Swim Like A Champion (a real life journal) [Archive] - Page 2

Breeze

04-15-2013, 11:36 AM

I don't visit FOFC much anymore, and even less the dynasty board so I had not seen this dynasty. Well, I had seen it just last week but just assumed it was about your own training in the pool. Just took a shot and started reading the first post this morning and I'm hooked. Just read the post describing your kids and got all teary eyed reading about Brett's DQ in Savannah.

This whole swimming thing hits quite close to home as our youngest (who just turned 9 in January) is going through his first season of competitive swim training. He trains 4 times a week for a total of about 5 to 5.5 hours in the pool every week. And he also got DQed, about a month ago, for mixing his styles and starting his 3rd 25m back at backstroke instead of breastroke in a 100 IM. He realised it after maybe 7 or 8 meters but it was too late.

I'm reading back from the start and will eventually post to tell more about my own son if you want, but not before I'm up to date on my reading, in order not to spoil anything ;)

I'm interested to see how different swimmers development is from the States to us here in Quebec/Canada.

FM

PS: hope this shows up all right since I'm posting from tapatalk on my iPad after copying from a txt file from my computer... See ya in a few days, when I'm done reading it all. ;)

FM,

Quote looks fine in the thread and I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far. There were several driving factors behind the creation of this thread...

1. It gives me a chance to organize my thoughts
2. It serves as a journal that I can refer to in order to see my thoughts and the assessments of the kids performances in the past
3. AND PROBABLY THE BIGGEST REASON - to attempt to describe and illustrate the emotions of being a year round swimmer... (as you've seen the whole DQing can be very gut wrenching)

I would love for you to continue to post the progress of your son...feel free to put whatever you'd like down. Also, I'm not sure if you come from a swimming background, but if you didn't and you'd like to discuss anything, just let me know, we are ending our 6th season...

I'd be interested to know how long your son has been doing year round swimming, and what made him decide that it was a sport he wanted to be involved with.

Breeze

Breeze

04-15-2013, 11:50 AM

General Update

I often struggle with regards to how much information to post out side of swimming. For the most part I've kept to swimming and swimming related facts, but I'm not sure if I should expand some of the posts to include items that will help you get a more deep understanding of my kids and their personalities...The reason I stated this is:

I know I've mentioned several times in this thread that Brett is a very intelligent kid. Just to give you some background. Brett is in 7th grade (would be in 6th if I had my way), and he recently scored in the 99.5 percentile in a standardized test for problem solving. That earned him the right to enter the Duke University Tip program, which we took advantage of. One of the items that program provides is the right to take the ACT or SAT test, so we signed Brett up. We didn't stress it, and we only decided to use to test as a way to gauge his performance and to identify what he'll need to focus on moving forward. He did no pretest training or practice tests and he scored:

Verbal - 420
Math - 470
Writting - 390

Total - 1280

Breeze

04-15-2013, 11:54 AM

General Update

Brett has an ear infection and won't be able to fully practice for a week or more. He'll probably just do kicksets to keep his head out of the water. Maybe this will be a good window of opportunity where he'll be able to work out some of his sloppy kicking techniques.

Lexi, who moved to Arizona, has once again hurt her knee. This time it is on the back and inside. She was trying to do PE with her friends and she was doing the hurdles. Obviously she shouldn't have been, but it has to be extremely hard for a 10 year old to walk away from playing, especially one that is competitive like Lexi. These surgeries have really stolen a good bit of her childhood. She is scheduled to meet with an orthopedic this week. I'll update you when I hear the results...

FrogMan

04-15-2013, 03:28 PM

FM,

Quote looks fine in the thread and I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far. There were several driving factors behind the creation of this thread...

1. It gives me a chance to organize my thoughts
2. It serves as a journal that I can refer to in order to see my thoughts and the assessments of the kids performances in the past
3. AND PROBABLY THE BIGGEST REASON - to attempt to describe and illustrate the emotions of being a year round swimmer... (as you've seen the whole DQing can be very gut wrenching)

I would love for you to continue to post the progress of your son...feel free to put whatever you'd like down. Also, I'm not sure if you come from a swimming background, but if you didn't and you'd like to discuss anything, just let me know, we are ending our 6th season...

I'd be interested to know how long your son has been doing year round swimming, and what made him decide that it was a sport he wanted to be involved with.

Breeze

I am not, personally, from a swimming background but my wife is. It's her sport. I grew up playing hockey and soccer, she was born near that one big lake you can see up North called "Lac St-Jean" (google it, you'll see, it's not as big as one of the five great lakes but it's still a pretty sizeable lake ;)). She would spend her Summers in cabins next to the lake and eventually got to compete in synchronized swimming and had various Summer jobs as lifeguard in her youth.

Anyway, I did take some swimming lessons when I was young and I can swim ok. We signed up both our kids for swimming lessons when they were both maybe 18 months old. Idea was simply to be responsible and give them a chance at not drowning if they ever fall in water. Anyway, our oldest (Andrew) took lessons up until he was maybe 9 or 10, when they started introducting them to the different strokes. He didn't like doing laps much and he stopped a little after his first session of mostly training, as opposed to "playing" in water.

Our youngest (Matthew) is quite different in mentality. He's a fierce competitor. He needs to be first in everything he tries, while our oldest is a more mellow kind of kid. When they started barely learning the strokes, Matthew would always want to find someone to race, even sometimes slowing down so he could "go at it" with any other kid. He'd often be in lessons with kids maybe a year or two older than him, i.e. him at 5 with kids 6-7yo or at 6 with kids 7 to 9 and so on, and he would most often keep the pace. My wife knows her swimming a bit and she sees a lot of potential in him. Some of the coaches have told her so too. Me, I'm just the proud daddy who knows little to swimming styles (although I'm learning ;)) and who's just happy to cheer his kid on. :)

Because of his competitive nature, when they asked him if he'd like to train as part of the swimming team of our club, he showed some interest. He went from a mere once a week in Fall of 2011 (when he was 7) to twice a week in January, to the full schedule of four times a week this Fall (2012). In fact, he probably should be in the three times a week schedule for the 7-9 yo but there were not enough kids in the 10-12 yo group that do four times a week and too many in the 7-9yo group so they "promoted" some of the faster younger swimmer. Even though it's his first full season of training, he was seen as one of the faster young ones which we took as a sign that he might have some potential. He does Monday-Wednesday-Thursday-Saturday and as I said, it's his first full season doing that. Prior to this season, he'd been signed up for swimming lessons since he was very young. He had done a couple of swim meet, once every year in the last couple of years. He almost decided not to swimm at all in June of 2011 when he got all flustered during warmups. He was so tiny back then and he felt like he was being pushed around during warmups when all the other swimmers of his club were in the same lane and now he wasn't the fastest in the group and was being passed by most of the others. He started crying back there and my wife had to cheer him up big time. I was teaching karate that day and couldn't be there for the beginning of the meet and my heart still hurts thinking about him. He went on to have a great meet that only fuelled his competitive spirit where he set his basic times that he's been improving on ever since.

I was tempted to say we don't really have year round swimming, but it's mostly that it's not split like yours is. Main training/competing season is September to June and it's all done in the 25m pool. We don't have access to a 50m one and no outdoor facilities either, it's just too cold for us around here. There was some sort of Summer training that lasted from the beginning of July to mid-August last Summer but that was mostly for younger swimmers to perfect their styles and not really an intensive training period. We're nearing the end of our season, with I think one more meet in the season at some point in June.

In recent years, swimming at the Olympics has become a big part of our Olympics TV watching as my wife became a big Phelps fan, as did Matthew, almost by osmosis I could say. ;) I bought my wife a DVD of all of Phelps's events at the Beijing games and she's watched is several times with Matthew.

Other than swimming, Matthew also still practices karate. His regular class would be Wednesday evening and Saturday morning but he can only attend Saturday morning and even then, it's after his longest training of the week in the pool. Luckily for him, his dad is the sensei and owner of the dojo so I give him pravite classes of about 45 minutes on Sunday morning. He's set to test for his brown stripe on his blue belt in three weeks. I'm thinking that the training in both disciplines can be complementary. He's very agile and swift when in the dojo, with amazing stamina and I hope that the concentration required for karate can be useful later on in his swimming.

Sorry if this got long. I'm still reading on the first page and I'm careful not to be spoiled about the latest results, but I wanted to write that down now. Back later with more. :)

FM

Breeze

04-15-2013, 03:42 PM

I'm thinking that the training in both disciplines can be complementary. He's very agile and swift when in the dojo, with amazing stamina and I hope that the concentration required for karate can be useful later on in his swimming.

FM

Hey FM,

Take you time on responses...I'm glad to have you reading. By the way, you may find the two diciplines are a perfect complement. Swimming builds lots of lean muscle and creates a good bit of stamina, but because it is so repetitive it can create some restrictions in movement, whereas, Karate does a great job of keeping people limber. This should allow your son to maintain range of motion.

This may not be as obvious with your swim club, but there are quite a few swimmers with shoulders that hunch forward. That is caused by over strengthening one side of the shoulder and not maintaining flexibility. In fact, it isn't unusual for swimmers to be put on an extensive stretching program...

Breeze

04-18-2013, 09:24 AM

General/Personal Update

So the twins age up today. They turn 11, which means they no longer have any state cuts and the times required to earn a cut are much faster.

Bear will have his Birthday party this Saturday after practice. He is bringing over several kids from swimming to play games. We'll go up to the middle school football field and potentially play:

- flag football
- utimate frisbee
- Wheeler Ball (like utlimate frisbee, but with a football)
- Gotcha (basketball game)
- Wiffle Ball
- Frisbee Golf (backyard style)

Bailey's party will be next weekend, and she's having a glow in the dark sleepover/dance party.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Also, we found out last night that Bear has taking change out of his bank and buying his friends snacks from the vending machine each day. He really enjoys making others feel good, and to him it was worth doing because he doesn't need anything and his friends appreciated what he was doing. Recently, he ran out of money (after spending somewhere in the neighborhood of $30), so he elected to come up with some other ways to be generous. Yesterday, he gave away some pennies, only they were collectible pennies. We aren't sure which ones they were because he hadn't cateloged them yet (at one point he thought he wanted to collect coins). We had to have a long talk with Bear about this, but it is really hard. He genuinely wants to be nice to others, so you don't want to squelch that as a parent, but you have to make sure he isn't setting himself up to be taken advantage of. This was a difficult talk...

FrogMan

04-18-2013, 08:36 PM

I'm slowly making my way through the first posts, reading this as a novel man, compelling stuff! :)

I know my heart was crushed when Brett had his bad meet (Woodie B. Malone) and then I caught myself saying it with you before his next meet: "please let him do well" and I was very happy when he did do well. Anyway, for you it's well in the past and I'm sure I'll read many more stories like that about your kids, but I wanted to say that I deal with many kids of his type, with ADHD and such, in the field of martial arts and it's always nice to see them succeed or at least have interest in something.

I also realize that we have a very similar way of thinking, re: sleeping out as a reward for training hard. We don't often realize that kids don't get a paycheck for their life. It's those little rewards that are their paychecks, and in a sport like swimming where it's a lot of actual training and sort of little playing, it gets even more important. I compare Matthew to Andrew, our oldest son, who plays hockey. Sure he's got practices, but they are still mostly playing, not always doing laps and laps and laps around the rink...

Back to reading. :)

FM

Breeze

04-19-2013, 07:47 AM

General Update

Bailey and Bear came home with their medals from the Northern Divisional Meet on Tuesday (4/16). Bailey had 4 Gold, 1 Silver, and 2 Bronze. She looked pretty Phelpsian with all of them around her neck at the same time. Bear was also very proud of his two (silver & bronze).

This was another difficult situation for the wife and me. We had to be complementary of the twins and their accomplishments, but once again Brett, who wants desperately to earn a year round medal, had to be reminded that he doesn’t have one. He pouted a bit, and it was obvious from his body language that it was a bitter pill to swollow. He even commented that "I never earned a medal when I was there age." (of course he conveniently forgets that he mailed in practice at their age and was only concerned about Breaststroke which clearly limited his opportunities to earn a medal. Plus he was swimming with Swim Atlanta and faced 3 times the number of year round swimmers that the twins faced at the Northern Divisional Meet)

Brett’s reaction…while it seems pretty childish for the 12 going on 13 year old, I think illustrates how difficult this situation is for him, he created his own “medal” from a note card and pen for the 200 Breast he won but was disqualified in earlier in the season. I really hope we can find an event this long course season that will be handing out medals (not ribbons) with a weak lineup of swimmers, and Brett can earn one this season. If he doesn’t get one this long course season, he won’t get one for quite a while. Once he ages up to 13, he’ll fall further behind the good swimmers, until he really hits his growth spurt.

Breeze

04-19-2013, 08:02 AM

General/Personal Update

On the positive side for Brett, he has his first official girlfriend! :D

The girl's name is Maddie, and to be honest, I'm not even sure which one she is. I'll see if I can figure it out and I'll let you guys know more about her.

It was actually a funny little story. I believe I've mentioned that Brett has become really good friends with another swimmer named Hunter. Well Hunter is a very outgoing, funloving, big kid that is constantly interacting with others, and in a general manner flirting with girls. Brett has been riding his coat tails for a while in these interactions, and it has really opened up the door for Brett to become more social. Hunter tends to break the ice in conversations, and then Brett's is able to add some wit and clever humor.

We knew for a while that Hunter and Brett both had girls they were interested in, we just weren't sure which ones (as Brett certainly wasn't going to tell us). We finally determined it was Maddie.

Interestingly, most of the kids that come to swimming carpool from time to time, and all the parents sit together while the kids are swimming. One day, the conversation turned to who the kids were interested in, and one of the mothers mentioned on the way into the pool, 4 girls that were riding together were talking about which boys they liked, and one of the girls (the driver wasn't sure which one) mentioned Brett...When she heard Brett's name she tried to listen more intently, but nothing more came up. She later determined the girl was Maddie. Once we learned this, we figured it would just be a matter of time before this "dating" thing occurred. I wonder how long before I'll be expected to take them to the movies. My bet is that Brett and Hunter will want to "double date" before the end of May - we'll see, and I'll definately let you know.

I'll bet as long as Maddie and Brett are together it won't be difficult to get him to go to practice ;) . However, when the breakup occurs, he may give up the sport...

Breeze

04-23-2013, 02:11 PM

Long Course Time Standards Update

I know that I owe you guys the goals for the long course season, and I will post those, but unfortunately, I haven't sat down with the kids to get them defined. I'm sure they have some goals in mind at this point, we just haven't talked. Regardless, I'm going to post the Long Course State Cut Times below, because ultimately their goal is to swim at state, no matter what they say...

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11 Year Old Girls

50 Free - 33.59
100 Free - 1:12.39
200 Free - 2:37.69
400 Free - 5:39.29
800 Free - 11:59.99
1500 Free - 22.29.99

50 Back - 39.79
100 Back - 1:24.99
200 Back - 3:09.59

50 Breast - 45.59
100 Breast - 1:39.39
200 Breast - 3:36.99

50 Fly - 37.39
100 Fly - 1:27.09
200 Fly - 3:32.99

200 IM - 2:59.99
400 IM - 7:00.99

-------------------------------------------------------------
11 Year Old Boys

50 Free - 33.89
100 Free - 1:15.09
200 Free - 2:44.29
400 Free - 5:56.59
800 Free - 12:14.09
1500 Free - 22.29.99

50 Back - 41.69
100 Back - 1:28.69
200 Back - 3:19.29

50 Breast - 47.19
100 Breast - 1:40.99
200 Breast - 3:52.39

50 Fly - 39.59
100 Fly - 1:35.19
200 Fly - 3:42.99

200 IM - 3:07.79
400 IM - 7:00.99

-------------------------------------------------------------
12 Year Old Boys

50 Breast - 43.99
100 Breast - 1:38.99
200 Breast - 3:39.99

Breeze

04-24-2013, 10:09 AM

Personal Update

Great news...Lexi's knee injury won't require surgery. She got a shot in the knee and will be in physical therapy for about 3 weeks, but she should be fine...

Breeze

04-25-2013, 07:31 AM

General Update

Couple of interesting notes. The Summer practice schedule has been released, and Brett's team is scheduled to do two a days a couple times a week. In the past, the two a days were only offered for the Region swimmers that were close to advancing to the Senior team, and Brett isn't so we emailed the coach to ask what we should do with Brett. He suggested that Brett should go to the two a days...but that he'd talk with Brett and let him know. That is wasn't urgent that he attend both practices, but he needs to start preparing for it.

Also, because practices have been moved to early afternoon, we are going to have a hard time getting the kids there. In fact, we will have to solicit help from my parents...because of this we really don't want to ask them to make multiple trips to the pool, so we asked if the twins could practice a couple of days a week with Region.

Interestingly, the response was..."I'm concerned about Bailey..." This was not what I was expecting. Bailey is swimming so well right now, and Bear is still struggling a bit, I really thought I'd hear Bear wasn't ready. The coach said, she feels Bear is physically ready, but she wasn't sure Bailey has the muscle mass to get through the longer practices. After thinking about it, I now understand where the coach is coming from. Bear is much better at the distance swims, and that does translate into being able to handle the longer practices. All this said, it does look like the twins will be practicing a couple times a week with Region.

The kids will be putting together their goals tonight, but they will be limited. Because it has been so long since they swam Long Course...they aren't sure what times to shoot for, so they are going to wait until after the time trials this weekend to be more specific with the goals...

Breeze

04-26-2013, 07:28 AM

Long Course Time Trials – Cumming Aquatic Center 4/27-28

The long course season kicks off this weekend. Below I will list the events and seed times for the kids, but I really won’t have any idea of what to expect in regards to times. The difference in the pool distances makes it difficult to predict. The kids should significantly improve significantly over any seed times that are from last year…so hopefully, this will be a good meet for self-esteem.
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Bailey

200 Free – 3:12.95 (I believe this is a made up time)
100 Back – 1:35.03
100 Fly – NT
200 IM – NT

100 Free – NT
50 Fly – 43.40
50 Back – 45.85
400 Free – NT
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Bear

200 Free – NT
100 Back – NT
50 Breast – NT
100 Fly – NT

50 Fly – NT
100 Breast – NT
50 Back – NT
400 Free - NT

Bear has long course times, for some reason the coach didn’t enter them. If I get some time later today I’ll look them up and put them in another post
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brett

200 Free – 3:13.87 (I believe this is a made up time)
50 Breast – 47.72
100 Fly – NT (my guess is he gets DQed here…was working on this stroke but because of the ear infection it has been several weeks without the extra attention)
200 IM – 3:32.07 (this is a made up time, I’m pretty sure, and a DQ here wouldn’t surprise me – see above)

100 Free – 1:29.17
100 Breast – 1:44.22
50 Back – 47.45
400 Free – 6:30.09 (this is a made up time)

Breeze

04-26-2013, 11:21 AM

Long Course Time Trials – Cumming Aquatic Center 4/27-28

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bear

200 Free – NT
100 Back – NT
50 Breast – NT
100 Fly – NT

50 Fly – NT
100 Breast – NT
50 Back – NT
400 Free - NT

Here are Bear's actual seed times...

Bear

200 Free – 2:56.74
100 Back – 1:36.73
50 Breast – 54.24
100 Fly – NT

50 Fly – 42.69
100 Breast – 1:52.82
50 Back – 44.30
400 Free - NT

Breeze

04-26-2013, 11:29 AM

Long Course Time Trials – Cumming Aquatic Center 4/27-28

Brett

200 Free – 3:13.87 (I believe this is a made up time)
50 Breast – 47.72
100 Fly – NT (my guess is he gets DQed here…was working on this stroke but because of the ear infection it has been several weeks without the extra attention)
200 IM – 3:32.07 (this is a made up time, I’m pretty sure, and a DQ here wouldn’t surprise me – see above)

100 Free – 1:29.17
100 Breast – 1:44.22
50 Back – 47.45
400 Free – 6:30.09 (this is a made up time)

Some clarification on Brett...

The 200 IM and the 200 Free are not made up times...he swam them last season, I just forgot...

Breeze

04-26-2013, 11:30 AM

Long Course Time Trials – Cumming Aquatic Center 4/27-28

Bailey

200 Free – 3:12.95 (I believe this is a made up time)
100 Back – 1:35.03
100 Fly – NT
200 IM – NT

100 Free – NT
50 Fly – 43.40
50 Back – 45.85
400 Free – NT

Bailey's 200 Free time is also legitimate...

Breeze

04-30-2013, 06:41 AM

General/Personal Update

Still waiting on the official results from the meet, will be doing an update once they come out. However, I did get an email from Lexi's dad with an update on her status. Here is what he had to say...

"Lexi went to PT today. He wants her back in the water now. He said her atrophy is causing misalignment in her posture and knees…fixable with therapy and strengthening. Her knee cap shifted when she did those hurdles…he said they can fix that with PT also. Everything is so fragile in those knees…stinks. He doesn’t want her to run…ever. Says she has more to lose than she has to gain. No breaststroke either. Encouraged her to just get really good at the other three strokes."

Breeze

05-02-2013, 09:17 AM

Long Course Time Trials – RESULTS

Bailey

Woke up the morning of the race with a barky cough again, this is never a good sign…
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Day 1

200 Free – 3:12.95 – Bailey really doesn’t like the longer swims, but for the first time this weekend she really tried to push more in a race of this distance. She opened with a 1:25.04 and finished with a 1:31.43, for a personal best time of 2:56.47. She can still do better, but it is a start.

100 Back – 1:35.03 – Bailey got a bad start here and while she swam well, she really didn’t seem to have the burst she did at the end of the short course season in her back. I have a hunch that she was conserving herself a bit knowing that the 100 Fly and 200 IM next, and I can tell you, after looking at the short course pools all fall and winter, the long course pool looks very intimidating…She swam a personal best 1:31.73. I suspect she’ll improve on this a good bit throughout the season.

100 Fly – NT – I knew Bailey would swim well here, but I was concerned that there wouldn’t be anyone to push her. By being entered with a NT seed, she was in the first heat, which is usually kids that will have a hard time completing a 100 Fly without getting DQed. However, Bailey matched up with an old 12 year old we are familiar with from Summer League and Swim Atlanta. They were right next to each other and they had an awesome race. Taryn, took the early lead, but Bailey stayed on her hip, at the turn Bailey started to charge and by the 2/3 point on the back half, She had taken the lead, and Taryn started fading back. Bailey swam a 1:29.49, and she beat Taryn by 2 full seconds. Also she’ put herself in a position where she might be able to earn this cut before the end of July.

200 IM – NT – Bailey was still dealing with fatigue when this race started. While her fly was pretty, she wasn’t terribly fast with it, being around seventh out of the 10 racing to the wall on the opening leg. Back was good not great, Breast still needs work. She looked strong in the free, but it was too little too late at that point. Her time 3:23.93

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Day 2

100 Free – NT – This was a poor swim from Bailey. She really wasn’t pushed by those around her, but she also didn’t seem to be into this race. Not sure if she was conserving for the 50 Fly, but I wasn’t impressed with the time or effort. She finished with a 1:20.37, I feel she really should be a 1:18 low without much problem. We’ll see where this goes in the next meet.

50 Fly – 43.40 – This was probably Bailey’s best shot coming in to get a State Cut in this meet, and she looked strong. For having just turned 11, she did extremely well finishing eighteenth with a time of 38.31, only 1 second from the cut. Also an interesting side note, she was only .2 of a second behind MK a Summer League teammate who is 12 and swims with Brett on the Region team.

50 Back – 45.85 – Bailey’s back here was a perfect illustration of why I felt she was conserving in the 100 back on day 1. She was fast in this one, with a strong kick throughout. She still had a poor start, which she’ll need to clean up, but she finished tied with MK, who is a very good back stroker, at 15 overall. Her time 40.67. This is also just 1 second from a state cut.

400 Free – NT – Mid distance swim, so clearly not on the top of Bailey’s favorite events. This one was pretty fun for me however, because due to the number of kids signed up, they ended up putting Bear and two other boys in the same heat with the girls, so Bear and Bailey raced (sort of, they were not close to each other in lanes, and Bailey was NOT going to beat Bear in this event). Boo started with a solid 1:30.38, then dropped to a 1:37.34, 1:37.06, and closed with a decent final 100 of 1:31.74. Overall time, 6:16.92

Breeze

05-02-2013, 09:57 AM

Long Course Time Trials – RESULTS

Brett
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Day 1

200 Free – 3:13.87 – Typical Brett in this race. Long consistent strokes, but no real sense of urgency or recognition that he was racing and the effort level needed to increase. He did post a much better time of 3:00.59, and that is attributable to the improved technique and better kicking (though the kicking still needs work)

50 Breast – 47.72 – Brett (and I) came into this one hoping he would get his state cut. He is a much better long course swimmer in this event because the dives, turns, and pullouts become much less of a factor. In using the short course to long course conversion tools Brett was just outside of the cut number so I felt he had a good shot. The dive and the initial pullout weren’t great, but then he started swimming down the kids around him. He finished with a time of 43.49, which beats the cut by half a second. He was also the third gold swimmer to finish. The first ages up this week, the second is also the best swimmer on the team in the 12 and under age group in all 3 other strokes. So it will be interesting to see how this plays out for the state relay teams.

100 Fly – NT – You may recall I said I felt Brett would probably be DQed in this event. I never said anything like that to him, but he must have felt the same way because he said something to his coach about it during the pre-race framing that they do (the coach didn’t like it, and I believe he was assigned extra pushups and Monday’s practice because he went into the race with the wrong attitude. It’s ok for Dad to think it silently, but not for kids to speak it publicly). Also, adding insult to injury – Bear was not only in the same heat at Brett, they were side by side in the race. Bear jumped out to an early lead, as his new form looked good early. Brett on the other hand really focused too much on his upper body and he wasn’t getting the good “wiggle” through the stroke. On the back half Bear’s form started to fall apart, and Brett started to close…FAST…Bear held him off and Brett finished, but as I guessed – he was DQed. Come to find out he was closing on Bear in the back 50 because his kick has a bit of a breaststroke motion in it. Hey the kid didn’t want to lose to his little brother and he’s faster with a breast style kick, plus when he gets tired, which he clearly was…the Breast kick rears its ugly head.

200 IM – 3:32.07 – Surprisingly, even after still being tired from the 100 Fly, Brett’s fly in the opening leg of the 200 IM was better than either of his 50s in the 100 Fly. Much more relaxed and patient with the stroke. Probably because he wasn’t racing Bear. Even though his fly was better, he was still last at the turn. He did pretty good in back, closing some ground on the field. On the Breast he not only passed a couple of kids on the outside lane at the other end of the pool, he tracked down the kid to his outside, Tommy, who is Gold coaches son, a teammate of Bears and a good Breaststroker (in fact, he finished 1 spot behind Brett in the 100 breast). Tommy had about a 4 body length lead on Brett and he caught and passed him, getting into the freestyle with about half a body length lead. Tommy’s turn was better and he is a bigger kid with a better freestyle so Brett couldn’t hold him off, but he did great. He finished with a time of 3:26.92
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Day 2

100 Free – 1:29.17 – Much better looking Free…just like the 200, had a bit more effort here and he improved significantly from last year with a 1:20.30. Would still like to see him “race” more in this stroke, but we’re getting there.

100 Breast – 1:44.22 – Another spot where I had hope he could get his state cut. If you remember from short course though, Brett was closing in on the 50 time but he had a long way to go in order to get his 100 cut. The conversion utility indicated he’d need to cut a couple of seconds at least to get the time required to swim at state, but with the long course being more about strokes in the middle of the pool, I was hopeful. Again his pullout left a lot to be desired (it’s better, but that 1 dolphin kick has got to get stronger). His stroke in the middle of the pool was really good, and the effort was definitely not lacking here. He finished with a 1:37.31. Good enough for the cut. He finished second this time, only behind the 12 year old that is aging up. The best 12 year old on the team didn’t swim this event. Tommy (referenced in the IM), who finished right behind Brett was 7.5 seconds back.

50 Back – 47.45 – Brett’s back is so smooth, but the pacing is always like he’s doing a 500. He actually was on pace to beat Bear’s time, but his finish was embarrassingly bad. In fact, one of the timers said something to him like, “what was that…” and he responded, “a complete screw up finish.” Even with the poor finish that probably cost him 2 full seconds he posted a 47.92

400 Free – 6:30.09 – Solid swim. Consistent, but lacking a bit in effort. Brett wasn’t willing to push on this yet, it was more of a feeling out of how hard he can work, how much to keep in reserve, etc. I really feel with his free he could be a great distance freestyler, but he’ll need to buy in. His splits…1:30.66, 1:38.49, 1:38.85, 1:35.58 – overall 6:23:58

Breeze

05-02-2013, 10:38 AM

Long Course Time Trials – RESULTS

Bear

Bear, for the most part had a very disappointing meet, though he wasn’t completely aware of his personal bests coming into the meet, so he thinks he did pretty good and I’m not telling him differently.

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Day 1

200 Free – 2:56.74 – Took it out WAY to slowly…Again, I think this was a situation where he wanted to get a feel for the pool. He took it out in 1:27.48 and brought it home in 1:27.92. His back half looked really good as he was still charging forward when he got to the wall. I expect his time of 2:55.40 to improve a bunch when he swims this again (more on this in the 400 free write up)

100 Back – 1:36.73 – same old problems, slow off the way, turning like he’s swimming in molasses, and a long finish hurt. Strokes in the middle of the pool were good, but he needs to go harder. Finished with a 1:37.42

50 Breast – 54.24 – Form is better here, but he’s not getting the good early catch with the pull. His hands are hyper flexed so his palms are sticking out, and his finger are pointed up way to long rather than down to get the grab on the way. He finished with a 55.67

100 Fly – NT – The opening 50 looked good…but his form fell apart badly on the back half. Part of it was the need to breathe more often, but he finished with a 1:45.45. Beating Brett in this one helped with the self-esteem a bit.

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Day 2

50 Fly – 42.69 – While not a personal best, his form was much better. Head was low and face down during breathing which allows for a stronger kick. He’s just got to get used to it and turn it loose in a race. 43.29

100 Breast – 1:52.82 – See 50 Breast…1:56.79

50 Back – 44.30 – See 100 Back – 46.76

400 Free – NT – So Bear was put in Bailey’s heat and he was racing right next to his buddy Riley (the one that is 5’ 6” 130 lbs.). The gun went off and the two of them immediately started pulling away from everyone in the heat. Here are their splits…

Riley Bear
1:25.67 1:27.06
1:32.23 (2:57.90) 1:30.80 (2:57.86)
1:29.31 (4:27.21) 1:29.41 (4:27.27)
1:21.92 1:23.68
5:49.13 5:50.95

This kills the state cut time by about 6 full seconds. He’s now very pumped up to swim the 800 in the next meet, because he feels he can get that cut too…

EDIT TO ADD: If you do the math on Bear's swim here...his back half 200 in the 400 is faster than the 200 he swam the first day and not by an insignificant amount...it is over 2.3 seconds faster. So significantly faster after racing an opening 200...yeah, he'll need to go out much harder in his next 200 Free...

Breeze

05-06-2013, 07:26 AM

Goals Update

So the kids have been working on their goals, and while I don't have specific time goals, I do know they are looking ofr the following:

Bear

Now that Bear has the 400 Free he is determined to get the 800 Free as well. Based on how that goes he he may also add the 1500 to the list. He wants to get a cut in some of the other strokes, but he is a long way off on the sprints, and I don't think he'll get close during the long course season. If he can get the times down to where he's within a couple/three seconds of the time he'll have done really well. The one wildcard event is the 400 IM. Because Bear isn't afraid of the mid-level and distance events, he's keeping an eye on this one. If his other strokes come around, then he may attack this one, with hopes that he'll be able to push through the distance to get the cut.

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Bailey

Bailey is very close to a cut (less than 2 seconds) in 3 races already, and she has 3 more where she could easily get in that same range with a good swim. She wants to get at least 2 state cuts, and I think that is very doable. In fact, I think 3 is likely and 4 would be a good challenging goal. Of course, she'll adjust her goals as she starts to attain them, so it'll be a non-issue.
There are quite a few good 12 and older 11 year olds, so I don't expect Bailey will get on a relay.

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Brett

Brett has already achieved his biggest goals for this season and we've only just completed the time trials. He's got all 3 state cuts, not his goal is to try and get down to a 40.xx 50, because he feels that will insure he's the breaststroker in the A relay (so a double goal). It will be very difficult for him to get into the 40 second range, as he'll need to cut the time 3 seconds in about 2 months. He's doing extra exercises to get stronger (chin ups, bungee pulls, leg jumps/lifts with ankle weights on). This will also help his 100 Breast as he's looking to cut about 3+ seconds there as well.

He wants another cut outside of the breast, but that isn't going to happen.

He is planning to swim the 1500 in this next race and he wants to beat his friend Jack, and that isn't going to happen either (but it is motivating him).

The coach we use for private lessons (it's Bailey & Bear's team coach), wants him to complete a 100 fly without getting DQed, and I expect he'll get this. Then she wants him to do a 400 IM without getting DQed and I expect he could get this accomplished as well.

If the kids give me specific times that they are shooting for, I'll post them...

Breeze

05-08-2013, 10:34 AM

General Update

Brett had a moment of frustration last night, feeling that he wasn't very good. He's struggling right now in practice because rather than do a lot of swimming, they are doing more drills and specifically more kicking drills. I've mentioned before that Brett isn't very good at kicking and he's seeing himself get passed (lapped in many cases) and shuffled to the back of the line. This is very different from the way it was at the end of short course season. When the team was prepping for state they were swimming more laps and doing less drills and Brett was not only leading the lane he was passing everybody.

After his private lesson on Saturday, the coach told him to start doing exercises to get his legs stronger. He's done a bit here and there, but following the moment of depression described above, he decided to work hard with his ankle weights, bungee cord, and chin up bar last night. We'll see if he uses this for motivation moving forward.

Izulde

05-08-2013, 11:49 AM

Breeze

05-08-2013, 02:37 PM

Just curious, does Brett excel in arm pulls?

When I swam, I would be so slow on the kickboards, everybody, even the slowest people on the team, would lap me, but when we did arm pull drills, I would destroy everyone.

The complete inability to kick is what prevented me from being a good swimmer in terms of competitive times... well that and I never swam year-round.

Yep...in fact it is interesting. Back when we were with Swim Atlanta, they used to do pull sets, where the kids would put a pull bouy between there legs and just pull. When this happened Brett destroyed everyone in his group. Including boys twice his size and kids with sectional cuts. (Gold doesn't use pull bouys and they don't do just pull sets - says it is too hard on the shoulder, and judging from Bailey's problems at the start of the season, I have reason to believe Gold is right).

The bases of Brett's kicking problem comes from his ankles. He truely is a natural Breaststroker, as his ankles turn out: when he walks, when he sits, when he runs...doesn't matter. In fact, when he sits on the floor, rather than sitting indian style (what is was called when I was growing up), he sits on his knees with his feet by his hips flat on the floor. That's sort of difficult to describe, but you can think of it like this - you know the hurdler stretch, when you have the one leg folded back, he does this with both legs, only rather than having the top of the foot down, his side foot is flat on the ground (probably should get a picture to show you...it's unusual). From there his indifference with flutter kick caused it to get worse and he would cheat during all kick sets by mixing in Breast. He's working on it now, and he's a whole lot better, but he still has a ways to go.

Breeze

05-09-2013, 07:15 AM

Personal Update

Recently, I have put personal information in this thread because I wanted to give you guys more insight into the personalities of my kids. I felt that the more you know, the easier it is to identify with them. So I'm going to use this "personal information" parameter to brag about the twins for a second.

Recently, the Georgia schools did their required Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT). This is a standardized test the state of Georgia uses to evaluate not only kids performances but the performances of the teachers. This is the same test that almost 200 City of Atlanta teachers got busted for cheating on, by either directly changing answers or allowing answers to be changed with their knowledge (you may have heard about it on the news).

Anyway, Both Bailey and Bear got a perfect score on the math portion of the exam, and Bear also made a perfect score on the essay writing piece.

Bailey and Bear will also be 2 of the 5 school representatives in the county's Pi Fight (a math competition). During the head-to-head practice match held last month, Bear was the last person standing for his school.

Not sure how Brett did yet...

I have to say I'm really proud. Ok, end of the bragging.

Breeze

05-14-2013, 07:30 AM

Gold Update

Tonight is the team banquet. We weren't going to go, but we were guilted into it by the twins coach. She said we really needed to be there. Initially we got the impression from the coach, based on her tone and insistence that one of our kids might be recognized during the festivities, and honestly it really isn’t that farfetched. Brett could easily get a mention as being the most improved on the Region team, Bailey could be mentioned for recovering from her shoulder issues to be one of the best swimmers on the Gold group, and Bear could be recognized as the best teammate, as many parents and coaches have commented about how great a sport he is, always excited for everyone else’s accomplishments even in the face of his personal struggles at the end of the season.

However, we now believe the coach just wants the kids to have the experience of being at the event. She wants the twins to get their IronMan (swam every event available for the age group) and First Year pins. Also, the team was struggling to get enough people signed up, we know because the extended the sign up deadline, and the coach may have wanted us there to put more butts in seats.

So at this point, we don’t expect much more than an overpriced mediocre meal and a considerable amount of congratulatory talk about kids I probably don’t know. Maybe it will motivate my kids to the point they will be recognized in the future (one can hope)…

Breeze

05-15-2013, 09:15 AM

Gold Team Update

So last night we had the team banquet. Figured I’d take a minute to go through our evening - it's kind of long as you can tell...

The location of the event was a Catholic Church (beautiful location) considerably south of our home, but north of my office, so the wife and I met at the facility (in fact, I pulled into the parking lot right behind her). We parked headed to the door, where we waited in a long line to register. When we got up to the registration table (20 minutes later) we found 2 people sitting there, 1 taking names, 1 handing out the meal tickets. This understaffing combined with the fact there were around 450 people in attendance would explain why it took so long.

We luckily were able to sit at a table with the same people we sit with at practice almost daily. After a short wait food was served, only this was also a problem. Remember there are 450 people, and there are only 2 food lines…with two servers in each line for 5 items of food:

Chicken Parmesan – dry but not terrible given the number of people being served
Roasted Vegetable Pasta Alfredo – very, very, very bland
Cesar Salad - it's salad hard to screw that up...
Roll – served cold
Cake – white sheet cake...I didn’t eat, but kids said it was good (of course they would think so)

Obviously this took forever as well…

Finally, everyone was fed and the festivities started. I have to admit that I was concerned about this being terribly boring and long, but I learned quite a few interesting things that I will incorporate below.

The first thing discussed a few tidbits about the team, including that Chattahoochee Gold sent 6 swimmers to the Olympic Trials in 2012, and the goal appears to be 10 swimmers in 2016. The second thing on the agenda was recognizing the graduating seniors. This was the largest class of seniors the team has ever had (makes sense considering the team is growing), and this group of seniors basically re-wrote the team record book for the age group this season only failing to break 2 standing records.

Some items I found interesting:

In the 20 year history of Chattahoochee Gold there has never been a senior swimmer that has not gone on to college.

In this graduating class 70% will be swimming for their college teams. Of the kids not swimming in college….1 has had 3 knee surgeries, 1 gave up swimming for years and returned as a high school junior just to be with her friends, and 1 will be going to Oxford (yes the one in England) on an academic scholarship.

Some of the universities where the seniors will be going include: LSU, GaTech, NC State, and UVA.

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The next part of the night was handing out plaques to the record breakers of which there were quite a few, including Brett’s friend Jack who broke one of the backstroke records and Bear’s friend Jack who broke a fly event in long course and 3 or 4 in short course.

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Team pins were handed out for 1 year, 3, year, 5 year, 8 years swimmers

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Top point getters on the different team levels were recognized

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Then the big awards were handed out. Unlike many swim teams that hand out a ton of awards for best swimmer, most improved, coaches’ award, and any other title that can be dreamed up, the Gold team only hands out 1 award per age group. It is called the “Gold” award (I know very creative), and it encompasses much more than just swimming. Other items taken into account are: effort at practice, attitude, leadership, personality (friendly, helpful, positive, etc.), and dedication. The kids are nominated by any number of methods (coaches, volunteers, other swimmers, etc.) and the team officials discuss and whittle down the list over a 5 week period.

The trophy is a pretty cool one. It has the ubiquitous swimmer on top of a cup, but the cup is on a wooden base with a black plaque on the front that says the age group and Gold Award Winner, below that is a gold plate with the swimmers name and year. The trophy is given to the swimmer for a year, at the end of the year that swimmer presents the trophy to the winner for the current year, and the swimmers plate is taken off the front and added to one of the pedestals the trophy sits on. The previous year winner then gets a small trophy to keep.

Each recipient was discussed in great detail with stories about their dedication, efforts, items they overcame and more. This is the award that I felt Bear had a good shot at winning because of his hard work, positive attitude, leadership and more. When the 9/10 girls award came up and the twins coach started talking I knew that Bailey had won…I’ll paraphrase the statements of the coach to the best of my ability:

“When this swimmer came to me, she was suffering from a shoulder injury and was unable to swim for over a month. However, she still came to practice every day. She stood next to me on the side of the pool asking questions about who was doing it right, when someone was doing it wrong she wanted to know way, and the whole time she encouraged the other swimmers to keep going.”

“When she eventually got back into the pool, she showed patience, worked extra hard to clean up the technique issues that had led to her injury, and she went on to excel getting several sectional cuts. This girl is always one of the loudest voices at meets cheering for her friends and she is very considerate. In fact, just the other day she requested to move down a lane at practice. I asked her why and she said she didn’t want Gracie to be the only girl in a lane full of boys. It’s this kind of thoughtfulness and attitude that makes me proud to award the 9/10 Girls Gold award to Bailey.”

I was very proud that she received this award, and thinking back on the season for 9/10 girls across all of the Gold facilities it probably was the right choice. Bailey did work very hard, was extremely positive, was a leader in her lane for practice and was a standout in dry land. She attended 90+ percent of practices and was a top performer in the age group. However, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed. Not because Bailey won, she deserved it, but because Bailey winning meant Bear wasn’t going to. I doubt with team politics that Gold would have allowed Bailey and Bear to both win the 9/10 age group awards. Moreover, Bailey has been on a roll lately, winning medals, breaking times, swimming in multiple events at Sectionals. Bear on the other hand has been scrapping around, working his butt off but with little to show for it. I was hopeful he would get this award and it would add to his motivation. I’m comfortable in saying that if Bear keeps swimming he will certainly win this award at some point, but it would have been helpful if it was last night.

If you’re curious about Brett, he was very focused on what was said. He realized that several of the award winners weren’t the best swimmers on the team, and I believe he sees an opportunity to be recognized in the future. He also heard about several of the senior swimmers that weren’t great swimmers when they were young. They were late bloomers who have developed to the point they are getting a scholarship of some sort to swim in college, and he’s made the correlation that he could easily be that same type of swimmer before he is finished.

Breeze

05-15-2013, 09:42 AM

I have an image of the Gold Award winners, but the increased dropbox security isn't allowing me to simply make access to the image available over the Internet. I have to specify users that are allowed to view the images.

I looked at photobucket, or rather tried to but we are blocking that at our firewall at work.

I'll try to get the image up tonight...

Breeze

05-16-2013, 03:28 PM

Mt St. Helens Memorial Invite @ Cumming Aquatic Center 5/18-19

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Bailey

200 Free – 2:56.47 – could improve some here as she’s beginning to learn how to swim longer distances better

50 Breast – 50.42 – No idea what to expect…she’s getting better at this stroke again, but not sure she’s all the way back yet.

100 Fly – 1:29.49 – She swam this well just last month. Even a slight improvement would be good this time around

200 IM – 3:23.93 – I expect she will improve some here. Second time swimming this event, she’ll know better how hard she can push

100 Free – 1:20.37 – Bailey should be much faster than this time. Most of her contemporaries that she was swimming with or faster than in short course are around a 1:18…so I expect she’ll come in closer to that time than the 1:20 she swam last month

200 Fly – NT – not sure about this one. Bailey’s fly is strong but a 200 can be tough and it can also lead to bad habits. When fatigue sets in a swimmer’s form will start to break up and I’ve seen kids that completely ruined their stroke trying to swim a fly event too long for their strength. I honestly don’t care about the result here, I just don’t want her to develop any bad habits.

50 Back – 40.67 – could get a cut…

400 IM – NT - I expect Bailey will do pretty well here, if her Breaststroke holds up. It may actually help her. If she’ll relax and use the Breast as a recovery stroke, she may hold her streamline longer and get a better kick. We’ll see…

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Bear

200 Free – 2:55.40 – I expect a huge improvement here. I outlined why somewhat in the 500 Free swim from the last meet. He had so much more to give in this race last time out. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 3+ second drop.

200 Breast – NT – He might drown. His form is much better but for some reason he isn’t getting the critical early grab on the water in the pull phase, which invariably leads to an inefficient stroke. If he does that for a 200, I’ll be watching for quite a while.

50 Free – NT – He has a time here…37.59. Not sure why he wasn’t listed with it. I expect he should beat that time
800 Free – NT – Bear is excited about this one. He feels he can get another state cut. I hope he does, as it would go a long way to boosting his confidence.

100 Free – NT - He actually doesn’t have a time in this. I’m surprised to find that out, could have sworn he did, but nothing is coming up in the USA Swimming database. I expect his time will be similar to Brett’s 1:20.30

100 Breast – 1:56.79 – If he gets an early grab he beats this time, if he doesn’t he won’t. It is that simple.

50 Back – 46.76 – I’d like to say he’s going to do better in this one. For some reason he just doesn’t seem to get any better in back right now. Because of that, I don’t expect much of a change.

400 IM – NT - I don’t expect much. Strokes are still in transition…back half of fly will be a problem, breast catch will potentially be an issue, and the back is pretty flat right now….

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Brett

200 Free – 3:00.59 – seems to be talking about pushing himself harder in the longer events, we’ll see if he’s going to do it.

100 Back – 1:45.10 – if he believes in his count could improve here.

200 Breast – 3:37.50 – This is his time from last year at state. He’s gotten much better at pullouts and he’s working harder and faster, so this should go down.

100 Fly – NT – Will continue to swim this until he gets a good time. He’s back to working hard on it at practice, and he’s doing a better job of pointing his toes and keeping his feet together. Still will be a challenge to complete a 100 fly without getting DQed

100 Free – 1:20.30 – Hoping for an improvement here again. Not sure we’ll see it. Kick is getting better, but still has a long way to go.

50 Fly – 47.64 – Could improve here. His opening 50 is ok, it isn’t until fatigue set in that he gets sloppy, and with the improvements I’ve seen, I think he has more speed in him

100 Breast – 1:37.31 – He was pretty quick on this last month. Not sure he’ll improve on this time only a month later. We are doing some exercises to try and get the shoulders, lats, and middle back stronger…so maybe?

200 Back – NT – He could be pretty good here. His back is very smooth and consistent. The problem is picking up the pace to race. So a longer event might serve him well. Don’t misunderstand. I don’t expect him to post a fast time, just solid splits and a decent time. (assuming he trusts his count)

Breeze

05-17-2013, 09:26 AM

Summer League Update

So our Summer League Swimming starts tonight, however, we aren't planning to attend. Tonight will be the neighborhood Time Trials, so it's more like a exhibition that is used for 3 reasons:

1. So the new parents and learn how the meet goes and what is required with their volunteer positions.

2. For the coached to get an updated time on what the kids are swimming so they'll know what events to put the kids in.

3. To make a little extra consessions money for the team coffers

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There are also a couple of reasons why we aren't attending. The biggest one is that the neighborhood pools is outside and unheated, and the kids (who when to 1 practice last week) reported the water is very cold, and when the sun goes down it's going to be too cold. Also the kids have a year round meet tomorrow, and they don't need to be up late swimming in cold water for a meet that isn't going to matter. Finally, we aren't going to participate because of Bailey's age group...it is going to be pretty intense and we'd rather have Bailey just swim for fun and this Time Trial is going to start the whole process of who belongs on the A relay.

I'll update how competitive Bailey's summer age group team will be later...

Breeze

05-17-2013, 11:29 AM

Summer League Swimming

Here is a breakdown of the top girls in the 11/12 age group:

50 Free 100 Free 50 Back 50 Brst 50 Fly 100 IM
Bailey 30.19 1.07.57 35.20 44.34 33.44 1.17.43
Rayley 30.45 1.07.39 36.94 43.03 36.19 1.22.28
MK 29.98 1.07.37 35.13 39.35 37.07 1.14.10
KJ 30.76 1.06.93 35.14 41.54 31.28 1.16.84
CR 29.71 1.07.81 34.58 43.71 34.20 1.21.33
CF 31.89 1.10.17 37.87 45.32 38.20 1.23.45
Reese 33.14 1.12.49 38.34 41.10 35.17 1.23.85
Jordan 35.42 1.21.69 44.57 43.99 42.02 NT

This should give you an idea how tight the age group is. These times are from the year round short course season, so they are several months old, but they are still a pretty good number to build from. There are a couple of other year round swimmers, but they typically have been a few seconds off the ones listed. If they've stepped up in abilty this will get even tighter.

The girls in italics are 12 the rest are 11...

As you can see with the exception of Breast, Bailey is typically one of the top swimmers out of the 8. Even when she is 4th like in the 100 free she isn't far off of the top times. Problem for Bailey is that based on the breakdowns, she might struggle to be on the A relays...in fact, right now the A medley would be:

Back - CR
Breast - MK
Fly - KJ
Free - Bailey (but I'll bet Rayley gets this spot as her freestyle has dramatically improved during long course)

Free Relay is very similar...

CR
MK
Bailey
Rayley

But KJ has also shown big improvements in LC...so Bailey will be in some tight races...

Unfortunately, this has the potential to get ugly...and we'd rather Bailey not be involved. If she clearly belongs on the A team, then fine, if it is debatable, we're probably going to just let the other child have the spot. Bailey will get her turn next year when the 11/12s should be significantly stronger than they will be this year (assuming everyone comes back).

thealmighty

05-18-2013, 11:02 PM

Breeze

05-19-2013, 09:13 AM

Might have missed this answer but how does the age stuff work? Are they grouped every two years (even age the older, like 11-12s)? Seems an entire year older in an age group, at the twins age, could be a MAJOR advantage.

Hey Mighty...

Yes, your reading it correctly. The age groups are broken down like this:

6 & Under
7-8
9-10
11-12
13-14
15 & Over

So yes, being the older age in the group does make a huge difference. And in the twins case, even being older doesn't make them really old for the group. The cut off date for age is May 31st, and the twins don't age up until the end of April. So even when they are the older age, they are still young...

I expect next season Bailey's group for Summer League to be extremely strong, as many of the 11 year olds are already almost as fast as the 12 years olds now...meaning they should be much faster next year. I wouldn't be surprised if next year every girl in the 4 in the A relay is faster than the ones that will swim the A this year. We'll need to try and remember to look back on that, because it could be an interesting comparison.

While the twins do suffer a bit when they are on the younger end of the age group, I must admit, I really like the odd years the best, because Brett and Bear get to be on the same relay teams. In past years, they have been able to medal at county in the medley relay, this year I doubt that will happen, but it's still fun...

Breeze

05-21-2013, 07:51 AM

Mt St. Helens Memorial Invite @ Cumming Aquatic Center 5/18-19

---------------------------------------------------
Bailey

200 Free – 2:56.47 – Bailey took this race out faster than she did last time, completing the first split almost 2 seconds faster than a month ago. However, her back half was slightly slower than last time so she posted a personal best but it wasn’t a significant improvement 2:55.43

50 Breast – 50.42 – Still struggling with this one…she does look better than she did earlier in the season, but something is still off - 52.10

100 Fly – 1:29.49 – In my pre-race write up I stated that given the fact she swam this well last month and it is a difficult and long race I didn’t expect much of an improvement, what I didn’t tell you (and should have) was that Bailey had much different ideas. Bailey said coming into this race that she would get the state cut in it. She was going to need to drop almost 2.5 seconds to get there, but when all was said and done, she dropped 3.5 and finished sixed overall with a time of 1:26.02

200 IM – 3:23.93 – Huge improvement here. Bailey posted a very strong 3:16.56, Breast is still holding her back in this event.

100 Free – 1:20.37 – Pretty much as I expected, she was much faster, only she was faster than I expected. As I stated, I was looking for something in the 1:18s, and honestly a 1:18 low was what I was expecting, she went a 1:17.37. I knew 1:20 was a poor swim for her.

200 Fly – NT – This was a tough one. Bailey was stressed out about it for days. When the race started she did a nice job of over emphasizing the “wiggle” in the stroke to try and create a deliberate but efficient stroke that would enable her to conserve energy. However, by the time she finished her 100, she wanted to hang on the wall at the turn, but she was urged off and ultimately she only stayed on the wall for about a second. By this time her stroke was already looking bad, and a third of the way down the pool for the 75 meter portion the inevitable happened, she swallowed water and couldn’t breathe. She stopped, at which point she was dqed. She tried to go again so she could finish, but she only got about 4 strokes in before she did it again. She was about to restart for a third time when the coach told her it was ok to get out. I felt bad for her, but I have to admit I wasn’t surprised. She tires so much even during a 200 Free, that I felt a 200 fly was going to be too much.

50 Back – 40.67 – didn’t get a cut…in fact, didn’t improve. I think there was still a fatigue issue from the 200 fly. She finished in – 41:30…so still a good chance at a cut here.

400 IM – NT – Bailey’s 100 fly in this was a pretty good 1:30.7. The back was clearly a recovery stroke for her as she went a pedestrian 1:45.00. The breast was a battle as she posted a poor 2:09.12, which was slowest of the 8 girls swimming and a full 4 seconds slower than the seventh place girl. The free was a pretty quick 1:31.88. All in all she posted a very solid 6:56.70 and earned her second state cut…

Breeze

05-21-2013, 08:49 AM

Mt St. Helens Memorial Invite @ Cumming Aquatic Center 5/18-19
-------------------------------------------------
Bear

200 Free – 2:55.40 – So this race was difficult to assess. Bear was good enough to make the fast heat in an outside lane, meaning the middle of the pool was going to be quite a bit faster than he was. He start off and while he got left behind he looked like he was doing well…then he got to the wall did his turn and his head popped up immediately coming off the wall. He finished the 100 but didn’t swim very hard, he pushed for the back half, finishing with a poor time of 3+ minutes. However, the time didn’t matter because he managed to miss the wall on the first turn. In fact, when he got out of the pool he kept saying “I can’t believe I missed the wall”. One of Brett’s friends (Hunter) that was cheering Bear on turned to my wife (who was on deck timing) and said, “He really shouldn’t say that so loud.”…but an official overheard Hunter and responded, “We got the DQ already, so it didn’t matter.” I was very pleased with the way Bear handled this…

200 Breast – NT - This took forever, he tried hard, and he had moments where he looked good, but he still has a ways to go in this event. Moreover, he really doesn’t like the long Breaststrokes, he says they are too slow…(and he means the race is too deliberate…not that he’s too slow, though I’m sure that is part of the issue). He finished with a 4:03.53

50 Free – NT – Slight improvement here, and in fact, Bear’s seed time was an outside line, but he managed to win his heat and beat 1 kids time from the last and fastest heat. He finished with a 36.35

800 Free – NT – Bear was one of only 3 kids swimming in this race. 1 of the kids, Parker (who you’ll probably hear about more as we get closer to State) is a BIG 12 year old, who will turn 13 right after state…and John, also a really good 12 year old, but not a big kid. The race started and Bear was instructed to stay with John, who apparently was instructed to stay with Parker. Almost immediately Parker jumped out to a lead with John about a body length behind, whereas Bear decided when he saw the initial pace to pass on trying to stay with John, and he fell back a good bit. However, Bear was still posting really solid splits. In fact, this is another of the races where I wish I could create a graph that would move based on the splits because Bear and John ended up having a very interesting race. I’ll let you deduce from the splits. Here they are:

Bear John

100 1:28.95 1:19.50
200 1:34.75 1:30.39
300 1:33.75 1:33.25
400 1:33.00 1:34.47
500 1:32.98 1:34.26
600 1:28.83 1:32.28
700 1:26.76 1:30.15
800 1:22.15 1:27.05

Total 12:01.17 12:01.35

After the 500 split Bear began to close on John, after the 600 split the coach looked at me (as I was flipping the lap counter) and she said, “Bear’s trying to catch John”. After the 700 split she smiled and said, “I think he’s going to catch him,” It was pretty exciting for a 12 minute race. After the race Bear’s Coach shared the splits with Brett’s coach and the team’s head coach, and they were all blow away by Bears 1:22 split in the final 100…Brett’s coach even stated, “That’s crazy fast for final 100…”

100 Free – NT - Bear improved here, but not as much as I or he would have liked he posted a 1:19.90. I was hoping for about a second faster, but felt a 1:19 low was very doable (again I think it is important to note that his personal best is a 1:19.90 and he sway a 1:22.15 in the final 100 of an 800 free).

