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12-16-2015, 10:21 AM
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#701 | |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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Quote:
Man that's a pretty stroke...and very technical...breathing every 3, not breathing on the breakout or off the wall...VERY NICE! (wish I could get my kids to embrace the details like that!) |
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12-16-2015, 11:20 AM
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#702 | |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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thanks  I'm not the swimmer in the house, mommy is, so I just watch him swim and I marvel at how amazing it looks.  He still needs to work on his turns but he knows it, and he could take advantage of his underwater kick off the wall. He can go the full 25m underwater in dolphin kick. He has definitely been picking up on details this season, and not only on his fly. His other styles are getting better too. I just love to see him improve from meet to meet... Very much looking forward to the big meets he'll have in April and June... FM
__________________
A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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12-16-2015, 02:06 PM
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#703 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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Last Step on the Moon Spectacular - RESULTS
Bailey Bailey's times are slowing starting to creap back up to her personal bests. It's been a long process this season, but for the most part, she was in the ballpark on many of her swims this time out. # 1 (d1/s1): G 13 & Over 50 Free (27.86Y ) - Just missed a personal best...27.92 # 5 (d1/s1): G 13 & Over 200 Medley (2:26.54Y ) - She got a personal best...and given it was in an IM, that's a good sign because all strokes are involved - 2:24.70 # 9 (d1/s1): G 11 & Over 500 Free (5:49.07Y ) - Not a great swim, she really needs to learn how to races these types of events better - 5:52.84 # 13 (d2/s2): G 13-14 200 Free (2:11.27Y ) - Added about 1.5 - 2:12.77 # 21 (d2/s2): G 13-14 100 Back (1:06.84Y ) - Another close swim - 1:07.37 # 35 (d2/s2): G 13-14 200 Fly (2:17.54Y ) - started out looking really good, but got short with the stroke and popped up to breath too quickly at the end, which killed her forward pull...only managed a 2:20.45 # 41 (d2/s3): G 11 & Over 400 Medley (5:00.18Y ) - after improvement in 200 IM, was hopeful here...but it wasn't a good swim. 5:06.11 # 83 (d3/s5): G 13-14 100 Free (1:00.50Y ) - like the 50 and the 200, just off her best - 1:01.63 # 89 (d3/s5): G 13-14 200 Back (2:18.93Y ) - This was probably Bailey's one really bad swim of the meet. She appeared to take it out too slow and never got up to speed. 2:26.21 # 95 (d3/s5): G 13-14 200 Breast (2:59.09Y ) - Check this out...not just a drop, a BIG drop - 2:51.55. Now she had it to drop, and I've been saying for a while her breaststroke was looking better...just glad the time improvement finally showed up. # 101 (d3/s5): G 13-14 100 Fly (1:02.07Y ) - Some of the same quick pop up issues as I saw in the 200, plus poor dives and turns...1:04.34 Last edited by Breeze : 12-16-2015 at 02:06 PM. |
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12-16-2015, 04:18 PM
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#704 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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Last Step on the Moon Spectacular - RESULTS
Bear Bear had his best meet of the season so far... # 2 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 50 Free (26.16Y ) - Personal best year round time (he still swam faster in Summer League last year) 25.94. He was only mildly pleased, he wants a low 25 or 24 second time. # 6 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 200 Medley (2:16.75Y ) - Fly was a little slow, back was about the same, breast wasn't nearly as strong as it has been recently, and he didn't have that fire on the free leg...result 2:22.14 # 10 (d1/s1): B 11 & Over 500 Free (5:14.54Y ) - Got a drop...just barely...did come from several body lengths back on the last 100 to pass several of his friends. 5:14.21 # 14 (d2/s2): B 13-14 200 Free (2:00.78Y ) - Below the 3 minute mark, and by a bunch - 1:57.43 # 22 (d2/s2): B 13-14 100 Back (1:06.35Y ) - Nice to see a drop in this one. Walls were much better - 1:05.73 # 36 (d2/s2): B 13-14 200 Fly (2:13.93Y ) - A little stiff, but effort was there - 2:15.64 # 42 (d2/s3): B 11 & Over 400 Medley (4:42.92Y ) - Some similar issues in this one to the 200 IM...plus the turn around from the 200 fly to the 400 IM was way too short...4:48.27 # 84 (d3/s5): B 13-14 100 Free (56.56Y ) - with improvement in the 50 and the 200 was looking for a drop here, and Bear didn't disappoint - 55.03 # 90 (d3/s5): B 13-14 200 Back (2:20.89Y ) - Got a drop and, it was really the last 50 before he really got his stroke going. Coach was pleased with the last 50, and if he can keep up that pace and form, he'll probably be looking at another drop next time out. - 2:18.94 # 102 (d3/s5): B 13-14 100 Fly (1:04.00Y ) - 1:05.49...some is just off a bit on his fly...need to get it worked out over the next 2 months before state. # 108 (d3/s6): B 11 & Over 1650 Free (17:53.78Y ) - Bear's goal coming in was to swim a 17:45. Here is how he did: 100 - 1:02.06 200 - 1:06.33 (2:08.39) - coach had me signal him to pick it up on the back 50 in this 100. 300 - 1:04.60 (3:12.99) - coach ok now 400 - 1:04.49 (4.17.48) 500 - 1:05.16 (5:22.64) 600 - 1:03.96 (6:26.60) - coach jumping up and down after this split 700 - 1:04.04 (7:30.66) - coach clapping hard, cheering/urging him on 800 - 1:04.56 (8:35.22) 900 - 1:04.34 (9:39.56) 1000 - 1:03.98 (10:43.54) - coach clapping again - important to note personal best 1000 is 10.40.83 - he close to that with 650 more to go 1100 - 1:02.71 (11:46.25) - Coach literally says WOW! on this split 1200 - 1:04.13 (12:50.38) - at this point the 18yo leader is catching Bear to lap him 1300 - 1:03.27 (13:53.56) 1400 - 1:03.46 (14:57.11) - coach going nuts... 1500 - 1:04.12 (16:01.23) - 18yo leader finally passes Bear 1600 - 1:02.44 (17.03.67) 1650 - 29.61 (17.33.28) Came home in 29.61...that is the same pace he bascally swims his 200 Free... This is the fastest 1650 for 13/14 year olds in the 2015/16 season currently on record in the State of Georgia. We know there are 2 or 3 really strong distance guys who will probably beat this time before state, but it is still a nice feather in his cap. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Last edited by Breeze : 12-16-2015 at 04:20 PM. |
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12-17-2015, 11:33 AM
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#705 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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General Update
So this is midterm week and with Brett's grades on the boardline between good and mediocre, he's been trying to really focus on school. This focus has kept him out of the pool all week, but so far it is working with scores of 96, 93, 88, 88, and even his German midterm grade was an 86...(really pleased about that one) Hopefully, the time out of the pool doesn't hamper him too much. Last edited by Breeze : 12-17-2015 at 11:33 AM. |
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12-17-2015, 01:36 PM
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#706 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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High School Swimming Update
Brett's high school meet this Friday was cancelled. No reason was given, but the hosting team was Central, and their coach is a bit flaky. She probably forgot to do something required by the GHSSA to get the meet sanctioned. Last edited by Breeze : 12-17-2015 at 01:36 PM. |
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12-18-2015, 07:35 AM
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#707 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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High School Swimming Update - Follow Up
So an interesting turn of events in regards to the meet that was cancelled. A few of the Gold Team families that we are friends with swim for Central, and one of them texted us last night to ask about the meet. Apparently, they aren't aware that we got the message the meet was cancelled. In fact, they have received their heat sheets telling all the swimmers which events, heats, and lanes they will be in. It's going to be very interesting to hear how this plays out...It was supposed to be a Tri-meet, I'm going to be curious to see if it was just cancelled for South, or if Central shows up and they are basically "scrimmaging" against themselves. |
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12-22-2015, 07:03 AM
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#708 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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General Update
So Brett's nearly week off from swimming for exams really impacted his stroke. The coach sent us a picture of Brett's freestyle and even though it was a still shot, it was obvious how sloppy he had become. The body line is crooked, the legs are way to far apart, the breathing is mistimed... Amazing how quickly a stroke can deteriorate. |
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01-04-2016, 05:45 PM
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#709 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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General Update
For one of Brett's Christmas presents we got him a spot in a Breaststroke clinic at the University of Tennessee. We went on the 2nd, and he got some really good insight... 1. In one of the stations the coaches were getting video on the swimmers and with Brett here is how he reported that station: Coach (who was actually a current swimmer on the team) "You're a breaststroker aren't you?" Brett, "Yeah, how'd you know?" Coach, "Because your ankles are all effed up..." The coach went on to explain that Brett's ankles were actually over extended to point of going past perpendicular, thus causing him to lose some of his leverage with his kick. He added some more advanced things for Brett to work on flatter back, tighter core during the lunge phase, the tight/loose timing of the muscle groups 2. One of the sections was designed to teach the kids to bring the hips forward, don't drop the knees and set up the kick by flexing the hamstring. For Brett he was more specifically told to anquer the arms at the pull and then bring the hips to his hands not pull the hands to the hips. 3. One drill was designed to teach a strong kick and it was executed by having the swimmers layout on the water about 15 feet from the wall, do one skull stroke and one full stroke and try to get all the way to the wall. Brett was extremely good at this, and he was moved back several times to increase his distance. The coach at that station (UT assitant head coach) said, "That was extremely impressive, but because you are so good at this, you are going to struggle with the rest of the camp" This was because the remander of the camp was on tempo training and his strong kick requires more time to execute. 