out so that the Senior Prep/Junior Gold may practice Thursday March 7 from 5:15-6:15 in the morning.  We are also trying to get space Saturday March 8th at Audrey Moore in the morning from 6:30 to7:45. The Junior Blue group will practice from 7:45 to 8:45. Please plan according.  Also please understand that there are many championship meets for all ages coming up and it will affect many facilities rentals.

CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON:  We  are now 5 DAYS away from Junior/Senior Champs, 12 DAYS out from JO's and 21 DAYS away from the MAKO SPRING CHAMPS MEET.  During these meets how will YOU  finish this short course season?  Some things to remember:

• school work caught up and done early
• eating proper fuels (HIGH GRADE OCTANE FOR THE MACHINE)
• practice the way you want to race (perfect strokes/ crisp turns, and fast)
• HYDRATE! FLUIDS! WATER! WATER! WATER! (NO SODAS)
• Start resting especially those LEGS a week out (don't be running around soccer fields or basketball courts the days before the meets)  plan now!  
• Talk to your other coaches now!  Explain the meet to them.  No surprises!

Some of you asked for another video, so after much research here is one that fits into where we are in our season.  Enjoy it and think about it.

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CHAMPIONSHIP TIME WHAT IS A TAPER?

The crazy season is upon us, and you know how I know, well just take a moment and look around you, the coaches are wound maybe a little tighter, swimmers have a little more urgency about them (even though this should have started on day one), and parents well I won't  even go there (I know better).  As I step back and watch the entire process  unfold it reminds me of what a pack of bears must be like in the spring after their long winter nap, a little anxious, a lot of energy, and very hungry for anything.  I just hope we all remember that we are all teammates and you have been great at supporting each other all year, so let's keep the "DRAMA" to a minimum.

I really know it's that other time of year because the other day as I was in a store designing our JO cap a mother was there with her very small 9 year old daughter trying on "speed suits".  They really don't make them for her size and the one she had on looked like it was going to swallow  her up like one of those bears. Now guys you know I couldn't pass up a situation like that (Probably should have).  All I said was that she would be better off in her team suit only size it down some so it doesn't fill up with water.  Of course I added that the girls father would be happy with the money they saved.  All I heard was was something like What does he know?  as my daughter is trying not to laugh.

Parents just relax and let them go and enjoy this part of the year.

We all know now what championship meet you will be swimming in, and no matter which one you find yourself in I am proud of you all.  This past week I reviewed all of your goal sheets to see how we are doing going into these meets.  For the most part all of you have either met your goals, surpassed them, or they are so near that all you have to do is reach out and grab them.

OUR  2014 JO SWIMMERS
Faith Alston, Alex Aung, Luke Baird, Pierce Beima, Justin Brady, Kevin Carchia, Kyle Cassidy, Kent Codding, Marcelo Coray, Tripp Crowe, Alexa Cuomo, Parker D'Alessandro, Maggie Deppe Walker, Jessica Dickinson, Emily Drakopoulos, Sidoni Erickson, Graham Evers, Natalle Farello, Helen Geddes, Gillian Goodiel, Ellas Griffin, Anthony Grimm, Andrew Hale, Matthew Hartshorn, Sophia Hartshorn, Samanth Haynie, Katherine Helms, Allison Hickey, Audrey Hunter, Ava Jones, Peter Jones, Katie Karlinchak, Claire Kathman, Jackson Knouse, Sofia Krstolic, Gabriella Kuehhas, Allyson Lerke, Catherine Lim, Fletcher Madsen,  Peter Makin, Alexandra Martschenko, William McLaury, Merdith Millard, Eleanor Monnig, Caroline Murphy, Marybeth Meyers, Richard Meyers,Timothy Petty, Jacob Robinette, Lauren Royce, Aleigha Scherber, Justin Singletary, Elena Summers, Kai Taft, Nicholas Thliveris, Ian Vollmer, Andrew Yang, Julia Young, Lauren Young, Michael Zhang
 
 Congratulations to all of you from the coaches!

'TAPER OR NOT"

Some of you have been asking me about a taper and I wonder if you really know what a taper is and what is involved.  Everyone has their own views on what a good taper should involve, but one thing is for sure, a good taper can vary from team to team and can vary from individual swimmers within each group of a team. Normally a swimmer may do one or two tapers within a season, but a problem now is that swimmers or the parents do there own tapers all year long, although the intentions are well the results can be disastrous for the swimmer. They may skip a workout because there is a meet the following day, or they may skip a morning practice because of a meet the previous night.  They my have sleep overs a weekend or two before the "BIG MEET". Allowing the swimmer to miss a practice or sleep in, will interrupt their body internal clocks and their work/rest rhythms leaving them feeling flat, tired, and lethargic.  Allowing them to sleep later in the morning will normally result in the swimmer waking up at the same time, and not being able to go back to sleep, and they will stay up later knowing they get to sleep in.

