Bad Swim

Just had to share this with you today.  After practice this morning I went to the gym and after a short workout headed to the pool planning to get a long 2500 yard stretch out swim after this past weekend.  The swimstarted out great but suddenly half way in it started to go down hill. This being a day off from school these two ladies decided that they were going to bring their 3 kids from the day care room to the pool to play.   😂Excuse me ladies this is for lap swimming only.  Now you all know I have nothing against kids but this was after a weekend of only seeing kids and having Sara and Claire following me around the deck. I needed a break .  But no these three were determined to undermine my swim one way or another.  First their noodle floated into my lane and then of course, not one but all three of them had to come over to get it. Next it was let's throw a ball back and forth across the pool (4 lanes so it's possible), but not for these kids.  I don't think they could do it even if I gave them a dollar.   

I finally came to the conclusion that this was going to be a problem. I could let this problem get to me and stress me out, or I could work the problem.  After getting permission from the moms I told the three to go get the kickboards in the corner and we were going to play a game.  

Excited they retrieved the boards and I spent 10 minutes showing them different things they could do with them. At the end I told them that now we are going to race and that the winner gets to sit out while the others had to race.  After the first race one down, two left.  After two races two gone one left.  Now the last one had to race me and of course I lost so the three of them were out of the pool. 

At first they thought they were getting back in, but I explained to them that they always wanted to wait for 10 minutes before they were ready to race again.  The mothers gave them a snack I got another 700 yards in during intermission.   PROBLEM SOLVED

How do you look at an unexpected problem during your day?

Going through IMX Thoughts now more later.  Mike

IMX MEET

Everyone swimming this weekend should have gotten notice about the 500 for Friday afternoon/evening.  I did the best to figure out your heats and time for the event.  This could change a little after positive check in is completed, but should should not be by a lot as I don't feel there will be  too many scratches.

I will check in all our swimmers when I get there at noon unless I hear differently.  After the meet begins as always I will not have my phone with me as I will devote my attention to you all.  As you get there get settled and go through your warmup, which is as follows for this event;

SENIOR PREP
200 swim. 200 kick. 200 drill swim. For drill do stop-stop-switch and stay long
5x50 free build 1-2 seconds faster each 50
100 swim kick swim kick
2x 4x25 easy fast
100 warm down
Get out and stay warm

Junior Gold
150 swim 150 kick 150 swim drill use stop-stop-switch
4x50 free build. 1-2 seconds faster each 50
100 swim kick swim kick
2x 4x25 easy fast
100 warm down
Get out and get warm

DO NOT HESITATE TO GET BACK IN FOR A QUICK WARM UP PRIOR TO RACE.
100 stretch out and 4-6 all out 25's. After this your event should start 10-15 minutes

SWIMMING THE RACE
Find that easy speed for that first 100( starting to SLOW will hamper the swim). Try and negative split that first 100 so you can get into your pace for the middle and then negative split that last 100 for a great finish.  YOU HAVE 19 turns so be aggressive on all of them. Move that first breath to the second arm movement off the walls.  YOU'VE DONE IT IN PRACTICE.  TRUST YOUR TRAINING.

We may ask some of you too count for some of your teammates if possible.  After you swim get out of there and get some rest.

Looking forward to some great races!   Mike

IMX MEET

The Gold Group and I sat down on Wednesday to go over the meet schedule for the next two months. The Senior Prep group and I will be going over the meet schedule this afternoon.  I have a preliminary list of the swimmers signed up for the IMX meet coming up at the end of this month and there seems to be some confusion with this meet.  This is not a typical meet where we pick and choose which events OR days we are swimming.

PURPOSE OF MEET:

The IMX meet is a motivational program whereby swimmers will be scored and ranked nationally on their performance in a combination of five or six events.  The purpose of the program is to promote versatility in age group swimming while advocating greater participation and development across a range of events that are integral to long term success in swimming.  The events are as follows; 10 and under’s 200IM, 200 FREE, 100 BACK, 100 BREAST, 100 FLY.  11 AND 12 YEAR OLDS; 500 FREE, 200 IM, 100 BACK, 100 BREAST, 100 FLY.  13 AND OVERS 200 IM, 400 IM, 500 FREE, 200 BACK, 200 BREAST, 200 FLY.  This is the program for each age group.  After swimming the events in your program your score is totaled and you are able to see where you rank on your team, in the region and across the country.

