Coach’s Note 9-30-11

I’m about to hit the road for a weekend of Texas Swim Association meetings in Dallas, but wanted to get this out prior to driving.

 

If entering the TXLA (UT) meet, there are 50’s offered on the Friday session. These are fast and furious, with kids running everywhere to get to their proper lane/heat. If you are an experienced swimmer, and you want to enter any of the 50s on Friday, you have our blessing. However, these are very difficult to follow from a Coach’s standpoint, with swims happening in both directions, at a rapid pace.  The 50’s are also offered on Sat and Sun, and the max events per day is 3, with a total number of events for the meet being no more than 7.

1. Housekeeping items:  When picking up from the late practices, please be on time. We’ve had kids waiting until 9:20 and 9:25 when their practices have finished at 9:00PM.
2.  Supposedly, when the light at 1431 gets stuck on red forever at night, I’ve heard that the sensor can pick up that there  are cars waiting if lead car flashes lights from low to high beam, etc. Don’t know that to be an absolute truth or not, but wanted to pass it on.
3. Swim team questions, swim meet questions, etc – email your main group coach for those. If not sure who your main group coach is, Kristyn will be sending a separate note out to the Cedar Park families with each group and your main contact with email address. Todd will be sending out a similar note for Bee Cave. Our front desk folks know a lot of things, but swim team info is not in their strike zone. Leave the swim team questions for us coaches. Thanks. (*For billing issues, email Denell@nitroswim.com). **If you have waited longer than 24 hours for a response from anyone, drop me a quick email letting me know that. Thanks.

 

That’s it for now. Thanks for being a part of Nitro Swimming.

Ranch Teambuilding Day

Short Notice – Great activity planned!!  We just secured something very cool. The downside is it is VERY short notice.

This coming Saturday, Oct 1^st – —11:30AM-4:00PM (after practices) — the Advanced Silver groups from both pools, Gold groups from both pools, TAGS 2 from Cedar Park and the 11-12 yr olds who are at Bee Cave in the Senior/TAGS group are all invited to attend the first annual “Meanwhile Back at the Ranch – Nitro style” hike/swim day.

 

1. This will be at the Peak Reveille Ranch in Burnet – and it is very cool!!
2. Cost will be only $20 per athlete — and will include admission and all food/refreshments for the event (less than $5 per hour).
3. Background: Tim and I were invited to spend some time on 1400 acres last Sunday to get a first hand look at a special triathlon training destination. We brought along 5 of the National Group athletes and spent about 5 hours on the property — we hiked up to the top of a mountain range, we swam in a pristine quarry with crystal clear water, and we even tried our hands at stand up paddleboarding. Upon having an outstanding day out there, we were invited by the property’s owner to bring our athletes out there for a great fitness/team building day.

 

Before the water gets too cold outdoors, we want to bring our Adv Silver, Gold, TAGS 2 in Cedar Park and our 11-12 from our Senior/TAGS group in Bee Cave out there for a different type of day.

The location of the Peak Reveille Ranch is Burnet — about 30 minutes from either swim center. Exact directions to the property will be communicated this week.

We need a few parents to become the point people to handle the cookout duties, food purchasing (money will get to you in time to purchase – but need to wait until end of the week to see how many athletes will be signed up to attend, which will determine amount of food/drinks to purchase). The Peak Reveille Ranch will provide the cooking facility, outdoor kitchen/pavilion, etc. We’ll need some grill master types of parents to manage the food.

We will be posting this info on our website to sign up for this event—just like a meet, and look for this sometime tomorrow. I will send a quick note out to you when we are ready for folks to register for this event.

I am sure we will also need drivers to bring a few extra athletes to the Ranch – and if that is the case, email me that your child needs a ride, or that you will have extra room for ___ athletes, etc. If needing a ride for your athlete, let me know from which swim center, and we will work on arranging some transportation from each swim center. Vehicles will be leaving the swim centers at 11:00AM Saturday, and returning around 5:00PM.

Of course, all parents are welcomed to attend this and drive their own athlete(s) and you are invited to help chaperone, feed the kids, etc.

 

1. Day will look like this: Leaving each swim center at 11:00AM. Arrive Peak Reveille Ranch approx 11:30AM. Brief introduction/welcome by property owner Vol Montgomery. 11:45AM’ish – begin trek up the mountain. 12:30/12:45PM – arrive top of mountain range (very safe). Relax and settle in for some swim stories!! 1:30PM – begin trek back down mountain. 2:15PM – open water swimming, stand up paddleboarding, fun in the water !! Bring suits and goggles!! 3:30PM – Lunch/early dinner is served! 4:00PM start the exit for home.

