Swim Like A Champion (a real life journal)

[Breeze]

Brett - College Swimming

I mentioned previously that Brett had been invited to an open house with Emory & Henry where he'll be able to practice with the team. I'm happy to report he's going to participate in the event and spend the night with the team again. He's very excited about it. In fact, he's so excited he's gotten back in the water regularly including swimming twice yesterday (before and after work). Moreover, he's recently bought some new goggles (albeit way too many pair - like 5 of them...and he still had his pair he used for high school - I have no idea why he would buy so many pair), and now he's asking to be put back on the Gold high school level team with the purpose of getting in shape so he can join the senior team.

In our discussions about college he now admits that he wants to go to E&H, but he is still guarded about fully committing. He's now hedging his bets by suggesting that he should get his AA at a more affordable college in town then go up to E&H and join the swim team, and in the interim he'd swim with Gold. Honestly, it isn't a bad suggestion, but I don't think he needs to plan on swimming with Gold for 2 more years, I'm afraid he'd be subjected to more of the same pressures that he felt before he quit, and Coach Andy and Brett don't click either. They get along well enough for a few months of swimming to get in shape prior to going off to college, but I'm not sure they can co-exist for 2 more years. If E&H doesn't give us enough money from our hardship request, then we may have to investigate this plan further, but I'm saying my prayers that we can afford to get him in right away.

[rjolley]

Great news. Hope everything falls into place so that he's able to get in right away.

[Breeze]

Chattahoochee Gold Cup II @ Cumming Aquatic Center - 3/24

This is the intramural type meet where the Gold team is divided into 4 separate teams and they compete against each other. It isn't a serious meet at all, and given that Coach Andy has been pushing them pretty hard recently, I don't expect much...

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Bailey

# 1 (d1/s1): G 15 & Over 100 Medley (1:09.28) - Just dropped in this one last week, I expect an add of about a second on this one...her personal best is actually 1:06.38...

# 41 (d1/s1): G 15 & Over 100 Back (1:04.07) - if there is a hope of a drop, I'd guess this is the best bet...her best is actually 1:03.88 but that is such a slight drop over her previous best that he may have a little room for more improvement.

# 51 (d1/s1): G 15 & Over 100 Fly (1:01.09) - I kind of wish she wasn't swimming this. I expect she might add several seconds this time around. Fingers are crossed that she can keep it in the 1:02 range.

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Bear

# 2 (d1/s1): B 15 & Over 100 Medley (1:06.44) - Hasn't done this one in a while, could drop here...

# 32 (d1/s1): B 15 & Over 100 Free (51.04) - I'd love to see him ease closer to sub 50, but I don't expect it.

# 52 (d1/s1): B 15 & Over 100 Fly (56.40) - again I don't see him dropping here...but I didn't expect drops last year in this event, and Bear had a few...

[Breeze]

Chattahoochee Gold Cup II - RESULTS

The kids took this meet so nonchalant that they didn't even bother to truly warm up, and times reflect that. Because of the lack of effort, I'm not going to bother to post comments, just the times for posterity's sake.

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Bailey

# 1 (d1/s1): G 15 & Over 100 Medley (1:09.28) - 1:10.28

# 41 (d1/s1): G 15 & Over 100 Back (1:04.07) - 1:06.72

# 51 (d1/s1): G 15 & Over 100 Fly (1:01.09) - 1:08.23

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Bear

# 2 (d1/s1): B 15 & Over 100 Medley (1:06.44) - 1:00.37

# 32 (d1/s1): B 15 & Over 100 Free (51.04) - 53.61

# 52 (d1/s1): B 15 & Over 100 Fly (56.40) - 57.89

[Breeze]

General Update - Brett

Brett returned to Gold practice last night (4/9) for the first time in about a year. He's currently on the high school level team, which will swim around 5000 yards rather than the 7500 or so that the senior team puts in, and it only meets 3 days a week. This is a huge step for Brett to get back in the pool and it was completely at his request. He took ownership and approached Coach Andy about rejoining the team, even volunteering the fact that he'd be happy to start on the high school team and try to work his way back to seniors.

He seemed to enjoy it, but he admitted that he was way out of shape. In fact, he implied that after 75 yards his strokes started to fall apart, and anything 200 or longer was practically torture. Hopefully, he's not too sore for practice today...

As for college swimming, we are still waiting to hear back on our petition for additional money due to my cancer. So no update on that yet. However, Brett is very nervous about getting away from home, which isn't surprising because he's not real good with change and going off to college will be the biggest change he's ever experienced thus far.

[Breeze]

Brett - College Swimming

After providing E&H with 2 years of tax returns, filling out numerous forms, and writing out a petition explaining how my cancer treatments are impacting our financial situation we finally heard back from the school on our petition for additional funds. We were granted an additional $1000, which is nice but far short of what I hoped we would get. This leaves us with a pretty significant gap. We are examining everything trying to find a way to make it work, but I'm not sure we will be able to justify the cost. I don't think I can express my level of disappointment right now.

[JAG]

Very sorry for the news, but hopeful that it will work out one way or another.

[Breeze]

General Update

I may have mentioned it previously, but Bear was applying to be a team captain for the South Forsyth Swimming next year. Unfortunately, the new coach is only looking for senior captains. It's disappointing, but knowing Bear, it won't phase him.