4. During tempo training Brett did struggle, and this explains why his Breaststroke has been so flat. He's been trying to get faster by going faster, and the coaches at this event told him that is a counter productive way to approach the stroke given his strong kick. The coaches were looking to get the kids down to 1 stroke / second...where Brett, when doing his stroke correctly was running more around 1.5. The top female and male breaststrokers on the team (both with a legit shot to swim in the 2016 Olympics) pulled him aside and told him that he needs to focus on his kick. That in all honestly, he should probably almost not pull at all, simply use the arms as a way to anquer for the hip move and then as quickly as he can transition into his kick and lunge allowing the legs to be 80% of his stroke. They did tell him that because of his stroke, he would probably not be as effective in a 100 but he could be extremely strong in a 200... Ultimately, the clinic was an extremely good experience for Brett. His stroke looked much stronger and more consistent during laps at the end of the camp. He got some good feedback and was really pumped up during the ride home. Hopefully, he will remember the tidbits they left with him and he can find a way to continue to repeat the instructions in his normal Gold Practices. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Bear also took part in the breaststroke clinic. While Breast is his weakest stroke, he felt he could get some improvement that would help him in the long run. Bear didn't have the same interaction with the coaches, which isn't surprising given Bear's breast and the uniqueness of Brett's and how the coaches wanted to let him know the best way to swim the stroke moving forward. Bear did have a good time, and did say that he had some stuff to work on that were different than what he was currently doing. Bear never really swam hard during the laps at the end, so hard to tell if he improved much, but he seems to have taken the instruction to heart and we'll see when he races it next if he's able to execute any of it. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey didn't go to the clinic but she might be impacted by it anyway. Coach Andy went onto the deck to watch, ask questions of the coaches, and get some insight into how to better teach the strokes (his kids attended several sessions not just breaststroke). One of the things Andy noticed was how the UT top female breaststroker swims...she uses a lot of undulation (which isn't exactly how UT teaches the stroke, but because of her body type the undulation occurs naturally), which isn't the important part...what is important is the upkick on the stroke. When she brings her legs up to prepare for the breaststroke kick, she basically executes a fly upkick, generating a bunch of porpulsion. In fact her upkick appears to generate more momentum that her down kick. Given Bailey's strong fly kick, Andy is thinking about trying to teach this approach to Bailey and Bear.... |
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01-08-2016, 04:05 PM
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#710 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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High School Meet - Quad Meet @ Cumming Aquatic Center 1/8
High school swimming starts back up tonight... Brett #7 - Boys 50 Free (29.15) - PB is actually low 27 #13 - Boys 100 Free (1:01.44) - This is way off of Brett's PB, but he typically doesn't get PBs in high school meets Relays #1 - Boys 200 Medley Relay (1) - Doing the backstroke??? No good backstrokers after the A team is filled... #17 - Boys 200 Free Relay (1) - I believe this is the D relay, which frustrates Brett and is why he is swimming the sprint Frees tonight. If you've been reading along for any period of time, I'm sure you realize that Brett is far from a sprinter in anything, and Freestyle isn't his strongest stroke. However, in order for him to move up the pecking order for Free Relays he has to get a faster time on record. Thus he's swimming both of the sprint frees tonight. I hope he does well, as he had an extremely hard practice Thursday night (a looooong fly set), and he was sore last night. This is actually a little silly given that Brett is a year round swimmer and could supply his new personal best times to the coach, but for some reason after your freshman year, she won't accept any year round times. The times have to be swum as part of South Forsyth or they don't count. Which would be fine, except each kid can only swim 2 events, so how can the coach have a feel for a swimmers ability with such little info available. Last edited by Breeze : 01-08-2016 at 04:06 PM. |
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01-11-2016, 03:17 PM
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#711 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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High School Meet - Quad Meet RESULTS
Brett Had his typical high school swims...but he had fun as numerous girls on the team were heavily flirting with him (including getting thrown in the pool several times). #7 - Boys 50 Free (29.15) - Hit is 28.41 time, which I think was his personal best for quite a while last season. #13 - Boys 100 Free (1:01.44) - didn't get sub 60, 1:00.99... Relays #1 - Boys 200 Medley Relay (1) - no idea what his split was, the race wasn't recorded by leg. #17 - Boys 200 Free Relay (1) - according to the reports Brett swam a 28.84...but I don't know if the entered order matched the order they swam in... Last edited by Breeze : 01-11-2016 at 03:17 PM. |
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01-14-2016, 02:02 PM
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#712 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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High School Meet - Etowah HS Invitational - 1/16/16 @ Cherokee Aquatic Center
Travel meet for the team this Saturday... Brett # 3 (d1/s1): M Open 200 Free (2:07.14Y ) # 13 (d1/s1): M Open 100 Free (1:00.99Y ) Relay (Entered by Admin): # 23 (d1/s1): M Open 400 Free Relay (Team B) Because this meet is on Saturday, Brett will probably go to Gold practice in the morning before swimming for South. This means his times will probably be pretty pedestrian... Last edited by Breeze : 01-15-2016 at 10:33 AM. |
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01-15-2016, 11:01 AM
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#713 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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General Update - Bailey
This morning (1/15), Bailey went to the doctor, and he confirmed that she is basically finished growing. He said she might grow a little more, but it won't be significant. This corresponds directly to her flat performance in swimming. She's no longer benefiting from getting bigger and stronger. She was very disappointed to hear the news, as she realizes that good swimmers are typically tall. Thus her upside isn't as high as she would have liked. There is still plenty of room for improvement through breath control, turns, dives, strength training, but no more easy drops... |
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01-20-2016, 12:14 PM
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#714 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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High School Meet - Etowah HS Invitational - RESULTS
Overall not a good meet for Brett. Still think he's trying to get back in shape following his missed week of practice during exams. Brett # 3 (d1/s1): M Open 200 Free (2:07.14Y ) - 2:10.95 # 13 (d1/s1): M Open 100 Free (1:00.99Y ) - 1:01.07 Relay (Entered by Admin): # 23 (d1/s1): M Open 400 Free Relay (Team B) - Brett did go a 59.57 split in the relay. Fastest of the 4 swimmers Last edited by Breeze : 01-20-2016 at 12:15 PM. |
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01-20-2016, 12:30 PM
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#715 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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General Update
Brett got sick on Monday so he missed practice Monday and Tuesday. Unfortunately we are getting sleet now so practice is canceled tonight (Wednesday). This is bad timing considering Brett was just starting to get his form back and there is a Gold meet this weekend. Also Bailey is showing signs of catching whatever Brett had. Last edited by Breeze : 01-21-2016 at 04:57 PM. |
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01-21-2016, 04:55 PM
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#716 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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High School Meet - Forsyth County Championship @ Cumming Aquatic Center - 1/23
Brett # 3 (d1/s1): B Open 200 Free (2:07.14Y ) # 21 (d1/s1): B Open 100 Breast (1:12.50Y ) Relay (Entered by Admin): # 1 (d1/s1): B Open 200 Medley Relay (Team C) # 23 (d1/s1): B Open 400 Free Relay (Team C) Because Brett was sick a couple days and missed school he is having to miss practice again to get caught up and prepared for a couple of big tests. It doesn't bode well for his chances this weekend. Last edited by Breeze : 01-21-2016 at 04:58 PM. |
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01-22-2016, 10:43 AM
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#717 | |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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Quote:
School was cancelled today, which by rule means all sporting events must be cancelled as well. This meet was rescheduled for Monday after school. Brett will now deck enter at the Gold meet tomorrow (assuming it is not cancelled as well) |
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01-23-2016, 09:29 AM
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#718 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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Winter Kick Off @ GaTech - 1/23-24
This is a big meet for the twins as it will most likely be their last chance to ear a state cut before the meet in February (as the coach probably won't let them swim in the last chance meet). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey # 3 (d1/s1): G 13 & Over 200 Fly (2:17.54Y ) - Got this cut, just need a drop heading into State for confidence # 9 (d1/s1): G 13 & Over 100 Back (1:06.84Y ) - needs a drop of 3 seconds to get this cut, not likely in a 100...but it is possible. # 11 (d1/s1): G 13 & Over 200 Free (2:11.27Y ) - needs a 7 second drop for the cut, so this one isn't going to happen # 13 (d1/s1): G 13 & Over 400 Medley (5:00.18Y ) - Got this cut, just looking for improvement like the 200 fly # 44 (d2/s3): G 13 & Over 100 Fly (1:02.07Y ) - Has this one as well, but wants to get this down into a 60 second swim range. # 46 (d2/s3): G 13 & Over 200 Medley (2:24.70Y ) - another 3 second drop to earn another cut...this one is much more likely than the 100 back. # 48 (d2/s3): G 13 & Over 100 Free (1:00.50Y ) - 2.5 seconds off the cut. Given Bailey's track record in the Free I don't expect this one, but it is within range. # 50 (d2/s3): G 13 & Over 200 Back (2:18.93Y ) - Have this cut...looking for a confidence building swim. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bear # 4 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 200 Fly (2:13.93Y ) - Got this one, like Bailey looking for a good swim for confidence. # 10 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 100 Back (1:05.73Y ) - 1.5 seconds off the cut time. Could get it but will need to charge the walls on turns. # 12 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 200 Free (1:57.43Y ) - Bear's free has been really strong ever since he embraced the distance swims. # 43 (d1/s2): X 11 & Over 1650 Free (17:33.28Y ) - THIS SWIM WAS CANCELLED DUE TO A SCHEDULE CHANGE BECAUSE OF THE WEATHER # 45 (d2/s3): B 13 & Over 100 Fly (1:04.00Y ) - Bear doesn't have this one. As his personal best time is from State last year - that's a bit disappointing as his fly still looks strong, he's just not sprinting it as well as he did last year. He only needs about a .7 drop to get the cut. He should do it. # 47 (d2/s3): B 13 & Over 200 Medley (2:16.75Y ) - maybe the breast clinic at Christmas will lead to a drop here. # 51 (d2/s3): B 13 & Over 200 Back (2:18.94Y ) - Needs another 1.5 second drop to get this cut. Again it could come down to walls. # 55 (d2/s3): B 13 & Over 500 Free (5:14.21Y ) - Easily has this one and I'm confident this isn't close to what his personal best could be. With a good swim I believe he could be below 5:10... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brett Brett was scheduled to swim in the high school meet on Saturday (noted above), but not that it's rescheduled for Monday, Brett will deck enter whatever we can get him into. # 47 (d2/s3): B 13 & Over 200 Medley (2:26.36Y ) - with improved Breast and if he can limit breathing in fly, he could drop, but lack of practice I'm guessing he runs out of gas and adds about 4 or 5 seconds. # 53 (d2/s3): B 13 & Over 100 Breast (1:12.60Y ) - Interested to see if Brett can execute on what he learned from the clinic into an improved time. # 55 (d2/s3): B 13 & Over 500 Free (5:38.45Y ) - Should improve here, but given his lack of practice I don't expect it. Note: Given the poor condition of the roads, limited parking (as they aren't letting people in the parking deck because of ice issues) and the fact that the only cuts we are shooting for on Saturday are the backs, which isn't likely for Bailey and isn't necessary for Bear to have a full load at State, we are contemplating not making the trip... Last edited by Breeze : 01-23-2016 at 09:36 AM. |
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01-27-2016, 12:31 PM
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#719 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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Winter Kick Off - RESULTS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey # 3 (d1/s1): G 13 & Over 200 Fly (2:17.54Y ) - Didn’t swim well posting her typical 4 second add – 2:21.85. Her stroke looked much different, deeper pulls, more undulation than normal, and she confirmed that the coach is changing her stroke. # 9 (d1/s1): G 13 & Over 100 Back (1:06.84Y ) - unbelievably, she exactly tied her personal best 1:06.84 # 11 (d1/s1): G 13 & Over 200 Free (2:11.27Y ) - Another typical add of a couple seconds 2:13.93 # 13 (d1/s1): G 13 & Over 400 Medley (5:00.18Y ) – 5:09.50 – held back too much in the fly, and her breast was back to a 45 second split. # 44 (d2/s3): G 13 & Over 100 Fly (1:02.07Y ) - her time is still in the 1:04s, which it has been most of the season – 1:04.94 # 46 (d2/s3): G 13 & Over 200 Medley (2:24.70Y ) – 2:28.56 # 48 (d2/s3): G 13 & Over 100 Free (1:00.50Y ) - – Add – 1:02.12… # 50 (d2/s3): G 13 & Over 200 Back (2:18.93Y ) - Worst swim of the meet – 2:26.72 Another bad meet for Bailey…disappointing, bordering on depressing and that’s from my vantage point. She is ultra-competitive so it has to be killing her inside. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bear # 4 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 200 Fly (2:13.93Y ) - Got a slight drop down to 2:13.41 # 6 (d1/s1) B 13 & Over 50 Free (25.94) – This event was added after the 1650 was dropped. Bear needed a drop of about .4 seconds to get the cut. He had Brett raced in this one and Bear finished with a time of 25.50 and earned another cut. # 10 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 100 Back (1:05.73Y ) - excellent start, hard charging first 25, great turn, but then he seemed to hit a wall and everything slowed down. He was really long underwater on the start and turn and he thinks he ended up anaerobic too quickly, which caused him to lose his energy. 1:06.01 # 12 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 200 Free (1:57.43Y ) - This was a terrible swim. It was obvious early he was off. He looked sluggish and limped home to a 2:04.29 # 43 (d1/s2): X 11 & Over 1650 Free (17:33.28Y ) - THIS SWIM WAS CANCELLED DUE TO A SCHEDULE CHANGE BECAUSE OF THE WEATHER # 45 (d2/s3): B 13 & Over 100 Fly (1:04.00Y ) - Great swim here for Bear, first time in a while his sprint free has dropped. He finished with a 1:02.18 and another cut. # 47 (d2/s3): B 13 & Over 200 Medley (2:16.75Y ) – 2:18.56…Breast split was typical 42 range, but not terrible compared to some of his friends who are pretty good in breast that only managed high 41 second splits. # 51 (d2/s3): B 13 & Over 200 Back (2:18.94Y ) - Not a great swim…2:21.91 # 55 (d2/s3): B 13 & Over 500 Free (5:14.21Y ) - Set a goal of 5:10. Coach wanted him out faster, and he definitely was…but he couldn’t get the 5:10 time. Did manage a drop as he finished in 5:12.43. Coach thinks at state with taper, he’ll get below 5:10. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brett #6 (d1/s1) B 13 & Over 50 Free (27.07) – Raced Bear, and got behind right from the dive as Brett was too deep for his underwaters and he came up short and about 2 body lengths back. Managed to stay about that same distance for the whole race and finished in 27.52. Not bad considering his time out of the pool. #8 (d1/s1) B 13 & Over 200 Breast (2:34.31) – Brett’s breast looked much more powerful that it has in quite a while. He ended up just off his personal best with a 2:35.74, which leads me to believe if he were in better shape he would have dropped time #12 (d1/s1) B 13 & Over 200 Free (2:05.30) – Didn’t expect much here. Back to back 200s for a kid not in peak shape doesn’t add up to a good performance. He only managed a 2:12.21… # 47 (d2/s3): B 13 & Over 200 Medley (2:26.36Y ) - Fly leg was in the 33s where it is typically in the 35s…and his back was a pretty strong 36.4 (better than Bailey and only about a half second off Bear)…he finished with a great swim and personal best time of 2:23.02 # 53 (d2/s3): B 13 & Over 100 Breast (1:12.60Y ) - Terrible dive ruined this swim, and when I say terrible that may not be descriptive enough to explain how bad the dive was…something strange happened. He clearly went very deep, but he came up really short and almost vertical with little to no forward momentum. I know he was jazzed about this race and maybe he over worked the dive and rushed the pullout…but for whatever reason he was several body lengths behind from the moment he surfaced. 1:14.38… # 55 (d2/s3): B 13 & Over 500 Free (5:38.45Y ) - Didn’t expect much here with him out of shape and got about what I expected – 5:46.32 Last edited by Breeze : 01-27-2016 at 12:34 PM. |
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01-27-2016, 05:10 PM
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#720 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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High School Swimming - Forsyth County Championships - Pictures
Pictures from the County Championship Meet If you are interested, you can find Brett in the following images: 29 - far right of the picture 50 126 127 159 |
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02-02-2016, 01:02 PM
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#721 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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High School Meet - Forsyth County Championship - RESULTS
Brett # 3 (d1/s1): B Open 200 Free (2:07.14Y ) - typical Brett high school swim - 2:10.75 # 21 (d1/s1): B Open 100 Breast (1:12.50Y ) - same as the 200 very typical of his times in high school meets - 1:13.92 Relay (Entered by Admin): # 1 (d1/s1): B Open 200 Medley Relay (Team C) - breast split was 34.36 # 23 (d1/s1): B Open 400 Free Relay (Team C) - Ended up swimming with the B relay and managed a 58.24 split... Last edited by Breeze : 02-02-2016 at 01:02 PM. |
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02-04-2016, 10:43 AM
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#722 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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Famous Last Words @ Cumming Aquatic Center - 2/5 - 2/7
This is the last chance meet before Age Group State. Bear will not be swimming because he already has a full plate for the state meet. Brett will compete, not in hopes of getting a cut, but because this will be his only meet in February. Bailey will swim a few events in hopes of adding a couple of more events to her State schedule --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey # 1 (d1/s1): G 13 & Over 200 Medley (2:24.70Y ) - Needs a 3.2 second drop... # 5 (d1/s1): G 13 & Over 50 Free (27.86Y ) - Needs a 1.2 second drop # 117 (d3/s5): G 13-14 100 Back (1:06.84Y ) - Needs a 1.5 second drop. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brett # 2 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 200 Medley (2:23.02Y ) - just dropped time in this one a few weeks ago...don't expect another drop. # 6 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 50 Free (27.07Y ) - been swimming 27.5s recently, I figure he'll be about that again. # 44 (d2/s3): B 15 & Over 100 Free (58.56Y ) - I believe he can get into the 57s with a good swim. # 50 (d2/s3): B 15 & Over 200 Back (2:25.98Y ) - his back has gotten better, this is a broken record, but if he'll push himself he could drop time. # 62 (d2/s3): B 15 & Over 100 Fly (1:18.17Y ) - Should drop time because his fly is better. The 33 to open the 200 IM last month illustrates that. Just don't know how good a shape he's in yet. # 70 (d2/s3): B Open 500 Free (5:38.45Y ) - Again, could easily drop here IF HE'S IN GOOD ENOUGH SHAPE. I expect him to finish around a 5:42 # 112 (d3/s5): B 15 & Over 200 Free (2:05.30Y ) - Been around 2:10 in High School swims, I think around 2:07 is likely. # 120 (d3/s5): B 15 & Over 100 Back (1:11.44Y ) - This is a really old time, he should drop... # 128 (d3/s5): B 15 & Over 100 Breast (1:12.60Y ) - Who knows...late in the meet doesn't give me confidence he'll have energy left to drop time. # 138 (d3/s5): B Open 400 Medley (5:02.68Y ) - See 100 Breast... |
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02-10-2016, 04:03 PM
