First meets of the season

Coach’s Note 10-14-10    Meets this weekend…and general meet guidelines

Good ideas:

a)Avoid greasy foods day of competition. Better yet, avoid greasy foods as much as possible !  Rule of thumb: If you can wash off your plate with cold water, good choice. If it takes warm or hot water to do the job, not so good.

b) Pack swim bag night before. Start with the most important items first: plain black Speedo suit—you can get a Nitro logo put on your suit for about $7 or so at Lane 4 at the end of Toro Grande/1431 — if you don’t have the logo yet, not to worry, you can do it after the meet during the following week; two pair of goggles – tightened for meet swims, Nitro swim cap (if you wear a cap); two towels, Nitro t-shirt, sweatshirt or warm ups, or and/or Nitro Speedo black parka (also available from Lane 4); some healthy snacks, drinks. That’s about it.

c) Plan on arriving stress free at least 15 minutes prior to the assigned start of our warm up period. Relax during the drive to the meet, keep things calm, at ease. The less stress the better during that time.

d) Once at the destination, we prefer that the kids all sit together in our assigned area. For the Temple meet, our assigned area will be the upstairs balcony bleachers – with our Nitro parents. This is unusual, as typically the swimmers are separated from the parents at most meets.

e) When a swimmer is finished with their events, the swimmer is allowed to leave the meet – but be sure to have them check in with their coach to let them know.

f) There will be some great efforts, and there will be some not-so-great. All part of the process of growth in this sport. A best time doesn’t necessarily mean it was a good swim, and conversely, not getting a best time doesn’t necessarily mean that it was a bad swim. We work on a lot of things during our practices, and we as coaches hope that the items we work on in practice become good habits, and that we see a good habit or two appear during the meets. We get the kids back to practice for a few weeks, and we hope that two or three more good habits show up at the next meet, etc. This is an ongoing process, and some kids take a little longer to demonstrate the habits than some others. Not a big deal, part of the process.

g) Parents — Be an Ambassador for Youth Sports, try to be the model of how to parent a young athlete,  and play the role of Grandparent when it comes to swim meets, and be filled with joy to watch your son or daughter participate in something as great as this sport. Remember that your main roles when it comes to sports are to encourage and support – Unconditionally.

Nitro leads 2010 LCM TAGS

We were down by 30.5 points when we began the Thursday PM finals session. For a short time we went 50+ points down, and even slipped to 3^rd place behind North Texas Nadadores and the Woodlands. We came back and re-claimed the 2^nd spot. When Friday’s session was completed, we closed the gap on the North Texas team, and moved back into 2nd place with only 23.5 points out of first with two days to go !!

Here are the highlights:

Congratulations to all the TAGS Finalists Tonight!  (times for Long Course Meters)

• 7th – Hemstreet, Karling (12)  200 Free  2:20.75
• 12th – Davis, Natalie (13)  200 Free    2:12.45
• 1st –  Artmann, Joshua (11)  200 Free    2:15.51
• 7th – Timmons, Seth (14)  200 Free  2:05.08
• 8th – Benwell, Lillian (11)  50 Breast  39.29
• 6th – Katzman, Cameron  (9)  50 Breast    43.12
• 1st –  Walker, Benjamin (12)   50 Breast    34.15
• 3rd – Chulavatr, Jared  (12)  50 Breast    35.34
• 6th – Krebsbach, Hayley (11)  100 Fly  1:13.70
• 8th – Marvin, Sutton  (11)  100 Fly  1:15.06
• 6th Strohmeyer, Ashley (12)  100 Fly  1:10.53
• 14th – Artmann, Abby (14) 100 Fly  1:08.10
• 1st – Gwin, Isaac (10)  100 Fly  1:11.93 new TAGS record (set 1982)!!
• 4th –  Gwin, Luke (10)  100 Fly  1:16.08
• 4th – Walker, Benjamin (12)  100 Fly   1:06.31
• 1st – Tan, Sydney (14)  400 IM   5:05.97
• 7th – Thompson, Lauren (13)  400 IM  5:16.17
• 9th – Jonsson, Christina  (14)  400 IM  5:18.08
• 11th – Davis, Natalie (13)  400 IM  5:18.56
• 13th – Morgan, Kira (14)  400 IM  5:20.04
• 15th – Bassman, Samantha (14)  400 IM  5:23.02
• 14th – Tenney, Mason (13)  400 IM  5:05.53