100 Breast – 1:56.79 – Swam almost exactly the same time, with a 1:56.88

50 Back – 46.76 – Another small improvement with a time of 45.21

400 IM – NT – Bear fought hard on this one. His fly was a 1:47.37, only a couple seconds off his personal best, then he swam a 1:43.24 back, and a 2:03.44 breast, followed up with a 1:28.69 free. Overall time was a 7:02.74. He just missed the State Cut by a couple of seconds…but…he’s ok with it. He really didn’t like this event. He was also disappointed following this race. With his recent struggles he’s back to feeling like he isn’t as good as his siblings. I believe in his heart he thought he might get Bailey in this one due to the distance. And in fact, he out swam Bailey in everything but Fly…I also believe without a shadow of a doubt that if he wants to swim this and he does it again, he can get the cut…but I’m not sure he wants to swim it again…

Breeze

05-21-2013, 11:36 AM

Mt St. Helens Memorial Invite @ Cumming Aquatic Center 5/18-19
-------------------------------------------------
Brett

200 Free – 3:00.59 – Brett definitely pushed himself harder in this event. His rotations were faster, but without shortening the stroke. He kicked much harder too. He still needs to get his legs higher in the water to be more affective, but it was much, much better. Final time 2:51.73, a 9 second improvement over last month…

100 Back – 1:45.10 – Again the effort was better. Still needs to increase his rotations. In fact, one of the assistant coaches from another pool was standing next to me during this race, and he was watching the kid in the lane next to Brett, and at one point he commented, “I’m not sure who the kid next to Tommy is, but he’s got an extremely powerful stroke. In fact, if he’ll increase his rotation he’d be really fast.” Brett improved here by 7+ seconds with a 1:37.93.

200 Breast – 3:37.50 – Brett was seeded third coming into this race, but at the 100 he was holding a slight lead on the field with a split of 1:37.65 (second was 1:37.77 and third was 1:38.49). However, going back on the 75 leg I noticed his swim cap looked a little funny. Before he reached the wall, the cap was all distorted on his head, and it just got worse coming home. It ended up that during the dive into the streamline water got under the cap and caused it to balloon on his head. He tried to knock it off when he dove into streamline by rubbing his arms against the side of his head, but it stubbornly held on. Before he finished he had a huge bubble bobbing forwards and backwards during his stroke. I’m sure it caused significant drag and slowed him down. I don’t know how much of an impact it was, but knowing it was there was a huge distraction and definitely caused a serious impact. He did improve his time regardless posting a 3:24.17. I believe he’s capable of a 3:21 high…

100 Fly – NT – Swallowed water on the 50 leg…stopped and got out. His coach was going to chew his butt, but before the coach could say anything to him, he apologized and told the coach to put him back in this event at the next meet, that he was going to get a good time. By the way, his form looked much better, but he was stiff and with very little explosion. Probably do to overthinking and not racing.

100 Free – 1:20.30 – After the 200 I felt we could see an improvement here and we did. Personal best of 1:18.39.

50 Fly – 47.64 – Like the early part of the 100, he had a very stiff and deliberate stroke. He finished with a disappointing 50.26…but the form is getting better…and the coaches are still convinced that he’ll ultimately be a great flyer…

100 Breast – 1:37.31 – Went out hard, wanted to win his heat (which would have made him second. His buddy Jack won outright with a 1:29.89 and Brett wasn’t getting there). At the opening 50 he was close. Faded on the back half a bit, but still improved by a couple of seconds to a 1:35.39

200 Back – NT – The long efficient stroke worked pretty well for him here. He went out in 1:39.48 and came home in 1:43.09. The 3:22.57 wasn’t a great time, but he didn’t embarrass himself and he probably would have in this event a couple of years ago. Interestingly, Brett would need a 3:07.99 to get a state cut in this event. While the 14 or so seconds seem like a bunch, it isn’t uncommon to see kids drop a significant amount of time the second race at that distance. So while I don’t expect him to get this cut, I won’t put it out of the realm of possibility either.

Breeze

05-30-2013, 06:59 AM

Summer League – meet at Grand Cascades

We open our summer season (minus the time trials which we didn’t attend) at the juggernaut that is Grand Cascades. Last year we swam against them to end the season and were whipped by around 300 points. I expect it to be worse today. My kids will swim the following:

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Bailey

100 Medley Relay : B Team – Breaststroke Leg - (I did email the coach and I told her Bailey wasn’t swimming this stroke well, but she put her in it for the relay anyway)

50 Free – I believe she but Bailey in this one so she can get a current time to compare to the girls that swam at time trials in order to come up with her Free Relay teams, but what the coach failed to take into account is that during time trials the kids were hand timed, and Grand Cascades has a full touch pad system, so it will be electronic times…

50 Fly

100 Free Relay: B Team – Bailey will be the anchor.
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Bear

100 Medley Relay: A Team – Fly leg (probably should be in the Back leg, but it won’t matter, this team isn’t beating GCs relay anyway)

50 Free – Not sure why she choose this event for Bear

100 IM – Bear will get killed in this. Poor kid just turned 11 and he’ll be racing some top notch year rounders who are almost 13. Brett’s buddy Jack will race Bear in this one…

100 Free Relay : A Team – Third Leg
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Brett

100 Medley Relay : A Team – Breast leg

100 Free – Brett will get killed by his buddy Jack in this one

50 Breast – could have a good race here. Another boy (one I’m not familiar with) has a time very similar to Brett’s seed time. Not sure if that is from the GC time trials or last year, as Brett’s seed time is from last year.

100 Free Relay : A Team – Brett will anchor the team. He shouldn’t Riley should, but again it won’t matter.

Breeze

05-30-2013, 07:00 AM

General Update

Brett completed his first two a day practice yesterday. He was tired but pretty proud of himself for his effort.

Breeze

05-31-2013, 08:41 AM

Summer League – meet at Grand Cascades

The meet when pretty much as expected. Last year we lost 556 to 234, this year it was a bit better...485 to 308...

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Bailey

100 Medley Relay : B Team – Bailey and Reese flip strokes heading into this race. It was funny, Bailey really didn't want to swim Breast because of her struggles right now in that stroke, and apparently Reese has similar feelings about her fly (though I think Reese's fly is better comparitively speaking then Bailey's Breast)...as it turns out it was a very good decision, as Reese actually won the 50 breast for the age group, and Bailey was 3rd in the 50 fly (only losing to our A swimmer and GCs A swimmer- more on that later). I didn't get to see the race, but was told they did very well, and they killed the GC - B team, so them must have done pretty good.

50 Free – Bailey did good...her time wasn't overly impressive 30.87 but it was good enough for second only losing to her SA friend that was termed the beast a few years back because of how well she was swimming and how big she was. She also beat some pretty good girls in the heat, Reese, Caroline (but Caroline was wearing a cast...which comes off next week - so this could get interesting), and Jaeden, another old friend from SwimAtlanta

50 Fly - I warned Bailey prior to this race that she really needed to pay attention on the start because the buzzer wasn't very loud and the starter was pretty quick to get the kids off the blocks. Unfortunately, my warning didn't help...she was last off the block, by ALOT (sigh)...anyway, she swam well despite that, as she closed hard on the opening 25 and was only a touch behind at the turn. Bailey's turn was a bit sloppy, which cost her, but she finished with a good 33.97, losing to KJ by 1 second and the GC Flyer by .5 seconds, with a terrible start...

100 Free Relay: B Team – Race was over by the time Bailey hit the water, they couldn't catch first or second and they weren't going to get caught for 3rd...
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Bear

100 Medley Relay: A Team – Missed this race too...in fact, when I walked into the pool the Free swimmer in the relay had apparently just touched the wall, because he was waiting for the rest of the event to finish...Spilts say Bear swam a 37.xx leg in the fly...

50 Free – Bear did well here. He wasn't going to be the A swimmer from GC, but he did beat their B swimmer with a solid 32.08 (and another poor turn, poor kid just hasn't figured out his taller body yet).

100 IM – As expected Bear got killed. Brett's buddy Jack swam the event in 1:03.91...Bear didn't even get a personal best as he posted a 1:24.xx...not a great swim for him, but he did finish 2nd.

100 Free Relay : A Team – Bear missed the wall again on his turn...dark, poorly lit pool, he lost his perscription googles and as I said above, he just isn't comfortable with his new body yet. He was very upset feeling he had let the team down. Of course he didn't because he'd have needed to give Brett (anchor) about a 7 second lead for him to even have a chance to hold off Jack...As it turns out they finished 2nd with a decent time considering the missed wall on the turn.
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Brett

100 Medley Relay : A Team – (race is described above)...poor split in the low 40 second range - I'm sure the 2 hour practice a few hours before had an impact

100 Free – Brett swam a pedestrian 1:12.xx, as he cruised most of the way. I understand way, Jack swam a sub minute, and he wasn't going to catch Jack, and the 3rd place swimmer was well behind and wasn't going to catch Brett, but I want to see him work on sprinting during the summer. We talked about this after the meet...we'll see if he takes it to heart.

50 Breast – just like bailey in the fly, I warned him about the start, and just like bailey he didn't execute and was basically still on the blocks when everyone else was in the water. Again swam in the 40 second range...mid 40s this time, and was disappointed, felt he should have won (and he should have). The bad start hurt, and the fatigue from a hard practice was clearly a factor here. This loss might actually be a good thing in the long run though. Because GCs breaststroker beat Brett, they will probably keep him in that event at the county meet, and Brett can beat this guy. Had Brett won, they may have moved Jack to breast and Brett can't beat Jack...

100 Free Relay : A Team – (Race is described in Bear's write up)...Brett swam a uninterested 33 low...again he couldn't catch Jack and the 3rd place team wasn't going to catch him...

Breeze

06-03-2013, 03:14 PM

General Update

We just got the word from the Gold team that Bailey and Bear will begin transitioning to the Region team starting next week. They will swim with Region twice a week and with Gold's Gold team the rest of the week.

This is good in that it will shorten the amount of time we are at the pool. It is bad in that Brett will now be on the same team with his siblings and that tends to cause him some self esteem issues.

Breeze

06-06-2013, 08:44 AM

Summer League Meet vs Lake Forrest

Lake Forrest is Brett's buddy Hunter's team (Bailey's friends, the twins Hailey and Hayden are Hunter's sisters so they will be there too). This will be an interesting meet because CRC is a bigger deeper team, which will help at the County Meet when swimmers are limited to 2 events, but on a Thursday meet, the small size (only 89 swimmers are showing up from Lake Forrest), allows the good swimmers to have extra events, and thus earn more points.

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Bailey

200 Yard Medley Relay - B Team - Bailey is doing the fly leg again. Which she should. The relay teams have been reorganized because of Reese's strong swim in the Breast last week. Reese moves up to the A relay and MK who was doing the Breast moves to the Back, and Rayley moves from Back to Free. The Freestyler from the A relay will now swim Free for the B relay. I'm actually a bit disappointed in this. I would have loved to see the B relay with Reese and Caroline (CR) race the A relay as it was composed last week. I think it could have been tight. But the B breaststroker will be about 6 seconds slower than the Reese so no shot...

50 Free - Bailey is back in this event this week, which is fine. She gets to race Cameron, which is interesting because Cameron currently swims in the A Free Relay. Not sure if Bailey wins here if she'll be on the A Relay or not...probably not, because they will go by time (which is sort of stupid with hand started and stopped watches and volunteer parents that don't understand the importance of being accurate)...

50 Fly - Bailey will be matched up with a girl Taryn, who she beat a few weeks ago in a year round meet in a Long Course 100 Fly...this could be close. Taryn is much bigger so the turns/walls might give her the edge here. KJ will probably win the event...

200 Free Relay - B Team - Bailey will anchor the B relay, and with Caroline (CR) on it this time, they should be a good bit faster than last week...

----------------------------------------------------------------
Bear

200 Medley Relay - A Team - Bear has the fly leg in this relay (I think he should probably be doing the back, and I may say something about that next week...anyway, Bear will Match up with Alex G...who is the best 11 year old in county and one of the top 5, 11 year olds in the state, and Fly - it's his best stroke. He will probably have a lead at the start of his leg, (assuming Riley doesn't screw up the backstroke start like he's done the last 3 times they have done this relay)...but he won't be able to hold it, and the freestlyer isn't going to make up the difference.

100 IM - Not sure why they've earmarked Bear to do the IMs...he likes them, but he isn't the best swimmer on the team and usually, IM falls to the best swimmer. Anyway, Bear will race Hunter here and get beat by 10 seconds or so...but Bear should be 3rd place by 20 or more seconds...

50 Fly - Bear misses Alex G here, not sure why he isn't swimming this event, but we won't complain. Bear will race Caleb for the win in this race, but Caleb is a big boy and will probably beat him by a couple of seconds...

200 Free Relay - A Team - Bear will lead off, which might be a really good thing if he is focused in, because when he is, he's quick off the blocks...he'll be way behind and the handoff regardless because he's matched up with Alex G again...

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Brett

200 Medley Relay - A Team - Brett is doing Breast and he'll race Hunter in his leg. Brett and Hunter are about the same (because Hunter is much stronger off the walls)...again won't matter because of Alex G in the fly...

50 Free - Brett gets to race Hunter here again, and Hunter will kill him. Riley James will be in this one as well and Brett won't beat him either. The key will be if Brett can beat Caleb from Lake Forrest for third place.

50 Breast - Brett gets Alex G in this one, and this could be interesting. This is Alex's worst stroke, but he's still very good. Brett will be tired because he'll have a 2 hour practice just 2 hours before this meet (the twins will have a 1.5 hour practice too, in case you are wondering), and that may fatigue him enough that he won't approach a personal best of 38 low...so this could be tight. Interestingly, Hunter is really pulling for Brett. Hunter and Alex G have a rivalry going to see who will get the award for most points for the team, and last week Hunter had to swim Breast (he doesn't like Breast) and he lost, which gave Alex the lead. Alex won't lose often this Summer so Hunter really wants Brett to pull this out.

200 Free Relay - A Team - Brett has the second leg, because he doesn't have an updated 50 free time...meaning he's currently the slowest of the 4 swimmers. He should better Alex As (CRC Swimmer) time in the 50 during this meet, and he might beat Bears time too...

Breeze

06-13-2013, 09:18 AM

Summer League Meet vs Lake Forest

CRC won the meet with Lake Forest by about 120 points...some of the advantage was because the Lake Forest coach did a terrible job setting lineups...they also lost about 80 swimmers from last years team (many of them year round swimmers)

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Bailey

200 Yard Medley Relay - B Team - Bailey B relay was right with the A relay in the back because Caroline swam a great leg. In the second leg they fell way behind, but still managed to beat Lake Forest's A team to finish second.

50 Free - Swam a 30.22 and finished 2nd, only losing to a girl who already turned 13 (Taryn), who will be one of the best swimmers in county regardless of the events she choses to swim...Bailey beat Cameron in this race and Cameron has been swimming on the A free relay...

50 Fly - Finished 3rd...losing to Taryn and KJ...beat Caroline. Good swim with a time of 33.32

200 Free Relay - B Team - Bailey's group beat the A relay from Lake Forest...swam a good 2:04 time for a B relay...

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Bear

200 Medley Relay - A Team - The Medley Relay finished 2nd...couldn't keep up with the Lake Forest Boys...Bear swam a good Fly leg, but he was way behind Alex G who will have a shot to be top 3 in the county meet...

100 IM - Bear finished 2nd behind Brett's buddy Hunter. Swam a 1:22.03 so a nice improvement over the previous week...

50 Fly - Hung with Alex initially, but fell back in the back half. Finished 2nd and swam a 37.34

200 Free Relay - A Team - Again, no shot to keep up with Lake Forest...finished 2nd...

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Brett

200 Medley Relay - A Team - Brett beat Hunter in his leg, see Bear's write up for the rest...

50 Free - Brett finished 2nd with a 32.09 time...lost to Hunter by several seconds.

50 Breast - Brett was very pumped up for this race and it showed. He got a good start - trialed after the pullout but Alex's strong fly clearly helped with that...but it took no time for Brett to make up the difference and he pulled away at the end posting a 37.75...

200 Free Relay - A Team - Decent leg for Brett...but it didn't matter...

Breeze

06-13-2013, 09:37 AM

Polo Fields vs CRC

Bailey

200 Medley Relay - Still doing Fly on the B (where she should be)...I don't think Caroline is currently scheduled so swim with this group, which is wrong. I think it is attributed to a bad manual time for another girl last week in the backstroke....

50 Free - Still got Bailey in this one and it is going to be a tight one...Bailey, Cameron and Caroline are all swimming this event, and Polo with swim a girl with a sub 30 time...those 4 will be very tight...(unfortunately I'm not a place judge this week, because I'm sure the people doing it will screw this up...)

100 IM - Bailey was moved to 100 IM this time... and she'll be in a tight contest with Rayley and a girl from Polo....

200 Free Relay - Because Bailey beat Cameron last week they moved her into the A Free relay...hopefully the team will post there best time of the season tonight so Bailey can swim with the A team at county (because the A team has a shot at a medal)...

----------------------------------------------------

Bear

200 Medley Relay - Bear is still in the fly leg. Polo has one of the best 12 year olds in the county Leyton...and another good swimmer. Not sure how our relay will match up, because I don't know how good Polo's other 2 swimmers are. My bet is Polo wins...

50 Free - Bear's turn in this one...unfortunately he matches up with Riley and Leyton...no shot...3rd at best...

50 Fly - Matches up with Riley again, but could get 2nd...

200 Free Relay - See Medley....

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Brett

200 Medley Relay - See Bear's write up

100 Free - Unless there are bad times or the one kid with a NT in the event are must faster than indiated, Brett has a good shot to win this one...

50 Breast - Nobody is close to him in time...but some of the seeds could be old times...we'll see

200 Free Relay - See Bear's write up...

Breeze

06-14-2013, 02:27 PM

Polo Fields vs CRC

We were rained out last night...the boys did win their relay and Bailey's relay finished 3rd as usual. The short free races also went off...

Bear swam a 32.24 and finished 3rd as expected.

Bailey swam a 30.27 and by time she finished 3rd by place judge she finished 4th...suprisingly the pace judges had the 4th place girl finishing second...(I had her 4th like the clock...but I wasn't place judge for that race)...

The rest was a wash...

Breeze

06-14-2013, 02:34 PM

Swim with Dad @ GaTech 6/15-6/16

We have a year round meet on Saturday and Sunday, but with the preparations for the county meet, being out of town, the meet last night and the other dynastys I'm doing, I haven't had the oportunity to review the psych sheet...

Here are what the kids are swimming...

Bailey

200 Free
50 Fly
200 IM
100 Back
200 Back
100 Free
50 Back
100 Fly

Bear

200 Free
200 IM
100 Breast
400 Free
50 Breast
100 Free
50 Back
200 Breast

Brett

50 Fly
200 IM
50 Free
400 Free
50 Breast
100 Free
50 Back
100 Fly

Breeze

06-19-2013, 09:33 AM

Swim with Dad @ GaTech 6/15-6/16

Bailey

200 Free - 2:55.43 - Not a good swim...added several seconds 2:59.19

50 Fly - 38.31 - Basically swam the same time...up just .3 38.62

200 IM - 3:16.56 - Breaststroke looked much better as she was able to maintain her position in relation to the leaders. This improvement was the biggest factor in a signficant improvement...3:09.45

100 Back - 1:31.73 - Basically the same time, only this time with a slight improvement 1:31.48

200 Back - NT - Pretty good swim for a first go round...if she can drop a decent amount of time due to a comfort level in this race the second time she swims (which often happens), she might earn a state cut...3:13.82

100 Free - 1:17.37 - Looked very good here (hopefully that bodes well for her sprint in the county meet in a couple of weeks), 1:16.14

50 Back - 40.67 - was hoping for a state cut, but similar to a few years ago when she was so close to the back cut but never got it, she seemed to want it too badly and she actually added time. She's also going to work with the coach on her backstroke starts as she slipped on the start of both backstroke races which cost her time...41.72

100 Fly - 1:26.02 - no improvement added about a half a second, too many consecutive breaths...if she gets that worked out, she'll probably improve on her personal best by about a second or more...1:26.65

Breeze

06-19-2013, 11:44 AM

Swim with Dad @ GaTech 6/15-6/16

Bear

200 Free - 2:55.40 - Went out hard...knowing that based on his performances in the 400 and 800 that he should be able to post a much better time here. He ended up with an improvement of over 8 seconds...2:46.97...he also put himself into striking distance of a cut...he'll need a great swim to cut more time here, but with him moving up to Region practice (now 3 times a week)...he might be able to pull it off...

200 IM - NT - Didn't screw up the turn this time, and he posted a very good time of 3:16.95

100 Breast - 1:56.79 - The seed time here isn't actually his personal best...that would be a 1:52.82 that he swam at Long Course State last year...he did beat his seed time by a bunch but didn't get his personal best - 1:53.74

400 Free - 5:50.95 - - after a 200 Free, 200 IM, and a 100 Breast (which is very taxing for Bear), he really had nothing left, posting a 5:57.00 - he was very disappointed with this...

50 Breast - 55.67 - again the seed time isn't a personal best, that would be a SA time of 54.24...but it is irrelevant, because he did post a personal best this time with a 53.59

100 Free - 1:19.90 - Swam against Brett in this one. They were on opposite sides of the pool, but in the same heat nevertheless...it's interesting to watch them race, because they are so opposite in their approaches...Bear works hard...exerts a lot of energy and pounds the water, Brett is very diliberate but efficient and seems to glide when he swims. Bear posted a personal best, but barely...1:19.76

50 Back - 45.21 - Bear's back looked better than it had in months during the IM on Saturday, so I expected a good time here. He actually slipped on the start which hurt, but he was very good in the middle of the pool, and even with the slip start he improved with a time of 44.68, with a good start he could drop another second and he might even be able to slip under a state cut with a good swim, but we are running out of opportunities...

200 Breast - 4:03.53 - Breast was much stronger again, in fact it was so good he got fussed at. Based on his splits the coaches told him he should have done better in the 50 and the 100...in this one he seemed to hold his efficient stroke together longer. He has a tendency to get to up and down and when he does, he really doesn't go anywhere. The personal best time of 3:59.95 was a nice improvement...

Breeze

06-19-2013, 12:30 PM

Swim with Dad @ GaTech 6/15-6/16

Brett

50 Fly - 47.64 - been working on this stroke, but he's still in the form focus stage, not the racing stage...so I didn't expect him to break his seed time, or his actual personal best of 46.96, and he didn't. He did look much better. Very solid stroke, with feet together and good body position with high hips and shoulders low even when breathing. Now he needs to get comfortable with it so he can reproduce the stroke without thinking about it and then race it...49.27

200 IM - 3:26.92 - only the second time he's raced this to my memory, and because of that and the improvement that usu, and the fact his strokes are getting better, I expected a big improvement over the last time. The fly was slow, but actually better than the 50 from earlier in the morning by almost a full second. The back was solid...but when he got to the wall Brett was 5th at the turn and going into the Breat the leader was a third of the pool ahead. However, Brett was moving on this stroke and it became obvious pretty quickly into the 3rd leg that he might have a chance to catch the leader before the Breast ended...and amazingly he did...he was first to the wall after the Breast. He even held off the previous leader for most of the freestyle but finally lost with about 15 meters to go...HUGE improvement 3:15.14

50 Free - 38.68 - After the great 200 IM, I was hopeful for a good improvement here...and he pulled it off...36.54

400 Free - 6:23.58 - second time swimming, and going to practice 8 times in 6 days, I felt he'd hold up better and improve a bunch...but I didn't expect an improvement of 30 seconds...5:55.32

50 Breast - 43.49 - Start of day 2, with the 100 fly looming at the end of the day. Brett was very uptight about that, and it showed in this race. He was stiff and sluggish...he finished with a poor time of 44.51

100 Free - 1:18.39 - see Bear's write up...Brett improved slightly too - 1:18.20

50 Back - 47.45 - been swimming this better so I expected an improvement...he executed here as well 45.91

100 Fly - NT - the dreaded event. Brett was still very uptight about this one, but he managed to get all the way through without breaking stroke, swollowing water, hanging on the wall, or slipping into a breaststroke. Finished and that was the goal 1:53.08

Breeze

06-19-2013, 04:07 PM

Summer League - Aberdeen vs CRC

Swimming against Aberdeen again. The last couple of years we've battle with this team on Thursday nights and at county. They beat us a couple years ago by 12 or so points, and we beat them last year by like 6...but they keep beating us at County for the 3rd place trophy. I suspect they will beat us bad tomorrow (6/20), due to a much larger and better older age group...

Here is what the kids will be swimming

Bailey

B Medley Relay - Fly Leg
100 IM
50 Fly
B Free Relay - leadoff Leg

Bear

A Medley Relay - Fly Leg
100 IM
50 Fly
A Free Relay - Leadoff Leg

Brett

A Medley Relay - Breast Leg
50 Free
50 Breast
A Free Relay - 3rd Leg

Breeze

06-21-2013, 11:25 AM

Summer League – Aberdeen vs CRC

For the third year in a row, the CRC/Aberdeen matchup was extremely close. In fact, I thought we were going to lose due to the lack of older swimmers and because we were out touched in 3 consecutive fly races…losing by less than .5 seconds each time. However, we somehow won the meet 403 to 393…

Here’s how the kids did…

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Bailey

200 Medley Relay - Didn’t get to see the Medley Relay, but they didn’t do particularly well. The coach screwed around with the lineup to get a different girl in and she moved some strong swimmers to weaker strokes and the team ended up being much slower…they finished third anyway – so it didn’t matter.

100 IM – A loaded heat, Bailey, Rayley, MK, along with Haley and Emily from Aberdeen. All year-round swimmers. MK Won going away – breaststroke proved to be the big difference, Rayley pulled away from Bailey and Haley in the free to take second and Bailey took third beating Haley by a full second. She posted a 1:17.31

50 Fly – Again a strong field…Kate and Caroline from CRC and Meg (another year rounder from Aberdeen). Kate won by a couple seconds, Meg finished second and Caroline just out touched Bailey. Bailey’s big issue is she’s underwater too long. Technically it is the right play, but in these races she needs to get to the surface a bit quicker. If she does at county I’m guessing at least a .5 second improvement.

200 Free Relay – Led off, and stayed with both the A relay swimmers from CRC and Aberdeen. Was less than half a body length behind. Team still finished third. Bailey had the same issue here at Fly…too long underwater. She’s just not strong enough underwater to keep up yet…

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Bear

200 Medley Relay – wasn’t there to see it…but my understanding from talking with people who were, Bear was able to open up the lead slightly from the one handed to him by Brett, but the typical Freestyler was out and the boy that filled in wasn’t very good and gave up the lead by the 25 yard turn. They ended up losing by 3 seconds.

100 IM – Bear had no shot to win…the Aberdeen swimmer who did win could win at county too…Bear did do very well though posting 1:21.65, a full second improvement over two weeks ago…Finished a second overall and a full 4 seconds ahead of third.

50 Fly – Bear’s fly looks so much better. He was the first of the 3 straight fly swimmers out touched at the wall mentioned above. His biggest downfall was his turn, much slower than his opponent and it cost him. He was able to close on the back half but lost by .2. Did swim a 36.75…

200 Free Relay – Led off and opened a 2 body length lead, but the same kid that anchored the Medley relay was passed in the second leg and Brett and Riley came up .6 seconds short of catching Aberdeen…

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Brett

200 Medley Relay – from what I was told, Brett was half a body length behind at the dive, and was 2 body lengths up at the wall…

50 Free – Mediocre swim for Brett, was hoping for more…but 32.6 area is what he posted. I’m sure fatigue from practice a couple of hours before plays a part here.

50 Breast – Brett got in trouble for screwing around prior to this race, and he was moping a bit. In fact, he said he wasn’t going to swim, but I told him that wasn’t an option….he did swim and won going away. Again a mediocre time, he finished in 39.83…I was hoping for a 37 level swim.

200 Free – Brett was 3 to 4 body lengths behind when he dove in. He cut it some, but not enough….

Izulde

06-21-2013, 04:15 PM

Hell of a meet for Brett at the Swim with Dad. Hopefully that'll give him more confidence heading into the rest of summer (I see another meet was posted since then with not spectacular results due to fatigue) and the fall.

Breeze

06-23-2013, 08:24 AM

Hey Izulde

Yeah, Brett had an amazing Saturday in the meet last weekend. Sunday was good, but he was really dreading the 100 Fly and I believe it kept him from relaxing and swimming well early. He's really committed right now. He's shooting for 100% attendance in practice for June...and it is paying off in a big way...

As for the Thursday night swims, they are very tough on Brett. The 2 hour practice only 2 hours before the meets makes it hard, and there is so much going on, there is a lot of down time, and it can get quite late before he swims that he loses focus (kids without ADHD lose focus so you can image how hard it is on one that has it).

The County Meet is Saturday, I'll be writing up some stuff on that. I'm not sure I can convey all the items that run through my head, because they are so dynamic based on who swims what, who's going to State, if/then scenarios...etc...but I'll try to explain as best I can...

Breeze

06-24-2013, 11:36 AM

This weekend is a big one for us...we have 2 swim meets, the Summer League County Championship & The Stu Hixon meet for year round, which is a prelim/finals meet. We are going to be very busy and there is a bunch riding on several of these swims...I'll start detailing below...

Breeze

06-24-2013, 12:19 PM

Summer League County Championships

The county meet is always a fun one, and the one that got the family started down the path of being year-round swimmers. The CRC team, has done well the past couple of years including a most improved 3 years ago and back to back fourth place finishes (in case you are wondering there are about 20 teams in the county). The team has been trying hard to earn a team trophy by getting into the top 3, and last year we came up about 20 points short. This year, the county meet has been rolled under a different organization and the scoring has changed significantly so I don’t have a feel for how the team will ultimately do. Moreover, SwimAtlanta like Gold has a year-round meet this weekend as well, and their meet is in Auburn, because of this CRCs two best swimmers won’t be participating at county. Due to the lack of older swimmers, and the absence of CRCs two best, if the event was scored like it had been in past, CRC would be hard pressed to hang on to fourth.

The big goal individually at the county meet is to earn a medal (top 3 places, not counting anyone exhibitioning the event) and to earn a spot on the County’s State Team (top 3 finishers that have agreed to swim at the State Meet), which is like a County All-Star team.

I’ll detail my kids chances below…

Breeze

06-24-2013, 03:52 PM

Summer League County Championships

For the County Meet, each swimmer can pick 3 races, 2 to swim for points, and 1 to exhibition (in order to get a time and be considered for the State relay teams). On our team the kids initially pick the events they want to swim, but then some adjustments are made to maximize points, under the previous scoring rules only 2 kids could score per team per event, so no use in putting 3 good swimmers in the same event and wasting points (the new system apparently doesn’t limit a team to just 2 kids scoring per event). Thus we try to project what events the county heavyweights are going to choose and determine where our best chance to be successful might be.

There are only 6 races…

Short Free
Long Free
Back
IM
Breast
Fly

And most all of the heavyweights pick the short free to exhibition for the Free Relay. That leaves just 5 races with the IM and long free being standalone (no possibility of getting on a relay in those events), the options of what to swim start to get really small…

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Bailey

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but it bears repeating here…there are a lot more female swimmers, especially under 14 years old, which makes it much tougher for Bailey to do well when she’s on the younger end of the age group. The female swimmers are also typically more dedicated so if they swim at County, they are likely to swim at State, thus reducing the likelihood that she might slip into the Meet through the backdoor.

50 Free - Bailey knew up front she was going to swim the short free for exhibition in hopes of getting on 1 of the 3 free relays. Her personal best is a 30 low and she’s been there all summer even after having a swim practice just hours before the meet. So I’m hopeful that this will mean she can go a bit faster. Obviously with 3 Free Relay teams, 12 girls make up the lineup, but typically there are quite a few that don’t elect to go. This season there are only 2 currently seeded higher than Bailey that aren’t going…and Bailey is seeded – 13, which sounds good right. Only problem is there are 3 very good year rounders at least that are listed with NTs and could beat Bailey. It is going to VERY close…it could all come down to how quickly she gets off the blocks. If Bailey can get under 30 she has a chance, if she can get under 29.75 she should make it…

50 Fly – Bailey’s best stroke right now is the fly, and there was no doubt she was going to swim it at County. Problem is there are 7 twelve year old year rounders ahead of her. IT’s really tight…fourth place is less than a second faster than Bailey, and the girl seeded second isn’t going to state, so a good swim could get her in the top three, but it is a bit like golf. It isn’t as much about how many strokes or in this case seconds you are behind, it about the number of people between you and the lead. She’ll have to beat a lot of really good swimmers to get top 3. This is probably the deepest field of all the events in the girls 11/12 age group.

100 IM – Bailey ended up here as part of the juggle to make sure we had only 2 of our best swimmers in each event, but she was fine with it and she’s good at the IM anyway, so it doesn’t really matter. Bailey is seeded seventh, and everyone in front of here is a year round swimmer. Even a personal best here by over a second and the best she can probably get is sixth…

11/12 Girl Relays – Bailey will be on the B relay for both the Medley and the Free and that means she won’t get a medal. The A team will almost definitely be in the top 3 of both (and could win outright actually). The B team with the four best girls in both the Free and Medley would be very strong and would beat many A teams, but Caroline from CRC isn’t going, and she’d be a big part of the B group. As it is, Bailey’s relay will probably finish 6 or 7…

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Bear

50 Free – Bear is also exhibitioning the short free. Bear is seeded fourteenth (Brett is fifteenth), but there are four boys seeded higher that aren’t going to state, but there are also 3 good swimmers entered with NT. Like Bailey this will be very close…If Bear can get under 31 he should make it…my guess he’ll have to be at least a half a second faster than his personal best of 32.08 to have a shot.

IM – Bear is seeded fourth in IM, with 1 kid in front not going. So he has a legitimate shot to make it here, which is a surprise given how many horses there are in this age group. There are three kids right behind Bear that could pass him, so he’ll have to swim well, but we stumbled into a pretty weak event this time around (last year I screwed Bear up by having him skip the IM and it cost him an event at State).

Fly – remember I said there weren’t a lot of options on what events to choose, and remember I mentioned the IM didn’t have many horses at all…well the Fly is the exact opposite. In fact, I flat out state the Fly has 6 of the top 7 boys in the age group racing. Bear is seeded eighth and he’ll do well to hold that spot. This is undoubted the most loaded event I've ever seen in our 6 years of coming to County...and I can't wait to watch it...

Relays – I’ll cover them in Brett’s write up since they are in the same relay…

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Brett

50 Free – See Bear’s write up the information is the same. Brett’s seed time is .01 second slower than Bear…going to be interesting to see who is faster on Saturday…

100 Free – Brett is seeded fifth, with one kid in front of him not going, but there is one NT that is clearly faster than Brett and another one that is right there with him. It will be interesting to see how he does, but I’m not expecting him to even finish as high as his seed, but he could post a personal best

50 Breast – Brett comes in with the top seed. His time on record is 37.75, which I think is a bad time. I timed him in that race and had him at a 38.08 and another mother timed him at 38.18…both good times, but the kid that beat Brett by .04 seconds 2 years ago is right behind him with a 38.03, and there are 3 other boys all under 40 seconds. I’m going to get ill before this race, I can tell…Brett will have to have good pullouts, a quick turn and a long finish to win this (he’s short armed his finish the last couple of races).

A win here would be huge for Brett for a couple of reasons…Brett didn’t win a medal in county last year and hasn’t won the Breaststroke for summer league the last 2 years. This would be huge for his confidence and self-esteem. Also, Brett’s buddy Jack is shoe-in to be the butterflyer or backstroker on the A medley relay at county, and his other buddy Hunter looks like the odds on favorite to be the A freestyler…if Brett can win the breast he’ll be on the relay with them, and they’ll have a shot to earn a top 3 medal at state.

Relays – the boys are currently seeded third in the medley relay, but the team seeded fourth is Aberdeen who beat them on Thursday (6/20). Just not sure how much of a difference the freestyler at the end will make (the normal freestyler was out against Aberdeen). In the free relay, the boys are again seeded third, but there are a bunch of big names in relays behind them in the sheet, and I doubt they end up third. However, they obviously have a couple shots at team relay medals, hopefully it pays off for them

thealmighty

06-25-2013, 12:21 AM

Could you explain all the "not going to state" kids. What's the deal, putting in so much practice time to qualify and then not going (or did I miss some other explanation on another page)?

Breeze

06-25-2013, 08:50 AM

Could you explain all the "not going to state" kids. What's the deal, putting in so much practice time to qualify and then not going (or did I miss some other explanation on another page)?

Nope you didn't miss anything, and you are right I probably should have explained better.

Basically, when we are dealing with Summer League you have both year round and non year round swimmers and there are a number of reasons why a kid/family might choose to skip the State Meet.

1. Family vacation is scheduled at or around the time of the State Meet...(this actually happens a lot)

2. Non-year round swimmers don't want to practice swimming for an additional month leading up to State

3. Boys have Summer Football practice (I believe summer practices start right before the State Meet, but I'm not positive)

4. Year round swimmers elect to miss this meet to prepare for the Year-Round state championship

5. Families don't want to spend the money on a hotel room for the State Meet (this isn't an issue for our county this year as the meet was moved to a neighboring county, but it has been a consideration in the past)

6. Summer State is a long, drawn out meet, that is very hot (as there are thousands of swimmers and teams have to sit outside in the heat between events), and many that have done it in the past determined that it wasn't worth it...

I'm sure there are other reasons, these are just he ones I hear most often. Remember Summer League is like Rec League in another sport. The kids that are on All-Star or traveling teams in other sports will play for those teams before the Rec Team...and swimming is no different.

Breeze

06-25-2013, 10:42 AM

By the way...after thinking about my post above, thought I should clarify something. While Summer League is a Rec League, the level of competition is signficant. There are several medal winners not only at the year round state meet, but at the sectional level (Southeast) that swim in our county. In fact, the 11/12 boys relays for our county will mostly likely be faster than the 11/12 boys for Chattahoochee Gold at the State Meet...

Breeze

06-25-2013, 01:41 PM

Stu Hixon Swim Meet @ Mt View Aquatic Center 6/29-30

The second half of the swim equation for this weekend is the Stu Hixon meet. The decisions between summer league county championships and the year round meet are tough. We are running out of year round meets to swim before the state meet, and Bailey and Bear have a couple of decent shots at getting a cut, and Brett is barely hanging on to his spot on the A relay. There is only 1 more meet after this one and it is so close to the state meet that the coaches really don’t want the kids swimming in it unless they are going for a cut. To make matters worse, some of the events we need to swim are on Saturday…meaning we miss that opportunity.

The Stu Hixon meet is also a prelim/final meet, that will be handing out medals for top 3 finishers. Remember one of Brett’s biggest goals is to get a year round medal…well he’s seeded fourth in the 200 free, and he would be fourth in the 100 free to, but it is on Saturday. We are really wrestling with the idea of trying to get him over to the meet on Saturday so he can swim the 100 Breast, we just aren’t sure we can get there on time, and we aren’t sure he’ll have the energy to swim well anyway. It would take a huge improvement, a DQ by a top 3 swimmer, or a scratch by a top 3 swimmer in the breaststrokes for Brett to get a metal, but it isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

Just trying to do what’s in the kids best interest…we’ll see how this plays out…

Here are what the kids are swimming…

Bailey

50 Fly – 38.31
50 Breast – 50.42
400 Free – 6:16.92

Bear

50 Fly – 43.29
50 Free – 36.35
50 Breast – 53.58

Brett

50 Fly – 47.64
50 Free – 36.54
200 Breast - 3:24.17

We may try to deck enter the kids on Friday afternoon in the 200 back…as it seems like a good shot for the twins to get a cut…

Breeze

06-28-2013, 08:03 AM

Summer League – County Championships

The meet starts tomorrow morning early, and things have gotten quite tight for Brett in the breaststroke. We skipped the meet last night (thankfully, as it was impacted by the weather, and sitting around with a bunch of kids waiting to see if the meet is going to continue is no fun, whatsoever), so the last time we have from Brett was 2 weeks ago, and he wasn’t in a good frame of mind when he swam it…but it was also over 40 seconds. If he swims over 40 tomorrow he probably doesn’t even make the state team at all. Also while he has the fastest seed time coming in with a 37.75 (though again I felt it was probably closer to a 38.10 based on mine and another parents timing), another boy posted a 37.76 last night…so I’m going to be very anxious about this race all day today and tomorrow until it goes off…

Breeze

07-02-2013, 09:57 AM

Summer League County Championships

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Bailey

I’m not sure what happened with Bailey during this meet. I don’t know if she was tired from getting up so early, she didn’t have energy because she didn’t eat well (she rarely does when she gets up early), or she just wasn’t in the right frame of mind, but she didn’t have a good meet. My opinion is that she went into this meet knowing it was a long shot for her to make the State Team, and so she swam poorly because she wasn’t as motivated…

200 Medley Relay – Bailey swam the fly leg, but before she ever hit the water the team was DQed, as the Breaststroker 1 hand touched the turn. Had they not been DQed they would have ended up ninth. The A relay team came from behind in the freestyle leg to win. Bailey friend Rayley swam awesome to get the gold for the team…

200 Free Relay – Bailey was the anchor on the B Free Relay…they were missing Caroline (at a year round meet in Auburn), who would have made about a 5 second difference in the final time…and so they settled for eighth, Bailey swam a 30.33 leg, which is slow for her in a relay. In the short course state championship meet and the northern divisionals she was swimming spits in the 29s. The A free relay also won the event…but, and this is where I get a bit irritated with summer league and hand timed events, the second swimmer (slowest time of the 4) swam a spit of 31.72. I’ve known all year that Bailey was faster than Cameron, but didn’t want to cause any problems…and this just supports my opinion. We like Cameron a lot, but Bailey belonged on the A relay and would have gotten a gold medal if she were on it, as it is, she gets nothing for the event.

50 Free – Bailey needed to get in the 29s to be assured of a stop on the Free Relays for state…and she posted a time of 30.33. No that isn’t a mistyping and yes I’m looking at the correct event…Bailey’s 50 free time matched her 50 free split from the relay exactly. Interestingly Cameron’s split in the 50 free was a 31.81…only .1 second slower than her split in the relay, and further illustrating the fact Bailey should have been on the relay. So I estimated Bailey needed to be a 29 high to make the relay…as it turns out, for the kids going to state Bailey ended up 13, 1 away from the relay…she actually needed to beat a 30.22 to get in…

100 IM – Bailey’s IM seemed sluggish. She wasn’t crisp with any part of it, including the fly as she was sixth to the wall in the opening turn. She finished eighth overall and added a couple of seconds to her time.

50 Fly – Bailey’s fly was also sluggish. She didn’t seem to have the drive she typically does in this event. She finished eighth and added about a second and a half to her time…

Breeze

07-02-2013, 10:24 AM

Summer League County Championships

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Bear

Bear started off the meet well, swimming good in both the Free and Medley relays (which I will cover in Brett’s write up)…but then he was going to the bathroom before his IM and he slipped. He fell flat on his butt, bruised his tailbone, jarred his back and was in real pain…

50 Free – Bear and Brett were in the same heat for this event, and they were entered with seed times of 32.08 (Bear), 32.09 (Brett)…when the race started Bear got out real good …he was running third in the heat and was ahead of Brett, but he screwed up the turn REALLY BAD, and it cost him. He finished with a 32.7 time…before the turn he was on pace to go under 32 seconds. As it turns out – of the kids going to State Bear’s 50 free time put him 14…

IM – This is the event right after the fall. Bear got on the blocks and was grimacing in pain and he was getting prepared to dive. His fly was clearly hindered by the back, and the breast was as well, but when he turned from breast to free he was still in fourth, and he closed hard in the free, but was out-touched by less than half a second. He finished with a 1:21.88, but without falling I’m sure he would have gotten third, which gives him a medal and puts him on the state team…but as is this kids luck, he ends up just outside the medals...

Fly – After the IM Bear went to the first aid clinic and they iced his back…it was hurting too bad at this point, and he scratched.

Breeze

07-02-2013, 11:26 AM

Summer League County Championships

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Brett

200 Medley Relay – The relay started out with Riley doing the back, and while Riley is a good backstroker, there are a bunch of really good ones in the county. When Riley finished the opening leg, things were tight but CRC was in third/fourth place. Brett dove in and his dive was terrible, in fact it was so bad, that if I can figure out where to get the video posted so you can watch you’ll probably here me say something to the effect of “What the hell kind of dive was that, Brett?”…however, after he surfaced, Brett started reeling in the other swimmers…and he actually was second to the wall with another swimmer right on his should. Despite the bad dive Brett’s split was just over 40 seconds. So Bear dove in for the fly, but the swimmer on Brett’s shoulder at the touch was GCs and they handed off to Brett’s buddy Jack…and Jack is only about 10 seconds faster than Bear in a 50 fly, so Bear had no shot. Bear swam a strong leg posting a split of 36+ seconds…and he handed off the Alex. Alex is a year round swimmer, but mostly a breaststroker. His free is very reminiscent of Brett’s a few years ago, with a sloppy kick…but he was handed a pretty big lead. In fact, he was a good third of a lap or more ahead of the team in fourth…but he needed that much space because another swimmer closed on him hard. CRC held on for Bronze by 1.3 seconds…If you are wondering, Brett’s poor dive wouldn’t have had any impact on second, as they were a full 10 seconds behind the second place team…

200 Free Relay – Bear started off with an extremely strong swim…posting a split of 31.17, and because he was the first to go, that is a legitimate time and a personal best (it also would have been good enough to get him on a free relay at state had he done it again in the 50 free race about 20 minutes later, but he screwed up that turn)…Alex’s leg was a poor 36 second time, and Brett didn’t do his best either posting a 33.44 with a rolling start. When Brett handed off to Riley they were in fourth place and Riley was at least a third of a lap down. However, Riley is a strong freestyler and he was a hero here as he caught and passed the other team inside the flags at the finish and captured third place by .13 seconds. So another Bronze for the boys.

Note: At this point I was very concerned about Brett’s focus. His dive in the medley was terrible, his split in the free relay was poor…I was really afraid he was going to have an off day…

50 Free – Brett was behind Bear at the turn for the 50 free, but Bear’s poor turn allowed Brett to get to the wall first, as he finished with a 32.2 time and overall he was 13 out of the kids going to state for the free relay. So like Bailey he just missed too.

100 Free – Brett was seeded fifth, but there were two no-times that had I paid attention to, I would have told you they were faster freestylers than Brett. As it turns out he finished seventh, but posted a personal best time of 1:10.71, and now I was feeling better about his chances in the big breaststroke race coming up…

50 Breast – This race started and JB (the kid that beat Brett by .04 seconds for the county championship 2 years ago) got a great dive and an early lead. Brett and the rest of the pack was about half a body length back. At the turn Brett had to have a strong pullout or he would run out of room to catch JB. The turn appeared from my vantage point to be the best I’ve ever seen him make. He closed ground and put himself in position to make a charge. And charge he did…cutting into the lead with each stroke, but it was pretty clear he was going to run out of room. That is until JB got inside the flags, then he seemed to have a few poor strokes. Not sure if it was fatigue or nervousness, but he didn’t seem to get the same explosion in those strokes, and Brett pulled alongside. The both reached the wall and it was too close for me to tell…I looked up at the scoreboard and…

Brett lost by .05 seconds…(same kid that beat him by .04 seconds 2 years ago) this is really unfortunate, because his buddy Jack dominated the event and will be on the A relay for the County swimming Fly, Hunter will be on the A relay swimming Free, and Leyton another buddy of Brett’s will be doing the back, but Brett will be on the B relay. Also making matters worse, the A relay will almost certainly be the top seed going into state and could walk away with a gold medal…

Brett did swim a personal best time of 37.52 (legit as this was electronically timed)...

I was heartbroken for him…he was a bit depressed initially, but he recovered nicely. He has set a goal to beat JB at state, and to help his relay team get in the top 3 and earn a colored medal…

Breeze

07-02-2013, 03:25 PM

I really would like to publish some of the videos and pictures from the races, but I used to accomplish this by using dropbox and taking the public link created and posting it, but now that appears to be restricted to specific email addresses...

So I'm open to suggestions (outside of Facebook) for easy image/video storage with Internet access...

Breeze

07-03-2013, 09:25 AM

Summer League State Meet Update

As it turns out, one of the boys that initially stated they would swim at State has begged out...opening a slot for Brett to swim on the C Free Relay. This relay won't make finals, but it does give him another race and a sense of accomplishment...

Breeze

07-03-2013, 03:04 PM

Stu Hixon Meet @ Mt View Aquatic Center

This pool isn’t a very good one when it comes to improving times. It was built more for training than hosting so some of the engineering done to improve speeds by limiting waves weren’t done. Moreover, this pool is kept way to warm (80+ degrees), which also typically results in slower times. Most of the swimmer parents that participated on Saturday, while we were at the county meet, reported their kids were consistently coming in 2 or more seconds over their personal best.

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Bailey

50 Fly – 38.31 : Bailey was again hoping to get the state cut here, but she was about a half a second slower than her personal best. She finished with a 38.82. She seemed a little high to me on the first several strokes so that might have been the cause of the slowdown…but it is so close to her personal best that it isn’t really a big deal…

50 Breast – 50.42 : I’ve noted before that her breast is starting to show some improvement…it still has a way to go, but it’s getting better. She improved here with a time of 50.16

400 Free – 6:16.92 : For the first time ever, Bailey headed into a mid-distance freestyle with a positive attitude. She said she was looking for to this, and she felt she had figured out how to race this event. She was pretty much right about that, as she dropped 26 seconds to post a 5:50.33, and even more so, one of the team coaches said she swam the event perfectly. She opened with a 1:25.65 first one hundred, then the next two 100s were almost identical 1:29.10s , then she closed only 1 second slower than her opening 100…that is exactly how they like to see the splits breakdown…

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Bear

50 Fly – 43:29 : Bear was feeling much better on Sunday than Saturday, and he mentioned that he wanted to swim, so we let him, with the instructions that if it started to hurt that he needed to stop. He, like Bailey, was about a half a second slow in the fly…43.97

50 Free – 36.35 : Bear improved on this one. He still overworks a bit and moves his head to much but he dropped .69 seconds to 35.66. As long as he doesn’t have to flip turn he’s doing pretty well…

50 Breast – 53:53 : Bear’s breast is also coming around…it still needs work, but he’s going through longer stretches where he is driving forward. He improved to a 52.07 and finished eleventh, but one of the kids in front of him scratched, so Bear swam the 50 Breast finals later than night…

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Brett

50 Fly – 47.64 : Still working hard to get this stroke, and he’s still very deliberate swimming it. He didn’t come close to a personal best, which I didn’t expect him to do. I was hopeful he’d improve on the time from his previous attempt at this race, but he basically posted a similar time of 54.27. He is embarrassed about this, but he can’t get better unless he races it, so he’s working through his issues.

50 Free – 36.54 : Brett tried hard to reduce his breathing in this race, in hopes of dropping time, but it didn’t work for him. He actually added three quarters of a second to 37.29

200 Breast – 3:24.17 : Brett was hoping to get into the top 3 here, but the top 3 all came in with seed times of 3:12 or better…so then he set his sights on fourth. He went out hard, trying to keep up with the leaders, which to a certain extent he was able to do for the first 75 or so…then he started to lose some ground. However, he was still in contact with the leaders as the 150 mark. Trailing and not in striking distance, but not left so far behind that he appeared to be in a different race. Coming down the home stretch a kid to his outside swam him down and out touched him for fourth, which irritated Brett. He posted a huge improvement and personal best time of 3:19.36. We knew he was going to make finals in this event, because there were only 8 kids swimming. Initially Brett was instructed to scratch the event, but after that finish, his coach told him he wanted him to do it again that night, and focus on the pullouts, because “Brett you are a much better breaststroker than the kid that out touched you. If you improve your pullouts you’ll kill him…”

200 Medley Relay – There were relays at this meet, and Brett got on the Gold A relay. He wasn’t with any of his buddies, but he was happy to be swimming the relay. This race started immediately after the 200 Breast with Brett not having any time to even do the cool down swim. The backstroker was third or fourth at the wall when Brett dove in, but Brett was first on the other end, swimming down and passing the other breaststrokers that were in front of him. The flyer opened the lead, and the freestyler maintained it…so Brett’s relay won the event….

Breeze

07-03-2013, 03:30 PM

Stu Hixon Meet @ Mt View Aquatic Center – FINALS

The finals started about an hour after the prelims finished, but because both boys qualified in the Breast, which were the last races of the event, we had closer to two hours in between. We really struggled to keep the kids rested, and to get them refueled. We’ve had issues not swimming as well in finals because of fatigue due to exertion or not eating well…so we wanted to try and change that.

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Bear

50 Breast – Seed Time 53.58, Prelim Time 52.07 : Bear wasn’t thrilled about having to swim this. He was saying things like, just because I made it doesn’t mean I like it, but we explained that he didn’t scratch (and actually he didn’t scratch because it didn’t dawn on us that he needed to, we didn’t think he was anywhere close to making this race), which means that if he elected not to swim that he would be taking the place of another kid that did want to race in the event. After that he shut up and set his mind to racing. Bear looked even better to me in this race than in the prelims, and the times proved my assessment was accurate as he posted another personal best of 51.18…in all dropping 2.4 seconds from the seed time earlier in the day…

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Brett

200 Breast – Seed time 3:24.17, Prelim Time 3:19.36 – Secretly I think Brett was hoping one of the top 3 kids would elect not to come back to the finals, so he could fight for a spot in the top 3 and a medal with the kid that out-touched him at the wall, but everyone that beat him agreed to swim finals. The race started and Brett was positioned this time next to the kid that finished third in prelims. He was faster than Brett but not nearly as fast as the first two, and Brett, like in prelims was working extremely hard to keep up with him. In this case he never seemed to completely lose contact either. He stayed within about 2 body lengths the entire way. In fact, with about 150 to go , Brett was only a body length back, but then the swimmer to his inside started to pick up the pace. As it turns out Brett did beat the kid that out touched him in prelims – and he beat him by about 10 seconds. He also posted another personal best and another huge drop in time, this time finishing at 3:14.57.

