CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON

We have now entered the final phase of our season, it is now CHAMPIONSHIP TIME.  A lot of athletes across many sports are preparing for that time of year know as championship time.  This includes all level of sports as  the basketball players are gearing up for tournaments across the country.  Our track athletes, wrestlers, and gymnasts are all preparing for their big tournaments in the next few weeks.  Swimmers are no different, our High School swimmers have just come off of a grueling three week stretch starting with their district meets and ending with the State championships.  The college swimmers are either coming off their conference meets or are in the middle of it.

For the Mako swimmers, all the qualifying meets are in the books and times have been established.  EVERY MAKO SWIMMER now has their end of the season championship meet.  

Every Mako swimmer either  either has the JUNIOR/SENIOR champ meet March 7-10, the 14 and under JUNIOR OLYMPICS champ meet March 14-17 (both at university of Maryland) and the MAKO spring championship meet on March 23 and 24.  All of these  meets are equally important and the reason is because it is YOUR MEET and your chance to see all of the hard work from the last 7 months pay off.

This is the time of year where we see a wide range of emotions from success and joy to falling short and frustration of just missing a goal.  This is all behind us now and it is time to put it in your rear view mirror and prepare to have a GREAT CHAMPIONSHIP MEET.  This is the time of year where everyone puts on that special suit and get the chance to step up on a block, feel that adrenaline rush of being all alone ready to explode into that empty lane in front of you and go head to head with the best.  What could be more exciting for a swimmer?  The chance to scrip the final act for the 2018-19 short course season, and maybe even win your very own swimming Oscar

On another note and this goes out mostly to our Senior Prep Group, but you may fall into the discussion also.  I have heard a lot of talk/gossip/rumors about who is moving up to the next group or staying.  

Do yourself a favor and stop worrying and thinking about it.  This is not the time to be distracted by something that will take care of itself after the Championship Season with the help of your coaches, parents, and with your input.  So for now stop thinking about it, this is the time of year where you as a swimmer really get to relax and enjoy the process of practice, tapering, racing and hanging out with teammates.  Every athlete and team goes through this same process and that is It will be the  last time this group or team will look like this, so enjoy the time spent with each other because every year teams and groups will move  forward and change.  So sop dwelling on things that may or may not happen down the road.  Instead focus on enjoying Championship Season and all that could be.

MEET FEED BACK

The other day I mentioned to a coach that sometimes it’s frustrating when you give feedback to a swimmer 🏊‍♀️ at a meet only to see that swimmer show up at the next practice and continue to make the same technical mistakes that we talked about, with little effort or thought to correcting them.  These mistakes are very minor and easily correctable with a little focus and passion, which was a topic last week.

Another coach told me that one of their swimmers response at a meet was that he/she has been swimming that way since they were 8 and they were not going to change.  This coach says that they will take that into consideration as they move forward, and I will say this is not coming from our club, so let’s be clear I’m not throwing anyone under the 🚌.  I don’t roll like that.  More to the point and unfortunately maybe in your minds I don’t give up that easily, and although you may get tired 😴 of hearing the same things over and over, realize this I’m pretty stubborn, and when that day arrives it’s time to hang up that old clipboard 📋.

Most swimmers have very good and caring coaches, or else they would not be coaching.  At a meet they take the time to watch you swim.  As for myself I like to focus more on the little things and how you race, and the last thing that I worry about is the time.  I know for you that time is important and that is understandable in today’s world.  It’s immediate feedback just you and the stopwatch ⏱, nobody’s opinions.  For those of you to young for college, it’s like that one course you take where the only grade you get is PASS OR FAIL. It’s an easy trap for a swimmer to fall into when they look at the clock, in your minds I truly believe your immediate reaction is “I was great 👍 or I failed”.  Oh my little darlings there is so much more to it at this stage of your swimming

After a race coaches proceed to give you feedback and in the process will point out the parts of your race that you put together well, and at the same time the parts of your race that you need to take back to practice to work on so that the next time your race will be a little better.  There are two kinds of 🏊‍♀️, the one who will take that feedback back to practice, focus and work on it with the hopes of becoming a better swimmer.  Then there is the average 🏊‍♀️ who may have heard the feedback, but by the next practice has forgotten everything and goes back to doing the little things that we are trying to correct.  Which type of 🏊‍♀️ are you?