9th – 10&un Girls 400 Free Relay  ‘A’  5:09.14
1) Jacops, Renee 10            2) Kutz, Sarah 9
3) Fullwood, Summer 10       4) Thompson, Brittany 10

2nd – 11-12 Girls 400 Free Relay  ‘A’  4:17.52
1) Gogulski, Emma  12           2) Allen, Haley  12
3) Krebsbach, Hayley 11        4) Hemstreet, Karling 12

2nd – 13-14 Girls 400 Free Relay ‘A’   4:05.39
1) Wu, Amanda  14               2) Tan, Sydney  14
3) Artmann, Abby  14            4) Sutton, Samantha  14

3rd – 10&un Boys 400 Free Relay ‘A’    4:43.41 (TAGS record broken by 3 teams)!

1) Gwin, Luke 10               2) Katzman, Cameron  9
3) Lenner, Jay 10              4) Gwin, Isaac 10

2nd – 11-12 Boys 400 Free Relay ‘A’  4:11.24
1) Makhervaks, Dave 12           2) Walker, Benjamin  12
3) Artmann, Joshua 11              4) Chulavatr, Jared 12

On Saturday morning, we qualified more than our typical number of finals swimmers. We had an even better night. I don’t have the exact breakdown of how many TAGS winners we had, how many TAGS records Josh Artmann may have set, or how fast our three top 8 finalists all swam in the 13-14 girls 100 breastroke, or that Max Jones was the ONLY 9 yr old in a finals event tonight out of all the swimmers there —  you can search the results for that. I do know that I remember seeing some great “move-ups” – where we jumped up a position or three or four from preliminaries to finals. Nice to see when that happens. The relays have been SUPER as well as EXCITING. Tonight, our 13-14 girls held off a late charge by Longhorn Aquatics, and won their 200 freestyle relay. The rest of our relays contributed greatly to our team score as well. The 10 and Under Boys relay broke a twenty two year old TAGS record set in 1988, but they took SECOND.  Here are the team standings following Saturday’s session:

The top 5 teams look like this:

5. Longhorn Aquatics    294

4. Alamo Area Aquatics    353

3. The Woodlands              367.5

2. North Texas Nadadores  416.5

1. (drum roll please) Nitro Swimming  447 !!! We’re 30.5 points AHEAD of the next nearest team.

Texas Age Group Championship Meet

TAGS meet this weekend: As with all of our meets, plan on being on deck, ready to roll at least 15 minutes before our scheduled warm up time. We might have a few swimmers who will have permission to come in a little later for the Sat AM warm up, but the coaches will handle that on a case by case basis.

We love to show a coordinated front for our team.  Swimmers and Coaches will be wearing the new black “Powered By Nitro” t-shirt on Friday.  Parents, please plan on wearing Nitro shirts in the stands. Be friendly, and be ambassadors for the sport. If you happen to see a Nitro family with some open seats near them, make some new friends. Cheer for every Nitro swimmer – not just in finals, but in prelims as well. You never know what can happen as far as team standings go. I can tell you as a former swimmer, hearing the yelling from the stands definitely elevates the performance level in the pool.

Nutrition Tip I borrowed from Coach Greg’s note to Age Group:

For those swimming TAGS – Nutrition advice during the meet

• Eat      last full nutritious meal 3-4 hours before the event.
• Between      events – If hungry eat simple, easy-to-digest foods like banana, graham      crackers, fruit juice.
• To      aid recovery between big sessions with multiple events and      relays  – Organic Chocolate Milk (chocolate milk is what most of      the college coaches and trainers are using these days).
• Purchase      extra caps at the front desk – we will not have them at the meet.