Brett was so tired at the conclusion of this race, he could barely lift himself up and out of the pool. This is the most effort I’ve ever seen him give in a race, and obviously it’s the most tired he’s ever been as well. But he felt great about this swim, and in put him in striking distance of a 13 year old cut in this event…

Breeze

07-05-2013, 10:50 AM

Tara Classic (Last Chance Meet) @ Steve Lundquist Aquatic Center, July 5-7

The last chance qualifier for Long Course State is this weekend. We will only be participating on Saturday as Bear and Bailey will each swim 2 events that they could earn a cut in. Brett won’t be swimming in this one. His coach wants him heading into the State meet with the last experience in the pool being his huge improvement in the 200 Breast.

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Bailey

50 Fly – Seed Time 38.31 : Cut Time 37.39 – Bailey needs to cut a second to get her time, but honestly it’s probably more like a second and a half. She’s been slightly off with her stroke recently (probably due to growth, as she’s now only 1” shorter than Brett), and it is costing her on average about a half a second in the Fly, as recently she seems to be coming in around 38.8…in this pool, which like last week is really more of a training facility not one designed for speed, I really don’t think she’ll get the cut, and in fact, I doubt she even swims a personal best.

100 Back – We are scratching this event, as Bailey isn’t really close to this cut…

100 Freestyle – Seed Time 1:16.14 – Bailey doesn’t really have a chance at this one either, but we’ll have her swim it anyway to see if she can notch a personal best. I’m not sure she can, because her times in the free, like the fly have been off just a little.

200 Backstroke – DECK ENTERED – Seed Time 3:13.83 : Cut Time 3:09.59 - we will swap in this event after scratching in the 100 Back. Bailey has an outside shot at this one, it will be tough, but given this will be the second time swimming this event she could cut 4 seconds….

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Bear

200 Free – Seed Time 2:46.97 : Cut Time 2:44.29 – This might completely come down to Bear’s turns. He is close to this cut, and him improvement in the 50 free just last weekend leads me to believe he’s in a good form and could challenge this time, but if he screws up just 1 turn, he won’t make it…

100 Back – We will scratch this as Bear has no shot to make the cut this time around

100 Free – Seed Time 1:19.76 – Not shot to get the cut, but we’ll let him swim this one anyway…I do believe he’ll get a personal best as long as he doesn’t screw up the turn…

200 Back – DECK ENTERED - Seed Time NT : Cut Time 3:19.29 – This is a swap out, just like Bailey. Bear has never done this race, which is my only reservation with predicting him to get the cut…but based on times I’m seeing for kids that Bear practices with and is much better than, that have done this race a couple of times and have come close to a cut, I have to believe Bear can get it, even the first time out…

Breeze

07-08-2013, 01:51 PM

Tara Classic (Last Chance Meet) @ Steve Lundquist Aquatic Center, July 5-7

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Bailey

50 Fly – Seed Time 38.31 : Cut Time 37.39 – Bailey started out this race looking better than she has all summer. She was low and strong, opening up a half a body length lead on the girl to her inside lane (so a faster seed time). He was cruising along until about a third of the pool left when her breathing was starting to occur too frequently. In fact, in my filming, you can hear me saying…stop breathing so much as I knew this was going to be close. The Bailey gets to the flags and breathes, then breathes again, but she was close to the wall, and I figured she’d finish strong – but NO…she takes a third breath as she’s reaching for the wall – finishing with her head still up, as she didn’t even have time to get it back in the water before she touched the wall. I thought that little trick had killed her chances…Her time 37.37 – so a third state cut for Bailey

200 Backstroke – DECK ENTERED – Seed Time 3:13.83 : Cut Time 3:09.59 - Started out with a very strong kick in this one, and she and one other girl really opened a lead on the field. They pulled away, and it was pretty obvious early, that unless she got into the ropes or tightened up she was well under the cut pace. She faded at the end, and she admitted her legs were burning bad, but she posted a 3:01.64…and her fourth cut…

100 Freestyle – Seed Time 1:16.14 – Little to swim for, emotionally exhausted, and tired and hungry as this was the last event of the session, Bailey swam an uninspired 1:17.87

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Bear

200 Free – Seed Time 2:46.97 : Cut Time 2:44.29 – It was pretty obvious right from the start Bear wasn’t going to get this one. He fell way off the pace quickly. Initially, I thought he might be saving himself to have a strong kick, but he informed me that he just couldn’t get comfortable with his stroke. He couldn’t get his body into the good power position and because of that he never really got going. He ended up with a mediocre 2:53.70

200 Back – DECK ENTERED - Seed Time NT : Cut Time 3:19.29 – From the start Bear’s backstroke was UGLY. He’s really working to change his arm rotation to match the coaches’ instructions, because he’s had some shoulder tenderness and he wants to make sure he doesn’t injure himself. But he was so deliberate and so over exaggerated with keeping his are up straight, that he overreached across his head on every stroke, He also pulled very badly to his left and was swimming most of the race hugging a lane line. All that said, I could tell from watching the other kids and knowing their times in this event, that Bear still had a shot at the cut. Then coming down the last 15 to 20 meters, Bear seemed to relax some (probably due to fatigue) and he began to glide better and get a better grab, which sped him up considerably. He finished with a time of 3:14.17. So a third cut for Bear…

100 Free – Seed Time 1:19.76 – I knew Bear wasn’t going to get this cut, but after his 200 free I was afraid he might do poorly here. Initially, he looked very similar to his 200 free, but this time he did find his body position, with about 35 percent of the race left to go, and he closed quickly on the kids in his neighboring lanes. He finished with a personal best time of 1:18.65

Breeze

07-10-2013, 08:51 AM

General Update

You may recall this update from a couple weeks ago...

200 Medley Relay – There were relays at this meet, and Brett got on the Gold A relay. He wasn’t with any of his buddies, but he was happy to be swimming the relay. This race started immediately after the 200 Breast with Brett not having any time to even do the cool down swim. The backstroker was third or fourth at the wall when Brett dove in, but Brett was first on the other end, swimming down and passing the other breaststrokers that were in front of him. The flyer opened the lead, and the freestyler maintained it…so Brett’s relay won the event….

The reason I'm bringing this up is that the win in this event earned Brett is first year round medal...This was a huge goal for him coming into the season, as he's seen his siblings win year round medals several times. He was very pumped up after receiving this, and I'm hoping this continues to motivate him to work hard (though I have no complaints about his work over the summer. He hasn't missed a single practice, including 2 a days on Monday's and Wednesdays...)

Breeze

07-17-2013, 07:50 AM

Long Course State Championships @ Savannah 7/18 - 7/21

We had the Gold Long Course dinner last night, and Brett is currently scheduled to be on both A relays at state. He'll be swimming with Jack and Hunter, plus Parker (who swam fly on the relay back at Stu Hixon that won Brett his first medal). There is an outside possibility that he loses his spot if he swims poorly at State and someone else on the team beats his personal best time, but Brett is swimming well so I don't expect that to happen.

We will be heading down to Savannah today. We have to get there early, because Bear doesn't do well on long car rides and he'll be swimming the 1500 :eek: on Thursday. This will be the first time he's ever swum the 1500, which of course begs the question, how did he qualify. Well, when Bear got the qualifying time in the 800, it gave him the qualifying time in the 1500. The 800, when kids are grown is only a girls event, whereas the 1500 is only a boys event - so at the state level the 800 isn't offered for boys even as young as 11, but they give them the ability to swim up in the 1500, which makes perfect sense...if I can swim an 800 why not almost double it...Anyway, Bear is excited to give this a go, we'll see how it works out for him. Warm ups will be at 3:00, but he probably won't actually race until closer to 9, due to the long races and the fact he'll be in the very last heat. Bear is one of only 4 kids 11 years old that will do this event, so at worst he'll finish 4th in state and earn the team a good bit of points.

Here is the remainder of the schedule:

Friday

Brett - 100 Breast
Bailey - 50 Fly
Bailey - 400 IM

Saturday

Bailey - 100 Fly
Brett - 50 Breast
Bailey - 200 Back
Bear - 200 Back

Sunday

Bear - 400 Free
Brett - 200 Breast

Breeze

07-23-2013, 09:21 AM

Long Course State Championships @ Savannah

THURSDAY NIGHT

1500 Meters - Bear came into this event never having swum the 1500. He qualified for it by getting a state cut in the 800 (which isn't offered at State for boys). I thought he'd be a bit uptight about it, but he really was suprisingly calm. Even when he was presented with the fact that he would be sharing a lane with another swimmer, it didn't phase him (the funny thing...Bear and the other boy in his lane, actually brushed hands at one point in the race. It was so minor it didn't bother either of them, but an inch more and it could have been ugly)...

Having never done this event before, the coaches decided the best bet was to try and keep Bear on a pace to be under the state cut time of 22:29.00, so in essence they wanted him to be 1:30/100 Meters. The coach told me to watch him for signals that I could let Bear know how he was doing when I put the lap counter in the water for him. The race started and Bear was good. The second 100, I had to give him the signal to pick it up. From there he was solid until about 500 meters to go, when I had to give him the go faster sign again. The in the last 300 Bear closed with a 1:26, 1:24, and 1:22. If you are wondering, he opened with a 1:24. His final time was a 22:02.37 and he not only earned the cut, but he got the cut for next year too, so he'll be swimming the 1650 at short course state for sure and he'll get this one again at next years long course meet.

The coaches were thoroughly impressed with his finish, and even indicated if they had known he was going to handle this race that well, they would have set a harder/faster split for him to maintain. As it turns out he was only 15 seconds from getting the bronze metal...

Breeze

07-23-2013, 05:28 PM

Long Course State Championships @ Savannah

FRIDAY

100 Breast - The day started with Brett's 100 Breast. He started out a bit off, his dive/pullout though not as bad as it was early in the year, wasn't as good as it had been recently. Plus, because he was next to two kids that were easily 5'7" or bigger and 120 lbs or more, he lacked the power they had. He trailed early, but after the turn, started to close. He couldn't catch the two leaders, but he did manage to finish third in his heat and improve by 2 seconds posting a 1:33.55

50 Fly - Bailey started this race, with quite possibly the worst dive I've ever seen her make. She was so deep she was the last to surface and was two whole body lengths behind the rest of the girls in her heat (of which there were only 2 others). Before the race was over she had caught one and almost caught the other, but the dive was so poor she was almost a second off of her personal best. However, it didn't matter as she was DQed for a false start...however the false start was actually her turning her head from looking at the starter to looking at the water after the starter had given the set command. Pretty ticky-tack, but it didn't matter...Bailey was actually more disappointed with her swim than her DQ...

400 IM - I was afraid Bailey wasn't going to do well here after her DQ, but she opened with a great dive and her 100 fly was a 1:27.97, only just over a second above her personal best in the event, and she was first in her heat, even though she came into the race with the slowest seed time of the 8 kids. Her backstroke was also strong at 1:40.31...and she was second at the midway point. However, her breaststroke issues came back in full force. In fact, it was the worst she's ever looked swimming it. She swam the 100 in 2:12 and fell way back (probably because of fatigue from working the first 2 legs of the race so hard). She finished with a personal best of 6:48.11, an improvement of 8 seconds.

Thanfully, Bear didn't have to swim and he got to recoop from the 1500 the night before.

Also, the air quality in the facility was horrible. From the moment I walked in my eyes were burning, and before the day was over all my kids were coughing and hacking. Also several of the kids we were with had the same issues...

Breeze

07-24-2013, 01:44 PM

Long Course State Championships @ Savannah

SATURDAY

Saturday started off terribly. Bailey woke up feeling poorly and she couldn't really choke down her breakfast before the warm up. We've had this problem with Bailey in the past, especially when she would have early Tennis matches, so we figured it would pass. We'll it didn't. She threw up (which she's done before when she had to eat really early)...only this time it wasn't a 1 time thing. She threw up 4 times throughout the morning, was coughing bad, and was running a fever of almot 100. So she ended up scratching her events...

50 Breast - Brett over worked this one. He really tried hard to go fast, and with swimming and breaststoke especially, overworking can actually create drag and reduce the glide portion of the stroke. As it turns out his time was not far off from what he was typically swimming 43.6, but given his huge improvement in the 200 just weeks earlier, and a 2 second drop in the 100, I was expecting an improvement here...he was disappointed.

200 Back - Bear started this one way too conservatively, he fell back a good ways, and he was well off the pace. In the last 50 he passed 3 people to have a respectible finish, but he added 4 seconds to his qualifying time. 3:18.83

As I mentioned the air in the factility on Friday was bad, it wasn't any better on Sunday. Several kids finished up there swims and had to go outside to catch their breath because they were coughing from the chlorine smell. This led to quite a bit of concern, and in fact, one of the big swim teams (Dynamo) decided they would not be swimming relays in order to keep the kids out of the pool area. This greatly improved Brett's chances of getting a year round metal at the state meet for his relay. It was too the point the relays were lining up...and the police, firemen, and hazmat team stopped the meet to do an air quality check. This check took over an hour and while the air quality test came back fine (and that is debatable for a bunch of reasons) the session was cancled due to time constraints, leaving the relays and the 400 free unfinished. The relay was completely cancelled and the 400 free was moved to Sunday in the spot for the 400 Medley Relay which was also cancelled. So the poor air quality cost Brett both of his relay swims with his friends...

In case you were wondering, Bailey was fine by about 2 PM. No side-effects from the sickness at all. Pretty sure this was related to the chlorinated air...in fact, the symptoms for chlorine sickness match Bailey's perfectly.

Breeze

07-24-2013, 03:55 PM

Long Course State Championships @ Savannah

SUNDAY

200 Breast - Brett came into this event, just missing out on the finals. In fact, had this event been at GaTech, he would have made the B final, as he was seeded 18th. He just dropped 10 seconds in the event a few weeks back, so I was hopeful he might drop a bit more and get real close to that 13 year old cut, but I wasn't expecting it. When the race went off, he took it out very conservatively (I think this was a concern about the air quality)...But on the second 50 he kicked it into gear and his split was 1:35.27...his split from his personal best was a 1:35.21. In the next 50 he was still gaining on the field, but coming home he seemed to tire a bit and he fell off the pace. I believe he had to work too hard in the middle 100 to overcome the conservative start, and I do believe he was having a hard time breathing as he was coughing when he finished...final time 3:16.08

400 Free My goal for Bear coming into this one was to get his 12 year old cut. Based on how he finished the 1500 I felt pretty confident he'd get the 5:45.99 time he needed. He started off good, and was moving through the water well. He was sharing a lane with a kid that was much larger than he was, and he was slightly ahead of that kids pace (that kid was 150 meters into the race when Bear started). However, Bear's great pace came to a screeching halt. In the last 130 or so, when he would typically start sprinting, he seemed to hit a wall. His pace fell way off and it was starting to look like he might not get that cut. He gutted it out and finished in 5:45.17, but he was having breathing difficulty when he got out. The bad air had gotten to him and with his asthma symptoms it was causing him to wease a great deal. I had to race to get his inhaler...he was fine and proud of what he accomplished. He's also really looking forward to the 500 and 1650 at short course. He thinks he might be able to medal...

Breeze

07-25-2013, 12:16 PM

GRPA State Championship - July 27th @ Lanier Aquatics

This will be the last meet of the Summer Season and as soon as this meet is over we'll have several weeks away from the pool.

Brett is the only one swimming in this event, as he was the only one to qualify at County. However, Bailey should have made it on the C Free Relay. 12 Girls make up the 3 relay teams, and Bailey was 13th in time of the girls that had stated they wanted to participate in this event. However, 1 of the girls that was marked as wanting to go, actually didn't want to. The coach marked it, and then the coach never bothered to check or ask, until the roster for the team was already submitted to the state and couldn't be changed. Bailey isn't too disappointed, just knowing she could have been there made her feel good...

200 Yard Medley Relay - Brett is on the B team with 3 other very good swimmers, and they are currently seeded 2nd in this event behind the county's A team.

50 Breast - Brett's 37.53 time is seeded 10th. If he can beat 2 people, he could get into the final 8 and earn an individual medal. This is very possible as 2 swimmers are .05 seconds faster or less...and several more are only tenths of a second faster.

200 Yard Free Relay - Brett is on the C Relay, so they won't be going to the finals here, but it's good for him to swim something at this meet that isn't Breaststroke...

Breeze

08-21-2013, 08:43 AM

GRPA State Championship - July 27th @ Lanier Aquatics

Let me get this thread caught up a bit...

At the state meet, Brett didn't do exceptionally well. But honestly, I didn't expect him to. His practices were geared for him to peak the previous week, and he missed a couple of practices leading up to the GRPA State Meet, because of logistical issues. Here's how things went...

200 Yard Medley Relay - The team came in seeded 2nd, but there were several teams with sandbagged times. In their prelim heat, the backstroker was 6th out of 10 teams to the wall, Brett caught 1 of the swimmers in front of him to put them in 5th. The flyer passed all but the lead team (which was way out in front), but the freestyler lost a spot and the team was 3rd. With 4 heats and only 8 teams making the finals this was not a comfortable place to be...but as it turns out the team was seeded 6th headed into the finals...Brett's split in the relay was a 38.8 (while the pool was very slow this wasn't a good swim at all).

50 Breast - Brett was hoping to make the finals, but he'd have to do much better than his split in the relay...and he didn't. He went a 38.3. Unfortunately, had he matched his seed time, he would have made the finals...As it was he finished 11th (I think).

200 Yard Free Relay - This was an also ran event from the beginning. They had no shot at finals...Brett's split was pretty pedestrian, but in line with the other 3 swimmers. In fact, I don't think he had the slowest split of the four.

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200 Yard Medley Relay Finals - The backstroker again finished 6th. Brett swam a much better split, 37.8, but he was unable to make up ground. The flyer got the team to 4th, and was close to third, but the freestyler slipped back to 6th.

Breeze

08-21-2013, 10:04 AM

Long Course and Summer Season Review

When I look back on the long course and the summer seasons, it is pretty obvious that the kids did very well. When we look at the kids goals for the season that fact becomes pretty obvious....

Brett

For Long Course, Brett wanted to earn state cuts in all 3 breaststroke races, wanted to be on one of the Gold Team Relays at state (preferably the A relay), wanted to earn a medal in a year round meet, and wanted to get a cut outside of breast for state.

Well, Brett got all 3 breaststroke cuts, was on both A relays (though he didn't get to swim them due to the air quality issues in Savannah), he got a medal in the relay at the tune up event a couple weeks before state. The only goal he didn't reach was an outside cut, but I knew before the season started he wouldn't get that one.

For the Summer Season Brett wanted to win breast at county, earn an individual medal at the GRPA State Meet, and get on the podium with his relay at GRPA State.

Well he lost the Breast at county by .05 seconds - so he just missed, which also cost him his goal for making the podium at GRPA with the relay because the A county team won state (and Brett actually outswam the kid that beat him at county in every breast split, relay prelims, breaststroke event, relay finals - so Brett would have actually improved the teams overall times had he been on the A team). He did miss getting the individual medal.

Bear

In Long Course, Bear wanted to get a state cut, and he got 2, both long freestyles. It is looking more and more like this might be his niche in the sport. I was very concerned that he wouldn't get a cut so his accomplishment here and results at state were extremely satisfying for me, and it was easy to see how proud he was of himself.

In Summer, he was hoping to get on the GRPA state team, at least in the free relay....and as it turns out, he was 1 swimmer from getting on the relay team. Moreover, had he not screwed up his turn, he would have made the team.

Bailey

Bailey wanted to get state cuts for long course, and I was comfident she would. She did an excellent job in her flys and backs and she appears headed to a nice short course season for 11 year olds. I think she was a bit disappointed with her results at State, but that is a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things.

For Summer, Bailey wanted to get on the GRPA team as well, at least in Free Relay, just like Bear, and actually, had the Polo Fields coach not screwed up, she would have made the team.

Breeze

08-21-2013, 10:20 AM

2013 - 2014 Short Course Season

The Short Course Season started yesterday. The kids have all been moved up. The Gold Team has redefined the levels and Brett is swimming on the Sectional Advanced team, while the twins are on the Sectional team. Thankfully, they all practice at the same time. Also, the practices are later at night, so it makes getting homework done a little easier. On the flip side, it makes dinner a challenge. The kids practice from 6:30 to 8:30, meaning we don't get home until 9 or so.

We haven't discussed goals for the season, but we will soon, and once we do I'll post them...

Breeze

09-12-2013, 04:14 PM

Gold Time Trials @ Cumming Aquatic Center - 9/14

The season kicks off this weekend, and because this is just the time trials the meet will only be 1 day and sprint events...here is what the kids will be swimming...

Brett

100 Back - 1:23.17
100 Breast - 1:25.06
100 Free - 1.11.85

Bear

50 Fly - 38.44
50 Back - 38.72
50 Free - 32.46

Bailey

50 Fly - 33.44
50 Breast - 44.34
50 Free - 30.19

Breeze

09-24-2013, 11:39 AM

Gold Time Trials @ Cumming Aquatic Center - 9/14

Brett - Brett's perfect attendance at Summer practices and through the early part of the season, combined with some improved confidence has really started to pay off. While he's certainly not challenging for state cuts or to win any event, he is dropping a considerable about of time...

100 Back - 1:23.17 - A huge improvement, as his long deliberate strokes came in at 1:18.67, a drop of 4.5 seconds. He still needs to increase his stroke rate...(coaches comments to him too), and if he does he could drop another 3 or 4 seconds easy.

100 Breast - 1:25.06 - Big improvement here. I felt he would post a best time, because of his improvements during long course...but I didn't expect a 4.62 second drop. 1:20.44. Unfortunately, he still has a long way to go to get the state cut (at 13 the drop in time is significant, mostly because the average boy starts hitting puberty and gets bigger and stronger). Coach wants him to hold the glide a bit longer...says he's too quick out of the stroke and is wasting some of his speed.

100 Free - 1.11.85 - Another improvement...1:09.04, would have liked to see a bit more honestly, and he still needs to kick better, but this is a huge step in the right direction.

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Bear - Did ok, his stroke form is improving a bit, and I think we'll see some drops from him mid -season, but he's still working to iron out kinks...especially in the short races...

50 Fly - 38.44 - Rythem got off for him and he ended up adding just a touch of time 38.54

50 Back - 38.72 - Backstroke was still stiff, but form was better and he dropped time to a 37.94, and I could see him dropping another couple seconds in this once he relaxes a bit and really starts to race, rather than thinking about what he was doing.

50 Free - 32.46 - Coach has really been working on getting Bear to stretch out his reach in the frees, and it seemed to help, he posted a personal best 31.46, and I could see him dropping more time in this one as the season goes on.

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Bailey - Didn't have a great meet. She was very disappointed with her times, but I think this goes back to the fact she had such dramatic increases last season, I'm not sure she'll have the big drops this season, at least not until we get much further into it.

50 Fly - 33.44 - Did improve here, by about a quarter of a second. Would have been another half second faster if her dive wasn't sooooo deep. 33.18

50 Breast - 44.34 - started out ok, but faded late. Ended up with a 45.14...also had a deep dive here...

50 Free - 30.19 - again deep dive killed her time. Not sure she would have improved but it would have been close with a good dive. 30.99

Breeze

10-03-2013, 01:55 PM

2013 SCAT Fall Invitational @ GaTech 10/5 -10/6

Brett

200 IM – 2:56.92 – this one will be interesting as Brett is doing much better and his stamina is better, but his fly is still a work in progress (read slow).

100 FR – 1:09.04 – been doing good in free at practice during the interval training (even Bailey has said so…then it has to be true, because Bailey hates to complement Brett)

50 FL – 38.41 – see the 200 IM…also there is no 50 Fly at state anymore for Brett’s age group, so I’m guessing he’s in this race because he’s really not capable of swimming/racing longer Fly events and this one is a way to get his strength up.

50 BR – 38.38 – Brett isn’t doing the 100 Breast, because he just swam it last weekend. Not sure why he’s doing the 50 over the 200…

200 FR – 2:29.65 – Again, Brett’s free has been better at practice so he could improve here.

50 FR – 32.88 – Brett will set a goal to get under 30 seconds in this, but he won’t improve that much. Much of his improvement in the free mentioned above is stamina based and the ability to stay near top speed for longer periods of time, not the fact that his sprints are actually considerably faster. I’m guessing he’ll improve, but only by about a second.

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Bear

200 IM – 2:52.71 - Bear’s fly is starting to come together. Rhythm and timing is better, but the problem is he doesn’t have the stamina to maintain it for longer races. Not sure it will hold up here. Breast looks better and the back kick is much stronger (saw him at practice doing SLOB (Stream Line On Back). And he was passing a bunch of people.

100 Breast – 1:37.02 – Breast looks better, is it faster?

200 Back – NT – entered with a no time, but I’m pretty sure he has an old time in this one. His back looks pretty good, I expect a decent time here as long as he doesn’t revert back to his fishtail motion in this race.

200 Free – 2:30.79 – Bear has been working really hard in practice, and especially on the longer sprints. He’s still in that pudgy growing stage, but he’s pumped about the longer frees. He’s already said he’ll sprint the entire thing. We’ll see if he can hold up.

100 Fly – 1:26.59 – My bet…if he’s not too worn out at the start is he’ll have a nice opening 25…a good first half of the second 25, then things will slowly start falling apart. Actually wouldn’t surprise me if he got DQed…the new fly is much shorter/quicker moves and I don’t think he can do it for a 100…

500 Free - 6:36.38 – Bear says he’s going to sprint this the whole way. He’s already told me he did a 6:18 at the end of practice during interval training early this week…I’m not sure how much energy he’ll have left at the end of a 2 day meet with some tough events on the second day, but it will be interesting to watch.

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Bailey

200 IM – 2:49.98 – Bailey has tried to convince herself that she likes the longer / tougher swims. So she states she’s looking forward to this one. I think she’ll do well and as has been the case for a couple of years it will come down to Breaststroke. If it improves she’ll post a really good time.

100 Breast – 1:34.77 – don’t know what to expect. Her Breast kick sets are pretty fast, but when she swims the stroke something gets lost in translation and her speed disappears. I know it is a timing issue, but I don’t think she has it resolved yet.

200 Back – NT – Like Bear, I think she has a time, but I don’t know what it is off the top of my head. If her turns and starts are good, I expect a significant improvement here.

200 Free – 2:31.13 – she’s done ok in her intervals in practice, so she should improve here

100 Fly 1:15.17 – She’s really looking forward to this one, she is hoping to go under 1:10, I think 1:12 would be a pretty good goal.

100 IM – 1:17.43 – with a good start and turns she could drop a good bit of time here, if she isn’t too tired.

Breeze

10-04-2013, 10:56 AM

2013 SCAT Fall Invitational @ GaTech 10/5 -10/6

General Update

This event is going to be really long as all of Swim Atlanta has been invited in addition to all of Gold (2 of the 3 largest teams in the state). So from that aspect I'm really dreading this, as it will be a long day. That stated...I am very excited to see how the kids do. Now that kids practice all at the same time and they are in the pool for 2+ hours a day, I don't normally watch practice anymore. I did however see a bit of it on Tuesday, and all three were looking strong at the end of practice. I believe Bear is finally starting to get used to his increased size (though I wouldn't be surprised to see him grow again and soon), Bailey has always been talented, but she seems to be working harder in practice and seems to be more inclined to try the longer events, and Brett's dedication (hasn't missed a pracitce since May, a run over over 50+ practices) has really made him stronger...

Hoping for good things...

Breeze

10-09-2013, 11:53 AM

2013 SCAT Fall Invitational - Results

Brett

200 IM – 2:56.92 – So this race started with the 50 fly leg, and Brett's fly is still very stiff and painful to watch, but despite all that he is starting to understand the form, he just needs to get stronger with it and relax and race rather than focus on the form. He was last a way behind the field after the fly, but by the end of the back, he had caught the trailing swimmers, and by the end of the breast he was middle of the pack. He held on to his spot in free and posted a personal best of 2:46.58, an improvement of 10+ seconds...and still with the slow fly leg...

100 FR – 1:09.04 – Given this race was just 2 weeks removed from time trials I didn't expect a huge improvement here, but I was wrong...1:06.24, dropped 2.8 seconds in 2 weeks...

50 FL – 38.41 – After watching Brett swim this race, I take back what I said, I do think he is capable of swimming the 100 fly (maybe even the 200), but it would be painfully slow and potentially embarass him...so I'm glad he didn't have to do it. Finished with a 42.55...this is the one stroke that is still way below average

50 BR – 38.38 – Brett enjoyed this one, and he looked very smooth. Seemed to find a nice compromise between, stroke and glide. Dropped 1.5 seconds and posted a personal best 36.88 - he also finished 3rd overall for 13 year olds in this event.

200 FR – 2:29.65 – The improvements in this stroke in the 100 over the last two meets, carried over in this one, as he dropped 8.44 seconds from his personal best and finished with a 2:21.21 (some very interesting split information on this event that I'll post later at the bottom).

50 FR – 32.88 – Brett's sprints still need some work. Unlike the good sprinters with their powerful kicks creating a white froth in the water, Brett's feet barely break the surface...however, he is still improving with a drop of 1.81 seconds fora time of 31.07

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Bear

200 IM – 2:52.71 - Bear’s fly looked like Brett's...in was errie how similar they were. So obviously Bear has some work to do. As it turns out, he posted an almost identical time to his seed...2:52.74. His improvements in breast weren't apparent here, and his back was stiff. His free looked good, but his fly is worse than it used to be...for now...

100 Breast – 1:37.02 – After the fly leg in the IM I didn't expect much here, but he surprised me with a 1:35.73

200 Back – NT – Did pretty well here with a 2:45.26...only 3 seconds from a state cut...I still think that Bear has done this event in the past, but it appears that SwimAtlanta purged all the times he posted while swimming for them from the USASwimming site. I have an old spreadsheet somewhere with most of that data on it...I'll see if I can dig it up...

200 Free – 2:30.79 – This is one of the two events that Bear was looking forward to...and he did a very nice job with a 2:23.73...only 2 seconds from a state cut.

100 Fly – 1:26.59 – Painful...1:30.60...

500 Free - 6:36.38 – This was the one Bear was most excited about. He really felt he could sprint the entire thing. His coach however didn't want him to overwork at the start of the season, and told him to go out controlled. Of course that concept was lost on Bear and he isn't sophisticated enough right now to understand controlled vs. slow...and he took it out way to conservatively. We finally got his attention and he posted a strong tail end of the race to end up with a huge negative split and an excellent time of 6:20.64, and our first state cut of the season (not counting carryovers from long course). Here are his splits...with coaches comments...

50 - 36.80
100 - 41.51 (1:18.31) - what the heck was that...tell him to go faster
150 - 39.58 (1:57.89) - shakes his head, still needs to pick it up a little
200 - 38.79 (2:36.68) - That's better...
250 - 39.20 (3:15.88) -
300 - 38.17 (3:54.05) - Now he's gotten into a better rythem.
350 - 36.44 (4:30.49) - Holy crap...he has so much left it's ridiculous...tell him to go harder
400 - 36.35 (5:06.84) - keep pushing him to go hard...he's doing great
450 - 37.19 (5:44.03) -
500 - 36.61 (6:20.64) - Wow...what a finish...last two 100s...1:12.79, and 1:13.80...Opening 100 was 1:18.31, followed by 1:18.37 and 1:17.37

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Bailey

200 IM – 2:49.98 – didn't look great...bad dive, rested WAY to much on the back leg, and breast is still a challenge for her. Dropped 1.45 seconds 2:48.53

100 Breast – 1:34.77 – still needs work. A bit better than the end of the year last year, but way off when she was swimming the stroke well... 1:40.35

200 Back – NT – Good swim 2:43.82, but could have used a bit more effort here....

200 Free – 2:31.13 – All her talk about being excited to do the longer races appears to be more about convencing herself she can do it...as she actually added time here...2:31.54 - way behind the boys' times...which is surprising...

100 Fly 1:15.17 – Form is still good...arms appear to be getting a bit to wide so she isn't getting a deep strong, efficient pull, but she did manage to drop some time 1:14.84

100 IM – 1:17.43 – should have been DQed, started out with a quick Free stroke, but all the officials (and there were 3 that were right there looking at the race and any one of them could have seen it)...she said her goggles came off a bit and she panicked when it did, and she forgot what she was doing. She also figured she was DQed so she sort of coasted to a 1:21.91

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Here are the 200 Free Splits for Brett and Bear...

Brett Bear
50 33.57 33.43
100 35.44 37.48
150 36.68 36.54
200 35.52 36.28

other than the second 50 for Bear they were almost identical...
by the way...coach wasn't happy with that second 50...
told Bear he coasted too much...

Breeze

11-01-2013, 10:11 AM

General Update

We have our out of town event next weekend, in Spartenburg, SC. I'll post the events the kids are swimming shortly, but right now I have a couple of notes to pass along.

1. We received an email at the beginning of the week informing us that Bailey earned an all-star towel for swimming a AAA time in the 50 fly last short course season.

2. We are still waiting for confirmation, but right now it looks like Bear's swim at Long Course State in the 1500 was not only good enough to go to Short Course State this year, but to also qualify for Short Course Sectionals...

Breeze

11-05-2013, 11:25 AM

YSSC Thanksgiving Invitational – Nov 8 – 10, Spartanburg, SC

Bailey (better dives/starts/turns are one of the primary focuses of this meet)

200 IM – 2:48.53 – Breast is coming around, and coach has told her to push hard through the back portion…I think we’ll see an improvement here.

500 Free – Not thrilled about swimming this one…we’ll see if she pushes hard on it or not. If she does, she’ll improve, if she pouts she won’t.

400 IM – Entered but won’t swim it…This is an open event (everybody from all age groups swim the same race). They are only allowing 48 swimmers in the event, and she’s seeded lower than that because she is coming in with a NT…

200 Free Relay – Bailey will swim the third leg on the C relay team.

200 Back – NT – Bailey has this state cut, because of long course last season, but her coach wants her to earn the short course cut time. She thinks she can do it in this race.

50 Fly – 33.18 – Thinks she can get the cut here as well

100 Free – 1:07.57 – Working on getting higher elbows in this stroke and it is taking a while for her to get the benefit from the change. Not sure if it will show up in this race or not

200 Free – 2:31.12 – see the 100 above

50 Back – 35.20 – she thinks she’s primed to do well here – and I think she will as long as she doesn’t go too deep on the start and turn.

100 Fly – 1:14.84 – expect a similar time to her seed here (unless she is worn out from all the other events above)

Note: Because Bailey won’t be swimming the 400 IM, the coach is considering having her deck enter the 200 fly. She is again intimidated by that…we’ll see how it plays out.
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Bear (needs to work on racing all these new changes to his strokes…stop being so deliberate)

200 IM - 2:52.71 – If he attacks the race, should drop his time some. Fly is better, but it wears him out so the back half of that 50 may tell the tail on his results.

500 Free - 6:20.64 – Top seeded 11 year old, and he has more speed in him. When he swam this earlier this season he coasted too much. We’ll see how much he drops this time around.

400 IM – like Bailey, won’t be swimming it for exactly the same reason

200 Free Relay – Bear will lead off the C relay with 3 of his buddies from the team…

200 Breast – NT – I know he’s done this event before…but doesn’t matter his time coming in isn’t great. I expect he’ll do ok here. If he could somehow keep a steady rhythm, he might actually do good.

100 IM – 1:22.29 – could improve significantly here. Not saying he will, but if he pushes hard, he could drop several seconds.

100 Free - 1:10.83 – His free has looked good lately, hopefully it will translate to improved times.

1000 Free – Bear will not be swimming this event for the same reason he isn’t swimming the 400 IM…AND HE IS VERY BUMMED ABOUT IT….

200 Medley Relay – Bear has the fly leg on the C relay…

100 Fly – 1:26.59 – Bear’s fly is technically better, but I’m not sure it is faster than his Personal Best from the past. I do think we are approaching that number, and he’s certainly faster than he has been during the stroke transformation and growth spurt, hopefully he’ll get a new PB in this one. It would be very helpful for his self esteem

50 Free – 31.46 – Hoping he can get sub 31…

200 Back – 2:45.26 – If he can stay straight…and he goes hard, he should improve his time.

Note: Coach is looking for additional events for Bear to deck enter given the events that he didn’t qualify for…and 200 fly isn’t out of play…
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Brett

200 IM - 2:46.58 - It's all on the fly. A good opening leg and he'll get a personal best.

500 Free – 6:52.84 – I expect a HUGE improvement here. 30 seconds would not surprise me.

100 Breast – 1:20.44 – had a big improvement earlier this season, not sure we are ready for another one

200 Back – 2:58.13 – Brett’s been improvement significantly this season, hopefully, he continue here

400 IM – NT – Brett will be swimming this…and he’s not thrilled. If his improved fly will hold up for a 100, he could post a decent time

200 Free – 2:21.21 – he’s improved here already this season thanks to improved stamina…

200 Breast - 2:59.00 – Could see a drop coming in this one.

100 Fly - 1:29.94 – like Bear, his stroke is much better than it has been, but it hasn’t completely translated to speed. I hope that he gets a personal best here…it would be big for him

1000 Free – Like Bear he won’t be swimming this event.

Note: Coach is also looking for additional events for Brett…

Breeze

11-07-2013, 10:02 AM

YSSC Thanksgiving Invitational - General Update

Unfortunately, this update has nothing to do with swimming but rather the joys of traveling and hotels. On Tuesday night we received a call letting us know that the hotel the reserved our rooms with (the team hotel) is overbooked and they have relocated us to another hotel in the area. This is extremely infuriating for a ton of reasons...

1. We booked the hotel on Sept 6th and they failed to let us know about the overbooking until 3 days before we were supposed to be there, leaving us no time to find an alternative hotel.

2. We booked a 2 room suite for the 5 of us, and we've been placed in a regular room at the other hotel and it only saves us $10/night

3. We were told that they determined who needed to be moved based on date the reservations were made. Meaning that the "team rate" rooms were filled up before our booking on Sept 6th...however we've talked to 2 team members who are getting the team rate and booked a couple of days after we did.

4. The only response we are getting from the hotel is "Sorry, we overbooked"...no concessions of any kind...

This is going to place us in a different hotel away from the kids friends, we are going to be much more crowded and based on the hotel ratings we are going from a 4+ start to a hotel just barely over 3...

Breeze

11-07-2013, 12:10 PM

Breeze

11-19-2013, 03:39 PM

YSSC Thanksgiving Invitational - Results

Brett

200 IM - 2:46.58 – Did ok in the opening fly leg and posted a personal best 2:43.52

500 Free – 6:52.84 – Strong swim from Brett and his improvements even exceeded my expectations. He finished with a 6:09.02. A drop of 43 seconds, and the coach feels he can do even better now that he is learning how to swim this event.

100 Breast – 1:20.44 – overworked this swim…trying to work on undulating more in the stroke…but he forced it rather than allowing the rhythm to work for him…1:23.74

200 Back – 2:58.13 – The better kick, longer stroke and a bit faster arm rotation resulted in an improved time of 2:38.71

400 IM – NT – wasn’t thrilled about swimming it, but never complained, and never hesitated. He didn’t do great, but did ok…5:46.86

200 Free – 2:21.21 – Took this one a little to nonchalant…don’t know if the pace from the 500 threw him off, but he added a couple of seconds 2:23.76

200 Breast - 2:59.00 – After the poor swim in the 100 on Saturday, I didn’t hold much hope of an improvement in the 200…but this time Brett got in a nice rhythm, and really worked to keep up with the swimmer to his inside shoulder. He ended up not only improving, but dropping almost 8 seconds. 2:51.60

100 Fly - 1:29.94 – Form is better, but speed is lacking…1:40.59

1000 Free – He actually got into this event…and the improvement in the 500 carried over to this event. Turned most of his 50s in low 38s..and on the back half dropped the final few 50s to mid 37s. Finished with a 12:30.73...that is a drop of about 1 minute 40 seconds…Coach was thrilled with this swim and Brett has already requested to swim teh 1650 at the next meet.

Breeze

11-21-2013, 11:56 AM

YSSC Thanksgiving Invitational - Results

Bear

200 IM - 2:52.71 – DQed…Bear came into this event feeling bad. He’d struggled with a sore throat for days, including missing 2 practices (once to go to doctor to get a swap for strep, and once because he was just feeling too bad to swim). He wasn’t swimming great when he made an illegal flip turn going from back to breast. Clearly a lack of focus, and when he got out, he told us his throat was killing him and he ended up pulling a NS for the 500 Free.

500 Free - 6:20.64 – NS – see above.

400 IM – Didn’t make the cut of the top 48 swimmers.

200 Free Relay – By Saturday Bear was feeling much better. He ended up starting off the B relay and surprisingly…he swam the fastest split even with a cold start, posting a personal best 30.11

200 Breast – NT – Was doing extremely well in this race, but for some reason after swimming 175 yards, he saw me cheering and thought I told him to stop…so he did (ugh)…He still finished in a time that almost earned a state cut 3:18.36. (and yes I told him for at least the tenth time, after you’ve gone that far in a race, there is absolutely no reason to stop until you hit the final wall).

100 IM – 1:22.29 – Another good swim, bolstered by his improved breast 1:20.65.

100 Free - 1:10.83 – Huge improvement here. I think the strong swim in the relay really got his confidence up. Cut over 4 seconds. 1:06.52

1000 Free – as expected he didn’t swim.

200 Medley Relay – Ended up swimming back on the B relay and did a nice job swimming in the low 37s…

100 Fly – 1:26.59 – Another drop in time, and the form is getting better 1:24.14

50 Free – 31.46 – Didn’t get sub 31 in this race, fatigue most likely, but came close and his time in the relay is still a recognized personal best 31.19

200 Back – 2:45.26 –Not a good swim…very deliberate, and turns, while technically good, lacked explosion. Last race of the weekend so not completely unexpected (and he swam a bunch of races on Sunday with the deck adds listed below)…2:52.03

200 Free – 2:23.73 – Deck Entered - A good swim, but Bear didn’t like it…2:25.75

100 Back – 1:24.88 - Deck Entered – Awesome effort here. His turns were extremely strong (as commented by one of the assistant coaches I was standing with while the race was going)…really improved his time as well 1:19.79

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Breeze

11-26-2013, 10:25 AM

YSSC Thanksgiving Invitational – Results

Bailey

200 IM – 2:48.53 – Much better turns and her breaststroke was improved as well, leading to a big improvement 2:42.17.

500 Free – Bailey’s seed time coming in was a 6:47.13…I knew she had a time, just wasn’t sure what it was. Her increased endurance paid off here in a big way with a time of 6:21.40. That is a personal best, she is still behind her brothers here, but at least she is now in the same ballpark.

400 IM – DNP – no spot available as expected

200 Free Relay – Bailey was moved up to the B Free…her team finished fifth, but there was a timing error in her lane, so not sure about her split.

200 Breast – NT – Getting some better…it is a long haul yet…3:20.06

50 Fly – 33.18 – dropped about a quarter of a second 32.99, still needs to cut about half a second to get her cut.

100 Free – 1:07.57 –…had a solid swim in the 100 Free 1:07.83. Consistent, but I’m betting we see a drop here the next time she swims it.

200 Free – 2:31.12 – wasn’t feeling well on Sunday, had a bad headache…so didn’t swim

200 Medley Relay – Got into the B Medley swimming the fly. Was still dealing with a sick headache, but didn’t want to let the team down…so she swam it, and did an awesome job! I was thoroughly impressed. Her backstroker and breaststroker both swam poorly in the relay. The B team was trailing everyone around her, including the C team from Gold 2 lanes over. But by the time Bailey was finished with her leg, they had passed all 3 lanes on her end of the pool. It was a very strong swim, especially, with her not feeling well…

50 Back – 35.20 – still dealing with a bad headache, managed a 35.47…

100 Fly – 1:14.84 – Had a long break after the 50 back and her headache was gone by the time this event started. She was hoping to get a state cut, and she started strong. Turns were better, until the last one, and she managed a personal best 1:12.63, which is not only a state cut, but is 1.5 seconds under the needed time.

Breeze

11-27-2013, 07:41 AM

General Update

So a couple of things to report...

The Good News
Bailey has been doing extremely well in practice. So well in fact, she has been moved into the Sectional Advanced lanes. Currently, she is still considered a Sectionals swimmer, but while she is at practice she is swimming the harder sets. This is a trial period for her, and if she continues to do well over the next couple of weeks she'll be promoted to the Sectionals Advanced team.

The Bad News
Brett has developed some shoulder issues. It has been bothering him for a couple of weeks, causing him to have to shut down all upper body work in practice several days a week. We are icing the shoulder every night, and giving him Advil before practice. If the pain continues the coach is going to force him to just kick for 2 weeks and we'll be heading to a doctor to get it examined.

Breeze

12-10-2013, 11:54 AM

2013 Gold Esperanto Invite - @ Cumming Aquatic Center, Dec 13-15

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Brett

200 Medley : 2:43.52 - just started testing his bad shoulder with some limited two arm fly. This will be the only fly he swims during the meet

50 Free : 31:07 – Wants to get sub 31…

200 Free : 2:21.21 – Don’t think he can drop time in this one again…not yet.

100 Back : 1:18.67 – Arm rotation count is the key…

100 Breast : 1:20.44 – Coming off a bad time at the last meet in this one.

100 Free : 1:06.24 – He thinks that he can improve here based on some interval times he’s hit in practice

200 Back : 2:38.71 – See 100 Back

200 Breast : 2:51.60 – Big drop in the last meet, not sure he can improve on that, especially late in the weekend

1650 Free : NT – He’s in the mile, and honestly I think he’s a reserved excited. After his good swim in the 1000 last meet, he immediately asked his coach to do this one …he could do pretty well.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Bear

200 Medley : 2:52.71 – with improved strokes all around, I expect a drop here

50 Free : 30.11 – One of the coaches tweaked the way Bear breathes on the Free and his times in intervals have been dropping. If he can do it in a race, might go sub 30…

1000 Free : 12:59.00 – This is a made up time, to ensure Bear got to swim this event…Coach thinks the improved breathing technique might by itself lead to a 15 second drop in this event

400 Medley : 5:59.00 – This is a made up time, not sure what to expect, I doubt his form will hold through this entire event.

200 Free : 2:23.73 – Went 2:18 in an interval at the end of a 2 hour practice, then followed it up with a 2:24 after an 18 second rest.

200 Back : 2:45.26 – All about body position for Bear. If his legs are in the right spot he’ll drop time

50 Breast : 45.82 – His Breast has improved a bunch, should drop time here.

200 Breast: 3:18.36 – This time included a stop on the last 50 in the middle of the pool. If he swims through should drop time and maybe get a state cut

100 Free : 1:06.52 – Another area where Breathing changes could make a big impact.

100 Breast : 1:35.73 – End of the meet swim, not sure how much he’ll have left.

200 Fly : NT – This could be torture at the end of the meet…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bailey

200 Medley : 2:42.17 – She expects a drop here

50 Free : 30.19 – Doesn’t talk about her Free much right now, so not sure where she stands on this one.

1000 Free : NT – currently two swimmers from getting into this event. I think she’ll have to swim it though, she’s apprehensive…

200 Free : 2:31.13 – See the 50 Free, but her increased practice reps, should result in an improvement here.

200 Back : 2:43.82 – Says her back is getting better…

200 Fly : NT – Anxious about swimming this one, but Coach told her that if she swims it the way he expects, she could challenge the sectional cut…he expects her to get the state cut. Did work with her on Breathing every other stroke on fly for this race in particular.

400 Medley : NT – swam it in long course, and has been chomping at the bit to do it short course. For a girl that doesn’t like long swims, she is pumped for this one.

100 Free : 1:07.57 – Don’t know what to expect, but a guess would be about a full second drop.

100 Back : 1:16.96 – see 200 Back

100 Breast : 1:34.77 – she might be finally ready to break her really old Personal Best here…

50 Fly : 32.99 – Even at the end of the meet, I think she’ll drop time here.

Breeze

12-12-2013, 09:26 AM

General Update

There are quite a few funny things that happen at swimming. I don't report many because they are situational and wouldn't probably translate on the board. But yesterday one occurred that you'll probably find funny...

At 5:30 the kids were getting ready for practice. Brett was having a hard time finding a suit to wear (probably because he was distracted not because he doesn't have like 5 to choose from). He finally went upstairs to get dressed, started talked with Bear then a little while later came down and had his snack. The family got to the pool early, and the kids started visiting with their friends. About 3 minutes before practice the kids start to strip down and line up. Well...

Brett took off his warm up pants, and noticed that the bottom of his suit was pretty high on his thigh, which isn't uncommon as it can roll up. So he started to pull it down, only to find the waist started to come down too. Then he realized - IT WASN'T A SUIT AT ALL - IT WAS HIS UNDERWEAR. He had completely failed to put a bathing suit on...as his ADHD obviously was working overtime and he got distracted when he was getting dressed.

The wife was watching the whole thing from the stands...and she started laughing and shaking her head. One of the coaches walked by and said, "Brett?", and she responded..."Yep, he's the most intelligent, idiot you've ever met..."

Had a nice laugh about this when I got home. Brett was pretty sheepish about his boneheaded move.

Breeze

12-17-2013, 04:26 PM

2013 Gold Esperanto Invite - RESULTS

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Brett

200 Medley : 2:43.52 - just started testing his bad shoulder with some limited two arm fly. This will be the only fly he swims during the meet
RESULT: opened with a 40.23 fly leg…obviously not great, but given he hasn’t been practicing it and given his problems with the stroke as recently as the Summer, this is a great time. This improvement led to a personal best 2:40.70.

50 Free : 31:07 – Wants to get sub 31…
RESULT: Terrible dive ended chances of sub-31…but result was pretty much the same as personal best, so I think he’ll get sub 31 next time…31.25

200 Free : 2:21.21 – Don’t think he can drop time in this one again…not yet.
RESULT: I was wrong…dropped half a second…honestly, his kick was sloppy (feet bumping into each other), and he didn’t do any underwater work coming off the walls, he can drop more time in this – 2:20.68

100 Back : 1:18.67 – Arm rotation count is the key…
RESULT: Another terrible start, deep without good form on underwater streamline, but didn’t matter, swam a personal best by almost 1.5 seconds – 1:17.21

100 Breast : 1:20.44 – Coming off a bad time at the last meet in this one.
RESULT: This was an interesting one, Brett, who currently weighs about 85 lbs. was next to a kid that was easily 6’2” and 240…The huge kid had dynamic pullouts, but Brett was much faster in the middle of the pool. In long course this is no contest, Brett kills him. Here, every time Brett caught up, they’d get to the wall, and he’d be over a body length back. Brett has to improve the dolphin kick portion of the pull-out. He did get a personal best 1:20.01.

100 Free : 1:06.24 – He thinks that he can improve here based on some interval times he’s hit in practice
RESULT: Still sloppy kicks and poor effort coming off walls, but did drop 1.41 seconds…1:04.83

200 Back : 2:38.71 – See 100 Back
RESULT: So Brett was doing great for the first 145…but right before the turn for the 150 he starting looking back over his head to the wall…what he was actually doing was looking to see if anyone was finished. He had managed to lose count of his laps and wasn’t sure if he was finished. This cost him some time, then he did it again at the 200 point…in fact, he did it so much he turned to his belly to flip thinking he had another 50 to go, then figured out he didn’t and finished the heat on his stomach – which is completely illegal and he should have been DQed, but somehow all 800 or so people in the stands saw it, but the 4 officials on deck missed it. Personal Best (sort of) 2:37.54 (also Coach made him re-swim it for time at practice Monday and he got a 2:36 low…)

200 Breast : 2:51.60 – Big drop in the last meet, not sure he can improve on that, especially late in the weekend
RESULT: Looked really strong in this one. Blew away the field in his heat, and in fact, beat 2 kids from the faster heat. Posted a big time improvement at 2:45.48

1650 Free : NT – He’s in the mile, and honestly I think he’s a reserved excited. After his good swim in the 1000 last meet, he immediately asked his coach to do this one …he could do pretty well.
RESULT: Did extremely well. Coach was hoping for under 1:20 splits and thought something in the 1:15s, where he kept his 1000 last month would be awesome…
1:11.99
1:18.54
1:17.13
1:18.08
1:15.31
1:16.00
1:16.19
1:15.49
1:15.07
1:15.87
1:15.53
1:15.86
1:15.54
1:15.88
1:15.14
1:14.83

Total 20:40.00

Breeze

12-19-2013, 04:35 PM

2013 Gold Esperanto Invite - RESULTS

Bailey

200 Medley : 2:42.17 – She expects a drop here
RESULT: Got a drop of 3.59 seconds…Breast looked better. This is also a State Cut…2:38.59

50 Free : 30.19 – Doesn’t talk about her Free much right now, so not sure where she stands on this one.
RESULT: Like Brett, terrible dive did her chances of improvement in, but still swam right on personal best time 30.26

1000 Free : NT – currently two swimmers from getting into this event. I think she’ll have to swim it though, she’s apprehensive…
RESULT: She said she hated this race, and she was very grumpy when she finished. I think she was a little embarrassed because she didn’t match Bear’s pace, and the coach told her she didn’t do great…that she could have done much better. Regardless, I thought her 13:16.14 time was good…and it was good enough for a state cut (though I don’t think she wants to swim it at state…)

200 Free : 2:31.13 – See the 50 Free, but her increased practice reps, should result in an improvement here.
RESULT: Huge improvement. Dropped 5.70 seconds for a 2:25.43

200 Back : 2:43.82 – Says her back is getting better…
RESULT: like the 200 Free she had a huge drop…almost 6 full seconds..2:37.83 and her third state cut of the meet.

200 Fly : NT – Anxious about swimming this one, but Coach told her that if she swims it the way he expects, she could challenge the sectional cut…he expects her to get the state cut. Did work with her on Breathing every other stroke on fly for this race in particular.
RESULT: Went into it pretty confident and it showed. She had to swim against older kids because she was in the open, and she hung with girls 4 and 5 years older than her. She finished with a 2:44.95…and her forth state cut. In fact, this swim was so good she got her 12 year old state cut as well. This also meets one of her goals for the year (FINISH A 200 FLY)

400 Medley : NT – swam it in long course, and has been chomping at the bit to do it short course. For a girl that doesn’t like long swims, she is pumped for this one.
RESULT: She was excited, but tired…she did well posting a 5:40.47 for another state cut.

100 Free : 1:07.57 – Don’t know what to expect, but a guess would be about a full second drop.
RESULT: My guesses aren’t always this good 1:06.62…

100 Back : 1:16.96 – see 200 Back
RESULT: Like the 200, her comment that her back was getting better was dead on…dropped 3.57 seconds, finished with a 1:13.28 and just missed a state cut by .09 seconds…

100 Breast : 1:34.77 – she might be finally ready to break her really old Personal Best here…
RESULT: A huge improvement over her recent breaststroke swims. She had been going anywhere from 1:38 to 1:46 recently, in fact her personal best went back to 11/10/12, with regression immediately following that. Now her personal best is 1:32.28, also her opening 50 was a personal best for that distance as well.

50 Fly : 32.99 – Even at the end of the meet, I think she’ll drop time here.
RESULT: Poor dive, and clearly tired, but still an improvement 32.16. and yet another state cut.

Breeze

12-19-2013, 05:07 PM

2013 Gold Esperanto Invite - RESULTS

Bear (important note…I was with Bear for the Friday and Saturday swims, but I had to take Brett home on Sunday to get some school work done and to prepare for exams, so any writing on the Sunday swims is second hand accounts)

200 Medley : 2:52.71 – with improved strokes all around, I expect a drop here
RESULT: Huge improvement in the fly leg, finishing it in 35.27, had been swimming it in the 38 second range. Also dropped the Breast leg to under 50 seconds (48.86). Overall, managed to drop 13.73 seconds and finish in 2:38.98, and a state cut

50 Free : 30.11 – One of the coaches tweaked the way Bear breathes on the Free and his times in intervals have been dropping. If he can do it in a race, might go sub 30…
RESULT: Like Bailey and Brett, failed to get a PB here 30.67.

