Problem-Solving Swimming (from GoSwim!)

I will never refrain, from 'stealing' great content from other sites and posting it here! Always giving the credit to whoever comes up with it, though (which makes citing, not stealing). This time, Glenn Mills, from GoSwim! posted a great, thoughtful article on how swimmers should try to approach a new season (and everyone thereafter).

I've been a fan of all Glenn's articles for a while now, since he always manages to bring in relevant points, and come up with solutions and suggestion in a very clear and concise manner. In this specific case, I've had many swimmers in the past that could benefit from backing off from 'hard work' a little, and putting in more 'smart work'.

Don't get me wrong, every coach likes working with swimmers who are willing put their heart into a set, and ultimately a swimmer needs to put in a lot of hard work in order to achieve personal success. However, many times swimmers (and other athletes) forget that the mind controls the body, not the other way around! Thinking about your swimming, analyzing your own strengths and weaknesses, and coming up with solutions and ideas to improve is just as important as pushing through that third quarter of the set (and race)!

Check out the link for more on how to do this!

Have you ever paid attention to your hands during your swimming?

Here's a link to a great article regarding how your hands should be during the pull portion of each stroke, under water. Gary Hall Sr., of The Race Club, explains it better than I could, so just follow the link below.

What do I do with my hands while swimming?

ASCA World Clinic

I just returned from the ASCA World Clinic in San Diego, CA, and I'm getting ready to start a new season, with a new club. This was my second year attending the clinic, and I really want to make it a priority to attend it every year, as long as I continue to coach. The clinic is a great way not only to get ideas from some of the best swimming coaches in the US, but also to get motivated for the upcoming season. Just like last year, it has helped getting me really excited about swimming again!

One part of the clinic that a lot of coaches choose to forfeit, and I think that's a mistake, is the ASCA Awards Banquet. The reason I think attending the banquet is worth it is because some of the acceptance speeches are very inspiring, and this year's was no difference. The take home message from those speeches, in all cases, seemed to be that for every coach that was inducted to the ASCA Hall of Fame, while the criteria for the selection involves high level accomplishments, helping young people to grow was far more satisfying than medals and awards.

The sport of swimming is fantastic. It is one of very few sports that offer participation for people of all ages, really. As soon as a kid can get across the pool, he/she would be cheered on in any meet. And participation continues all through life, with Masters records being set for older and older age groups. But in the end, swimming is just swimming. What really makes it so valuable are the lessons that can be learned through the sport. The patience needed to improve a stroke, the hard work, commitment, focus and dedication, all needed to achieve success.

I started swimming competitively at a very late age, and certainly didn't have the physical attributes that would help me making it big in the sport. And yet, it has changed my life. It thought me to set goals and work towards them, all while enjoying the process. It has put me in touch with great people, and ultimately gave me a career for which I have a passion I would not find in other areas. All I can hope to do as a coach is to help swimming touching and changing lives of others, as it did mine. Sure, I still want to see fast swimming as much as I did before, but if I'm lucky enough to one day accept any kind of honor as a coach, I hope to be able to talk about how I helped boys and girls grow as people more than as athletes.

I'm looking forward for a great season!

Good UW videos of side kicking

During my 2010-2011 SCY season with ACAC-IA, side kicking became one of my favorite drills. The more we used side kicking and other drills that would basically be progressions of it, the better distance per stroke (DPS) our swimmers would get, without slowing down. In most cases, they would be significantly faster if we followed a side kick set with some Freestyle swim.

The link below has some great underwater (UW) shots of side kicking. Although I would tipically tell my swimmers to have their fingertips pointing down, in a position with shoulders above elbow above wrist (which I think helps them being ready for the catch phase quicker), you can see how much this swimmer 'grows' on his side so that he gets a better DPS. In addition, I really like the comment on how you should allow the weight to build on your lead hand, and if you do it correctly it should feel like you snap from one side of your body to the other. Check it out!

GoSwim Heavy-Hand Side Kick

Paul Yetter has a blog...

... and it is awesome!!!