This will be a GREAT day for the kids. For those with older Nitro athletes, their day will be Sat Oct 15^th.

 

Watch for the email that says we’re ready to register for this. It will be a quick turnaround needed, and some parent help here!! Thanks! Mike.

Coach’s Note 9-25-11

Meet re-cap, Thank You’s, and Upcoming meets…

Hi All –

1. Yesterday we hosted our annual Red vs Black meet. This was a sanctioned meet, with all times counting as official USA Swimming data base times (as long as there was not a disqualification – in those cases, the time does not count).
2. The meet results will be posted sometime tomorrow (Monday). To see the meet results, log on to the website, click on My Meet Results (there’s a stopwatch icon) and look at other meet results. The FAQ section there is excellent.
3. Several folks went above and beyond to make yesterday’s meet run as well as it did. First off, I want to recognize the coaching staff – several of whom had been at the pools as early as 6:00AM to coach their practices, then off to the meet. A few of us didn’t walk out of the swim center until 9:40PM.
4. The USA Swimming officials who put in some long hours as well. I want to thank all of them, so when I receive the entire list of who was there, I will shoot that out to the team. I knew most of them, but I don’t want to forget anyone – including those who are training. Roland Smits and Trey Prinz  were there until the last events were being downloaded on the computer with Coach Kristyn well after everyone else had cleared out.
5. Thank you also to the parents who timed. For those that were behind the blocks, I want to give special acknowledgement to Janet Welch – who I refer to as our “Equal Opportunity Yeller.” No one cheers more for Nitro’s athletes than Janet – and it is not just for her own two either – but anyone sporting the colors is usually on the receiving end of some of her positivity.
6. David Barney, our new permanent meet announcer – who just talked his way into his new gig. Well done, and kept things light all day long – both sessions.
7. I saw Sherry Westra and Laurie Domino with garbage bags in hand going through the pool deck picking up whatever needed to be picked up. Several athletes stayed behind to help with the clean up as well.

I just received this email earlier today from Laurie Gatson: “I wanted to recognize a couple of parents that I believe went above and beyond most parents last night. One is Kevin Mischnick who I saw at 8am Saturday morning officiating at a high school swim meet and to see him at 8pm still officiating for our Nitro swimmers, I believe he deserves a round of applause. Also Laura (I think Gillman) a new parent to Nitro and to year round swimming who after her daughter finished for the evening went home and made a surprise return with bottles of water and snacks for those who were sitting around her. A big thank you to both of them and to all the volunteers.”

Upcoming meet deadlines: Nitro at the Races meet on Sat, Oct 8^th. Great meet for Intro to Nitro, Bronze, TF, and our less experienced Silver groupers. Entry deadline is in ten days – Wed, Oct 5^th before 11:59PM CST.

Another meet – the Longhorn Aquatics Fall Kick off – on Oct 21-23 – Deadline to enter is this Friday night, Sept 30^th, by 11:59PM CST. Don’t ask for any special favors to get you entered if you miss the deadline – because we can’t help you at that point. This meet is for Advanced Silver and above groups. If an experienced Silver swimmer, you will need to get permission from your main group coach in order to enter this meet.

That’s all for now. Thanks for being a part of Nitro Swimming. See you at the pools – Coach Mike.

Red/Black Nitro Meet

Even if your athlete is not competing in this Saturday’s meet, please read points 6-10. Thanks!

***Regular Saturday practice schedule for all Sept 24^th Saturday groups***Even if in the meet, HIGHLY recommended you attend your Saturday practice.