[Breeze]

Brett - College Swimming

Brett committed to attend Emory & Henry last night! He has for years said the ideal college for him would be: small, Christian (but not overbearingly so), in a small town, beautiful campus, good reputation academically, and one that he could swim on. E&H checks all those boxes. Despite that it wasn't an easy decision for him, as he really questioned whether he was ready to go off on his own (and for good reason given his track record at school). He felt going to a local college for the first 2 years might be a better idea, but ultimately we told him that staying home wouldn't change any of the concerns about being ready to go off on his own, it would simply delay them. We convinced him that the nervousness he was feeling was normal, that we would be available for him if he needed anything, and that being timid doesn't lead to big things. We told him not to be afraid of failing but to be afraid of not taking a chance when an opportunity presents itself.

Finally after much deliberation he paid the fee for enrollment and he's currently planning to go to orientation and registration on May 11th.

Coach Skinner at E&H was trilled to hear he was coming and he sent him a letter to sign for a ceremony, and he asked Brett for a picture of him swimming or in E&H gear that he can put up on the team's Facebook site.

Coach Andy was also happy for Brett. He has asked if Brett would like to attend the senior dinner for Gold swimmers, where he will announce his college swimming plans to the rest of the team. He also offered to put an announcement on the Gold Facebook site as well.

After initially being a bit apprehensive about going off to E&H, after making the decision his energy and excitement at the prospect has risen considerably. It's as if a weight was lifted off of his shoulders and he seems ready to roll. I expect we will run into a few more cold feet moments, but I doubt they will meet the level of the ones prior to signing, especially after the momentum and excitement the decision seems to have created with the family, teammates and coaches at Gold, and teammates and coaches at E&H.

[JonInMiddleGA]

That's great news, very happy for you one & all.

(And, yes, the sense of relief on the other side of a decision is great stuff)

[rjolley]

Congratulations, Brett! Very glad to hear that he decided to take that step into the unknown. I've been having similar conversations with my oldest daughters. Being afraid of growing up and being on your own is natural, but you can't let that stop you from living your life and going after what you want.

Please keep us up on how he's doing.

[Breeze]

General Update - Bailey

Found out recently that Bailey will be able to graduate next year if she wanted to. She is going to dual enroll (take some college courses next year) and in doing so she will meet her 4 year/credit requirement in English. Because she took high school credit classes in 8th grade for Math and Science she'll also meet the 4 year/credit requirements for those as a junior as well. Currently, she's not planning to graduate, she's going to stay for her senior year, partially to give herself as much time to improve in swimming as possible and to continue to take college courses for free. She'll take 1 class in high school and 4 more dual enrolled. By the time she graduates high school she will have 36 college credit hours.

[rjolley]

Congratulations to Bailey.

[Breeze]

General Update - Bear

An interesting situation is developing for Bear. If you've been reading for a while you may recall several write ups where I mention Zones. When the kids were in age group swimming zones came down to a point total based on performances in the state meet. At the senior level the zones score is determined based on the regular season outcomes and senior participation is also limited to kids that don't have Summer National times. This season the senior men haven't been as interested in competing, leaving a couple of spots open, and they are very interested in getting Bear to fill one of those places.

At home we discussed this possibility (as well as Open Water Zones but that's another story) earlier in the season, but Bear wasn't that intrigued because none of his friends were planning to go. However, with him being actively recruited he might be inclined to change his mind. The event would take place July 31st to August 4 in Midland, TX. It's a great opportunity I'd love to see Bear be a part of, but it will cost close to $1000, which means he'd have to help pay for it and it would cut into his car budget significantly. It'll be interesting to see what he decides to do.

[Breeze]

General Update

In this thread I've mentioned a kid, Jack Dolan, several times. He swam against Brett is summer league, he swam with Brett on the Forsyth County All-Star team, he later joined Gold and his ability really took off. He left for St. Louis, and quickly developed into an elite national level swimmer, including breaking Michael Phelps' 15 year old National Age Group Record in the 50 freestyle. He is currently the #1 recruit in the nation for 2019, and he's verbally committed to swim for Bob Bowman and Michael Phelps at Arizona State.

Also, Jada Foelske, who I believe I've mentioned in some of Bailey's write ups when I talk about the strength of her age group, she's the #1 female recruit in Georgia and the #48th recruit in the nation for 2019, she's also committed to swim for Arizona State.

Keep an eye out on these 2 swimmers. Jack should be in line to compete for a spot on the Olympic Team in 2020, and Jada will be looking to get on the German Olympic Team as well.

[Breeze]

General Update - Bear

Bear elected to pass on swimming for Georgia at Zones. Probably a smart decision as it would have put him on a different taper schedule from the rest of the team, and really doesn't want to miss his taper after have the bad experience in Cary just a few months ago...

[Breeze]

Brett - College Swimming

This is just a quick note to record that fact that Brett got a late offer from another school. Ashland College in Ohio offered. Brett has no interest in pursuing anything, but figured it was worth reporting.

Also, while Brett has rejoined the Gold team, his time in the water the last 2 weeks has been very limited, due to the fact he was promoted to a manager at the pool. He's currently being trained on the manager's responsibilities which unfortunately, coincides with practice times. While he's out of the water, the $5/hour raise will help him save a lot more money to help pay for Emory & Henry.