For our purposes I will explain how a "TAPER" fits  into our training cycle for the groups.  Let's take the JUNIOR BLUE GROUP who swim 2 to 3 days a week for 2-3 hours.  This group does not have the number of training sessions, nor do they do the amount of yardage where a taper would be useful.  In fact if I gave this group a taper I would set them back.  They will already be rested for their meets.  The next group is a little different but not much.  The JUNIOR GOLD GROUP  swims 3 days a week for a total of 4  hours, and there may be a few who pick up an extra day which increases the time in the water to 5.5 hours.  Although this group does more yardage it still does not approach the amount where a taper will be of any benefit.  Our next group is the SENIOR PREP where a taper begins to enter within the training cycle.

When looking at this I need to figure out the best taper (practices that provide excellent technique, with a lot of speed and adequate rest), and to design it so that the swimmer has the best chance to be peaking (performing at your best at a specific meet/time) so they may reach their goal.  Again although the yardage is much higher a taper of more than a day or two is not necessary.  At this age I start looking at the events swimmers are doing along with the number of events and the days of the meet.  I look at the body types within the group also, as the more muscles the more rest that is needed.  A big mistake a swimmer makes at this level is to rest too much too soon.  For example Julia and Audrey have there big events on Sunday and it's a 200 back so  for them to start resting before Friday would be a mistake.  Does it always work, the answer is no but we are trying to put you in the best position to swim fast.  SOMETIMES WE JUST HAVE TO LET YOU GO!

  As a swimmer the first thing that you need to do is sit down with your coach and come up with a plan for the season.  This plan should target the major meets that you would like to use as your championship meets when you would like to be at your best.

Some Tips that may help you through the next few weeks; 

• School Work:  get caught up now with projects and assignments, so we are not burdened during the meet
• Don't add anything new!  A big mistake is to think more is good at this time.  Don't try to squeeze in miss workouts now!
• Time for the 4 R's now.... REST, REGENERATE, RECOVER, AND RACE
• Work smart, Work fast...Practice perfect but fast to RACE PREFECT AND FAST!
• NEW SUIT OR OLD SUIT.. A new suit feels good but a new suit only works if you have done all you can since day 1 to swim fast.  After all a slow turtle in a new shell is still a slow turtle.
•  TURNS... Every turn in practice is a race turn
• Know your warm up and warm down sets... Don't wait to be told!
• FAST FUEL...Eat Fast Fuels and no not the kind you usually eat.  Lot's of salads, and fresh fruits and vegetables.  You cannot put junk in a high performance machine and expect it to go fast.
• BAG CHECK LIST.. Spares of everything.  Ever had a cap rip or goggles break
• DRINK....DRINK....DRINK...DRINK...DRINK...DRINK... NO SODAS!
• RELAX....Take it easy. You've worked hard.  You deserve to Relax.
• PERFECT PRACTICE=perfect performance.  As the meet gets closer, make every aspect of your practice as  perfect as the performance you want on race day!

It's all mental now----it really is!

BELIEVE, BELIEVE, BELIEVE.  Your race starts before you get to the blocks.   It all starts with what you believe!  Train hard, Train Fast, Train Smart, and RACE BRILLIANTLY!!

RELAY UPDATES

THE FOLLOWING 2 RELAYS HAVE BEEN CHANGED.  I WILL HAVE A NEW POST UP ON FRIDAY

THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE COMMITTED TO SWIM IN THE RELAYS.  IT SHOWS YOU CARE AND MEANS A LOT TO ME.   MIKE

10 AND UNDER 200 MEDLEY RELAY HAS BEEN CHANGED
13-14 GIRLS 400 FREE RELAY WILL EITHER BE SCRATCHED OR WE WILL FIND 2 GIRLS FOR IT

CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON IS UPON US ---HOLD YOUR HEADS HIGH

Well we are now officially into the championship phase of our season. All our groups have worked through all the meets of the short course season. What lays in front of each and every one of you is YOUR CHAMPIONSHIP MEET whether it is Junior/Senior Champs, JO's , or the spring Mako meet. Your last meet is the time where all your hard work pays off and you are posting your best times of the season. This is the fun part of the swimming season.