Nitro sent 70 kids to the Junior Olympics meet in Belton this past weekend and came away with the team championship ! The kids looked awesome, had a lot of fun, and you probably saw several of them walking out of the swim center today with medals hanging from their necks and ribbons in their hands. Nitro brought back a lot of hardware (5 large bags filled with medals and ribbons). Way to go Nitro !

Changes for the Fall schedule are being worked on.  It will look very similar to last season’s, with the main differences of some practice time extension for our Senior Champs group, looking to add another sub-group for our 13 and olders to create a great home for our kids who aren’t quite ready for our Senior Champs and State Sectional groups.  We are also hiring a dedicated dryland coach to elevate our strength levels of our swim groups all the way from our Silver groups on up through National. Our kids should see a real difference in their strength levels this upcoming season. The dryland workouts will be IN ADDITION to the regular practice times in the water, and they will be INTENSE !!

Heading into Long Course Champs

One last note about the championship meets this weekend: I’ve talked to our Gold and Advanced Silver groups about this and wanted to share the same with all of you…

In the big scheme of things, this weekend’s meets are just small blips, and are only a small part of the development of our swimmers. A bad swim doesn’t necessarily mean it will be a bad meet. Contrarily, a great swim doesn’t necessarily mean the rest of the swims will be great swims. We have been working with the kids to remain fairly level headed on great swims as well as the not so great – all part of the process. They have been instructed to warm down immediately after their swims, then once warmed down properly, to dry off, get clothes back on, and come see their coach to review their race. If it was a great swim, then we try to get the kids to use that as a springboard into their next swim. If it wasn’t such a great swim, then we get the kids to begin thinking about their next swim as soon as possible. If we see a lack of effort, we coaches will handle that with the swimmer.

We’ve stated this many times before, USA Swimming preaches it, the American Swim Coaches Association subscribes to it – and that is this: Your job as a parent is to encourage and support. It’s that simple. All that your swimmer wants is for you to be proud of them – that’s it. They don’t need you to plan their strategy, remind them of their tendencies, critique their race, criticize their performance, etc. They need your encouragement and support.

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but follow baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr’s advice and act like you are the GRANDPARENT and not the parent when it comes to sports competitions. Grandparents are just happy to see their grandchildren perform – regardless of outcome. We’ll have our share of disqualifications, less than stellar races, some unforeseen mishaps — all part of the game, not the end of the world. We are teaching the kids how to deal with things like that, and they are learning a lot about life at the same time.

Something I forgot to mention: With the TAGS meet being as close as it is to the STAGS/Senior Champs meet weekend, several of our swimmers will be either staying home this weekend or swimming a handful of events (not their best events) in preparation for the TAGS meet. So you might be wondering why certain relays look like they do, why isn’t so and so in a certain event – but I wanted you to know that.

Lastly, I spoke to the kids about properly representing our team, themselves, and their families when away this weekend — whether it be hotel, warm ups, during their races, in restaurants, etc. We are the performance bar that other clubs are trying to emulate. Our kids know that the number one compliment we coaches can get from other clubs, meet officials, etc., is that our kids are NICE. The number two compliment we can get is that our kids know how to race.

I want that also to go for our parents as well – the #1 compliment we can get about our parents is that our parents are nice. One quick point of protocol – that is generally frowned upon in the swimming circles: Don’t save seats in the bleachers. First come, first seated – that’s how it works. However, that being said, get there EARLY and see if Nitro parents can sit with other Nitro parents — we’re easier to spot if you’re wearing Nitro t-shirts or polos  (hint hint). If another parent from another club is saving seats, etc., just find another place to sit, and round up a few other Nitro parents and have fun together at the meet.

That’s enough soap boxing for the night – I promised my son a game of baseball in the Wii before he can go to bed, so I have to get busy !!

Thanks to all of you for your ongoing support of our program, and we’re looking forward to a great meet weekend ! Be proud of your kids, but more importantly, let them know it. Go Nitro !! Coach Mike.