[Breeze]

Brett - Emory & Henry

Brett received his off season work out packet from the E&H strength and conditioning coach. At first blush it looked like he was expected to do a pretty extreme workout, however, after getting into it yesterday, it became obvious the long list of conditioning workouts are rotated through the weeks rather than all done each day.

This work out puts us in a bit of a bind, because to do all the workouts correctly, he really needs to join a gym. In the interim we will use his 10 lb dumbbells and 12 lb medicine ball as his weights.

There is a pretty extensive warm up routine. There are about 15 different items that he'll do to get blood flowing and to stretch prior to his workout. The second phase of the warm up is a yoga stretch of the shoulder joints and then a session of ankle flex and strength building.

The lifts are next, and I use the term lifts loosely, because there are other items mixed into the workout like - squat jumps, broad jumps, ab work, etc. Currently, most of the items are dumbbell lifts, so it is possible for him to get most of the work done at home for now. The lifts are pretty basic - shoulder press, bent rows, dead lifts, dumbbell steps, dumbbell calf lifts, dumbbell press, etc. He is currently expected to do 1 set of 20...with increases in weight when it becomes too easy. (some of the exercises are more than 20...)

The conditioning portion of the workout comes after the lifting...here the exercises alternate significantly from week to week. There is speed training, sprint training, and agility training sets...but typically Brett will do just 1 of the different types each day.

The workouts are initially designed to be done Mon, Wed, Fri, then after the 8th week, he should move to Mon, Tues, Thur, Fri. Given that the workout was actually sent about 10 days ago, that initial 8 weeks for the 3 day a week workout will probably have to be shortened to 6 weeks.

Given Brett's work schedule and swimming he will have to really work to get this strength training in. It will be interesting to see how dedicated he is. If he will do this work diligently, I suspect he'll be much stronger by the time he starts college at the end of August.

[Breeze]

General Update - Bailey

Last night, for the first time ever, Bailey mentioned she probably wasn't going to swim in college. I have to admit I'm disappointed to hear this but not just because I want her to swim, but because she's clearly frustrated with the past few years.

She stated during her talk that she really hadn't improved in years and she didn't feel she was good enough to swim in college, and while she has struggled recently, the thought that she wasn't good enough to swim in college is crazy. There are a number of teams where she would be the best butterflier the moment she steps on campus. However, I believe there is more to the "I haven't improved in years" part of the statement. I think she is frustrated with her results and given how hard the sport is, I think she's feeling like it might not be worth the effort going forward. She said she'd wait to see if she gets any improvements but right now she's leaning toward giving it up after graduation.

She could really use a good year...I hope all of her hard work starts paying off soon.

[JAG]

Hopefully a year where she isn't as snakebit with injuries and illnesses too. Tough to hear that frustration from your daughter.

[Breeze]

2018 SE GPAC Tom Lalor Invitational @ UWF Aquatic Center, Pensacola, FL - 6/1-6/3

It seems like forever since the kids have had a race...unfortunately, the first long course meet will be before the kids are truly acclimated to a long course pool (the practice pool just changed to long course on 5/29), and it will be a travel meet. I really don't have any feel for how the kids will do in this less than ideal situation, plus it's been so long since they last swam long course the times aren't even familiar to me yet.

Here is what they will be swimming:

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Bailey

# 47 (d2/s3): G Open 50 Fly (32.65L)
# 51 (d2/s3): G Open 200 Free (2:22.86L)
# 59 (d2/s3): G Open 200 Fly (2:32.27L)
# 65C (d2/s3): G 15 & Over 400 Free (5:02.16L)
# 85 (d3/s5): G Open 100 Free (1:09.09L)
# 89 (d3/s5): G Open 200 Back (2:38.21L)
# 97 (d3/s5): G Open 200 Medley (2:38.71L)
# 99D (d3/s5): G 15 & Over 800 Free (10:33.38L)


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Bear

# 48 (d2/s3): B Open 50 Fly (30.89L)
# 52 (d2/s3): B Open 200 Free (2:07.37L)
# 60 (d2/s3): B Open 200 Fly (2:18.82L)
# 66C (d2/s3): B 15 & Over 400 Free (4:28.39L)
# 86 (d3/s5): B Open 100 Free (1:00.40L)
# 98 (d3/s5): B Open 200 Medley (2:21.79L)
# 100D (d3/s5): B 15 & Over 1500 Free (17:17.92L)

[Breeze]

2018 SE GPAC Tom Lalor Invitational - RESULTS

It wasn't a great meet, but it never seems to be...
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Bailey

# 47 (d2/s3): G Open 50 Fly (32.65L) - NS - didn't swim it because her back was bothering her and fly makes it much worse

# 51 (d2/s3): G Open 200 Free (2:22.86L) - 2:30.60 - an 8 second add, but most of her teammates added a similar amount of time

# 59 (d2/s3): G Open 200 Fly (2:32.27L) - NS - like the 50 she elected not to swim fly

# 65C (d2/s3): G 15 & Over 400 Free (5:02.16L) - 5:12.38 - started out strong, but faded to 1:20 splits late...warm water pool probably has something to do with that...

