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
