5/7/2013

Our friends the Australians have an expression...to be "gobsmacked". Heaven only knows the derivation, but the picture I have in my mind is getting literally "smacked in the face with a fish". Sort of a stunning and "attention riveting event."

One night during Christmas Vacation training, one of the nice young men on our team, (I'll call him Benito) did something that led to my exclamation at the top of this article.  He's a good young man, and he was simply responding to the prevailing ethic of our society, which is to constantly seek to make things "easier".

In the process, he lost track of a critical lesson and a great opportunity. It resulted in my rather loudly and strongly making my point above.

We'd finished about 6 K of water work in 90 minutes and were proceeding to our 30 minutes of dryland work on a cool Florida evening, with a decent chill in the air.  My first instruction was about some med ball throws. Following that, it was "3 sets Med ball situps, � twist, 100 with 30 seconds rest."

So far, all is well. Benito moves into the situp phase well enough and does his first set. Around that time, another athlete has to leave....tossing her med ball into the bin....Benito, who is about 30 situps into his second hundred, hops up, and grabs the just discarded ball, which, I immediately note is 4 pounds LIGHTER. 

"BENITO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? THIS IS A SET OF 100!"

"Coach, I wanted this other ball....." (as explanation for stopping in mid-set, which he knows is a team no-no)

"WHY? THIS IS A SET OF 100!"

"Coach, this ball has handles and its lighter."

Now revert to the top of the page for my next comments.

I then stopped the whole group and gathered them around me...."guys, why are we here?" (various answers) "we'd better all be here with the intent to get better." (various nods, affirmations, and some blank stares....) "toget better, we Need to Do Whatever Is HARDER, Not what is easier, yes?"

Lights go on in most eyes, most heads nod. Notably, not ALL heads nod.

I went on to explain that sport, done correctly is counter-culture. The prevailing culture around us values and esteems "making things easier". It's EVERYWHERE in our world.  And it is EXACTLY what keeps us from being our best. As aspiring athletes, and coaches, we need to SEEK OUT that which is harder, more uncomfortable, more demanding. Not look for the lighter ball with handles.

Benito got it. As soon as I said "back to work", he found the biggest, nastiest med-ball he could find WITHOUT handles, and restarted his second set of 100. The majority of the rest of the athletes did likewise. When you point it out to them...."they know". 

But I found myself wondering, if a COACH didn't point it out to them, would they ever get it on their own? I think that's why we describe it as "counter-culture."

Each of my athletes has heard and "understood" the expression "get comfortable with being uncomfortable" if you want to get better. They can all intellectually explain it. But on a cool Florida night when they were tired, most could not see the application "on their own."

A wonderful lesson for me as well as for my athletes.

Explore Blue
Spring Parent Meeting
April 15, 2013

Short Course highlights

-meet participation was GREAT

-saw a lot of improvement

Long Course Practice

     -schedule remains the same until mid-June

-unsure about what the schedule will be we

are still talking to GRAP)

-will either remain the same or reflect last years summer practice schedule

     -current training: lots of technique work, continued work on turns, more transition to

      longer swims in practice 200 free/IM      

     -continue to practice with PSDN consistently during summer; afternoon/evening

       practices 

     -use summer league practice as a way to see friends.  The summer practices will not

       be as challenging for most kids

-Saturday practice is available for Blue group from 8:30-10:00 to allow some LC water time

Meets

      -our goal is to get everyone to participate in a LC meet

      -it is important to compete; competition teaches valuable lessons; think BIG picture

      -often you see a different swimmer at a meet then you do at practice

      - if you miss a sign up email me ASAP

      -April 19-21 (home meet)

      -May 3-5 (Newport News)

      -May 10-12 (home meet)

      -May 31-June 2 (home meet)

      -June 21-23 (Winchester)

      -June 28-30 (home meet)

      -July 12-14 (Newport News); Summer Awards - Championship meet

      -July 25-29 (Christiansburg); LC Age Group Championships

Blue Group News 4/8/13

This is a great article about eating well for young swimmer.

http://www.usaswimming.org/ViewNewsArticle.aspx?TabId=0&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en&ItemId=5074&mid=11780

Blue Group News 3/20/12

Our first Long course meet is only 30 days away.  Continuing to attend practice on a regular basis is important for your young swimmers continued development.  We encourage our young swimmers to attend their summer league practices as well as continue to practice with Poseidon.  Summer league practices will be very fun for young swimmers but not as challenging as is necessary to have the maximum amount of improvement.

Long course season is fun since many of our swimmers compete in a course that they have never competed in.  Over the summer months many of our athletes see a great amount of improvement, which is always fun.  

Poseidon has had a very successful short course season so far.  A few weeks ago many of our top 14 and under athletes had a great showing at Age Group Championships with a 3^rd place finish, the team’s highest in the last 6 years.  A few swimmers that have one more meet left (NASA Showcase Classic in Clearwater, FL).  