# 85 (d3/s5): G Open 100 Free (1:09.09L) - 1:10.25 - very encouraging here - non-tapered she is only about a second off her personal best...that hopefully indicates she could drop at the end of the season.

# 89 (d3/s5): G Open 200 Back (2:38.21L) - 2:43.61 - again an add, but 5 seconds in a 200 isn't all that alarming. She was adding 8 or more non-tapered in short course...

# 97 (d3/s5): G Open 200 Medley (2:38.71L) - 2:49.91 - this was a poor swim and I'm not sure why. The splits aren't broken down by 50 so I can't tell if breast is a problem again or if her back pain made the fly really slow or a little of both.

# 99D (d3/s5): G 15 & Over 800 Free (10:33.38L) - 10:42.81 - this was a really ugly swim for most of the girls...other teammates added 21.4, 33.6, 24.7,1:01, 32.7 - so feeling pretty good about the 9.49 Bailey added...


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Bear

400 Medley Relay - - Bear swam fly leg on the Gold B relay team - he swam a 1:06.46 - this was over a second off his personal best and with a rolling start so not a good sign...

# 48 (d2/s3): B Open 50 Fly (30.89L) - 30:84 - a personal best swim, but not all that impressive...50s in the off strokes aren't typically competed in once a swimmer leaves the 12 and under age group...so this was an old time that he just beat by an eye blink

# 52 (d2/s3): B Open 200 Free (2:07.37L) - 2:08.09 - this on the other hand was a nice swim. Untapered and heavily trained coming in to come within a second of a personal best is strong.

# 60 (d2/s3): B Open 200 Fly (2:18.82L) - 2:22.27 - under the circumstances this seems like an ok swim. I doubt he was pleased but its still in striking distance of a PB.

# 66C (d2/s3): B 15 & Over 400 Free (4:28.39L) - after doing a 200 free and a 200 fly trying to do a 400 free is a tall order...but Bear managed to do it in style - 4:27.64 - not even remotely sure how he had the energy to drop that swim, but it was a nice one.

# 86 (d3/s5): B Open 100 Free (1:00.40L) - 58.75 - so a personal best in the 100 and the 400 free - seems like the freestyle form is pretty good...

# 98 (d3/s5): B Open 200 Medley (2:21.79L) - 2:31.37 - this was a bad swim...Bear had mentioned he was really struggling with his backstroke so that might be the issue here...no way to tell because the splits were just on the 100s.

# 100D (d3/s5): B 15 & Over 1500 Free (17:17.92L) - was hoping for a good one here after the other strong freestyles, but it didn't happen. 17:41.18 - his splits were all over the place - and he does struggle to maintain his speed a bit in the long course pool...it was good for him to get a long course distance free event in, unfortunately I don't think he'll get another one before state.

[Breeze]

General Update - Bailey

Bailey's back pain has returned and is severe enough that we took her to the doctor the day before we left for vacation. After her exam the doctor had us schedule an MRI so he can get a better look at what's going on. I'll update when I know more, but I do know a teammate who was having back pain (and went to the same doctor) was forced to sit out 6 weeks...so I expect Bailey will at a minimum receive similar instructions.

[Breeze]

General Update - Bailey

We got the results from Bailey's MRI yesterday. The good news is there is no structural damage. There is some compression between the L4 and L5, but it isn't pinching anything and it isn't severe so it shouldn't be causing the pain she's currently experiencing. The bad news is, the doctor has no idea what is causing the problem. She's has a steroid pack and some non-steroid anti-inflammatory pills to take over the next several weeks, and she's been pulled from the pool for the remainder of the long course season. The doctor hopes time off and the pills will get any inflammation out of the joints and allow her to resume swimming pain free in the late summer. She does have ab strengthening exercises that she'll need to do as well to counteract the overly strong back muscles.

Bailey is a little upset about having to get out of the pool, because it is basically the central point of her social life. However, honestly, this is probably the best news we could have received. No structural damage is huge, and she wasn't planning to swim at the long course state meet anyway, so sitting out right now, while not ideal, couldn't have come at a better time. Saying my prayers this works and she can start swimming pain free. She indicated her back has bothered her on and off for a couple of years. Maybe if she can get the back healthy she can start dropping time again.

[Breeze]

Bear - College Swimming

The NCAA has recently updated their recruiting rules regarding swimming, and I'm not exactly sure what the new guidelines are regarding times and methods of acceptable contact but, as Bear is entering the summer before his junior year, he is starting to get some interest. He has recently received emails from:


U.S. Military Academy, Army - (D1) - Army was pretty quick to highlight their interest in Bear on the website with his recruiting profile, and they emailed him last night to further express their interest and outline all they have to offer. I'm not sure what the current military commitment is for a West Point graduate, but if Bear pursues this further I'll provide whatever details we learn.


Queens University - (D2) - Queens just won their 4th straight men's and women's D2 National Championship. They contacted him and asked him to fill out their recruiting profile. I'm assuming this is a way of narrowing down their contact lists, while making sure the recruit meets all the requirements to get into the school.