Some of you may not be in the meet that you wish you were, and this was very evident with some swims over this past weekend, so I will repeat something that I touch on every season at the start and seem to repeat at this time of the year. This past weekend we had a lot of outstanding swims with over 80% best times. As a group we had about 25 more cuts made for one meet or another. The issue that I have is several of you were not happy with your performance, for example this one swimmer dropped 4 seconds off their 100 IM time but missed the JO cut (by 14 seconds). This swimmer truly believed that they were going to come into this meet at this time of the year and drop 18 seconds, a very high bar to set but very hard to attain right now.

As a coach I want you as a person and an athlete to set high goals for yourself, but at the same time we need to be able to get back up when they are not met, because you will not always attain them as an athlete. As an athlete you will stumble and fall more times than not, and for a swimmer a stopwatch will not always be kind, but in the end the race will still be won you can be sure of that. The question becomes are you going to be so hard on yourself that you end up out of that sport, that would be the ultimate defeat

Take a look at this stopwatch and I want you to notice the numbers on it, they are the same ones that appear before you start your race.

When you started out in this sport you saw lot of time drops every time you raced. When you were young it had to do as much to your body growing as it did with practice. Those early years were spent on the foundations so that as you got older and the growing slowed improvements could still be made. Think of it this way the more your time improves the closer to 00:00 you get, and the harder it becomes to see those big time drops.  I may be wrong but I find it hard to believe that anyone will ever go 00:01 in say a 50 free. This is why I try to get you to forget times, and just race people and have fun with that, and sometimes the time drops will be there but as you get older they are few and far between. You have to be able to enjoy the process more than the result because that is what you will take with you from this sport and remember later in life.

Now those of you who are really hard on yourself after a not so good swim, I ask, is it the swim or is it because the outcome is not what you wanted.  Now let's go back to practice and I will ask you again How many of you are hard on yourself when you Cut short a set or repeat?  Stop on the wall? Get in late ? How many have perfect attendance, or at least 90%?  How many of you consistently swim fast in a race or at practice, or blow it off because it just doesn't matter?  How many times do I need to correct the little things at practice that you know you should be doing with every repeat?  In my opinion if you are doing EVERYTHING right then you have earned the right to be a little hard on yourself, but more than likely your hard on yourself because the outcome is more important to you than is the process of getting there.  If that is the case your not being fair to yourself.

Now hold your heads high the groups as a whole have followed the plan, come out on the other side and are now ready for the championship season and YOUR meet!   GREAT JOB!

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JO RELAYS

These are the relays that we are currently planning to enter at the Junior Olympic meet from Friday March 14 thru Sunday March 16.  The meet will be held at the University of Maryland at College Park.  This meet is a team scored meet.  
It is very important that you look over these relays and get back to us to your availability to participate no later than Thursday of this week.  We would like to have the final relays set by this weekend.
It is important that WE TAKE THESE RELAYS SERIOUS.  Please refer back to my previous post on the importance of relays.  Once the final list is set it is important that you are there to swim, because if you do not show it means 3 other swimmers do not swim and it is a reflection of  your  group and the Mason Makos