This meet will be fun but grueling and one of the few meets where each swimmer swims every event.  If for some reason you are not planning to commit to all three days and all the events, YOU SHOULD NOT ENTER THIS MEET!  As I stated before this is not a meet to just pick and choose events because unless you swim all of the events in your program your score will not be totaled.

If you are just swimming a particular event for time, you should be entering the January Open or one of the qualifier meets in the next month.

Any questions Please ask me.  Mike

HAPPY NEW YEAR

This being the last week of the year it is natural to feel reflective on the year that was.  Giving yourself some alone time to reflect can make a big difference.  As you reflect here are a few things to consider; 

• 10 Highlights (accomplishments, best memories personal, chool, swimming)
•  5 Disappointments  (failures, missed opportunities)
•  3 Game Changers (unexpected things that happened to change your priorities)
•  3 Areas of Focus (what you spent most of your time on)
•  3 things you forgot (what you did not get around to)

All of us had missed opportunities throughout 2017, and now is the time to reflect, become a little more self aware of ourselves and our surroundings in 2018.  As we move forward into the new year my focus here will be on your swimming.

 

Throughout your swimming you will always have questions that will cross your mind, but are you asking the RIGHT questions at the RIGHT time?

 

Great swims are built during our training sessions.  Each day gives you an opportunity to develop the results that you want to see on race day.  The question you need to ask yourself is what is the focus of the day?  What am I trying to improve on during this set?

 

How hard am I actually training?  We all have biases that can be sneaky, stinky little things that can convince us we are working harder than we actually are.  They can convince us that we have made more practices than we really did.  They can also convince us that we are taking care of the things away from the pool that will help you such as proper sleep, nutrition, hydration and staying on top of our school work.  Sometimes it is good to “unplug” for a couple of minutes at the end of the day and write down a few notes to yourself.  Yes a small diary of your day.

 

 Do You keep your focus on things that You can control?  Fact is that swimming is a competitive sport, performed with other swimmers competitively in a pool.  What that means is that at some point the way you swim is measured up against how others swim.  We often allow ourselves to get lost in this comparison often to the point of sabotaging your  performance.  Obsessing on how other swimmers are training and performing can either boost our motivation and light a fire, or it can be the kindling of our own anxiety.  Next time you catch yourself getting bent out of shape from something out of your control, step back and think right foot, left foot, breathe and refocus on something you can control such as;

• preparation
• Technique
• Warm up/ warm down
• Pre race rotation
• Training
• Nutrition
• Sleep
• hydration

 

Is my attitude positive or negative and how is it affecting my training/racing?  It’s very easy to stay positive when things are going right, but the real attitude and character will be reflected in the moments of adversity..  At this moment the world will see the real you!  It can manifest itself whenever you’ve had a bad race, or training session, maybe a DQ.  It can also manifest itself when you are exhausted and the last thing that you want to do is head back to the pool for a set of 200’s pace work.

 

Am I setting a standard for others to follow?  Not all of us are cheerleaders, but we can still lead by example.  How you ask?  Be the one to complete the set correctly even if the coach is not watching.  Keep track of reps and intervals.  Don’t give up when it gets tough or interval is hard. Help with the equipment.  Leadership is not about being the fastest or giving speeches.  The most powerful form of leadership is through action and example.  This type of leadership has another side benefit by encouraging others to rise to your level.  You are creating a culture that promotes success for everyone including yourself.

 

            ❄️ TIC ❄️ TAC  ❄️ SWIMMING❄️

 

 

Write down a positive note!😃	Finish what you start!🏁	Nutrition; make your plate a rainbow!🌈
Own up to your hangups!	Be the first in at practice!	Help the younger swimmers!  A Hello is great!
Chase Mastery!	Create trigger words for when your caught in the middle of a storm	Lead a lane at Practice!🏊🏼‍♀️

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR.    MIKE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHRISTMAS TIME

Hope all of you are enjoying your practices in the morning and enjoying having your after noons free.  Nothing too deep this week as I know being away from school and your normal routines, some of you tend to go brain dead.  However after going through some of the older posts I came across an old Christmas post.  I will attempt another one as I sit here on the beach watching the sun set at the Post Corner (some of you NASA kids may remember the place), as they said I could stay all night.