1000 Free : 12:59.00 – This is a made up time, to ensure Bear got to swim this event…Coach thinks the improved breathing technique might by itself lead to a 15 second drop in this event
RESULT: Already had a state cut in this (we believe), based on the time from Long Course States 1500 meter swim. But regardless, he really wanted to go out and swim a good time. He was too conservative again early, but finished very strong and posted a 12:28.33 good enough for a state cut this year, a state cut next year, and a sectional cut!!!

400 Medley : 5:59.00 – This is a made up time, not sure what to expect, I doubt his form will hold through this entire event.
RESULT: unbelievable swim for Bear. I knew he was getting better, but I had no idea he was capable of this. Swam a 1:17 mid fly leg (which is a personal best in the 100 fly by 7 seconds), 1:24 back (barely off of his personal best in the 100 back before November), 1:36 breast (less than half a second from his personal best in this one) and he closed with a 1:11.35 free (which is almost identical to his time at state in the 100 free last year). Finished with a 5:29.85, easily good enough for another state cut. Only 4 seconds from a 12 year old cut, and obviously sets the state for the rest of the results. He also thought it was pretty cool that he lapped a couple of his friends.

200 Free : 2:23.73 – Went 2:18 in an interval at the end of a 2 hour practice, then followed it up with a 2:24 after an 18 second rest.
RESULT: Didn’t seem as explosive as I would have liked, but still dropped a second 2:22.79.

200 Back : 2:45.26 – All about body position for Bear. If his legs are in the right spot he’ll drop time
RESULT: Looked significantly better than he has in the past in this one. Strong underwater work coming off the turn, but needs to work on coming out of the hole and swimming hard as he breaks the surface. That will come. Dropped 7.68 seconds for a 2:37.58 and another state cut.

50 Breast : 45.82 – His Breast has improved a bunch, should drop time here.
RESULT: As expected after the 400 IM, he didn’t just drop some time, he dropped a bunch 41.08…within striking distance of a cut.

200 Breast: 3:18.36 – This time included a stop on the last 50 in the middle of the pool. If he swims through should drop time and maybe get a state cut
RESULT: After the strong 400 IM and 50 Breast, I was really excited to see what he would do here. He finished with a 3:06.25…a 12 second drop, and beat the state cut by 8 seconds.

100 Free : 1:06.52 – Another area where Breathing changes could make a big impact.
RESULT: Dropped 2.24 seconds, 1:04.28

100 Breast : 1:35.73 – End of the meet swim, not sure how much he’ll have left.
RESULT: like the other breast swims, big improvement -7.27. 1.28.46, also within striking distance…

200 Fly : NT – This could be torture at the end of the meet…
RESULT: didn’t expect much here. Guess I should have…blew it away..2:44.47…State cut for 11 and 12 year olds…

Breeze

01-08-2014, 01:11 PM

General Update

At the beginning of this season I was looking at the new times for State Cuts and for Sectional Cuts and I noticed that Bear's strong swim at Long Course State in the 1500 Meters was under the time for a 1650 Sectional Cut using the conversion methods. We weren't sure if that was applicable or if he was going to have to swim the event to qualify, but yesterday we confirmed that he is qualified for Sectionals in the 1650...so he'll be swimming the 1000 and the 1650 at the Sectional Meet in March.

I have to say I'm so proud of him. If you don't recall, last year in short course, Bailey started late due to a shoulder injury, but came on like gangbusters and earned several Sectional Cuts...(6, I think). Bear was killing it at the beginning of the season, but then he hit a growth spurt and really struggled, with the exception of the 500, where he was challenging for the Sectional Cut from the first time he swam it. Twice he finished within a blink of an eye of earning the cut, but he never actually got it. We allowed him to swim at Sectionals thinking the big stage, adrenalin, etc. would spur him on to the cut, but instead he put too much pressure on himself and he had a terrible swim. This year he's earned the rigth to be there...Twice...

Breeze

01-13-2014, 12:45 PM

Times Update

Let’s get some general housekeeping out of the way. Below, please find the Short Course State Cut times and personal bests for each of the kids…

Bailey

50 Free 29.09 30.19
100 Free 1:04.29 1:06.62
200 Free 2:19.09 2:25.43
500 Free 6:13.89 6:21.40
1000 Free 13:24.29 13:16.14
50 Back 33.89 35.20
100 Back 1:13.19 1:13.41
200 Back 2:40.09 2:37.83
50 Brst 38.59 44.34
100 Brst 1:23.89 1:32.28
200 Brst 3:04.59 3:20.06
50 Fly 32.59 32.16
100 Fly 1:14.59 1:12.63
200 Fly 3:04.99 2:44.95
100 IM 1:13.29 1:17.43
200 IM 2:39.19 2:38.58
400 IM 5:51.89 5:40.47

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Bear

50 Free 29.19 30.11
100 Free 1:04.39 1:04.28
200 Free 2:21.38 2:22.79
500 Free 6:25.89 6:20.64
1000 Free 13:27.39 12.28.33 12:34.89 (sectionals)
50 Back 34.49 37.18
100 Back 1:14.69 1:19.79
200 Back 2:42.99 2:37.58
50 Brst 39.39 41.08
100 Brst 1:26.69 1:28.46
200 Brst 3:14.29 3:06.25
50 Fly 32.79 38.44
100 Fly 1:17.09 1:24.14
200 Fly 3:14.49 2:44.47
100 IM 1:14.19 1:20.65
200 IM 2:39.99 2:38.98
400 IM 6:01.39 5:29.85

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Brett

200 Brst 2:38.29 2:45.48

Note: Sectional Qualifying is based on age group, so the time to qualify is the same for 11 year olds as 12 year olds. Bailey and Bear are in a prime position to get several sectional cuts next year when they are on the top end of the age group.

Izulde

01-13-2014, 09:41 PM

Breeze

01-14-2014, 04:59 PM

So, to refresh my memory, there's Short Course State, Short Course Sectional, Long Course State, Long Course Sectional cuts?

Great work by all three of your kids, by the way. Wonderful to see their improvements!

Izulde,

Thanks for checking back in...so for the season we have:

Short Course State - @ mid February
Short Course Sectionals - @ mid March

Long Course State - @ mid July

There are other meets if the times are good enough like Jr. Nationals, Nationals, and Zones

Zones is an interesting meet, kids have to apply to be considered, and then based on their performance in the State Meet applicants are chosen to swim...all in all, the Zone Team will only have something like 6 kids/age group (1 swimmer/stroke, +2 wildcard/high point selections)...Brett's good friend Jack Dolan swam Zones last year. Zones comes at a bad time for the twins as it is a Long Course Meet and they will have just aged up...it is good for Brett, but he needs to grow before it will matter.

Breeze

01-15-2014, 12:57 PM

SCAT Winter Kickoff @ GaTech - 1/18-1/19

This will be the last meet for the twins until the state meet in February. They have enough State Cuts, so the coach doesn’t want them to race the Last Change Meet 2 weeks prior to State, so their practice taper will be more effective. Brett on the other hand will swim the Last Chance, though he likely won’t earn a cut. Like the coach told him, time drops for 13 year olds is significant, and you still haven’t grown yet, so earning a cut will be very difficult.

Unlike most of our meets during the season the one this weekend is a prelim/final meet, and therefore a very important one in the eyes of the coaches. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this in the past, but the prelim/finals format prepares the kids for big meets (State, Sectionals, etc.) which require kids to qualify for the final swim later that same evening. In this meet, all prelims will be swim by age group (i.e. 11/12, 13/14), however, all event finals will be swum based on age only. In other words, there will be an 11 year old finals, 12 year old finals, 13 year old finals, etc. This means the likelihood of making finals for us goes way up. Unfortunately for us, this means we’ll be at the pool for warm ups around 6, the meet will run and finish around 1, then we are supposed to be back at the pool at 5:30. Tech is a good hour drive from the house, so we are sort of in a no-win situation when it comes to finding ways to relax and stay comfortable during that window. We’ve contemplated getting a hotel room that we can retreat to, but that will be very expensive…anyway…here is what the kids will be racing…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bailey

200 Fly – 2:44.95 – Only 8 kids in the 11/12 age group are swimming the prelim, and Bailey is the top ranked 11 year old. 2 do come in with NT and may be very fast, but looks like we’ll be in this final…

100 Back – 1:13.41 – seeded 15 overall and third for 11 year olds

500 Free – 6:21.40 – this is a timed finals (don’t have to do it twice). She should drop a decent amount of time if she swims it hard. I have a sneaky suspicion she might just mail it in to conserve energy for the finals later in the day

100 IM – 1:17.43 – seeded 21 overall and ninth for 11 year olds. However, this seed time is from March of 2013…I could easily see a 5 second drop, which would put her third (assuming everyone else swims around their seed time)

100 Fly – 1:12.63 – eighth overall and first for 11s.

50 Back – 35.20 – 15 overall and third for 11s, but again this seed time is from March of last year. I could see a time in the 33s…

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bear

100 Back – 1:19.79 – Bear is the twelfth eleven year old and 21 overall

50 Fly – 38.44 – Bear hasn’t swum this since he cleaned up his fly so he should drop a good bit of time. I could see him drop 3 seconds, if he does he has a change to get in the top 10 and make finals

500 Free – 6:20.64 – Did it way back in October and really went out way to easy. Should drop around 10 seconds

100 Fly – 1:24.14 – seeded eighth for 11 year olds

200 Free – 2:22.79 – seeded third for 11 year olds and 10 overall

100 Breast – 1:28.46 – big drop last month in this one, not sure he’ll drop again, but he’s seeded 9 for 11 year olds and 16 overall

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Brett

200 Breast – 2:45.48 – Been dropping time in this one all season, big fly kick on pullouts and he’ll drop more time. Currently seeded third for 13 year olds

200 IM – 2:40.70 – Big drop last month in this one, not sure if we’ll drop again.

500 Free – 6:09.02 – might end up racing Bear in this one (event is 11 & over)…

200 Free – 2:20.68 – dropped in this one last time out, but I thought he was a little conservative early. I do think he can drop here again. Especially, given he’s been doing 100s in interval training at practice in 1:05s…I think a 2:18 is very reachable

100 Breast – 1:20.01 – seeded 8 for 13 year olds…

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Breeze

01-21-2014, 02:31 PM

SCAT Winter Kickoff – PRELIMINARY RESULTS

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Bailey

200 Fly – 2:44.95 – Only 8 kids in the 11/12 age group are swimming the prelim, and Bailey is the top ranked 11 year old. 2 do come in with NT and may be very fast, but looks like we’ll be in this final…

Bad Dive – as usual…but almost immediately fell in behind the two very good 12 year olds. Hung with them for the first 75, then started to fall back. Breathed too much in the last 50, and really seemed to wear out, but improved her time by 1.59 seconds to a 2:43.36. She also was the top seeded 11 year old heading into finals.

100 Back – 1:13.41 – seeded 15 overall and third for 11 year olds

Nice swim…seemed a little to deliberate, but still improved her time by 1.55 seconds – 1:11.86. Qualified third for finals, and earned a state cut.

500 Free – 6:21.40 – this is a timed finals (don’t have to do it twice). She should drop a decent amount of time if she swims it hard. I have a sneaky suspicion she might just mail it in to conserve energy for the finals later in the day

Must better effort than normal…dropped 9.23 seconds. Finished in 6:12.17, and was the second 11 year old overall, and earned a state cut.

100 IM – 1:17.43 – seeded 21 overall and ninth for 11 year olds. However, this seed time is from March of 2013…I could easily see a 5 second drop, which would put her third (assuming everyone else swims around their seed time)

The estimate on the drop was pretty good. Dropped 4:48 seconds, to finish 1:12.95, finished third and earned a state cut.

100 Fly – 1:12.63 – eighth overall and first for 11s.

Dropped 1.07 seconds, following a terrible dive, finished with a 1:11.56 and in second.

50 Back – 35.20 – 15 overall and third for 11s, but again this seed time is from March of last year. I could see a time in the 33s…

33.68, earns a state cut…and is in third heading into finals

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bear

100 Back – 1:19.79 – Bear is the twelfth eleven year old and 21 overall

Dropped 3 and a half seconds to a 1:16.33, finished tenth…so just got into finals.

50 Fly – 38.44 – Bear hasn’t swum this since he cleaned up his fly so he should drop a good bit of time. I could see him drop 3 seconds, if he does he has a change to get in the top 10 and make finals

I was afraid that a good bit of Bear’s fly improvement was tied to his stamina, and that it might not translate to a sprint. He wasn’t able to match Bailey’s sprint times, but he exceeded my estimate of a 3 second drop. He actually dropped almost 4 seconds finishing with a 34.66, and he qualified for finals.

500 Free – 6:20.64 – Did it way back in October and really went out way to easy. Should drop around 10 seconds

Bear was pumped for this one, went out much harder and it was obvious early he would drop time. The question was only how much…as it turned out my 10 second drop projection was only half right. He dropped 20.64 seconds and finished with a time of 6:00.00…

100 Fly – 1:24.14 – seeded eighth for 11 year olds

Good swim here…his form was strong and he held it through the race. Even saw spurts where he pushed himself not to breath so he could go faster. Dropped 7.29 seconds, finished second, earned a state cut with a time of 1:16.85

200 Free – 2:22.79 – seeded third for 11 year olds and 10 overall

Was hoping his strong distance frees might provide the confidence needed to really take this out fast. He finished his race at 2:20.69, dropping 2.1 seconds and finishing third.

100 Breast – 1:28.46 – big drop last month in this one, not sure he’ll drop again, but he’s seeded 9 for 11 year olds and 16 overall

New form didn’t really hold up here. He was actually fractionally slower than his seed time. 1:28.78, but he still qualified for finals.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brett

200 Breast – 2:45.48 – Been dropping time in this one all season, big fly kick on pullouts and he’ll drop more time. Currently seeded third for 13 year olds

Brett was excited to lead off with Breast…he was hoping to stay with the other 11 year olds…and he did a pretty good job dropping 2.26 seconds and finishing with a time of 2:43.22…third in prelims.

200 IM – 2:40.70 – Big drop last month in this one, not sure if we’ll drop again.

I wasn’t sure he could drop more time in this one, but he not only dropped time, he dropped a bunch of time…finished with a 2:36.04…dropping 4.66 seconds…first alternate in finals…

500 Free – 6:09.02 – might end up racing Bear in this one (event is 11 & over)…

Thankfully, Brett and Bear didn’t race each other, unfortunately, they did swim in separate pools at the same time. I only got to watch the first quarter or so of Brett’s race, which started out good. He was clearly pushing himself this time around. After I moved to count for Bear, I kept an eye on Brett’s times, and he dropped. 9.68 seconds and got under the 6 minute mark…5:59.34…

200 Free – 2:20.68 – dropped in this one last time out, but I thought he was a little conservative early. I do think he can drop here again. Especially, given he’s been doing 100s in interval training at practice in 1:05s…I think a 2:18 is very reachable

The strong 500 gave me hope on this one…and it was well placed hope. He dropped 7.39 seconds and posted a 2:13.29…he qualified for finals in this one.

100 Breast – 1:20.01 – seeded 8 for 13 year olds…

Overworked the start, and still needs stronger pullouts, but still dropped 2.3 seconds and finished with a 1:17.71…qualified seventh in the prelims.

400 IM – 5:46.86 – I missed this one in the initial write up for the meet. Sorry about that…

Given the fact that he has improved across the board, and his stamina just keeps getting better, I expected an improvement here…but nothing like this! Brett dropped time in every split of every stroke for the entire 400. Overall he dropped 26.67 seconds and finished with a 5:20.19.

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Breeze

01-22-2014, 11:26 AM

SCAT Winter Kickoff – FINALS RESULTS

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Bailey

200 Fly – 2:43.36 – Coming into the finals, Bailey was clearly the top seed for 11 year olds. Even with a bad dive in the finals she had the lead at the 25 yard mark. By the 50 yard mark, she was up by several body lengths, and she just kept pressing her advantage. The only catch in the entire race was a very slow turn at the 125 mark. She apparently swallowed some water and held on the wall for a second to clear her throat. She ended up winning by a considerable margin and dropped her time an additional 3.03 seconds to a 2:40.33…

100 Back – 1:11.86 – Came into the prelim seeded fourth and finished prelims third. I was hoping for a bit more effort in this one, but given the fact that the 200 fly and the 100 back were close to together, and in finals, there was only 1 heat per age group separating the events. I expected the 200 Fly to have taken too much out of Bailey for an improvement...I was right as she added less than a half a second to post a 1:12.13…but she did finish second overall in the event.

100 IM – 1:12.95 – Fly/Back split in this one was a very good 32.22…the breast wasn’t great, but she held her ground, and finished the back half in 39.57. Dropping time down to 1:11.79 a full 5.64 second improvement from the seed time. Finished third overall

100 Fly – 1:11.56 – came into finals seeded second, and wanted to win this one…but a bad dive did her in. The girl she was chasing for the win had a body length lead on her out of the chute, and she could never overcome it. She did however, drop more time, finishing with a 1:11.24, and a second place finish.

50 Back – 33.68 – Real tight race, and Bailey had an excellent start…let me repeat that Bailey had an excellent start!!! Unfortunately, she crowded the wall on the turn or she might have won the event. As it turns out she dropped .05 seconds 33.63 and finished fifth in an extremely tight race. She missed third by .12 seconds.

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Bear

100 Back – 1:16.33 – came into the race seeded tenth, managed to drop more time (barely)…1:16.10 and finished eighth.

50 Fly – 34.66 – did a great job in prelims…but needed to drop another couple of seconds to get a state cut. He didn’t manage it, finishing with a time of 33.91, but he did finish third overall after entering the event seeded 12 and entering the finals seeded 5.

100 Fly – 1:16.85 – finished prelims seeded second in a very tight heat with the top 5 swimmers being bunch up based on time. Bear really wanted to win this one, and was excited about the race because it was going to be so tight. Unfortunately, the top seed scratched, so Bear didn’t get to race him…but it probably wouldn’t have mattered. Bear got a quick start and had excellent form from the beginning. He was trying not to breath, but even when he did it appeared his chin wasn’t even coming completely out of the water. He starting pulling away early, and completely dominated the field. He dropped another 5+ seconds to post a 1:11.71, and won the race by that same amount. The runner up swam almost the exact time Bear from prelims 1:16.87…This also earned Bear a state cut.

200 Free – 2:20.69 – Another strong swim from Bear, only losing to a kid who will be 12 in a couple of weeks and another teammate that is a big powerful kid with a great freestyle. Dropped another 3 seconds finished with a 2:17.19.

100 Breast – 1:28.46 – 1:28.78 was the seed time from prelims, and he backed up further. He was clearly tired and like I mentioned in his prelim, the form was slightly off. He added a 1.5 or so seconds to finish 1:30.62

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Brett

200 Breast – 2:43.22 – Did a better job keeping up with the 2 bigger 11 year olds in the finals. Seemed his stamina was better as he improved slightly…dropping just under 1 second to a 2:42.45, but he was much closer to the leaders as they were just 3 seconds ahead of him this time.

200 Free – 2:13.29 – Couldn’t match the swim from the morning, but was close with a 2:14.32.

100 Breast – 1:17.71 – Again, couldn’t match the swim from the morning but was close with a 1:18.26

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Breeze

01-23-2014, 08:52 AM

General Update

Following his strong showing at the meet this weekend, Bear has been promoted to Sectionals Advanced. He's now using resistance bands during dry land and will practice on Fridays.

Breeze

01-30-2014, 09:10 AM

General Update

Due to the weather practice was cancelled on Tuesday and Wednesday, which really impacts the preperations for State. In order to get the water time back up, the kids will practice on Sunday this week.

Breeze

02-04-2014, 10:29 AM

Lanier Aquatics Last Change Meet – 2/7-9 @ Lanier Aquatics

There is some confusion as to the order of events in this meet. The sign-up sheet shows one thing, while the psych sheet shows something different. So I’m not sure what order these swims will be in…
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Brett

200 Breast – 2:42.45 – This is probably Brett’s only shot at a state cut, and it really isn’t a good one, considering he’s dropped so much time already and he still needs to cut another 4.2 seconds. He’s been opening his 200s around a 1:18…he’d have to basically hold that pace for the second 100 to get the cut. I don’t see it happening…he does come into this seeded 4.

100 Fly – 1:29.94 – Due to shoulder issues early in the season, Brett has been held out of fly. He’s now back to swimming it (though he still doesn’t practice it as hard as he should). His form is much improved, but because he doesn’t swim it much, he’s strength and confidence in this stroke is lacking.

200 Back – 2:37.54 – Improving soooo much in the back. Still needs to work on keeping the legs out and a steady consistent kick, as well as a faster arm rotation, but this is miles from where it used to be.

100 Free – 1:04.83 – Brett is confident he’s gone 1:02 at practice during interval training, and coach has been busting his chops about kicking harder in practice sets. Hoping he’ll go 1:02…

100 Back – 1:17.21 – See the 200 Back…

50 Free – 31.07 – Couldn’t even venture a guess as to the last time Brett swam this. My vague recollection says it was in October…he could drop some time here…fingers crossed – (I looked it up…his best time is October…last time he swam it was in December…)

100 Breast – 1:17.71 – Though this is Breast and you might think Brett could have a shot at a cut here…you’d be wrong. This race is still short enough that the big kids with bad form can muscle through and post good times. To get a cut in this one Brett would need to drop almost 5 full seconds. He’s just not strong enough to do that yet.

500 Free – 5:59.34 – Dropped 10 seconds in January when he swam it, but he didn’t have anyone giving him signals based on his pace. Might be able to drop a little more with some prodding, but to get a cut, he’d have to drop 32 seconds…(this is where the lack of a good kick kills him)

1000 Free – 12:20.73 – Last swam this in November. He’s improved on his 500 free a bunch in the interim, and his confidence in the long swims has gotten better so he could drop a significant amount of time here, but to get a cut it would have to be just over a full minute. I’m thinking he’ll drop around 30 seconds.

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Breeze

02-10-2014, 02:20 PM

Lanier Aquatics Last Change Meet – RESULTS

So the jack-legs that run Lanier Aquatics stopped updating the Meet Mobile app about halfway through Saturday's swimming. While I have times written down, I prefer to wait until I have the semi-official time before writting up my results. In this case, I'll probably have to wait until the official times are loaded at USA Swimming, because I don't see the app getting the data pushed to it now.

Breeze

02-13-2014, 02:37 PM

Lanier Aquatics Last Change Meet – RESULTS
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The LA pool is a slow one, and it didn’t help that they utilized the first two lanes for warm down, creating a lot of chop in the water. Brett was also forced to swim Open the entire weekend, which meant he was swimming against kids from 13 to 18…this created even more chop as the bigger kids disturb the water more, and when you only weigh 88 lbs, waves can bounce you around a bit.

Brett

200 Breast – 2:42.45 – The breaststroke events were the ones most impacted by the choppy water. Brett was constantly buffeted sideways and it really impacted his speed and form. He came in slower with a 2:45.09.

100 Fly – 1:29.94 – Nice effort here for Brett. Still breathed too much, but even with that he finished with a 1:22.18, and he can go even faster. If he’ll sell out in practice and really work hard on the fly during those sets, I suspect he’ll be within a few seconds of the twins by end of long course.

200 Back – 2:37.54 – Another personal best 2:35.40.

100 Free – 1:04.83 – Was hoping for 1:02, didn’t come close to that, settled for a 1:04.72, and was disappointed.

100 Back – 1:17.21 – Major improvement here. The 200 gave him confidence, and I told him that his 200 Back would have been even better if he had taken the one overhand stroke going into the wall each turn. He did in this race, and it allowed him to win his heat and beat 2 kids that were ahead of him off the start. He passed one on the second turn and the other on the third turn, then held them off into the wall. 1:12.87

50 Free – 31.07 – Wanted to go sub 30…just missed – 30.33.

100 Breast – 1:17.71 – Same issues here as the 200, added time with a 1:19.01. Was very frustrated with this.

500 Free – 5:59.34 – Set a nice pace, improved again in this one 5:55.14. Could have done even better, but he doesn’t do underwater work on the turns and he circle swims which costs him about 15 seconds.

1000 Free – 12:20.73 – Like the 500, circle swimming and lack of effort underwater off turns costs him speed, but still dropped 15 seconds – 12:05.69

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Breeze

02-17-2014, 10:34 AM

2014 Georgia 14&Under Short Course Championships - Feb 21-23 @ GaTech

The short course state championships are this weekend and Bailey and Bear will be swimming the maximum 9 individual events. Due to the nature/magnitude of this meet, and the relative position of the twins, I'm going to try and be more specific in my writeups in order to help you get a better overall understanding of where things stand (which probably means I'll thoroughly confuse you). I haven't determine yet how I'll outline the information...but I'm thinking in addition to providing you the standard seed times, seed locations, I may also provide how close they are to moving up/down based on performance.

This event will be a prelim final meet for each individual age group (10U, 11, 12, 13, 14). So the twins will be swimming in 11/12 heats, but actually only racing 11 year olds. The shorter races (all 50s, 100s, and the 200 Free and 200 IM) will be raced prelims with the top 10 returning in the evening for finals. The remaining races will all be timed finals with the top 20 swimmers (A & B finals), regardless of age, swimming in the evening.

Each swimmer that finishes in the top 10 will earn points based on the following scale...11-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, with medals awarded for a top 3 finish. Relays earn points based on the following...48-42-40-38-36-34-32-30-28-26--22-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2. (I don't know yet if either of the twins will qualify for a relay...I doubt it, but we might sneek into one).

Breeze

02-17-2014, 12:08 PM

2014 Georgia 14&Under Short Course Championships - Feb 21-23 @ GaTech

Before I post the kids times/seeds, it is important to note, coming into the State Meet that times can fluctuate significantly. Kids are prepping for this event all season, and while most coaches will allow a slight taper going into a typical meet, they try to keep the effort levels high, so the final taper for the state meet will be that much more effective. Obviously different coaches and different teams have their own philosophy on this, but for the most part this is the only significant taper the kids receive. Some kids that respond well to the taper will drop large amounts of time in the meet…hopefully, my kids respond well. The two snow storms in Atlanta really impacted the team’s taper routine, so we’ll have to see how the kids are impacted.
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Below you will see the following type of information outlined…50 Free : 45/25 – 30.05 (28.97/10) : (30.09) –

Here is how to read it 50 Free is the event, 45/25 – the 45 is the overall seed in the event (usually that means 11 &12 year olds), 25 is the seed for 11 year olds. The (28.97/10) is the seed time for the person in this case in tenth place (the /# may change based on the race and seed), so a point of reference for what it would take to move up into points, medals, etc. (it is possible that there will be more than 1 point of reference provided. The final (30.09) in this example is the time of the 11 year old behind the kids. Hope that is clear enough…

Breeze

02-17-2014, 12:36 PM

2014 Georgia 14&Under Short Course Championships - Feb 21-23 @ GaTech

DAY 1

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Bailey

200 IM* : 42/20 - 2:38.58 (2:33.37/10) : (2:38.91) – Bailey is swimming well, and if her breaststroke holds up, and she gets a better dive than usual, I could see a significant improvement, but I don’t think she comes close to earning points (top 10) in this one. Similar to golf, it isn’t how much you are behind, but how many are between you and the lead. Even if she were to drop 5 seconds, someone between 11 and 19 will probably drop 4 and stay in front of Bailey.

200 Back : 44/19 – 2:37.83 (2:35.27/10) : (2:38.57) – This one is intriguing. There are quite a few kids between Bailey and the top 10, but this time rather than being 5 seconds off the pace, like she is in the 200 IM, she’s only 2.5 off. Also I recognize several swimmers fractionally ahead of Bailey, and I know that Bailey has historically beat them. With a good clean start and good turns, I expect Bailey will challenge for top 10, but my guess would be 12-14.

100 Fly : 34/10 – 1:11.24 (1:10.70/9) (1:06.99/3) : (1:11.76) – Bailey is pretty excited about this one. She really wants to make finals, even if she finishes tenth. She has set a goal to go 1:09.XX, and I think she can do it, as the coach has worked on her not overreaching with her arms, which allows a quicker transition through the stroke and puts her arms in a more powerful position at the beginning of the pull. I don’t think she can get anywhere close to medals, as I expect it will take a 1:05 high to be in the running. I hope she cleans up her dive a bunch this week in practice, or she might find herself just outside of the top 10.

*Note: I was a bit surprised they elected to put Bailey in the 200 IM and not the 1000 Free. While Bailey hates the 1000 free she would have been seeded ninth with a strong possibility of staying in the top ten and earning points for the team. My best guess is they were saving her for the 200 fly the next day…

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Bear

200 Back : 32/6 – 2:37.58 (2:37.48/5) (2:36.50/3) : (2:36.84) – This was surprising to me. Bear is already seeded in a point position, and he is within striking distance of a medal. I don’t expect that he’ll get a medal, but he should earn points. I hope the coach works with him on exploding out of the hole. He is strong underwater, but typically there is a transition delay from underwater to above water that he’ll need to eliminate to get down into medal territory.

100 Fly : 36/7 – 1:11.71 (1:10.73/6) (1:09.41/3) : (1:12.20) – Again surprised to see Bear in a point position, and again he has an outside shot at a medal. Two seconds in a 100 Fly is easily doable, but if I had to guess, I figure he’ll finish around his seed location and earn more points for the team.

1000 Free : 49*/3 -12:28.33 (11:57.85/2) (11:54.45/1)** : (12:37.67)*** - Bear comes into this one in third and he hasn’t swum it in two months. Brett and Bear have been very close in their 1000s this season, and Brett just dropped time down to around 12:05 from 12:30. So maybe Bear can get down to around a 12:00.00. If he can at least hold on to his seed he’ll earn a medal. The biggest problem with this event is not racing the people that you are competing with…because this is swum 14U, Bear will have no idea which kids in the race are 11 and therefore won’t know who to actually “race” in the event. He’ll simply have to set a pace, and hope it is fast enough.

*This event is swum 14 and under so Bear is seeded 49 out of all kids at the meet.

**The top seed in this event has not swum the 1000 this year. The time was a coach entered figure, based on a guess of what the child might be able to do. That isn’t to say that the number is completely bogus, the child in question swims a very fast 500 Free and may be able to hit the time listed, but it is interesting to note.

***The child seeded behind Bear is from the same team as the top seed, and he didn’t swim the 1000 this season either. Therefore he may be significantly faster or slower than the time listed, another interesting note.

Breeze

02-18-2014, 09:02 AM

2014 Georgia 14&Under Short Course Championships - Feb 21-23 @ GaTech

Day 2
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Bailey

100 Back : 39/14 – 1:11.86 (1:10.25/10) : (1:11.92) – Like the 200 back there are a number of girls ahead of Bailey that she has beaten regularly in the past. Hoping she’s able to really make a charge here and compete for a top 10 spot.

50 Fly : 43/18 – 32:16 (31.41/10) : (32.19) – Coach is really excited about Bailey’s new arm position in the fly. He thinks she's in a good position to improve, it could come down to her dive again…

400 IM : 38/11 – 5:40.47 (5:38.52/10) : (5:41.99) – Bailey’s breaststroke has to be tight for this event. If it is, she’ll do well…if not, she’ll fade back in the pack. In case you were wondering…to get in the top 3 and earn a medal Bailey would have to swim around a 5:26…
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Bear

200 Free : 42/12 – 2:17.19 (2:14.70/10) : (2:19.89) – Bear is in a really interesting spot here…he is several seconds behind the top 10, and couple seconds ahead of 13…He could get into the finals in this event, as I’ve seen him step up in big moments in the past. I just hope he doesn’t wear himself out trying to reach the finals (I’ve seen him do that in the past as well)…

200 Breast : 38/12 – 3:06.25 (3:05.54/10) : (3:06.61) – Call me a pessimist, but I don’t think Bear challenges for top 10 here. I just haven’t seen any consistency in his breast to think he’s going to drop time in this stroke. In fact, last time he raced it, he added a good bit of time. I suspect he’ll swim a 3:08/9…But just earning any Breast cuts was fantastic and I’m proud of him, because this stroke was a bad one for him until now…

400 IM : 28/5 – 5:29.85 (5:27.64/3) : (5:40.25) – This is where I hope his breaststroke holds up. If he swims the 200 Breast well, I like his chances to challenge for a medal here. His confidence in the stroke will be high and he’ll want to get on the podium, and 2 seconds in a 400 IM is not much. Unfortunately, again, he won’t be lined up next to all the kids he’ll need to beat. Some will be in different heats as this is swum combined 11/12…

Breeze

02-18-2014, 12:47 PM

2014 Georgia 14&Under Short Course Championships - Feb 21-23 @ GaTech

Day 3
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Bailey

100 IM : 31/11 – 1:11.79 (1:11.71/10) (1:08.33/3) : (1:13.15) – I don’t think Bailey has a legitimate shot at top 3, her breaststroke simply isn’t good enough yet. I only put the time down to illustrate how tight this one is. I’m hoping she can get in the top 10…making finals would be a big boost to her confidence.

200 Fly : 21/5 – 2:40.33 (2:36.83/4) (2:28.16/3) : (2:40.94) – Not going to get in the medals here…as the top 3 swimmers are clearly on another level, but Bailey should earn a good number of points for the team.

50 Back : 45/23 – 33.63 (33.02/10) : (33.65) – Only about a half a second out of the top 10, but just too many swimmers between Bailey’s seed and the top 10 to figure she’ll get into the finals.
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Bear

100 Free : 46/15 – 1:04.28 (1:01.98/10) : (1:04.33) – This and the breaststroke from day 2 are probably the only races I believe Bear has no shot of earning points. I believe he is capable of a 1:02 low, but I don’t think he can go a 1:01 low or 1:00 high, which it will take to get into finals.

200 Fly : 20/2 – 2:44.47 (2:34.36/1) : (2:44.70) – This one amazed me when the psych sheet was released. I remember the swim when Bear posted this time, it was the December meet, and he blew the field away. It was impressive, but I never realized it was the second fasted 200 Fly swum in the state for the year. It was the only time he swam the race, and typically with long races we find the kids go faster the second time, because they are more comfortable with what is required, but Fly is such a technical stroke, and if anything is off the slightest bit, he could add significant amounts of time. I’m really hoping he has a swim equal to or better than his seed time. Then whatever happens – happens. I just don’t want him to back up…

500 Free : 26/5 – 6:00.00 (5:54.12/3) : (6:00.07) – Another top 5 seed time for Bear. Brett swam this just two weeks ago in a 5:55.14…and with Bear and Brett pretty equal in times in this event throughout the season, I’m guessing he’ll finish somewhere in that range. If I can keep him from circle swimming, he might cut an additional 15 seconds from that time, which would allow him to challenge for a medal.

Breeze

02-18-2014, 03:05 PM

RPI-Fan

02-18-2014, 03:19 PM

2014 Georgia 14&Under Short Course Championships - Feb 21-23 @ GaTech

The State Meet Banquet is tonight. I'll find out if either of the twins slipped into a B relay. I don't expect it, but looking at the numbers, there is an outside shot.

Also the final Psych Sheet was released today, I'll look at it and post an update to any changes in seeding due to late entries.

I'm confused -- given how close your kiddos are to the top 10 in so many events, how on earth could they not be on relays, which I presume have dozens of relay squads partaking times four participants each??

Breeze

02-18-2014, 03:36 PM

I'm confused -- given how close your kiddos are to the top 10 in so many events, how on earth could they not be on relays, which I presume have dozens of relay squads partaking times four participants each??

Good question...the issue this year for Bailey and Bear is that they are 11 in the 11/12 age group. While they (Bear especially) are in the top 10 of many events in the 11 year olds, there are a number of 12 year olds on the team that are still faster. Combine that with the fact that the 11/12 year olds only swim 200 and 400 medley and free relays, which are the sprints (50 and 100 legs for individuals) and Bear and Bailey are both highest rated in 200 Yard races, and that's why we probably won't be in a relay.

To illustrate, I think the 100 Fly is the best chance for both the kids...both appear to be the 4th ranked Gold swimmer in those events. Obviously one of the four in front will swim the Fly leg in the A relay...but the other 3 could swim a different stroke either on the A or B relay, thus giving Bailey and/or Bear a shot to swim the Fly on the B team.

If there was an 11 year old relay, both would be on the A team and probably the strongest swimmer on the relay. Which, if they are still swimming well, sets us up nicely for next year.

Hope that cleared things up, and thanks for reading...

Breeze

02-19-2014, 08:43 AM

2014 Georgia 14&Under Short Course Championships - Feb 21-23 @ GaTech

So as expected no relays for the twins.

Breeze

02-19-2014, 10:50 AM

2014 Georgia 14&Under Short Course Championships - Feb 21-23 @ GaTech

After reviewing the final Psych Sheet this is where the twins are seeded going into the finals...

BAILEY

200 IM 43/20
200 Bk 49/22
100 Fl 37/11
100 Bk 41/15
50 Fl 47/19
400 IM 43/15
100 IM 34/11
200 Fl 21/5
50 Bk 50/25

BEAR

200 Bk 40/6
100 Fl 39/7
1000 Fr 50/3
200 Fr 45/12
200 Br 42/13
400 IM 30/5
100 Fr 50/17
200 Fl 21/2
500 Fr 28/5

*Note the red numbers are the changes for seeding from the writeups above, but I only did it for the 11 year old age group, almost all the 12 year old seedings changed...

Breeze

02-20-2014, 09:50 AM

2014 Georgia 14&Under Short Course Championships - Feb 21-23 @ GaTech

There is one last point of interest for this meet. Because the twins will turn 12 at the end of short course, but before long course, they will have new state cut requirements. Listed below is where the kids stand in relation to the 12 year old state cuts, the numbers are the seconds they need to cut to earn the cut (obviously, the red number indicate they already have that cut)...

BAILEY

200 IM 9.69
200 Bk 9.24
100 Fl 2.15
100 Bk 3.37
50 Fl 1.77
400 IM 16.28
100 IM 1.9
200 Fl -5.06
50 Bk 1.54

BEAR

200 Bk 6.89
100 Fl 0.72
1000 Fr -31.56
200 Fr 4.1
200 Br 10.36
400 IM 4.26
100 Fr 3.89
200 Fl -10.42
500 Fr 1.71

Breeze

02-21-2014, 07:49 AM

State Meet - Day 1

On my phone so will be brief...

Kids got a good night sleep. A little late to bed due to practice/Brett arrangements/dinner/getting downtown to hotel (more on hotel later)

Bailey

got bad draw on 200 back - in lane 1
Ok 200 Im - 4
Lane 2 in 100 fly

Bear

Terrible draw on lanes...got 10 in 200 back and 1 in 100 fly...
Won't know 1000 until later

Breeze

02-22-2014, 08:21 AM

State Meet - Day 1 Results

Still on a phone so I'll be brief...I'll add detail later

BAILEY

200 Im - dropped about 6 seconds finished 13
200 back - dropped about 6 seconds finished 12
100 fly - dropped 1 second in prelims finished 10...in finals dropped 2 more seconds and finished 8

BEAR

200 back - dropped 6 seconds finished 6
100 fly - added 2 seconds finished 13
1000 free - dropped 35 seconds finished 3

Breeze

02-22-2014, 08:26 AM

State meet - day 2

Another good night sleep for kids. Bailey struggled to eat this morning, which isn't unusual but she eventually got enough down. Based off of yesterday I'm very eager to see how they do today

Breeze

02-23-2014, 08:59 AM

State Meet - Day 2 RESULTS

BAILEY
100 Back - dropped 2.6 seconds moved up to 12
50 Fly - dropped 1 second...finished 10 qualified for finals
400 im - dropped almost 28 seconds - finished 5

50 fly finals - dropped another .2 finished 9

BEAR
200 free - dropped 4.5 seconds..qualified for finals in 9th
200 breast - dropped 2.3 seconds - finished 16
400 im - dropped almost 14 seconds. .. and finished 3rd in state. .

200 free final - dropped another .1 but couldn't hold on to 9... finished 10

Breeze

02-24-2014, 08:46 AM

State Meet - Day 3

Tried to post this yesterday, but obviously something went wrong...

Got in late last night...so late room service was closed, and fast food was out of the question, so we got Chinese delivered and it was really late when we finally ate...

BAILEY

Her goal coming into the day was to earn a sectional cut in the 200 Fly

BEAR

He said he was going to win 2 more medals...(200 Fly, and 500 Free)

Breeze

02-24-2014, 09:02 AM

State Meet - Day 3 RESULTS

BAILEY

Didn't do much in the 50 back or 100 IM, but dropped a ton of time in the 200 fly and she did get her sectional cut...

BEAR

Got on the 4x100 Relay due to his strong swimming the first 2 days...
Dropped time in the 100 Free
Dropped a ton of time in the 200 Fly, got his sectional cut and held on to second place in state.
Dropped a ton of time in his 500 Free, enough that he climbed into third and earned his second medal of the day...

Breeze

02-24-2014, 09:02 AM

I'll post details of each event later...

Breeze

02-25-2014, 08:53 AM

2014 Georgia 14&Under Short Course Championships - RESULTS

DAY 1

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Bailey

200 IM* : 42/20 - 2:38.58 (2:33.37/10) : (2:38.91) – Bailey is swimming well, and if her breaststroke holds up, and she gets a better dive than usual, I could see a significant improvement, but I don’t think she comes close to earning points (top 10) in this one. Similar to golf, it isn’t how much you are behind, but how many are between you and the lead. Even if she were to drop 5 seconds, someone between 11 and 19 will probably drop 4 and stay in front of Bailey.

Bailey actually dropped 6.09 seconds, to post a 2:32.49, and while her Breast leg wasn’t great at a 47.10, it was much better than it normally is. This drop was exciting in a number of ways…first is showed that she was swimming well and we would probably have a good weekend, also, her opening fly leg was a 31.81, which was a personal best in the 50 fly, and indicated her fly was particularly strong. Overall, as I anticipated, there were just too many people between Bailey and the top 10, as she finished 13 overall…

200 Back : 44/19 – 2:37.83 (2:35.27/10) : (2:38.57) – This one is intriguing. There are quite a few kids between Bailey and the top 10, but this time rather than being 5 seconds off the pace, like she is in the 200 IM, she’s only 2.5 off. Also I recognize several swimmers fractionally ahead of Bailey, and I know that Bailey has historically beat them. With a good clean start and good turns, I expect Bailey will challenge for top 10, but my guess would be 12-14.

Unfortunately, Bailey didn’t get a good start. This time she didn’t go too deep, she slipped, and was well behind at the beginning of the race. But, her form was good and she kept working hard, slowly reeling in the swimmers in her area. She posted a very impressive improvement of 5.11 seconds (2:32.72) and ended up 13. A good start wouldn’t have likely been enough to get her into the top 10, as she would have needed to drop an additional 2.65 seconds, and from looking at the splits the start probably only cost her 1.5…

100 Fly : 34/10 – 1:11.24 (1:10.70/9) (1:06.99/3) : (1:11.76) – Bailey is pretty excited about this one. She really wants to make finals, even if she finishes tenth. She has set a goal to go 1:09.XX, and I think she can do it, as the coach has worked on her not overreaching with her arms, which allows a quicker transition through the stroke and puts her arms in a more powerful position at the beginning of the pull. I don’t think she can get anywhere close to medals, as I expect it will take a 1:05 high to be in the running. I hope she cleans up her dive a bunch this week in practice, or she might find herself just outside of the top 10.

Bailey, got a better start than normal, and her fly looked strong, though she didn’t match the opening 50 from the 200 IM…posting a 32.77. She ended up dropping .86 seconds (1:10.38), which was a good improvement, but I didn’t expect it to be enough to make finals…but I was wrong as she qualified 10. I felt she breathed way to often and was hoping she could clean it up before the finals.

100 FLY FINALS - In the finals, Bailey really stepped up. She breathed much less, got another good dive, and with the exception of coming a bit high on her turns, she really swam a perfect race. She dropped almost 2 more seconds to 1:08.43. In total she dropped 2.81 seconds from her initial seed time. She ended up beating 2 girls from the morning and finished 8 in state.

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Bear

200 Back : 32/6 – 2:37.58 (2:37.48/5) (2:36.50/3) : (2:36.84) – This was surprising to me. Bear is already seeded in a point position, and he is within striking distance of a medal. I don’t expect that he’ll get a medal, but he should earn points. I hope the coach works with him on exploding out of the hole. He is strong underwater, but typically there is a transition delay from underwater to above water that he’ll need to eliminate to get down into medal territory.

Bear’s race was very similar to Bailey’s in this event. He set a good pace, and just kept it up throughout. He was behind early, mostly because the other kids in his heat sprinted the start and faded a bit, whereas Bear kept up a much stronger pace, He dropped 5.63 seconds and finished with a 2:31.95, but he was unable to move up from sixth place.

100 Fly : 36/7 – 1:11.71 (1:10.73/6) (1:09.41/3) : (1:12.20) – Again surprised to see Bear in a point position, and again he has an outside shot at a medal. Two seconds in a 100 Fly is easily doable, but if I had to guess, I figure he’ll finish around his seed location and earn more points for the team.

Right from the start it was pretty obvious Bear’s fly wasn’t right. Way to much head movement, breathing too much, and while he had a strong hip lift and kick, it was deliberate. He added time in this one, and that was concerning to me at the time, especially, given that he was in medal contention for the 200 Fly, and it would adversely impact his IMs if he couldn’t swim the fly leg effectively. All in all he added 2.19 seconds to finish with a 1:13.90 and in thirteenth place. The wife and I weren’t completely surprised, because his fly has been up and down and his 1:11 personal best wasn’t that long ago and it was a huge drop when he did it.

1000 Free : 49*/3 -12:28.33 (11:57.85/2) (11:54.45/1)** : (12:37.67)*** - Bear comes into this one in third and he hasn’t swum it in two months. Brett and Bear have been very close in their 1000s this season, and Brett just dropped time down to around 12:05 from 12:30. So maybe Bear can get down to around a 12:00.00. If he can at least hold on to his seed he’ll earn a medal. The biggest problem with this event is not racing the people that you are competing with…because this is swum 14U, Bear will have no idea which kids in the race are 11 and therefore won’t know who to actually “race” in the event. He’ll simply have to set a pace, and hope it is fast enough.

The pace Bear set was a fast one. He opened with a 1:10.10, the followed that with a 1:12.59…which would be his slowest 100 of the entire race. Here are his entire splits
1:10.10
1:12.59
1:11.40
1:12.47
1:12.13
1:12.13 (no this isn’t a typo…he swam the same spit two times in a row)
1:11.53
1:09.07
1:11.81
1:09.40
He finished with an 11:52.63 and a 35.7 second drop in time. This was good enough to hold onto his third place position and earn a medal…

Breeze

02-26-2014, 10:12 AM

2014 Georgia 14&Under Short Course Championships - RESULTS

Day 2

After the strong first day, I came into this one with high hopes…

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Bailey

100 Back : 39/14 – 1:11.86 (1:10.25/10) : (1:11.92) – Like the 200 back there are a number of girls ahead of Bailey that she has beaten regularly in the past. Hoping she’s able to really make a charge here and compete for a top 10 spot.

A little deep on the start, but not terrible…Strokes looked good from start to finish, and did challenge for a medal finishing 12 and dropping 2.64 seconds to post a 1:09.22

50 Fly : 43/18 – 32:16 (31.41/10) : (32.19) – Coach is really excited about Bailey’s new arm position in the fly. He thinks she's in a good position to improve, it could come down to her dive again…

A good dive and a strong swim - She dropped 1.31 seconds in a 50 to finish with a 30.85, which is excellent when she is already fast in the event, making this a bit of a surprise…the big surprise was her passing 8 other girls to get tenth in the prelims and qualify for the finals that evening…

400 IM : 38/11 – 5:40.47 (5:38.52/10) : (5:41.99) – Bailey’s breaststroke has to be tight for this event. If it is, she’ll do well…if not, she’ll fade back in the pack. In case you were wondering…to get in the top 3 and earn a medal Bailey would have to swim around a 5:26…

Bailey opened this race with a pedestrian 50 fly…finishing in 33.36…way off the time from the 200 IM, and from the 50 Fly earlier in the day. Obviously I didn’t expect a 30 or 31 second split but I though something in the mid 32s was likely, especially given that this was Bailey’s best stroke and I felt she’d want to take advantage of it. But the coach instructed her to not go out too hard…and by the time the 100 fly portion was finished she was still sitting on strong 1:10.63 split. Her back leg was good as she and a girl next to her began to pull away from the field. Bailey was in first in her heat at the turn for breast. I felt certain Bailey would fall behind on this leg, and was hoping she would stay close enough to catch the other girl in the freestyle. As it turned out, Bailey began to open a lead on the other girl, and it wasn’t because the other girl had a horrible breaststroke. Bailey, seemed to figured hers out. She posted two 50 splits both under 46 seconds, where she had been around or over 50 for both. All in all she swam the 100 breast in a 1:31.82, which would be a personal best for that stroke and without a dive…At the end of the breast Bailey was up by half a lap on the field and finished closer to three-quarters of a lap up after Free. She dropped 27.35 seconds, posted a 5:13.12, and finished fifth in state.

50 FLY FINALS – came in seeded tenth, dropped another 1.2 seconds in finals and ended up ninth in state…30.72
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Bear

200 Free : 42/12 – 2:17.19 (2:14.70/10) : (2:19.89) – Bear is in a really interesting spot here…he is several seconds behind the top 10, and couple seconds ahead of 13…He could get into the finals in this event, as I’ve seen him step up in big moments in the past. I just hope he doesn’t wear himself out trying to reach the finals (I’ve seen him do that in the past as well)…

Bear came into this event with a lot of confidence, after the 1000 the day before. He felt he could sprint this event the entire way…He opened with a 30.94, with his personal best 50 a 30.07, it’s was pretty obvious he was going to try. Second fifty was a 33.59, followed by a 34.25 and a 33.90. Coach was extremely pleased with this effort. Bear dropped 4.51 seconds and finished with a 2:12.68 and qualified for finals in ninth place.

200 Breast : 38/12 – 3:06.25 (3:05.54/10) : (3:06.61) – Call me a pessimist, but I don’t think Bear challenges for top 10 here. I just haven’t seen any consistency in his breast to think he’s going to drop time in this stroke. In fact, last time he raced it, he added a good bit of time. I suspect he’ll swim a 3:08/9…But just earning any Breast cuts was fantastic and I’m proud of him, because this stroke was a bad one for him until now…

I had few expectations on this race. I was more interested in how he would do because of how it would impact his 400 IM. If he could swim around a personal best, I felt is set up for Bear to have strong next race. As it turns out, he didn’t just swim around his personal best, he dropped 2.3 seconds to finish at a 3:03.93. He ended up losing ground to other swimmers and finished sixteenth, but it was a great swim regardless…

400 IM : 28/5 – 5:29.85 (5:27.64/3) : (5:40.25) – This is where I hope his breaststroke holds up. If he swims the 200 Breast well, I like his chances to challenge for a medal here. His confidence in the stroke will be high and he’ll want to get on the podium, and 2 seconds in a 400 IM is not much. Unfortunately, again, he won’t be lined up next to all the kids he’ll need to beat. Some will be in different heats as this is swum combined 11/12…

Opened with a 1:13.68 – 100 Fly – slightly faster than the 100 Fly from Friday, which was good in that his fly didn’t get worse, but concerning for the 200 fly on day 3. The fly kept him in a good spot, and his 1:17.28 back, caught and passed many swimmers around him. Then bear managed to stay under 48 seconds on both 50 fly splits and he closed with a 1:09.77 free. He dropped 13.66 seconds to finish at 5:16.19 and he ended up third earning his second medal of the weekend.

200 FREE FINALS – Came into this one seeded ninth, swam strong, improved his time almost exactly like Bailey by another .1 , but unlike Bailey he couldn’t move up, in fact, he couldn’t hold the ninth spot and had to settle for tenth…2:12.58

Breeze

02-27-2014, 10:09 AM

2014 Georgia 14&Under Short Course Championships - RESULTS

Day 3

After 2 good days, the kids’ confidence was really high. Bailey announced she was going for a sectional cut in the 200 fly, and Bear told me he was going to get 2 more medals today.
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Bailey

100 IM : 31/11 – 1:11.79 (1:11.71/10) (1:08.33/3) : (1:13.15) – I don’t think Bailey has a legitimate shot at top 3, her breaststroke simply isn’t good enough yet. I only put the time down to illustrate how tight this one is. I’m hoping she can get in the top 10…making finals would be a big boost to her confidence.

This was a surprise…given how well Bailey swam her Fly and her improved Breast up to this point, I felt certain that she would get into the top 10, make finals, and earn points…but she didn’t. The fly leg was good, not great, and the back seemed overly deliberate. Breast/Free were fine, but seemed to lack urgency. She ended up posting a time .03 slower than her seed and finished twelfth with a time of 1:11.83. I believe Bailey was so focused on, and probably a bit concerned about the 200 fly, that she didn’t get prepared for this race.

200 Fly : 21/5 – 2:40.33 (2:36.83/4) (2:28.16/3) : (2:40.94) – Not going to get in the medals here…as the top 3 swimmers are clearly on another level, but Bailey should earn a good number of points for the team.

Bailey opened with a 34.60…and I was shocked. I was starting to worry that maybe she was out of gas, given her poor 100 IM followed by her slow start in the 200 fly. At the first 25 turn she was around eighth, and but the first 50 turn she was seventh…but the coach had instructed Bailey to take it out slow and then build on the back. Every other swimmer took it out fast, and opened a lead on Bailey. But she, after the 75 turn, quickly began to real in the other kids. By the 125 turn she had passed everyone, but the one girl in lane 1 (way out to the side). Bailey continued to close on that girl and out touched her at the wall with a time improvement of 8.26 seconds. She finished with a 2:32.07 and earned a sectional cut. She also held on to her fifth place spot. One interesting side note…the girl next to Bailey is a SwimAtlanta swimmer that is a fellow CRC Summer League team swimmer. She is 12 so how she and Bailey finished really was irrelevant, but she finished about 2 seconds back. The funny thing is we still get to hear how great a swimmer she is, every time we see the CRC Swimmer families that are still at SwimAtlanta.

50 Back : 45/23 – 33.63 (33.02/10) : (33.65) – Only about a half a second out of the top 10, but just too many swimmers between Bailey’s seed and the top 10 to figure she’ll get into the finals.

Bailey got a great start on the 50 Back, and I thought that would lead to a second or so drop in time, but like the back in the 100 IM, she seemed pretty deliberate. She did manage to drop a fraction of a second (.15) and ended up with a 33.48 and a nineteenth place finish…
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Bear

4x100 Free Relay – Bear was a last minute insert into the 4x100 Free Relay. We aren’t sure why the change…but my guess is because Bear had been swimming so well up to this point, they wanted to reward him some, but that may be a father’s glorified view of it. It could have been as simple as the forth boy just didn’t make it that day…anyway he swam a 1:03.75, which was the slowest of the 4, as you would expect, and the team overall dropped almost 2 seconds from the seed time and climbed from 14 seed to eighth.

100 Free : 46/15 – 1:04.28 (1:01.98/10) : (1:04.33) – This and the breaststroke from day 2 are probably the only races I believe Bear has no shot of earning points. I believe he is capable of a 1:02 low, but I don’t think he can go a 1:01 low or 1:00 high, which it will take to get into finals.