As this blog moves away from being oriented towards the goals and achievements of one team, I think linking to this specific article is a great first post! I'll be sure to keep linking articles and other swimming info here, with the hopes of helping kids to continue striving and working towards greater goals. Be sure to check back!

Lucas

14&U Central Zones Champs Highlights

ACAC had 6 swimmers attending the Central Zones Champs for Team Iowa. All ACAC swimmers made important contribution on the relays, helping the team to score important points! This was the most swimmers ACAC has ever put on Zones Relays!!! On top of that, competing against some of the best 14&U in the Central Zone, many of the swimmers attending also scored individual points! Here are the individual hilights:

Sara Bentley (National): swam in 3 scoring relays, and got 4 best times, one of which put her into a scoring heat at night (100 back)!

Jazlyn Horras (Age Group 3): swam in 2 scoring relays, and got one best time;

Morgan Rosser (Age Group 3): swam in 4 scoring relays, and got 2 best times, including 1 new ACAC Record (Girls 11-12, 400 free: 4:57.18), on top of scoring points in the 200 fly!

Katie Sailer (Age Group 3): swam in 4 scoring relays, and got 1 best time;

Gracie Snyder (Age Group 3): stepped up for all 4 ‘A’ Team Iowa 11-12 Girls Relays, made it into the A final of the 50 fly, and got one best time, which is also a new ACAC Record (Girls 11-12, 100 fly: 1:12.41);

Molly Winer (Age Group 3): swam in both 10&U Girls ‘A’ Relays!

Congrats, ACAC!

2011 ISI LC Champs - Meet Highlights

ACAC finished the season with a GREAT showing at the 2011 ISI LC Champs!!! Besides the 9 individual ACAC Records, and 10 Relay ACAC Records, we had our highest Combined finish ever during the Summer, scoring enough points to place 5^th in the State!!! Special congrats must go to our 13-14 Girls for winning the 200 and 400 Medley relays, and to our 8&U Boys, who won both the medley and freestyle relays and also their division!!!! Here are the highlights:

11-12 Girls, 200 Freestyle Relay: Morgan Rosser, Hannah Dietrich, Sophie Sorenson and Gracie Snyder set the new ACAC record at 2:02.58

11-12 Girls, 400 Freestyle Relay: Morgan Rosser, Hannah Dietrich, Jazlyn Horras and Gracie Snyder smashed the previous ACAC record, setting the new at 4:33.88

11-12 Girls, 200 Medley Relay: Jazlyn Horras, Sabrinna Hegelheimer, Gracie Snyder and Morgan Rosser established a new ACAC record: 2:17.13

11-12 Girls, 400 Medley Relay: Jazlyn Horras, Sophie Sorenson, Gracie Snyder, and Morgan Rosser combined for a new ACAC Record: 5:14.22

13-14 Girls, 200 Free Relay: Olivia Snyder, Rachel Manderscheid, Katie Sailer and Sara Bentley set the new ACAC record at 1:59.25

13-14 Girls, 200 Medley Relay: Katie Sailer, Rachel Manderscheid, Sara Bentley and Olivia Snyder, en route to winning the event, set a new ACAC mark: 2:13.36

13-14 Girls, 400 Medley Relay: Katie Sailer, Rachel Manderscheid, Sara Bentley and Olivia Snyder again combined to win the event and set a new ACAC record: 4:52.14

8&U Boys, 200 Free Relay: Eli Heginger, Quentin Strohm, Davind Jiang and Sean Burns won the event and set a new ACAC Record: 3:08.07

8&U Boys, 200 Medley Relay: Sean Burns, David Jiang, Eli Heginger and Quentin Strohm switched their order, but once again took home the W and set a new ACAC record: 3:45.53

Sara Bentley (National): went 4 for 4 in best times, one of them being a new AA time (200 free);

Sean Burns (Novice): got one best time, which is also a new A time (50 back);

Michael Chang (Age Group 2): got four best times, including his first A time (50 free);

Chandler Cox (Senior): went 6 for 6 in best times, including 2 new AA times (400 and 800 free);