1. This Saturday’s meet is split into two sessions. The earlier session is set up for our “older” training groups – which would typically mean 13 and older. HOWEVER – there are a few exceptions to that in this meet, and some 12 and Unders will be swimming in this session.
2. Our later session is set up for our “younger advanced” training groups – which would typically mean 12 and unders, Silver group and above. HOWEVER – there are a few exceptions to that in this meet, and some 13 and olders will be swimming in this session.
3. To be sure of what session your athlete will be swimming, go to www.nitroswim.com and get onto the Nitro/USA Swimming Team part of the site (upper right quadrant on our landing page), and click on the “Events” tab. Scroll down to the Sept 24^th Red vs Black meet. Click on the actual text of “Red vs Black” and then scroll down a bit to Forms/Documents. Click on the Heat Sheets to see what events your athlete is entered in, and to verify what session they will be competing. Feel free to print the heat sheet and bring it with you to the meet. We will not be providing heat sheets at the meet, so if you want one, BYOHS (Bring Your Own Heat Sheet)!
4. Warm up for the first session will be 12 noon. Meet starting at 1:00PM. First session should be done by around 3:15 or so. Second session warm up beginning at approximately 3:30PM, with meet tentatively slated to start at 4:15PM. Don’t worry about getting to the meet early – especially if first session is still swimming. There is not enough room for both groups of folks, so second session folks, if you pull in and the parking lot is totally full, then the first session hasn’t finished yet. Hold off from coming in until you see families exiting.
5. I anticipate second session being done by 6:30. As always, would love it if we had help cleaning up at end of meet for any who want to help.
6. If new to the “meet thing,” we will have the smaller bleachers set up for the athletes, and the larger bleachers set up for the spectators. It will be somewhat tight on the pool deck, so be nice to each other!! No swim bags needed. No fins, no kickboards, etc. Also – parents – no need to bring in any bulky items. The less clutter the better.
7. We also have the viewing area that has more bleacher space if you so choose. No room for deck chairs, so please leave those at home (parents and athletes).
8. One quick note about USA Swimming Officials: This meet is an officially sanctioned USA Swimming meet. There will be USA Swimming officials on our pool deck. Many of these folks are our own swim parents. They don’t get paid for doing what they do. They are VOLUNTEERS. If your athlete gets disqualified in an event, it is NOT the end of the world. I’d much rather see a disqualification occur in September as opposed to March. So if you see a USA Swimming official, give them a pat on the back and tell them Thank You for taking time out of their day to help our athletes get better.
9. Last note while I’m still on my soapbox: I communicate this throughout each season, so here goes: The role of the parent in all of this is to simply encourage and support. All that your athlete wants is for you to be proud of them – so tell them that when you give them a hug. Don’t bother going over race strategy, stroke techniques, why they didn’t get a ‘best time,” etc. No need to offer your “advice” to the other parents/families on how the kids could be coached better, why aren’t they working on whatever it is you think they need more of, etc. Most other folks don’t want to hear that anyway, there just too polite to tell you so. This Saturday is a celebration of youth sports. We’re all ambassadors of hopefully all that is good about athletics.  The best advice I have ever heard comes from baseball great Cal Ripken Jr. He asks all parents who have kids involved in athletic programs to “become the grandparent.” Anyone ever see Grandma or Grandpa criticize their grandkid’s performance? There’s a lot we can learn from the Grandparents of the world.

Looking forward to this Saturday. Thanks for being a part of Nitro Swimming. See you at the pools! Coach Mike.

Swimmers of the Week: 9/19/2011

Intro to Nitro

Cedar Park: The 11:45am entire Saturday group! They were amazing this past week with reading the pace clock. They all had their peepers popped and streamlines ready.

Bee Cave: Malena Heineman. Malena had a great week working on Breaststroke and Backstroke. She has been a great example in her strokes, her attitude, and being extremely welcoming to everyone who’s there.

Bronze

Cedar Park: Jasmine and Jennifer Chi I want to recognize them now because they are actually moving up and out of the Bronze group this week. This move is testament to their focus and hard work in practice over the past few weeks. The start of the short course season brought lots of opportunity for them to lead their Bronze group and I know that everyone having had the pleasure of swimming in their lane has learned from their good examples of technique and clock reading. Best of luck in the Silver group, ladies!! Thanks for all that you brought to the Bronze group. You willl be missed.

Bee Cave: Chase Runyan.Chase recently re-joined us after donning a waterproof cast for a broken arm. He hasn’t let that dampen his spirits at all, as he is pushing hard for the Silver group. Keep it up!

Technique and Fitness

Cedar Park: Caroline Fisher and Caleb Betts .   We have seen great improvements in both of these swimmers.  Although, the thing that I’ve noticed, is something other than swimming.  GREAT ATTITUDES!  Wow, talk about great energy brought to the pool.  These two want to be here, and it shows.  Great job you two, and thanks for being a part of NITRO.

Bee Cave: Nicolas Bui Nicolas has been very consistent throughout this whole season so far. What made him stand out this week was his improvement in his underwater push offs and his kick.