Event #	Description	A	B
Friday - Start of Session
5	11-12 GIRLS 200 MEDLEY RELAY	ALEXA CUOMO FAITH ALSTON EMILY DRAKOPOULOS ALLISON HICKEY	ELEANOR MONNIG SOPHIA HARTSHORN MERDITH MILLARD JESSICA DICKINSON
6	11-12 BOYS 200 MEDLEY RELAY	PETER MAKIN ELIAS GRIFFIN ANTHONY GRIMM ALEX AUNG	RICHARD MEYERS PIERCE BEIMA KENT CODDING JACKSON KNOUSE
7	13-14 GIRLS 200 MEDLEY RELAY	ELENA SUMMERS MAGGIE DEPPE WALKER MARY BETH MEYERS LAUREN YOUNG	JULIA YOUNG GILLIAN GOODIEL HELEN GEDDES GABRIELLA KUEHHAS
8	13-14 BOYS 200 MEDLEY RELAY	IAN VOLLMER KYLE CASSIDY MARCELO CORAY PETER JONES	ANDREW YANG ANDREW HALE FLETCHER MADSEN P.J. D’ALESSANDRO
Saturday - Start of Session
37	11-12 GIRLS 200 FREE RELAY	ALEXA CUOMO EMILY DRAKOPOULOS ALLISON HICKEY FAITH ALSTON	ELEANOR MONNIG JESSICA DICKINSON LAUREN ROYCE ALEXANDRA MARTSCHANKO
38	11-12 BOYS 200 FREE RELAY	ANTHONY GRIMM PETER MAKIN ALEX AUNG KENT CODDING	RICHARD MEYERS JAKOB ROBINETTE WILLIAM McLAURY JACKSON KNOUSE
39	13-14 GIRLS 200 FREE RELAY	LAUREN YOUNG ELENA SUMMERS MAGGIE DEPPE WALKER GABRIELLA KUEHHAS	HELEN GEDDES AUDREY HUNTER JULIA YOUNG KATIE KARLINCHAK
40	13-14 BOYS 200 FREE RELAY	MARCELO CORAY KYLE CASSIDY FLETCHER MADSEN PETER JONES	P.J. D’ALESSANDRO T.J.PETTY ANDREW HALE IAN VOLMMER
Saturday - End of Session
69	11-12 GIRLS 400 MEDLEY RELAY	EMILY DRAKOPOULOS FAITH ALSTON ALEXA CUOMO ALLISON HICKEY
70	11-12 BOYS 400 MEDLEY RELAY	ALEX AUNG ELIAS GRIFFIN ANTHONY GRIMM PETER MAKIN	JUSTIN BRADY PIERCE BEIMA KENT CODDING JACKSON KNOUSE
71	13-14 GIRLS 400 MEDLEY RELAY	JULIA YOUNG MAGGIE DEPPE WALKER ELENA SUMMERS GABRIELLA KUEHHAS	KATIE KARLINCHAK GILLIAN GOODIEL HELEN GEDDES LAUREN YOUNG
72	13-14 BOYS 400 MEDLEY RELAY	FLETCHER MADSEN KYLE CASSIDY MARCELO CORAY IAN VOLLMER	ANDREW HALE PETER JONES P.J. D’ALESSANDRO ANDREW YANG
73	9-10 GIRLS 200 MEDLEY RELAY	SIDONI ERICKSON AVA JONES ALLYSON LERKE KATERINE HELMS	CATHERINE LIM SAMANTHA HAYNIE CAROLINE MURPHY ALEIGHA SCHERBER
74	9-10 BOYS 200 MEDLEY RELAY	KEVEN CARCHIA MICHAEL ZHANG JUSTIN SINGLETARY GRAHAM EVERS	MATTHEW HARTSHORN NICHOLAS THIVERIS LUKE BAIRD KAI TAFT
Sunday - Start of Session
75	11-12 GIRLS 400 FREE RELAY	ALEXA CUOMO ALLISON HICKEY EMILY DRAKOPOULOS FAITH ALSTON
76	11-12 BOYS 400 FREE RELAY	PETER MAKIN ANTHONY GRIMM ALEX AUNG KENT CODDING
77	13-14 GIRLS 400 FREE RELAY	ELENA SUMMERS LAUREN YOUNG GABRIELLA KUEHHAS MAGGIE DEPPE WALKER	SCRATCHED
78	13-14 BOYS 400 FREE RELAY	MARCELO CORAY KYLE CASSIDY IAN VOLLMER ANDREW YANG	PETER JONES T.J. PETTY ANDREW HALE P.J. D’ALESSANDRO
79	10 AND UNDER GIRLS 200 FREE RELAY	KATHERINE HELMS SIDONI ERICKSON ALLYSON LERKE AVA JONES
80	10 AND UNDER BOYS 200 FREE RELAY	JUSTIN SINGLETARY MICHAEL ZHANG KEVIN CARCHIA GRAHAM EVERS

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

Heather just called and told me about practice. I'm so glad that a lot of you made the effort to get to the pool. I wish I could have been there with you because I am going crazy, but I had to get Lauren to the airport. Hope you all have a great valentines day, I do have Gillian's cookies to munch on. Those are her sayings so I know she listens. LOL

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ANOTHER SNOW DAY/ JO INFORMATION/ POSITIVE CHECK IN

ANOTHER SNOW DAY

Another day out of school, I hope you guys enjoy going to school in July. They say we are going to get a lot of snow this time, I just have one thing to say "BE CAREFUL". Don't forget what a lot of us have been preparing for since September. When I say be careful I also mean with your diets. I know that when routines are broken we indulge in things we normally wouldn't. Also please keep drinking lots and lots of water, and fill those plates ate meals with a lot of colors. I just got home from practice and it doesn't look good for practice for Thursday but we will see, may want to make plans to make up on Friday.