[Breeze]

Bailey - College Swimming

Seems a little odd to talk about Bailey and college swimming while she is currently on the shelf resting an injury, but given that we are approaching her junior year it seems appropriate to mention schools she's heard from:


University of the Cumberlands (NAIA)

Asbury University (NAIA)

Grinnell College (D3)

Berry College (D3)


These 4 schools have done more than simply send out the generic form letter stating their interest. All have contacted her on multiple occasions and all are pushing her to set up a visit. Currently, there is much to report about Bailey's interest, right now she is focused on getting better and getting her driver's license. Will update things when I know more.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Breeze

Bailey - College Swimming

University of the Cumberlands (NAIA)

Asbury University (NAIA)

Grinnell College (D3)

Berry College (D3)

Of those, the one I actually know fairly well is (of course) Berry. It's not an environment that suits everybody but one thing that's pretty undeniable is that they've got a really pretty campus.

[Breeze]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Of those, the one I actually know fairly well is (of course) Berry. It's not an environment that suits everybody but one thing that's pretty undeniable is that they've got a really pretty campus.

Yeah, I've driven over there several times and it is one amazing campus...I actually think it would be a great fit for Bailey, but right now she doesn't seem too interested, in fact, she seems more inclined to look out of state (assuming she gets enough money that she'll be able to afford it).

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Breeze

Bailey - College Swimming

Seems a little odd to talk about Bailey and college swimming while she is currently on the shelf resting an injury, but given that we are approaching her junior year it seems appropriate to mention schools she's heard from:


University of the Cumberlands (NAIA)

Asbury University (NAIA)

Grinnell College (D3)

Berry College (D3)


These 4 schools have done more than simply send out the generic form letter stating their interest. All have contacted her on multiple occasions and all are pushing her to set up a visit. Currently, there is much to report about Bailey's interest, right now she is focused on getting better and getting her driver's license. Will update things when I know more.

I've heard great things about Grinnell, having grown up in the Midwest. One of the Hidden Ivies, and of course they're most known nationally for their crazy basketball system.

[Breeze]

Originally Posted by Izulde

I've heard great things about Grinnell, having grown up in the Midwest. One of the Hidden Ivies, and of course they're most known nationally for their crazy basketball system.

Good to know...I'll do some more digging into that school...

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Breeze

Yeah, I've driven over there several times and it is one amazing campus...I actually think it would be a great fit for Bailey, but right now she doesn't seem too interested, in fact, she seems more inclined to look out of state (assuming she gets enough money that she'll be able to afford it).

I can completely relate to that honestly. Their mandatory campus work thing was a strike for me even way back in the day, as was the lack of distance (Dad is from Rome and I had relatives all over town at that point in the 80s). I will say that, best I can tell, the heavily rural/agrarian feel the school had back in the 80s & into the 90s seems to be less of a thing today.

I will also note -- since I looked it up in conjunction with this topic -- that I'm surprised to discover that neither Shorter nor Reinhardt have swimming programs yet. (for those outside the geography, those are probably the two closest colleges to Berry, one in the same town & the other maybe 30 mins away)

[Breeze]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I can completely relate to that honestly. Their mandatory campus work thing was a strike for me even way back in the day, as was the lack of distance (Dad is from Rome and I had relatives all over town at that point in the 80s). I will say that, best I can tell, the heavily rural/agrarian feel the school had back in the 80s & into the 90s seems to be less of a thing today.

I will also note -- since I looked it up in conjunction with this topic -- that I'm surprised to discover that neither Shorter nor Reinhardt have swimming programs yet. (for those outside the geography, those are probably the two closest colleges to Berry, one in the same town & the other maybe 30 mins away)

Between Reinhardt, Shorter, and UNG, I'm disappointed that none have stepped up to field a swim team. I realize swimming is an expensive sport if you have an on campus pool you have to take care of, but UNG already has a pool that they are making available to the students (at least they used to) and it could be used for practices and meets could be run at the Cumming Aquatic Center (right across the parking lot from one of their satellite campuses). Not sure if Reinhardt or Shorter have a SCY pool on premises, but there are a number of pools in the area that could be used as Georgia is a big swim state. These schools could have pretty good teams overnight if they decided to get into the sport.

[thealmighty]

Does Bear being a good distance swimmer entice more schools to maybe be interested? I would think there are far fewer kids who excel at longer races?

[Breeze]

Originally Posted by thealmighty

Does Bear being a good distance swimmer entice more schools to maybe be interested? I would think there are far fewer kids who excel at longer races?

Interesting question...to a certain extent your assessment is accurate, the number of sprinters far exceeds the number of mid distance swimmers which far exceeds the number of full distance swimmers, so the pool of people colleges have to choose from is much smaller. However, there are less events a distance swimmer can score in, usually it's just the 1000 or 1650 free (whichever that conference uses for their championship meet - both events aren't typically swum at a conference championship), and the 500 free (which mid-distancers also swim). Making matters worse a typical distance swimmer won't help in any of the 5 relays, which creates a situation in many colleges where distance swimmers aren't recruited as hard do to the limited return.

There are some exceptions to that rule, like the distance swimmer that is good enough in another event that they can score. Typically, for distance freestylers that's the 200 Free, which also means that the swimmer can be part of the 800 free relay, but that additional slot where a distance swimmer can score could be anything. The distance swimmers that have the ability to score in 3 events become extremely valuable, and they are ones that colleges fight over. Obviously, what it takes to score varies depending on Division and Conference, so that's where the research into teams, conference final results, etc. comes into play.