Silver

Cedar Park: Capri Toth Capri has done a really great job this week leading the lanes, knowing exactly when to leave for her intervals and just generally working really hard. She has a good attitude about practice and it makes it more fun to coach her.

Bee Cave: Jack Beiter   Jack improved his kicking from 50 seconds to 37 seconds for a 25 kick with a board. His training improved very consistently and great effort all week. He has been focused well  and we look forward to his continued success in our Silver group.

Advanced Silver

Cedar Park: Justin Chen. Justin has been working on his strokes and really been focused on the details. He’s very quietly doing the daily hard work required to become the best he can be. Keep up the good work Justin!

Bee Cave: Brynn Bentley. Every day that Brynn walks onto the pool deck, it is evident there are few places she would rather be. Always a kind word, wearing her permanent smile, she is a joy to coach. On the swimming side of things, she has made big strides since coming our way last summer from another program. Her efficiency has improved dramatically.

Gold

Cedar Park: Payton Marvin. Payton has pushed herself in practice more then we have ever seen before and that is saying a lot because she has always been an extremely hard worker. She is always smiling and has a great attitude about training and life in general. She is going to have a very successful season and we are really looking forward to her continued improvement

Bee Cave: Matt HammondMatt is looking a lot better in his backstroke technique. More long and controlled staying relaxed and racing being a good teammate to others around him.

 

Thanks for being part of Nitro Swimming, and Thanks to Coach Flo at Cedar Park for organizing all of the Swimmer of the Week entries. See you at the pools! Coach Mike.

Coach’s Note 9/5/11

Coach’s Note 9/5/11   Happy Labor Day! Just a few items – Please read all…

There are a couple of the older kids’ groups practicing this morning, but TAGS2, Gold, Adv Silver, Silver, Technique & Fitness, Bronze, and Intro to Nitro all have a day off – so Enjoy!! Back to regular schedule on Tuesday.

The first Nitro meet of the season will be Saturday, September 24^th, for any Silver, Adv Silver, Gold, TAGS 2, Senior 2, Sectional, Senior/Senior 1, and National Group swimmers.  It will be at the Bee Cave location. We are dividing the meet into two sessions.I will be communicating a separate meet for our Technique and Fitness (TF), Bronze, and Intro to Nitro swimmers before end of Tuesday. I know we have a few very experienced, older TF swimmers with years of swimming experience who may be new to our program. Feel free to ask your coach if you are eligible to enter the September 24^th meet.

The earlier session will be for our TAGS 1, Sectional, Senior/Senior 1/Senior 2, and National groups, and will have a warm up of 12 noon, and a meet start of 1:00PM.  The later session will be for our TAGS 2, Gold, Adv Silver, and Silver groups and will have an approximate/tentative  warm up time of 3:45PM with a meet start of 4:30PM.  We MAY be putting together a few fun relays, but that will be coach’s discretion, so no need to sign up for any relays.

This meet will be a USA Swimming Sanctioned meet.  Deadline to enter is THIS FRIDAY NIGHT, September 9^th, 11:59PM CST. Don’t wait until Friday night, 11:58PM to enter – because if you encounter a problem, we won’t be able to get you through it in time.

Our meets are not mandatory/required. About half of our swimmers choose NOT to compete, and they enjoy swimming for several other reasons, and they prefer to keep those weekends free. That’s OK with us. We will be offering meets approximately once every 4 to 6 weeks. I will be communicating  a meet schedule by end of day tomorrow.

 

• If new to the meet entry steps, here you go: Go to www.nitroswim.com, and click on the Nitro Swim Teams box on the upper right hand side of the quadrant.
• Click on the Events tab at the top of the homepage.
• Scroll down to the September 24-Red vs. Black Intersquad Meet.
• Click on the Attend this Event Button.
• Sign in using your email address and password.
• This should bring you to the Athlete Signup page. Scroll down and Click on the name of the swimmer you wish to enter into the meet.
• Under the sectional marked Declaration, select “Yes, please sign (name of swimmer) up for this event.”
• Scroll down to select the swimmers events by clicking in the box to the left of the event they wish to swim in.
• Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on the Save Changes button.
  Your swimmer is now entered in the meet!
  Parents cannot make changes to entry times. If you wish to alter your swimmers entry time, please contact his/her primary group coach who can do this for them.

More notes will be coming fast and furiously the next few days with group updates, possible schedule adjusting, even a Nitro FAQ section (finally!!). Enjoy your Labor Day, and Thanks for being a part of Nitro. See you at the Pools! Coach Mike.