Good opening 30.65…only about a half a second off his personal best. Held on in the back half to post a personal best 1:03.95…and finish seventeenth.

200 Fly : 20/2 – 2:44.47 (2:34.36/1) : (2:44.70) – This one amazed me when the psych sheet was released. I remember the swim when Bear posted this time, it was the December meet, and he blew the field away. It was impressive, but I never realized it was the second fasted 200 Fly swum in the state for the year. It was the only time he swam the race, and typically with long races we find the kids go faster the second time, because they are more comfortable with what is required, but Fly is such a technical stroke, and if anything is off the slightest bit, he could add significant amounts of time. I’m really hoping he has a swim equal to or better than his seed time. Then whatever happens – happens. I just don’t want him to back up…

This is the swim I’ve been worried about since the 100 fly on day 1. He opened the race with a 1:14.60 split and that concerned me, but similar to Bailey, the coach told him to be conservative out of the gate. While the form still seemed a little off, he was getting strong pulls and was getting good hip lift indicating a strong kick, the stroke was just a bit slow, start to finish. However, he was able to maintain strong splits, and he came from behind to beat a teammate from another pool, that had bested him in the 1000. He ended up winning his heat and dropping 10.03 seconds to finish with a 2:34.44 time, which was good enough for second place and it was a sectional cut.

500 Free : 26/5 – 6:00.00 (5:54.12/3) : (6:00.07) – Another top 5 seed time for Bear. Brett swam this just two weeks ago in a 5:55.14…and with Bear and Brett pretty equal in times in this event throughout the season, I’m guessing he’ll finish somewhere in that range. If I can keep him from circle swimming, he might cut an additional 15 seconds from that time, which would allow him to challenge for a medal.

Bear had his heart set on a medal here…but it was going to be tough sledding…not that the 6 seconds from third indicated in the seeding would be the problem, but the names in third and fourth were kids that had dominated the meet, and therefore you would expect that they would drop a significant amount of time. As I indicated in the 1000…there was no way for Bear to know exactly who he was racing, so again he needed to set a time to achieve and hope it was fast enough. The time Bear set was a 5:45, which would be the sectional cut, but would require splits of 1:09. The race started and the first 100 was ok, but the second 100 was already almost 3 seconds off his goal. Pumping the numbers got his attention and he dropped back to his goal time 1:08.91, followed by a 1:08.94. He closed with a 1:09.07, which means he never got the 3 seconds he lost early back. Fortunately, it didn’t matter. His time of 5:48.14, almost a 12 second drop, was good enough to finish third, but just barely…the top point getter for the 11 year old age group, who was seeded ahead of Bear finished .24 seconds behind him.

Breeze

02-28-2014, 09:33 AM

2014 Georgia 14&Under Short Course Championships – Wrap Up

A few more tidbits to wrap up the State Meet…

- By rough count there were 15 kids from the Cumming Sectional and Sectional Advanced Team that made state cuts
- Those 15 kids combined in all their swims to post 87% personal bests. Bailey and Bear, both, swam 93% personal bests.
- Of the 15 kids only 3 earned medals…and in total they earned 8 of them (with Bear getting 4)
- Bear now has sectional cut times in the 200 Fly, 400 IM, 1000 Free, and 1650 Free*
- Bailey has sectional cut times in the 100 Fly and 200 Fly
- Bear’s point total was good enough for eighth in the state for 11 year olds
- The Gold team finished third for large teams (201+ swimmers), which is typical, as SwimAtlanta and Dynamo have much larger teams and therefore more swimmers to earn points

I know I haven’t posted pictures or videos in a while (still looking for an easy way to do this moving forward), but we did purchase pictures from the meet vendor for both kids doing the 400 IM, thus we get shots of all 4 strokes. If you are interested in seeing them click the links provided below**…

Bailey (http://photos.riveroakphotography.com/Sports/2014-Georgia-14-Under-SC-State/Bailey-Breeze/37194754_J3nVRF#!i=3095004327&k=RPTJnvV)

Bear (http://photos.riveroakphotography.com/Sports/2014-Georgia-14-Under-SC-State/Bear-Breeze/37194743_SGGvFp#!i=3091115678&k=pL5NBf7)

*Note: While Bear has 4 sectional cuts, he may end up only swimming two events, because currently it looks like the sectionals are not offering the 1650 for 11-12 year olds (though they have in the past), and the 1000 and 400 IM are the same evening, which makes it unlikely that Bear can do both effectively. Meaning he’ll pick either the 400 IM or the 1000 Free and then swim the 200 Fly. There are some queries as to why the 1650 isn’t being offered this time around, and we are waiting on a response. I’ll keep you updated on the status of this…

**Note: By the way...there are some old photos (several years old actually) of the kids on the photography site linked above...if you want to see old pictures let me know and I'll link them in...

Breeze

03-03-2014, 09:09 AM

General Update

Some tid-bits of information that I thought I'd pass along...

- Bear was one of the Sectional Swimmers of the Meet for the State Meet
- Bailey's friend Haley got pneumonia around Christmas and while her lungs are ok, she is still struggling to regain her swim form
- Reese, from Summer League may have torn her MCL playing soccer last weekend
- Raley another Summer League teammate is out of the pool and in therapy for a shoulder injury.

Izulde

03-03-2014, 04:45 PM

Breeze

03-05-2014, 08:31 AM

Rough news on the injuries, but holy crap, what an amazing weekend for Bailey and Bear, especially Bear, who I seem to remember from the beginning of the dynasty had the most potential, but the least experience.

Fantastic pictures, too.

Hey Izulde,

Yeah, twins did awesome...even better than I had hoped they would, and I'm extremely pleased for Bear, who struggled so badly last year at State. You have a good memory too...I'm pretty sure I did state that Bear might have the most potential of the bunch. Partially because I think he'll be bigger than Brett, and he has the mentality to push himself.

Breeze

03-13-2014, 08:29 AM

General Update

So it is time for the last short course meet of the USA Swimming Season. Unfortunately, the wife and I have some scheduling that we are going to have to figure out. Next week (3/20-3/23) Bailey and Bear will be swimming in the ESSZ Sectional Championships, whereas Brett will be swimming in the Atlanta Northern Divisional Meet. So we are going to have to divide and conquer. I'm not sure who will go where when yet...especially given that there will be quite a few long Frees swum by both Brett and Bear and the wife doesn't feel comfortable doing the numbers.

The pre-race write ups will be posted soon.

Also, another small note. A swimmer Bear is friends with from Summer League, Bohn, has moved from SwimAtlanta to Gold. He is an excellent swimmer having won 2 state championships a few weeks back. He switched over, according to his parents because, "other kids were picking on Bohn, and he was so unhappy he was prepared to quit." Yesterday was his first day with Gold and the boys reported that he was having a good time, laughing and hanging out with his new team. In fact, Bear reported that Bohn said, "I've talked more with you guys today, than I did with everyone at SwimAtlanta for the entire season..."

Breeze

03-17-2014, 01:09 PM

Northern Division Meet @ Cumming Aquatic Center – 3/21-3/23

Brett will be the only one swimming this meet, as the twins will compete at the ESSZ Section Meet. Brett is swimming in the 13/14 age group (unlike State where kids just competed against kids their own age). This is also a prelim/final meet, and given Brett’s events for this one, he might log quite a few yards before the weekend is over…

400 IM – 5:20.19 – This one is being swum open (18U) and it could be fun, as some older teammates are actually seeded behind Brett…if he swims a good fly he should beat them.

200 IM – 2:36.04 – A kid Brett likes to beat (due to a Breaststroke rivalry) is seeded ahead of him. Again, fly will be a key. Right now looks like he should make the B final in this so he should be swimming it twice.

200 Breast – 2:42.45 – Actually he’s been struggling a bit with his Breast. It isn’t bad, but he hasn’t reclaimed his sharp stroke from earlier in the year. He might be hard pressed to better his time. A good goal here would be to make the A final. He’s currently seeded ninth (with the rival mentioned above right behind him in tenth)

200 Back – 2:35.40 – could make b finals here too…rival is 2 slots up, just 3 seconds faster…a good swim and Brett might catch him.

100 Breast – 1:17.71 – see 200 Breast. Currently seeded 10…so a good swim gets him in the A final.

200 Fly – NT – never done this before. He actually requested it. He’s been caught in practice several times doing 1 arm fly, which results in him having to swim 200 or 300 flys as punishment. Because he’s been swimming them as punishment he figures he can do it in a race. I don’t expect a great time, but if he finishes without a DQ, he’ll earn the IronMan award for swimming every event offered during the season. Oh, and he should make the B final as only 15 kids are signed up.

1650 Free – 20:48.55 – not sure how he’s going to go after this one. If he can swim his 1000 pace for the whole 1650, he’ll challenge for the state cut…I hope he gives it a go…

Brett also will swim the Breast in the B 200 Medley Relay...

Breeze

03-17-2014, 02:52 PM

ESSZ Age Group Championships – @ GaTech - 3/20-3/23

This event, unlike state makes no distinction based on age. All events are by age group, so Bailey and Bear are on the low end of the 11/12 year olds...

Bailey

100 Fly – 1:08.43 – 74 kids around the Southeast qualified for this event, and Bailey is seeded last…My guess is she won’t end up last. There are 9 girls less than half a second faster than her coming in, and I’ll bet she beats a couple.

200 Fly – 2:32.07 – Bailey’s ability to swim the fly for longer distances effectively is obvious here as she is seeded 30 out of 46, much better than her seed in the 100 Fly…

100 Back – 1:08.69 – Actually, Bailey doesn’t have this cut, but the coach thinks she can get it, and if we are going to be down there, might as well give her another race to swim. She needs to cut about .6 seconds, and I think she will. However, she’s also likely to finish last out of the 83 swimmers in the event. But again, last in a Southeast Regional race is nothing to be ashamed of.

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Bear

1000 Free – 11:52.63 – Currently the psych sheet doesn’t show Bear in this event, because it is the same day as the 400 IM and Bear was initially scheduled to swim that race. That is until the 1650 was dropped from the event list for 11/12 year olds. Once that drop occurred Bear changed to the 1000. The 1000 is swum open and the finishes adjusted based on age, so determining he seed is difficult, but regardless of age he’s got about 20+ kids that will be seeded behind him.

500 Free – 5:45.69 – Like Bailey in the 100 Back, Bear doesn’t actually have this cut, but he’s only 2 seconds off, and the coach feels good he can get it.

200 Fly – 2:34.44 – Bear is seeded 25 out of 25…

200 Free Relay – Bear will be on the B 200 Free Relay as well…

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Obviously, as you can see from the comments above, and the kids seeds, this is a meet we are doing for the experience and fun of doing it. We have no level of expectation, we just hope the kids do well and walk away with a lot of confidence and good memories.

Maybe next year, we can hope to crack the top 10 somewhere...

Breeze

03-21-2014, 10:43 AM

ESSZ Age Group Championships- DAY 1 RESULTS

Bear

1000 Free - 11:52.69 - before this race the coach talked with Bear and me (I become part of the conversation on the long races because I will be passing him signals through the lap counter). The coach explained that Bear's state swim averaged a split of 1:11.2...therefore, he wanted me to make sure Bears stayed at or below 35.6 (make it 35.5 so the math will be easier)...He urged Bear not to become too complacient with the second and/or third 100, as he has a tendency to do. He told me after Bear had gone to line up, that he felt Bear was capable of swimming 1:09 splits, that he didn't think he would, but he was capable...

The race started and Bear swam the following 100 splits...

1:07.69
1:10.66
1:11.60 (had to signal him to pick it up here...)
1:10.05
1:09.60
1:07.76
1:09.02
1:08.34
1:08.52
1:07.48

He dropped another 22 seconds to finish at a 11:30.72. He also managed to finish 3rd for 11 year olds. Unlike State, he won't get a medal as I mentioned before, this is by age group and there were fifteen 12 year olds that beat him, but it does motivate him for sectionals next year, as the goal of a top 10 now seems understated.

By the way...quick math on the splits indicates he average a 1:09.07 splits...
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Additional Notes

Some additional notes of interest from the meet...

- A friend of the family's 14 year old daughter, who swims for Gold won the 1000.

- The Gold 13/14 Boys 4x200 Free Relay broke the Georgia State Record

- THE GOLD 13/14 GIRLS 4X200 FREE RELAY BROKE THE NATIONAL RECORD BY AN ASTONISHING 2 SECONDS...

Breeze

03-24-2014, 09:01 AM

ESSZ Age Group Championships- DAY 2 RESULTS

Bear

Boys 11/12 200 B Free Relay - Bear's relay wasn't going to be extremely strong, especially at this level of competition, in fact, they would have struggled to finish in the top 15. As it turns out they were DQed, Bear actual had an early take off, by .09 seconds. The kid coming into the wall breathed right before touching and thus threw off the timing. This isn't that uncommon, as the kids at this age don't practice their relay starts often, and they almost never practice with the people in their actual relay (as they don't swim out of the same facilities). Bear did manage to swim a 28.41 split...so even with a legal start he would have been under 29...also with a cold start he's probably right around 29 flat.

Breeze

03-24-2014, 11:03 AM

Northern Division Meet - Day 1

Brett

400 IM – 5:20.19 – I wasn't present for Brett's race, as I was downtown for Bear's, so all I can do is evaluate the numbers, but they are interesting. To begin, Brett's best 100 Fly is a 1:22.18, but in this race he opened with a 100 Fly time of 1:19.79...so obviously his fly is getting stonger as he's dropped 2.5 seconds in about a month. His 1:18.58 back was his personal best as recently as September for that stroke. He was able to fight out a 1:23 breast and he closed with a 1:11 free...He dropped 8.5 seconds for a personal best time of 5:12.60

Breeze

03-24-2014, 11:28 AM

ESSZ Age Group Championships- DAY 3 RESULTS

Bear

500 Free – 5:45.69 - In this one, Bear's goal was to go sub 5:40...I was told by his coach to try and keep him swiming under 1:09s, which meant 34.5 second 50s. Unfortunately, there were 4 kids from his team in the same heat, including the coaches son, meaning I was stuck trying to determine splits in my head. I knew Bear was swimming in the 34s, problem was trying to calculate the sub seconds with only about 12 before I had to signal him. I ended up being off a bit, and probably should have pushed him more, but he still managed to drop 6.28 seconds and a time of 5:39.41

Bailey

100 Fly – 1:08.43 - Bailey's first action of the meet was Saturday morning. In fact, she was the first heat of the first event. She got a good start and built to an improvement of .86 seconds and a time of 1:07.57. By the time the meet rolled around Bailey was seeded 76 out of 76...as it turns out she won her heat going away. Then I watched as only 1 person from the next heat beat her time, followed by several more in the next couple heats who failed to meet or beat Bailey's effort. After all was said and done, her improvement allowed her to climb all the way to 57th place.

Breeze

03-25-2014, 09:46 AM

Northern Division Meet - Day 2

Brett - Prelims

Again, I was not there for the Prelims, so I can only provide the basics based on times

200 IM – 2:36.04 – Brett's improved fly lead to a personal best time of 2:33.50, and a spot in the B finals.

200 Breast – 2:42.45 – Swam an almost identical time to his personal best, off by just .11 seconds 2:42.56, in A final

200 Back – 2:35.40 – again time was almost identical to seed...2:35.55, in B final

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FINALS

Did get to see the finals...and I also learned that Brett wasn't terribly focused during this day, as Bailey provided us with pictures some of the other girls texted her of Brett with strange hair styles, which were created by the girls at the meet. He was apparently their play-thing for the down time, and I'm sure he loved every second of it...and I can't say as I blame him, but it doesn't really lead to best performances.

200 IM – 2:33.50 – In the final, the fatigue from the day made the fly a bit tougher for him as he added almost a full second from the morning swim on the split, and fell way behind the remainder of the pool...The back leg was also slightly slower, but in the breast Brett felt he was close enough to catch the swimmer in the lane next to him, so he pushed hard and swam that split exactly 1 second faster and he had reeled in the swimmer he was shooting for...then in the Free he raced that kid for the 50, dropped 2.5 seconds in that leg, beat the kid next to him, plus the swimmer on the outer lane on the opposite end of the pool to the wall. He posted a personal best time of 2:31.32...and finished 18th overall.

200 Breast – 2:42.45 – Breast was good, but slower at a 2:43.35...still needs to get better pullouts...

200 Back – 2:35.40 – Picked up the effort in the back a bit, still deliberate with the arms, but the kick was more sound and he posted a personal best time of 2:33.40

Izulde

03-26-2014, 01:48 AM

Breeze

03-26-2014, 08:28 AM

http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o395/Izulde08/CK2andsuch/swimming_zps378cfa59.jpg (http://s341.photobucket.com/user/Izulde08/media/CK2andsuch/swimming_zps378cfa59.jpg.html)

Sorry. I just had to. :D

Nah...that's great...and Brett would make the same arguement if I mentioned to him that he should have been more focused on swimming...He argues with everything right now anyway...

Breeze

03-26-2014, 11:45 AM

ESSZ Age Group Championships- DAY 4 RESULTS

Bailey

200 Fly – 2:32.07 – Bailey raced this one, in a very similar method to how she raced it at state. She went out conservatively, and built from there, but this time the opening conservative split for the 100 was 1.3 seconds faster than a month ago. She also managed to swim the back half only fractionally slower than the state meet and she posted a personal best time of 2:30.64

100 Back – 1:08.69 – Bailey got a good start here, but she never seemed to get the race going. I'm not sure if she was nervous because she didn't have this cut coming in, or if she just didn't have it this day...but she added just over a full second 1:09.73

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Bear

200 Fly – 2:34.44 – Bear forgot to take his inhaler before this race, and while I don't know that he actually needed it, I do think it bothered him, as he breathed much more than he normally does in this race. Bear really trys to limit his breathing normally, and because he didn't it cost him in this race...though not significantly...he only added almost a second, indicating to me that he's still in good shape in the fly and will be dropping time moving forward (assuming he doesn't lose the rhythem of the stroke again)...2:35.14

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Breeze

03-26-2014, 12:01 PM

Northern Division Meet - Day 3

Brett - Prelims

Again, I wasn't there for the prelims of the 100 Breast, and the 200 Fly so comments are second hand from my wife and based on time.

100 Breast - 1:17.71 - Brett really wanted to get an improvement here, especially after he failed to improve in the 200...and he did. He finished with a time of 1:16.93, and qualified for finals

200 Fly - NT - My wife said this wasn't pretty. Brett breathed way to often, but he finished without being DQed, meaning he'll get the IronMan award from the team at the banquet. His time was a 3:04:09

1650 Free - 20:48.55 - Brett really wanted to improve here. He was hoping to go under 12 minutes. He started out fine, but then allowed a swimmer to his outside shoulder to impact his pacing. The swimmer outside of him started fast, and when Brett fell in at his shoulder he stayed there, even though the kid pacing him quickly fell from spits of 1:11 to splits of 1:16. Once Brett broke free, he swam strong 100 splits in the 1:13 range...He was very consistent with his swim, especially in the back half turning laps in the 1:13 mid ranges over and over. Finished with an improvement of 36 seconds...20.11.76

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Brett - Finals

100 Breast - 1:16.93 - The 200 Fly and 1650 really took their toll on Brett. He was a walking zombie by the time we got to finals. He added a bunch of time finishing with a 1:20.29

100 Fly - 3:04.09 - Brett really didn't want to swim this one...but he did. And while he was still exhausted and he breathed every stroke, he also managed to drop time. 3:01.54...which tells me he can go much faster in this one if he applys himself. I figure a 2:50 is within reach...

thealmighty

03-26-2014, 11:32 PM

Breeze

03-27-2014, 08:50 AM

At what point will the kids begin to specialize in one or two strokes, or are they all just that good at all four? At the high school I teach and coach at, hardly any of the swimmers, even freshman at 14 years old, swim all strokes in meets (I coached swimming for two years, but not because I knew how. Just was no one else to do it at the time).

For the most part the Gold team doesn't want kids to declare themselves as a swimmer for just a specific stroke. There are few reasons for this...first, they feel that it limits what kids can accomplish. Second, if a kid only swims a specific stroke then they have very few events at year round meets to compete in. Finally, and most importantly, with many of these kids still growing into and sometimes completely through high school, their best strokes often change (as we've seen on a small scale with my kids - Bailey losing her Breaststroke and Bear losing but then regaining his fly), plus an injury for a specialized swimmer can pretty much end their ability to compete. This happens most frequently with Breaststrokers that end up having knee problems.

Now, one important thing to note is the difference from year-round verses high school swimming. Year round meets are multiple days, lasting 8 to 12 hours total, thus allowing kids to swim numerous events a day. Whereas high school is pretty much competed on one evening or Saturday morning. Because the high school meets are much shorter, the coaches will put the swimmers only in the events they do the best in. In fact, I'm not sure with high school meets if there is a limit to the number of events kids can swim (I'm assuming there is), thus the year rounders will be specialists in high school.

In fact, next year will be interesting for us as Brett will start high school, and I'd suspect he'll want to swim on the high school team...where initially he may only compete as a breaststroker, until he gets to be bigger and older, then they will probably give him additional events to swim at that point.

Does this answer your question?

Breeze

03-27-2014, 09:35 AM

Short Course Season - Recap

So the short course season is now over...and it was a better one for us that I had anticipated it would be. I really felt the twins would get a few state cuts, but that would be the extent of what they would be able to accomplish. As it turns out, they got a bunch of state cuts, and even managed to get a few sectional cut times (which I figured we had no shot at). This sets them up to have a very strong short course season next year...

Brett's dedication to swimming, which started in the Summer, has also paid off, as his times and strokes have improved significantly. In fact, he has passed the personal bests of quite a few teammates that were well ahead of him coming into the season. He was very disappointed that he didn't get any state cuts in short course, but he has positioned himself to challenge for the breast cuts at least in long course.

In case you were curious...here is the amount of improvement from 12/13 to 13/14, by stroke for each kid (displayed in seconds) :

Brett

50 Fr 2.55
100 Fr 7.13
200 Fr 16.36
500 Fr 57.70
1000 Fr 117.55

100 Bk 10.30
200 Bk 22.73

100 Br 8.13
200 Br 16.55

100 Fl 7.06

200 IM 20.88

*Note: 200 Fly, 400 IM, 1650 Not listed because they weren't
swum in 12/13 season

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Bailey

50 Fr -.07
100 Fr .95
200 Fr 5.70
500 Fr 34.96

50 Bk 1.72
100 Bk 7.76

50 Br -.80
100 Br 2.49

50 Fl 2.72
100 Fl 7.59

100 IM 5.64
200 IM 17.49

*Note: 200 Fly, 400 IM, 1000 Free, 200 Breast, 200 Back
Not listed because they weren't swum in 12/13 season

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Bear

50 Fr 2.35
100 Fr 6.88
200 Fr 18.21
500 Fr 56.97

50 Bk 1.09
100 Bk 5.90

50 Br 4.74
100 Br 8.56

50 Fl 4.53
100 Fl 14.88

100 IM 1.64
200 IM 13.73

*Note: 200 Fly, 400 IM, 1000 Free, 200 Breast, 200 Back
Not listed because they weren't swum in 12/13 season

thealmighty

03-28-2014, 11:49 PM

That answers my question very well, thanks.

Breeze

04-09-2014, 09:08 AM

Gold Team Update

I have some terrible news to report from yesterday. Coach Neil, the head coach for our pool has been suspended by USA Swimming, pending an investigation. Here is the email Chattahoochee Gold sent out…

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Keeping You Safe: A Message from Chattahoochee Gold

The coaching staff of Chattahoochee Gold would like to update its members, customers, and community on its coaching staff and safety policies. We value the trust you have placed in us and hope the following information is helpful to you. Should you have any additional questions, please contact us at the contact information listed below.

1. There has been a change in the Gold coaching staff.
Effective April 8, 2014, Coach Neil Savage is suspended while USA Swimming investigates a personal matter that came to light in the last few days. At this time he is not permitted on deck or at functions. Coach Andy (this is my kids current coach) will assume Neil's practices in the interim. It's important to understand that this process is out of the hands of Chattahoochee Gold and it will take some time to come to resolution.

2. Are there allegations of wrongdoing against Chattahoochee Gold?
No. there is no evidence that the suspended employee’s alleged conduct involved current club members or their families. The allegations against him do not involve any current swimmers, parents, or coaches of Chattahoochee Gold. The team in no way condones the alleged activities. No other coach has been subject to allegations of wrongdoing.

3. What is Chattahoochee Gold doing to keep its members safe?
Chattahoochee Gold goes above and beyond the State’s minimum requirements to provide you the safest and most enjoyable experience possible. Employees of Gold must first undergo two backgroundchecks (one by USA Swimming, and one by a private contractor employed by the team). Coaches must complete and bi-annually update their USA Swimming Athlete Protection Certification, and the team has its own extensive guidelines about coach-swimmer interaction. Chattahoochee Gold strictly observes the guidelines established by USA Swimming in regards to personal coach-swimmer interaction.

4. Is Chattahoochee Gold limiting any of its services?
No. The team continues to offer the same award-winning services and professionalism that it has proudly offered for more than two decades. All other members of the team's coaching staff remain with the team and are more committed than ever to meeting the highest standards of excellence. We look forward to providing your family a great experience this summer.

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After reading the release above, you are probably thinking, like I was…oh my God, what did he do? This release makes is sound like he might be a pedophile or rapist. Unfortunately, it is poorly written, and in my mind not well thought out. I know the company has lawyers advising them of actions that need to be taken in order to avoid potential law suits and increased insurance rates, but this could have been crafted better.

So here is the situation…

Several years ago, when Neil graduated from college he immediately started working for Chattahoochee Gold. This was a big deal to him as he was one of the first 6 members of the team 22 years ago. Being young and stupid, he allowed himself to break a USA Swimming rule and he dated a graduating senior on the team. This wasn’t a hidden relationship or a coerced one. The girl’s parents were aware of it, and they approved.

This probably leads you to ask the same question I asked…”Why did this come up now if it happened several years ago, and the girl and her parents aren’t upset by the relationship in any way?”

Well, from what I understand is a girl’s mother from one of the other pools found out and decided to call USA Swimming directly and report it. Then they called the owner of Chattahoochee Gold and reported to him what they had done, assuring him this wasn’t a vindictive or spiteful action in any way…Which of course in my mind is exactly what this is. If it wasn’t spiteful, then why not work through channels, why go directly to the governing body first (and not even the Georgia Chapter, but the national one).

I’m not sure exactly what is behind this, and maybe it is just a self-righteous parent voicing their concerns, but I find the timing odd. Given that Neil just had a relay team break a national record, had the high point female at Age Group State, who qualified for Jr. Nationals, and had several other event winners and state records set. Not sure if the girl and her parents were upset because the girls from the same age group at the Cumming pool are improving dramatically and leaving them behind, or if another Coach was feeling threatened by the success Neil is having.I’m not normally a conspiracy guy, but this stinks…

The investigation is ongoing…Neil has admitted to the relationship, as has the girl and her parents have admitted knowledge of the two dating. This is clearly against the rules of the organization, as it is basically a potential sexual harassment problem, and combined with all the coaches (any sport) that have gotten in trouble for improper behavior with athletes and this is going to be taken very seriously. Hopefully, the fact the relationship was consentual, it's age (several years old at this point), and the fact there have been no new similar incidents will be strongly considered.

All the kids on the team are upset…Mine included, especially Brett (who has swum more for Neil in practice). They are all talking about writing letters to USA Swimming in support of their coach. Obviously, this illustrates how much the kids respect and want to do well for Neil and the performance of the team at State clearly shows how good a job he does of getting his kids to perform. In fact, Bailey and I just attended the Georgia Swimming All-Star banquet for the 2012-2013 season (I’ll do a small write up on that soon), and the coach of the year was announced. After seeing who won, and what they accomplished during the season, I was convinced, if Gold even had just a solid showing at Long Course State this year, that Neil was the front runner for Coach of the year for 2013-2014. This is a shame for the team, for Neil, and on a personal level for my kids, as they were looking forward to swimming for Neil in the future.

In fact, I have to admit, I’m concerned with how this will impact Brett moving forward. He will potentially be moving up to the point where he’ll be expected to make 2 or 3 morning (read 5:30) practices a week. With Neil, I was confident he would get up to go…with a new coach, I’m not so sure.

I hope this is resolved quickly…and USA Swimming gives him a slap on the wrist and he can return to the team quickly. However, Gold has to make contingency plans, and they are currently looking for a coach to replace Neil in case this drags on.

It is hard to come by information, as team officials are not supposed to talk about it, and Neil isn’t allowed to have contact with any of the swimmers on the team, but I’ll keep you updated as information leaks.

Breeze

04-14-2014, 10:30 AM

Gold Team Update

So the US Swimming investigation into Coach Neil is continuing but he sent the following letter to all the team parents...

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Dear Chattahoochee Gold parents,

I write you today not as a coach or a representative of Chattahoochee Gold, but as someone you or your child cares about, and, perhaps, as a friend.

The last 36 hours have been trying for me. They’ve been emotional and challenging and my heart has mourned. I have greatly appreciated the outpouring of concern and supportive texts and calls that I’ve received; it’s nice to know how supportive a network I have in times of crisis. But, to be honest, I don’t deserve it.

I’ve always tried to hold my swimmers—your children—to the highest standards. My goal was to develop great swimmers who also had the skills to survive and thrive in the real world: attention to detail, work ethic, and knowing the difference between right and wrong… because that’s the difference between success and failure. Unfortunately, I did no uphold those values within my own personal life, and, in making that mistake, have caused a calamity within Chattahoochee Gold and your own family’s lives.

My error in judgment occurred several years ago, and came during a rough patch in my life. I began a relationship with a swimmer who was a Senior in High School. No defense of my actions would be tenable, but the offense wasn’t planned or fiendishly nefarious. However, it was certainly inappropriate and not permissible by USA Swimming guidelines. My personal shame and embarrassment about the issue weighs heavy in my heart, and the guilt has corroded me. But the shame, embarrassment and guilt pale in comparison to the distress I’ve caused for Chattahoochee Gold and the Cumming Site.

I’m not sure how USA Swimming will rule on the matter, but I will accept their punishment. Any vitriol or hate you have regarding the situation should not be aimed at them, at Chattahoochee Gold, or Pat Murphy; it should be aimed at myself. However, I do ask that if you had some modicum of love and respect for me, you will encourage your athletes to uphold the spirit of the program I was striving to create, but unable to live up to personally. Our staff, our families and our swimmers are stronger than this; they can move forward without me, but only if we have the support of the parents.

You have my humblest, most sincere regrets,

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The outcome of the investigation will be irrelevant, as Coach Neil has resigned from the team, in order to allow Chattahoochee Gold to move on and locate another coach. In addition, he has decided to give up coaching and will pursue other opportunities...

Breeze

04-15-2014, 08:59 AM

Gold Team Update

I really hate reporting this stuff...but I guess at this point I need to...

The swim community is a pretty small one, and unfortunately Neil's letter was leaked to coaches at the 2 mega-clubs in Atlanta, and they have decided to stir the pot. They released his letter to an International Swim website and called up local TV news crews to report on the issue, and it was a lead story last night. Of course the local media butchered the report because they did no research on the situation, and they interviewed people for reactions that had little to no knowledge of the situation.

I'm sickened by this...this is exactly the type of thing that caused me to get out of the media years ago.

Basically this comes down to a 23 year old coach dating an 18 year old swimmer in a consensual relationship, that the parents were aware of, and it occurred approximately 5 years ago. I understand that the coach/swimmer relationship is wrong, and I don't condone it, but does it really merit this much attention? Neil has admitted to the mistake, and agreed to take whatever punishment is handed down by USA swimming, so why is it being treated as if it is pedophilia or rape? As far as I'm concerned this is a non-story until the ruling from USA Swimming is released, at which point it probably would be a blirb detailing the problem and punishment.

I’ll admit though, that maybe I'm prejudice on the matter…and it is distorting my perspective

Breeze

04-28-2014, 10:10 AM

Chattahoochee Long Course Time Trials - @ Cumming Aquatic Center – 5/2 – 5/4

The beginning of the Long Course Season starts this weekend, and Georgia swimming recently released new time standards to qualify for the State Meet. Basically, the changes involve dropping times in most of the freestyles and IMs, but slowing down the times in the remaining strokes. This is probably a direct result of the small number of swimmers that actually qualified for State at the Short Course Meeting following the tougher standards put in place last year.

Note: All seed times for this meet, appears to be actual year old Long Course times…so I’d expect a significant improvement.
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Brett

200 IM – 3:15.14 – With Brett’s improved fly and strength, I’d suspect this will improve significantly, should be sub 3 minutes.

800 Free – 11:20.00 – This time was created by the coach to get Brett into a heat with swimmers of similar quality.

100 Free – 1:18.20 – a sub 1:15 would be a good swim for Brett. I believe he could go 1:13, but I’m not sure he’s back in peak form yet.

100 Back – 1:37.93 – Brett’s backstroke improved significantly during the short course season, I could see a 12 second drop here.

200 Breast – 3:14.57 – This is the interesting one for Brett…with the new times for state qualification, Brett’s short course personal best actually translates as a qualifying time in Long Course. He’ll need to swim a 3:05.09 to qualify. I really hope he can get his cut in this meet so he’ll be in and not worry about it moving forward.
400 Free – 5:55.32 – Here is another area where Brett has improved significantly. Brett is much better at pushing himself in longer swims, a 30+ second improvement here really wouldn’t be a shock.

200 Free – 2:51.73 – This one will be interesting to watch. Brett still isn’t terrible good at sprinting frees, and this one is a long sprint, but his ability to push on longer swims will undoubted lead to improvement, just not sure how much.

100 Breast – 1:33.55 – Like the 200 the times for state qualification have been loosened. Brett’s converted time from short course is 3 seconds off of the cut time, but Brett is typically better in long course because he’s better in the middle of the pool than he is off walls. He needs a 1:25.89 to get the cut.

200 Back – 3:22.57 – like the 100 Back, I expect a big improvement here…might break 3 minutes.

400 IM – 6:10.00 – Coach entered time. Brett could beat it, especially if his fly holds up and he breaths less often (which he’s been working on in practice).

Note: At Bear’s birthday over the weekend, we played a bunch of football and ultimate Frisbee…which unfortunately has left Brett with some very sore muscles. Hopefully, it clears up early this week, so he can get good practices in and be prepared for the meet.

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Bear

200 IM – 3:16.95 – I don’t expect him to get sub 3, but a 3:03 or 3:05 sounds about right.

800 Free – 12:01.17 – I am fairly certain, Bear’s 1000 Free swim at SC State was more than enough for Bear to qualify for State in this event. But the improvement in time in this one will be significant. He may improve by 1.5 minutes…
200 Free – 2:46.97 – Bear’s short course time converts to a 2:31.52, the cut time is 2:31.39…

100 Back – 1:36.73 – Should see significant improvement, but will still be 5+ seconds off the cut

100 Fly – 1:45.45 – Bear’s conversion from short course is good enough for a cut, so if he can swim a 1:22.49 he’ll get it…

400 Free – 5:45.17 – converted time is well under the state cut requirements, but Bear’s 500 at SC State probably earned him this cut anyway…

100 Free – 1:18.65 – This is one area I’d love to see Bear improve on significantly…he’s currently the ninth seeded 11/12 year old Gold Freestyler. I’m not sure if any are aging up yet, as I haven’t done that much research into it, but I’d really like to see Bear on a relay. He’ll need to improve on his sprints to get there though.

200 Fly – NT – Bear is one of only 4 doing this…with his buddies Riley and Tommy also racing. Bear won’t be able to keep up with those 2, but he should do well if his form holds after the rest and restart from SC to LC

200 Back – 3:14.17 – Should be much better, but not state cut better…

400 IM – 7:02.74 – could improve on this one by about 1 minute…already has cut from SC

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Bailey

200 IM – 3:09.45 – Bailey was hoping to get a cut in this, but that was before the time improvements, not sure she’ll be able to get it this season, and I’d be shocked if she got it this meet.

50 Free – 38.78 – The one area Bailey has struggled to improve…Free sprints. Hoping for a breakthrough on this one.

200 Free – 2:52.19 – This goes back to the Free sprint comment above. But her improved effort on longer swims will cause a decent time improvement, even if her sprint speed hasn’t improved much.

100 Back – 1:31.48 – with the short to long course conversion, Bailey is about 1 second off the new easier state cut.

200 Breast – NT – Bailey isn’t thrilled to be doing this one. Not sure what her form looks like anymore…but if it is similar to her form at SC State, she’ll do fine.

100 Fly – 1:26.02 – Already has the cut from short course…

100 Free – 1:16.14 – See 50 Free…

200 Fly – NT – Bailey is one of only 5 girls swimming this…already has the cut from SC

200 Back – 3:01.64 – converted time is about 3 seconds off the cut.

400 IM – 6:48.11 – Bailey is concerned about the 400 IM following the 200 Fly earlier in the day. She loves both events, but typically likes to do one or the other on any given day. She doesn’t like doing both because of how taxing the swims are. She’s already asked Coach to allow her to skip the 200 fly next time so she’ll be fresh in the 400 IM. I expect it won’t matter, as she’ll probably post a great time anyway, and she already has the cut.

Breeze

05-08-2014, 11:20 AM

Chattahoochee Long Course Time Trials - RESULTS

Interestingly, found out during the meet that 2 of the Gold facilities have already started some long course work. Our pool has too many different facilities using it at the same time to do the long course conversion during the school year. We have to wait until school is out when we the practice times can be scattered throughout the day. This put us at a bit of a disadvantage as our kids (not just mine personally, but the Cumming facility swimmers), were not as prepared for the meet as they might have been. Especially, when you combine the first time in the long course pool with the fact the team is only just now starting to pick up the pace in practice, up until now they’ve been focused on drills and form. Hopefully, this means there will be some big improvements along the way.

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Brett

200 IM – 3:15.14 – Didn’t quite get sub 3…but came close 3:01.33…

800 Free – 11:20.00 – Brett swam this one with older kids, his friend, and Bear. He got behind early and really posted a pretty poor time of 11:20.37…I wasn’t counting of Brett, as Bear requested I do his lane, and Brett didn’t care, so I didn’t get a real good look at Brett. However, from what I could see it looked to me like there may have been a bit of give up in him on this one. He seemed to try and watch Bear, but was unable to keep up…so he decided he’d mail it in rather than try hard a fail. In his defense, he never did come back with an excuse.

100 Free – 1:18.20 – a ridiculously bad dive, very little effort and a poor time 1:17.93. He should have been much better than this…

100 Back – 1:37.93 – This was a better swim 1:27.60…

200 Breast – 3:14.57 – This was a disappointing swim for Brett as well. He dropped time, but it wasn’t anywhere near where we hoped he would be…3:11.23. This means he still has a long way to go in order to get his cut. I don’t know if this lack of production in breast is related to his recent growth causing some in efficiencies in his stroke, or if he’s just not in peak shape yet, but it looks like he’ll have a long climb to get the cut that I thought coming in he would reach pretty easily.

400 Free – 5:55.32 – Much better swim here…Brett managed to drop almost 28 seconds. 5:28.07…of course this begs the question…how do you not really drop time in a 100 free or an 800 free but you drop a bunch in a 400 free

200 Free – 2:51.73 – Before day 2, I told Brett that I didn’t care about his times, but that I’d like to see him increase his effort in his races. This was never more evident than this one. Brett opened the 200 free with a 1:15.93…almost 2 seconds under his 100 Free time from the day before. When it was all said and done he dropped 14 seconds 2:37.73

100 Breast – 1:33.55 – Interestingly Brett’s time drop in the 100 Breast was almost identical to his time drop in the 200 Breast. He finished with a 1:30.31. It’s a nice improvement, but he’s got a significant drop still needed here to get his cut as well…

200 Back – 3:22.57 – another good improvement, but just over 3 minutes. 3:02.76

400 IM – 6:10.00 – The fly leg of this event was much better than it has been. Still slow, but much better. This was also a very exciting race, as Brett opened the fly 100 in last place, but he was still within striking distance of several of the swimmers, as only the top 2 in the heat had truly separated from the pack. In back, Brett held his own, actually closing on a couple of guys, but losing a little ground to the 15 year old, from the Senior team in the lane next to him. However, when breast started, Brett felt he could catch the 15 year old (plus the other 5 swimmers between him and that swimmer…but his focus was on the 15 year old). By the end of the first 50, he had caught him, by the back 50 he had opened up a several body length lead. Unfortunately, he couldn’t hold him off in free, losing by half a body length. But it was good and inspired swim that I was extremely proud of. His time 6:11.31

Breeze

05-08-2014, 11:47 AM

Chattahoochee Long Course Time Trials - RESULTS

Bear

200 IM – 3:16.95 – I was wrong…he got sub 3…2:59.36.

800 Free – 12:01.17 – Bear blistered this swim. His buddy Tommy was next to him and he wanted to try and catch him, which really pushed him. 10:42.77, an improvement of 78+ seconds

200 Free – 2:46.97 – Bear, blistered this swim as well…opening with a 1:14.57…and finishing with a 2:29.73 and a state cut.

100 Back – 1:36.73 – Bear opened strong here, but he really slowed down in the last 20 meters or so. Not sure why. Time improvement was good, but I think he can go a decent bit faster. 1:25.57

100 Fly – 1:45.45 – Bear swam well here…not great, but strong with good form. Needs to race this more, but he’s in striking distance of a cut with a time of 1:25.91

400 Free – 5:45.17 – State cut for 12 year olds was easily reached with Bears time of 5:13.66. He opened a little conservatively, as is his M.O., so he might have a couple more seconds he can drop.

100 Free – 1:18.65 – Really good improvement here, finished with a 1:11.43, but probably isn’t going to be good enough for a relay.

200 Fly – NT – Only 3 ended up swimming this..Bear and his 2 buddies. Bear stayed close enough to be respectable and finished with a 3:08.69…we below the cut time of 3:19.

200 Back – 3:14.17 – Bear swam a 3:00.14, but it didn’t count as he was DQed. This one was irritating. The head official at this meet basically announced the day of the first session that they were going to crack down on the rule not allowing swimmers to finish fully submerged. So when Bear did his throw back for the finish he was tagged as being underwater. He’s in good company as over half of the pool in the top heat of the girls 18Us were DQed including 2 state champions. It isn’t a big deal, because it wasn’t a cut time anyway…but it was just unnecessary.

400 IM – 7:02.74 – Didn’t improve 1 minute as I predicted only 56.39 seconds. State cut time of 6:06.35…and very impressive. He had a nice showdown with the new swimmer Nikalas that he was friends with from Summer league.

Breeze

05-08-2014, 12:41 PM

Chattahoochee Long Course Time Trials - RESULTS

Bailey

200 IM – 3:09.45 – Good swim, dropping in 17+ seconds. 2:52.11.

50 Free – 38.78 – A big improvement in time down to a 33.40, but I was hoping for a bit better showing. There are still inefficiencies in her freestyle stroke.

200 Free – 2:52.19 – Another 17+ second improvement to 2:34.79

100 Back – 1:31.48 – Bailey swam a great race and came up just short of a state cut, posting a time of 1:19.95…the cut is 1:19.89…

200 Breast – NT – Bailey has a good, not great swim here. Finishing in 3:39.79…still needs to improve in breast for this stroke and for IMs moving forward, but it is much much better than it used to be…

100 Fly – 1:26.02 – I was blown away by this swim. Bailey finished second (the girl that beat her won the 100 fly at state) in the 11/12 age group, having just aged up to 12, and she finished in a time of 1:17.02. This time was faster than Brett swam his 100 Free (before Brett beat that time in the 200 Free the next day…)

100 Free – 1:16.14 – 1:13.16 is good, but still something isn’t translating...

200 Fly – NT – Again finished second (same girl from the 100 fly beat her)…posted a 2:53.83…only about 2 seconds off the cut for 13 year old girls…which is her new goal in this event.

200 Back – 3:01.64 – another close call on the cut…2:52.62, needs to drop about .4 of a second to get it.

400 IM – 6:48.11 – Another second place finish (same girl finished first)…and Bailey dropped a bunch of time. I was an interesting race, as Bailey was second after fly, lost a little ground on back, but was able to hold off a very good breaststroker and then beat her in the free as well. Final time was 6:04.83

Breeze

05-14-2014, 08:32 AM

General Update

Well, the potentially promising long course season for Brett has most likely ended. Coming into the this long course season, the times for state cuts in Breast had been dropped by several seconds, to the point that Brett's personal bests in short course when converted to long course times are under the cut requirement.

Unfortunately, we spent last night at Children's health care having Brett's knee evaluated, and the initial diagnosis is a facture on the growth plate of the tibia. We are in the process of setting up a appointment with a specialist and he's not to swim again until that appointment occurs. In addition, the typical healing time for something like this is 4 to 6 weeks, and if he's out of the water that long, his entire Summer season will be lost, as even if he can get into a race before state, he'll be so out of shape, he'll never swim the required times.

Disappointing, but he's taking it well right now...we'll see how he feels in several weeks.

Breeze

05-15-2014, 09:29 AM

Summer League - CRC Time Trials

The Summer League starts tomorrow with the CRC Time Trials. Last year we skipped this event, but this time around we are going to swim, because Bailey was sort of edged out of some relays because she missed the opportunity to show she was faster than a couple of girls who got the nod over her during the season. I'm not going to go into much detail here, but figured I'd outline some information that may prove interesting during the season...

In this meet, the kids each swim a 50 in all 4 strokes, thus providing the coaches a baseline in order to determine who competes in what event.

---------------------------------------------

Brett

Obviously with his fracture he won't be competing, but if he did, he'd win all 4 events as the rest of his age group is extremely weak.

---------------------------------------------

Bear

50 Free - Bear will probably finish 3rd. He has a shot to beat Seth (Gold Swimmer, who joined the team this season), but probably won't. Riley will win this one, as Riley is a top swimmer for the age group in the state.

50 Back - should be 2nd, behind Riley again.

50 Breast - probably 3rd, behind Riley and Alex (Gold Swimmer and Breaststroker)

50 Fly - 2nd behind Riley.

---------------------------------------------

Bailey

50 Free - My guess is 4th...could get 3rd, but also could get 5th...this one will be tight.

50 Back - Probably 2nd...could be as low as 4th though...

50 Breast - 4th

50 Fly - Should be 1st with a good swim.

Breeze

05-19-2014, 09:37 AM

Summer League - CRC Time Trials

So here are the results from Friday...

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Bear

In the boys 11/12 year old age group, 3 of the year round swimmers didn't compete at time trials, so Bear really had almost no competition. Also, it was very cold for a swim on Friday night (in the low 50s), so the team decided not to have warm ups. Combine that with the fact that Bear has been dealing with a sore shoulder and we told him just to take it easy. He won the Free, Back, and Fly by a lot. He got outtouched in the Breast, but wasn't really pushing it anyway...

------------------------------------------------------------------

Bailey

50 Free - 5th - this was disappointing because she's currently outside of the A relay, and with Summer League she may not get another chance to drop time in that event.

50 Back - 2nd - a good swim, as she was well ahead of third place.

50 Breast - 5th - this was disappointing only in the fact she was beaten by an 11 year old from a later heat. She didn't have her best swim here.

50 Fly - 2nd - she was disappointed she didn't win this one, but she was close enough to winning that she should be the Flyer on the A relay (as the girl that beat her also beat her in Back and should swim that stroke on the relay).

Note: Bailey's results were very interesting. She was disappointed in her Freestyle and Fly as she was hoping to do better in both...but that isn't what was interesting. What was interesting was the girls that beat Bailey in the Free and the one in the Fly all had their time Swim Atlanta trials on Saturday...and they all swam 100 Meter events in all 4 strokes. Every single one of there times were slower than Bailey's time trial times from a couple weeks ago. In fact, they were several seconds slower. Obviously, those girls must be doing much more sprint practicing if they are beating Bailey in a 50 Yard race, but would lose by several seconds in a 100 Meter race of the same stroke.

Breeze

05-22-2014, 09:02 AM

Chattahoochee Gold Swim Banquet

The team swim banquet was held last night. Unfortunately, I can give much information as I didn't attend. Brett got home late afternoon from his 8th grade field trip to Savannah, right as the wife and twins were leaving for the banquet. He was exhausted from the trip and didn't want to go, so I stayed home with him.

As you may remember from last year, Bailey won the Gold Award for the 9/10 girls, and she presented the team trophy to this years winner and received her personal trophy to keep.

Surprisingly, Bear won the Gold Award this year for the 11/12 boys. This was suprising, not from the standpoint of he didn't deserve it, but more from the standpoint of typical team politics. I felt given that Bailey won last year, there was almost no way Bear would win this year. Moreover, half of the 10 winners came from the Cumming pool, so I figured there would be pressure to select a swimmer from one of the other 3 locations.

Regardless, I am very sorry I missed the presentation. The coach was extremely complementary of Bear's effort. In summarizing his presentation, the coach noted that at the beginning of the season Bailey was doing extremely well and was moved up to Sectional Advanced, but Bear wasn't ready for that move. However, Bear continued to work extremely hard, doing exactly what he was asked, they way he was asked and he was able to not only get to Secontional Advanced before the end of the season, he was swimming so well he earned 4 state medals. The coach went on to say that this is exactly the type of kid you want on your team, and that he really loved coaching Bear (at which point he genuinely got choaked up).

Bear was embarassed to get up on stage and when he got the trophy at the edge of the stairs to the stage, he immediately started to retreat to his seat, but the coach stopped him, ran across the stage and gave him a big hug. I'm extremely happy for Bear...

Unfortunately, when the wife and kids got home, Brett was very excited to talk about his trip to his mom, but when he saw Bear's trophy he was once again slapped in the face with the realilzation that the twins continue to get recognized for their efforts and successes while he continues to struggle. Couple that with the fact, Bailey was irrationally upset with him for a different issue and he basically clammed up and went to bed. I keep hoping all Brett's hardwork will start paying off soon.

Breeze

05-27-2014, 10:30 AM

General Update

So the CRC Stingrays have updated the team website, including pictures, and Bailey is now in a couple of them. If you are interested here is the link...

Summer League Team Site (http://www.crcstingrays.net/Home.jsp?team=recascrcsga)

Bailey is the one swimming fly...she is also in the picture of a group of girls wearing the black team t-shirts, she's the second from the right...

Breeze

05-28-2014, 07:56 AM

CRC Summer League - vs Creekstone

----------------------------------------------------
Brett

Brett goes to the Dr. today (Wednesday 5/28), to determine the health of his knee. We are hopeful he'll be cleared to starts swimming again. If he is cleared he is scheduled to swim the following on Thursday night...

15-18 Medley Relay - Freestyle Leg (this could easily change to Breast at the meet)
13-14 - 100 Free
13-14 - 100 IM
13-14 - 50 Breast
15-18 - Free Relay (third leg)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Bailey

A Medley Relay - Fly Leg
50 Back
100 IM
B Free Relay - Anchor

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Bear

A Medley Relay - Back Leg
50 Back
100 IM
A Free Relay - Second Leg

Breeze

05-30-2014, 07:51 AM

CRC Summer League - vs Creekstone - RESULTS

----------------------------------------------------
Brett

Brett was cleared to start swimming on Wednesday, and actually, he was healing so well he's been completely cleared for all activity with one caveat - if it hurts stop.

15-18 Medley Relay - Brett swam the Freestyle leg, and it was unfortunate. The first three legs were very tight. When the freestyle leg started Brett and the opponent hit the water about the same time. The only problem was the 18 year old swimming for the opponent has a National Cut in the 50 free (read that as he qualifies for the National Championship and Olympic Trials in that event). It would not have mattered who swam for our team, we weren't going to keep up. But Brett feels he let the relay guys down, and he was embarrassed.
13-14 - 100 Free - won the event and swam a 1:05
13-14 - 100 IM - finished 2nd swam a 1:15
13-14 - 50 Breast - finished 2nd (same kid that beat him in the 100 IM beat him here), swam a 38
15-18 - Free Relay (third leg) - RAINED OUT

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Bailey

A Medley Relay - Fly Leg - Bailey's team not only won this event, they lapped every other team in the pool. Only about 3 seconds off of the county record with several weeks and a faster pool for the meet. There is a shot...
50 Back - Bailey won on the start with a great stream line. Swam a 32
100 IM - finished second, lost by less than a second to teammate Emilie. 1:10
B Free Relay - Anchor - RAINED OUT

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Bear

A Medley Relay - Back Leg - Bear's team also lapped the other teams
50 Back - Won with the start - swam in 35 seconds even though he got into the ropes again.
100 IM - Won it going away 1:14
A Free Relay - Second Leg - RAINED OUT

The team won by 200 points....

Breeze

06-04-2014, 12:53 PM

CRC Summer League - vs Longlake

I don't have a final breakdown of the meet tomorrow, but here is what is currently in place...

---------------------------------------------------
Brett

13/14 Medley Relay - Breast leg (and they will get killed)
100 Free
100 IM
50 Breast
13/14 Free Relay - lead off leg (and they will get killed)

---------------------------------------------------
Bailey

11/12 A Medley Relay - Backstroke leg
100 IM - racing Emilie
50 Fly - racing Caroline
11/12 B Free Relay - anchor leg

---------------------------------------------------
Bear

11/12 A Medley Relay - Backstroke leg
50 Back
100 Free - moved to clear up the mess in the 100 IM
(100 IM - currently set to race Seth and Riley in this event - the 3 best boys on the team all in the same event...I've told the coach she needs to adjust this)
11/12 A Free Relay - 3rd Leg

Breeze

06-06-2014, 07:55 AM

CRC Summer League - vs Longlake - RESULTS

---------------------------------------------------
Brett

13/14 Medley Relay - Actually, this was much closer than it should have been. Brett was about 15 yards behind in his leg and he handed the flyer about a 5 yard lead, which was lost at the first turn. Brett's team ended up losing by about 5 yards.
100 Free - Got a big lead early and Cruised to a win...
100 IM - RAINED OUT
50 Breast - RAINED OUT
13/14 Free Relay - lead off leg (and they will get killed) - RAINED OUT

---------------------------------------------------
Bailey

11/12 A Medley Relay - Backstroke leg - Won going away...slightly slower than last week.
100 IM - racing Emilie - RAINED OUT
50 Fly - racing Caroline - RAINED OUT
11/12 B Free Relay - anchor leg - RAINED OUT

---------------------------------------------------
Bear

11/12 A Medley Relay - Backstroke leg - Won going away...Bear still got in the ropes again...outdoor backstroke is so much harder...
50 Back - RAINED OUT
100 Free - moved to clear up the mess in the 100 IM - Won by about 10 yards.
(100 IM - currently set to race Seth and Riley in this event - the 3 best boys on the team all in the same event...I've told the coach she needs to adjust this)
11/12 A Free Relay - 3rd Leg - RAINED OUT

FINAL SCORE:
Due to the rain, I didn't get the final score, but we were leading by 120 points and we weren't even half way through the meet.

Breeze

06-11-2014, 11:20 AM

CRC Summer League - vs Aberdean

---------------------------------------------------
Brett

#10 Boys 13-14 200 Medley Relay (2) 2:40.45 1/3
#32 Boys 13-14 100 Free 1:05.02 1/3
#44 Boys 13-14 50 Back NT 1/3
#54 Boys 13-14 100 IM 1:15.91 1/3
#64 Boys 13-14 50 Breast 33.00 1/3
#74 Boys 13-14 50 Fly NT 1/3
#84 Boys 13-14 200 Free Relay (1) NT

---------------------------------------------------
Bailey

#7 Girls 11-12 200 Medley Relay (1) 2:08.23 1/3
#51 Girls 11-12 100 IM 1:10.70 1/3
#71 Girls 11-12 50 Fly 31.56 1/3
#81 Girls 11-12 200 Free Relay (3) 1:52.72 1/3

---------------------------------------------------
Bear

#8 Boys 11-12 200 Medley Relay (1) 2:11.69 1/3
#42 Boys 11-12 50 Back 35.28 1/3
#52 Boys 11-12 100 IM 1:14.73 1/3
#82 Boys 11-12 200 Free Relay (2) 1:57.01 1/3

And in case you are wondering...yes it is supposed to rain again on Thursday night...

