Recently in Blue Team Category

We are now approaching the end of the 2nd week of the summer training schedule!  Wow!  The Blue group has REALLY come a long way in just two weeks!  I am really proud of the progress that everyone has made-both in terms of practice efforts and personal growth!  We are beginning to see the positive results of the group working together.  Let's keep working together and as I have been telling them, we ALL will reap the benefits!!!  I am very proud of them and I am having a lot of fun with workouts!  They are my motivation.

Schedule Reminders:

Friday, June 13th-NO DRYLAND!!!  Practice=9-11:00a.m.

Saturday, June 14th-Practice=8-10:00a.m.

Thursday, June 19th=Practice times TBA due to visiting teams & meet prep

Friday, June 20th=Everyone @ swim meet or NO Practices!

Saturday, June 21st=Everyone @ swim meet or NO Practices!

Practices:

As I stated above, the quality of practices over the last week and half have been impressive!  I have witnessed a lot of personal growth and effort.  A couple of thoughts concerning the weekly schedule-

Mondays and Tuesdays are work days!!  I try to cover all four strokes with drilling and kicking; a good Free and IM set; and a little speed work.  On Wednesdays, I base the workout on those who have attended Monday & doubles on Tuesday.  So it is a recovery/stroke work focus practice.  On Thursday, they seem fresher and ready to focus again.  Thursday seems to be their best day for focusing!!  I try to push one workout on Thursday and Friday's workout towards distance.  On Saturday we do a long warm-up (meet like) and speedwork.

Two other thoughts.  On the double days, I try to go around 10,000-11,000m total of the two workouts.  And I do try to have good interaction through conversation-both one on one and group.  I am trying to encourage a postive environment that they are proud to contribute to.  As we continue through the summer, I will take opportunities to pull them aside and talk with them about their goals one on one.

Remember, if they do have to miss the morning workouts, there are make-up workouts offered on Monday/Tuesday/Thursday evenings from 6-7:30p.m.  Coach Kevin leads the Monday session and I coach the Tuesday and Thursday sessions.

Swim Meets:

Good job to those Blue Swimmers who attended the Flagstaff Meet last weekend!  It is always a true challenge to race/perform at altitude!  Remember, going best times isn't always the only way for us to grow and learn.  Pushing yourself through a new challenge is though!  Congrats to Ian McIlwraith for winning high point for the 11-12 boys and to Logan Bianchi and Sofia Abrate for being high point runner-ups for the 11-12 and 13-14 girls repectfully.

Next Friday, June 20th & Saturday, June 21st, the group will be participating in the Sparky Invite at the ASU/Mona Plummer facility.  The warm-up times are as follows:

Friday & Saturday a.m. (13 & Overs)-Warm-Ups=7:00a.m./Meet start=8:00a.m.

Friday p.m. (12 & Unders)-Warm-Ups=1:00p.m./Meet start=2:00p.m.

Saturday p.m. (12 & Unders)-Warm-Ups=1:30p.m./Meet start=2:30p.m.  *This is a change!!

New Swimmers:

Blue has several new additions in the last two weeks-

Welcome back to Tait Radcliffe!!  The group was THRILLED to see him appear at dryland last week!  We are happy to have you back!!

Also, we have a group of Red Swimmers who are transitioning to Blue over the summer.  They will be attending Blue practices on Monday & Wednesday each week.  Those swimmers include-Paul Jacobs; Allison Mann; Katie Rottman; Kassidy Schmidt & Bria Spellman.  Please help make these swimmers feel welcome.  Also, Bria is new to the BEST team.  Welcome Bria!

Goal-setting:

The Blue group will be spending some time on both Monday and Tuesday of next week.  We will use Monday's dryland time and part of Tuesday's morning practice to work as a group and individually on this area of importance.  We will also be talking about meet readiness. 

 I will be distributing a laminated copy to each swimmer entitled "Keys to a Great Warm-up".  Throughout the year, I have discovered and rediscovered that this area of responsibility is a hard one for young swimmers.  They are just not sure how to best take care of themselves (their bodies) when approaching their pre-and post-race swims.  I was fortunate to work with a great age group coach in North Carolina who really helped me learn and expand my knowledge in helping young, developing swimmers gain their own knowledge and confidence in this area.  I only hope that I can pass along this info as well.  (A big thanks to Coach Patty Waldron for all of her help in this area!!)

In closing, I am wishing a very "Happy Father's Day" to all of the great BEST Dads out there!  I hope everyone has a great weekend and can enjoy AND APPRECIATE what our own Fathers have done for us in our lives! 

Thanks for sharing your great children with me!     -Coach Jennifer

Hello!

Hope this finds everyone looking forward to a great weekend!  I am finally successful at getting into this new blog system!!  I feel like I went through an initiation!

