DISTANCE  MEET INFORMATION

This week end our groups will have 27 swimmers attending the distance meet swimming either the 1650 or the 1000 free at LEE DISTRICT POOL.  Look at this event as a challenge and a great way to start off the new year.  If you would like to opt out feel free to join me at SANDY STATE PARK for the POLAR BEAR swim on THURSDAY.

A few of you asked how to swim this, and the first thing is to attack  it similar to a 500, but just a little more conservatively.  first thing start out as relax as possible and be sure to BREATHE a lot in the first 100 (every 3 or 2-3-2).

For the first 200 try to settle into a good rhythm and holding a straight line.  Stay away from circle swimming, stay on your center line.  Avoid looking at the counter on every lap, instead concentrate on keeping a long smooth stroke, with power full turns and getting as much as you can from each wall.

Check numbers when you need to and reassess as you go along; How am I feeling?  Can I hold this pace?  Can I go a little harder?  If so push a little more.  Once you see the number 31 (800) for the 1000 or the number 55 (1400) for the 1650, you have about 200 to go and you can start to bear down and start building to a fast finish.  Start at this mark and build don't wait until you have 25 left, that will be to late.

I am really excited to see how you all do with this event and have no doubt that all of you will do
fine, because you have put in the work and that is the tradition of OUR GROUP and remember our theme this year FINISH IT!

Now for general information YOU need to have a timer and a counter, and this is important i can not take care of this for you this year as we will have someone in almost every heat on Sunday and sometimes it could be more than one.  Please be prepared!

Next item is the time line which is posted on the PVS web site, and note both events will go fastest to slowest alternating girl/ boy heat.  When you arrive at the pool go to the table and check yourself in, they will be rotating heats.  I would arrive about 60 minutes before your scheduled heat to allow for checking in, and a warm up. I will not be running a general warm up and you should do this on your own.  Here is one you can follow.  400 swim/  200 kick/  4x100 @ 1:20to 1:45 (you know your pace times)/  6x50 (3 fast easy/ 3easy fast) @ 55/ 100 warm down.

Here is a estimated heat number followed by the overall heat number, and then the time you may be starting.

SATURDAY
Fletcher Madsen 3/6   9:47   Will Fletcher and Philip Bemia 8/16  1:18
Richard Meyers  and Graham Evers 9/ 2:00

SUNDAY
Audrey Hunter 6/11 10:04 Helen Geddes  7/13 10;29
Katie Pontzer 8/15  10:54
Sophia Rice, Leah S. Opas, Gillian Goodiel 9/17  11:30
Natalia Joslyn 10/19  11:49  Natalie Farello 11/21  12:16
Katie Karlinchak 13/25  1:06  Jessica Dickenson 15/29  2:08
Sophia Hartshorn 16/31  2:36 Allyson Lerke 17/32 3:04
Catherine Lim 19/33 3:04

Joey Dobrydney 6/12  10:17
Cole Dyson Andrew Hale 7/14 10:42
Kenta Deegan 8/16  11:07
Alex Aung  Kevin Carchia 9/18 11:34
Peter Makin  11/22  12:28
Kevin Bourdelais 13/26  1:17  William Hughes 14/28 1;45

NEW YEAR COMMITMENT

 I WOULD LIKE TO WISH ALL OF YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

It was great to see a lot of our group make the effort over the holidays to get to the old water hole for practice  .  The effort that you all made will show in the next few weeks as we move into the next phase of our season, which is the meat and potatoes   portion of. the training cycle all ending with    whatever championship meet you qualify for in March. 

Now with 2014 behind us it is time to look forward and re dedicate our efforts in and out of the pool to put you in the best position to succeed in this sport.   As your work load in the pool increases during this period, so do the demands in school with the end of the quarter and all the midterm exams, reports, and projects  .  It is important that you plan accordingly and keep on top of things.  This involves getting extra rest   when you can, making your workouts on 
schedule (a missed workout is a missed workout), being mentally prepared for each workout 




(don’tjust show up), proper nutrition      , and most of all lots of water  hand 
washing, and 
wearing of hats.  If we get sick we lose time at school. In the pool, and our body gets worn down, and then we get further behind.

