Have you been honest in your preperation??

We were able to see some fast swimming from the WSY swimmers that participated in the local league competition last weekend. It was great for me to see the smiles on the faces after the races. Most times I did not have to even look at the scoreboard, I looked at the athletes faces after they hit the touch pad, and their faces spoke volume's. I have always enjoyed seeing happy swimmers after they race. Over the next month we have a good amount of championship swimming, everything from the Mini Championships to the High School Districts and States, to the Y District and States, and finally Y Nationals. Everyone has a chance to have a championship meet. I was explaining to the Senior and National levels tonight, that as we prepare for these championship meets, we need to go back and think how honest we have been with ourselves (athletes) over the last 20 weeks. If you put in the focus and work in practice, this is now simply the time for the "final exam". If you missed a few practices, arrive late for practices, and made some other excuses, we may have some trouble with the final exam. I found this great picture of Natalie Coughlin (who just yesterday re-set her world record in the 100 backstroke). How many times do you think she practiced this streamline in practice?? Do you think she was able to be the best in the world by streamling like this only "sometimes"?? This is the time of year that each one of you needs to think how honest you have been to yourself with your preparation this year. When you get behind the blocks in your championship meet.....how prepared are you?? I think you will all agree that swimming fast is fun?? Training to swim fast should be just as fun. Enjoy the next few weeks as you are all swimming in your championship meets. Support your teammates, and we all swim faster when we have a common goal!!! 2-4-6-8 WSY!!!! (Sam and Tricia love that cheer and who knows....they may have it in their mind when they are at their college championship meets)

Coach Mike...What do you think?

I went to the Y last night and I found Coach Mike in this position. Not really sure how he does that with his face. He said, as he looked out the windows, 'How does it snow for several hours and then turn to rain.' I tried to explain it to him but he has a hard time understanding why it is not always 79 degrees and sunny. If you see Coach Mike today, try to do your best to explain how his world is just a 'little' different than what the rest of us see and experience, but most of all please be patient if he doesn't seem to get it. I hope you don't get the same look I did.

Coach Guy......please tell us how to build a snowman

Coach Guy.......since we did not have AGC practice this evening, we heard you were home with "Camp Tanguay" building a snowman. Can you please look in your tool box and give us a step by step process of how to build a snowman??

Thanks.....Coach Mike

Would you be my Valentine?

Happy Valentines to all of our WSY swimmers!!! We had some really great swims today! I couldn't possible try to name each swimmer individually that had a best time today- WOW! I hope the swimmers who participated in today's meet had as much fun as I did. If you missed it, then you'll have to check out the photo gallery this week to see what a fun meet it was- I had as much fun taking pictures as I did watching all our fast swims. All of you who swam should be very proud of your efforts-we had a very good day of swimming- it was GREAT seeing all those yellow caps finishing in top spots.

Today's meet was a perfect way to get ready for our Divisionals next week and many swimmers made YMCA District cut times and will going on to swim next month. This is a very exciting time of the winter swim season. But it is also a time for all of us to get serious and start focusing on our goals. FOCUS is the key word from this point to the end of the season. All the coaches have been talking a lot lately about focusing in practice and focusing before you swim in competition. You will be hearing a lot more about FOCUS as we move towards this weekend swimmng Divisionals and All Stars and again as we get ready for YMCA Districts and States.

So, everyone have a Super Monday and I'll see you on deck!!! Thanks for a GREAT day of WSY swimming.

Are you in front of me or behind me??

Many of us over the next several weeks at our various championship meets will see athletes that we have competed against for quite some time now. Some of those athletes will be from our own team. Many times we get up on the blocks, and right away think "I can't swim faster than this person", and we immediately psych our self out. This all starts back at practice. How hard are you really working at practice. There is no magic to it. There was a great quote I hear earlier today which said "You don't get in front of people that are already in front of you by doing less than they do". This does not necessarily mean going in front of a person at practice, but it means more about doing more work at practice, and not always in terms of actual volume of work.

