“We all swim in the same water. We all start at the same end. We all turn on the same wall. We all finish on the same wall. It does not matter what lane we find ourselves in. We all have the same opportunity.”
Hope everyone’s spring break is off to a great start wherever your travels take you. Maybe you find yourself on a cruise, or on the slopes, or a beach. Visiting grandparents is a popular destination this time of year or maybe it’s just hanging out in your neighborhood. No matter where you find yourself enjoy the time with family and friends. Look back at all the hard work and sacrifices you have made this year, take a deep breath and prepare to come back and finish both the school year and swim season strong. It’s not about how you start but how you finish.
This week we have 42 14 and under swimmers down with us in Saint Petersburg to compete in the ISCA ELITE Championship meet. This meet is a great opportunity for our swimmers to do some quality racing with swimmers from all over the country in an environment filled with music, swimming, and making memories to last a lifetime.
One of those memories involves Coach Logan as a 6 year old swimmer at one of the first meets when it was held in Miami Beach. Picture Coach Mike driving the van back from finials with Logan and our older kids. Logan starts throwing up (projecting food all over the van) and our older swimmers freeze and calmly I just asked them to stick her head out the window. Bottom line is Coach Heather is fuming because I dropped the kids off for the dinner and disappeared. I had to explain to her that I had to go and clean the van thanks to her daughter and here I am again still driving that child around.
We hope our 2026 edition of Mako swimmers will create some of their own memories at this meet maybe just less vivid.
TRIVIA MAIL BOX
Last week’s answer. The lanes in a competition pool nearest the walls are often referred to as the slow lanes, the outside lanes, and out side smoke.
A CLOSER LOOK First off I have never believed in a slow lanes. A lane is an opportunity for a swimmer to race. The swimmer makes the lane fast or slow. Stop using your lane as an excuse to
fail. Second as for outside lanes that just what they are as the middle lanes are inside lanes and again the swimmer will dictate if the lane is slow or fast. They are all opportunities to race others. That’s it, don’t make it an issue. Lastly as to outside smoke means that in most races your leaders are not worried about swimmers in those lanes and in the summer I ask my swimmers as they step into those lanes to repeat this question to themselves, Why not me today? I belong. So there you have it.
This week’s trivia:
What part of a swimmers race is often called' "the back half" in the 100 back.
a) the middle 25
b) the underwater kicks
c) the last 25
d) the second 50
e) b and d
NUTRITION TIP OF THE WEEK
Electrolytes. Do you know what they are? Why they are important?
What it boils down to is that they are important minerals that help your body function not only in the pool but outside in your dail lives also. Over your head maybe but it is an important part of your nutritional plan, or should be.
Your body needs sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and chloride to help maintain hydration, balance your acidity levels, help regulate muscle movement and your central nervous system.
How does your body lose these all important minerals and this is simple through your sweating ( surprise little ones you do sweat in the water) and during all those bathroom breaks unless you go in and take a shower.
Have you ever had to swim with headaches, nausea, cramping, fatigue, or loss of energy? The majority of these symptoms can normally be controlled by proper hydration before you ever dive in and continuing throughout your workouts or competitions. This is why we stay on you to drink and is another part of staying focus and on task.
Let’s talk sports drink for a moment. Are they good for you? Yes and No (opinion here). They are filled with unnecessary sugar and food coloring. Your body does not need all that sugar because all it does is keep you on a that roller coaster and eventually that roller coaster is going to hit the summit and come crashing back to reality with a thud.
How can you make a sports drink work for you. Mix your sports drink with a 50/50 split of water and sports drink. It can be a lower mix of your sports drink but no higher than that 50/50 mix. It’s not about the taste, it’s about getting the proper electrolytes into your body to stay balanced so that you can perform at a optimal level throughout workouts and competitions.
SETS OF THE WEEK. There are none this week as we are on spring break. The swimmers in Florida this week hit the pool today and went through their meet warmups to familiarize themselves with not only the pool but the environmental conditions of swimming outside.
Below are our Mako swimmers warming up at the pool.
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