Breeze

06-11-2014, 11:24 AM

CRC Summer League - vs Aberdean - RESULTS

---------------------------------------------------
Brett

#10 Boys 13-14 200 Medley Relay (2) 2:40.45 1/3 - So this was hilarious...Brett was doing the fly in the relay because he's the only one that could do it legally...as I watched him on the blocks waiting for the breaststroker to get to the wall, I realized he hadn't put his goggles over his eyes. They were on top of his head, and sure enough, my "briliant" kid dove in without having his goggles ready. Didn't matter...they had already been lapped by the time Brett hit the water.
#32 Boys 13-14 100 Free 1:05.02 1/3 - Improved to a 1:04.xx and beat another year rounder who was a year older and several inches taller...
#44 Boys 13-14 50 Back NT 1/3 - Ok swim, not a ton of effort but did well enough.
#54 Boys 13-14 100 IM 1:15.91 1/3 - Similar to back...did ok
#64 Boys 13-14 50 Breast 33.00 1/3- the closest finish I've ever dealt with. Brett raced 2 other boys to the wall and in fact, (I serve at the place judge representative on our team), my order of finish, the other teams order of finish, and the starter's order of finish all were different. The stop watch times, which as I've discussed previously are terrible inaccurate had the two boys from the other team in a dead heat 36.96, and Brett at a 37.02, but Brett was actually given the win...(watches are not the measure in most Summer League meets)
#74 Boys 13-14 50 Fly NT 1/3 - Did ok in the first 25, then breathed every stroke coming home and finished 3rd
#84 Boys 13-14 200 Free Relay (1) NT - Brett led off, and stayed close to the B team for the opponent...then it was downhill from there...

---------------------------------------------------
Bailey

#7 Girls 11-12 200 Medley Relay (1) 2:08.23 1/3 - Bailey opened a big lead in the back, and they ended up lapping 4 of the 5 lanes with only the B relay staying within 20 seconds.
#51 Girls 11-12 100 IM 1:10.70 1/3 - Great race between Bailey and Emilie...neck and neck the entire way. Bailey lost by about a finger's length
#71 Girls 11-12 50 Fly 31.56 1/3 - Won going away.
#81 Girls 11-12 200 Free Relay (3) 1:52.72 1/3 - Won going away. Again lapped 4 of 5 lanes.

---------------------------------------------------
Bear

#8 Boys 11-12 200 Medley Relay (1) 2:11.69 1/3 - Read Bailey's medley relay...as this was almost a carbon copy
#42 Boys 11-12 50 Back 35.28 1/3 - pulled away here, just like the opening backstroke leg in the medley relay
#52 Boys 11-12 100 IM 1:14.73 1/3 - blew away the field
#82 Boys 11-12 200 Free Relay (2) 1:57.01 1/3 - Won going away...lapped all but 2 lanes.

FINAL SCORE:
CRC - 408
Aberdean - 388

Breeze

06-11-2014, 11:41 AM

Swim with Dad - @ GaTech – 6/14 - 6/15

The meet this weekend has a pretty screwed up approach, and I'm not really pleased about it. Each race will be mixed gender and no age group delineation, just separated by seed times. While this may make the event go slightly quicker...it clearly sets up a situation where the boys (especially Brett) may walk away embarassed.

------------------------------------------------------------

Brett

100 Brst - 1:30.31
200 Back - 3:02.76
50 Free - 36.54
100 BFly - 1:53.08
200 Brst - 3:11.23
100 Free - 1:17.93 (really a 1:15.xx from the opening of the 200 free at time trials)
50 Brst - 43:49
800 Free - 11:20.37 (won't get in due to limited number of swimmers allowed in this event)

---------------------------------------------------------
Bailey

100 Brst - 1:50.29
200 Back - 2:52.62
100 Bfly - 1:17.02
400 IM - 6:04.83
200 Bfly - 2:53.83
100 Back - 1:19.95
800 Free - NT (won't get in due to limited number of swimmers allowed in this event)

-------------------------------------------------------
Bear

100 Brst - 1:52.82
200 Back - 3:14.17
50 Free - 35.66
400 IM - 6:06.35
100 Free - 1:11.43
100 Back - 1:25.57
50 Bfly - 42.69
800 Free - 10:42.77 (Bear might make it in, depending on who doesn't positive enter)...

Breeze

06-16-2014, 11:04 AM

Swim with Dad - @ GaTech – RESULTS
------------------------------------------------------------

Brett

100 Brst - 1:30.31 – Brett raced right next to one of the girls (14) from the group that hangs out all the time. They were neck and neck the entire way, and Brett managed to just out touch her at the wall winning by .03 seconds 1:30.09. While this is an improvement, it is becoming obvious Brett’s breaststroke is flat-lining. We haven’t seen any major improvements this season. It may be related to his growth (several inches in a couple of months), but if he’s going to improve it may require a little extra and personal attention (read: private lessons). We’ll see if he is interested in that…currently my feeling is he’s afraid his friends will find out and make fun of him…but who knows.

200 Back - 3:02.76 – Not a great race here. His backstroke had been improving but he added a second and ended with 3:03.80.

50 Free - 36.54 – Terrible dive…too deep – but still improved by 1.38 seconds. Could have cut another second plus with a better dive…35.16

100 BFly - 1:53.08 – Dropped almost 10 seconds here. Of course he had it to lose. 1:43.19. Numerous parents commented on how good the form was…so there is progress. If he’ll not breath every stroke he could drop another 10 in a heartbeat.

200 Brst - 3:11.23 – flat-lined…almost exactly the same time 3:11.32

100 Free - 1:17.93 (really a 1:15.xx from the opening of the 200 free at time trials) – 1:14.79…so an improvement even over is 1:15.xx time. Unfortunately, he lost to a 12 year old girl in the lane next to him, and that girl swims on the Summer league team. We’ll see if there is any teasing that comes from this.

50 Brst - 43:49 – dropped just over a second 42.38. Still pretty pedestrian improvement.

800 Free - 11:20.37 – He actually did get in…and he managed to drop 14.77 seconds. Could have done better as he had a lot left when he got out. Just can’t get him to buy in and really push in the distance frees. 11:05.60

Breeze

06-16-2014, 11:07 AM

Swim with Dad - @ GaTech – RESULTS
------------------------------------------------------------

Bailey

100 Brst - 1:50.29 – her breast is starting to get much better. She swam a 1:37.77. This will pay huge dividends down the road, especially in the IMs if she can keep up this improved form.

200 Back - 2:52.62 – Dropped a couple seconds 2:50.06 – wasn’t terribly pleased with it. She was hoping for better. She earned a state cut anyway...

100 Bfly - 1:17.02 – 1:15.89 – a nice drop from just about a month ago. Still breathed too much, and she knows it too.

400 IM - 6:04.83 – over 10 second drop…5:54.60…unfortunately, her touch on the breast to free turn didn’t register, so I don’t have that split

200 Bfly - 2:53.83 – In this race Bailey was next to an 18 year old boy. She had two 16 year old boys and three 16 year old girls, and several 15 year olds in her heat. She definitely tired as she had a couple of long deliberate strokes in order to rest…but she still managed to drop 3.6 seconds. She finished with a 2:50.15…and in case you were wondering. She beat the 18 year old…(in fact, she finished third in the heat). This swim was good enough for the 13 year old cut...

100 Back - 1:19.95 – Added time here 1:20.60…I think this is from fatigue.

50 Bfly – 37.37 – Dropped 3 seconds…34.31…said she had more time to drop. Needs to clean up a couple of things. Has begged coach to put her in it at the next meet. Only .02 from the cut...

800 Free – Did Not Get In

Breeze

06-16-2014, 11:09 AM

Swim with Dad - @ GaTech – RESULTS
------------------------------------------------------------

Bear

100 Brst - 1:52.82 – Also a big drop for Bear here…1:42.02…

200 Back - 3:14.17 – 17 second drop…2:56.85 - Dive was way too deep. Could get another second of 2 with a better angle on the start

50 Free - 35.66 – Pretty good improvement here…but his dive was too deep again. If his underwater work wasn’t so strong it would kill his time. 33.32.

400 IM - 6:06.35 – 5:51.08…was racing MK…they were neck and neck the entire way…and all the kids were cheering them on, as they had bets on who would win. Bear had a slight lead in fly, opened it some in back (which was surprising given MK’s back)…he lost the lead by about half a body in breast, but in the free, his ability at distance swimming and stamina took over and he beat her by about a second. Brett bet against Bear and lost…in case you were wondering.

100 Free - 1:11.43 – only a slight drop 1:11.09

100 Back - 1:25.57 – again a slight drop 1:24.79

50 Bfly - 42.69 – Dropped 4 seconds here. Still breathing too much (or at least lifting his head to high through the stroke)…I think there are a couple more seconds once he gets the stroke ironed out a bit more. 38.65

800 Free - 10:42.77 – Right before Bear’s swim, Riley (one of the gang) was playing around and he hit Bear right on the nose with a water bottle. It is bruised pretty bad…and Bear was hurting a bit. However, he went into this wanting to swim splits under 1:20…Because the race had 2 people in a lane in order to finish quicker…I don’t have his splits, but I can tell you from doing my math, that he was only above the 1:20 range on the second split. Then he really picked it up, and he churned out a race with a final time of 10:22.19. This is a AAA time, and qualifies him for the All-Star banquet (whenever it will be held again)…

Breeze

06-18-2014, 07:52 AM

CRC Summer League at Polo Fields

Breeze, Brett - Male - Age: 13 - CRCS-AS - Ind/Rel: 4 / 2
#12 Boys 15-18 200 Medley Relay (2) 2:42.32 1/5
#32 Boys 13-14 100 Free 1:04.81 1/5
#54 Boys 13-14 100 IM 1:15.91 1/5
#64 Boys 13-14 50 Breast 33.00 1/5
#74 Boys 13-14 50 Fly 38.65 1/5
#86 Boys 15-18 200 Free Relay (2) NT 1/5

10 Breeze, Bear - Male - Age: 12 - CRCS-AS - Ind/Rel: 2 / 2
#8 Boys 11-12 200 Medley Relay (1) 2:09.71 1/5
#30 Boys 11-12 100 Free 1:03.00 1/5
#42 Boys 11-12 50 Back 34.63 1/5 - Bear will be racing Seth here, and that will give me a good idea for the Medley Relay
#82 Boys 11-12 200 Free Relay (2) 1:55.18 1/5

Breeze, Bailey - Female - Age: 12 - CRCS-AS - Ind/Rel: 2 / 2
#7 Girls 11-12 200 Medley Relay (3) 2:05.44 1/5
#19 Girls 11-12 50 Free 28.47 1/5 - This is Bailey's shot to get into the A free relay at county
#51 Girls 11-12 100 IM 1:10.65 1/3
#81 Girls 11-12 200 Free Relay (4) 1:59.08 1/3

Breeze

06-20-2014, 06:28 AM

CRC Summer League at Polo Fields - RESULTS

The kids had an extremely hard practice with Gold Thursday morning, and it really showed up during the races...

Breeze, Brett - Male - Age: 13 - CRCS-AS - Ind/Rel: 4 / 2
#12 Boys 15-18 200 Medley Relay (2) 2:42.32 1/5 - I had the team move Brett into the 15-18 relay, because even with Brett in the 13/14 relay they were not going to win, and the other boy that was scheduled swim up, would have killed the 15/18 teams chances. As it turns out, Brett had a lead heading into the Free Leg (they older boys told him that was their best configuration), but his dive was a bit too deep, and he was passed at the wall and out touched by about a hands length. He felt, bad, but at least he gave them a chance. An easier practice, or a more shallow dive and he wins that one.
#32 Boys 13-14 100 Free 1:04.81 1/5 - working on some stuff with his free kick right now, and it appears to be working. Had a nice swim, but Polo has 3 of the best 13/14 year olds in the county...
#54 Boys 13-14 100 IM 1:15.91 1/5 - Fly looks much better, and new free kick was better too...
#64 Boys 13-14 50 Breast 36.80 1/5 - Did ok here...
#74 Boys 13-14 50 Fly 38.65 1/5 - First 25 of the fly was very good for Brett...back half fatigue set in a bit and he faided, but form is much better.
#86 Boys 15-18 200 Free Relay (2) NT 1/5 - The older boys let Brett lead off and then they tried to swim down the other team. They nearly did, losing by less than a body length...

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10 Breeze, Bear - Male - Age: 12 - CRCS-AS - Ind/Rel: 2 / 2
#8 Boys 11-12 200 Medley Relay (1) 2:09.71 1/5 - Bear and Seth switched places, and they dropped almost 2 seconds as a relay. Part of that might be contributed to the fact Polo's back and breast leg swimmers (the first two in the relay) are very good (both Gold kids), and we were actualy trialing heading into the fly...
#30 Boys 11-12 100 Free 1:03.00 1/5 - Got a big lead early and cruised...
#42 Boys 11-12 50 Back 34.63 1/5 - Seth beat bear, and so did their backstroker (who is one of the best 11/12s in county. He won the year round backstroke for 11 year olds at short course state.
#82 Boys 11-12 200 Free Relay (2) 1:55.18 1/5 - Seth lost the opening 50 to the same kid that swam back. Bear closed some on the kid that swam Breast in the relay, but they were still swimming. The 3rd swimmer closed the gap and actually had a very slight lead heading into the anchor. Then Riley blew the field. Winning by 15 yards...

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Breeze, Bailey - Female - Age: 12 - CRCS-AS - Ind/Rel: 2 / 2
#7 Girls 11-12 200 Medley Relay (3) 2:05.44 1/5 - With Bailey in fly and Caroline and back they were over a full second faster...
#19 Girls 11-12 50 Free 28.47 1/5 - - Fatigue from practice killed her chances...she swam a 29 low, and she needed to swim a 28 low...
#51 Girls 11-12 100 IM 1:10.65 1/3 - swam around a 1:11...looked good but tired.
#81 Girls 11-12 200 Free Relay (4) 1:59.08 1/3 - Nearly swam down the Polo Fields A relay from the Anchor spot of the CRC B Relay...

Breeze

06-24-2014, 08:05 AM

Stu Hixon Invite @ Mt View Aquatic 6/27 – 6/29

This is our busy weekend, where we will swim a year round meet on Friday and Sunday and the Summer League County Championship on Saturday. The information below is for the year round meet…I’ll create a separate thread for the county championship.

This is a prelim/final meet...and the twins look like they will be making finals in several events. Brett may make finals in the breaststrokes...

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Brett

# 2 Male 13-14 200 Free 2:37.73L - I found an article that went into the science of the flutter kick, which seemed to resonate with Brett. He has been working pretty hard to correct some fundamental mistakes, so I'm very interested to see how he does in his freestyle events.
# 10 Male 13-14 100 Breast 1:30.09L - He made a change this week to his breast, he's really staying a lot lower in the water. He thinks he is much faster, and the coach seems to like it.
# 28 Male 13-14 400 Medley 6:11.31L - With improved fly and free, he could drop a bunch of time, especially, if he will limit breathing during the fly.
# 78 Male 13-14 200 Medley 3:01.33L - See 400 IM above
# 96 Male 13-14 200 Back 3:02.76L - I expect similar results here...no real changes in the back.
# 108 Male 13-14 800 Free 11:05.60L - see 200 Free

Brett’s best change to get a state cut is in the 200 Breast, which is being offered on Saturday. Unfortunately, the year round meet and the county championship are at the same time, so Brett won’t be able to do both. He has elected to swim the year round meet, (which is the right decision) so we will be deck entering him and having to divide the family to get to both place. Not sure who’s going were right now…

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Bailey

# 7 Woman 11-12 200 Medley 2:52.11L
# 23 Woman 11-12 50 Back 40.67L
# 83 Woman 11-12 50 Fly 34.31L
# 111 Woman 11-12 400 Free 5:50.33L - This is the one event that she really needs to improve. Got to get that Free more effective...she sounds like she's ready to work a bit harder on these mid distance swims now...

Ok, you are probably wondering why Bailey only has 4 events…well, the coach messed up and entered Bailey in both the 50 and 200 backs and flys…which isn’t allowed, it is an either/or situation. So we’ll have to scratch 2 events. Because Bailey has her cuts in both the 200s and she doesn’t have her cuts in the 50s it is a pretty easy choice. We’ll deck enter her in some other events…probably a breast and maybe the 800 Free…

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Bear

# 8 Male 11-12 200 Medley 2:59.36L - Needs to keep head down on fly legs...if he does he'll drop time
# 16 Male 11-12 100 Free 1:11.09L - Feels he can go under 1:10
# 26 Male 11-12 200 Back 2:56.85L - Needs to shallow out start and turns a bit. He's strong underwater, but he's too deep and he loses momentum
# 82 Male 11-12 200 Fly 3:08.69L - See the 200 IM
# 102 Male 11-12 200 Breast 3:59.95L
# 112 Male 11-12 400 Free 5:13.66L - I don't think he's done this in a while, and his most recent drop in the 800 tells me he should be able to drop a good bit of time here...

Breeze

06-25-2014, 09:40 AM

Summer League - Forsyth County Championships @ Ga Tech - 6/28

The goal here is to get into the top 3, as that earns a medal and a spot on the County Team for the GRPA State Meet, and to get into the top 12 of the Free Style as that earns a spot on the Free Relays. If you finish outside of the magic numbers, you have to wait and see if everyone in front of you is actually going to participate at GRPA State...

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Brett Breeze - Male - Age: 13 - Comp#: 1492 - Ind/Rel: 3 / 2

As mentioned previously, Brett probably won't be swimming this meet, as he'll be at the year round meeting going for his state cut...however, if somehow we get done early and make it over the Tech in time, this is what is on his plate...

#10 Boys 13-14 200 Medley Relay (2) 2:42.63 - Will finish last with or without Brett
#22 Boys 13-14 50 Free X32.09 - I believe Brett would actually swim close to 30.5 in this one...not good enought to make a relay though.
#54 Boys 13-14 100 IM 1:15.91 - seeded 8th out of 17...probably would finish 8th as well...
#64 Boys 13-14 50 Breast 36.60 - coming in seeded 6th...could finish as high as 3rd, and depending on who elects not to go to GRPA state, he might make the County Team...
#84 Boys 13-14 200 Free Relay (4) 2:13.00 - Will finish last with our without Brett

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Bailey Breeze - Female - Age: 12 - Comp#: 1493 - Ind/Rel: 3 / 2

#7 Girls 11-12 200 Medley Relay (1) 2:05.83 - At the beginning of the season, I thought this team might have a chance to break the county record of 2:01.44, but the best they have managed so far this season is a 2:04 low (the 2:05 seed time is the third fastest of the season). They may improve a bit due to some tapering being done by Bailey and Emilie for the Stu Hixon meet, but 3 full seconds is a lot to ask...
#19 Girls 11-12 50 Free X28.47 - Bailey is the 5th seed on the team in free (though I think she is actually the 3rd fastest), and she's seeded 7th in the county. She'll make a relay unless she has a terrible swim...might even slip into the top 4...
#51 Girls 11-12 100 IM 1:10.65 - Bailey is seeded 3rd...half a second behind Emilie (which is what we see each Thursday) and 1 second behind first. She's a good 5 seconds ahead of 4th...so should get to swim this at GRPA State.
#71 Girls 11-12 50 Fly 30.87 - Comes in with the top seed...but it will be close with the top 5 all within a second...need a good dive!!!
#81 Girls 11-12 200 Free Relay (4) 1:59.08 - Because Bailey is the 5th seed, she's on the B relay...but they are seeded 4th in the county. 4 good swims and they might actually medal. They aren't that far behind the seed time for third.

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Bear Breeze - Male - Age: 12 - Comp#: 1532 - Ind/Rel: 3 / 2

#8 Boys 11-12 200 Medley Relay (1) 2:09.71 - Bear should swim the Free on this relay not back, as they swim 2:07s with that configuration. Have a shot to win this event.
#20 Boys 11-12 50 Free X29.44 - Bear is actually a bit faster than this I think, probably closer to a 28.5. But it may not matter as he's seeded 8th and 7th is a 28.5...
#42 Boys 11-12 50 Back 34.63 - Bear is seeded 4th, but he's gotten into the ropes each week, and he does a much better job of not doing that when he's inside. If he can stay out of the ropes and not go too deep on the dive, he might get as high as second.
#52 Boys 11-12 100 IM 1:14.12 - Also seeded 4th...but one in front of his has a bad time, and one behind him has an old time. He'll have a battle to get into the top three so he can swim it a GRPA state regardless.
#82 Boys 11-12 200 Free Relay (3) 1:55.30 - Another relay where they could possibly win the county championship.

Breeze

06-26-2014, 10:51 AM

Just for Fun

If you are reading along, and have never been to a Summer Swim Meet, I thought I'd give you a bit of a peek inside. I can vouche for a lot of the information below, as I see it all the time, and lived it when my kids were younger..

This is from an article on Huffington Post...
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julianna-w-miner/anatomy-of-a-swim-meet_b_5509910.html?utm_hp_ref=email_share)-------------------------------------------------

I have three kids, and they all swim on a swim team every summer. I decided to capture my experience at a morning swim meet, for those of you not in the water cult.

6:00 a.m.: Wake up, drink coffee. Wake up grouchy children.

6:45 a.m.: Arrive at pool. Parking lot is already full. Let the kids out and park far away. Carry/drag chairs, bags and a cooler as if I were large pack animal. It occurs to me suddenly that as mother of three there is no denying that I am a large pack animal.

6:58 a.m.: Small miracle occurs. I find a great place to set up chairs, etc. Next to friends. With a good view of the pool. In full shade. Wish I'd brought a sweatshirt actually, it's kind of chilly.

7:00 a.m.: Kids jump into the freezing cold pool for warm-ups and exchange looks with each other like -- WHY DO WE DO THIS AGAIN?

7:30 a.m.: Children begin harassing me for money for the snack bar. I try to hand them something healthy from the cooler. Suddenly every other kid at the swim meet is eating large, chocolate-frosted doughnuts.

8:00 a.m.: A 10th grader is now singing the national anthem. She is really good. Why do I get slightly (and embarrassingly) choked up by this, yet again? And why is it a surprise every time it happens? I am dumb.

8:05 a.m.: Child number one swims and makes it across the pool without a near-fatal drowning accident occurring. Success!

8:25 a.m.: Children two and three have raced, and I screamed my head off to KICK! KICK! KICK! even though I know perfectly well that they can't hear me underwater and so it's pointless. I don't want to yell KICK! KICK! KICK! But it just comes out.

8:30 a.m.: Give in and take kids to the snack bar for doughnuts (as I am out of coffee anyway).

8:55 a.m.: Child number two runs over to me, dripping wet and beaming. "Did you see that, Mommy?! Did you see that?!" I blink twice and answer: "Yes! That was awesome! Here, have a dollar! Go get another doughnut!" The moms sitting next to me giggle.

9:00 a.m.: Still cursing myself for participating in a sport where if you get distracted for literally 30 seconds you miss the whole thing.

9:20 a.m.: Child number three swims her best time ever and is so happy she can't stand it. It might be the best feeling in the world.

9:40 a.m.: Feel momentary surge of guilt for not volunteering today. Then remember that husband is traveling and I'm on my own with the kiddos. And also how I stayed until 10:30 p.m. to move chairs around on the pool deck and take out trash at the night meet last week.

10:05 a.m.: At some point, the kids drag the cooler of healthy snacks over to the picnic area. I go to retrieve it and observe that all of the food in it appears to have been consumed by wolves.

10:15 a.m.: Get to see lots of familiar faces and families from last year, which is great. Why do all these kids keep growing so much? Dear GOD -- that one has a mustache. Last year he was playing with Pokemon.

10:20 a.m.: Child number two has apparently forgotten how to do the backstroke and gets disqualified. He is devastated for five minutes and then says: "I'm hungry! Can I have a doughnut?"

10:30 a.m.: A kid is swimming breaststroke for the first time. He is tiny and can barely make it across the pool. All the other swimmers in the race have finished and are hanging onto the wall, watching him. He looks around and sees he's dead last. He starts to sag in the water. Parents who don't even know the kid begin to cheer their hearts out. KICK! KICK! KICK! Teenage coaches from the other team start clapping for him and running up and down the side of the pool. He touches the wall and the whole place goes nuts for him. The swimmers in the lanes on either side of him shake his hand and pat him on the back.

10:40 a.m.: Still thinking about how happy I am to be participating in a sport where a kid who comes in last still walks away feeling awesome.

10:45 a.m.: My chair is now in full sun and it's hot as balls.

10:49 a.m.: The timers are switching to the other side of the pool and "Gangnam Style" starts to play over the speakers. A horde of small children start to boogie down. Some of them know all the moves and it quickly becomes a dance battle for the ages.

10:55 a.m.: Child number three swims her hardest and gets crushed by the kids who train all winter. She's still smiling because she beat her best time.

10:59 a.m.: Child number two wanders over and says: "I'M HUNGRY."

11:05 a.m.: Misplace my youngest child, age 5. Find her sitting with John Ross, a 15-year-old boy she adores, who is very patiently discussing Spiderman with her. I ask her to come back to our chairs. She glares at me and says: "WE ARE TALKING. ABOUT SPIDERMAN."

11:30 a.m.: The crowd has thinned and the meet is winding down. Watching the teenagers swim butterfly now. It's kind of beautiful. I make a comment about this to my kids, in the hopes that they'll watch and really observe how it's done when it's done well. The big kids glance at the race for two-fifths of a second, then go back to playing Uno in a towel fort with their friends. The little one is asleep in a lounge chair with a ring pop dangling off one finger.

Noon: Arrive home. Face sunburned to a bright red. Want to collapse into the dark, air conditioned living room and not move ever again.

12:05 p.m.: Child number three wanders into the living room and says: "I'm bored. Can we go to the pool?"

thealmighty

06-26-2014, 10:46 PM

Since it's been 3 months since someone other than you has made a post in this thread, here is one.

And, btw, this is my favorite dynasty thread, so don't close it until the twins go to college (or they all quit swimming).

Breeze

06-27-2014, 11:50 AM

Breeze

06-27-2014, 11:52 AM

Quick Update

Brett complained last night of not feeling well. This morning at 5 when I woke him up, he didn't say anything, but based on his results (I'm not at the meet, had to go to work, so I'm following along with the post race results only), he must still be feeling poorly. He added a good bit of time in all his races. His last chance for a state cut this season appears to be slipping away...

Breeze

07-01-2014, 09:39 AM

Quick Update

So we took Brett to the doctor, and it turns out he has a virus. A significant enough virus that it actually has a name (though I don't remember it). Apparently, it lasts about a week, so we are looking at several more days of him being less than 100%...

The wife has also apparently developed the same virus...and her comment to me about it..."I don't know how Brett managed to swim feeling like this..."

Breeze

07-01-2014, 10:24 AM

Stu Hixon Invite @ Mt View Aquatic – DAY 1 PRELIM RESULTS

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Brett

# 2 Male 13-14 200 Free 2:37.73L – Added 2.49 seconds to his personal best…
# 10 Male 13-14 100 Breast 1:30.09L – Added 2.59 seconds to his personal best
# 28 Male 13-14 400 Medley 6:11.31L – Added almost 10 seconds…
Brett’s illness really took a toll…as he was sluggish and stiff in these races. Coach even commented that he didn’t look right…

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Bailey

# 7 Woman 11-12 200 Medley 2:52.11L – Bailey improved to a 2:47.73 in prelims and finished 10, thus qualifying for finals later that evening…this brought Bailey to almost exactly a second off a State Cut…
# 23 Woman 11-12 50 Back 40.67L – In the back Bailey dropped 3.65 seconds to a 37.02 and finished 6th, qualifying for the finals, and getting a state cut…
#33 Woman 11-12 800 Free NT – We did get Bailey entered in the 800 Free and she swam an impressive 10:46.84, which was good enough for 12 overall and a state cut…
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Bear

# 8 Male 11-12 200 Medley 2:59.36L - dropped time to 2:54.40…but finished 14 and didn’t make finals.
# 16 Male 11-12 100 Free 1:11.09L – Did go a 1:10.52…but was disappointed. Also finished 11, so no finals appearance.
# 26 Male 11-12 200 Back 2:56.85L - Better start, dropped 1.24 seconds and finished in 2:55.61…finished 8 and qualified for finals. Needed to drop another 1.5 seconds to get a state cut.

Breeze

07-01-2014, 10:31 AM

Stu Hixon Invite @ Mt View Aquatic – DAY 1 FINALS RESULTS

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Bailey

# 7 Woman 11-12 200 Medley 2:47.73 – Bailey dropped another 2.06 seconds to finish with a 2:45.66, end up ninth, and earn her third state cut of the day…
# 23 Woman 11-12 50 Back 37.02 – another drop improved Bailey’s finish to fifth and her personal best to 36.77
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Bear
# 26 Male 11-12 200 Back 2:55.61 - Bear also managed to get a drop in his last event. He dropped .7 seconds down to 2:54.92…he finished eighth, but didn’t earn his cut…

Breeze

07-01-2014, 10:44 AM

Stu Hixon Invite @ Mt View Aquatic – Day 2 PRELIMS

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Brett

Even though Brett was feeling terrible…he wanted his shot to get the 200 Breast cut, so I ran him over to the Stu Hixon Meet that morning, while the wife took the twins to Tech for the County Championships…

Male 13-14 50 Free 35.16 - Went ahead and put Brett in this one, so he could get a race in before the 200, rather than sitting around getting cold…he managed to drop about .4 of a second to 34.75.

Male 13-14 200 Breast 3:11.23 – Brett, looked better than he has in quite a while with his Breast…he did drop time down to 3:09.71, a nice improvement, but he didn’t get his cut…
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At this point, we raced down to Tech in hopes of getting there in time for Brett to swim his events in the county championship…

Breeze

07-01-2014, 12:34 PM

Summer League - Forsyth County Championships @ Ga Tech - RESULTS

The goal here is to get into the top 3, as that earns a medal and a spot on the County Team for the GRPA State Meet, and to get into the top 12 of the Free Style as that earns a spot on the Free Relays. If you finish outside of the magic numbers, you have to wait and see if everyone in front of you is actually going to participate at GRPA State...

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Bailey Breeze - Female - Age: 12 - Comp#: 1493 - Ind/Rel: 3 / 2

#7 Girls 11-12 200 Medley Relay (1) 2:05.83 - – So the girls A medley relay, as expected won the county championship…and they won by over 7 seconds…As for the county record. The backstroker has been working recently on the extended underwater start…which is what ultimately, she’ll need to know, unfortunately, right now it is probably costing her some time…and her leg in the relay was 31.7…way off the county record pace. The breaststroker made up a bunch of time, Bailey was almost identical to the Flyer from the 2011 team that set the record. The freestyler blistered her leg, but they came up less than 1 second short. From my view, the biggest problem was slow/poor exchanges between the swimmers. That easily cost the team a full second…

#19 Girls 11-12 50 Free X28.47 – At the turn this race was extremely tight…Bailey was basically battling for fifth…however, she completely screwed up the turn, going way to deep (which is unusual as she is typically very strong in the turns), and she came out of that in tenth. She managed to finish ninth, but that puts her in line to be on the C Free relay…a huge blow, and she was extremely disappointed…29.21.

#51 Girls 11-12 100 IM 1:10.65 – the girl that won this got out to an early lead, and then Bailey and Emilie looked like every Thursday, with the two going head to head and finishing within a half second of each other…1:10.75 – finishing third…but will be the second representative at State because the winner will not participate in the state meet.

#71 Girls 11-12 50 Fly 30.87 – Bailey had a very good swim finishing in 30.24…unfortunately another girl who was exhibitioning swam a 29.54. Bailey get’s credit for winning the event, but because she was beaten by the exhibitioner, she will be stuck on the B Medley Relay at State.

#81 Girls 11-12 200 Free Relay (4) 1:59.08 –Bailey’s free relay, got the 4 good swims they needed. In fact, they not only finished third, they did it by .5 seconds. Unfortunately, the third swimmer was DQed for leaving early…so they end up with nothing…

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Bear Breeze - Male - Age: 12 - Comp#: 1532 - Ind/Rel: 3 / 2

#8 Boys 11-12 200 Medley Relay (1) 2:09.71 – Not only did they win the event…they broke the county record…with a 2:05.48…

#20 Boys 11-12 50 Free X29.44 - Bear had a good swim, I think he can go a bit faster, but it really didn’t matter, as he had not shot to get into the top 4 (so A relay) and finishing seventh guaranteed he’d be in the B Relay…final time was 28.70.

#42 Boys 11-12 50 Back 34.63 – Bad finish…his count into the wall was messed up due to the long course/short course switch. Finished a distant third with a 34.58…but earns a bronze medal and spot on the state team.

#52 Boys 11-12 100 IM 1:14.12 – Swam basically the same as a Thursday meet 1:14.25…but never really challenged for a top 3 spot and ended up sixth. He was very disappointed in this one.

#82 Boys 11-12 200 Free Relay (3) 1:55.30 – This was exciting as CRC had an early lead, but the second swimmer lost that lead, plus a good bit. Bear raced back and the final swimmer for both teams went off at exactly the same time. Surprisingly, Riley was out touched by less than half a second. The CRC Relay was so fast it broke the county record…but because they were second obviously it doesn’t matter. Also, sadly, the boy the swam second posted a 33.16 in the 50 free…and Alex another CRC Swimmer that was relegated to the B Free, swam a 31.29. Had CRC gotten the right kids in the relay, CRC would have won, and killed the county record…

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Brett Breeze - Male - Age: 13 - Comp#: 1492 - Ind/Rel: 3 / 2

#10 Boys 13-14 200 Medley Relay (2) 2:42.63 – Didn’t make if for the relay…and they did finish last…

#22 Boys 13-14 50 Free X32.09 – Did make it for this race and he posted a 29.53…

#54 Boys 13-14 100 IM 1:15.91 – In this one, he coasted to eighth, a couple seconds behind seventh and a couple seconds ahead of ninth.

#64 Boys 13-14 50 Breast 36.60 – Brett had a good swim in what was a tight race…(at least for third through seventh. He ended up fifth at the wall, but one of the kids that beat him was exhibitioning, and one that beat him was DQed for a 1 hand touch at the turn. Thus, Brett ends up third, gets a bronze medal and will swim for the county team at State…This was huge for him, and given his health at the time, I’m extremely proud of his effort…36.60

#84 Boys 13-14 200 Free Relay (4) 2:13.00 – Didn’t make if for the relay, and did finish last.
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CRC Team received 2 big trophies at the meet. The first for going undefeated, the second for finishing 3rd in county. For the first time, CRC finished in the top 3...after 3 or 4 years of coming in forth.

Breeze

07-02-2014, 10:16 AM

Stu Hixon Invite @ Mt View Aquatic - RESULTS DAY 3 PRELIMS

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Brett

Brett was scheduled to swim the 400 IM, 200 Back, and 800 Free, but he wasn’t up to it. After waking him up early, he tried to get going, but finally admitted that he didn’t feel well, and didn’t think he could do it.

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Bailey

# 83 Woman 11-12 50 Fly 34.31L – Bailey entered this one hoping to get a AAA time…which would require a swim of 32.79. She was also looking to finish in the top three, which would be no easy task with the two best 11-12 butterflyers in the state swimming against her. In the prelims, she went 33.32 and was seeded fourth going into the finals…and earning her a state cut .

#99 Woman 11-12 50 Breast 50.16L – This event was added…the seed time is a bit misleading, as it had been a year since she swam it…but I was real interested here, because her Breast has been improving significantly this season…and she didn’t disappoint…despite the fact she was in a slow heat (so no one to race), she managed to go 44.15 and finish tenth, qualifying for finals…

# 111 Woman 11-12 400 Free 5:50.33L – After her strong 800 earlier in the meet, she was much more prepared and confident about this swim. She went out much harder and posted a very good 5:13.89…which is a state cut…

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Bear

# 82 Male 11-12 200 Fly 3:08.69L - Fly was much better for this race and he improved significantly posting a 2:54.40 in prelims. He was seeded third with two other swimmers right on his heals headed into the finals.

# 102 Male 11-12 200 Breast 3:59.95L – A good improvement, but a sluggish swim. He posted a personal best 3:37.24 and was seeded 11…

# 112 Male 11-12 400 Free 5:13.66L - Was automatically swum at finals due to only 10 kids swimming the event…

Breeze

07-02-2014, 10:32 AM

Stu Hixon Invite @ Mt View Aquatic - RESULTS DAY 3 FINALS
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Bailey

# 83 Woman 11-12 50 Fly 33.32 – In the finals, Bailey zipped down the pool, trying her best to stay with the top two swimmers, and limit her breathing to every fourth stroke. It paid off, as she was able to drop more time, finishing at 32.65…earning a bronze medal by finishing third, and getting her AAA time. This swim is probably also good enough to get her on at least the B medley relay for Gold at State.

#99 Woman 11-12 50 Breast 44.15 – Bailey was shocked to learn she earned a spot in finals in the Breast. She improved her time again swimming it in 43.31 and placing ninth overall…

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Bear

# 82 Male 11-12 200 Fly 2:54.40 - In all my years of going to the kids meets, this was one of the most exciting swims I’ve had the pleasure to watch. The race started out and Bear was probably sixth or so at the first turn. Coming back to finish the first 100, Bear was a distant fourth. However, after the midway turn, it became pretty obvious Bear was starting to close on the third place swimmer. He had clearly set his sights on that kid and was reeling him in. He caught him at the turn for the 150, and started back down the pool for the finish. However, after the turn, he started pushing in order to catch the kid in second. By about mid pool, the announcer noticed and even commented that Bear was making a move, and that he might have enough pool left to get himself into second place. Slowly he closed the gap, and with about 5 meters to go, he passed and ended up taking second by about half a body length. That night the coach texted us…to say how impressed he was with Bear’s 200 fly. He even commented that we named him correctly, because Bear is an animal…final time 2:46.48

# 102 Male 11-12 200 Breast 3:37.24 – Bear got into this final, but he was exhausted and he still had the 500 Free coming up, so he scratched…at my suggestion.

# 112 Male 11-12 400 Free 5:13.66L - Fatigue was still an issue here, as he really struggled trying to keep up with the field. He did amazingly manage to swim a personal best…just barely…posting a 5:13.61…but given his 800 Free time is a 10:22…we know he can go faster when he isn’t exhausted.

Breeze

07-02-2014, 12:55 PM

Long Course Season Update

The long course season, and thus the year round season, is coming to a close…so I thought I’d take a second and update you where things stand.

Brett will be swimming in the last chance meet this weekend, he’ll be competing in 100 Breast, 200 Free, 100 Back, 200 Back, and 400 Free. The only potential shot he has at a cut is the 100 Breast, and he’ll need to drop a significant amount of time to reach the 1:25.89 cut, which isn’t likely, especially given he’s felt so poorly he hasn’t practiced in the last few days. Our only real hope is the time off is creating a taper effect that will give him extra energy when he races. I’ll do my typical write up on this soon.

The Long Course State Championship will start on Wednesday, July 16. Bailey and Bear both will have pretty full schedules. Like with Brett above, I’ll do my typical write up ahead of time…but here are what they are set to compete in…

Bailey

800 Free
50 Fly
50 Back
400 IM
100 Fly
200 Back
400 Free
200 Fly
100 Back
200 IM

Bear

1500 Free
200 Free
400 IM
100 Fly
200 Back
400 Free
200 Fly

Breeze

07-02-2014, 01:21 PM

Long Course Season Update

I have one more interesting tidbit of information to pass along. If you've been reading for a while, you know that short course state is followed by short course sectionals. Long course, doesn't work that way. Instead of sectionals, the long course season has a meet called Zones. In this meet, each area in the Zone is represented by an All-Star team of swimmers. Our Zone consists of Georgia, Florida Gold Coast, Florida, North Texas, South Texas, Mississippi, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Texas, West Virginia, and Louisianna (there are additional teams, but they are general in description and I don't know the areas they come from).

Zone teams are comprised of only 8 swimmers/sex/age group, and each swimmer must apply for consideration. The swimmers are determined in this way...

1. The results from the State Meet are re-ordered so that kids that didn't apply for the Zone team are removed, leaving just the kids eligiable to compete.
2. Any swimmer that wins one of the 100 Meter stroke events automatically qualifies. (Now if the winner isn't going to Zones, that spot is left open and the coaches have an option on how they want to fill that spot. Typically, it would be given to the highest place finisher that is going, but that isn't guaranteed).
3. Each swimmers point totals from their 6 best events are added, and the top 4 not automatically on the team from #2, are added.

Now, at this point you are probably wondering why I'm bringing this up? We have been told by 3 different parents of elite swimmers (ones that have been on the Zone team in the past), that we should sign Bailey up for the team. They feel she has a very strong chance of making it.

This really caught my wife and me by surprise. Bailey just turned 12, making her very young for the age group. We knew about Zones, but felt that making it was a long way off, so we never even considered applying. In fact, we actually scheduled our family vacation for the week of the meet. I'm not sure what we are going to do...given that the grandparents and family from Florida are part of the vacation, we may wait until she is 14 to apply. However, it was very flattering and eye-opening to hear from families of elite swimmers that we should be thinking about things like this...

Breeze

07-03-2014, 08:12 AM

Tara Classic – Steve Lundquist Aquatic Center – 7/5

Brett

This is the last chance meet, and Brett will be the only one competing. He’s been battling a virus, so I don’t expect much, but it would good if he could end his long course season on a positive note.

#2 (d1/s1): B Open 100 Breast - 1:30.09L – This is Brett’s only reasonable chance at a cut, and even here he’d need to drop 5 seconds, which is highly unlikely. Maybe in a 200, but this meet dropped the 200 Breast from the events list. I do think he can drop time, maybe up to 2 seconds, which would be excellent, but anything over 2 seconds would be surprising.

#6 (d1/s1): B Open 200 Free - 2:37.73L – I believe Brett can drop time here…I’m just now sure how motivated he’ll be if/when he realizes he didn’t get his cut.

#8 (d1/s1): B Open 100 Back - 1:27.60L – I expect more of the same in the back…as he going about as fast as he will until he fixes his kick and starts increasing his arm rotation

#20 (d1/s2): B Open 200 Back - 3:02.76L – see the 100 Back.

#24 (d1/s2): B Open 400 Free - 5:28.07L – I know he can drop time in this event, however, given his illness this week and the fact this will be his fifth event of the day, I expect he will be worn out before the race and he’ll fail to drop time. I hope I’m wrong…

Breeze

07-07-2014, 09:40 AM

Tara Classic – Steve Lundquist Aquatic Center – RESULTS

Brett

For the most part Brett swam poorly. I’d love to provide the excuse that it was due to his sickness earlier in the week, and while I’m sure that didn’t help, it also wasn’t the only problem…

#2 (d1/s1): B Open 100 Breast - 1:30.09L – Brett actually added .3 seconds to his time here. His coach mentioned that Brett’s ankles aren’t as pronated as much as they used to be, which is impacting his speed. He thinks this change is related to the “knee” injury from earlier in the season. The coach even admitted that he was disappointed in himself for not having noticed it earlier (Brett’s typical coach, and the one I talked to, hasn’t really been coaching the Sectional Advanced swimmers much recently, due to the absence of the head coach. His time has been spent mostly focused on the Senior swimmers, so his missing this change in Brett’s stroke is completely understandable). The lack of this cut, really impacted Brett, and my feeling is that his heart wasn’t in the rest of his swims…

#6 (d1/s1): B Open 200 Free - 2:37.73L – Added 2 seconds…

#8 (d1/s1): B Open 100 Back - 1:27.60L – Added 3.5 seconds…

This was the end of the first session, and Brett told me he was going to ask the coach if he could scratch the last two swims and go home. I wasn’t pleased, as my personality says to use this as an opportunity to build for next season, but I told him that it was up to his coach. His coach told him, no – he wasn’t allowed to scratch…

#20 (d1/s2): B Open 200 Back - 3:02.76L – He dropped a half second here…

#24 (d1/s2): B Open 400 Free - 5:28.07L – Added 7 seconds in this one…

Celebrating on 7/5 with some swim families, I learned some stuff about Brett from the coach. I’ll pass it along as part of the end of season write up.

Breeze

07-08-2014, 01:37 PM

General Update

Just some news to pass along...

Bailey got hit in the cheekbone with a paddle board paddle...so she has a little shiner right now. She has a boyfriend (such that it is), Seth. They rarely even talk or text but they are apparently an item. (and in case you are wondering, it is the same Seth that is friends with the boys...in fact, Seth asked Bear if it was ok to ask Bailey out before he did...)

Bear has complained recently of his knee hurting. This is an extremely bad time, as he has missed a few long sets due to pain, and it may result in a bad taper heading into State. We are giving him Advil before practice and bed, plus he is icing it a couple times a day. Hopefully, this will end up being nothing and cause no impact on his swims...

Breeze

07-11-2014, 07:46 AM

Long Course State Meet Update

Gold held their Long Course State Meet dinner last night. Most of the dinner is a pep talk for the qualifiers, congratlating them on the hard work and motivating/urging them to swim well at the meet. The other main focus of the dinner is the announcement of the relays. Using the usaswimming site, I had pretty much already determined what the relays would look like, but last night was the official announcement (with the caveat that a swimmer can be replaced if the team determines someone is swimming better on that day).

As I expected Bailey will swim the fly for the B Team in both the 200 and 400 Medley Relay. I was hopeful her 32 second fly in the 50 at Stu Hixon might have been close enough to the top flyer's time (Anna), that she would move to a different stroke, but unfortunately no. Still having just turned 12, it is a nice accomplishment for her to make the relay at all in long course.

Gold fields 2 relay teams for each event at State, which, obviously means 8 total swimmers. Bear was 9th in both Free Relays. Not surprising given that Bear's strength's are more endurance related events, but sad for him as he loves swimming the relays.

The surprise of the night however, was learning that Brett will swim Breast for the B Team in both the 200 and 400 Medley. We were completely blown away by this...obviously with him not having a state cut time, we didn't expect that there would be any way he would qualify for a relay. However, 3 kids from Gold that had faster times than he did aged up over the Summer and are now 15, and of the other 2 in front of him, 1 will swim Breast on the A relay, and the other get's the A Fly stroke, leaving Brett as the next choice. I guess he could get bumped if someone else is swimming well during the meet. I haven't had a chance to talk with him about this revelation as he spent the night with Seth. I'm sure he's pretty pumped up right now though.

I will fill in details for the State Meet soon...

Breeze

07-14-2014, 10:19 AM

Georgia 14U Long Course Championships - @GaTech – 7/16 – 7/19

Bailey

800 Free : 10.46.84 – Seeded 17/31 – Day 1 - Given that Bailey has rarely done this event…in fact, the seed time is the only time she’s even done the 800 Free…so she could drop a decent amount of time, depending on how determined she is do better. She was clearly motivated to get her cut, but it is possible she decides to conserve her energy for Thursday, rather than go hard in this one.

50 Fly : 32.65 – Seeded 7/30 – Day 2 - Bailey really wants to do well here, but the names in front of her are all the giants in the state, and the top 5 seed times are all over 1.5 seconds faster. The sixth seed is her old friend Maddie (The Beast) from back in her SwimAtlanta days. Maddie is only .2 faster coming in, but my guess is she’ll swim a sub 31 in the state meet. A good goal here, would be to make the top 10 and a swim in the finals Thursday Evening.
(Note: In an interesting quirk, Maddie is swimming in this state meet as a 12 year old. What is interesting is that she swam last year’s state meet as a 12 year old as well. Her birthday falls on 7/17, which last year was before the start of the meet – thus she was 12 when the meet started, this year she doesn’t age up until the second day of the meet, so she is still 12, and gets to swim as such).

50 Back : 36.77 – Seeded 24/37 – Day 2 - I expect Bailey should do better here than her seed time. How much better I don’t know, but even 1 second could move her up into the top 15.

400 IM : 5:54.60 - Seeded 17/26 – Day 2 – Bailey hasn’t done this one in over a month…I expect she’ll improve, as long as her improved breaststroke continues. She’s got several other Gold swimmers seeded around her, including her friend Ainsely, so I’m sure she’ll want to beat them, that should provide some good motivation.

100 Fly : 1:15.89 – Seeded 13/29 – Day 3 – The goal here for Bailey should be pretty simple…get in the top 10 so she can swim at the event finals Friday evening. I think she can do it…

200 Back : 2:50.06 – Seeded 29/42 – Day 3 – Don’t know what to expect here. Bailey has a tendency to cruise in this event…if she races hard, she could drop 3+ seconds.

Gold B Team 200 Medley Relay – Seeded 8/14 - Day 3 – Bailey has the Fly leg – Could get sixth with 4 good swims.

400 Free : 5:13.89 – Seeded 21/39 – Day 3 – Another event, that Bailey just recently started putting effort into. I think she’ll end up, pretty much where she is seeded, but she should drop some time due to the tapering.

200 Fly : 2:50.15 – Seeded 8/30 – Day 4 – Bailey will swim this event in the evening. This event isn’t swum as a prelim/final, rather the top 10 swimmers swim in the evening as if they were the finals. Bailey is motivated for this one…partially because it is one she is good at, and partially because Bear has a faster seed time then her in this one. She wants to beat Bear and she’s setting her sights on a 2:40.

100 Back : 1:09.22Y – Seeded 38/40 – Day 4 – This is a bit misleading. Bailey qualified for this event in short course so her time is entered as such, and she gets seeded in the bottom of the event. She hasn’t swum this event well all Long Course Season, and honestly, I don’t expect much in this one either…

200 IM : 2:45.66 – Seeded 20/25 – Day 4 – Bailey’s improved breast should help here. Ainsley will be racing Bailey in this one too, so she could be motivated to drop a good bit of time.

Gold B Team 400 Medley Relay – Seeded 7/15 – Day 4 - Bailey has the fly leg…Could get fifth with 4 good swims…

Breeze

07-14-2014, 10:50 AM

Georgia 14U Long Course Championships - @GaTech – 7/16 – 7/19

Bear

1500 Free : 19.26.00 – Seeded 3/14 – Day 1 – This will only be the second time Bear has ever swum this event. The first time was in the Long Course State Championships last year. His seed time is a calculated one based on his “churn rate” in the 800. Bear wants to win a medal in this meet, and this is his best shot. It won’t be easy though (not that a 1500 is ever easy…)

200 Free : 2:29.73 – Seeded 26/30 – Day 2 – Bear hasn’t done this one since the very beginning of long course…I expect he’ll drop a bunch of time.

400 IM : 5:51.08 - Seeded 10/22 – Day 2 – Bear just missed getting in the fast heat (yes he’s seeded 10, but there is an 11 year old ahead of him, so that pushes Bear down to the second fastest heat). Given that Bear seems to be at his best when he has someone to chase, this will probably impact his final result. There are also some very good swimmers entered with short course times, that could ultimately beat him in the final results.

100 Fly : 1:11.71Y – Seeded 33/33 – Day 3 – Entered with a short course time, because Bear hasn’t done this event since the beginning of the season either. I expect a nice improvement over his real long course time of 1:25.91…

200 Back : 2:31.95Y – Seeded 29/30 – Day 3 – Again a short course seed time…Real time is a 2:54.92…but he swam this race at Stu Hixon, so I don’t expect much of an improvement here.

400 Free : 5:13.61 – Seeded 15/26 – Day 3 – Bear has been stuck on this time for quite a while. He should drop based on his times in the 800…in fact he should be closer to a 5:00…but we’ll see…

200 Fly : 2:46.48 – Seeded 5/17 – Day 4 – Like Bailey, Bear will swim this event in the evening. As high as Bear is seeded, he realistically doesn’t have a shot at a medal here. While he’s great at pushing himself and chasing down swimmers, he’d have to drop another 10 seconds or so to be in range for a medal, and I don’t think he has that in him right now.

Breeze

07-14-2014, 10:54 AM

Georgia 14U Long Course Championships - @GaTech – 7/16 – 7/19

Brett

Gold B Team 200 Medley Relay – Seeded 12/16 – Day 3 - Brett in breast…could get 11 with good swims

Gold B Team 400 Medley Relay – Seeded 11/14 – Day 4 – Brett in breast…may have a hard time hanging on to 11.

Breeze

07-15-2014, 09:28 AM

Quick Update

Just wanted to take a second to follow up on my previous update before the State Meet starts tomorrow. Recently, I commented that Bear was having some knee pain. Well a few days of Advil before practice and before bed and he was fine. So no lingering issues...

Breeze

07-16-2014, 09:28 AM

Quick Update

Interesting development. Last night Bailey was extremely talkative...and it appeared that it was due to nervous energy. This isn't complete unusual for Bailey, as she tends to get nervous energy before big meets. However, this time is wasmuch more severe, in fact, it was so bad that it made her nauseous, so much so she had a difficult time eating.

I'm not sure why the nervousness was so pronounced this time around. I do know she seems to be worried because she'll be racing her friend Mary Ann in the 800 Free today. Based on her comments, I think she's afraid Mary Ann is going to beat her bad (Mary Ann is a good distance swimmer, whereas Bailey is just starting to get involved in the longer events. Bailey also commented on several other good swimmers she'll be going against, as well as teammates that are close to her in seeding. It could be she's afraid that she'll not perform well and will embarass herself. Do to very postive comments from Coach Andy and Coach Pat (the owner of the entire Chattahoochee Gold team), Bailey apparently feels some pressure to perform, and this could be the underlying influence.

Cathy talked with her about no putting pressure on herself. Told her no one will be mad at her if she swims poorly. That by worrying she's going to adversely impact her performance. The basic point of the conversation was to go out and have fun...don't worry about results.

Hopefully, getting in the pool for the 800 today, getting it overwith, and not being concerned about anything other than swimming well (as she has no real chance to earn points here) will get her into the flow of the meet, and it will allow her to relax moving forward.

Breeze

07-21-2014, 10:10 AM

Georgia 14U Long Course Championships – RESULTS – Day 1

Bailey

800 Free : 10.46.84 – Seeded 17/31 – Day 1 – As expected Bailey’s familiarity with this event enabled her to understand the impact of this race, and enabled her to dig a bit deeper and improve her time. She ended up dropping almost 10 seconds to total a personal best 10:36.92. Despite the huge drop in time, she still finished 17…

Her splits were…

1:14.93
1:18.27
1:19.21
1:20.96
1:21.50
1:23.01
1:18.29

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Bear

1500 Free : 19.26.00 – Seeded 3/14 – Day 1 – Above I explained that the seed time here was a coach entered time designed to place Bear in a faster heat for better competition. The time was determined by taking Bear’s lap speed in the 800 and calculating those times out for the full 1500 meters. The coach mentioned that this was a pretty ambitious goal, but he felt Bear was swimming well in practice and potentially capable of maintaining splits between 1:17.5 and 1:18.5.