My commitment to all of you is to keep this updated once a week if not twice, and to plan each of your workouts to put each of you in the best position that will allow you to swim fast.  This is what I 
ask from each of you as we start the New Year:  

• ·          
• 
  
• Be on time for each practice and have the right equipment with you so we do not waste time going back and forth.(on time means getting in when we start, often warm up is the most 
• important part of practice as it prepares our bodies for the work we are going to ask from it)
• ·         Begin each send off with a great streamline.
• ·          Power
•  kicks and underwater swimming off every wall.
• ·          Perform 
• legal and perfect turns for all strokes.
• ·         Train to get better at the finish instead of suffering.
• ·          Start on time and finish each session strong.
• ·          Always practice with agressivness, tenacity, and toughness.
• 
  
• ·         Be aggressive passing others and have courtesy on your finishes.
• ·          Honor
•  your commitment to yourself, your teammates, your coach, and the sport.

Do your part to keep a positive environment with positive banter and enthusiasm supporting your team mate’s toughness.THIS WEEK TOPIC: REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY—“PAIN IS GOOD” from Craig Townsen

  Pain is often being more of a mental barrier than a physical one. Some tim

ago I wrote about how it's possible (through the mind)   to actually delay the feelings of pain at the end of a tough race or training set - or even make it disappear completely! This is possible because your mind has the capacity torelease morphine into the bloodstream, a chemical which is one of the most powerful painkillers known on this planet, and a chemical which is used daily in 
hospitals for accident victims.

There will, however, be many swimmers out there who still experience pain at the end of races, and so this tip is designed for you, to help you overcome pain by using a new mental attitude. To perform at your best, it's essential to 'make a friend' out of the pain. You see, the more you hate the pain, the more painful it will become, and the more it will slow you down! So here are a few different approaches you can try, just experiment with them and see which ones work best for you, because no two swimmers are the same.

If pain 'hits' you at the end of a race, one approach is to think to yourself "this is going to make me swim even faster, because the sooner I finish the race, the sooner I'll be over the pain". In this way, you are actually using the pain as motivation to swim faster, by turning it into an advantage instead of a major liability - and this works much better than 'hating' the pain.

Another approach (which has had some great results) is to see the pain as a 'process' instead of a 'place' - this means that instead of thinking that you are IN pain, think to yourself that you are MOVING THROUGH the pain. Move through the pain, instead of being in it - this makes a big difference mentally!

Sometimes your mind may even 'switch the pain off' altogether, if it's convinced that you have completely moved through it (it does this by releasing morphine into the system). This means that it's actually possible to move 'through and BEYOND' the pain, which is much better than being IN it!

Another comforting thought some swimmers use is to remember that all your race competitors are going through the pain as well - but you know that you will handle it better! Going through pain in one thing, but no-one wants to go through it alone! So remember that every other swimmer is probably experiencing it, and it will just be a matter of who handles it best (and makes sure it's you).

Last of all, pain is an emotional thing. Don't let it take you over emotionally - because once it does, it's got you. Remind yourself that it will only be a temporary feeling, not permanent, and that it can only dominate you if you allow it to. Don't allow it. Stay strong mentally, and you can dominate the pain, instead of the other way aroudhp

SEE YOU AT THE POOL THIS WEEK    MIKE

Please read this article from Annie Grevers in Swimming World.

5 Ways to Turn Christmas Training Fear into Cheer

By Annie Grevers

TUCSON – The Christmas Training season can certainly create some anxiety for a swimmer as the standard routine of swim-school-swim-homework-sleep suddenly becomes wide open. Instead of fearing the added training opportunities, you can learn to embrace them.

5 Ways to Turn Christmas Training Fear into Cheer

1) Oh what fun it is to train on a school-free, open day!

How often do you get to devote all your energies to your favorite sport?

Never.

Take advantage of this break from scholastic curriculum and exercise the brain as you stare down that black line in your lane.

Christmas training is not often lumped in with our favorite holiday traditions, but the novelty of swimming without the stress of school is to be celebrated.

The best swimmers do not just log laps. They think about every angle of every portion of every stroke they take. Challenge your brain to engage throughout every stroke this year. Cerebral swimming may just become a habit.

2) It’s the nap, nappiest season of all

Hmmm. What to do after morning practice?

Option 1: eat fudge.

Option 2: play video games.

Option 3: take a nap!

Recovering like a professional is seldom an option with school in between workouts. You have the rare opportunity to recover like swimming is your job. Seize that opportunity and see what kind of results come when you recover with a hearty breakfast and a sizeable nap.

3) The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear.

Don’t take Buddy the Elf’s advice in it’s entirety. We know all know the singers in the group.

Their songs are not appreciated as you try to savor the gasping seconds on the wall. But a great way to spread Christmas training cheer is to, you guessed it, CHEER!