What you do in practice echos in your races!  What sound would you like reverberating in your 👂 👂 at your race.  You control your mind and what you put into it, good or bad.  You control how you practice, good or bad, and how you practice controls how you are going to race.  Pretty simple stuff, not difficult, you just need to have that passion, will and desire to get it done ✅.  Don’t forget what I have tried to get you to believe, I am your ASSISTANT COACH, the real coach is in each of you.

We do what we have to!  

PASSION

All swimmers set out to achieve a best time and win a race.  We live in a world 🌎 where there is a lot of I want, i want, and I want.  But sometimes swimmers forget about the process that it takes to get there.  What they forget is that it doesn’t just happen and fall into their laps, it takes work but then so does life.  True happiness is the process in swimming, when you feel good after a hard workout 🏋️‍♀️ or being with teammates.  Sometimes we forget to enjoy 😉 that part of the sport.

Passion, exactly what does that mean and how can we relate it to our individual swimming.  What gets you up in the morning, and I don’t mean the ⏰ alarm clock or mom and dad.  They may wake you up,  ut what really gets you out of bed and get to practice or a meet.

In order to be successful in swimming you need a degree a PASSION, where you derive that energy that feeds your excitement.  The more passionate you are about your swimming the more positive energy you give off and your confidence will feed off that energy.  On the other hand without that passion we tend to create more of a negative 👎 energy which I would submit leads to more average or below average swims.  Having some kind of passion in swimming will allow you to trust yourself, overcome obstacles that you may place in front of yourself, and have that confidence to swim outside of your comfort zone toward that GREAT RACE we always talk about instead of just accepting the average or good races.  

SWIM WITH PASSION AND TAKE SOME RISKS!!

Valentines Day

WORKOUT NOTES.  TODAY TAKE THE TIME AND LOOK TO THE RIGHT AND TO THE LEFT AND SAY HELLO, ITS NOT THE SAME WITHOUT THE HARD WORK OF YOUR TEAMMATE.  AFTER YOU HAVE SWAM YOUR LAST WORKOUT AND RACED THAT LAST TIME, IT’s NOT THE AWARDS OR WINS AND LOSSES THAT WILL BE REMEMBERED!  IT’S THE MEMORIES OF THEM ARE THE ONES THAT WILL LAST A LIFE TIME! 

Have a great VALENTINES DAY workout!!!

PRESIDENTS MEET WRAP UP

This was the first year that we have attended meet and it would be helpful if you share comments and thoughts with the mako administrators for planning purposes next year.

We understand that sessions may have been long especially on Saturday but from a coaches perspective this meet put the swimmers in a better position to attain some of their goals, such as JO cuts.  In years past we attended the snow qualifier meet (one day), but the kids were swimming too many events with little rest and deck space and viewing were hard.

As long as the kids understand the purpose of meets at this time of year and had a plan (and stuck to that plan) entering the meet, this provided a great opportunity to do some fast racing.

A lot of our swimmers achieved a bunch of JO time cuts and we even had one achieve a TYR classic cut.  Along with that we had a lot of swimmers who had the opportunity to experience what it is like to come back to finals on Saturday night and swim again and maybe even go a little faster, which most of them did. We also had a young man 👨 who grew up a lot on Saturday night.  Ben who was tired 😴 and a little 😡 (almost as bad as myself), had to swim a couple of events.  For the first time his result was not as fast as he may have wanted (right on his time), but he stepped and won the event against some very good competition.

The breaststroke even those of you who think your not breaststroker’s is looking amazingly better. The work with the fins is starting to pay off with that chest press forward so the hips are up and the legs can drive us forward.  Even if you don’t like the stroke we need to continue to work on it for success in the IM. Your not a true swimmer without that IM.

The walls with our underwater dolphins have come so far, and it is really fun to watch you all actually off the wall with some explosions and carry that momentum into the breakout, but don’t forget it is something that you have to continue to work on every practice and every turn.

Our 200’s were pretty good but some of us still need to get over the fear of the unknown, and figure out when go time is.  There is a lot of overthinking for this distance.  As we have talked about in practice and Damien reinforced on Sunday is don’t talk to me about times, think of specifics that will put you in a position for success.  As you have been told don’t say I’m going out in a 28, because you don’t know what that is.  Specifics are things like a strong first 50 and build each 50 off of that, or strong underwater’s with good movement off the walls into a strong breakout, or maybe working my middle 100 strong and let the last 50 take care of it self.  Have a plan and work the plan in practice, because remember the old saying “Even a blind squirrel 🐿 will get lucky and find acorns for the winter”, but most of the time that squirrel will starve. 

