Announcements: Rays meet is due 5/16, but I would like to have them ASAP. The Rays meet is to open to all levels of swimmers; this is another great opportunity for anyone trying to achieve the next level of swimming. The Ocean Swim is due June 4^th, as a reminder there is some paper work that needs to be completed with the sign up.

Monday Meeting Recap: Is Your Swimming Engine PURRRing? To keep us swimming fast and in tune with our bodies there are several key points that will allow us to check our swimming engines. The following can be used at swim meets or on a daily basis at practice.

Preparation: There are lots of different things each individual does to prepare for competition or practice; Stretching, warm up/warm down, practice, eating right rest, knowing what is going on, and strategy.

Utilization: Once we feel, we have prepared ourselves then it’s time to utilize the skills, tools, and knowledge gain in practice or from the coach.

Race: Done at meets, but also should be done in practice more often. This is where we tell ourselves to, go for it, deal with the pain, tempo, negative split, CALF, or just knowledge of the race itself.

Review: After a race or set in practice we review what was done right or wrong. Sometimes there is just congratulation and praising, and on occasion there may be a lot of critiquing, but all done to help better you as a swimmer.

Refocus: The most important of all components to keep your swimming engine running properly. If you can’t refocus on the next race/set than that next race/set will be lost as well, and then the whole meet/practice will be lost. You must think of your mind like a radio, when your mind becomes out of tune you have to refocus on another station and move on. On the positive side, if things are going well, then it is easy to move on, set new goals and build on what you have already accomplished.

Every sport no matter what it is an athlete goes through this process on a daily basis, some athletes might go through this 50 times a game or match, we as swimmers only have 6-15 swims on a weekend. It is important that we understand this process so we can continually grow as athletes and young adults.