It’s not cheesy. It’s not embarrassing. In fact, your teammates will like it.

They might even use their extra sugar energy to cheer for you in return.

“Be tough!” “Last one, fast one!” “Come and get me!” are a few suggestions if you are struggling with to find cheer content.

4) Appreciate Santa’s Swimmer Clause:

All those making merry shall gain weight during the holiday season, unless you are a swimmer undergoing Christmas Training.

OK. Not a guarantee. We would advise you to fuel your body with protein, adequate carbohydrates, fruits and veggies and minimal sugar.

But also appreciate the amount of exercise you are doing! I know this swammer misses never feeling the full effects of the caramel corn variety tin, mom’s fudge, and countless other sugary temptations I went after with fervor.

5) Silver and Goals!

Write down a goal and three ways you’re going to attain that goal. The “how” is so important in goal setting.

Just because you will something to happen, does not mean it’s going to magically transpire.

I guess this could be considered homework, but it’s the most inspiring homework assignment you’ll ever get to do and your last assignment of 2014!

Reevaluate your existing goals. If you have not written down three goals, this is the perfect time.

Our most arduous training sessions can be so much more productive and meaningful with our goals fresh on our minds.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19

As we enter into this holiday season it just so happens that we have come to the end of the first training phase that  I designed for our groups back in August. I have spent this week looking back over the plan to see what kind of adjustments need to be done as we move forward.  I will also take some time the next 2 weeks to review everyone goal sheets to see where we stand as we move forward into cycle 2 of the program.We actually started cycle two of our program this past Monday and even though it was different for each group there was a little more emphasis put on drills.  As we talked about we will be doing a couple of drills for each strokes during the next few weeks as we get ready to enter into the heavy training cycle leading up to the March championship season.  Senior Prep swimmers please remember we have some high school swimmers who will begin their championship seasons at the end of January.

I know as the holiday season comes around a lot of you think that it would be  a great time to take a rest and miss workouts.  I am here to tell you that as an athlete especially a swimmer that would be a huge mistake.  We have spent 4 months getting you back into racing shape and you will seriously jeopardize all that work by missing workouts.  The hardest part of training during the next couple of weeks is not foolin yourselfinto thinking a fewdays off won'tmatter, IT WILLSenior Prep and Junior Gold groups are encourage to come in every day starting monday December 22.

MEET WRAP UP

This past weekend we had several swimmers from our groups travel to Lancaster Pa. for a
championship meet Friday thru Sunday.  The swimmers from our groups arrived at the pool all eager to showcase their talents and to see where we are at mid-season.  I could not have been more proud of the way all of you rose to the challenge which resulted in some great races and many best times. A lot of our swimmers also swam finals in the evening  which resulted in some extra races.  I do have to point out Alexia Cuomo who ended up swimming 12 races and wound up winning high point for 13-14 year olds in the meet

For those of you who may have been disappointed in the results, try to keep the whole picture  in focus. Back in  the beginning of November we talked about how some of us were going to plan and taper for swim and rock so that we could get some cuts, and the rest of us were going to swim the meet tired.  There were also a few of you who interrupted your training by missing practice over Thanksgiving.  All of those are little pieces that fit in to complete your final puzzle. The other pieces
are nutrition, hydration, keeping up with school work, proper rest, positive self-talk, perfect practice,
getting in on time.  How can it be that important if you can't find the right pieces to put it together.

That being said I will be the first to say stop making excuses, but at the same time I want you to be honest with yourselves.  I can deal with the emotions and the drama so long as you are totally honest with yourself.

More later Mike

THURSDAY  DECEMBER 4

TODAY's THOUGHT  MISTAKES

We have spent a lot of time the past few weeks talking about fixing the little things at practice.  We have talked about taking the advice (constructive criticism) that is given to you after a race back to the pool and working on correcting it.

These little things could  include any of the following; having a breathing pattern, not  breathing last 5 yards into turns or  first stroke coming out of your turns, aggressive swimming in and out of turns, and finishing strong into walls.  Looking over my notes from  the swim and rock meet there are some other things that need our attention such as; aggressive breakouts and pull outs, having some good FAST distance under water off the walls especially the first one.  When breathing in breast and fly events we need to think forward movement instead of up and down.  The last note that we can all work on is tighter streamlines.

Setting up your practice is always a challenge as I try to balance aerobic work with anerobic work, drills verus just swimming, sprint verus pace work, individual verus group needs, and i want to take this time to thank you for your effort on most days.  I would like to say that for those of you who get in late (easy to make excuses) even by a minute or two, think of this is it really important to you, because that minute or two is lost forever which is a long time.