POSITIVE CHECK IN

What does it mean? I think we still have a lot of you who do not understand what this mean, so I will try to explain.
Why? It is done as a way of trying to shorten the length of a particular session of a meet. It is also done so that most heats are full.
Which meets? This is up to the meet manager and we try to give you as much notice as possible.
Which events? Again this is up to the meet manager. Most of the time it is required for all 200 events and above. However some meets (like the one this weekend) require all events to be checked in.
What happens if I forget to check in? At championship meets YOU WILL NOT GET TO SWIM. DON'T EVEN TRY OR ASK THE COACH TO! At other meets it is entirely up to the Referee as to if you are allowed to swim.
Who's responsibility is it? Ultimately the responsibility is the swimmers, NOT THE COACHES. The coach will try to check the table before the check in closes, but the coach is trying to run warm up and take care of the swimmers who are there and they can not be worried about swimmers who are not there or are late. Sometimes if you are coming later and you let the coach know they can check you in. I do not like to do this because I have other things to do at a meet. I have seen coaches forget to check people in at JO's and the swimmer does not get in. No need to tell you the parents were upset, the swimmer upset, and the coach felt bad. The responsibility is yours no one else's. You can also have other swimmers or parents check you in but remember the final responsibility is still yours.
What if I check in but don't show up? The meet manager has the right to scratch you from your next event and the team may be fined.
I don't always like the check in but remember we are trying to shorten the meet and run full heats which benefits your swimmer.

JUNIOR OLYMPIC RELAYS:

We have spent this week putting together our relays for JO's which is now under a month away. We actually did this with out the computer and will now see what the computer comes up with. We will put these out on Monday after the meet this weekend in case there are any changes to be made.
Relays in swimming is a chance to bring a team and groups together. We do not swim these relay just to have relays. Other than the distance events on Thursday night, JO's start with the relays and can set the tone for the entire team for the rest of the meet. When you swim these relays I want you to think about getting the entire team hyped on your initial success. The relays offer the lead off swimmer a "FREE" event because there time will count as an official time and normally this swimmer performs well. The other three swimmers normally will feed off this energy and although not official their times are usually life time bests. This will give these swimmers a lot of confidence going into their individual events and the rest of the team will feed off of this energy.
Will we win all of the relays? OMG! NO and Yes! It we come out of it posting our best time with some great splits than in "MY BOOK" you have won and you can hold your head high. In order to accomplish this each swimmer must contribute his/her best. A relay takes 4 people to do well and it takes ALL 4 to fail. The first swimmer needs to set the tone and inspire the other three with their leg, and by verbally encouraging the other relay swimmers. The middle two swimmers need to work hard to build the lead or make up some ground in order for that final swimmer to be in a position to win. The last swimmer must encourage the other three no mater where they are in the pool in order to finish with a winning time. If that lead off swimmer can get out front the other 3 will have smoother and faster water to swim in.
If you are chosen to participate in JO relays I hope you see it as an honor to represent not only MAKO but the group you happen to swim in. There are swimmers from our groups that dream of swimming at JO's and they may have fallen short this year, and you need to represent them proudly.
After the relays are posted we would like a commitment by the following Monday in order to finalize the relays so that everyone knows what is going on and what is expected of them.

JO INDIVIDUAL EVENTS

I have a lot of questions about which events to enter for the meet. Here are some guidelines, if you have multiple events try and pick 2 a day that offer you your best chance to succeed. You can go to last years meet and compare your time to see where you would have placed in that meet. Understand the times may be faster this year or there may be more swimmers in a particular event. Parents if you need help come down on deck during practice as I have the chart with everyone who has qualified and their times.

PIT BULL MENTALITY
Mark Twain once quoted the following "it's not the size of the dog in the fight that counts, but the size of the fight in the dog that matters." It conveys so much. "Small swimmers with BIG HEARTS, a desire to fight, and a willingness to go the distance can be victorious over much larger opponents."

WEEK AHEAD:  All of our practices this week are on normal schedule, check back about Saturday because I believe that the private schools are holding their region meet at George Mason which may affect us.

MEET THIS WEEKEND:  The meet is at Cub Run Rec in Chantilly.  The warm up times are 6:30-7:20 Meet starts at 7:30 both days.  ALL EVENTS ARE POSITIVE CHECK IN, AND WILL CLOSE FOR ALL EVEMTS 30 MINUTES AFTER WARM UP HAS ENDED.  IF YOU KNOW YOU ARE ARRIVING LATE YOU NEED TO LET COACH HEATHER KNOW BY E-MAIL, OR LET ME KNOW AT PRACTICE SO WE CAN TAKE CARE OF IT.  IF YOU FAIL TO DO THIS AND DO NOT GET CHECKED IN I MAKE NO PROMISES.  I WILL NOT RUN AROUND ONCE THE MEET STARTS TO TRY AND DO THIS, IT IS WAY TOO CROWDED AND BUSY.  THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.