That being said all 200’s are not the same, so you may need to have different plans.  A 200 breaststroke can not be swam the same way as a 200 free.  They are different, but the theory is the same.  Four 50’s each building off the previous one and getting stronger.  Be smart with the legs in the beginning so that they will be there at the end, work the dolphins off the walls to shorten the amount of time and energy you use swimming.

Swimmers who fell short of goals, don’t let that define you.  You are a talented swimmer with a skill set.  You had a bad swim, so what are you going to do about it, learn take the feedback and improve your situation or else we will here the same feedback after the next meet.  Sports are brutal and swimming with that instant feed back “ the 🕰 clock” more so. Such is the life of a student athlete.

Nice job this weekend. 

Why no kick boards coach

We don’t communicate well.  We say fast kick. You hear social kick. Can’t talk with head in 💧. Also your body is in a better swimming position.

THE WIZARD OF OZ AND SWIMMING

 How can the Wizard of Oz relate to swimming?  What lessons can we learn from the scarecrow, the tin man, the cowardly lion and of course Dorothy herself?  Let’s look at it shall we.

What about the yellow brick road and how does it parallel your journey down the black tile road in 
the pool.  Both of these roads represent the process that one must go through in order to reach an ultimate goal they have.  In Dorothy case the ultimate goal is to find a way back home to Kansas, for us the goals come in all types such as;

• Obtaining a JO cut
• Obtaining a NASA cut
• Making are high school team
• A record
• A best time
• Making it on to that relay at our summer pool
• Making friends
• Staying in shape

As you see each of your goals could be very similar, but on the other hand they could differ individually.  Ironically all the characters in the movies had different goals but they all found themselves on that same yellow brick road that they followed to attain their goals.  The road in swimming is not much different then that yellow brick road was, they are both filled with twists,
turns and bumps all of the things that you have to work through to get to that goal.  Not much different then the road of life that you find yourself on.  In order to get to your goal you have to find a way to work through the rough spots and stay on that road, and often as in the movie it takes the help from those around you to stay on that road.

First we have the scarecrow who simply was looking for a brain so he could think and solve problems.

The next character was that old fussy Cowardly Lion, who just wanted to find courage.  Imagine Simba's father Mufasa walking around his kingdom with little or no courage, leaving Scar to run thing

The last of our characters was the lovable Tin Man and his journey to find a heart.

As you go down your own personal "yellow brick road " in swimming there will always be the curves in the road that you need to navigate around in order to stay on the road.  That road may not include the wicked witch of the east or west, along with their flying monkeys or the Winkie Guards.  However the twists and turns and the bumps you encourage during your trip might be just as intimidating and scary.  They could be anything from fear of failure, disappointing someone, hurting at the end of the race or maybe not being able to finish.  Will I be DQ?  Will I miss my event?  

The twists and turns on the road could be as simple as missing a set during practice or more pressing as missing the entire practice.  It could be your thought process such as; Do I really need to underwater for 4-5 seconds, or do need to finish without a breath on this set?  As you see just like in the movie our journey down our road has it's own twists, turns and bumps.  It is how you deal with them face to face that will determine how far down our road you will go.

How do the Scarecrow,Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion relate to us as swimmers.  As we find out in the movie all three were searching for something that they already and always had, a brain, courage and a heart!  The think that all three were lacking was the knowledge and confidence that they already had the one thing that they sought.

First of all we know this generation is much smarter than the previous ones, all it comes down to is using that brain and figuring out what you need to do to get where you want to.  You have to be smart enough to figure out that what we do in practice will have a direct impact on your races.  At the same time the choices you make outside of the pool have to be smart ones to put you in the best possible position for success.

As for courage just like the Cowardly Lion, you already have more than enough.  First of all it takes a lot of courage to stand up on that block, alone looking down that empty lane knowing that his was a trip that you have to make by yourself and the result will be your's and your's alone, no one to blame.