What a great weekend we just had!!  It was truly a Best Weekend with the Team Breakfast; Team Pictures; Intrasquad Meet and the Best Team Banquet!  I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did!  I felt renewed when I got to Monday!

BEST Intrasquad Swim Meet.  What fun it was to get back to "some racing" long course style!!  The Blue group looked very good/strong for early season.  It was nice to see everyone have an opportunity to race, but no pressure!  We had a great percentage of best times!  We had 74% best times for the group!The big point that I noticed was how strong everyone looked at the end of their races!  I am really glad that almost everyone got the opportunity to race the 200 Free.

BEST Team Banquet.  Wow!  Between the Red and Blue groups, we had a great turnout for the banquet on Sunday afternoon!  Everyone looked so nice, all dressed up!  The food and videos were great!  I just want all of you to know that I truly meant all of the positive words that I spoke about all of you!  You make this all worth while for me each and every day!  And I know the Best is yet to come for all of you!  A big congrats goes out to those of you who won special recognition awards:

Red Group Coaches Award=Logan Bianchi

Blue Group Coaches Award=Laura Gonzales & Brad Dorsey

Age Group Most Spirited Award=Emma Dromiack

Thanks to those of you who attended.  It is nice to have the opportunity to get together and celebrate our achievements and good fortunes that have been blessed upon this team over the past year! 

Blue Parent Meeting.  A big thank you to all of you who attended the Blue Parent Meeting last night!  It was really good to have the time to talk with all of you.  More than anything I wanted to provide more info on how I operate and my philosophy.  If you were not in attendance, I did put the entire meeting packet in your mailboxes.  Besides talking through the meeting outline, I did discuss several other items.  I will outline those thoughts for you below.  Besides the normal group stuff, I tried to expand on or give more insight into the areas that I feel are of utmost importance at this stage/level of swimming development.

*Practice thoughts (items of important with this group)=

-The Responsibility the Swimmer has in his own day-to-day approach to his swimming "learning to make each workout count";

-Stroke work vs. Training time.  We are now beginning to spend more time with training at least 3-4 days a week;

*Competition Thoughts=

Responsibility and the role that each swimmer has in his own success with competitions which now include the areas of Warming Up/Warming Down/The Learning & Implementing of Race Strategies;

*Dryland Focus=

Looking at both how dryland plays an ever-growing role of importance in the entire program from bottom to top;

How it can vary season to season.  Focusing on the running and increase of dryland during the spring and moving into more dryland maintenance in the summer season;

Other options that come into play during the summer as use of the dryland time frame:

*Mental Training.  When I began introducing several of these concepts to the Red Group late this past winter, I found that they were "hungry" to learn and that they wanted more of this.  Areas to explore and expand upon through this season include-Goal-setting (we will do goal-packets); Visualization (they love this exercise!); Focus Strategies; and possibly Relaxation skills.

As we explore these areas, I will try to keep the parents in the loop!

May Meets.  The entries for the May Meets are finished and posted.  Please double check the entries for the Gauchos Meet on May 17-18th &  Cactus Classic, May 23-26th.

June Meets.  The first of two June Meets is fast approaching.  The "Beat The Heat Meet" in Flagstaff is June 6-8th.  I will work on that entry May 20th.  Please make sure to sign up for this meet in the office, IF you are participating.

The second meet in June has been altered for the BEST age groupers.  Due to Arizona Swimming only approving the BEST Closed Invite for Senior Swimmers the weekend of June 20-22nd, the BEST age groupers are going to participate in the Sparky Invite, on June 20-22nd.  this meet is held at the ASU complex.  As soon as we have the information, we will get it to you.

Meet Contracts.  Thank you to those of you who have filled out and turned in the meet contracts that I distributed.  They sure helped me complete the May entries much quicker and more efficiently.  I do not want to enter swimmers who have no intention of participating and then YOU have to pay for it!  If you have not let me know your summer meet plans, please do so ASAP.  It helps me out greatly!

Summer Practice Schedule.  Remember the BEST Summer Practice Schedule goes into effect on Tuesday, May 27th.  VERY IMPORTANT...the Blue Group will follow Bronze's practice schedule Tuesday, May 27th-Saturday, May 31st!  This is due to Coach Jennifer being gone.  I am attending USA Swimming's National Open Water Select Camp and Championships as a team manager.  We will start the Blue summer schedule on Monday, June 2nd.  (I marked this on the copy of the Summer Schedule that I included in the Parent Meeting packet last night.)

Students In Summer School.  PLEASE make sure that I know if your Swimmer is attending Summer School.  Also, I need to know the times and the duration (start & finish dates) of their summer school session.  Between the workouts offered by the Bronze and Blue groups, EVERYONE will have ample opportunity to practice each week!  PLEASE GET ME THIS INFO ASAP!!!  I want to make sure these Swimmers have a schedule ahead of time that they know!!

