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