When we do our sets in practice I try and insert at least one or 2 things for you to really zero in on as you work through the set.  'Any time you fail to correct a mistake, you are destined to make another mistake.'  These little things make us go slower and  not faster, so why would you keep doing things that make you go slower and not faster ?  i put this question and challenge to each of you, If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to to it over?

WIN THE DAY PEOPLE      SEE YOU AT THE POOL MIKE

TUESDAY DECEMBER 2

PRACTICES :  All will be held as normal except Saturday morning which is cancelled due to the meet.

MAKO INVITATIONAL:

WARM- UP TIMES SATURDAY 11-12 (7:00-7:35) 10 AND UNDER (11:25-11:55) 13 AND OVER (2:55-3:35)    SUNDAY 11-12 (7:00-7:35)  10 AND UNDERS (10:45-11:15)  13 AND OVERS (2:40- 3:10)

POSITIVE CHECK IN SATURDAY 200 FREE/200 BREAST/ 200 FLY   SUNDAY 200 IM/ 200 BREAST

ATTIRE:  Only Mako caps are to be worn during the meet!!  You have no choice except not to swim.  I am getting tired of seeing other caps, and by the way I don't have one is a excuse and they are easy to come up with  PACKING A BAG FOR A SWIM MEET SHOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING

• TEAM SUIT: always bring a spare, this may be the meet where it rips
• TEAM CAP:  again bring extras they rip
• TEAM UNIFORM:  wear your team tee on deck and show your spirit, bring a sweatshirt also to stay warm on the pool deck
• GOGGLES: again bring extras.  I have seen many break right before a race.
• FLIP FLOPS/ SHOES: keep feet comfortable and warm
• TOWELS:  bring a couple they get wet
• WATER:  you need to stay hydrated and stay away from sodas and juices 
• FOOD:  bring plenty of nutritious snacks.  Ritz bits with peanut butter or cheese, goldfish, fruit, power bars, dry cereal.  Stay away from the snack bar.

Pack your own swim bags so you know what is in it, this should not be your parents responsibility.  Remember PLAN to swim fast and the meet starts with packing your bags.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK:  We have a few swimmers in our group who will be celebrating birthdays this week, so take a moment and wish them a happy one; ADAM DEMBICKI  today, CARTER KIM AND KATIE PONTZER Wednesday, ISABELLA MANZIONE Thursday, DAVID RUDO and CAITLIN BIRKHOLZ Sunday.  Have a great day!

TODAY'S TOPIC "An Athletes Fear"
As a swimmer/athlete what are your fears?  You have none GREAT! the other side is the fear that comes from maybe a physical injury, but I believe that the biggest fear comes from the fact that sports are an important part of our social development.  In all sports an athletes performance is visible to everyone present, and with our sport it becomes so much more visible because we have that instant result that is attached to our names and that is the time on the stop watch.  As soon as that time is posted comparisons to our "seed" times begin immediately by ourselves, coaches, parents, friends and so the list goes.......

A swimmer who allows that ugly monster "FEAR" show his ugly head at meets tends to be afraid of losing a race, losing to a teammate or sibling, negative social views, embarrassment, letting others down, putting in the effort with no results, and making a mistake.  The fear is evident in the comments you make such as I am seeded first (which to me says your done), or I have to swim so and so.  Your like a deer in headlights and I can tell how much confidence you have in yourself by your body language.   How many times have you come back and the first thing out of your mouth when we meet is "I could have gone faster!"  Well I don't know what you are waiting for, but I believe that the fear of failing is holding you back from having an outstanding race, and it's just easier and safer to have a average race. 

Change is very critical to each of you not only as a swimmer, but as a person.  Embrace the risk to let go of the fear, "swimming without the fear means swimming FEARLESS."  This change will start back at practice, and instead of using "excuse words" such as tried, sore, sick goggles broke, put this word in, WIN.  I will win the warm-up, I will win this set, I will win this repeat right now, I will win this day.  WIN the travel day! Win whatever day it is!

Standing on the block fear must vanish, put the result out of the mix, free your body so that it may swim as you have taught it to.  If you plan on being the best you must have the strategy to put fear aside.  Fear comes from uncertainty, work diligently day in and day out to obliterate uncertainty and fear will evaporate.

"because they fear failure many athletes never reach their true potential and there by rob themselves of opportunities to be successful." John Wooten

HAVE A GREAT DAY AND A GREAT RACING WEEKEND      MIKE