Coming Soon.  GOAL-SETTING SESSION!!

As I close for now, I want to take a moment to wish a very special group of people...MOTHERS...a "Happy Mother's Day" to each and everyone of you!  I hope your day is special because of your family!  Relax and enjoy! 

Have a great weekend!

Coach Jennifer

Greetings and Welcome to the 2008 Long Course Season!! I just want all of you to know how excited I am to be working with your families.

We started off the new season with a detailed team meeting on Monday evening. I tried to cover anything and everything I could think of. The bottom line of the meeting was to not only communicate with them, but also "set the tone for a positive team training environment!" There is no room for any negativity! No one can excel to his or her potential if the negative has room to grow.

April/May Practice Schedule. As I stated in the e-mail sent out earlier this evening:
Mondays=6-7:45p.m. (Swim only)
Tue/Thu=5:30-7:45p.m. (Dryland & Swim)
Wednesdays=5-7:00p.m. (Swim only) THIS IS A CHANGE!! Start on Wed., April 16th.
Fridays=5:30-7:30p.m. (Swim only)
Saturdays=9-11:30a.m. (Dryland first & then Swim)

May Swim Meets. Our first long-course meets will happen in May:
*BEST Team Long Course Intrasquad Meet=Saturday, May 3rd. (Time line info to follow next week)
*Glendale Gauchos Swim Meet=Saturday, may 17th-Sunday, May 18th. If you do not qualify for the Cactus Classic Meet, you will be entered in the Gauchos Meet.
*Cactus Classic Swim Meet (Prelims/Finals)=Friday, may 23rd-Monday, May 26th. THE BLUE ENTRIES ARE POSTED ON THE AGE GROUP BULLETIN BOARD!! If you cannot attend, please let Coach Jennifer know ASAP!! I have entered EVERYONE who has qualifying times for this meet! I will also put the meet information in everyone's mailbox next week.

Blue Practice Equipment. All Blue Members need the following equipment on hand EACH and EVERY day of practice...starting next week:
Mesh bag for equipment
Water bottle
Kickboard
Buoy
Strokemaker Hand Paddles (Most everyone in this group should use the Green Size 1 paddles)
Snorkel
Fins (Blue & Orange Speedo ones are the preferred ones)
Positive Attitude!! :)

Blue Communication. Coach Jennifer feels regular communication with the families is VITAL!! I will use the following three modes of communication weekly:
Mailboxes for schedules; meet info
Weekly parent e-mails
Blog postings each week-either Wednesday afternoon or after Wednesday practices

The mode of communication I would first recommend to get in touch with me, is through e-mail. My e-mail address is jgibson@brophyprep.org.

Summer School Attendance. Parents, please send me your swimmer's summer school information/details ASAP either by e-mail or a written copy with your swimmer to practice. This will help me with practice attendance planning for the summer schedule!

I am looking forward to a fun and fast season of swimming with your children! If there is anything I can do to make the Blue Group a better experience for your swimmer, please do not hesitate to let me know! I want to work with everyone!

Please stay posted for our upcoming Blue Parent Meeting. This will happen in late April.
Thank you for your support of BEST and of your children!
-Coach Jennifer

Greetings and Welcome to the 2008 Long Course Season!! I just want all of you to know how excited I am to be working with your families.

We started off the new season with a detailed team meeting on Monday evening. I tried to cover anything and everything I could think of. The bottom line of the meeting was to not only communicate with them, but also "set the tone for a positive team training environment!" There is no room for any negativity! No one can excel to his or her potential if the negative has room to grow.

April/May Practice Schedule. As I stated in the e-mail sent out earlier this evening:
Mondays=6-7:45p.m. (Swim only)
Tue/Thu=5:30-7:45p.m. (Dryland & Swim)
Wednesdays=5-7:00p.m. (Swim only) THIS IS A CHANGE!! Start on Wed., April 16th.
Fridays=5:30-7:30p.m. (Swim only)
Saturdays=9-11:30a.m. (Dryland first & then Swim)

May Swim Meets. Our first long-course meets will happen in May:
*BEST Team Long Course Intrasquad Meet=Saturday, May 3rd. (Time line info to follow next week)
*Glendale Gauchos Swim Meet=Saturday, may 17th-Sunday, May 18th. If you do not qualify for the Cactus Classic Meet, you will be entered in the Gauchos Meet.
*Cactus Classic Swim Meet (Prelims/Finals)=Friday, may 23rd-Monday, May 26th. THE BLUE ENTRIES ARE POSTED ON THE AGE GROUP BULLETIN BOARD!! If you cannot attend, please let Coach Jennifer know ASAP!! I have entered EVERYONE who has qualifying times for this meet! I will also put the meet information in everyone's mailbox next week.