 

🎅🏻“TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE JO’s”🎅🏻

 

When all through the building not a swimmer was stirring, not even a official.  The scoreboard and backstroke flags were hung on deck with care in the hopes that coaches would soon be there.  The swimmers were nestled all snug on the deck, while visions of personal best’s danced in their heads; and mamma in her kerchief, and dad in his cap, had just settled in for a long winter meet; when out on the deck there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my chair to see what was the matter.  Away to the bleachers I flew like a flash, tore open the doors, threw off the towels to see what was the matter.  The moon on the surface of the freshly filled pool gave luster of mid morning to objects below.

 

When what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny swimmers, with a big old coach so grumpy and sarcastic, I knew in a moment it must be coach Mike.  More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, and he whistled (I really can’t, but this is part fiction ok) and shouted and called them by name; “Now! Kevin, Now! Katherine, Now! Blake and Sara, On Claire, On Ethan, On Emerson and Kitty (sorry he only had eight and I had the waitress pull names from a glass), to the pool deck, to the blocks, now swim away, swim away, swim away all!

 

As calm water before the hurricane comes.  When they meet with an obstacle, plunge into the pool, to the far end they swim.  With their bodies full of equipment, and Coach Mike too.  And then in a twinkling, I hear in the bleachers the prancing and pawing of each little parent.  As I drew in my head and was turning around, up the steps Coach Mike came with a bound.  He was dressed in sweats from his head to his tennis shoes, and his clothes tarnished in holes and chlorine; a bundle of awards flung on his back, and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.  His eyes—how they stared!  His dimples—how merry (really not a chance).  His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry (losing it here). His droll little mouth was drawn up in a frown, the stick of a tootsie pop held tight in his teeth.  He had a broad face and a little round belly that shook when he laughed like bowlful of jelly.  He was chubby and large, a right frightening old coach, and I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.  A wink of his eye and a twist of his head soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.  He spoke not a word (typical), but went straight to work, and filled all the swimmer bags; then turned with a jerk, and laying his finger aside his nose, and giving a nod, down the steps he went.  He sprung onto the deck, to the swimmers gave a yell and away they all swam.  But I heard him exclaim, as he walked out of sight,

 

“Fast Swimming To all, and To all

A Good Night"

 

 

To all the swimmers, parents and families (yes you to Mary Claire) have a Merry Christmas!

 

Coach Mike

IS TODAY GOING TO BE HARD

A lot of you have asked about practices during the holidays and here are my expectations.  The Junior Blue group will not have practice from December 22 to January 3.  Both the Senior Prep and Junior Gold Groups will have practice during the holidays and I expect you to attend the workouts.  DO NOT LET THE WORK YOU’VE PUT IN take a step backwards.

CLICK HERE for the WINTER BREAK PRACTICE SCHEDULE

MARLIN CHAMPIONSHIP MEET WRAP UP

This past weekend we were treated to some GREAT swimming from a lot of Mako swimmers, a lot from the Prep, Gold and Blue groups.  This meet turned out to be a great experience for our swimmers in and out of the pool.  Although the trip to Lancaster was missed, I believe in the end this was a better environment for our swimmers.  The first major advantage was that you were able to sleep in your own beds and have some normal meals.  for our older swimmers who made finals, they were able to get quality rest between sessions at home.  This meet also gave our 10 and unders a chance to see what it is like to swim prelims and finals, valuable experience as we move towards JO’s and the NASA meets in March.  And while not  being quite as fast none the less there were some very fast swimming, and we had a lot of our swimmers back for finals at night.  The biggest advantage for myself was not having that long bus ride home on a cold evening.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM MY VIEW

One of the first was that at a meet like this (CHAMPIONSHIP) it can become a grind and you better bring your best.  Your best includes good meals and at the proper times, proper warm ups and warm downs throughout the meet also at the proper times, proper hydration throughout the meet.  Proper rest throughout the meet and away from the meet is also critical, and last but very important is staying in the moment and being positive throughout the meet regardless of the environment.  This also includes that moment when the result is a little less than what you may have expected.  It is so easy to listen to that little man in your head when he blurts out a variety of negative vibes, YOU need to find ways to defeat him because he is just a big “FUN SUCKER” who would love to defeat you agt every turn.  That is why I am so sarcastic with some of you, to take your mind off of him and just maybe help you relax a little.