An adult swimmer returns to lessons

I’d like to share this letter from an adult swimmer and the impact Nitro has made on her life:

Last year I took beginner adult swimming lessons at Nitro.  I had been biking and running, and friends encouraged me to try a triathlon.  But there was only one problem — I didn’t know how to swim AT ALL.  However, after only a month-and-a-half of lessons from your excellent coaches last year, I was able to swim well enough to participate.   In last year’s triathlon, I was able to swim 400 meters in a pool, and I thought that a great victory.  This year I was able to do even better, swimming a half-mile in open water at the Danskin Triathlon.

However, I knew my technique needed improvement, so afterwards I decided to sign up for a month’s worth of lessons in the Fun-and-Fitness adult class.  I was a little nervous.  All of the beginner coaches had been so patient, easy to understand, and excellent in analyzing errors.  But I wasn’t sure if the fitness coaches would be as patient or as willing to help me correct my technique.

However, I need not have worried.  The fitness coaches were super awesome!  They were very willing to work with me and gave me all the necessary instruction.  I was just as pleased with the fitness classes as I had been with the beginner classes.  I went on Mon, Weds and Fri, so I had a different coach each of those days.  All of the coaches were excellent, but I have to give special kudos to the coach on Mondays, Steve.  He really went out of his way to help us learn and thought up extremely creative ways to help us correct what we were doing wrong.  I enjoyed his classes very much!

Thank you so much for providing services for adult non-swimmers like me!  I have really appreciated my experience at Nitro Swim School and recommend it to everyone.

Sincerely, PK (name withheld for public post)

Starting on Swim Team as a Teenager

6/30/2010 Here’s a great note I’ve pasted below for our newer kids who may have gotten a bit of a late start in our great sport of swimming. Enjoy, and Thanks for being a part of Nitro ! Coach Mike.

Question: “My 13 Year Old Son Has Just Started Swimming Competitively. What Are His Chances Of Succeeding Having Begun At Relatively Late Age For A Swimmer?”

Answered by: George Block, Aquatic Director of the Northside Independent School District, San Antonio, Texas.

The word “chance” reflects the disparity between possibility and probability. There is a long history of late beginning male swimmers doing very well, from George Breen to Rowdy Gaines, but the “possibility” doesn’t matter. We’re talking about your son.

First of all, he has to have certain basic physical abilities. Can he float with his lungs inflated? Can he streamline and glide when he pushes off the wall? Does he have normal strength and flexibility? Is he in good health?

You also have to find if he has some basic psychological abilities. Is he attentive? Is he a good listener? Does he follow instructions well? Will he persevere?

A little higher up the ladder, I would consider his athletic background, his extracurricular activities and his academic performance.

After this evaluation, the parent needs to work very closely with the child’s coach. The coach can tell you if your son has “talent”. Does he have the “feel” of the water? Does he learn quickly?

Finally, you must look at the team and the environment. Are swimmers performing well on the local level? The state level? Are they doing well at the Junior Nationals? Senior Nationals?

None of those things can explain the short, uncoordinated kids who try out as freshmen in high school and go on to become superstars in college. That is explained by perseverance. Coaches see perseverance beat talent every day. Perseverance in its most tangible form is “being there” and it is what changes the odds from possible to probable.

In swimmers who take up the sport “late”, the effects of training are always more “acute” (short term) than “chronic” (long term). Since your son won’t have the chronic training history of some of his teammates, he will need to train more effectively, have better attendance, and learn more from each competition than they do.

This may seem like a full order, but actually it’s a great opportunity. In the long haul, the “process” is more important than “the product”. If your son decides to commit himself to excellence in competitive swimming, he will have taken a major step out of the crowd that seeks only mediocrity. He will be one of the few “committed” in an age of “dilettantes”. He will have to plan, organize and work for long term goals. He will have to arrange for the cooperation of those around him; parents, siblings, coaches, teammates, teachers, and friends. He will also have to measure his own success. Yes, your son can be successful, and, yes it will be difficult…but that is what makes it worth doing.