As we get deeper into recruiting, I'll post information on where Bear fits on the team and in conference to provide you with some perspective. I'll do the same for Bailey as well, if she decides to continue to pursue college swimming.

[Breeze]

2018 Georgia Open @ GaTech - 7/6 - 7/8


Finally, a swim meet that I'll be able to watch. I'm pretty sure the last one I saw was in March...I'm going through withdrawal. Unfortunately, I won't get to see the Friday swims, as I have to work, but it'll be good to watch Bear race again. The only thing that would make it better is if Bailey were swimming too.

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Bear

# 2B (d1/s1): B 15 & Over 200 Medley (2:21.79L)
# 6B (d1/s1): B 15 & Over 100 Fly (1:05.30L)
# 22B (d1/s1): B 15 & Over 100 Free (58.76L)
# 44B (d2/s4): B 15 & Over 50 Free (28.23L)
# 48B (d2/s4): B 15 & Over 50 Fly (30.84L)
# 56B (d2/s4): B 15 & Over 200 Free (2:07.37L)
# 71 (d3/s7): X 11 & Over 400 Medley (5:08.43L)


It is interesting Bear has no real distance stuff in this meet. Plus he's also not doing the 200 Fly, or any backstroke, instead he has a couple of 50s. I believe this is an effort on the coaches part not to overwork him in a non-taper meet. The swims where a drop in time could make the most impact for Bear in his recruiting score are the 400 IM and 200 Free. The 50 Free is a wild card because a good swim in that event could demonstrate his ability to swim sprint free relays on some of the smaller schools that he might have interest in. Given this isn't a taper meet I don't expect any significant drops.

[Breeze]

General Update

Just a quick note to inform you that 3 swimmers that my kids have competed against are currently in a position to represent the US at the upcoming Jr. Pan Pac games. The team is comprised of the top 2 finishers in each event and if the total of 20 swimmers isn't met by taking those automatic qualifiers additional swimmers will be added based on need (unlike many other international meets in the Pan Pacs the top 6 100 and 200 freestylers are not given higher priority)

Jack Dolan, who I've mentioned several times previously in this thread, is currently T3rd in the 100 free, and 5th in the 100 back. A good swim and he'll get an automatic spot, but regardless I believe he'll be representing the US at this event, even if he just swims relays.

Jake Magahey, who is the top Georgia swimmer for the class of 2020, is currently seeded 3rd in the 200 Free, 2nd in the 400 Free, and 3rd in the 800 Free...he's not seeded in the 1500 Free, but that has more to do with the fact Georgia doesn't offer the full 1500 very often during the year. He will almost certainly make the team as well.

Ian Grum, who is the top Georgia swimmer for the class of 2019 (and already committed to UGA), is 3rd in the 200 back. A good swim gets him an automatic bit, but given he's not one of the top 100 backstrokers, if he doesn't get the automatic it will be much tougher for him to get one of the at large spots.

[Breeze]

General Update

The ODAC Conference where Emory & Henry competes is getting its 11th men's team and 12th women's team for the upcoming season. University of Lynchburg will be converting their club team to a full D3 squad.

Edit: I reading differing reports on when the team will officially convert to D3...it could be the 2019-20 season...

[Breeze]

2018 Georgia Open @ GaTech - 7/6 - 7/8

Well...didn't get to watch as much of this as I had hoped (ended up helping Bailey paint her room Saturday instead)...but it was nice to get back to a meet anyway...

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Bear

# 2B (d1/s1): B 15 & Over 200 Medley (2:21.79L) - Bear has commented numerous times that his backstroke is a real problem right now and, apparently is breaststroke is a bit rusty too because he added almost 8.5 seconds in this one. He mentioned he was sore and felt stiff throughout the race, but even with that, he wouldn't add that much time unless some strokes need work. 2:30.25. At this point, it's debatable if he'll even swim this event at state in a few weeks.

# 6B (d1/s1): B 15 & Over 100 Fly (1:05.30L) - got an eye blink drop to 1:05.12...he doesn't have the state cut for this swim, but he could time trial this one. Given he dropped untapered I'd expect a decent drop when he's shaved and tapered.

# 22B (d1/s1): B 15 & Over 100 Free (58.76L) - slight add...59.37 - but another one he might be in a decent position to time trail at state.

# 44B (d2/s4): B 15 & Over 50 Free (28.23L) - dropped down to a 28.03, which is a personal best, but this is one personal best he wasn't happy with, stating that he routinely breaks 28 flat in practice and he should have gone 27 mid even untapered.

# 48B (d2/s4): B 15 & Over 50 Fly (30.84L) - drop of over a second, but pretty sure this is an old time, because the 50 fly isn't swum in competition at the state meets, so it is a race that Bear doesn't do often. 29.80

# 56B (d2/s4): B 15 & Over 200 Free (2:07.37L) - a nice swim in prelims of 2:05.64, was a personal best and earned Bear a spot in the finals that same night, where he managed to go slightly faster by posting a second personal best in the event of 2:05.41...almost a 2 second drop from his seed time when all was said and done.