Warm Up/ Warm Down:  For the most part all of you performed very well in this areas this past weekend.  The areas that still need our attention is right before and right after our swims.  After you swim You neet to warm down immediately.  I still see a lot of talking and standing around which allows your muscles to tighten up quickly.  This also includes your last swim of the day, do not make the mistake of packing up and leaving the pool.  For our groups a good 300 to 400 is needed at the end of the day.  If you  do not do it you feel it that much more the next day and it will take much longer to stretch out.  Your second warmup should be done to allow no more than 20 minute before your event, (A few 50 to loosen up and some fast 25’s for your heart rate will be enough and than stay warm).  As for going to your lane for long events about 3 heats and for 50’s go early as they go very fast.  You have to help me help you this is a joint adventure.  

Disqualifications:  We had 4 of them, 1 false start (flinch), 1 in fly a (breast kick into turn), 1 in breaststroke (multiple fly kicks on pull out) and 1 in the IM (alternating hand touch on turn).  The lesson is focus on the little things during practice so at a meet all we have to donis race.  Do it wrong in practice just once and that may be the one that follows you into a meet.  Another very important item is that at a Championship meet they will have more officials and their responsibility may only be one or two swimmers so in most cases any little thing will be caught.  Don’t leave it up to an official do it right all the time!!

Reading a Meet Sheet:  Do you really understand a meet sheet?  A championship meet is always circle seed which means, the number one seed is in the last heat, second seed is in the next to last heat, and the third seed is in the third to last heat.  In a trails and finals meet it is important to pay attention to the times being posted in the last four heats because the top 16 will normally come  from those heats.  Another thing to understand is that the heats are locked at night which means that if you find yourself in the fast heat the lowest you can place is eight, and on the other hand if you find yourself in the consolation heatg the highest you can place is ninth regardless of your time.  Bottom line is that you always want to try in get in. the championship  heat in a scored event.

In reading a meet sheet remember that lanes 4 and 5 are your top seeds, lanes 3 and 6 are your next seeds, lanes 2 and 7 your next seeds, and lanes 1 and 8 your last seeds.  As I watch races when I see lanes 4 or 5 get to the walls last my immediate thought is they are letting the field swim away from them and we may be in trouble.  It pretty well happens this way in your 50 and 100’s, but in longer events it’s not always the case.  Sometimes swimmers may go out too hard and just not have enough to finish the race, and will come back to the field.  The point of this is to understand the meet’ rely on the way you and your coach have discussed how to swim the race and TRUST your training.

UPCOMING MEETS:  Don’t forget to circle the first weekend in January to swim the 1650 free.  This is a very quick meet and if you're not swimming the MAKO Meet, you should be here to take the place of practice.  As for the MAKO Meet we should be putting away our best events unless you are trying to get cuts in something.  Don’t forget NASA cuts at JOs will NOT count for NASA.   Plan accordingly!

WEEKS TOPIC:  “IS TODAY GOING TO BE HARD"

Sometimes I am amazed that the first thing out of swimmers mouths when I see them for the first time is not Hello, but Is it going to be hard today?  You should always expect practice to be hard or else what is the point of going.  If the workout is not hard and without purpose it is easy to just go through the motions and become discouraged. “Expecting it to be hard keeps you motivated.  It prepares you for adversity.  And it keeps you working at things even. When it’s hard.”  

Expecting it to be easy sets you up for disappointment.  Over the years it’s the swimmers who are wishful thinkers that end up the most disappointed.  They have always expected things to be easy and go their way.  They feel they deserve things too be easy.  They feel because they have suffered through some hard work that everything that follows should be downhill.  This is not a realistic approach to take.  Nothing hard is ever easy!

Swimming a best time is Hard!  Winning the heat and beating the competition is hard!  Demolishing a two hour practice is hard!  Expecting it to be hard keeps you motivated.  Easy is a myth, and it’s pointless because an easy win is a hollow victory.  When was the last time you got really excited to swim in a slower heat or a regular meet.  Did this environment motivate you for that great swim?  On the other hand when you swim against swimmers who are faster or in a championship meet, does that push you to a new intensity and level of achievement.  You bet your chlorinated bottom it does.  The hard part makes it rewarding.  

Easy doesn’t prepare you.  However when you expect it to be hard you are better prepared mentally and physically for competition.  When you are prepared mentally you will be ready for any thing that comes up during a meet.