Blue Group News 2/13/12

With the championship meet upon us it is important for parents to stay on top of the practice changes by looking at the "Practice Changes" section of the website. 

At championship meets please remember your Poseidon team uniform: Poseidon suit, White meet cap, and goggles.  Also, remember to bring healthy snacks to meets(granola, apple, banana, gatorade, water).  Snack like a snickers bar while delicious will not help prepare a swimmer to swim at the best of their ability.

Blue Group News 1/30/12

With upcoming championship meets, please pay attention to the registration deadlines.  If you notice that you missed the deadline please email me as soon as possible with the day/days you with your athlete to swim so that I have a record of them wanting to swim.

Blue Group News 1/14/12

After a great meet this weekend our next meets that most of the Blue group will be competing in will be District Champs on the weekend of February 15th.  In the past swimmers with BB times would compete at Regionals but this year Virginia Swimming decided to make Regional Champs only for 13 and overs and Districts is now for all 12 and unders without Age Group Championship cuts.  A link is posted below:

Age Group Championship Time Standards

At Districts it will be a team scored event for those swimmers that already have a BB time.  This meet will be the last meet for out swimmers to compete in the short course season unless they qualify for any of the remaining championships meets.

After the short course season we begin to prepare for the Long Course season which is typically the time of year when swimmers see the most amount of improvement because over the summer in addition to attending practices with Poseidon young swimmers spend even more time in the pool since it is the summer season.

Blue Group News 12/5/12

SEVA Champs Statistics

2010: 33 athletes and 199 swims

2011: 48 athletes and 248 swims

2012 73 athletes and 394 swims

Blue Group News 11/25/12

This season has seen a lot of success from our 12 and under program.  The proof is in the pudding since last year we had 49 athletes qualify and compete at the SEVA Championship meet.  With one meet to go this year we have 73 athletes qualified for the same meet.  This is proof that all athletes efforts are paying off at meets.

With the Holiday season beginning, it is important to remember that in order to experience continued to success attending practice during the holidays is still very important.  The Holiday season should not be used to take a vacation from swimming.  All of the coaches want to continue seeing your swimmers faces at practice over the holiday vacations.

If you are going out of town and don’t want to miss any days, there are teams every where that are willing to accommodate vacationing swimmers.  The coaches will be more than  willing to approach another team about finding a practice time for your swimmer.

Blue Group News 10/22/12

In Blue Group we have been reviewing a lot about following directions, there are multiple times when swimmers become consumed with going fast and stop worrying about doing the drill properly and following the coaches instructions.  It is important that the swimmer follows the coaches instructions so that they can improve as rapidly as possible.  By not following the coaches instructions they will be delaying their improvement.  These instructions are usually focused around minor details such as streamlining off of the walls, performing the drills a specific way, and thinking about certain aspects of the stroke.

This can also be tied to listening well during practice.  It can be loud on deck at the pool and there are a lot of distractions.    So it is important that all members of the group are listening and not being distracted or being a distraction.

Blue Group News 9/24/12

After a great first two weeks, I would like to send out some reminders.  First, I would like to remind all parents that it is team policy that for parents to observe practice from the stands and we would like all of our parents to follow this policy.

I would also like all parents to remember to order their swimmer's kickboard and fins.  This is equipment we will start using on a daily basis.  Starting on October 1 we will no longer be allowed to borrow the facilities kickboards.  I also encourage you to send your young athletes to practice with water bottles so that that remain hydrated.  Hydration is a key in athletics because without it an athlete can not perform at their maximum level.

Over the past two week I have been reviewing with Blue group about proper listening skills(listening with their eyes, no talking while a coach is talking).  I believe listening is one of the most important parts in an young athletes development.  There is always something being said that is important.  The better young athletes listen the faster that their rate of improvement will be.

We have also been reviewing proper stroke technique with specific attention to certain details in every stroke we have covered so far.  The details we cover and the basics of swimming and will make huge differences in a young athletes development.  Some of the details are as simple as leaving from a proper starting position(one hand and two feet on the wall) to a proper drop-in and underwater streamline.  Performing skills properly is one of the most important aspects of developing in any sport but I never discourage my athletes form going fast.  However, I do want them to perform the techniques properly while going fast this will also help them develop at the fastest rate possible.

I ask that all parents reinforce these lessons at home with their young athlete/athletes so that they hear the same message all the time.  This will help with their development greatly to know that their coaches and parents are on the same page.

Blue Group 9/18/2012

200 Freestyle Kick with a Board for Time

Blue Group News 9/9/2012

Practice begins tomorrow check the website for times.

Blue Group News 8/22/2012

With the beginning of the season approaching be sure to keep your child active.  Enjoy the last few weeks at the pool that you can.  By playing games in the pool children not only learn that swimming can be fun but also they will learn different things about the water that they never learned before.

Also, be sure to obtain the proper equipment for the season.  In blue group your swimmer will need suit, googles, cap, and fins.  Be sure to order your fins as soon as possible.  We use fins a lot in the beginning of the year to help create better body position while learning new drills.