SNOW MEET WRAP UP:  This past week end we had a lot of our swimmers from all 3 groups swim some great races  and achieving JO and NASA meet cuts.  The thing I was looking at a lot was our work around the flags and in and out of the walls.  We spent a lot of time in this area leading up to this meet and from talking to most of you, the confidence that you say you have in this area is great and will be a tremendous advantage moving forward.  The other area I looked at was how you race.

We talked a lot about stepping outside of your comfort zone, and not holding back as much in the first part of your race in the fear of hurting as you finished.  In this area I also saw great improvement and I think a lot of you discovered something new and great about yourselves.
That being said there is still work to be done in and around our walls.  We had 2 DQ's at the meet and they both involved the walls.  The first was for a backstroke finish and this swimmer actually knew

she glided a little into her finish but was not aware of the rule.  I have followed this post with a link land small video that may help you with the finish.  Please talk to me if you are still confused!
The other DQ involved a turn in the 200 backstroke, turn 1 good, turn 2 good, turn 3 good, turn 4 hesitation, result DQ.  Even as I watch some of the backstroke turns I get a lump in my throat because in all honesty they could be called either way.  The way officiating works is like this; a meet like this past weekend 1 official may have the responsibility of watching 4 lanes and will miss things once in a while (it's called human nature).  Now at a championship meet most of the time you will have 1
official assigned per lane so they will NOT MISS A THING.  Now back to the DQ and the turn, I truly believe that a lot of you pretend you are 16 and doing your student driving where you come into the wall and you see a giant YIELD sign and so you hesitate for that split second and this is when we find ourselves in trouble. " ACCELERATE INTO THE WALL"  The faster you swim into the more wall, the more energy you have available to convert into a fast spin.  And the faster you spin, the easier it will be to blast off the wall.  Power through those last couple of yards with a strong kick
and you may be surprised at how quickly your feet land on the wall.  ACCELERATE INTO THE 

WALL!   On the free turn I have notice some of you are breathing into the turn.  When you do this it
tends to send our feet off to the side instead of straight over and the result is a slow turn.  NO BREATH last 2 strokes which will create more forward energy you are carrying into the turn and will help you THROW THE LEGS INTO THE WALL.

DISTANCE MEET:  On Sunday several of us went out to the University of Md. to swim a 1000 free.  All 6 swimmers from our groups did well.  Katie Pontzer was the first to swim lowering her best time by over 33 seconds.  I must say this was one of the better freestyle swims of the season for Katie.  She went out in a 34.49  and averaged 39 for the 50's. (13:01:71).  The next two swimmers to hit the pool were Andrew Hale (11:53:79) and Joey Dobrydney (12:02:33).  Andrew went out in a 30:02 averaging 35.7 for each 50 and lowering his time by 24 seconds.  Joey went out in a 31:44 and
averaged a 36.1 for his 50's, and took off 6 seconds from his best time.  Our last 3 swimmers would be doing the 1000 for the first time, and first in was Audrey Hunter (12:26:35) who went out in a 33:12 and averaged 37.35 for each 50.  The last 2 were Kenta Deegen (13:03:92) and our own littl
10 year old IRON MAN Kevin Carchia (13:30:32).  Kenta went out in a 31:71 and averaged 39.2
while Kevin would go out in a 34:56 and averaged a 40:6  for each 50.  Why is this important , it is to help us as we go forward and you understand going out fast, pacing, and finishing hard for your 200's and the 500 free.   NICE JOB TO ALL OF YOU!

GETTING UP ONE MORE TIME:   Any athlete no matter what sport they participate in,  is going to fail at some point and a lot of times more often than not, it's a part of sports. Think back to when you were little and you began to walk you fell a lot but even back then you were learning to WIN, because you always got back up.  You know how I know you are notcrawling today!   Between my 3 sports I fell down and failed so often that I once told my dad "I felt like a doormat".  Each time you fall Mike get up as fast as you can, because the longer you stay down the harder it becomes.  And so  I had the choice of getting up or laying there and letting people stomp on me including my younger brother in swimming (How dare Him), and its hard at times, but if you
don't keep getting up than the last thing you do as an athlete is quit.  I know a lot of you set  goals and some times even though you have performed well in your event you don't reach the goal you feel you deserve.   Now it most definitely is okay to be disappointed and maybe even a little mad but don't let it consume you to the point you are not having fun.  If you do you will find yourself out of that sport and that would be ashamed.  The best part of sports and the fun I had was the process that I went through to get to my goals, not the event itself.