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#723 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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Famous Last Words @ RESULTS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey # 1 (d1/s1): G 13 & Over 200 Medley (2:24.70Y ) - came close to a personal best posting a 2:24.82...other than her personal best from December her times in this event have been 2:27 high or worse, so a big improvement. # 5 (d1/s1): G 13 & Over 50 Free (27.86Y ) - 28.47... # 117 (d3/s5): G 13-14 100 Back (1:06.84Y ) - still needs to increase rotation here in my opinion. Didn't get cut, did get personal best - 1:06.72. Hopefully, 2 good swims indicates she's rounding into shape and with a taper for state she'll see some good results. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brett # 2 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 200 Medley (2:23.02Y ) - not a good swim 2:28.48. Mom said she knew he wasn't going to swim well as soon as he stepped on the blocks. He was slow to grasp the whistle commands and seems distracted, which isn't surprising given he was at school most of the day and his ADHD makes focusing in the evening tough. # 6 (d1/s1): B 13 & Over 50 Free (27.07Y ) - 27.77...making this the 4th free 50 of the year with all 4 times between this one and his personal best. # 44 (d2/s3): B 15 & Over 100 Free (58.56Y ) - 59.17 - slight improvement over his December swim, but still no personal best. However, coach said he was pleased with the swim, because he wanted Brett to stay long with his stroke not matter the time, and Brett did that. # 50 (d2/s3): B 15 & Over 200 Back (2:25.98Y ) - Got a personal best barely 2:25.49 - I was hoping for better, but apparently he was right where the coach was hoping he'd be. # 62 (d2/s3): B 15 & Over 100 Fly (1:18.17Y ) - Another minor drop on a PB...1:17.99 - it was sluggish and deliberate, but the form was miles better than it has been. # 70 (d2/s3): B Open 500 Free (5:38.45Y ) - only managed a 5:46.51...so similar to his high school swims. I still believe the high school meets create bad habits for Brett # 112 (d3/s5): B 15 & Over 200 Free (2:05.30Y ) - 2:07.51 - looked really strong in spurts, but couldn't maintain. Did stay really long with his stroke though. # 120 (d3/s5): B 15 & Over 100 Back (1:11.44Y ) - 1:11.76, close to a PB...I felt it should have been better. If he'll learn to keep legs straight on kick he'll drop several seconds immediately. # 128 (d3/s5): B 15 & Over 100 Breast (1:12.60Y ) - Poor time - 1:14.89 - really fell off in the second 50, which would indicate fatigue. # 138 (d3/s5): B Open 400 Medley (5:02.68Y ) - Fatigue was clearly present - 5:09.23 After the meet, the coach unsolicited found the wife and told her that he needed to come to Brett's defence. He said don't worry about the times, Brett was doing exactly what I wanted him to do, and that he had a much better meet than it appeared. He also said Brett has really been killing practice and he's excited about seeing where Brett can go from here. |
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02-15-2016, 09:34 AM
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#724 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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2016 Georgia Short Course Age Group State Championship - General Update
This is state meet week. Kids are starting to taper (which will mean a ton of extra energy around the house), and we are preparing a menu to make sure they are properly fueled. Unfortunately, due to changes in the structure of the meet, Bailey and Bear will have no shot at medaling this time around (I believe I explained this earlier in the season, but if you'd like clarification let me know and I'll explain it again). I will post their schedules soon, right now I'm waiting for last minute qualifiers to be entered in the psych sheet so I can pass along more accurate information. Last edited by Breeze : 02-15-2016 at 09:34 AM. |
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02-16-2016, 09:40 AM
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#725 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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General Update - Brett
Brett will be missing several practices over the next few weeks including: Friday - 2/19 Saturday - 2/20 Saturday - 2/27 Wednesday - 3/2 The first 3 are because Brett is taking Lifeguard training. He is hoping to get a job at the aquatic center over the Summer. The final one is because we've signed him up for Driver's training. He's been too reluctant to drive with me (mostly because he isn't comfortable that if he screws up I can do anything in time to help). So the driver's training is in a car that the instructer has his own brake pedal. He seems much more relaxed with that arrangement. |
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02-18-2016, 10:00 PM
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#726 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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2016 Georgia Age Group State Championships @ GaTech - 2/19 - 2/21
I did a poor job of setting this up this year. Probably because my work schedule has been so tight, and because the wife and I both just bought new cars so my free time to get online and analyze the races was limited. Plus the fact that neither of the twins has a shot at a medal took some of the eagerness associated with the meet away. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey # 11A (d1/s1): G 13-13 200 Back (2:18.93Y ) - 58 / 23 - starting to show some improvement in this stroke, so I hope we can get a drop. # 15A (d1/s1): G 13-13 100 Fly (1:02.07Y ) - 33 / 9 - still seeded in the top 10 for her age group in the fly...and that counts the 13 year old girls that were in the top 15 for the open races back in Dec... # 49A (d2/s4): G 13-13 400 Medley (5:00.18Y ) - 43 / 18 - this is mostly about her breaststroke leg, but honestly she'll need to push the backstroke hard to get a PB # 75A (d3/s7): G 13-13 200 Fly (2:17.54Y ) 23 / 8 - again top 10 in this event, and no drop during the season...that illustrates how strong her fly was last year... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bear # 4A (d1/s1): B 13-13 200 Medley (2:16.75Y ) - 56 / 14 - with a good swim Bear could get in the top 10 for 13 year olds... # 16A (d1/s1): B 13-13 100 Fly (1:02.18Y ) 48 / 14 - was actually surprised to see he was 14th for 13 year olds...expected he'd be closer to 20...that drop in the last meet really moved him up a bunch. # 20C (d1/s1): B 13-13 1000 Free (10:40.83Y ) - 14 / 3 - Bear is still seeded 3rd in this event, and his time is from last year at this meet. Bear swam the 1650 twice during the season but he didn't swim the 1000...not sure what to expect. I know the coach wants him under 10:30... # 34A (d2/s4): B 13-13 200 Free (1:57.43Y ) - 35 / 8 - another top 10 with 3 guys seeded right in front of him. Even the way medals were done last year, he wouldn't have a shot at the top 3...but a good swim could get him in the top 5. # 50A (d2/s4): B 13-13 400 Medley (4:42.92Y ) - 35 / 4 - could get top 3 with a good swim. # 72A (d3/s7): B 13-13 100 Free (55.03Y ) - 45 / 17 - hoping he can drop time and get down into the 54s # 76A (d3/s7): B 13-13 200 Fly (2:13.41Y ) 30 / 6 - another strong event for Bear...the tougher the event the better he does... # 86A (d3/s7): B 13-13 500 Free (5:12.43Y ) - 31 / 4 - This is an interesting race...sprinters can hold on, distance guys have to push themselves to go faster splits...Bear needs to push harder in this one...last time out was a good approach, hopefully he can take it out fast again, and hold on...with a taper we could be looking at a drop. Last edited by Breeze : 02-18-2016 at 10:06 PM. |
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02-18-2016, 10:05 PM
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#727 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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2016 Georgia Age Group State Championships - General Update
The way 13/14 finals will work this season is: A final - top 10 swimmers regardless of age (excluding scratches) B final - 11th thru 20th swimmers regardless of age (excluding scratches) C final - the next 10 fastest 13 year olds (excluding scratches) The reason I'm posting this is that Bear's coach has already told him that he will probably have him scratch some of his C final swims to save himself for other races... |
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02-18-2016, 10:08 PM
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#728 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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2016 Georgia Age Group State Championships - Bear Update
So Bear just finished his second ever shave, and as soon as he walked out of the bathroom he stated, "The human body is meant to have hair on it..." Not a real fan of shave/taper meets yet... |
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02-23-2016, 02:31 PM
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#729 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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2016 Georgia Age Group State Championships - DAY 1 PRELIM RESULTS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey # 11A (d1/s1): G 13-13 200 Back (2:18.93Y ) - 58 / 23 - Bailey slipped badly on the start of the race, which really impacted her, but she swam hard, made up ground on the field and ended up swimming a personal best 2:17.77. This is a full second drop with a slip start. A good start probably means she drops another second or maybe more as her underwaters were strong... # 15A (d1/s1): G 13-13 100 Fly (1:02.07Y ) - 33 / 9 – looked strong early. Dive was still too deep, but underwaters were stronger so they didn’t kill her like they have recently. Coming down the stretch she faded a bit, but she still managed a personal best 1:01.62. She was hoping to get in the 60 second range, but this improvement still got her in the 13 year old final that night…she ended up 29th overall in prelims… -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bear # 4A (d1/s1): B 13-13 200 Medley (2:16.75Y ) - 56 / 14 – Bear opened the event with a strong statement…posted a 28.25 split in the fly leg, followed by a good 33.11 back. In breast, he was visibly stronger and his time of 40.70 indicated that. He finished with a free leg in the mid 28 second range for a total time of 2:10.52…a drop of 6.2 seconds and he climbed to 47th overall and 8th for 13 year olds heading into finals. # 16A (d1/s1): B 13-13 100 Fly (1:02.18Y ) 48 / 14 – ended this race in a time of 1:00.07. Was extremely disappointed he didn’t go sub60, and he was first alternate for the 13 year old final so he didn’t get a second shot to beat that time at finals. # 20C (d1/s1): B 13-13 1000 Free (10:40.83Y ) - 14 / 3 - Bear had high expectations for this race. As I indicated the coach wanted him under 10:30, which means he needed to maintain 1:03 splits to get that time. Here is how it went: 100 split – 59.12 (normal open split is faster than pace goal…actually was slower than coach wanted) 200 split – 1:03.31 : (2:02.43) - (immediately above pace – coach not happy – signaled pick it up a little) 300 split – 1:03.12 : (3:05.55) - (again above – another signal to pick it up a little) 400 split – 1:02.60 : (4:08.15) - (looks like he got the message) 500 split – 1:01.94 : (5:10.09) – (5:10 opening 500 is strong – PB actually) 600 split – 1:01.49 : (6:11.58) – (obviously feeling good picking up pace on his own) 700 split – 1:00.66 : (7:12.24) – (coach going nuts at this point) 800 split – 1:01.07 : (8:13.31) – (coach had me signal him to go hard the last 200!) 900 split – 1:00.26 : (9:13.57) – (blistering this race at this point with 100 left) 1000 split – 59.73 : (10:13.30) – (yes he went sub60 in the last 100 of a 1000 where his total time was 10:13) Bear’s swim was really unbelievable. I expected a drop, I didn’t expect a 27.53 second drop, even if the seed time was from last year. His time was so good he finished 7th overall (including 14 year olds) and he was the fastest 13 year old in the state. This time was so fast that Bear not only got his Senior cut (15&Over) but he got is Senior Sectional cut. This is significant because it gives Bear the cut time required to be on the Gold “National” team. We probably won’t put him on that team next year as a high school Freshman, but when he’s a Sophomore he’ll probably move into that group. He also becomes the first in his group of friends to get this cut time. Last edited by Breeze : 02-24-2016 at 09:16 AM. |
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02-23-2016, 02:40 PM
