SC WOSA a mid season report card

Well it is that time of year again, Short Course Regionals are over and the coaches sit down and review the season thus far. How was participation at the meet? We had a good number of swimmers attend but we were missing a few of our new older swimmers and a lot of our younger swimmers. Where do we go from here? We get the swimmers who have not yet qualified for regionals excited about getting better technique, better attendance at workout, a more consistent work ethic at each workout and a goal on doing what it takes to be the best swimmer you can be by Long Course Regionals in June! If you didn't make regionals and you want to make that commitment speak to your coach about what it will take. You have almost 4 months and a lot of things can happened in that span of time. Already made the qualifying standard BUT want more from your 2008-2009 swim season? Well step it up and get you sights set on the next level of swimming and what you can do to get there. 4 months in long enough to learn new skills, get great fitness, and break bad habits... use your time wisely!
Team Spirit and Unity review... With half the season under out belts how is the team doing at working together supporting each other and showing their pride? Well we still have swimmers without team suits and caps showing up to the meet expecting to swim! I am pretty sure if you show up to hockey without your team jersey you don't play for the team. Get your head around the fact that we look stronger as a team when we look like a team! Our team cap is white with a Red G on it and out team suit is a navy aquablade! No exceptions are made without the coaches permission and no permission will be given till maybe club nationals?! Tack suits and T-shirts on deck are proper attire that is why we have them. Some swimmers show great spirit BUT we still have along way to go in this department both on and off the deck! Lets work together to get our people all moving in the same direction, we will make it further and easier without the fight against the traffic!!!
Performance Summary: We had some great swims and some swimmers who stepped up and performed at the right time! That is the point of Championship Meets, better atmosphere, better support, better performance! I think this was the case for the majority of GMAC's athletes. If you are one of the swimmers who didn't reach your goals or swim to the best of your ability NOW is the opportunity to ask why and how can I fix this for the end of Long Course Season? Did I train hard and smart and consistently? Do I race in my own lane and stay focused on my swimming? Did I feel confident and sure that I was ready to race?
Technical Feedback... considering there there is unlikely a club out there that spends as much time and money and resources on technical perfection I was a little disappointed in some of our swims from a technical perspective. Kickouts, turns and stroke length were lacking almost across the board. I think that we have some work to do in this department and you will see a difference at Long Course! Keep your eyes on the pool and see how far we go from here.
Good Job in Short Course season! Lets get moving towards a great Long Course season. How about we aim for 65 qualifiers for Long Course Regionals? How about we aim for the best turns, starts and strokes of all the clubs. Lets elevate our performance at the meet starting today!

Awards Banquet

Awards are a good thing to recognize efforts and achievements above and beyond the norm.. They allow us to relive the past and look forward to the future. Some people get caught up in the award and forget that not everyone or everything needs to be rewarded... somethings have their own rewards... Perfect attendance allows you to know that you did everything you could to be part of the training process... it's reward better performanc and no doubt. Most improved allows you to increase your level of performance beyond the average and jump towards your goals... you don't need an award as the results are their own reward. Many people want to be recognized and feel bitter that they are not, really the only thing that matters is how you feel about your past performances and what you are going to do in the future. Rankings/Place etc are only part of the picture. Use the entire picture to get a long term success instead of a short term one.
GMAC is full of great people, families and athletes and it is good to get together and celebrate that... congratulations to everyone on their last season now lets see where we are going for 2008-09

Olympics

I have had a lot of people speak to me about technical or tactical things they have seen on the coverage of the Olympic Games over the past few days. My answer is always the same. Everyone is different and just because it works for them doesn't mean you should make the change. Maybe these swimmer's coach has tried to get them to learn certain skills unsuccessfully(been there, done that). These full grown, more experienced and much faster swimmers are not to be an example of age group swimming and we should stick to the plans we have for proper strokes and turns.
Instead lets watch and find people who are doing the skills like we have worked on. Long tight streamlines, kicks off their walls, good strong finishes etc. Lets visualize our strokes, races and training and feed off the energy of the games. Make this motivation for a great start to the 2008-09 season. Put into motion your plan, where will you be when the Olympics are in London in four years? I feel motivated to have my best year ever, do you?

How to get ready for a great Season

With one month to go till the 2008-09 Swim Season begins, it may be time to start thinking about how you can ensure a great season.
#1. Get active! If you have not been doing an organized sport this summer get started on some fitness so you are ready for the season. Don't have any ideas what you should be doing? E-mail me and I will get you started.
#2. Get organized! Get your schedule penciled in for workouts, school and other activities so you get a good balance and still have enough energy to reach your goals. Set up your system for packing and unpacking your swim bag. A place for everything so you never forget anything!
#3. Get Healthy! Are you sleeping enough, eating well and so on. Set some goals on eating enough protien, number of vegtables and fruits to eat each day, etc.

No Need to get in the pool, BUT since it is summer and you may want to get some swimming in... work on kicking! Streamline kickouts, kicking with and without a board, kicking fast, kicking long, all types of kick. Work on streamlines and push offs as well.