Being that we are coming up on President's Day and my favorite President was Lincoln here is a littl
 history lesson (no homework), but I want you to keep getting up!
YEAR            SETBACK/FAILURE
1816                      Family forced from home.  He had to work to support them.  He was 7

1818                      His mother died  he was 9
1831                      Failed in business                   
1832                      Lost job and Defeated for state legislature
1833                      Failed in business
1835                      Sweetheart died  Was engaged to be married
1836                      Had nervous breakdown
1838                      Defeated for Illinois house speaker
1843                      Defeated for nomination for Congress
1848                      Lost renomination
1849                      Rejected for land officer
1854                      Defeated for U.S. Senate
1856                      Defeated for nomination for Vice President

1858                      Defeated for U.S. Senate again
1860                      ELECTED PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES

What if on any one of these failures when he got knocked down Lincoln had decided not to get up.  Historians say and I happen to agree that the Civil War would have been delayed but fought sooner or later and maybe under another president.  I just happen to think that it's a good thing that it was fought under his presidency.

Good thing he got up that last time.

JO CAPS  I am in the process of doing the art work for the caps.  What I need from you all is the cap color.  Your Choices are 1.) BLACK, 2.)WHITE, 3.) YELLOW 4.) GOLD.  Someone said blue but that is a no because there are too many teams with blue.   Please Respond and we will use the democratic process to determine the color..

legalswim : BACKSTROKE FINISH

legalswim : BACKSTROKE FINISH

MEET WARM UPS

Some of you still come in to meets and ask what you should do for warm up when your on your own. We ran thru it the last 2 days, and I said I would post it so here it is.

GENERAL WARM UP AT START OF MEET

400 swim/ 200 kick
6 x 75 kick-drill-swim (odds free/ evens stroke no free
200 IM drill
4x50 free (build to fast by 50's)@50
3x50 kick ( build to fast)@1:00
8x25 fast free / A-3 stroke
100 swim down

2nd WARM UP IF NEEDED ( You should plan this out so your event is with in 10-15 minutes after)

150-200 loosen up
3x50 (A-3/A-4/A-5)
4-6 fast 25's with 20 seconds rest
Let's go have a good race

Don't forget to keep your bodies warm after warming up.  If you warm up and than sit around with out sweats etc than you are only hurting yourself.  You should be going to the blocks with your bodies wrapped up and warm.  Swim smarter!

DISTANCE MEET INFORMATION

First of all this meet has been moved to the University of Maryland from it's original location.  Please make sure that one of your parents will be ready to time, and that you have your own counter.  do not rely on me as I may have my hands full.
This meet will be swum from fastest to slowest alternating woman's and men's heat.  I have posted the timeline for each of you below, but understand it may be a little off due to scratches etc... so please plan to arrive early enough to get in at least a 30 minute warm up followed by 20 minutes prior to your race

When you arrive make sure you are checked in and do your warm-up which should be 
300 swim/ 200 kick/ 8x50@1:00 trying to hold your split you are shooting for.  Follow that with 8x25 fast with your breathing pattern and flips at each end.  Rest 20 seconds in between each one.

SWIMMER                      SEED           ESTIMATED        TIME
                                                                   HEAT 
1000 FREE

GABBY                               5                      1                           8:10
LAURA G.                         10                     3                           8:34
ALLEY B.                          15                     3                           8:34
KATIE P.                            19                     5                           8:55
AUDREY                            27                    7                            9:18

MARCELO                          2                     2                            8:22
JOEY                                    9                     4                            8:44
ANDREW HALE               10                    4                            8:44
KYLE C.                             21                    6                            9:07
ANDREW YANG               22                   6                             9:07
KEVIN C.                           28                    8                            9:30
KENTA                               31                    8                            9:3o