# 71 (d3/s7): X 11 & Over 400 Medley (5:08.43L) - Scratched - due to his struggles in the 200 IM, and his good swim in the 200 Free he was going to approach his coach about scratching this swim and replacing it with the 400 free, but before he could make the suggestion, the coach told him he wanted him to do exactly that....

# 73 X 11 & Over 400 Free - - Bear entered this event on Standby, which means he stands by the official and waits for an empty lane. Usually, this isn't a big deal, but Bear had to wait until the 9th heat before he got an open spot, which did 2 things...first, he warmed up in preparation for this race then he had to try and stay warm for about 45 minutes before his turn came up. That's a lot of hopping around. Second, he was forced to swim in a heat where there was no one he could race, as he was way out in front of the field by the first 25 meters. However, he did still manage to drop time posting a 4:26.77, which is around a 2 second drop - I think he'll positioned to swim this one really well at state.

[Breeze]

Emory & Henry Update

Brett has orientation tomorrow 7/14, so we will be heading up to Virginia this afternoon. This will be the wife's first visit to the school, and she's very excited to see it.

[Breeze]

General Update

Brett is still swimming with Gold 3 days a week, but his schedule has limited his availability, and the Gold season will be ending next week. So in an effort to get in better shape prior to going off to college, he is starting to swim 5 or 6 days a week, mixing in some of his coaches workouts with the ones Gold runs. After next week when Gold is off, he'll continue to swim 5 to 6 days a week doing just his E&H coach's workouts.

Bailey swam today for the first time since shutting it down with back pain. She ended up joining Brett who swam one of the workouts his coach emailed him prior to the Summer. She reported no pain...she did mention she was really out of shape, but otherwise fine.

Bear apparently strained his back a bit doing dry land exercises yesterday. This comes at a very bad time with State just over a week away. He laid on an acupressure mat for a while yesterday and did some stretching which seemed to help, and he reported no real issues today in practice. Fingers crossed that the tweak doesn't act up.

[Breeze]

Emory & Henry Update

Should have updated this a while back, but the trip up to the school was great. Brett was super excited and actually asked us to go by the school on the Friday when we arrived. He wanted to show Cathy around, and during his "tour" he was highly animated. The actual orientation was interesting. For the most part Brett was split off from us. We basically only sat together for opening remarks and 1 session on what it take so to be successful at the school.

The session on being successful was very interesting. The professor talked about a bunch of topics, but throughout the discussion he would use examples of former students and their experiences. Interestingly, each of the stories seemed to coincide with one of the students sitting in the class. For instance, with Brett he discussed a kid with a pretty low GPA, but decent test scores who came from a big high school with over 700 in his graduating class, that just didn't click in high school. He felt lost and overlooked and never seemed to connect with teachers, but when he arrived at E&H he took the time to develop a relationship with his professors, and he made friends with other good students and 4 years later he was walking across the stage getting his diploma. The discussion was much more involved, but you get the idea, and I'm not naive enough to believe that he didn't look at Brett's transcript prior to identifying the student used in the discussion. Hopefully, this talk registered with him and he uses the resources available to him to stay on top of his studies once school starts.

His next big date is August 25th, which is move in day.

[Breeze]

2018 Georgia Senior State Championships @ UGA Natatorium - 7/27 - 7/30

Bear's one true taper meet of the season. He took the week off from work so he could rest and not risk messing up the taper. He's apparently feeling good and he mentioned have a good practice early this week, so hopefully we will see some good results.

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Bear

# 6 (d1/s1): M Open 200 Free (1:45.91Y) - The entry time here is a short course time, as his long course personal best didn't meet the qualification standard. His time in a long course pool is 2:05.41. I hope he drops time here to help him have a good mindset for the meet. After his struggles at Sectionals, I really want to see him succeed.

# 12 (d1/s1): M Open 400 Medley (4:11.59Y) - Again the seed time is short course... I don't know what to expect here...he's really struggling with backstroke and while his breast has never been strong, I get the impression it is also off right now, which could lead to a very slow time...but with the taper it is possible I'm wrong.

# 18 (d2/s3): M Open 200 Fly (2:18.82L) - This is his time from last year at this event, so I expect at least a small drop in time.

# 28 (d2/s3): M Open 400 Free (4:41.77Y) - another short course seed time - his best long course is actually a 4:26.77 from early this month. He wasn't particularly pleased with that time so I think he expects to do much better here.

# 38 (d3/s5): M Open 200 Medley (2:21.79L) - My bet right now would be that he doesn't swim this race at all. If he does well in the 400 IM, it's possible the coach will have him swim it, but given his IM struggles so far this season, and the fact the 1500 is later in the day, the coach might have him rest up for a race where he could potentially drop a bunch of time.

# 42 (d3/s5): M Open 1500 Free (17:17.92L) - seed time here from last year and given he only gets to swim this once a season with a taper that isn't all that surprising. With a good swim in this event Bear can significantly impact his recruiting score for college. Not sure how much time he should drop, and he typically is slightly slower long course (I think because he doesn't get feedback as consistently in the bigger pool and he has a tendency to come off his pace a little) but I think somewhere around 16:45 would be a good swim.