Hannah Dietrich (Age Group 3): went 9 for 9 in best times, including 1 new A time (50 free) and 4 new A times (400 and 800 free, 50 back, and 200 IM);

Taylor Flummerfelt (National): got two best times, including 1 new AAAA time (50 free);

Sabrinna Hegelheimer (Age Group 2): went 6 for 6 in best times, including 2 new A times (50 free and 50 back) and 1 new BB time (50 breast);

Eli Heginger (Age Group 1): in route to winning High Point honors, went 4 for 4 in best times, including 1 new ACAC Record (8&U Boys, 100 free: 1:33.78);

Jazlyn Horras (Age Group 3): went 10 for 10 in best times, including 2 new AA times (200 back and 200 IM), 1 new A time (50 fly), and 1 new BB time (200 breast);

Olivia Jenks (Age Group 2): went 8 for 8 in best times, and dove in for one new event, totaling her first 2 AA times (50 and 200 free), and 3 new A times (100 and 400 free, and 100 back);

Timothy Jenks (Age Group 2): got 2 best times out of 2 swims;

David Jiang (Age Group 1): got two best times;

Chloe Kuehner (National): got five best times, including 3 new AA times (50 and 100 free, and 200 breast) and 1 new A time (400 IM);

Nicky Lin (Age Group 2): got three best times, including 2 new ACAC Records (8&U Girls, 50 back: 44.81; 50 Breast: 52.58);

Rachel Manderscheid (Senior): got five best times, including 1 new AAA time (100 breast), 2 new A times (100 fly and 400 IM), and 1 new BB time (200 fly);

Isabel McLeod (Senior): got three best times, including 2 new A times (50 free and 200 back);

Chris Merchant (Senior): got two best times;

Bailey Moulden (Senior): got three best times, including 1 new A time (200 back);

Anna Napolitano (Age Group 3): got six best times, including 3 new A times (200 breast, 50 fly and 400 IM) and 1 new BB time (200 fly);

Alex Pyle (National): went 7 for 7 in best times, including 1 new ACAC Record (Boys 15&O, 200 back: 2:23.00), 1 new AAA time (50 free), and 1 new AA time (400 free);

Cameron Rasmussen (Senior): got one best time;

Wyatt Rasmussen (Senior): got two best times, being one of the them a new A time (50 free), and the other a new BB time (200 breast);

Lauren Rosser (Senior): got three best times and dove in for one new event, which is a new A time (100 breast);

Morgan Rosser (Age Group 3): went 10 for 10 in best times, including 2 new ACAC Records (Girls 11-12, 800 free: 10:12.32; 200 fly: 2:51.67), 3 new AAA times (200 and 400 free, 200 back), and 3 new AA times (50 and 100 back, and 200 fly);

Myah Rozinek (Age Group 1): went 4 for 4 in best times;

Katie Sailer (Age Group 3): got five best times, including 1 new AAA time (50 free) and 2 new AA times (100 and 200 back);

Eva Scheibe (Age Group 3): went 3 for 3 in best times;

Gracie Snyder (Age Group 3): got 8 best times, including 3 new ACAC Records (Girls 11-12, 50 free: 28.92; 50 fly: 30.33; 200IM: 2:43.76), 3 new AAA times (50 back and 200 IM), and 1 new AA time (200 back);

Olivia Snyder (Senior): went 6 for 6 in best times, including 2 new A times (100 breast and 200 IM);

Sophie Sorenson (Age Group 3): got six best times, including 2 new AA times (200 back and 400 IM);

Sydney Sorenson (National): got four best times, including 2 new AAA times (50 and 100 free) and 1 new AA time (200 free);

Marios Tringides (Senior): got one best time;

Ben Utesch (National): got three best times, including 2 new AAA times (50 and 400 free);

Caleb Utesch (National): got one best time, which is also a new A time (100 back);

Molly Winer (Age Group 3): got five best times, including 1 new AA time (100 breast) and 3 new A times (50 and 400 free, and 50 breast).

Congrats, ACAC!