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#730 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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2016 Georgia Age Group State Championships - DAY 1 FINAL RESULTS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey # 15A (d1/s1): G 13-13 100 Fly (1:01.62 ) – this race was very similar to the one in the morning. She was out in a 28 and change and back in a 32 in change finished with another personal best time of 1:01.25. This was another good swim and a 3rd personal best in a row. She still wanted to be in the 60 second range, and is planning to push hard to get there for Sectionals in a few weeks. This swim was significant because it moved Bailey back into the B medley relays. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bear # 4A (d1/s1): B 13-13 200 Medley (2:10.52Y ) – Bear’s fly looked really sluggish, and his split time of 29.35 supports that observation…we felt that he was simply out of gas from his 1000…but his back was still 33 low and his breast was better at 39 high, and his free was much better from the morning as he came home in 27.87…posting another personal best time 2:10.22 Last edited by Breeze : 02-23-2016 at 02:41 PM. |
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02-24-2016, 10:42 AM
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#731 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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2016 Georgia Age Group State Championships – Day 2 PRELIM RESULTS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey # 29 (d2/s4): G 14U 200 Medley Relay (1:59.25Y ) - 9 – Bailey’s strong fly from the first day got here into this relay. Unfortunately, we weren’t made aware in advance and we didn’t see her actually race this one (we were watching the 14U boys at that time). The results indicate Bailey’s 50 split was a strong 28.12, so she must have done pretty well. All in all the team came in at 1:55.49, 3.76 seconds under their seed time. # 49A (d2/s4): G 13-13 400 Medley (5:00.18Y ) - 43 / 18 – Bailey started this out with what for her was a very conservative fly leg, finishing in 1:04.79…I would have expected something in the 1:02 high or 1:03 low range. Her back was a 1:14 high, and her breast, while not great was under 1:30…in the free Bailey actually came from behind to pass a couple of people, which is something we haven’t seen much of recently. She finished the free leg in a 1:06.60, much better than she’s done in a while. She ended up with a personal best time of 4:55.19. She also climbed all the way to 12th for 13 year olds. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bear # 34A (d2/s4): B 13-13 200 Free (1:57.43Y ) - 35 / 8 – There was no hangover from the 1000 on day 1, as Bear posted a Personal Best 1:52.78, to open day 2. That’s a drop of 5.28 seconds, and it earned him a spot in finals that night. # 50A (d2/s4): B 13-13 400 Medley (4:42.92Y ) - 35 / 4 – after Bear’s strong 200 IM on day 1 (especially his improved breast), I was interested to see how this would play out. He was out strong with a 1:02.00 fly leg, followed by a very good 1:09 low back. In his heat, he was swimming against 3 teammates. Two 14 year olds from another pool, and Nicklas, who is an exceptional natural swimmer that is in Bear’s training group. After the fly leg, Bear was well back of the two older boys, and after the back leg, Bear was 4th. However, in the Breast things changed. Bear managed a 1:18.95 split with both 50s under 40 seconds. This effort looked much more like Brett than the Bear of old. Bear passed both of the older boys and basically hit the wall for the free leg in a dead heat with Nicklas. Once the Free started, it was no contest. Nicklas even said, “We started the free, and I looked over and Bear was gone. I was like, ‘What just happened?’”. Bear’s free leg was a 58.81, and his total time ended up at 4:28.92. That was good enough to win the heat, and for him to finish 2nd out of all the 13 year olds Last edited by Breeze : 02-24-2016 at 11:05 AM. |
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02-24-2016, 03:51 PM
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#732 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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2016 Georgia Age Group State Championships – Day 2 FINALS RESULTS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey # 29 (d2/s4): G 14U 400 Medley Relay (4:12.11) - 9 – Bailey’s swim on Friday also earned her the right to swim in the 400 Medley as well. Here she wasn’t pleased with her swim. She only managed a 1:02.16, and that was disappointing to her (though honestly I thought it was pretty good, and with her in one of the outside lanes and all the turbulence of the swimmers diving and going back and forth, it was probably a lot better swim than she gives herself credit for). The team finished with a time of 4:11.68 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bear # 34A (d2/s4): B 13-13 200 Free (1:52.78Y ) – Bear had another strong swim at finals, he was a bit disappointed because his effort to close on the leader came up just short and he finished 2nd in his heat, but he still posted another personal best time of 1:52.15 Last edited by Breeze : 03-10-2016 at 07:35 AM. |
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02-25-2016, 02:42 PM
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#733 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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2016 Georgia Age Group State Championships – DAY 3 PRELIM RESULTS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey # 75A (d3/s7): G 13-13 200 Fly (2:17.54Y ) 23 / 8 – Bailey opened her 200 fly with a 1:04.98…which is pretty slow. I know that she has another 100 to go, but I expected her to be more in the 1:03 middle range. This split had me concerned. However, in the back half she managed a 1:10.09 for a personal best time of 2:15.07. That about a 2.5 second drop, and it was not only good enough to make the 13 year old final, she actually managed to get 20th place, so that put her in the B final with 13 and 14 year old girls. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bear # 72A (d3/s7): B 13-13 100 Free (55.03Y ) - 45 / 17 - slow off the blocks here, which is a problem in a sprint free. He fought back and ended with a personal best 53.72. He wanted a swim in the 52s and was disappointed he didn’t get it. He also ended up as the 1st alternate in the 13 year old finals, so he didn’t get a second opportunity in this race. # 76A (d3/s7): B 13-13 200 Fly (2:13.41Y ) 30 / 6 – out in a 1:03.05 and brought it home in a 1:06.99 for a 2:10.04. Actually tied for 21st overall, and was supposed to have a swim off with a 14 year old to be first alternate in the B final, but instead simply allowed the other swimmer to have that spot and Bear settled for first seed in the 13 year old final. # 86A (d3/s7): B 13-13 500 Free (5:12.43Y ) - 31 / 4 - Bear’s goal her was to go under 5 minutes. After swimming the back half of the 1000 in 5:03, I felt this was very attainable, but the coach told him…while you were swimming 1:00.3s in the 1000…to get down to 1:00 it’s going to hurt more, you are going to have to push through it… 100 split – 57.52 – nice opening for Bear 200 split – 1:01.28 : (1:58.50) – it was obvious he was slowing so he got signaled to pick it up a bit. 300 split – 1:00.94 : (2:59.74) – only .26 ahead of his pace with 200 to go…going to be tight. 400 split – 1:00.59 : (4:00.33) – over his goal time, shaking the numbers hard as I can 500 split – 59.38 : (4.59.71) – he did it…a 500 under 5 minutes… He was 15th overall, but he was the fastest 13 year old in the state… Last edited by Breeze : 03-09-2016 at 05:09 PM. |
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02-26-2016, 09:21 AM
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#734 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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2016 Georgia Age Group State Championships – DAY 3 FINALS RESULTS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey # 75A (d3/s7): G 13-13 200 Fly (2:15.07Y) – Bailey opened the finals with a faster first 100 (1:14.28), but she was unable to hold that pace and fell off in the back half finishing just over her time from the morning posting a 2:15.50. While this was the only swim over the weekend that wasn’t a personal best, it also isn’t surprising…two 200 flys is a lot, and Bailey isn’t the biggest or strongest girl in the pool. However, while this wasn’t a personal best, Bailey came into this race as the last seed. She ended up beating 2 girls in the heat and finishing 18th overall…not bad. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bear # 76A (d3/s7): B 13-13 200 Fly (2:10.04 ) – Bear was the top seed for this race, but when the race started he was quickly behind 3 other swimmers. I was concerned that he was completely out of gas, but his opening 100 was a 1:02.49…so actually better than he went out in the morning. In the back half especially the last 50 he really started closing, even after gagging on water coming off the wall at the 150 turn. He was several body lengths back, and started charging hard. He closed hard passing 2 guys and ending up getting just out-touched at the wall to win the heat. He still posted another personal best 2:09.11…in case you are wondering – he was out-touched by .4 seconds. Last edited by Breeze : 03-09-2016 at 05:10 PM. |
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03-03-2016, 09:50 AM
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#735 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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General Update - Brett
Brett passed his lifeguard certification and he will be turning in his job application to the Cumming Aquatic Center today. Not bad for a 15 year old to hold all the certifications required to be a lifeguard. |
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03-04-2016, 09:54 AM
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#736 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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2016 ESSZ Age Group Championships @ GaTech - 3/10 - 3/13
The first psych sheet for the Sectional Meet has been released. Here is what the twins are currently look at: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey #17 Girls 13-14 100 Yard Butterfly (1:01.25) : 59th/20th - wanting to get down into the 60 second range... #39 Girls 13-14 200 Yard Butterfly (2:15.07) : 38th/12th - just looking to drop some more time... #59 Girls 14U 400 Medley Relay A Team - currently Bailey is on the A Relay, it is still subject to change, but pretty pleased to see her representing the team on the fast relay at the southeastern sectional race. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bear #6 Boys 11-14 1000 Yard Freestyle (10:13.30) : 15th/5th - After his huge drop at State, I'd be surprised if the needle moves much here. but 15th overall in the Southeast, and 5th for 13 year olds is amazing. #10 Boys 13-14 200 Yard Freestyle (1:52.15) : 40th/6th - again don't expect much improvement, but proud of his current ranking. #22 Boys 13-14 400 Yard IM (4:28.92) : 31st/7th - hoping his Breast stays strong so he can stay in the top 10... #26 Boys 14U 400 Free Relay B Team - Bear earned the right to swim on the B relay... #40 13-14 200 Yard Butterfly (2:09.11) : 35th/8th - he wants to get much better in this one. Was a bit disappointed in his state swims. He's been talking below 2:05...I think that's asking a lot...but we'll see. #56 Boys 13-14 500 Yard Freestyle (4:59.71) : 28th/5th - Don't expect a drop here...it would be nice if he could do it, especially since he's already announced he's going for the team record next year, a drop would just get him that much closer...but simply being in this spot is fantastic. #84 Boys 13-14 200 Yard IM (2:10.22) : 82nd/14th - If he keeps improving in breaststroke he could drop some time, but I don't see him getting in the top ten 13 year olds...he'd need to drop a good bit to move that high. #88 Boys 11-14 1650 Yard Freestyle (17:33.28) : 14th/2nd - The 1650 isn't offered at State so Bear hasn't gotten to swim it tapered in a long time...unfortunately it is also the last individual event in a schedule that includes a bunch of grueling races. Not sure what to expect, but this is another team record Bear is going for next season - so fingers crossed. *Note: Bear is also currently in line to swim on the 800 Free Relay A team...however that swim is right before the 1000...not sure if they will replace him to save his strength for the distance swim or if they'll have him race it. That relay they haven't announced yet. Will fill it in once I know more. Last edited by Breeze : 03-04-2016 at 09:55 AM. |