Don’t fall for the illusion of easy.  Go in with the mindset that it will be tough, and that it will challenge you.

See you at the pool.  Mike

THE TOOL BOX and more

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving, with a little break from the pool.  It was good 😊to see a lot of you make the effort to attend practice on Saturday afternoon.  We had a great 2 hours, tremendous effort by everyone.

WEEK AHEAD

This will be a busy meet for us with all practices at the normal time, and the Mako Winter Invitational this weekend.

WARM UP TIMES FOR BOTH DAYS:

11-12 year olds 7:30

10 and Under's 11:00

13 and over's 2:40

Remember your warm ups and warm down's. We may have to adjust our meet warm up for senior prep and junior gold if it is crowded.  Don't forget that 2nd warm up about 20 minutes before you swim.  Very Short 3x50's (1smooth, 2 easy fast, 3 fast easy) and 4-6 25's all out.  This should all be free, we are just trying to get the heart rate up.  When you get out, wrap up stay warm, little drink and let's go!

HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMERS

Good luck to the High School swimmers in Our Senior Prep group, as they start their season this Friday Night.  Katelyn Schafer Robinson, Madeline Ice Marshall, Allyson Lerke Centreville, Elizabeth Williams Oakton, Alexandra Martschenko South Lakes, Cara Patrick Centreville

Have a great time as all of you enter your first dual meet of the season.  There is a lot of stuff that revolves around High School Swimming and sometimes swimmers let that get in the way of their training that they have been doing since September.  Sometimes swimmers will allow all of these distractions to sabotage the good work that they have been doing.  We all would love to have best times every time we go into the pool, but that is not reality.  These are dual meets (like little quizzes) and your only job is to race and BEAT people.  Your goal should be to have that best ⏱ at Your District Championships, and if you make it to Regions and on to states.  Don't get wrapped up in the times early in the season, instead focus on the places for the points.

One of the big ways to sabotage your swimming is skipping that Saturday training session because of a late meet and a team dinner afterwards.  Due yourself a favor and get to the pool, and if your honest with yourself you will probably feel a lot better after practice and you may not be as sore and tight all weekend.  The other big mistake is missing practice Friday morning because your going to rest for a DUAL MEET (REALLY that's just an excuse not to get up)later that night.  It's easy to find and excuse not to do something, instead focus on something that may help you swim better, GET TO PRACTICE.  Swim tired so that when you are rested at Districts, and you are on edge and hungry to do something, you may have that great race your looking for.  The one last area is the Thursday Night Dinner and I can tell you from experience that my daughters never missed a Thursday afternoon practice and always got to the dinner (maybe a little late).  They understood the bigger picture.  BE SMART WITH YOUR CHOICES that you make the next few months.  

THIS WEEK PRACTICE

This week we will be doing a lot of IM work early in the week and a lot of our focus will be our dolphin kicks off our walls.  Our goal is always first get to the flags, from there we  move to the 10 m mark so let's stay focus on our work around the walls this week.  I want to see a big difference at the meets the next two weeks.  Friday the afternoon groups will not need their fins as the pool will be set up for the meet.

"The Tool Box"

What is in your tool box?  You may be thinking🤔 He's lost it now, he is talking about tools.  But no you all have not made  me crazy Yet, but what I want you to think about is, how you show up at practice and with what?  Yes suits, goggles, caps and all that is fine and pretty easy, but what I am talking about are turns, streamlines, starts, finishes, underwater dolphins and good techniques.  You need to acquire all of these and put them into your tool bag so that you can pull them out when you need them.  Just showing up at practice and jumping in the pool does not accomplish this, and I was reminded of this working with the Seniors this past weekend.  We were going through the sets of fast 25's of swim and kick.  At the start I informed them that I would keep track of where they were in the set and that there whole focus was to maintain ALL OUT speed.  On two occasions a couple of them looked up and asked; How many more?  They were not paying attention to the goal of the set, and sarcastically my only response was, that is why you can't finish a race.  Mean maybe, honest absolutely and sometimes that may be what you need to hear like it or not.

What I am trying to get at is that it is just important to pay attention to the focus of the set and add that tool to your bag.  It doesn't get into the bag unless you work at it constantly not just when you want to or its uncomfortable.  At some point you will be uncomfortable in your race and you better have that good turn with fast dolphins, because I promise you your competition will.

See you at the pool!   Mike