“WIN”. What’s Important Now

Valentines Day, Roses and swimming.  Do they have anything in common?  Roses and Valentines Day go together.   Have you ever heard the phrase, Slow down and Smell the roses? This thought came up during our meet in Greensboro a few days ago and the reason for that is simple, we had talked about warmup and warm down during the meet and I always wonder if you all hear the message, I know you hear the noise but do you really hear the message?  First up was warmups the first day of the meet when what to my Astonishment some swimmers said they were finished warmup after 15 minutes and all I could do is shake my head.   You are about to ask your body to be ready to race when you make that call but you fail to prepare it and get it ready for the grueling task ahead. Second we talked about getting a long warm down after your last event (300-600 depending on your level and age).  I actually had to sit at a swimmers lane and keep them going because after a 50 this swimmer said I'm done, so we

"The most important single in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people". THEODORE ROOSEVELT How important is it to be a good teammate?  By being an awesome teammate you help create a culture that will go a long way in how successful the group including yourself will be.  When you walk around with a positive mindset it can be very infectious with everyone in the group, but on the other hand you can sabotage the group with innuendos, gossip and exclusion.  Instead of being part of the problem, BE part of the solution. Swimmers come in all types and have been blessed with different talents an regardless where you are on the spectrum everyone of you can be a great group mate. EFFORT -- A great group mate will always give relentless effort regardless, no excuses.  We always talk about focusing in on the things you can control and effort is the one thing that you can control every day. No excuses.  An athlete who always has an excuse will always have a built

  "The difference between TRY and TRUMPH is a little UMPH." DISTANCE MEET WRAP Some of our swimmers went over to the Saint James on Saturday and Sunday to swim the 1000 and 1650 this past weekend.  One of the reasons I like this meet is that I think it's a great way for swimmers to be exposed to the distance side of swimming and it's a great way to start off a new year.   I start my new year with a polar swim in the Atlantic every year and this year because of our warmer temperatures I was able to stay in a little longer.  For you all the distance meet combines a workout and some speed work in a short time frame and gets you off to a great start in the new year.   We had some really impressive swims from the Mako swimmers and a few of them actually found a new event that they liked, maybe their is a future triathlon swimmer in the group.  We had some who got a little dizzy trying to figure out a breathing pattern for the mile, and others upon finishing commented that

SENIOR PREP The best example of doing the crossover turn I have seen out there.  Watch this short example of the steps in doing the turn as we will dive into it on Thursday.  As a coach working with 14 under’s sometimes I believe that swimmers look at this turn as the “new hot fashionable “ thing on the market and that is the wrong way to approach it.  You should ask yourselves this one question, Do I get an advantage from using the turn?  Once you can master the turn I believe there is an advantage in the 100 and 200 IM not so much in the 400 IM at this stage of your swimming.   Take a look at it and we will start setting aside some time to practice the steps. HAPPY TURNS

  Hope all of your had a good and restful holiday season.  Thank you all for the cards with gift cards and all of the treats, and kind words.  It means a lot especially the words from the swimmers. Hope we all can get into a normal routine now with school, swimming and any other activities that you may be involved with.  I know that first day of school can be hard after a long break but you all are awesome and I am sure each of you rose to the occasion. This weekend there are 2 meets. Mako Polar Plunge --Saturday and Sunday at Mason. Please check the Mako web site for warm up times.  I was asked by a couple of you last week about suiting up for this meet and the answer is NO.   Understand that this is a training meet to help get back into the swing of thi9ngs after the holidays.  I will not be attending this meet as I will be at the distance meet at the Saint James both days. January Distance Meet Saturday and Sunday @Saint James. Saturday is the 1000. Positive Check in by NOON on Fri