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03-07-2016, 08:54 AM
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#737 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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General Update - Olympic Trials
This past weekend the Senior Sectional Meet (the 15 & Over version of the meet the twins are swimming in this weekend) took place. Because this is an Olympic year the Senior Sectional Meet was done in a long course pool to give swimmers another opportunity to get a trials cut. So far I am aware of 2 swimmers that we compete against on a regular basis that earned cuts: Liam Bell (15) - the boy that has dominated breaststroke in Brett's age group qualified for the Olympic Trails. Tristan Ulett (13) - the girl that basically dominates everything in Bailey's age group will also be swimming at trials. I don't expect they will make any finals (I believe there are 4 rounds of finals)...so even if you watch the trials you may not get an opportunity to see them swim, but it might be something to keep an eye on during trials as one of those interesting little side notes. Note: Also Gold swimmer Lauren Case (who just signed with University of Texas), qualified in several events. As we get closer to trials, I'll list all the Gold swimmers and any other swimmers my kids go against that will be competing at the trials (assuming it gets announced). Last edited by Breeze : 03-09-2016 at 08:11 PM. |
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03-08-2016, 09:41 AM
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#738 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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Northern Divisionals @ Mt. View Aquatic Center - 3/11 - 3/13
In additional to the Southeastern Sectional meet, we have the Northern Divisional meet this weekend too. We are going to be rather busy... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey - because Bailey only has a couple of swims at Sectionals, and because she is going to be tapered (assuming the second taper in only a few weeks takes)...she wants to swim a few events to try and get cuts for next year. # 79 (d3/s5): G 13-14 200 Free (2:11.27Y ) - her freestyle has started to show some improvement, and her endurance for mid-distance races also has started to improve. If the taper takes, I would expect a small drop here. # 91 (d3/s5): G 13-14 100 Back (1:06.72Y ) - she should drop in this one if she doesn't slip on the start and the taper works. # 103 (d3/s5): G 13-14 50 Free (27.86Y ) - see above. This is a dead sprint, but with improved stroke, she might get 27 low... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brett - Brett went through a stretch recently where he was doing extremely well in practice, but school work, lifeguard training, and extra ab work, really limited his practices recently...so not sure how good he's done over the last several weeks... # 22 (d2/s2): B Open 200 Medley (2:23.02Y ) - with his improved fly he drop here...especially if he has the strength to go hard back half. # 34 (d2/s2): B Open 200 Breast (2:34.31Y ) - fingers crossed he can get the timing right on this one and get a drop. # 40 (d2/s2): B Open 200 Back (2:25.49Y ) - should be faster, if he'll just go hard and keep the legs straight on the kick. # 88 (d3/s5): B Open 100 Breast (1:12.60Y ) - see 200 breast. # 94 (d3/s5): B Open 100 Back (1:11.44Y ) - see 200 back. # 114 (d3/s5): B Open 1650 Free (20:11.76Y ) - I don't think he's in good enough shape here to do really well, but he should drop some time... Last edited by Breeze : 03-08-2016 at 09:42 AM. |
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03-10-2016, 07:40 AM
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#739 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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General Update
I have added a few videos from the State Meet (links in the write up for the swim in the video). I do have one more I'd like to link, but no good place to put it... 400 IM Bailey's 400 is first in the video but before she finishes Bear starts. So the video focuses on Bailey (second lane from bottom of the pool) then as soon as she finishes it swings over to Bear (3rd lane from the top of the pool). Note: be warned...this is two 400 IM swims, so the video is 8 minutes long... |
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03-10-2016, 07:44 AM
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#740 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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High School Swimming - Year End Banquet
The high school swim banquet is tonight. Brett will get his sophomore varsity letter (chevron) tonight. |
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03-14-2016, 03:33 PM
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#741 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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2016 ESSZ Age Group Championships - DAY 1 RESULTS
Bear #6 Boys 11-14 1000 Yard Freestyle (10:13.30) : 15th/5th - After a 27 second drop just a few weeks ago, my expectations here were pretty low. In fact, I would not have been surprised if he added time. Here is how the swim went: 100 - 57.22 200 - 1:01.31 (1:58.53) 300 - 1:00.97 (2:59.50) 400 - 1:01.37 (4:00.87) 500 - 1:01.37 (5:02.24) - Yes opening 500 is a 5:02 - his personal best from state was a 4:59, and he still has 500 more to go 600 - 1:02.06 (6:04.30) 700 - 1:00.99 (7:05.29) 800 - 1:02.43 (8:07.72) 900 - 1:01.27 (9:08.99) 1000 - 1:00.28 (10.09.27) Dropped just over 4 seconds and finished 13th overall, and 3rd for 13 year olds... Note: Gold elected not to field the 800 Free Relay... Last edited by Breeze : 03-14-2016 at 03:35 PM. Reason: Add info on the relay. |
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03-15-2016, 09:34 AM
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#742 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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2016 ESSZ Age Group Championships - DAY 2 RESULTS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey #17 Girls 13-14 100 Yard Butterfly (1:01.25) : 59th/20th - Bailey was unable to improve her time from state, she ended up swimming 1:01.55, adding .3. Interestingly, her back half 50 was the exact same split as her back half 50 from State. She was disappointed she didn't drop, but she was ok with the swim given that it was basically just an eye blink off her personal best. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bear #10 Boys 13-14 200 Yard Freestyle (1:52.15) : 40th/6th - Not a great swim from Bear here...he looked sluggish and he ended up adding almost 2 full seconds 1:54.13. The added time dropped him to 12th for 13 year olds. #22 Boys 13-14 400 Yard IM (4:28.92) : 31st/7th - This was an interesting race for Bear...he started off the fly and he was off of his pace from State just slighly, until his last fly to fly turn, which was terrible and ended up putting him almost a full second off his time from a few weeks earlier. However, on the back he managed to post a faster split from state, but overall he was still about .5 seconds off. His breast was fractionally slower, so he hit the freestyle needing a big swim to get a personal best time...and he did. He finished with basically a 58 flat and posted a 4:28.79. Bear ended up the 8th place 13 year old... #26 Boys 14U 400 Free Relay B Team - Bear's relay split was a pedestrian 53.64...to me his swims this day clearly showed the effects of a hard day one... Last edited by Breeze : 03-15-2016 at 09:38 AM. |
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03-15-2016, 03:15 PM
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#743 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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2016 ESSZ Age Group Championships - DAY 3 RESULTS
I was not present for most of this meet, as I took Brett to the Northern Divisional Meet that morning. I did get to Georgia Tech in time to see Bailey's relay and to do the numbers for Bear's 500 Free. So some of these write ups are based on comments from the wife, kids, and coaches, as well as the final times posted --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey #39 Girls 13-14 200 Yard Butterfly (2:15.07) : 38th/12th - Bailey was looking to drop time, and he definately managed it. Swimming a very strong back half that saw Bailey pass several other swimmers she went on to post a personal best time of 2:13.79. This swim got her all the way to 23rd overall and she was 7th for 13 year olds. #59 Girls 14U 400 Medley Relay A Team - Bailey's fly split in the relay was around a 1:02.4...but honestly, she had one of the worst relay starts I've ever seen. I told her that it looked like she and the breaststroker were having a conversation before she decided she needed to dive in. I believe her time in the water was probably a 1:01 high...not that it mattered the relay team wasn't anywhere near contention. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bear #40 13-14 200 Yard Butterfly (2:09.11) : 35th/8th - Bear's race started and almost immediately the report was he looked very heavy in the water. This is the wife's way of saying that he seemed to lumber through the water. In other words, working really hard but not terribly efficiently. However, by the time it was all said and done - he fought his way to another personal best time 2:08.75, and a 29th place finish overall, and 6th for 13 year olds. #56 Boys 13-14 500 Yard Freestyle (4:59.71) : 28th/5th - When I asked Bear his goal here, his comment was "anything under 5 minutes would be good." Not a typical response from him, but he admitted he was tired and he wasn't sure he was going to be able to drop. The coach wanted him out between 27.5 and 28 low, and he accomplished that with around a 27.8. He wanted his second 50 to be under 30 so his opening 100 would be around a 58...here he was a 58 high, so immediately I had to signal him to pick it up a little. Unfortunately, he was unable to respond. His next split he has slipped slightly further off pace, and again the following split. At which point it was obvious he probably wasn't going to go sub 5. He ended up with a time of 5:03.61, which isn't as good as his back half in the 1000 from state or his opening 500 in the 1000 just two day before. He was extremely disappointed with this swim, but I wasn't terribly surprised. This was the type of swim I was hinting at in the pre-event write ups. With Bear struggling with fatigue, with the clocks Springing forward an hour, with warm up being at 7:30 - which would require him to get up at 5:15 or so to eat and travel to the venue, and with Bear's first race at the end of the schedule, the wife called the coach to find out if he could show up late to warm ups. The coach understood, and because Bear is such a hard worker, and a swimmer that takes care of his business, the coach was ok with this arrangement. In fact, he even suggested Bear scratch the 200 IM in favor of saving him for the 1650...so Bear was able to sleep in before the Sunday schedule Last edited by Breeze : 03-15-2016 at 03:16 PM. |