As I talked about earlier in the week about being consistent, if you want to be faster than someone that is already faster than you.....how are you going to do it?? This person is already in front of you, SO you better figure out how to work harder than they do?? You need to commit to faster kicking in practice. How about faster intervals on certain practice sets. Use your imagination, and do not think you are going to improve simply by magic. It does not work like that. Keep your focus in practice, and allow yourself to work hard. It will not be easy, and sometimes it may actually be uncomfortable, but hey.....when you were learning how to walk, I am sure you fell a few times, or when you were learning how to ride a bike, I am sure you fell a few times.

If you want to be "in the front", you need to work harder than the others. Set up your plan and then follow it on a consistent basis

Tolls in our Toolbox

I read Mike's last blog (End of the year is around the corner, are we being consistent??) and it reminds me of a point I am constantly trying to get across to the swimmers. We, as coaches, give the swimmers the tools for their toolbox but unless they take those tools out during the course of the practice, the tools are just going to waste.

Last night during AGC we spend the whole practice on breaking down the breaststroke pull as it relates to the pullout and the swim. It took them quite some time to get their heads-in-the-game. Derrick and I tried to get them to understand the importance of breaking the stroke down and working on the fine points of the stroke, these are the tools. The little details of the strokes, the one or two works and or non-verbal commands the remind a swimmer about the proper technique of a stroke. A coaches job is to motivate and teach and a swimmers job is to absorb and perform.

I like Mike's analogy in his blog of a math teacher. I have used this analogy on the pool deck with the kids on numerous occations. Their math teacher does not have to start every class by reminding the kids that 1 + 1 = 2. The same should apply for swimming, they should be able to come off every wall in a tight streamline. If they don't use the tools we, as coaches, are there to remind them of their tool that is in their box. But it is up to each and every swimmer to use the tool to become a better swimmer. Each swimmer should walk on the pool deck ready to perform (with toolbox in hand) mentally as well as physically.

End of the year is around the corner, are we being consistent??

Over the last few weeks both in practice and in meets, Y meets, and High School meets, one thing that keeps popping in my head is that I continue to see swimmers that are not being consistent with what they are doing both when racing at meets, and in practice. On the other hand I do see several of you that are being consistent in workouts, and we are seeing some great times in meets. Each evening in practice no matter if you are in the AGA or National training groups; we need to be consistent in our efforts at practice. How many perfect flip turns will you perform in practice, how many perfect streamlines, how many repeats of a certain set (25's 50'2 100's etc) will be done at the same time, and will you actually get your time. Will that time get faster each week?? Think how you learned how to add and subtract......you had to memorize simple "tables" until it was easy, same with spelling words, but then when it came test time, you did well, because you were memorizing the same thing each day. Relating this to swimming, if you are practicing a skill differently each day, how will you memorize it??
We are in the final phase of the year, where we need to be consistent at practice in order for all of our efforts to be seen at the end of year championship meets. You can not come to practice, and simply "go through motions" Each day needs to be a new challenge. I once heard a great quote from a swim coach "Repetition is the highest form of learning". I am sure when that coach made that statement; he was also thinking about CONSISTENT/PERFECT Repetition is the highest form of learning.
There will me 2-3 meets over the next 6-7 weeks where each of you will want to swim fast. How have you prepared yourself for this? NOT....How have your parents prepared you.....NOT....How have the coaches prepared you, but wake up tomorrow, and before you look out the window and see the sun, look in the mirror (we all know that I do it every day)......and say to yourself.....How am I preparing myself?? You are ultimately responsible for your success. And then when you have success, you are also the one who can celebrate.
As far as practices....I heard we had some very fast Timed 200's in AGB. I heard there were alot of emphasis on kicking and not breathing out of turns!! This is great.


Good luck to all of you 9 & Unders swimming in the Mini Meet on Sunday

Coach Mike