The race started out, and as usual Bear began with a conservative opening 100…Then he settled into a pace for the next 200 that was off of the coach’s suggested pace, but he didn’t signal me to have him speed up…until he reached the 350 meter turn. His pace picked up significantly from that point…and then at the 750 turn, he told me (literally told me, as he was only about 10 feet from me at the time) to speed him up…he swimming on pace, but the coach told me, “He’s got a lot more in him…I’m going to push”…so Bear picked it up again. At about the 1250 turn, the coach told me to shake it (the signal to speed up) the rest of the way…so I did. Bear ended up swimming the following splits…

1:13.55
1:19.46
1:19.17
1:18.43
1:18.52
1:17.84
1:18.20
1:16.77
1:17.47
1:17.22
1:17.61
1:18.70
1:18.55
1:18.54
1:15.95

When it was all said and done, Bear finished with a time of 19:25.98…yes only .02 seconds off of the projected time from the 800. An unbelievable swim for Bear…good enough for the 13 year old cut…as well as a Short Course sectional cut. Unfortunately, Bear ended up finishing fourth. A boy from the heat after Bear’s swim a 19:23.01…so beat him by about 3 seconds…I wish they had been in the same heat to see if Bear’s instinct to race would have propelled him to beat this kid in a head to head scenario…

Breeze

07-22-2014, 09:43 AM

Georgia 14U Long Course Championships - RESULTS - Day 2

Bailey

50 Fly : 32.65 – Seeded 7/30 – Day 2 – Bailey was very uptight heading into this race, and it negatively impacted her swim. She was stiff through the race which stole some of her explosiveness. She ended up adding about 1 second (33.54) to her seed time and finishing 22nd. Yes 22nd…this race was extremely tight and 1 second made a world of difference. To get in finals she would have needed to cut another .2 seconds…which given that her personal best was just 2 weeks ago, was asking a lot.

50 Back : 36.77 – Seeded 24/37 – Day 2 – Bailey ended up being seeded right next to her old SwimAtlanta friend Haley. During the race Haley was slightly ahead of Bailey the entire way down the pool, but Bailey’s strong throwback finish allowed her to out-touch Haley by .08. All in all, Bailey dropped .32 seconds to finish with a time of 36.45 and in eighteenth place.

400 IM : 5:54.60 - Seeded 17/26 – Day 2 – In the 400 IM, Bailey started with a fly leg of 1:16.06…not bad considering her best 100 Fly is in the 1:15 range. He back split was a bit off at 1:31.56, but still pretty good. In her breast leg, she continued to show improvement, holding off quite a few swimmers and posting a split of 1:44.31. She finished with a 1:18.20 Free and a personal best time of 5:50.13. Good enough to move up to sixteenth.

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Bear

200 Free : 2:29.73 – Seeded 26/30 – Day 2 – Early in the morning Bear said his shoulders were sore from the 1500 (not really a surprise)…but he was pretty pumped up about his chances in this following the strong swim the night before. He went out with a very strong 1:10.50, .02 faster than his personal best in the 100 Free…Then he closed with a 1:14.58. He dropped 4.65 seconds in total, posting a time of 2:25.08 and he moved up to 18th place.

400 IM : 5:51.08 - Seeded 10/22 – Day 2 – Bear’s fly was a bit stiff, which put him behind and he ended up adding almost .5 seconds. 5:51.52…he finished 13th. His splits, in case you want to compare them to Bailey’s were…1:20.33 Fly, 1:30.59 Back, 1:46.83 Breast, 1:13.77 Free…

Breeze

07-22-2014, 09:48 AM

Georgia 14U Long Course Championships - Out of Pool Information - Day 2

At the end of Day 2, we went to a local Burger Boutique, Flip Burger for lunch. Food was great, service was terrible and we were there forever. When we final started to leave, we found that one of the people in our group had their car broken into. A high price camera was apparently the intial target, but while in the vehicle they also stole 2 swim bags. 1 of which was Bailey's. Inside the swim bag was 2 competition swim suits, 3 pairs of goggles, swim caps, and of course the bag itself was embroidered. This is about $500 worth of gear, and the sad part is...I'm sure the criminals ruffled through the bag, found nothing of interest and trashed it in a nearby dumpster...

Breeze

07-22-2014, 10:13 AM

Georgia 14U Long Course Championships - RESULTS – Day 3

Bailey

100 Fly : 1:15.89 – Seeded 13/29 – Day 3 – After her poor showing in the 50, she really wanted to redeem herself here. However, after watching the 50 fly, my feelings on her being able to make finals were changed. Not because of Bailey’s swimming, but because the other girls in the meet were swimming so well…As it turned out, Bailey did a good job dropping .3 seconds to finish with a 1:15.59…but she wasn’t happy with the swim. She wanted to be in the 1:14s. I felt that was a bit ambitious…she did finish 12th

200 Back : 2:50.06 – Seeded 29/42 – Day 3 – Bailey was in a heat with a bunch of her friends, including Haley, Mary Ann, and Ainsley. She started out good, but she trailed Haley in the opening 150. However, in the last 50 Bailey passed her and ended up second overall in her heat. She did in fact drop 3.47 seconds, so it was a great swim for her (2.46.59)…and she finished 27th

Gold B Team 200 Medley Relay – Seeded 8/14 - Day 3 – The relay team held their seed, finishing eighth, and Bailey’s 50 fly was the best looking fly of the meet so far…

400 Free : 5:13.89 – Seeded 21/39 – Day 3 – Bailey didn’t do well in this one. Don’t know if fatigue was involved, but she posted a time of 5:16.38…going 1:16.64, 1:20.95, 1:20.49, 1:18.30…

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Bear

100 Fly : 1:11.71Y – Seeded 33/33 – Day 3 – Bear improved significantly over his real long course time, posting a 1:21.19, but it wasn’t a good swim. To tell that, all you have to do is look at his fly split in the 400 IM from the day before (1:20.33)…Honestly, he should have gone under 1:20.00…but it wasn’t a big deal. He needs to figure out how to sprint this new fly he’s developed…

200 Back : 2:31.95Y – Seeded 29/30 – Day 3 – Another mediocre swim for Bear…he ended up with a 2:54.36, which is only fractionally better than his real 200 back long course time…

400 Free : 5:13.61 – Seeded 15/26 – Day 3 – This is the event Bear was really excited about. He didn’t talk to me about it before hand, but knowing the coach real well and knowing Bear, I expected he set a goal to go under 5 minutes…He opened with a 1:12.61, followed it up with a 1:15.16, then went 1:16.27, and closed with a 1:14.51…for a total time of 4:58.55 a drop of 15.06 seconds and he finished 11th…

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Brett

Gold B Team 200 Medley Relay – Seeded 12/16 – Day 3 - Brett had a terrible dive on his race…probably too pumped up…he ended up losing significant ground to 2 swimmers – not that it really mattered…and he did get to swim at state…ultimately his team finished 13th.

Breeze

07-22-2014, 11:44 AM

Georgia 14U Long Course Championships - RESULTS – Day 4

Bailey

200 Fly : 2:50.15 – Seeded 8/30 – Day 4 – For the first time ever, Andy instructed Bailey to take the 200 Fly out fast. Typically, he tells her to build the race, but this time he wanted her attacking. This made her nervous, probably because she knew the race would be painful. But she took it out in a 35.33…her 100 fly split was a 1:15.81…very close to her actual 100 fly time. The split at the 150 was 2:07 and she came home in 35.33…to finish with a time of 2:43.08. A huge improvement, but not good enough to move up the standings…as she finished eighth.

100 Back : 1:09.22Y – Seeded 38/40 – Day 4 – An horrendous start. The rest of the field was underwater before Bailey ever moved off the blocks (she failed to hear the start…not sure how that happens, especially when she was only 2 lanes from the starter…but it did). The funny thing was, despite the bad start, by the time she surfaced from the underwater work, she was in second in her heat. She ended up swimming a 1:19.50…probably would have been in the 1:18s with a good start…

200 IM : 2:45.66 – Seeded 20/25 – Day 4 – Bailey informed me that the coach told her to save her legs in the back for the last half of the race. I find this funny, because the back half is her weaker half…so I don’t know if he really told her that, or if she made it up…but whatever the reason, she didn’t go hard in back, and she added a couple seconds 2:47.42…

Gold B Team 400 Medley Relay – Seeded 7/15 – Day 4 – Interesting developments for Gold in this one…A few changes were made to relays heading into the this race, and the surprising thing is that at the end of the back leg, the B relay was only fractionally behind the A…then after the breast the A had again failed to open a lead over the B. This was undoubtedly going to change, as the A flyer is several seconds faster than Bailey…but the A flyer left early. Obviously, I don’t know this for a fact, but I truly believe that she was anxious to get a lead on the B team and lost her focus. For Bailey’s part, she swam an unbelievable split of 1:13.81 (so maybe her goal of going 1:14s wasn’t so ambitious after all). The team finished seventh.

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Bear

200 Fly : 2:46.48 – Seeded 5/17 – Day 4 – Bear forgot to take his inhaler before this race…and this isn’t a race you want to forget something like that. He was breathing way too often, and it never allowed him to get to top gear. He ultimately added over 3.5 seconds to finish with a 2:50.16. Given his huge improvement a couple weeks ago in this event, I didn’t expect much…and without his inhaler I think he did about as well as he could have. He was very disappointed, but he wasn’t going to medal in this one, as the top 3 ran away from the field, and despite his off swim, he still managed to finish eighth.

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Brett

Gold B Team 400 Medley Relay – Seeded 11/14 – Day 4 – Brett’s dive this time was much better, and while he lost ground to two swimmers that were closest to him, he managed to stay close enough that the fly and free legs pulled out a 10 place finish…his split was right on his personal best of a 1:30 low…

Breeze

07-23-2014, 08:47 AM

GRPA State Championships – 7/26 @ Cumming Aquatic Center

The Summer League State Meet is this Saturday at our home pool (thank goodness we don’t have to stay in a hotel again this weekend). Last year when I did the write up for this event, I was deceived by some data (or lack thereof) in the psych sheet…so when I write this up, keep in mind that the meet info might still be incomplete and the seedings or relay seed times might change significantly (especially in the case of the relay times, as they seem to be hit or miss with regards to accuracy).

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Bailey

#39 Girls 12&U 200 Medley Relay Prelims (3) 2:08.06 – Bailey gets the fly leg in the B Relay…currently the relay team is seeded 5 th but they are a good 5 seconds from 4 th, meaning it is unlikely that they get on the podium. On the positive side they are over 4.5 seconds faster than the 9 th place seed, thus they are almost assured of getting into the finals and earning a medal. Assuming the seed times are accurate…which may be a big assumption.

#57 Girls 11-12 100 IM Prelims 1:10.75 – Bailey’s time currently has her seeded 7 th. And she’s about 2 seconds faster than 9 th. Given that she’s been swimming around a 1:10.7x all Summer in this event, I suspect she’ll be around that again on Saturday and it will be good enough to make finals and earn a medal.

#69 Girls 11-12 50 Fly Prelims 30.24 – Bailey is seeded fourth in this one…9 th is just over a second slower, but as we saw at the Long Course state meet, a bad swim can drop a swimmer a long way in these sprints. I do think she’ll make finals, and I do believe she might be able to go sub 30 to get on the podium, but in my opinion it will take a sub 30 swim to get there.

#75 Girls 12&U 200 Free Relay Prelims (1) 1:57.51 – This is the interesting one…Bailey was extremely disappointed to be on the C Free Relay, but currently they are seeded 6 th. I’m not comfortable with this seed, as I expected they would be around 9 th or 10 th, and I suspect if I put too much weight into this seed that I’m going to be in for a rude awakening when the races actually run.

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Bear

#40 Boys 12&U 200 Medley Relay Prelims (1) 2:14.98 – Bear’s C Medley is currently seeded 8 th…way behind 7 th (which incidentally is the Forsyth B team), and way in front of 9 th. Again, the same gut feeling that has me concerned about Bailey’s Free applies here. I believe Brett’s relay’s last year were seeded second or third, and they were lucky to get sixth…so just not comfortable making predictions, especially with the C relays.

#64 Boys 11-12 50 Back Prelims 34.58 – Bear comes in as the third backstroker from the county, he’s also seeded 9 th overall…He’s only .1 out of a top 8 time, and he had problems with the finish at county due to the change from the Long Course to Short Course pools. He might be able to slip into the finals here and earn a medal. After all the years of slipping in the back at county and missing out on this event in this meet, it would be rewarding to see him make it into the finals.

#76 Boys 12&U 200 Free Relay Prelims (3) 1:54.29 – The B Free that Bear is on, is seeded 6 th…a full 4 seconds from 5 th, and a good 8 seconds from ninth. Knowing Bear’s luck, both of his relays will get DQed, I believe it has happened to him three times at this meet already.

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Brett

#42 Boys 14&U 200 Medley Relay Prelims (2) 2:06.41 - Brett like Bear is in the C Relay…and I expected them to come in seeded 12 or 13…they in fact are seeded 8, with a bunch of teams right on their heels. If the seeds are accurate, they’ll need 4 good swims to get into the finals…but as I’ve stated above, I don’t expect the seeds are right and I think they’ll finish around 12 th.

#54 Boys 13-14 50 Breast Prelims 36.60 – Brett was the third breaststroker from county, and surprisingly, he’s seeded 12 th. I expected he’d be much lower…however, to move up, he’d need to drop about a second or get help from others in front of him not swimming well. I don’t expect either to occur, but Brett is working on a new breaststroke so who knows (I’ll detail this in another thread shortly)…

#78 Boys 14&U 200 Free Relay Prelims (5) 1:48.98 – You notice the (5) at the end of the event. That signifies that Brett is the first alternate for all of the free relays. I don’t expect he’ll get to swim…

Breeze

07-23-2014, 03:34 PM

Brett Update

If you’ve been reading along, you may have deduced that Brett had a real tough Long Course season. He was making huge improvements with his strokes in short course and he was looking forward to long course, where he typically performs better. However, for a number of reasons that didn’t occur…probably the biggest impact was his injured knee. However, I believe he also suffered from a loss of focus – or maybe a focus on the wrong things…

One major impact was the fact that Bailey worked her way up in practice to the point she was in Brett’s lane. Which is not a good thing, as history has shown us (I’m pretty sure this was discussed way back when the kids were at SwimAtlanta together). This caused Brett to focus on staying ahead of her, regardless of how he achieved it…so he would cheat in fly, grab the lane line occasionally in back, etc. This created a mindset that didn’t lend itself to improvement.

Following Stu Hixon, Brett and I had a long conversation. We talked about his goals, and if he thought any were still achievable. He admitted that he felt like any chance he had of swimming in college was already gone. I figured he felt that way, so before the conversation I did some research, and I found a division 1 swimmer (breaststroker), at a school that has a decent swim team that had times very similar to Brett’s when they were the same age. I explained to him that he may never get as good as the person I found, but it does show that he could improve significantly over the next few years. I convinced him that he may improve enough to swim in college, maybe Division 1, maybe Division 2, but it isn’t going to happen if he’s cheating at practice. He agreed, and we talked about what he should be doing…which is moving to the back of the line, and really focusing on the parts of his strokes he knows he needs to improve on.

After the conversation, Brett’s practices were totally different. He’s been working hard on cleaning up his kick in freestyle so his feet don’t hit each other. He’s been working on keeping his legs extended and kicking from the hip in both the free and back. In addition, he’s stopped doing 1 arm fly, and stopped pulling on the lane lines. His form looks better, his kick looks better, now he has to ingrain these new changes and learn to generate more propulsion from them.

Unfortunately, all these changes haven’t addressed the lack of improvement in his breaststroke. He’s really flat-lined in this stroke for a while now, and given that he has grown substantially, he should be generating a more powerful pull and kick. The coach has stated that his timing is off a bit (again potentially from growing), so I did some research to find an article on the timing of the breaststroke kick…(I’ve provided a link if you are interesting in reading the article - it is very short by the way…http://www.usaswimming.org/ViewNewsArticle.aspx?TabId=0&itemid=4246&mid=8712)

To give you an overview, the article is written by a coach, and he does a great job of explaining how his film study lead to a completely new understanding of how the stroke works. What struck me when I read the article was the inclusion of terminology I’ve heard Brett use, specifically the phrase “kicking the hands forward”. The coach commented on how this action made sense to him for years, until he looked closer. Now the best way to do the stroke – The arms pull while their legs are streamlined, and the legs kick while their upper body is streamlined (there are some images in the article to help illustrate this change).

Brett has embraced this new timing, and has been working on it the last few days. Honestly, this isn’t the best time to try and make a change of this significance, but as he said when we discussed it, “I’m not supposed to win anything at GRPA anyway…if I swim poorly due to the change, nothing is lost.” The flipside of this is that the reduced drag associated with the new stroke might actually cause him to improve his times. I’ve watched him do the new stroke, and I’m amazed at how quickly he’s picked it up. I figured the millions of strokes he’s taken with his old form would be harder to erase, but so far so good. My suspicions are that when he actually starts racing this new stroke he will revert back to his old stroke. I hope not…I hope he sticks with the new stroke, and shows some improvement. I really think it could build momentum heading into short course in the fall.

Breeze

07-24-2014, 11:10 AM

Bailey Update

Just a quick note. Bailey got her braces today. Obviously, her mouth hurts and her eating will be impacted. Not sure how it will affect her swimming...but she wanted to go ahead and get them on now; she didn't want to wait until after school started.

Breeze

07-28-2014, 12:05 PM

GRPA State Championships - PRELIM RESULTS

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Bailey

#39 Girls 12&U 200 Medley Relay Prelims (3) 2:08.06 – The first event of our Saturday was this relay, and after the circle seeding Bailey’s B relay lined up right next to the A team. Bailey’s group did a nice job of staying in contact with the A team and they finished second in the heat…with a strong time of 2:04.83. After all the heats were finished, Bailey’s group was second overall heading into finals that afternoon. Bailey’s fly split was recorded as a 29.97.

#57 Girls 11-12 100 IM Prelims 1:10.75 – Bailey looked good in this one…dive was a bit deep, but she seemed to do a better job underwater so it didn’t hurt her like it typical does. She also did well in the back, and ended up with at time of 1:10.15…a best time and good enough for sixth seed in the finals.

#69 Girls 11-12 50 Fly Prelims 30.24 – Again dive was a little deep, but again, she powered through better than normal. This wasn’t a great swim with a final time of 30.50…in fact, for a few minutes I was concerned she might not make finals. As it was, the swim was good enough for seventh…

#75 Girls 12&U 200 Free Relay Prelims (1) 1:57.51 – Given the fact Bailey was in the C relay, I felt they really needed to get a good swim in so they could make finals. As it turned out, Bailey’s group won the their heat! I was shocked, then I watched their time of 1:54.71 hold up…as they finished with the fourth fasted seed time in the prelims. Bailey led off the relay, and she swam a 28.4…which is a legit time due to the cold start, and it is also a personal best.

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Bear

#40 Boys 12&U 200 Medley Relay Prelims (1) 2:14.98 – Like Bailey’s C Free relay, this team needed a good swim to make finals. It started off with Bear’s back leg, and he definitely didn’t disappoint. He ended up swimming a 33.74 split, and given the cold start this is a legitimate time and a personal best. The team went on to finish in a time of 2:15.91…good enough for sixth.

#64 Boys 11-12 50 Back Prelims 34.58 – Bear’s good split in the back earlier in the day, gave me hope he might slip into the finals with a similar swim here. He started off real good, but then crowded the wall too much on the turn, which scrubbed his speed. He ended up finishing with a time of 34.57…which seeded him tenth, so second alternate for finals.

#76 Boys 12&U 200 Free Relay Prelims (3) 1:54.29 – Bear’s B free relay was a strong race finishing with a time of 1:52.10, seeding them fifth going into finals. Bear swam the third leg, and really looked strong, opening up a lead on the swimmers around him. His split was a 27.63, a big improvement for him.

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Brett

#42 Boys 14&U 200 Medley Relay Prelims (2) 2:06.41 - Brett’s relay, also a C needed a good swim. The backstroker did a nice job, then Brett dove in. He looked real good using his new stroke. He didn’t close on the leaders, but no one closed on him either. I don’t have his exact split (I’ll explain later), but in timing his swim on the video I have him just under 35 seconds. The reason I don’t have his exact time is because the butterflyer in the relay left early – And when I say early – I MEAN REALLY EARLY. In fact, it was so early, that the official standing in that lane (who is a friend of ours), said to me, “I was legitimately concerned that the kid was going to dive on Brett.” He missed Brett’s feet by inches…It was really Sad, because they would have made finals. Even if I penalize his relay over a second for the early start by the flyer, they would have qualified sixth.

#54 Boys 13-14 50 Breast Prelims 36.60 – This was the moment of truth for Brett. He started off with his new stroke well. The as he approached the turn, he was neck and neck with 3 other swimmers, and he reverted back to his old style for 3 or 4 strokes. Coming off the wall, he went back to the new form and finished with a 35.71. This is a personal best, and a very encouraging result given his new stroke changed just a few days before this race. Unfortunately, while this swim was very good, he ended up ninth, so first alternate…he was disappointed in this…but still encouraged moving forward.

#78 Boys 14&U 200 Free Relay Prelims (5) 1:48.98 – As expected Brett didn’t swim this event.

Breeze

07-28-2014, 12:58 PM

GRPA State Championships - FINALS RESULTS

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Bailey

#39 Girls 12&U 200 Medley Relay Prelims (3) 2:04.83 – Bailey’s group came into finals seeded second, but you would not have known it early in the race. The backstroker swam a 30.76, which is good, but in this race she was sixth at the wall…The breaststroker didn’t swim a great split either, going 36.54, which was the fourth fastest leg and Bailey’s team sat fourth overall when she dove in…with third place just over a tenth ahead, second almost a second and a quarter ahead (first place was the A relay, which Bailey’s group wasn’t going to beat). Bailey’s split was an extremely impressive 29.1. She dove deep again…only this time it not only didn’t hurt her. It actually helped her. Her underwater work was extremely impressive as she closed grown, broke the surface in high speed, and started closing. When Bailey handed off to the freestyler, the team was not only in second place, they had a lead of almost 2 full seconds on third, and 2.3 seconds on fourth. The freestyler held the lead, the relay finished in the silver medal spot with a time of 2:04.09…

#57 Girls 11-12 100 IM Prelims 1:10.15 – Bailey’s dive here was deep too, but again, her underwaters were awesome…she opened with a strong fly, leg, followed by a strong back. She was third, in a tight race, at the turn going into breast leg. Her friend and teammate Emilie, who she raced every Thursday was right on her heals at the turn, and just like every Thursday she passed her down the stretch, forcing Bailey to settle for fourth. A huge improvement over her sixth seed coming in, and she dropped a bunch of time finishing with a personal best 1:08.43.

#69 Girls 11-12 50 Fly Prelims 30.50 – Like all the races in the finals, Bailey’s underwaters were extremely strong here. In fact, it pushed her by several racers in what was a very tight finals. Bailey ended up breaking the 30 second barrier with a time of 29.54, out-touching CRC teammate Caroline who was right next to her and swam a 29.57. The other Forsyth County rep, Bridget, swam a 29.74. They finished 4, 5, and 6…Bailey missed third by .11 seconds.

#75 Girls 12&U 200 Free Relay Prelims (1) 1:54.71 – This was interesting coming into the finals as the Forsyth County A team had the top seed, the B the second seed, and Bailey’s C team was fourth. The race started and Bailey posted a strong 28.45 time…faster than the B relay’s opening girls time of 28.61. The second leg went off and again the C relay’s representative beat the B 28.59 to 28.91, the third leg saw more of the same with the C swimming a 28.12, and the B managing a 28.18…Bailey’s team was in third at this point…but the anchor leg was no match…as the C team’s anchor managed a poor time of 29.28, the B team’s anchor (Caroline, mentioned above), swam an outstanding 26.53. Thus Bailey’s relay had to settle for fourth overall, posting a time of 1:54.44.

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Bear

#40 Boys 12&U 200 Medley Relay Prelims (1) 2:15.91 – Bear again rose to the occasion, swimming much better in the relay that he did in his individual event. He didn’t manage the 33 high split from the morning, but he just missed it going 34.01. The rest of the relay, like Bear, swam about the same as they did in the morning, the team finished with a time of 2:15.45, and they held their sixth place seed…

#76 Boys 12&U 200 Free Relay Prelims (3) 1:52.10 – The interesting thing in this race came, like the girls free relay, came down to the Forsyth County B vs C. The opening swimmer for the B barely out-touched the C relay swimmer by .02 seconds, but the B swimmer was slower off the blocks, so B found itself behind. Then the second leg swimmer also slightly out-touched the B coming into Bear’s third leg. Bear managed to go sub 28 again, swimming a 27.85 to the C relay swimmers 28.9…opening a big lead that the anchor expanded on. The team improved their time to a 1:51.7, and they settled for fifth overall…

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Breeze

07-28-2014, 02:07 PM

GRPA State Championships – Quick Note

I have a quick note to post here, it doesn’t involve my kids, but it is worth reading. On Friday, at the 10U portion of the meet, a friend of ours daughter swam in the 25 free in a time of 13.03. She ended up heading into the finals tied for the second fastest time, with a girl who swam in a different heat. In the finals, the two girls that tied for second, tied again, in a time of 12.65, which not only won state, it broke the GRPA record for that event.

I found this astounding, that the same two girls can swim exactly the same time, twice in the same day…

Breeze

07-28-2014, 03:01 PM

Season Wrap Up

With the GRPA event in the books, our season(s) come to a close. The next 3 weeks will be our time-off. All of the kids were very pumped up after their swims this weekend, and all are looking forward to some time off, but all appear to be eager to build on their recent performance. Brett and Bear even went as far as to ask about starting their workout routine to try and get them stronger, (which I told them we’d start after the vacation).

Looking back on the kids goals, here is how I believe they feel…

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Bailey

Overall – Bailey did really well this season, probably better than expected. She even earned another AAA time, which will qualify her for the State All-Star banquet again. She’s shown significant improvement, and a real dedication in practice.

Gold Short Course – Had a strong season, topped off by 4 top 10 finishes at state and several more races that were in the top 15. She dropped considerable time across the board, earning numerous state cuts for 2015 and sectional cuts. She is poised for a huge 2015…

Gold Long Course – Honestly, I believe Bailey was disappointed in her flys at LC state. I think she was pretty pleased with the rest of the meet, but I believe she had high hopes in the fly, and didn’t perform up to her own expectations. She did do well enough to earn a fly leg on the B relay, which is a big deal especially given that she turn 12 right before the season started.

Summer League – With 3, fourth place medals and a silver at the GRPA State Meet, combined with a Gold and Bronze at the county meet, it is hard to believe she could be unhappy with the results. Sure, she wanted to make the A relays, sure she’d have loved to have beaten Emilie in the IMs at some point…but all-in-all it was a great season. Moreover, it looks like she may have figured out how to use the underwater portion of her races to go even faster. This could have a significant impact on the Short Course Age Group State Championship in February (assuming she doesn’t forget how to do it following the vacation).

2015 Outlook – Though we really haven’t discussed it at this point, I can tell you that Bailey is very focused on the short course for 2015. She is expecting to be the main performer for Gold in the age group. She’s going to have some pretty tough time goals for her fly, and she really wants to improve her free and breast as she feels they are holding her back (the GRPA meet showed some indication she may be getting her free figured out). As for long course…she’ll age up to 13, so she isn’t sure what to expect, but I do know she’s planning on getting a large number of the cuts in short course before she ages up.
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Bear

Overall – Bear had a great season, improving a bunch across the board. In addition, he earned a coupld of AAA times, which makes him a State All-Star swimmer. He is very pumped up right now, and it appears he’s prepared to put in extra time this coming season so he’ll continue to improve and have a big season.

Gold Short Course – Bear’s state meet was unbelievable, as he earned 3 bronze and 1 silver medal. He also cemented his reputation as an effort swimmer, the tougher the race the better he does. He now loves the challenges of the distance free as well as the effort required for the 400 IM and the 200 Fly. I was so pleased with his state meet, because of how much he struggled the year before with his ill-timed growth spurt. He is extremely excited about his chances for another big state meet, and he’s planning to do some additional endurance work on his own, in hopes of improving his swims in the distance frees.

Gold Long Course – Another great state meet for Bear. He was disappointed he didn’t medal, as that was one of his goals. But he swam well, especially, in the distance swims. In fact, his 19:26 time in the 1500 Free is currently the 74th best time in the nation for 12 year olds, and he just aged up a few months before the swim.

Summer League – Bear had a good Summer League. Breaking the 12U Medley relay county record was a big deal, and he got to do that with his friends. I’m sure he was disappointed that he didn’t qualify for GRPA State in the IM, and just barely made it in back…but he swam well at the State Meet, and he’s showing signs of improving his sprints.

2015 Outlook – Again, we haven’t had any serious discussions yet about next season, but Bear is very excited right now. He’s planning to do additional work (Stationary Bike, Rowing Machine, and dry land exercises) to make sure he’s in prime shape for the new season. He’s also planning to really focus on his sprinting, as he feels he’ll have to get better at that, or it will hold back his ability to swim distance. His times at GRPA may indicate he’s ready to start dropping time there as well.

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Brett

Overall – Brett showed some significant signs of improvement during short course, unfortunately, he didn’t build on that in long course (I covered that a few posts back…so I won’t go into it again here). Following some serious discussions he appears to be refocused, and his swim at GRPA definitely lifted his spirits. He’s currently scheduled to move up to the Senior Team practice when he starts back up. This will allow him to get away from Bailey and Bear and hopefully, focus on what he needs to do to get better. He’s also planning to do extra work to get stronger (this isn’t the first time he’s said he wanted to do this, so we’ll have to see if he follows through).

Gold Short Course – significant improvements in Back and Free (especially distance Free), really encouraged his coaches. Unfortunately, he didn’t get any of the cuts in breast, which are always his goals.

Gold Long Course – Injured, lost focus, and didn’t perform well for these reasons and probably several others as well. He did really start to grow leading into and during this season, so hopefully, he’ll start to fill in and get stronger. He didn’t get his Breast cuts, again his goal, and in fact, he saw some younger swimmers our perform him, which was painful for him to see. It may provide the initiative he needs to put in extra work to get stronger…and if he does that, who knows how much he’ll improve.

Summer League – this was Brett’s saving grace in 2014…he made the State Team, he would have earned a medal if not for an over anxious butterflyer, and he started working on a new breaststroke, raced it after only 3 days of practices and almost dropped a second in time.

2015 Outlook – I don’t really know what to expect here. He’s going to be practicing much more if he moves up, but he’ll also have a new coach, and I don’t know how that relationship is going to work. I believe Brett is eager to get better, so it may work well, as the new coach has a good track record. With extra work, and the new breaststroke, he might be able to get another cut. His other strokes have also improved a bit these last few weeks, as his focus has gotten better in practice. I am extremely hopeful, he has a big (for him) 2015 season…

Breeze

07-28-2014, 03:07 PM

General Swimming News

One more piece of information, before I head on vacation and this thread goes idle for several weeks... This is general news in the sport, but it is fascinating, and could have some serious ramifications moving forward...

Enjoy

Swimming's Current Controversy (http://online.wsj.com/articles/swimmings-current-controversy-1406229831)

Breeze

08-13-2014, 10:30 AM

General Swimming News

Thought I'd throw this in, to provide perspective on where Georgia is as a swim state...

With both Junior and Senior U.S. Nationals now behind us, and Pan Pacs still a week away, now seems like the perfect time to take a look back at the two weeks that were from a slightly different lens.

Let’s start with Junior Nationals: one of the unique aspects of Juniors is that it brings together elite swimmers and clubs from across the country, combining states that are often separated by LSC divisions during the year. But which states tend to be best represented at Juniors? We compiled data from all point-scorers (top 16 finishers) at Junior Nationals to come up with the interactive maps and graphs below.

It’s not terribly surprising that California ran away with state scoring. After all, the state hosted Juniors, meaning very few California clubs decided to forgo the meet because of travel expenses. It’s also one of the biggest and most populous states in the U.S. But even taking those factors into consideration, Californians were impressive at Juniors. In total combined scoring, California didn’t just lead, it dominated, putting up more than double the points of the next-best state.

Some of that was overall team champ Palo Alto Stanford, but not nearly all of it. PASA put up just over 300 combined points, about a quarter of Cali’s total. California saw 22 boys teams and 18 girls teams put up points over the weeklong meet.

Indiana finished second, and its total was much more a one-team show. The girls of Carmel Swim Club led all female scoring with 290, and that accounted for over half of the state’s 523 total points. Interestingly enough, Indiana did quite well at this meet despite the state hosting YMCA Nationals the same week and NCSA Junior Nationals the following week. Those meets could have provided lower-cost options for Indiana’s junior swimmers, but the elite talent of the state still seemed to flock to Irvine for Juniors.

Other high-placing overall states: Florida, Texas and North Carolina rounded out the top five spots, showing some real geographic diversity among the meet’s top scorers. 36 of the 50 U.S. states scored points at the meet.

A disclaimer: in breaking down point totals by state, we counted every swimmer as a member of the state where his or her club is based. There are certainly some occasions where a swimmer will cross state lines to join a club, but for the sake of simplicity, we’re considering things at a club level.

Of course, there are some multi-site mega-clubs that span multiple states. Nation’s Capital Swim Club would be a well-known example. In those cases, we considered the club a member of the state where it’s main headquarters are located – in NCAP’s case, that is Virginia.

See below for point totals.

Rank State Total Boys Girls
1 CA 1268 751.5 516.5
2 IN 523 159 364
3 FL 453.5 184.5 269
4 TX 351 191 160
5 NC 347 109 238
6 GA 328 211 117
7 PA 314 207 107
8 VA 268 192 76
9 SC 208.5 0 208.5
10 OH 194 183 11
11 WA 182 62 120
12 MD 176 18 158
13 NJ 175.5 131.5 44
14 TN 174 138 36
15 AZ 147 99 48
16 OR 110.5 84 26.5
17 NY 99.5 79.5 20
18 KY 94 34 60
19 AL 86 16 70
20 MI 81 14 67

Breeze

08-18-2014, 12:36 PM

General Update

Practice starts today...

Brett was moved up to the Senior Team, so he'll get some freedom from his siblings. He was also invited to a bonfire on Saturday with his new teammates.

Bailey is sick and will miss the first day.

I'll post more details on practice schedules later.

Breeze

08-19-2014, 11:07 AM

General Update

New coach new philosophy...

Coach Neil used to build the swimmers up the first few weeks, really concentrating on form and slowly getting into distance. Not the new coach...after 4 weeks off, Brett swam 6500 yards in the first day of practice...

Breeze

08-27-2014, 11:51 AM

Short Course Season Preview

The short course practices are now underway, and the kids are starting to get their goals together for the season. There have been quite a few changes this year, Brett and the twins are on different teams, new head coach, new practice times, and more. All the kids will now start having morning practice in addition to afternoon practice. The twins are currently scheduled to do it on Wednesday at 5:30 to 7 A.M., Brett is supposed to do morning practices Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (though there is no afternoon practice on Friday). In total, Brett is expected to have 80% attendance and he is scheduled to practice 16 hours a week. The twins are supposed to have 75% attendance and their schedule calls for 13.5 hours in the pool.

Here are few thoughts/items for this season…

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Bear

Bear has started a rapid growth spurt similar to the one Brett went through about 6 months ago. He is complaining about his legs hurting, specifically his knees and ankles, so most likely growing pains. While they aren’t terribly concerning, they are significant enough that the coach has requested we start giving him Advil before practice until it goes away. It is also preventing him from doing his extra work before and after practice, which had been his plan coming into the season. In fact, for a couple weeks leading up to the start of practice, Bear was spending about a half an hour on one of our exercise machines, and he was doing pushups, sit ups, and chin ups every day.

Bear is very serious about doing well at the short course meet again. He wants to medal like he did as an 11 year old. He’s also very focused on improving his sprints. He wants to be on the team relays at state, and he knows he’ll have to get faster in the sprints to get there. These are the main reasons that he’s willing to put in extra work after and before practice. I don’t believe he has focused on the Sectional Meet, but if he continues to improve on the distance swims, he could have a strong showing there as well.

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Bailey

Bailey is doing well health wise, only dealing with some acne issues, which, when your daughter is high drama and 12 years old, is a MAJOR issue. Actually, she’s been a trouper about it, and she’s starting to get it under control. Given that she was concerned about it, my wife convinced me to let her start wearing make-up. So she now wears a very discreet amount.

As far as swimming, she is doing well. In fact, she’s quite excited as she’s already announced that she thinks she’s figured out her freestyle issues. Her initial goal was to get all the state cuts possible, which I expect she will do. I know she desperately wants to win a medal, but I’m afraid the field in her age group just has way too many exceptional swimmers to get better than fifth in any event. She’s also setting her sights on swimming a large number of events at Sectionals (though she hasn’t told me how many or which ones). If she works hard, she could get top 12 at the sectional meet in some events. I’m also sure she’s looking to get another AAA time so she’ll be invited back to the All-Star banquet.

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Brett

With Brett’s new schedule our biggest concern is school work. Given that he’ll be getting up extremely early 3 days a week, mornings aren’t a possibility for homework. Also, he gets home from school with just enough time to throw on his bathing suit, grab his swim bags and a snack and head to the pool. So the only time left for homework is after practice, and that is problematic because of Brett’s ADHD issues. By the time he sits down to work, he’s off the walls, and completely unfocused (and this is before we start morning practices). I’m not sure how any of this will work itself out, but I think I’m headed for a level of fatigue and sleepiness I haven’t felt since the twins were babies…

As for swimming, Brett is hoping to build on the strong end to the Summer League season. The only problem is the new coach, while he has a strong resume, is very hands off. He works his swimmers really hard which leads to good times, but we’ve yet to see a lot of instruction, and that is what Brett needs more than anything. This is where losing Coach Neil hurts, as he would have gotten Brett straightened out. We are going to try and schedule a sit down with Coach Todd to go over Brett’s issues and needs to hopefully keep things moving forward. Brett’s goals are very similar to every other year…get the Breast cuts, close in on the other strokes, and start cleaning up the little things that can help moving forward. Brett has also set a goal to really start focusing on small things within the strokes that he needs to fix while practicing. So in Free, point the toes hard and kick harder, Back, keep the legs extended don’t bend the knee, Fly, swim it (Don’t cheat), Breast, streamline to streamline. All that stated, Brett does have a new goal. Now that he is in High School, Brett is planning to swim for the South Forsyth War Eagles. He won’t be a star on the team, as there are some very good swimmers at South, but it’s a great way to make friends and get into the whole high school scene. His goal for High School is to earn a varsity letter. To get the letter, he’ll have to meet one of the following times…

South Forsyth Lettering
Times: Boys Girls

200 Free 02:03.0 02:15.0
200 IM 02:20.0 02:31.0
50 Free 25 27
100 Fly 01:07.0 01:13.0
100 Free 01:00.0 01:05.0
500 Free 05:36.0 05:57.0
100 Back 01:08.0 01:15.0
100 Brst 01:16.0 01:24.0

I think he can possibly do it in a couple of areas. Unfortunately for him, the 200 Breast isn’t swum in High School Meets.

JAG

08-30-2014, 08:29 PM

I'm exhausted just reading the schedule. Good luck to you and the kiddos.

Breeze

09-05-2014, 12:59 PM

General Update

So practice is in full swing and kids are working hard. I do have a few things to report...

- Bear was diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatter Disease...while this sounds terrible it is the same thing that Brett experienced when he had knee pain earlier this Summer. In essence it is a combination of overuse and growing pains. He'll be fine, but he'll be limited - No Breaststroke, No high impact dry land, no running. We'll be treating it with ice, rest, and advil.

- Brett is doing a good job in a tough situation. Right now the new coach hasn't split practices into different intervals...so everyone on the Senior/National team are currently swimming National intervals. This means Brett doesn't get rest between sets, because his personal bests are often times not as good as the intervals the nationals swim. However, given that he is doing well focusing in on the items he needs to improve on...in the afternoon. While he's been a champ about getting up and going to morning practices, they aren't as productive. Because they are so early, I can't give him his meds to help him focus (or they'd run out on him before the end of school)...so he makes the typical mistakes he's trying to clean up. We are hoping we can find a solution that will allow him to be more productive in the mornings...will keep you updated.

Breeze

09-08-2014, 03:53 PM

General Update

Gold has made an interesting change to the swim schedule for this season...the information about the change is below...

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We are rolling out a new meet concept this year that we are very excited about and wanted to give everyone a few more details. Our apologies on not getting these to you sooner, but we have tried to quickly define what we wanted to accomplish in creating a fun, exciting, value filled meet lineup. A little background:

We think that there are some inherent problems with the way that USA Swimming meets usually run. They are long, they can be expensive ($60+ for a weekend of swimming), and there just aren’t enough on the calendar to give our kids the racing experience that we need. Contrast that with a summer league meet for instance- They are fun, low pressure, inexpensive, and happen every week during their season. You can clearly see the problem there! This coupled with the fact that during the fall, some swimmers will only get one or two race opportunities before the focus meets in December. That just definitely isn’t working right.

With that in mind, enter the Gold Grand Prix Series (11 and older) and Saturday Sprint Series (10 and under)! These one day, one session meets will take place mostly at the Cherokee Aquatic center on the meet dates listed under meets at goldswim.com. They should be a fun and exciting opportunity to give kids the experience of racing in a way that reduces the time, expense, and anxiety of a traditional meet. These meets will not be USA sanctioned, so the times won’t be official but the focus will the be the fun and awards! Events here however, WILL count towards the highly coveted ironman award that we give out at the end of the season (for the swimmer who competes in every event offered in their age group). Here are some of the additional details of each:

Gold Grand Prix Series: These meets will be for 11 and older swimmers and will take place on Saturday mornings instead of normal practice. The series will be comprised of 4 meets with each meet being the same format: 50, 100, and 200 of each stroke in IM order. Each swimmer gets to select a total of 4 events during each meet. Over the course of the 4 meets, each swimmer will be required to have swum at least each event once. As you can see, a swimmer that has to miss one of the meets will still be able to complete all the races, and a swimmer that goes to all meets will have the opportunity to re-swim some races for a higher finish. Events will be scored over the course of the 4 meets in the age groups of 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17-18 both male and female. The finishing place in a race will equal the number of points that the swimmer scores, so lowest number of points wins. At the end of the Grand Prix series, points will be added up and the top 3 lowest point scorers in each age group will receive prizes! We have some pretty exciting prizes lined up- think high end wearable merchandise for top finishers, so we think the competition will be exciting. These meets will usually last just a couple hours and the cost will be $75 for ALL 4 meets.

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Currently, my kids are saying, as long as their friends swim the Grand Prix series, they will too...

Breeze

09-17-2014, 12:17 PM

Personal Bests

With the season about to start, I figured I'd post the kid's current personal bests.

Bailey

50 FR - 30.26 12/13/2013

100 FR - 01:06.62 12/13/2013

200 FR - 02:25.43 12/13/2013

500 FR - 06:12.17 1/18/2014

1000 FR - 13:16.14 12/13/2013

50 BK - 33.48 2/21/2014

100 BK - 01:09.22 2/21/2014

200 BK - 02:32.72 2/21/2014

50 BR - 45.14 9/14/2013

100 BR - 01:32.28 12/13/2013

200 BR - 03:20.06 11/8/2013

50 FL - 29.54 7/25/2014

100 FL - 01:07.57 3/20/2014

200 FL - 02:30.64 3/20/2014

100 IM - 01:08.43 7/25/2014

200 IM - 02:32.49 2/21/2014

400 IM - 05:13.12 2/21/2014

Bear

50 FR - 30.11r 11/8/2013

100 FR - 01:03.95 2/21/2014

200 FR - 02:12.58 2/21/2014

500 FR - 05:39.41 3/20/2014

1000 FR - 11:30.72 3/20/2014

50 BK - 34.57 7/25/2014

100 BK - 01:16.10 1/18/2014

200 BK - 02:31.95 2/21/2014

50 BR - 41.08 12/13/2013

100 BR - 01:28.46 12/13/2013

200 BR - 03:03.93 2/21/2014

50 FL - 33.91 1/18/2014

100 FL - 01:11.71 1/18/2014

200 FL - 02:34.44 2/21/2014

100 IM - 01:20.65 11/8/2013

200 IM - 02:38.98 12/13/2013

400 IM - 05:16.19 2/21/2014

Brett

50 FR - 30.33 2/7/2014

100 FR - 01:04.72 2/7/2014

200 FR - 02:13.29 1/18/2014

500 FR - 05:55.14 2/7/2014

1000 FR - 12:05.69 2/7/2014

1650 FR - 20:11.76 3/21/2014

100 BK - 01:12.87 2/7/2014

200 BK - 02:33.40 3/21/2014

50 BR - 35.71 7/25/2014

100 BR - 01:16.93 3/21/2014

200 BR - 02:42.45 1/18/2014

50 FL - 42.55 10/5/2013

100 FL - 01:22.18 2/7/2014

200 FL - 03:01.54 3/21/2014

200 IM - 02:31.32 3/21/2014

400 IM - 05:12.60 3/21/2014

Breeze

09-24-2014, 04:13 PM

Short Course Cut Times

So I wanted to take a second and update the kids personal bests vs. the cut times they will be shooting for. I believe the information below is self explanitory, please let me know if you have questions though...

Bailey

Event - PB State Sectionals

50 FR - 30.26 27.49 27.79

100 FR - 01:06.62 59.99 59.89

200 FR - 02:25.43 2:11.89 2:10.19

500 FR - 06:12.17 5:56.59 5:43.99

1000 FR - 13:16.14 12:37.19 12:12.29

50 BK - 33.48 32.09 31.79

100 BK - 01:09.22 1:08.49 1:08.69

200 BK - 02:32.72 2:28.59 2:29.19

50 BR - 45.14 36.99 36.19

100 BR - 01:32.28 1:19.29 1:18.29

200 BR - 03:20.06 2:52.59 2:51.19

50 FL - 29.54 30.39 30.49

100 FL - 01:07.57 1:09.09 1:08.49

200 FL - 02:30.64 2:45.39 2:37.79

100 IM - 01:08.43 1:09.89 1:08.69

200 IM - 02:32.49 2:28.89 2:27.69

400 IM - 05:13.12 5:24.19 5:11.89

*Note - Cut times are subject to change

Breeze

09-24-2014, 04:26 PM

Short Course Cut Times

Bear

Event - PB State Sectionals

50 FR - 30.11r 27.89 27.49

100 FR - 01:03.95 1:00.39 59.99

200 FR - 02:12.58 2:13.09 2:09.99

500 FR - 05:39.41 5:58.29 5:45.69

1000 FR - 11:30.72 12:59.89 12:34.89

50 BK - 34.57 32.39 32.09

100 BK - 01:16.10 1:08.99 1:09.29

200 BK - 02:31.95 2:30.69 2:29.69

50 BR - 41.08 37.29 35.79

100 BR - 01:28.46 1:19.49 1:17.69

200 BR - 03:03.93 2:55.89 2:49.39

50 FL - 33.91 30.79 30.89

100 FL - 01:11.71 1:10.99 1:08.99

200 FL - 02:34.44 2:54.89 2:34.99

100 IM - 01:20.65 1:09.99 1:09.19

200 IM - 02:38.98 2:30.29 2:29.79

400 IM - 05:16.19 5:25.59 5:23.69

*Note - Cut times are subject to change

Breeze

09-24-2014, 04:32 PM

Short Course Cut Times

Brett

Event - PB State

100 BR - 01:16.93 1:09.69

200 BR - 02:42.45 2:31.49

*Note - Cut times are subject to change
**Note - If Brett gets close to other cuts, I will note that in write ups

Breeze

09-25-2014, 11:28 AM

Clash of the Golds - Cherokee Aquatic Center - 9/27-28

I don't get to watch the kids practice with their new schedules, so I don't have the same insight regarding how they are doing or what to expect. I can only guess based on reports I've received from them, their friends, and the coaches.

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Bailey

#3 (d1/s1): G 11-12 50 Fly (30.72Y ) - Bailey has been talking about going sub 30 in this one...I think that is very likely.

#9 (d1/s1): G 11-12 50 Back (33.48Y) - No idea here...but I expect she'll drop a decent amount of time.

#15 (d1/s1): G 11-12 100 Breast (1:32.28Y) - Hit or miss with this stroke. She definately improved during the Summer in breast, but is she still swimming the same way in this stroke. I have no idea.

#21 (d1/s1): G 11-12 100 Free (1:06.62Y) - Her reports on swimming 100 Free intervals tells me she'll improve in this, and maybe considerably.

#27 (d2/s2): G 11-12 100 Fly (1:08.43Y) - She wants to get down to 1 minute in this stroke. A strong goal, but not one she'll achieve this meet if she can get there at all...

#33 (d2/s2): G 11-12 100 Back (1:09.22Y) - See 50 Back...

#39 (d2/s2): G 11-12 50 Breast (44.34Y) - See 100 Breast

#45 (d2/s2): G 11-12 50 Free (30.19Y) - She hasn't said it, but I'm betting she wants to be in the 28 second range...

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Bear - Bear talks a lot less than the other kids, so I have less insight on him...he has been complaining a good bit about being sore (which I believe is more growing pains)

#4 (d1/s1): B 11-12 50 Fly (33.91Y) - No idea...he wants to improve his sprints, and this one in particular...but I've not heard a peep about his fly specifically. I'm hoping for around a 31...

#10 (d1/s1): B 11-12 50 Back (37.18Y) - Very little talk about his back as well...I think a mid 35 would be good.

#16 (d1/s1): B 11-12 100 Breast (1:28.46Y) - Said his Breast the other day felt off...so if he is right and it is off this may not improve much.

#22 (d1/s1): B 11-12 100 Free (1:03.95Y) - This is the one area I expect he will improve. His coached have mentioned on several occasions that he has had very good practices...and in the free sets especially. He wants to go sub 60. Not sure he'll get there yet...but it is a good goal.

#28 (d2/s2): B 11-12 100 Fly (1:11.71Y) - I think he'll improve here. As you've probably figured from past readings, the further he goes, the better he does.

#34 (d2/s2): B 11-12 100 Back (1:16.10Y) - Same feeling as the 100 Fly...

#40 (d2/s2): B 11-12 50 Breast (41.08Y) - No idea

#46 (d2/s2): B 11-12 50 Free (30.11Y) - He's going to want to post something around a 28 as well...

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Brett

#2 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 100 Fly (1:22.18Y) - As I mentioned above I don't get to watch practice much, when I have watched I still see Brett one arming a lot of Fly practice. But I've also gotten reports that his fly is looking much better. I think he improves here just because he is much stronger from a lot more time in the pool.

#8 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 100 Back (1:12.87Y) - Again iprovement from extra practice. Still has problems with bicycle kicking every other left leg kick, which holds him back.

#14 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 200 Breast (2:42.45Y) - Fingers crossed the new stroke leads to a big improvement here. Would be huge for his self confidence.

#20 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 200 Free (2:13.29Y) - Free kick is getting better in spurts. Could improve here by a several seconds.

#32 (d2/s2): B 13 & Over 200 Back (2:33.40Y) - Again improvement through lots of time in the pool.

#38 (d2/s2): B 13 & Over 100 Breast (1:16.93Y) - See 200 Breast.

#44 (d2/s2): B 13 & Over 100 Free (1:04.72Y) - Wants to go sub 60, don't think he will. but 1:01 is reachable I think.

Breeze

09-29-2014, 12:05 PM

Clash of the Golds - RESULTS

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Bailey

#3 (d1/s1): G 11-12 50 Fly (30.72Y) – Just missed getting sub 30, and she wasn’t happy about it…almost did though…30.03

#9 (d1/s1): G 11-12 50 Back (33.48Y) - Did get a drop of over a second finishing with a 32.37…just a blink of an eye from the state cut.

#15 (d1/s1): G 11-12 100 Breast (1:32.28Y) – Dropped a bunch of time…a good bit of it was due to her pullouts. She really used her strong dolphin kick to get good underwater distances off the walls. Needs to improve her pulls a bit, if she does she’ll drop another chuck of time. Finished with a 1:27.54 – almost a 5 second drop.

#21 (d1/s1): G 11-12 100 Free (1:06.62Y) - A good swim here, but not as good as she wanted. Finished 1:02.91…

#27 (d2/s2): G 11-12 100 Fly (1:08.43Y) – Improved by almost 2 seconds to finish 1:06.57. Several parent commented how pretty she looked in this race. She felt she breathed too much in the final 25, and she’s planning to clean it up. Thinks if she does she’ll go sub 1:05.

#33 (d2/s2): G 11-12 100 Back (1:09.22Y) - Good start, good walls, slight drop to a 1:08.58 – only .1 from a state cut.

#39 (d2/s2): G 11-12 50 Breast (44.34Y) – Drop of almost 3 seconds. Coach said it was a pretty stroke – For a 200 Breast…he told her she’s got to work harder in the sprint breast…and he fells she’ll drop another couple of seconds when she does - 41.48

#45 (d2/s2): G 11-12 50 Free (30.19Y) – A good, but not great swim here for Bailey. Her free is improving…but she posted a 29.31. She at the very least needs to get sub 29…She’s managed sub 29 in relays, so I expect she’ll get there before the end of the season.

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Bear

#4 (d1/s1): B 11-12 50 Fly (33.91Y) – Almost a 2 second drop…32.20 – and it showed a better approach to a sprint fly race. We’ll see if he can drop another 2 seconds and get a cut here. It’ll be an interesting one to watch moving forward.

#10 (d1/s1): B 11-12 50 Back (37.18Y) – Over a 3 second drop – 34.00. Coach wants his arms rotating faster on the sprints. He needs to carry his speed into the walls better as well…

#16 (d1/s1): B 11-12 100 Breast (1:28.46Y) – Swam this one, though he wasn’t supposed to. With his knee issues he should have just skipped it. But young boy, in a competitive situation, and you know he definitely didn’t want to sit it out. Though he hasn’t swum Breast is weeks he managed to post a time of 1:28.54…almost identical to his seed time.

#22 (d1/s1): B 11-12 100 Free (1:03.95Y) - Coach was right, Bear’s free looks better than it ever has. Strong underwaters on the dive and first 2 turns. The last turn left a little to be desired and it cost him is goal of something in the 60.XX timeframe. Finished with a 1:01.11…Says he’s definitely going sub 60 before the end of the season.

#28 (d2/s2): B 11-12 100 Fly (1:11.71Y) – Much bigger improvement than I expected. Again, he attacked the shorter race and he posted a 1:09.25…which is a state cut…

#34 (d2/s2): B 11-12 100 Back (1:16.10Y) – Coach said arms were a bit choppy, but he improved by over 4.5 seconds. Finished with 1:11.42…

#40 (d2/s2): B 11-12 50 Breast (41.08Y) - Skipped this one…under strict orders not to swim it. Plus he wanted to save his knees for the sprint free…

#46 (d2/s2): B 11-12 50 Free (30.11Y) – Hit is mark…finishing in 28.58. He’s currently third for Gold swimmers that will still be under 12 during the state meet. So his improved sprints are currently helping him achieve his goals to be on the A relay. One more interesting note…this was a funny race, in that, when the gun sounded, a couple of the 10U girls on the other end of the pool preparing for their 25 frees dove in, and some of the kids racing Bear swam around (twice). They were given the option to reswim, and a couple did…it was one of those Wow moments that come along occasionally in kid sports.

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Brett

Before I get into the discussion on Brett’s weekend, I think I need to take a second to define the increased effort that he is exerting due to practice. Last season he was swimming approximately 5000 yards a day. Currently, he swims 7500+ on the light days and over 13,000 yards on two a days. This is causing a significant amount of fatigue, which is Brett is slow to recover from, and which showed up during the meet.

#2 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 100 Fly (1:22.18Y) – Form looked great, time was terrible – 1:24.27. At the time I just felt that he needed to push harder, but it became obvious as the day went on, that this was actually a pretty good effort on his part.