As for the Tin Man and his heart.  All of you already have a big heart ❤️, we have seen it in practice with some of our sets and the way you have responded.  It takes a big heart to reach down and give an all out effort on swims at the end of a long practice.  It shows you not only are able to take responsibility for your own swimming, but you care enough and respect the sport to give that effort.  You may not know it but that takes a big ❤️ 

All three characters went down the yellow brick road to find the the "Great Oz" to find these intangibles that they felt were missing in their lives.  Now we are not wizards and we do not live in the land of Oz, but just like that wizard, we cannot give you something that you already have had since the day you were born.  That's right YOU were born with all three of these.  The job for those of us around you is to make you aware of that and keep you on that road.

As for Dorothy, she also did not need the wizard all she had to do was the same as you

 click your heels together three times and believe in yourself!

Turns - Underwater Dolphin

How important is that fifth stroke in swimming?  Did you even know that there is a fifth stroke in swimming?  Well guys as we have talked there is a fifth stroke and in a short course pool it provides a big advantage since there are a lot of turns in your events, and as we have emphasized in your training the fastest time you are moving in your race is when you come off those walls.  What we have been doing especially over the last month or so is maintaining that speed off the walls as long as you can.  Yes there are those of you who can go a long way, but Are you maintaining your speed. Or are you one of the ones with a great long streamline of the wall but no speed.

What we have been attempting to do during practice is move from how many kicks we take, and think more in terms of a tight streamline with dolphins for 4-5 seconds.  How far can you get in that 4-5 seconds while maintaining your speed.  Over the last few weeks a lot of you have really bought into this philosophy and have done a great job trying to incorporate this into your swimming. Some of us are having trouble accepting that the benefits from using this in your races far outweigh the negatives.  Reasons for this could be many such as

• just not important enough
• not enough air
• I'm tired
• it hurts

Those are just excuses and we submit to you are just a way of taking the easy way out and not going outside of your comfort zone during workouts or your races.  During the IMX meet we had the opportunity to time most of our underwater time off the walls in the 400 IM and with their permission are allowed to share this with the rest of you as a visual learning aid.  These swimmers were allowed to actually see how long they were underwater at each wall for each stroke.  They were able to compare their underwater time with how they actually felt while performing their underwater's during the race.


As you read this graph the start and each wall is on the left followed by each swimmers split for that 50.  Each swimmer was asked to find an easy speed for the 100 fly and then to really try to push the backside of each of the other 100's as they transition from stroke to stroke.  The highlighted numbers are for the breaststroke leg of the race (notice a difference), and finally the circle number is the total amount of time spent underwater during the race.  For those of you into Math Emerson spent 16% of the race underwater, and Caroline spent 18% of her  race underwater.

It's your choice but I would think it is an area that I would really want to improve during practice in order to improve my races.  WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO CHOOSE!!

EMERSON.                PARKER.                   AVA                            KITTY
4.8/3.7  31.32/35.8.     2.8/2.7  32.04/38.8.    2.4/2.3  31.2/36.3.     3.8/2.3.   30.8/35.9
2.8/2.5  39.32/37.9.     2.9/2.8  38.4/37.1       2.4/2.2. 37.9/37.2.     2.8/2.2.   38.9/38.8
2.7/2.4  41.31/41.13.   2.0/1.6. 42.9/44.02.     2.5/2.1  45.9/46.0.    2.9/2.1.   44.7/45.2
2.2/2.2  35.21/34.31    2.1/1.9  34.7/33.8        2.0/2.1  32.8/32.3.    2.1/1.5.   35.1/33.3
4.8/4.4                         4.0/3.7                          3.6/4.0.                    4.0/4.1
4.5/4.5                         3.9/3.3                          4.0/3.9                     3.6/3.3
2.8/2.0                         1.6/1.5                          2.1/1.8                     2.1/2.0
1.9/1.8                         1.5/1.6                          2.0/1.8.                    1.6/1.4
49.5                             39.9                              41.1                          37.2



CAROLINE                   KENDALL
3.7/3.1.  32.3/36.1          2.6/2.7.   32.2/36.1
2.9/2.9.  38.8/38.2          2.2/2.3.   39.3/38.8
2.9/2.7.  45.1/44.6          2.6/2.4.   45.1/44.6
2.6/2.5.  33.4/32.5          1.8/1.9.   33.4/32.5
5.8/5.6                            4.0/3.9
5.8/5.4                            3.7/3.8
1.9/2.0                            1.9/1.4
2.0/1.9                            1.6/1.4
53.8                                40.2