Blue Practice Equipment. All Blue Members need the following equipment on hand EACH and EVERY day of practice...starting next week:
Mesh bag for equipment
Water bottle
Kickboard
Buoy
Strokemaker Hand Paddles (Most everyone in this group should use the Green Size 1 paddles)
Snorkel
Fins (Blue & Orange Speedo ones are the preferred ones)
Positive Attitude!! :)

Blue Communication. Coach Jennifer feels regular communication with the families is VITAL!! I will use the following three modes of communication weekly:
Mailboxes for schedules; meet info
Weekly parent e-mails
Blog postings each week-either Wednesday afternoon or after Wednesday practices

The mode of communication I would first recommend to get in touch with me, is through e-mail. My e-mail address is jgibson@brophyprep.org.

Summer School Attendance. Parents, please send me your swimmer's summer school information/details ASAP either by e-mail or a written copy with your swimmer to practice. This will help me with practice attendance planning for the summer schedule!

I am looking forward to a fun and fast season of swimming with your children! If there is anything I can do to make the Blue Group a better experience for your swimmer, please do not hesitate to let me know! I want to work with everyone!

Please stay posted for our upcoming Blue Parent Meeting. This will happen in late April.
Thank you for your support of BEST and of your children!
-Coach Jennifer

Wow - what a great Sate Meet! Thank you for being on time, for warming-up and cooling down conscientiously, for giving your individual and your relay events equal importance, for coming to see me for feedback regardless of the way you felt about your race, and for being humbled by your successes. All of your practice efforts paid off in so many fantastic and exciting swims. We had 100% of the Blue group swim best times! Kudos to our individual event champions and runner-ups.

Practice times for this week remain 5:30-7:30 pm every evening. There will not be any practice on Friday, Saturday and Monday, March 21, 22, and 24. Have a happy Easter and travel safely if you are planning on leaving town!

For those attending the Far Western Meet, Coach Kevin is offering to run workouts on the days there is no regular practice as follows: Friday, March 21 = 10-11:30 am / Saturday, March 22 = 9:30-11 am / Monday, March 24 = 4-5:30 pm

Monday, March 10 = 5:30-7:00 pm
Tuesday, March 11 = 5:00-6:00 pm (Potluck Dinner to follow practice)
Wednesday, March 12 = 4:30-5:30 pm
Thursday, March 13 = No Practice (State Meet)
Friday, March 14 = No Practice (State Meet)
Saturday, March 15 = No Practice (State Meet)

1.) Great job at the Regional Meet! So many swimmers experienced time drops and most importantly, diplayed well executed races. Stroke technique and turns looked especially good. Those preparing for the State Meet should be excited and confident that they will experience more of the same.

2.) There will be a team Potluck Dinner on Tuesday, March 11 at 6:00 pm. Practice on that day will be 5:00-6:00 pm.

3.) Parents: BEST needs you! We are hosting the State Meet and need as much help as possible to pull off a great meet. Please make sure you volunteer. There is a sign-up board in the pool office.

4.) Because of the State Meet, there will not be any practice on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, March 13, 14 and 15.

As we approach the final weeks of this Short-Course season, I want to emphasize the importance of staying healthy. The swimmers' bodies are starting to rest and repair from all the hard, long yards they have put into their systems. Please make every effort to stay hydrated, well nurished, and establish consistent sleep patterns.

In preparation for and to ensure a little extra rest heading into Lost Dutchman, practices on Wednesday and Thursday of this week will be shorter: Wednesday, Feb. 13 = 5:30-7:00 pm / Thursday, Feb. 14 = 5:30-6:30 pm.

Reminder: there is a Parent's Meeting on Feb. 20 starting at 5:30 pm. Nutrition will be the topic of discussion.

Far Westerns: those that have made cuts for Far Westerns should have received a letter in their mailboxes. Please respond by Wed., Feb. 20.

Due to the Lost Dutchman Meet, practices will be as follows:
Friday, Feb. 15 = 6-7 pm
Saturday, Feb. 16 & Monday, Feb. 18 = No Practice

Also, please recognize that we are at a turning point in our season. Sets are becoming more individualized based on paces, heart rates, and rest time. Occasionally, practice may end early if we have completed the necessary yardage and skills are up to par. Further, due to the individualization, swimmers may find they are doing different sets, send-offs, and yardages than other swimmers in the same group. Swimmers: please do your best to compare yourself to yourself only... Parents: please avoid the pitfalls of comparing your son/daughter to another swimmer.

Entries for the Lost Dutchman Meet are posted and in the mailboxes. If you have any changes please let me know before the end of practices today (Wednesday, Jan. 30 - 7:30 pm).