1650

ELENA S.                           1                      1                             10:30

TIPS FOR SWIMMING THIS MEET

• Don't panic! Yes swimming a distance event in a meet can be very intimidating, however we swim more than this at every practice.  Dont get freaked out at the distance, look at it as a challenge.
• BREATHE!  Remember your breathing pattern that we do in practice.  Breathe every 3 or use the 2-3-2 pattern.  This will help you stay a little more relaxed during the race.  Before the race take several deep (belly) breaths to calm your nerves.  If you're nervous, your arms and legs will begin to hurt much earlier than they would otherwise.
• Find your pace!  It should  be suitably fast but not a sprint.
• Shorten the distance!  How you may ask!  All you need to do to shorten the race is focus in on ALL the walls and work them hard with a tight streamline and a kick off of them.  Breathe on the second pull, do not sacrifice that speed.  Be very aggresive in this area.
• Don't get psyched out!  It is very easy to become terrified as your event get's closer.  Just relax and don't worry.  There are bigger things in life.
• Make sure you know who your timer and counter are so you are not wasting nervous energy running around looking for one.
• STEP UP ON THE BLOCK, AND BEGIN YOUR RACE!  Make sure you breathe on that first 50 so you stay calm and your muscles to not tighten (lactic acid) up on you.  
• Watch the counter board and if it shakes than we feel the need for speed.   Trust me here I am watching your pace and have a feel for what you are capable of and it is probably more than you think. The faster it shakes the more speed we need.  When you see 37 on the board it's time to go faster than you think you can (EVERYTHING YOU HAVE FROM 37-40). At 39 you will see double red and we are on to the finish.

For those of you who have the experience in this event, your goal is to try and negative split the 500's

"He/She who says I can or I can't are ususlly both right".  Look in that mirror and make a choice.
Have fun with the race!

CLOCK IS TICKING

WEEK AHEAD:

This will be a normal week of practice.  Saturday morning there will be practice for those not swimming in the meet, and I will have someone there to cover as I will be at the meet.  

MEET WARM-UP FOR SATURDAY:
 11 and  over 7:10-7:55  Meet starts @8:05
10 and under's 12:00-12:40  Meet starts @ 12:45

SUNDAY DISTANCE MEET:  This meet has been moved to the University of Maryland.  The time line has not come out yet, but is due out Wednesday.  Once I go over it I will post it so check back.

HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMERS:

The championship season has begun with our high school swimmers in our senior prep group competing in their DISTRICT MEETS last weekend.  Jet swam a 500 for the Oakton Cougars and posted his best time.  Andrew Yang swimming for the Woodson Cavilers swam a 200 and a 500 free making it back to finals in the 500 free and posting a best time.  Gabby swimming for the Centreville Wildcats made it back to finals in both the 200 and the 500 free.  Gabby will move on to Regions this weekend in both of her events.

Our groups are off into championship season and Jet, Andrew, and Gabby have set the bar for the rest of you, so WE better be ready.

THOUGHTS FOR THIS WEEKEND:

As we are preparing to race this weekend, let's step back and look at what we have worked on for the last few weeks.  First and foremost is the need for speed!  If we are trying to get some cuts, we cannot hold back now.  You need to fight for every hundredth that you want to knock off your times.  We  have devoted a portion of every practice the last few weeks to sprinting so WE should all know what it feels like to swim fast. 
The next area that we have spent extra time on is our walls and the turns.  SPEED in SPEED out! As you are racing go into ATTACK mode near the walls.  Do not treat this area of your race like a rest stop on the highway, because as your resting people are passing you, and most importantly the watch is running  tick..tick.tick.tick.tick.  The other area that we have spent time on is the start with the breakout stroke.  Don't forget our objective on the start is a clean entry and to be even or ahead of your competition and you need to carry that speed off the start and into the your swim.  You cannot just dive in and relax, the first 2 strokes have a BIG effect on your entire race.


Bottom line is BE AGGRESSIVE off the starts, into the turns, and at the finishes.  Every one's goal is to win the heat and we should be good.

SPRINT SET FOR LAST 2 WEEKS:
SET #1
4X50 FREE (QUARTERS #1 12.5 FAST THRE REST STRONG A4  #2 25 FAST THE REST STRONG A4  #3  37.5 FAST THE REST STRONG A4  AND #4 FAST
1X50 EASY
3X50 ALL OUT
1X50 EASY
4X50 ALL OUT
1X50 EASY

SET #2
4X25 (QUARTERS)
1X50 ALL OUT
1X100 IM EASY DISTANCE PER STROKE
REPEAT 3 TIMES {1ST AND 3RD ROUND FREE/ 2ND ROUND STROKE}

SWIMMER SPOTLIGHT

                                    FAVORITE SONG     LAST BOOK                 BEST WARM UP SONG

LAUREN YOUNG         A LOT                     CITY OF EMBER                 ALL I DO IS WIN       
ALLISON HICKEY    COUNTING STARS    PECULIAR CHILDREN       SUMMERTIME
                                                                                                                            SADNESS
DECKER-MOY-JACOBS  TOMMY GUN      RODRICK RULES       RAGE AGAINST
                                                                                                                         MACHINE