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03-16-2016, 09:06 AM
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#744 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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2016 ESSZ Age Group Championships - DAY 4 RESULTS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bear #84 Boys 13-14 200 Yard IM (2:10.22) : 82nd/14th - NS - Bear did scratch this event in hopes of putting together a good 1650 and finishing the meet on a high note. #88 Boys 11-14 1650 Yard Freestyle (17:33.28) : 14th/2nd - Bear wanted to hold splits under 32 seconds...or in other words under 1:04...here is how he did: 100 - 58.58 200 - 1:03.22 (2:01.80) 300 - 1:03.59 (3:05.39) 400 - 1:03.72 (4:09.11) 500 - 1:03.64 (5:12.75) 600 - 1:01.82 (6:14.57) 700 - 1:02.61 (7:17.18) 800 - 1:03.08 (8:20.26) 900 - 1:03.02 (9:23.28) 1000 - 1:03.87 (10:27.15) 1100 - 1:02.19 (11:29.34) 1200 - 1:02.82 (12:32.16) 1300 - 1:02.96 (13:35.12) 1400 - 1:02.12 (14:37.24) 1500 - 1:02.95 (15:40.19) 1600 - 1:02.22 (16:42.41) 1650 - 30.03 (17:12.44) So a drop of almost 21 seconds. Bear ends up 12th overall, but surprisingly 4th overall...setting the stage for a big race next year when Bear is 14. |
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03-16-2016, 02:40 PM
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#745 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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Northern Divisionals - PRELIM RESULTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey # 79 (d3/s5): G 13-14 200 Free (2:11.27Y ) - After having a good 200 fly earlier in the day, Bailey was talking about swimming a 2:06 at dinner. The next day in prelims she swam 2:06.18...and easily qualified for finals, which she would swim later that night. # 91 (d3/s5): G 13-14 100 Back (1:06.72Y ) - Another good swim for Bailey as she drops time posting a personal best 1:05.15, again qualifying for finals later that night. # 103 (d3/s5): G 13-14 50 Free (27.86Y ) - surprisingly, after dropping a good bit of time in the 200 free, she failed to drop time in the 50 free...adding the slimmest of time - 27.91. I really expected to see a drop after her strong 200, but it was a good swim and she qualified for finals here too... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brett # 22 (d2/s2): B Open 200 Medley (2:23.02Y ) - fly looks Soooo much better, but unfortunately, he added time 2:26.61. This made me concerned that the time out of the pool was going to be a major factor. When strokes look better but time is worse, it typically means stamina isn't there. # 34 (d2/s2): B Open 200 Breast (2:34.31Y ) - another poor swim, 2:38.91...but it was good enough to make finals. # 40 (d2/s2): B Open 200 Back (2:25.49Y ) - after two poor swims on day 1, I didn't hold much hope for the 3rd and final swim of the prelims. The stroke here was still very deliberate, but he continued his slow improvement in this stroke. Dropping time for a personal best 2:23.76 # 88 (d3/s5): B Open 100 Breast (1:12.60Y ) - really bad swim to start day 2...1:16.77. This time wasn't even as good as his opening 100 in the 200 breast described above, or his 200 breast from finals on day 1 (described below). In fact it was so poor he didn't even qualify for finals. # 94 (d3/s5): B Open 100 Back (1:11.44Y ) - he missed this event. It is a shame, with the improvement in the 200 back, he was probably going to drop here as well, but unfortunately he was in a pool with no scoreboard and no announcer, and he was so intent on warming down that he missed his race. # 114 (d3/s5): B Open 1650 Free (20:11.76Y ) - Brett's 1650 was interesting...he opened with a conservative 1:06...then dropped to 1:11, 1:12, 1:13, and it looked like he was going to settle into 1:14 splits...as the next two 100s were both 1:14s. Then a strange thing happened - he dropped down into the 1:12s, and he never swam slower...in fact he had two 1:11 splits. This is from basically from the 600 yard mark to the end. He ended with a 20+ second improvement 19:50.66. Interestingly, if I take Brett's opening 300 and closing 700, his 1000 time would be about 11:55.5...which is almost 5 seconds better than his personal best in the 1000...in a race he swan an extra 650 when he wasn't in peak shape. Going to be interesting to see if he'll use this to start embracing distance swimming and approaching the races with a plan rather than simply diving in and swimming until he reaches the end. |
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03-16-2016, 02:45 PM
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#746 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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Northern Divisionals - FINALS RESULTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey # 79 (d3/s5): G 13-14 200 Free (2:11.27Y ) - She was hoping to get into the 2:04, didn't get there, but did have another personal best swim 2:05.69 # 91 (d3/s5): G 13-14 100 Back (1:06.72Y ) - Couldn't improve on the morning swim, but only added a fraction of time - 1:05.72. I found out after the meet that she got a cramp during this race. # 103 (d3/s5): G 13-14 50 Free (27.86Y ) - cramp was still really bothering her when she swam this race, so she wasn't as explosive as she would have liked 28.24 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brett # 34 (d2/s2): B Open 200 Breast (2:34.31Y ) - after his 2:38 swim in the morning he rebounded a bit in the evening. His turns were awful which hurt his time, and he clearly started tiring in the last 50, but he was a good bit faster than the mroning 2:36.22 |
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03-17-2016, 12:37 PM
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#747 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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Short Course Season Review
The 2015/16 short course season has now come to an end. I figured I'd take a moment to look back at the performance of each of the kids, how they did, where they stand and provide some reflection on what to expect in long course and the following short course season. ---------------------------------------------------- Brett 2015/16 Overview This was a very up and down season for Brett. He started out the season on fire...in the very first meet he posted personal bests in 6 out of 10 swims, some of them significant improvements in time. Then he followed that first meet up with 4 out of 8 personal bests at the second meet. He looked to be progressing toward a big season. However, his improvements seemed to stall after that, and I'm not convinced that High School Swim isn't a negative influence on his performance. Swimming for South started right before the 3rd meet of the season, and from the 3rd meet on, Brett's improvements were few and far between. As I've written here before (maybe numerous times), Brett's focus isn't on swimming when he's doing high school meets. He's focused on socializing, which is ok with me, but unfortunately, I believe this leads to socializing becoming the major focus in year round meets too. This is something I'll have to plan to discuss with him before the start of the next short course season. Also impacting his improvement was the need to focus on school. Brett struggled in several of his classes, especially towards the end of the first semester and then again a few weeks into the start of the second semester. This caused him to miss too many practices in Decemeber and February to be in peak shape. According to all reports his focus and effort in practice improved this year, so maybe we'll see him finally start to realize some of his potential. He also seems more willing to consider challenging himself in the distance freestyles, which may offer him a better chance to get a state cut. He's also hinted at wanting to get stronger, and may finally be willing to put in extra work with resistance bands, chin ups, and other exercises. Here is basically how he progressed: Code:
Obviously, some of the time improvements listed above are quite good, and I don't want to down play that part of this. However, there is more time there to be dropped, and the inconsistency of his swims is another frustrating factor. Long Course Outlook I'm not sure what to expect during long course season. Currently Brett is grinding to get out of his Sophomore year with decent grades, which to me indicates he'll end up missing enough practices that it won't be insignificant, and will ultimately impact him, especially initially. Moreover, the long course season is very compressed, so not sure if he does miss a decent number of practices until school is out that he will have time to put together the training required to really improve. Brett will also be working as a lifeguard, and learning to drive so he can get his license in August. These will obviously be distractions. Another wild card is summer swim team. We are still debating if we want to get involved in that distraction as well. Countering that is his improved effort and focus, as well as what seems to be more desire to get better. I'm going to predict a very similar long course sesason to Brett's short course we just completed. Quite a few good swims that will move the needle on his personal bests (of course the times coming in are a year old so we should see some decent drops no matter what)...but inconsistent results with up and down swims across all strokes. If he gets anything from this long course season, I hope it is a mindset and a preparation for a much bigger Short Course in 2016/17. Short Course 2016/17 Outlook This is a long way off, and predicting Brett's mindset 10 minutes from now is often difficult, nearly 6 months from now is probably impossible. However, I get a sense from him that he really wants to improve now. As I mentioned he seems to want to start developing a plan on distance swims rather than simply churning laps. His practices have improved and the coaches seem genuinely excited about his new focus. With that in mind, combined with the fact that Brett should be finished with German (which is kicking his ass), accelerated math (which is one of the toughest classes at an already difficult high school), and Chemistry (which he just plan doesn't like), maybe his stress over school and his grades will settle in and allow him to focus on, dedicate himself to, and enjoy his swim training. I believe Brett could be in for a bid short course this season, and he'll need it if he legitimately wants to swim in college. I don't think he'll earn a state cut, but I do think he could put himself in striking distance on several events, and that will be huge progress. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey 2015/16 Overview This was a long a difficult season for Bailey. During her medical check up, she learned from the doctor that she was probably finished growing, that she might edge up slightly but she probably won't add another inch to her height. This is someting a swimmer at 5' 2" who races fly doesn't really want to hear. She's already competing against girls that are 5'6" or bigger (some topping 5'9")...which makes her job to compete that much tougher. She also had a season with almost no personal bests at all...in fact coming into state she had only 6 PB swims in total, 3 in breast (and let's be frank, there's still a lot of time she can drop in breast), 1 in 200 IM (which was probably impacted by the improved breast), and a couple of late season backstroke improvement swims. Moreover, in a bunch of her events, she wasn't just adding time, she was adding 4+ seconds. I believe there were a number of contributing factors for this. First, she has stopped growing, so no more easy drops just because you are getting stronger. Second, she lost ALL of her good training parters. Her friends that were improving all started high school this year, which moved them up to the senior group, leaving Bailey with just 1 friend, who's not a good practicer and who's been struggling as a swimmer for 2+ years now. Third, she needed to learn how to work harder on her own. And finally, the coach worked on adjusting several of her strokes, which will invariably lead to slower times until the new stroke is ingrained. Thankfully, she had good swims at the end of the season meets (State, Sectionals, Divisionals). This really saved her season. Here is how she progressed: Code:
Bailey's best stroke is fly, and her times are very strong, in the top 10% of the nation. In fact, coming into this season she held AAAA times which is the top 5.5%, so expecting big drops when you are already in that elite area isn't reasonable. However, there is time to be dropped in the other strokes and that is where she needs to improve moving forward. Currently, Bailey is ranked 208th in the nation in the 200 fly for 13 year olds, and she's just over 400 in the 100 fly. Using a USA Swimming point system formula based on swims across all strokes, Bailey is 691st ranked 13 year old in the nation, 152nd in the zone, 16th in the Southeastern Section, and she's the top 13 year old performer on Chattahoochee Gold. Long Course Outlook This long course season will be interesting to watch. Bailey's freestyle at Northern Divisionals indicates that she's starting to get that stroke figured out. She also started making in roads with her back as the season came to a close. In addition, the head coach has indicated that Bailey (along with several other swimmers), may move up to seniors before the Summer. If this happens the practice level will increase significantly, going from 6000 to 6200 yards on a hard day to around 8200 to 8500 on a normal day. This could lead to improved strength. This will also reunite her with her preferred training partners, which also could have positive effects on her swimming. I believe regardless of the timeframe of the move up, Bailey will have a good final long course age group season. Bailey, is currently so focused on having a good long course, that she has voted to skip Summer Team. This seems to be a good omen from my perspective. If she wants to have a good season so bad she'll throw away a goof around with your friends meet, I'm guessing that means she'll be working hard at practice everyday as well. Short Course 2016/17 Outlook Bailey has indicated she wants to have a strong final Age Group State swim next year. She wants to get back into A finals of the fly swims, and she wants to challenge for finals in some other races. She's already hinted a doing additional exercises, knowing that if she isn't going to get taller/bigger, she will need to get stronger. She's also setting some goals to earn her senior cuts so when she's out of age group she'll already be qualified to swim state. ----------------------------------------------------- Bear 2015/16 Overview Bear's season, unlike Bailey who really struggled, he seemed to improve significantly across the board. Even his breaststroke looks to be miles better than it was at the start of the season. Bear swam himself to another level, climbing into the time ranges many of his 14 year old friends were swimming. Moreover, Bear in effect, won 2 state championships for 13 year olds, only getting robbed of his medal and recognition by the administrative changes in the way the event was run this year. Bear has some pretty lofty goals for 2016/17, which I'll touch on below, but his season this year certainly set him up to be able to make a run at those heights. Here is how Bear did during the season, and the numbers will speak for themselves: Code:
Bear's season saw him finish 46th nationally in the 1000 for 13 year olds. He was also 55th in the 1650. Ironically, exactly like Bailey, Bear is 208th in the 200 fly. He also has 3 other swims inside the top 200 in the nation. This illustrates how big his season was. Hopefully, he'll continue to build on this progress. Using the same point system that placed Bailey above, Bear is 301 nationally, 76th in the zone, 8th in the Southeastern Section, and 3rd on the team (actually second as 1 of the boys above has aged up at this point). Long Course Outlook Ironically, I have quite a few concerns about this long course season. Not from a stand point of how Bear will swim (I'm sure he'll work hard and do extremely well), but ultimately, how this season will play out and how that will impact his self confidence. Given Bear's strong short course, he is desperately wanting to tryout for the Georgia Zone team. It is a really cool situation, where only a small handful of kids earn the right to represent Georgia in the Zones meet at the end of the Summer. The kids that are selected get a bunch of cool stuff: (Georgia Zone team swim bag, zone team tee-shirts, goggles, tech suits, etc.). They get exposed to elite level meet atmosphere and coaching, and there are a few kids on the team that have made it recently and he wants that experience. Problem is - he won't make the team. You have to remember that the team takes very few people (like 8 per age group), and Bear will turn 14 just 3 months before he'll be competing for a spot. To make matters worse, the distance swims don't earn an automatic berth. 4 of the 8 spots will be filled by the winners of the 4 stroke sprints...leaving Bear to compete for 1 of 4 spots, and his weakness is the short sprints. Meaning he'll probalby fail to earn many (or any) points in swims that are less than 200 yards, and there are a bunch of them, which is a lot of points handed out to other swimmers. Bear will have to earn high points in all his swims to have any shot, and in addition to the 13 year olds he competes against in short course, he'll inherit many 14 year olds who will age up after zones. My biggest fears are that he goes for zones, puts too much pressure on himself and swims poorly (we've seen that happen with his friend Riley), or he tries, swims well, doesn't earn a spot and he starts to question his ability. Short Course 2016/17 Outlook Assuming nothing catastrophic happens following long course. Bear has set himself up for a huge 2016/17 short course. He's positioned to compete for championships in the distance freestyles and the 500, with top 3 finishes possible in all the hard events. Moreover, he's got a shot to be on some very strong relays (similar to his position when he was 12 and earned 8 state medals). Also, he's in a very good position for top finishes in the Sectional meet next year as well. He could bring home more than 10 medals between the two meets next year. In addition, Bear has positioned himself to compete for Gold Team records in the 200, 500, 1000, and 1650 freestyles, and his coach has already announced the 1000 record is going down next year. Bear is very excited about these challenges, and he's already started his chin up routine to get stronger through the Summer. We will be adding band work, rowing, planks, etc. soon. Note: I'm not going to guarantee that the math above is accurate - I did it in my head Note: I have a spreadsheet that shows how close the kids are to important cut times, I'll try to figure out how to format that so I can post it here |
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03-18-2016, 12:03 PM
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#748 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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Time Standards - Update
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bailey The tables below will give you a perspective on where Bailey stands in short course compaired to the cuts she'll be trying to achieve next season. If you have any questions let me know... Code:
Note: Cut times are subject to change Note: High School cuts must be swum in a high school meet during the season. (sorry for all the extra space in the code box...not sure how to get rid of it) Last edited by Breeze : 03-18-2016 at 12:43 PM. |
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03-19-2016, 11:48 PM
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#749 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: May 2003
Location: heaven
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How tall is Bear? What is his future growth outlook, genetically speaking, if he gets lucky or not so lucky? Not to discount his siblings, but he seems like he could really be something.
You mentioned adding in chin-ups and so forth. I have been wondering for a while if the swim club or high school set-up dry land workouts for the swimmers or if it is just up to you and the child to deal with it. During my two years as a high school swim coach ( I had always really been a girls soccer coach, but the AD needed a swim coach to straighten out a mess), we always started the school year doing only dry workouts. |
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03-21-2016, 09:43 AM
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#750 | |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
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Quote:
Hey Almighty, Thanks for reading along and chiming in with questions. Bear is currently about 5' 6" and 130 lbs, and he'll be turning 14 in a month. It's really difficult to determine how big he's going to be because I don't know if he's currently hitting his growth spurts early (as compared to Brett who hit his late). I'm just a hair under 5' 9", and the wife is 5' 4", which would indicate that he's not likely to be big. However, I have cousins that are 6' 4", and the wife has cousins taller than that - so there is height in the gene pool somewhere. If I had to guess, given his foot size is currently 10.5, and he's only around 14, I think he'll probably end up being around my brother's size, which would put him just a hair over 6'. As for your questions regarding dryland...it's a bit complicated. The level of dryland that is done varies greatly from team to team. Gold does do dryland 3 or 4 days a week for about half an hour. The dryland typically consists of exercises to strengthen the core (flutter kicks, bananna rolls, throw downs, planks, etc.), as well as some jumping and running. There is very little upper body or strength work. However, there are other year round teams that not only embrace the strength training but start it really early. For instance, there are 12 year olds on other teams that are already lifting weights. So the disparity between one team and another is drastic. Gold's philosophy is that they don't want young kids lifting because the number of shoulder injuries increase signficantly when kids start to lift. I happen to agree with this, especially for kids that are in middle school (and even early high schoolers). That's why we are adding in resistance band work and chin ups. Bear fully started his new routine this weekend, doing 3 sets of 30 seconds on row pulls and fly pulls with resistance bands, along with 3 sets of 5 chin ups (alternating grips), all with 30 seconds of rest in between exercises. We will do these exercises for about 3 weeks, then I'll rotate in new ones periodically. If you have any suggestions about dryland, the exercises, or my approach in general feel free to chime in. I appreciate the feedback. Last edited by Breeze : 03-21-2016 at 09:48 AM. |
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