#8 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 100 Back (1:12.87Y) – Like the fly, he added about 2 seconds to his personal best swimming a 1:14.59

#14 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 200 Breast (2:42.45Y) – Here is where it became obvious that this wasn’t an effort issue, but rather a fatigue one. He added almost 7 whole seconds finishing with a 2:49.26

#20 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 200 Free (2:13.29Y) – Another slow time of 2:17.09…and Brett was very disappointed his he day.

Note, that afternoon and the next morning, numerous parents and coaches told him and us, that he just needs to keep working hard. That he looks good in practice and that ultimately it will pay off in spades, but right now he’s just to worn out to have a peek performance. He was told that his body will adjust to the practices and start recovering quicker, and when that happens, he’ll see his rewards.

I also told him, that given that he basically swam only about 2500-3000 yards on Saturday, and that his Friday practice was in the morning, that he might be more rested for the Sunday swim, and he might do better. To focus on his technique and see if he could drop time…

No 200 Fly to start the day, helped with fatigue too…

#32 (d2/s2): B 13 & Over 200 Back (2:33.40Y) – fractional improvement. Dropped .08…but still a personal best. 2:33.32.

#38 (d2/s2): B 13 & Over 100 Breast (1:16.93Y) - Really need a good swim here, and we got it. He looked strong, really pushing to keep up with the older kids to his inside lane. Still desperately needs to improve the dolphin kick on his pullout (which will happen when he improves his fly, which he’s been told for a VERY LONG TIME)…but managed to drop over a second and finish with a 1:15.87. This is also an important swim, in that the time is below the standard set by the high school to earn his varsity letter. If he can keep or improve on this swim moving forward, and he gets an opportunity to swim Breast for South Forsyth, he can reach his goal of lettering as a Freshman.

#44 (d2/s2): B 13 & Over 100 Free (1:04.72Y) – Looked strong here, but underwaters were lacking, and ultimately, that cost him a chance to go 60 or sub 60. Finished with a 1:02.92…another personal best and a huge lift to Brett’s psyche.

Breeze

10-02-2014, 10:04 AM

Gold Grand Prix Meet 1 - Cherokee Aquatic Center - 10/4

The first of the 4 Grand Prix meets start Saturday, and I have a few things that have changed since the post above. First, the meets will now be sanctioned by USA Swimming, so the times will be official. However, in an effort to save money, the electronic timing systems won't be used. Instead there will be 3 hand held watches in each lane that will be averaged to determine time (assuming they can get enough volenteers to be timers). Because the timing system won't be used, I'll have no race time feedback duriing the meet, and potentially will have to wait several days to get their actual results, which will be very frustrating.

Additionally, the swimmers will be classified by their age on October 4th. This really hurts the twins, as there are a number of very strong 12 year olds that will be aging up before the end of the season, but will get to swim as 12 year olds for the entire Grand Prix series. Even with the ruling on age, I expect Bailey and Bear will both finish in the top 5 for their age group.

Brett is also going to swim the Grand Prix series. The schedule was adjusted so it wouldn't interfere with high school meets, so he decided to do it.

These events are about a combination of time and place finish, as prizes will be awarded for top finishers in each age group, but ultimately you won't know your place until all 4 events have been completed.

Here are the events they will swim...

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Bailey Breeze

#5 (d1/s1): G 11-12 50 Fly (30.03Y)
#49 (d1/s1): G 11-12 100 Back (1:08.58Y)
#81 (d1/s1): G 11-12 100 Breast (1:27.54Y)
#101 (d1/s1): G 11-12 50 Free (29.31Y)

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Barrett Breeze

#6 (d1/s1): B 11-12 50 Fly (32.20Y)
#50 (d1/s1): B 11-12 100 Back (1:11.42Y)
#70 (d1/s1): B 11-12 50 Breast (41.08Y)
#126 (d1/s1): B 11-12 200 Free (2:12.58Y)

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Brett Breeze

#20 (d1/s1): B 13-14 100 Fly (1:22.18Y)
#52 (d1/s1): B 13-14 100 Back (1:12.87Y)
#84 (d1/s1): B 13-14 100 Breast (1:15.87Y)
#116 (d1/s1): B 13-14 100 Free (1:02.92Y)

Breeze

10-07-2014, 10:20 AM

Gold Grand Prix Meet 1 - RESULTS

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Bailey Breeze

#5 (d1/s1): G 11-12 50 Fly (30.03Y) – Bailey dropped another .3 seconds, posted a 29.71 and won the event.

#49 (d1/s1): G 11-12 100 Back (1:08.58Y) – Actually added about .7 seconds (1:09.28), but still finished second overall.

#81 (d1/s1): G 11-12 100 Breast (1:27.54Y) – 1:27.32 – Personal Best and finished third overall

#101 (d1/s1): G 11-12 50 Free (29.31Y) – Bailey really wanted an improvement in this one. She wasn’t happy with her swim the weekend prior. She dropped almost .7 seconds and finished with a 28.63. Good enough for fourth.

Total – 10 points : By my count she finished with the 3rd lowest point total for her age group

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Barrett Breeze

#6 (d1/s1): B 11-12 50 Fly (32.20Y) – I thought he looked a little stiff, but he dropped .73 and finished second overall with a 31.47

#50 (d1/s1): B 11-12 100 Back (1:11.42Y) – Dropped .36 seconds here and finished third overall – 1:11.06

#70 (d1/s1): B 11-12 50 Breast (41.08Y) – Added time in this one. Still waiting too long on the pullout before swimming. 41.62 and a fourth place finish.

#126 (d1/s1): B 11-12 200 Free (2:12.58Y) – I expected a nice improvement here, and he delivered. Dropped almost 3 full seconds (2:09.26) and won the event for the 12Us.

Total – 10 points : By my count he finished with the 3rd lowest point total for his age group

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Brett Breeze

I have to tell you, I feel really bad for Brett right now. He is working extremely hard (as I outlined in my last post meet report when I talked about how much distance he is swimming), getting up early without complaint, trying very hard in practice during his laps, but his inability to focus on what he needs to improve is really holding him back. He continues to make the same mistakes he’s been making for years and it is really heartbreaking. If he could iron out just a few items, he’d drop several seconds in many of his races and become much more respectable with his results. Would it make him a great swimmer – No, but it would provide some self-esteem and he’d start to see some results from his efforts.

#20 (d1/s1): B 13-14 100 Fly (1:22.18Y) – Actually dropped time in this one, .83 seconds as a matter of fact 1:21.35. Unfortunately, he breathed almost every stroke, and his underwater work was weak at best. If he’d limit breathing to every other stroke, he’d drop 4 seconds, and good underwaters, would probably drop 2 or 3 more. (Sigh)

#52 (d1/s1): B 13-14 100 Back (1:12.87Y) – Added time – 1:14.28.

#84 (d1/s1): B 13-14 100 Breast (1:15.87Y) – Added time 1:17.28 – lack of a big dolphin kick on pullouts continues to be a killer for his time.

#116 (d1/s1): B 13-14 100 Free (1:02.92Y) – Added almost a second – 1:03.81.

Breeze

10-10-2014, 08:58 AM

General Update

Bear has been sick for the last 3 days. Returned for early morning practice today, and it was obvious he had been out of the pool for a while.

Breeze

10-13-2014, 01:26 PM

High School Swim Team Time Trials

Brett's high school swim team will have their time trials tomorrow morning. I'm not sure if Brett will be going. The coach may accept his year round times which means we won't have to go (but there is a possibility he will want to go as he is very excited about swimming on the high school team). We are waiting on feedback from the coach.

Edit to Update: Brett didn't have to swim, and he was very thankful for the extra 70 minutes to sleep...

Breeze

10-15-2014, 08:58 AM

General Update

A little humor for you…

I get my son up at 4:30 A.M. to get ready for swim practice and to eat breakfast. I take him to the pool, he goes into the facility and I stay in the car. About 15 minutes later he knocks on my window and informs me…

“I don’t have a bathing suit.”

How the hell do you do that?

Anyway, the twins, who start morning practice a half hour later, brought him one. So he did get a good workout in. In fact, the coach found me after practice and as he was coming towards me with a smirk on his face, I figured he was going to laugh about Brett forgetting his suit, but instead he said, “Brett disappeared this morning.”

I explained what happened and he laughed then he said, “I thought he might be sleeping in the locker room; happens all the time, but when I went to look he wasn’t there. Now I know.” He also informed me that he got Brett to kick much more effectively today. Hopefully, Brett can replicate that tonight and tomorrow and we’ll see some improvement in the meet this weekend.

Breeze

10-15-2014, 02:28 PM

Gold Invite @ Mt View Aquatic Center - 10/17 - 10/19

This meet was set up to break the sessions at 12 to 13 year olds. To make it easier on us, the coach entered Bailey and Bear in Open competition. This means they will swim with older kids, but they should still be racing people with similar times in their heats.

Bailey Breeze

#1 (d1/s1): G Open 200 Medley (2:32.49Y) - Needs to cut 4 seconds for a state cut - I think she does it...

#5 (d1/s1): G Open 400 Medley (5:13.12Y) - 2 seconds from a Sectional cut - I think she gets this one too.

#43 (d2/s3): G Open 200 Free (2:25.43Y) - Her free is better, so I expect a drop.

#49 (d2/s3): G Open 100 Back (1:08.58Y) - only needs to drop .1 for a State Cut - Again I think she gets it.

#55 (d2/s3): G Open 200 Breast (3:20.06Y) - I expect she drops time, but she's a long way from a cut, and she still doesn't believe in herself when it comes to Breaststroke.

#61 (d2/s3): G Open 100 Fly (1:06.57Y) - Ironically, with all the cuts I've predicted, I expect she'll add time in this one. Fatigue and the fact she swam this fast time just a few weeks back, leads me to believe we are looking at a 1:07 high.

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Bear Breeze

#2 (d1/s1): B Open 200 Medley (2:38.98Y) - If his knees hold up on Breast, he could cut 5 seconds one.

#4 (d1/s1): B Open 50 Free (28.58Y) - Just set the PB a couple weeks ago, plus coming off a cold...I don't expect this time to be bettered.

#8 (d1/s1): B Open 500 Free (5:39.41Y) - could drop a bunch of time, or add if he's not 100% following the cold.

#44 (d2/s3): B Open 200 Free (2:09.62Y) - See the 50 Free...

#50 (d2/s3): B Open 100 Back (1:11.06Y) - needs to drop just over a second to get a sectional cut...I think he might do it here.

#56 (d2/s3): B Open 200 Breast (3:03.93Y) - practiced breast for the first time in weeks due to the Osgood-Schletter - Said his legs were very stiff and sore even before the set was over. I don't expect much because of that.

#62 (d2/s3): B Open 100 Fly (1:09.25Y) - Only needs to cut a quarter of a second to get a secontional cut.

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Brett Breeze

Not sure what to expect. They aren't tapering at all for this meet, so I expect he'll still be fatigued going into the races.

#4 (d1/s1): B Open 50 Free (30.33Y) - Has already beaten this time at Summer League swims, should go 28 high if he's feeling well.

#6 (d1/s1): B Open 400 Medley (5:12.60Y) - How is his fly? If he limits breathing, even tired he might challenge his PB.

#42 (d2/s3): B 13-14 200 Free (2:13.29Y) - see opening comments

#48 (d2/s3): B 13-14 100 Back (1:12.87Y) - Coach is trying to get him to sink his uppper body more and get his legs higher. He's been struggling with that new form, too quick to return to what is comfortable. Not sure he'll be able to do the new form in this one.

#54 (d2/s3): B 13-14 200 Breast (2:42.45Y) - I want him to improve here, and I know he can, but I'm not sure if he'll be able to do it at the end of the second day of racing.

Breeze

10-21-2014, 11:02 AM

Gold Invite - RESULTS

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Bailey Breeze

#1 (d1/s1): G Open 200 Medley (2:32.49Y) – Bailey started out this race extremely strong, swimming her fly leg in 30.76. At this point she was in first in her heat, which may not sound that impressive, until you remember she was swimming in an open event, meaning some of the girls were 3 or 4 years older than her. Her back and free were both good, but the Breast was as bad as it had ever been. In fact, it took her 48 seconds to do the 50…that is 4 seconds slower than her breast from last year in this same event, and a full 8 seconds off her personal best in a 50 breast (which I don’t expect to swim as the third leg of a 200 IM, but it is a point of reference). Eventually she did finish with a personal best of 2:31.23.

#5 (d1/s1): G Open 400 Medley (5:13.12Y) – This was extremely similar to the 200 IM…an early lead because of a strong Fly leg, good back, terrible Breast and a strong free. This time though she didn’t get a PB, settling for a 5:13.79.

#43 (d2/s3): G Open 200 Free (2:25.43Y) – In the pre-swim write up I said “Her free is better, so I expect a drop” I had no idea…dropped 14.16 seconds, finishing with a 2:11.17 and another state cut.

#49 (d2/s3): G Open 100 Back (1:08.58Y) – While my expectation of a drop in the 200 free was understated, I missed the drops on both IMs and I missed this one as well. Bailey looked fine in the back, but failed to drop time…adding just over half a second…1:09.18

#55 (d2/s3): G Open 200 Breast (3:20.06Y) – The coach told her after the first day that her Breast was terrible…(in a funny way)…but he reinforced some technique items with her during warm ups the second day, and again before racing and it paid off. She dropped around 14.5 seconds finishing with a 3:05.42…this bodes well for her IMs moving forward (assuming she can maintain the form).

#61 (d2/s3): G Open 100 Fly (1:06.57Y) – Again my predictions were way off. I thought she’d add time here. She didn’t, she dropped just over a second, and managed to beat the 17 year old daughter (who was right next to her in the heat) of a families we are friends with. 1:05.52

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Bear Breeze

#2 (d1/s1): B Open 200 Medley (2:38.98Y) – Knees held up fine, though his breast leg, like Bailey’s is going to need some work. But my prediction of a 5 second drop was a bit low…considering he dropped 13.07 seconds to finish with a 2:25.91, giving him not only a state cut, but a sectional one as well.

#4 (d1/s1): B Open 50 Free (28.58Y) – Dropped another half second 28.07

#8 (d1/s1): B Open 500 Free (5:39.41Y) – talked to the coach before the race about pacing, and coach said he wanted him under 35s…as Bear was walking away, he told me that…then stopped…calculated the time of 35seconds /50 and determined that was WAY too slow. He told me that he wanted to be under 33s – which would put him at a time of 5:30. His splits went like this…

30.18
33.42
33.70 (I signaled that he needed to pick it up a little)
33.51 (again I signaled to pick it up a bit)
33.16
33.58 (at this point the coach signaled me to signal him to go hard – I figured he felt Bear had a lot left)
32.32 (continued to signal him from here on out to go hard, as he was in the final 150)
32.90
33.40
31.59

5:27.76

This is less than .2 seconds from a 13 year old cut.

#44 (d2/s3): B Open 200 Free (2:09.62Y) - The improvement Bear is showing is remarkable. After he swam the 500 with most 200 splits being sub 2:10, my thoughts on a drop here were changed to extremely likely. Even with that I didn’t expect a drop of almost 4.5 seconds... 2:05.16, a state and sectional cut again.

#50 (d2/s3): B Open 100 Back (1:11.06Y) – Did drop, but only half a second. 1:10.56

#56 (d2/s3): B Open 200 Breast (3:03.93Y) - Bear ended up receiving a very similar response to his Breast in the IM that Bailey did, and he ended up getting very similar instructions before warm up and before his race. He also improved 3:01.57 – this could mean good things in the IMs moving forward as well.

#62 (d2/s3): B Open 100 Fly (1:09.25Y) –Only needed a quarter of a second drop, he dropped over 2 seconds - 1:07.17 – he got his sectional cut, but more importantly, he looked much smoother and stronger in this one than he has recently with his fly….

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Brett Breeze

#4 (d1/s1): B Open 50 Free (30.33Y) – He didn’t disappoint here dropping a good bit of time and even out performing my 28 high prediction…28.34

#6 (d1/s1): B Open 400 Medley (5:12.60Y) – He not only limited his breathing, he was getting his hips up and out of the water on the first 35 yards of the 100 yard Fly leg…his opening 50 was a 35.90. It has been a while since Brett was young enough to swim a 50 fly, but his best on record is a 38.41…and I don’t think I recall a fly swim where he ever had a 50 split (IM or 100 / 200 Fly) where he was faster. The back half his hips didn’t clear the surface and he definitely tired, but he still managed to go a 1:18.93…almost 3 full seconds faster than his personal best in the 100 fly, and he still had 300 yards to swim. The fly leg propelled him to an almost 6 second improvement - 5:06.83

#42 (d2/s3): B 13-14 200 Free (2:13.29Y) – Kick looks SOOOOO MUCH better…plus his underwaters, while not great were much better than they have been. Definitely, put some effort into them. He dropped almost 6 seconds here as well…2:08.68

#48 (d2/s3): B 13-14 100 Back (1:12.87Y) – Still not quite getting the new back form. Did try hard to do better underwaters on the back, but his streamline in back isn’t real good. He tends to look at this feet, which creates a lot of drag. If he figures that out he’ll drop a couple seconds here with that change alone…as it turns out it was a PB, but just barely - 1:12.79

#54 (d2/s3): B 13-14 200 Breast (2:42.45Y) – Ended up swimming next to his buddy (and coach’s son Tommy)…Brett took the early lead with a quick dive and great pullout. Brett’s effort was phenomenal in this one, and his pullouts were so much better than normal. Unfortunately though, his pullouts got a little shorter each turn, and Tommy’s remained extremely log (of course Tommy is a very good flyer so that helps). Here are the splits for Brett and Tommy…

Brett Tommy
34.84 36.68
1:14.51 1:16.06
1:55.28 1:56.12
2:37.34 2:36.27

Brett was passed in the last 25 coming off the wall and couldn’t quite swim Tommy down. He did however improve his 50 breast personal best by almost a full second (from GRPA State in July), and his 100 breast time by 1.3 seconds from just back on 9/28…

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This meet had quite a few WOW moment. Literally, moments where when the race was over I actually stated, "Wow". I'm sure you can probably guess what they are from the times but I'll list them anyway...

Bailey's - 200 Free and 100 Fly
Bear's - 200 IM, 500 Free, 200 Free, 100 Fly
Brett's - 400 IM, 200 Free, 200 Breast

It has been a while since I walked away from a meet so pleased. Every one of the kids did extremely well. Sure Bailey was disappointed with her IMs (and believe me I heard about it a great deal), but the foundation for good swims are there as soon as the breaststroke starts working well again. Bear needs to clean up his breast as well, but his Free is looking extremely strong right now. Finally, Brett - this was a huge meet for him and his self esteem. I don't think I can put into words how much impact his performance seems to have had. Combine that with High School swimming and he seems much more energized and focused than I've ever seen him. Hopefully, this continues because fatigue swims will crop up again in the future.

------------------------------------------

Couple of interesting tidbits from races...

- Bailey beat the 17 year old mentioned above. She also almost beat another girl who's family we eat with in a group occasionally. This time it was in the back and the 15 year old had to bust it to beat Bailey. After the race they were talking and the girl (Rachel) said, that was a nice swim, you're what 15? To which Bailey replied, "No I'm 12." Leading Rachel to respond, "That's just not fair..."

- Bear beat a 17 year old with a full beard twice...

Breeze

10-22-2014, 08:22 AM

Brett Update

At the very beginning of the season Brett was handed a questionnaire packet to help him establish his goals, and at the end of the week it was time to go over those. Brett, the wife, and I all sat with Coach Todd to go over what he had written. At the time he was filling out his goals, I felt he was taking the process way to lightly, and the coach basically let him know, in a nice way, that he needs to be more serious about what he hopes to accomplish, and he’ll expect a much different packet next year when we do this again.

In addition to setting goals here are some things that came out of the meeting…

- Attendance is good so far
- Because he is young and small he needs to be patient with results
- Need to eat well and get plenty of sleep
- Work on ankle flexibility
- Need to really focus on flutter kicks in practice

Brett was also asked to look through collegeswimming.com to find 15 schools he might be interested in swimming for when he graduates high school. There were several reasons for this: first, the coach wants Brett to get familiar with the process, understand how to find schools for when he gets older and closer to graduation. Second, he wants Brett to look for schools that offer his field of study (right now he wants to be an engineer) or something he can use to get into his field of study. Third, and this is probably the biggest reason, he wants Brett to look at the times of swimmers on the team, so he’ll know what times he’ll need to reach in order to swim for those schools. Coach Todd said he’d work with Brett next year to create his swim profile for recruiting and he told me to get him an account with the NCAA Clearinghouse next year as well.

This of course got me thinking. Up until now, I figured Brett, like most people, would end up finishing their competitive careers when they graduate high school. I thought Brett would be a good high school swimmer, earn a couple varsity letters, and then graduate, I didn’t expect he would be anywhere close to the caliber necessary to be a college swimmer. However, after researching different schools on Collegeswimming.com, there are a few schools that have Breaststrokers that are only a couple seconds faster than Brett right now. Given that Brett is still just barely over 100 lbs. and has a decent amount of growing still to do, I expect, if he keeps working hard, he might actually get into the time range where some teams might be interested. Clearly the odds are long on him developing into a swimmer that Auburn, Cal, Stanford, Michigan, or Texas would look at, but if he could swim at college at all (assuming he’ll still want to) that would be great. In fact, honestly right now, I feel that Brett would do much better in a small school environment for college. The only problem is that many of the schools Brett would be interested in, and/or capable of swimming for are terribly expensive and swimming is almost never a full ride scholarship, and many small schools are Div III which don’t offer any scholarships at all. But we’ll cross that bridge when/if the time comes.

As far as schools go, I have very little to offer Brett in terms of schools to look into. When I was looking into schools, way, way back some of the schools I was accepted to that I thought might be good for Brett included:

Furman – no swim team
Tulane – no men’s team
Coastal Carolina – no swim team
Atlantic Christian – no swim team
Maryville College – no swim team

Also, I’m not well traveled, so I don’t know much about schools outside of the Southeast…If he continues to improve, we may have to make some road trips (if we can find time in his ridiculously busy schedule). If you have any suggestions of a school you’re familiar with that you think we should check out let me know.

Breeze

10-23-2014, 08:45 AM

High School Swimming

The South High School swim team started practice on Monday, and because Gold canceled practice following the weekend meet, Brett was able to get 1 of his 5 mandatory attendance practices in.

The funny thing was that he started swimming with the team at the pool, and the coach came over to him and asked if he had turned in his forms, to which he replied yes. They asked him his name and looked through their records and didn’t find his sign up sheet, so they asked him again, and he said he had turned it into Coach Spurlock. They told him that Coach Spurlock was the South coach and that he was currently swimming with the North team. So my son practiced with the wrong team initially. Fortunately for him, he was the fourth person that morning to make that mistake.

Brett attended the dry-land practice Tuesday morning as well, so he only needs to go 3 more times to meet the team requirement, and following this weekend’s Gold Meet, his chances of getting the 2 team cuts to earn his varsity letter are looking better and better.

First high school meet will be 11/8.

Breeze

10-23-2014, 09:38 AM

Gold Grand Prix Meet 2 - Cherokee Aquatic Center - 10/25

Round 2 for the Gran Prix Series is this weekend. Unfortunately, it really isn’t well thought out in its design. There are a number of holes in the logic that will skew results a bit. Not that it really matters, the best swimmers in each of my kids age groups will still end up winning, but the changes will probably drop my kids down a spot or two. Oh well, on to what we are swimming this weekend.

Bailey

#213A (d1/s1): G 11-12 200 Fly (2:30.64Y )
#227A (d1/s1): G 11-12 200 Back (2:32.72Y )
#233A (d1/s1): G 11-12 50 Breast (41.48Y )
#253A (d1/s1): G 11-12 100 Free (1:02.91Y )

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Bear

#212A (d1/s1): B 11-12 100 Fly (1:09.25Y )
#228A (d1/s1): B 11-12 200 Back (2:31.95Y )
#240A (d1/s1): B 11-12 100 Breast (1:28.46Y )
#248A (d1/s1): B 11-12 50 Free (28.58Y )

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Brett

#228B (d1/s1): B 13-14 200 Back (2:33.32Y )
#234B (d1/s1): B 13-14 50 Breast (36.88Y )
#248B (d1/s1): B 13-14 50 Free (30.33Y )
#254B (d1/s1): B 13-14 100 Free (1:02.92Y )

Breeze

10-28-2014, 11:19 AM

Bear Update

So Bear has been complaining on and off for weeks about his sides hurting. He has some asthma issues and carries an inhaler, so we've taken him to get looked at before, but his lungs keep checking out clean. This morning he was very uncomfortable, saying his sides hurt real bad, so we took him to the doctor again. This time the doctor was able to determine that his asthma isn't under control while he's exercising, which puts extra pressure on his muscles. So we have to take him to a pulmonologist now...

Breeze

10-28-2014, 02:27 PM

Gold Grand Prix Meet 2 - RESULTS

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Bailey

#213A (d1/s1): G 11-12 200 Fly (2:30.64Y) – This was the first time this season Bailey swam this event, and she actually swam the fastest time for any swimmer in any age group. She posted a personal best time of 2:23.72, which is only about a second off of the 13/14 year old sectional cut. All that said, she wasn’t real happy with it. Feels she left several seconds in the pool and is very excited about swimming it in the South Carolina travel meet next month.

#227A (d1/s1): G 11-12 200 Back (2:32.72Y ) – Also first time for this swim this season. She dropped some time to a 2:31.63. When she got out after this race she was pale and not feeling well. I believe in this thread I’ve mentioned Bailey’s periodic problems eating breakfast, well that is just part of her issues…though it hasn’t happened in quite a while, she can go very pale and semi-pass out. The doctor said it was related to her body using up its fuel reserves and that she needs to drink juice and eat some crackers or cookies when it occurs. She was on the verge of this…which couldn’t have helped her swim. She is expecting to do much better in this next time.

#233A (d1/s1): G 11-12 50 Breast (41.48Y ) – Because she wasn’t feeling well, she skipped this event.

#253A (d1/s1): G 11-12 100 Free (1:02.91Y ) – Did feel well enough by the time this one rolled around to swim again. She was solid, especially under the circumstances finishing in 1:02.28

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Bear

#212A (d1/s1): B 11-12 100 Fly (1:09.25Y ) – Bear’s fly just keeps getting better. Much smoother, longer reach, and it seems generally more fluid, which should leave to better efficiency. In this race he managed to drop another 2 seconds and finish in 1:07.17.

#228A (d1/s1): B 11-12 200 Back (2:31.95Y ) – Bear continued his strong swimming. In this one he was racing right next to Brett…and he was very good throughout posting a 2:25.59, which also gives him another state cut.

#240A (d1/s1): B 11-12 100 Breast (1:28.46Y ) – Dropped almost 3 seconds to a 1:25.61.

#248A (d1/s1): B 11-12 50 Free (28.58Y ) – I didn’t expect much here after his swim just a week before, but he was in the same heat with Brett again, and that may have been all it took to motivate him to drop another half second – 28.10.

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Brett

#228B (d1/s1): B 13-14 200 Back (2:33.32Y ) – Swam this time just a week earlier, and he bettered it by 4.73 seconds. 2:28.59.

#234B (d1/s1): B 13-14 50 Breast (36.88Y ) – Not that this one matters, accept for Summer League, Brett dropped 2.31 seconds and finished with a 34.57. Honestly, I had him at a 34 flat, and the person I was with had him at a 34.12. Because there are no touch pads in this race, I think he may have been a bit faster than the official time.

#248B (d1/s1): B 13-14 50 Free (30.33Y ) – This seed time was wrong, should have been a 28.44. Brett added time this time around going up to a 29.22, but it was almost all on the dive. He tried to do his underwaters, but they weren’t very productive and they put him behind, but at least he tried…this was the meet to do that. I was proud of that, it proves he was focused on what he should be.

#254B (d1/s1): B 13-14 100 Free (1:02.92Y ) – This was a good swim and a good bounce back. He managed to drop another second off of his time from the previous week, finishing in a 1:02.00.

Breeze

10-30-2014, 08:25 AM

General Update

Bailey - She's fine, nothing to report...

Bear - He has not returned to practice since his visit tot he doctor. We have an appointment for him with the pulmonologist, but it isn't until late next week. He's been instructed not to return to practice until his sides stop hurting. I think that he might go to practice and just kick tonight so he isn't completely out of the water for any additional time. The coach is very disappointed this has come up because Bear is swimming so well right now.

Brett - His first high school meet will be on 11/8. The coach requested that all the kids put down a couple of events that they like/want/normally swim. Brett chose the 100 Breast and the 500 Free. Both his best shots to get the cut times required to earn his varsity letter. The only problem is that the team has 56 swimmers, but only slots for 37 in the meet. Brett being a freshman hurts his chances of being one of the 37, the fact that he is a year round swimmer helps (though their are quite a few year round swimmers older than he is, and I'm sure the coach will work to make sure everyone gets a change to swim for the team). Working in Brett's favor is the fact he chose the 500 Free. She even mentioned that she's always looking for volunteers in that event. Will update you when I know if he will be swimming...

Breeze

11-04-2014, 12:20 PM

High School Swimming

So Brett is scheduled to swim in the meet this weekend. However, he won't be swimming both of the events he requested. Instead, he'll be swimming the 500 Free and the 200 Free. No idea if he'll end up on a relay yet, and no idea the level of talent he'll be swimming against. I'll add more information when it becomes available.

Breeze

11-05-2014, 03:26 PM

High School Swimming

So Brett will be swimming in 2 relays in addition to his 2 solo events.

Brett will swim the Breast leg in the 200 Medley B Relay
Brett will also swim the opening leg of the 200 Free B Relay

Breeze

11-11-2014, 09:16 AM

High School Swimming

The local newspaper did a write up of the county's high school swim teams. Before I write up the results from this weekend, I figured I'd post the article...

Note: Kids names in bold are the ones I know are Gold Swimmers
------------------------------------------------

Central

Coach: Asheley Bell, first season.

Key returners: Logan Belt, jr., Breaststroke/IM; Micah Gilliam, jr., Dive; Sebastian Millican, sr., Relays;; Shelby Black, sr., Butterfly/Freestyle.

Key newcomers: Amber Shell, fr., Dive; Nathan Oller, sr., Relays; Samantha Weninger, fr., Breaststroke

Outlook: First-year coach Asheley Bell takes over the Bulldogs’ program after five years as the head coach at West Forsyth, and she said she recognizes that this could be a rebuilding year for the program. Bell said she’s restructured the program with more practices and longer practices times and made a concerted effort to recruit more swimmers from the hallways. “It’s a facelift for Central,” Bell said. It’s all the in the hopes of increasing Central’s number of state qualifiers, particularly the boys relay team led by Millican and Oller. Bell said she’s excited to see what divers Gilliam and Shell can do. “They’re coming out, working hard, training, they’re dedicated, not complaining,” Bell said. “I’m really excited to see how well they all do this [season].”

Lambert

Coach: Kerry Langley, third season.

Last season: First at county meet for girls and boys; First at state for girls, xxth for boys.

Key returners: Jared Chulavatr, jr., Breaststroke/Butterfly; Nicole Raicik, sr. Butterfly; Ashley Mallon, sr., Christian Michell, jr., Breaststroke; Katherine Aikins, jr., Freestyle; Jane Johnson, so.; Olivia Johnson, jr.; Tiger Pilkington, so.; Alexander Ray, so.

Key newcomers: Caroline Aikins, fr.; Wyatt Dalton, fr., Backstroke/Freestyle; Lilia Smith, fr

Outlook: Again, one of the biggest storylines entering the season will be whether Lambert’s girls team can repeat as Class AAAAAA champions. The Lady Longhorns return five key swimmers from the group that edged Johns Creek last season for their second straight state title. Freestyle sprinter Katherine Aikins is nationally ranked and an Olympic hopeful. Raicik has committed to Alabama. Mallon will sign with a college, too. There’s also the sister duo of Jane and Olivia Johnson. Third-year head coach Kerry Langley is hoping the boys team can make the leap into the top three at the state meet behind Chulavatr who held several school records.

North Forsyth

Coach: Kris Hunt, seventh season.

Key returners: Gabe Bresuda, jr., Breaststroke/Freestyle; Emily Carrol, sr., Breaststroke/IM; Jack Dalmolin, so.; Eric Decler, sr., Dive; Alejandro Garcia, sr., Butterfly; Meg Hurley, so., Backstroke/Relays; McKay Middleton, sr., Dive; Kelsey Robins, jr., Freestyle; Tony Scheyer, sr., Breaststroke; Katie Schumacher, so., IM; Rachel Sullivan, so., Breaststroke; Owen Wickman, so., Butterfly.

Key newcomers: Marcus Alvarez; Matt McClellan; Josia Selvig, jr., Dive.

Outlook: Hunt, in her seventh season coaching at North and 14th in the county, said she has “a pretty good team.” There’s Nicole Sullivan to lead the girls, a senior who specializes in the backstroke and is expected to sign a scholarship to swim in college. Her younger sister, sophomore Rachel Sullivan, is a returning state qualifier in freestyle. There’s Jack Dalmolin to lead the boys, a sophomore and returning state qualifier who is a versatile swimmer in several events. Alejandro Garcia, Tony Scheyer and Owen Wickman give the Raiders depth in the butterfly and versatility all-around. But Hunt’s movement these days is to recruit new divers, particularly girls. “It’s a great way for guys and girls to get a scholarship for college,” Hunt said.

Pinecrest Academy

Coach: Tim Sundy, third season.

Key returners: Patrick Carroll, sr., Butterfly/Freestyle; Michael Denkman, so., Breaststroke/Freestyle; Theresa Reed, sr.; Freestyle/Relays; Kate Del Bazo, so.

Key newcomers: Michael Birozes, fr.

Outlook: The Paladins boast some impressive individual talent. For the boys, senior Patrick Carroll is a two-time state qualifier, and Michael Denkman qualified as a freshman and broke the school’s 100 breaststroke record. For the girls, sophomore Kate Del Balzo is a returning state qualifier in four events. Together they help the Pinecrest overcome some of its disadvantages in lack of depth. “We have a core group of talented and dedicated swimmers that allow us to compete on a high level,” third-year coach Tim Sundy said. But Sundy said he’d like to see more girls hit state-qualifying times and both programs stay competitive against county competition. Finishing in the top 25 at the state meet would be nice, too.

South Forsyth

Coach: Corinna Spurlock, first season.

Last season: Second at county meet for girls and boys; 14th in state meet for girls, 20th for boys.

Key returners: Blake Atmore, sr., Backstroke/Butterfly; Riley Geoghan, IM/Freestyle; Jack Landrum, Backstroke; Bayley Frierson, Freestyle; Bryn Baring, Freestyle; Gig Bario, Freestyle.

Key newcomers: Aditya Bhave, Courtney Carden, John Ryan, Brittany Shafer.

Outlook: Here’s another program in something of a transition phase with first-year coach Corinna Spurlock taking over. She’s brought some noticeable changes to the War Eagles. For starters, Spurlock said they started a booster club, opened up the team to swimmers who don’t participate on club teams and added more practices. Spurlock hopes it eventually catapults South to the next level of competitiveness. “We have great swimmers, and we are ready to start standing out,” Spurlock said. Indeed, there’s some nice talent led by University of Georgia commit Blake Atmore. The senior qualified for state in four events last season.

West Forsyth

Coach: Clayton Tillery, first season.

Key returners: Daniel Jenkins, so., IM/Free/Relays; Noah Luskus, so., 500 Free; Lauren O’Donoghue, sr., Free/Fly/Relays; Jamie Riley, so., Fly/Free; Simon Roberts, jr., Free/Backstroke; Cameron Can De Velda, sr., Free/IM/Fly.

Key newcomers: Nathan Kemnitz, fr., Free; Jenna Mackey, fr., Free/IM; Sheridan Schreiber, fr., IM/Free/Relays; Koyie Waples, fr., Free.

Outlook: Cross country and track and field coach Clayton Tillery adds swimming to his head coaching duties this season, but he’s familiar with the program as he’s been an assistant with the team the past two seasons. He gets four returning state qualifiers to lead this season’s team, led by senior Cameron Van DeVelde for the boys and Lauren O’Donoghue for the girls. Tillery said he expects freshman Sheridan Schreiber to make an immediate impact in the freestyle, butterfly and relay events. Both the boys and girls teams are on the younger side with enough veterans to provide leadership. Tillery said he’s looking to help swimmers improve their technique in hopes of finishing higher at the county and state meet and push more swimmers into the finals of state meet events.

Breeze

11-11-2014, 11:28 AM

High School Meet - 7th Annual High School Invitational @ Cumming Aquatic Center

So the meet this weekend was a 9 team affair with the following schools competing...

Buford
Flowery Branch
King's Ridge
Mt Vernon
North Forsyth
South Forstyh
West Forsyth
West Hall
Winder-Barrow

South Forsyth won the meet with a score of 1300.50. The boys and the girls both won on the way to the overall victory. The final scores were:

Girls Boys Total
South Forsyth 710.5 590 1300.5
West Forsyth 669 526 1195
North Forsyth 494 579 1073
Buford 298.5 310 608.5
Flowery Branch 292 261 553
Winder-Barrow 221 290 511
Mt.Vernon 121 311 452
West Hall 74 129 203
Kings Ridge 61 80 141

Here is how Brett did:

200 B Medley Relay - Brett swam a 34.7 split in his Breast leg and the team finished 9th overall

200 Free - Brett swam a 2:12.72, which is about 4 seconds off his personal best and a disappointing swim for him, but still good enough for 9th

500 Free - This time Brett had a good swim, despite the fact the scoreboard was malfunctioning, so his counter didn't have splits and thus no way to let him know if he was swimming a good race or not. He finished with a 5:45.75, good enough for 5th overall, and it earns him one of the two time cuts he needs to get his varsity letter.

200 B Free Relay - This came on the heals of the 500, and Brett got no time to rest before this event. His dive leading off was terrible. Extremely deep, that combined with the fatigue caused his swim to be around a 29.5...The relay did finish 8th overall.

When it was all said and done, Brett earned 32 points for the team. That's good enough for a 6th place tie on the boys side, not bad for a true freshman. He was very excited after the meet. In fact, there are some pictures on the team website that he's in...you can see them here...

http://www.sofoswimming.com/NewsShow.jsp?&id=364825&team=reczzsfhs

In the picture at the top of the page, Brett is the face furthest to the right of your screen. In the picture on the bottom Brett is the boy to the right of the one with the headband on.

Breeze

11-13-2014, 08:54 AM

General Update

Now that Brett is in High School we are being exposed to swimmers signing their college scholarships, and there were 2 yesterday that signed.

The first was a member of Brett's high school team, Blake Atmore. He signed to swim with UGA. In case you are wondering, below are his personal bests:

The second, which Brett attended, was for Nicole Sullivan. Nicole swims on the Gold Senior team with Brett, and the coach was very eager to have the Gold team show up in support, and a large number of the Cumming Pool swimmers did attend. Nicole was also please, in fact, she gave him a hug, thanked him for coming and told my wife, "Thanks for bring Brett Brett. He hates that nick name, but it's too bad, because we all love it." She signed to swim with Birmingham Southern College. Here are her personal best times:

Blake Atmore

50 FR 16 22.08 AAA 12/6/2013

100 FR 16 47.89 AAA 12/6/2013

200 FR 16 1:42.30 AAAA 12/6/2013

500 FR 15 5:09.24 AA 1/13/2012

100 BK 17 50.28 Winter Nationals (SCY) 3/18/2014

200 BK 17 1:47.77 US Open 3/18/2014

100 BR 14 1:15.62 BB 9/10/2011

100 FL 17 50.62 AAA 3/18/2014

200 FL 16 1:57.82 AAA 1/18/2013

200 IM 15 2:06.73 AA 10/19/2012

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Nicole Sullivan

50 FR 16 26.70r A 2/7/2014

100 FR 16 57.32 AA 3/21/2014

200 FR 16 02:06.4 A 3/21/2014

500 FR 16 05:38.8 A 3/21/2014

1000 FR 16 11:56.8 BB 12/13/2013

1650 FR 15 20:43.4 BB 12/14/2012

100 BK 16 01:02.8 A 3/21/2014

200 BK 16 02:14.7 AA 3/21/2014

100 BR 15 01:20.7 BB 3/22/2013

200 BR 16 02:50.4 BB 12/13/2013

100 FL 16 01:05.8 BB 3/21/2014

200 FL 16 02:34.1 BB 12/13/2013

200 IM 16 02:21.1 A 2/7/2014

400 IM 16 05:08.2 BB 12/13/2013

Breeze

11-13-2014, 11:36 AM

YSSC Thanksgiving Invite - @ Y‐Spartaquatics Swim Club & the Middle Tyger YMCA - 11/15 - 11/16

This is our travel meet for the season, heading back to Spartanburg, SC. Brett will be riding the bus with the older kids, while the twins will ride with us. Actually, only 13 and overs were supposed to swim this meet, but we got an exception for the twins because we told the team that it was too expensive for us to go to the 12 and under and the 13 and over away meets. The only problem is that the twins have to swim every event open so they will be in the afternoon session with the older kids.

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Haven't been able to watch them at pratice in a while, so my comments below are either observations based on the heat they are likely to be in, or based on comments they have made to me about practice.

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Bailey

Bailey is swimming open in this event, so again she'll swim against kids much older than her.

#21 (d2/s2): W Open 100 Breast (1:27.32Y) - This is the event that Bailey hates swimming with older kids, because she'll be one of the slowest. Says her breaststroke looks better and feels faster in practice.

#25 (d2/s2): W Open 200 Fly (2:23.72Y) - In this one Bailey is already faster than several of the older Gold girls. Interestingly, she's also only 4 seconds behind (and 5 seeded slots) one of the top Gold swimmers, who is already receiving interest from a number of D1 universities. Her strength is Free, but for Bailey to be in sight of this girl is very exciting.

#29 (d2/s2): W Open 200 Back (2:31.63Y) - Her time here is within 4 seconds of 7 girls on the Senior team with Brett. I think she'll be motivated to beat as many as she can, so I expect a good time here (assuming she isn't exhausted from racing the 200 Fly only 4 event before).

#33 (d2/s2): W Open 100 Free (1:02.28Y) - Still comments way to often for my taste, that she just isn't very good at Free. There is no reason for her not to be...she could go sub 60 if she can figure out the small things she does wrong on her pull. All in all, I expect 61+ seconds.

#75 (d3/s4): W Open 200 Free (2:25.43Y) - Not her PB, her seed time should be a 2:11.27. Which means she'll be seeded with kids that come in about 15 seconds slower than her PB, so I expect she won't have anyone pushing her, and she'll finish somewhere just over the 2:11 time.

#79 (d3/s4): W Open 100 Back (1:08.58Y) - Last time she swam this event, I commented about the older girl who barely beat her and ask Bailey if she was 15...we'll they'll be racing again it looks like. I think Bailey will get her this time.

#91 (d3/s4): W Open 100 Fly (1:06.57Y) - Personal Best is actually 1:05.52, which would put her just ahead of a Senior swimmer from one of the big swim families at the Cumming Pool. It also puts her ahead of Nicole Sulivan who just got signed to swim with Birmingham Southern. She could be in the heat with both of those girls, but I expect they will beat her because this is the older kids 1 taper event before Senior State in December, whereas Bailey isn't tapering at all because she basically has more cuts that she can swim anyway.

#93 (d3/s4): W Open 1000 Free (11:58.00Y) - This seed time is made up. The only time she swam this she posted a 13:16 in December of last year. I think she can swim the 11:58. In fact, I think she can do better than that...but only if she's willing to work hard.

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Bear

Like Bailey, he is swimming Open, so competing against older kids.

#26 (d2/s2): M Open 200 Fly (2:34.44Y) - Bear is the last seed (by 4 seconds) in this event, and it is unfortunate. Hopefully, he doesn't get self concious about it, because he's been swimming this event well so far this season.

#30 (d2/s2): M Open 200 Back (2:25.59Y) - I expect a very similar time to his seed here. He posted the PB just a few weeks back.

#34 (d2/s2): M Open 100 Free (1:01.11Y) - Like Brett, wants to go sub 60 - I think he'll go sub 61 but just over 60...

#38 (d2/s2): M Open 400 Medley (5:16.19Y) - Hasn't done this one since State in Feburary. I expect a pretty big drop here.

#76 (d3/s4): M Open 200 Free (2:09.62Y) - not his PB, PB is a 2:05.16...I expect a similar swim here.

#80 (d3/s4): M Open 100 Back (1:11.06Y) - not his PB, PB is a 1:10.56 - again a slight improvement is about all I expect.

#88 (d3/s4): M Open 50 Free (28.10Y) - 28:07 is actually his PB. Given he's dropped time all season so far, I don't think he'll drop this time around.

#123A (d3/s4): B 11-14 1000 Free (11:30.72Y) - After Bear's improvements across the board in his Free races, I'm sure he's looking to duplicate those in this race as well. He swam around 1:05 splits for the 500 recently when he posted his 5:27.xx time. So I'm guessing he's going to want to swim under 1:08s. Which means we might be looking at around an 11:20.

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Brett

Interestingly, his coach told him to shave for this event. As you probably noticed if you looked at the picture from the high school website, he doesn't save his face yet...but he'll shave his whole body prior to this event.

#20 (d2/s2): M 13-14 100 Breast (1:15.87Y) - Brett and Tommy will be racing in this one again. They will probably be on opposite ends of the pool, but it could be a motivting factor for Brett. Brett swam a 1:14 to open the 200 breast recently, so I'm hoping he might go 1:13.+

#28 (d2/s2): M 13-14 200 Back (2:28.59Y) - I think Brett will go faster here, but not a bunch faster.

#32 (d2/s2): M 13-14 100 Free (1:02.00Y) - He despirately wants to go sub 60...but I don't think he can yet. I do think he might get something under 61.

#38 (d2/s2): M Open 400 Medley (5:12.60Y) - The seed time here isn't his PB. That would be a 5:06.83 from mid October. I'm conflicted on the prediction on this one. Last time he swam it he did extremely well as you can see by dropping 6 seconds, so with that in mind, I'm not sure he'll be able to improve on it again. However, last time he swam it, his fly was fantastic for 35 of the 100 yards in that leg. If he can increase his correct fly stroke for 50 to 70 of the 100 yards, he'll probably drop another couple of seconds with just that improvement alone. Ultimately, I'm guessing for a similar time to the 5:06.

#74 (d3/s4): M 13-14 200 Free (2:13.29Y) - Again, this isn't a personal best seed time. His PB is 2:08.68. If he improves in his 100, I'd expect a similar improvement in the 200 (not double but similar...)

#78 (d3/s4): M 13-14 100 Back (1:12.87Y) - Another time not a PB, but this time it is only fractionally off. His PB is 1:12.79. I'd love to see him go sub 1:10...but I don't think he has the sprint mindset for backstroke down yet. He's more of the long flowing stroke, and he needs to keep that form but increase the rotation. He could also improve my cleaning up his kick (which he's been doing some) so we'll see.

#82 (d3/s4): M 13-14 200 Breast (2:42.45Y) - Not his personal best - 2:37.34 is. Not happy he wasn't given him PB here, as it impacted his seeding by 4 slots, and my have pushed him to the second heat, where he will be the fastest time coming in. Brett does better when he's pushed. All that said, I'm not sure he'll improve on this, he dropped so much time, last time around.

#94 (d3/s4): M Open 1000 Free (12:05.69Y) - Brett says he holds 1:10 splits in practice during interval training, and he thinks he can do that for the 1000. I'm not convinced, but I hope he's right. That would translate to an 11:40. I think if he can pull that off he would have done fantastic.

Relay (Entered by Admin):
#70 (d1/s1): M 13-14 200 Medley Relay (Team A) - This was an interesting suprise. We knew they were having relays, but apparently from the psych sheet Gold is only fielding one 13-14 boys team, so we didn't expect Brett to be on it. However, it is possible that Brett will be swimming with Tommy, Riley, and Seth in this relay, which would be VERY COOL for Brett.

Breeze

11-14-2014, 10:07 AM

General Update

So Brett completed his first body shave without cutting himself. I'm actually a bit impressed by that. When he finished he said his skin felt slimy (slick probably would have been a better description, but his words, not mine).

Breeze

11-19-2014, 02:31 PM

YSSC Thanksgiving Invite - RESULTS

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Bailey

So Bailey is currently sick. She ended up waking up on Monday not feeling well, but she went to school. However, she didn’t make it through the whole day, as she called to get picked up around lunch time, and she didn’t go to school again on Tuesday. I’m reporting this, because I believe it probably impacted some of her swims.

#21 (d2/s2): W Open 100 Breast (1:27.32Y) – Breaststroke was better and faster. Still needs some work, but managed to drop time – 1:25.03

#25 (d2/s2): W Open 200 Fly (2:23.72Y) - So Bailey had a lead on the girl outlined in the pre-race write up for the first 125…then Bailey faded. In fact, she faded quite a bit. There were several issues, 1 was obviously fatigue (probably going out to hard trying to be the good older swimmers from Gold), and sunlight in her eyes. I know this sounds crazy – but it will be a reoccurring theme. The pool was all windows on the East side, so the early morning sun poured in and really blinded the kids, causing them to mistime their strokes and resulting in poor turns. She ended up with a 2:28.05 – and she was very disappointed.

#29 (d2/s2): W Open 200 Back (2:31.63Y) – She recovered from the poor 200 fly to swim a great 200 back. Dropped over 5 seconds – 2:26.53

#33 (d2/s2): W Open 100 Free (1:02.28Y) – Just missed getting into the 61+ second range and posted a 1:02.05.

#75 (d3/s4): W Open 200 Free (2:25.43Y) – This one played out exactly how I envisioned. Bailey won her heat going away, but didn’t have any competition and settled for a time of 2:12.40.

#79 (d3/s4): W Open 100 Back (1:08.58Y) – Bailey didn’t beat the girl I described, but she would have if she had some her seed time. Added just under a second…1:09.41

#91 (d3/s4): W Open 100 Fly (1:06.57Y) – Beat her seed time but not her PB, sun was again a problem for her here - 1:06.20…

#93 (d3/s4): W Open 1000 Free (11:58.00Y) - Didn’t want me doing her lap counting, so she didn’t get good signals, but she did manage to beat the 11:58 fake seed time posting a 11:55.91…

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Bear

#26 (d2/s2): M Open 200 Fly (2:34.44Y) – I shouldn’t have worried how Bear would handle this race. He stepped up to the blocks, and killed it posting an improvement of over 10 seconds, finishing with a 2:23.84…which means Bear’s 200 fly is now basically the same as Bailey’s.

#30 (d2/s2): M Open 200 Back (2:25.59Y) – Dropped 2.62 seconds, despite the fact his turns were very slow and deliberate on the sun side of the pool. 2:22.97

#34 (d2/s2): M Open 100 Free (1:01.11Y) – GOT IT…58.56!!!

#38 (d2/s2): M Open 400 Medley (5:16.19Y) - Nailed this prediction as well. Bear ripped off a 5:00.98…Bear and Brett actually raced in this one. I’ll outline it in Brett’s write up…

#76 (d3/s4): M Open 200 Free (2:09.62Y) - Beat the seed, but not the PB - 2:05.98…

#80 (d3/s4): M Open 100 Back (1:11.06Y) – Same deliberate turns on the sun end of the pool, but managed a PB 1:09.18…

#88 (d3/s4): M Open 50 Free (28.10Y) – I was wrong…he dropped…actually dropped about a quarter of a second – 27.83 – good enough for a state cut.

#123A (d3/s4): B 11-14 1000 Free (11:30.72Y) – Coach wanted Bear to swim around 1:07s not 1:08s. Bear started off slow, and I continued to signal him that he needed to pick it up a little, but he only managed to do it in fits and spurts. Finally, after several turns, and inconsistent times, I gave him the signal he really needed to work harder and he did…here are his splits…

1:04.92
1:08.73
1:07.84
1:08.02
1:07.46
1:08.27
1:07.02
1:05.41
1:05.89
1:04.23
Final time – 11:07.79, which is currently the fastest any 12 year old has swum in Georgia this season. Just so you know, I don’t think that he’ll hold that distinction long…there are a bunch of meets between now and state, and many top distance kids probably haven’t even done this event yet.

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Brett

So my expectation for Brett were probably a bit high. Given that he was staying in a hotel room with 3 other swimmers and he was pretty much left to his own devices when it came to eating, sleeping, etc. I should have expected he wasn’t going to do well, because he wouldn’t be terribly focused for the races, rather he’d be basking in the fact he was on a team trip, away from mom and dad, and completely independent…

#20 (d2/s2): M 13-14 100 Breast (1:15.87Y) – Was very concerned about beating Tommy. So much so, he peaked during his pullout and ended up going sideways a bit off the wall. He managed a 1:15.70…but nowhere near where he should be.

#28 (d2/s2): M 13-14 200 Back (2:28.59Y) – Added a fraction of a second 2:28.86

#32 (d2/s2): M 13-14 100 Free (1:02.00Y) - Got a good drop here finishing with a 1:01.16…he was disappointed, but it is a step in the right direction.

#38 (d2/s2): M Open 400 Medley (5:12.60Y) – The fly was better for longer and he did improve. He was racing Bear (they weren’t next to each other, thank goodness…but they were both aware they were in the same heat). Here is how the race broke down:

Bear Brett comments
Fly 32.04 34.27 nice fly Brett, but spread as expected
37.54 (1:09.58) 41.98 (1:16.25) Brett’s back half needs to be better
Back 37.63 (1:47.21) 39.69 (1:55.94) Bear blisters back, opens big lead
38.06 (2:25.27) 39.31 (2:35.25) Brett 10 seconds back at mid point
Breast 46.97 (3:12.24) 38.79 (3:14.04) Made up 8 sec in a 50…
45.44 (3:57.68) 41.13 (3:55.17) caught Bear at the 75 turn for this leg
Free 31.69 (4:29.37) 34.87 (4:30.04) Brett caught at first wall, lost lead at 50
31.61 (5:00.98) 32.64 (5:02.68) Brett couldn’t close to finish

This was real exciting, and the twins coach (and Brett’s last year) told us he expected Bear to destroy Brett in this race. He said this because Bear was swimming so well and he knows that Bear thrives when things get tough. He honestly expected Brett to pack it in when he got behind early. After the race he found us and told us he was very impressed with Brett’s effort, and actually found himself rooting for Brett to beat Bear because he realized how hard Brett was working to try and do just that…

#74 (d3/s4): M 13-14 200 Free (2:13.29Y) - Bad swim for Brett here. Didn’t seem awake for this one. Time is very similar to the time he swam in the 200 for high school a week or so ago. 2:14.03…I hope whatever he’s doing that has slowed him in this race he gets figured out soon…I hate seeing him consistently swim 6 seconds over his PB.

#78 (d3/s4): M 13-14 100 Back (1:12.87Y) – Did get a PB - 1:12.19…

#82 (d3/s4): M 13-14 200 Breast (2:42.45Y) – Didn’t improve, but was only slightly slower than his real personal best time…finished in a 2:37.67. However, this time Brett did manage to beat Tommy, who was in the same heat.

#94 (d3/s4): M Open 1000 Free (12:05.69Y) – Brett didn’t have much of a plan in this one, which is death in a 1000. He swam it respectably in a 12:00.71…but he didn’t over work himself.

Relay (Entered by Admin):
#70 (d1/s1): M 13-14 200 Medley Relay (Team A) – Brett did get to swim the relay with his 3 friends…which he was pumped about. His spit was a 34.33…overall the team finished fourth.