News and Notes:

Thanks to EVERYONE who has helped out the Bennett family in some way, shape, or form. A new addition to the family is not always an easy transition, but the family that Joy and I have found here at Poseidon makes everything work out perfectly. All efforts have been much appreciated. Nathan sends his regards for his gifts, as well (he’s not neglected with the new kid in town, he’s fine…no more spoiling, thanks).

Looking at the meets thus far, performances in the early season meets should give swimmers an idea of what they really need to work on in the upcoming months. If best times are not happening, by the December meets, it is truly up to each individual swimmer to look at what he or she is really working on in practice in order to seek that peak performance when we get to champs. If you are curious as to the area in which your coach believes your training can improve the most…ASK!

SEVA 12&Under BB+ is this coming weekend! There will be a "pep rally" at Robious Middle School on Monday (11/27) at 5PM for all swimmers attending the meet. Also, in order to work on relay exchanges (and a little bit of fun), we would like to see all Neptune, JV, Varsity, and Advanced swimmers attending the meet to attend WEDNESDAY NIGHT PRACTICE (VAR and AA 7:05PM, NEP and JV 7:15PM).

HARGRAVE 13&Older BB+ is the following weekend! There are still some spots left on the bus. If you planned to sign up, but got caught up in the Thanksgiving rush, please do so TODAY! Please check the entries to make sure that you are in the meet. (Some of you signed up, but did not drop off your deposit. Some of you dropped off your deposit, but did not sign up.)

We are hosting an ALL AGES B/C meet over December 9-10. All swimmers with any B or C times are encouraged to participate (even if you are swimming in another meet is December). Remember that any events you have never swum before are still considered a C time and can be swum in this meet.

Congrats to Daniel Strait! He is the winner of the 4th annual 300 game. Great job, and enjoy your iTunes.

Topic of the Week: Self-Talk

What is self-talk, and how does it affect your swimming? USASWIMMING.ORG puts it this way: “Self-talk includes all the purposeful and random thoughts that run through an athlete’s mind, it includes all the things said both silently and out loud. Self-talk can be positive, it can tell an athlete what to do, where to focus, and get one motivated (“You can do it”) Unfortunately, self talk can also be negative (“You stink so just give it up”), pessimistic, and critical. Such internal talk definitely does not help performance and, in most cases, probably hurts performance. Recognize that negative self talk is going to occur; the key is to not focus on the negatives and instead focus on the positives.”

I like to think of it in this way: Your brain is an FM radio. There are millions of signals in the air, but you can choose what to listen to at any given time. Swimmers who have trouble with negative self-talk have trouble changing the station, when they are listening to the wrong thing. Those negative stations will always exist, but it is up to you to change the station.

How do you identify negative self-talk? We can all identify the obvious, “You stink,” “You’re no good,” “Why are you even doing this.” These are all very obvious. Here are some things that you may not have thought about:

1. Focus on the Past: “I swam so bad last time I was here.” “I always die in this race.” “That swimmer always beats me.”
2. Focus on your Weakness: “I’m terrible at fly.” “Everyone beats me on my turns.” “I’m just not a good kicker.”
3. Focus on the Uncontrollables: “Why do I have to swim in lane 8?” “The pool deck is so cold.” “They put the fastest swimmer in my heat.”
4. Demanding Perfection: “I better beat everyone.” “I’m supposed to make my Sectional Cut.” “I have to swim a best time on this race.”

The guiding principle of identifying negative self-talk is looking at it with a, “would you say it to your best friend” attitude. If there is a thought in your head that you are telling yourself, that you wouldn’t tell your teammate, instead, then maybe you shouldn’t be saying it to yourself.

The way to correct this negative self-talk is to STOP IT! It sounds silly and obvious, but that is the first step to making things better and becoming a positive thinker. Catch yourself making those negative comments in your head, and stop yourself in the act. Next, get yourself to turn the negative into a positive and MEAN IT!

Let’s make an example: “I swam so bad last time I was here (negative statement). Wait! That doesn’t matter (stopping yourself). Every swim is a new opportunity to show how much I’ve improved, where it happens doesn’t mean a thing (positive statement).”

Try another one: “I’m just not a good kicker (negative). Whoa! Who cares right now (stopping yourself)? If I do my best and work this race to my strengths, I can definitely win in the end (positive statement).” Try a few on your own…you have to practice, if you want to succeed (at anything).

For questions and comments, e-mail Coach Mark

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