There is a probability that Bear will time trial a few events. It's likely he'll add the 100 Free and 100 Fly. He has a shot with a good swim of getting state cuts in both of these events. He might also swim the 50 Free - I don't think he can get the cut in this one, but a good time even if it isn't a state cut could benefit him in recruiting.

[Breeze]

2018 Georgia Senior State Championships - RESULTS

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Bear

# 6 (d1/s1): M Open 200 Free (1:45.91Y) - Bear opened the meet with a strong swim posting a personal best time of 2:01.03 this was a 4.5 second drop from his previous personal best...it was also good enough to get him into finals on night 1, which is a big deal considering there were a large number of college swimmers competing in this meet...

# 12 (d1/s1): M Open 400 Medley (4:11.59Y) - The fly leg looked good and Bear was second to the wall after the opening 100...the back was painfully bad, as he fell from second to second to last in the second 100. His breast was ok, not as good as it was last year, but ok, and he finished strong in freestyle. He posted a personal best time of 4:57.93, which was about an 11 second drop, but some of that improvement was due to the fact his previous best was almost 2 years old because he never swam this event tapered in 2017.

# 6 (d1/s1): M Open 200 Free FINALS (2:01.03) - He wasn't able to match his swim from the morning going a solid 2:02.70....

#14 M Open 800 Free Relay - Bear was one of the 4 swimmers in the 800 Free Relay...he did ok swimming in the neighborhood of a 2:03 split. The team finished their typical 5th...

# 18 (d2/s3): M Open 200 Fly (2:18.82L) - A strong swim to start day 2, as Bear drops another 4.5 seconds in a 200 swim to post a personal best time of 2:14.39. Bear also made finals in this event...

# 28 (d2/s3): M Open 400 Free (4:41.77Y) - Bear managed to drop 11 seconds in this 400, just like the 400 IM...posting a personal best time of 4:15.95. This time to make finals he needed to be in the top 16 swimmers because the long events only swim 2 finals at night, and he managed to get in.

# 18 (d2/s3): M Open 200 Fly FINALS (2:14.39L) - Bear swam hard, but he came up just short of his morning swim posting a 2:14.85

# 28 (d2/s3): M Open 400 Free FINALS (4:15.95Y) - As with his other finals swims, Bear failed to improve again...this time he added a just over a second posting a 4:17.25. I wasn't surprised by the lack of improvement, in fact, I expected he would add time this evening...the 200 fly, 400 free double is a tough one and doing it twice in one day really takes it's toll...

# 38 (d3/s5): M Open 200 Medley (2:21.79L) - As expected Bear scratched this event.

# 42 (d3/s5): M Open 1500 Free (17:17.92L) - remember I mentioned that the double double from Saturday really takes a toll...well I believe the results here are a direct result of his difficult schedule. He swam a very disappointing 7:18.53...he added just over half a second. He really wanted to do well in this one and this is the one that could have positively impacted his recruiting score. Unfortunate that he wasn't able to draw on the swimming he had the first couple of days for this one.

[Breeze]

General Update

The twins start practice for their 2018-19 short course season today. Neither Bailey or Bear swam much during the break so they will struggle for a while. I'm hoping that Bailey's back issues are healed up and she can swim pain free for the first time in a while.

[Breeze]

General Update - Bailey

Bailey's back is starting to bother her again, but surprisingly it isn't from swimming, it's from sitting all day at school. In fact, she reported her back was bothering her a little before she even got back in the water (I wasn't aware of this until last night). This is extremely concerning to me. She has her follow up with the doctor soon, so hopefully, he'll have a suggestion that will help alleviate this problem.

[Breeze]

Emory & Henry Swimming - Brett

We will leave on Friday to take Brett up to college. He will move into his dorm Saturday morning.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Breeze

General Update - Bailey

Bailey's back is starting to bother her again, but surprisingly it isn't from swimming, it's from sitting all day at school. In fact, she reported her back was bothering her a little before she even got back in the water (I wasn't aware of this until last night). This is extremely concerning to me. She has her follow up with the doctor soon, so hopefully, he'll have a suggestion that will help alleviate this problem.

I know this is a pretty longshot -- and she's past the age where it's really so much of "a thing" afaik -- but I'm gonna throw it out there any way. Is she a backpack/bookbag kid?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Breeze

Emory & Henry Swimming - Brett

We will leave on Friday to take Brett up to college. He will move into his dorm Saturday morning.

Good vibes, well wishes, prayers, et al for him (and ya'll).

[Breeze]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I know this is a pretty longshot -- and she's past the age where it's really so much of "a thing" afaik -- but I'm gonna throw it out there any way. Is she a backpack/bookbag kid?

Good call, we actually fussed at her last year about her backpack being to heavy and forced her to take several items out. This year it isn't as big of a deal because she has 2 separate backpacks - one for her college courses and 1 for high school, which splits the load nicely. We are hoping this will help going forward.

Thanks for the advice.

[Breeze]

Originally Posted by Breeze

General Update

Jake Magahey, who is the top Georgia swimmer for the class of 2020, is currently seeded 3rd in the 200 Free, 2nd in the 400 Free, and 3rd in the 800 Free...he's not seeded in the 1500 Free, but that has more to do with the fact Georgia doesn't offer the full 1500 very often during the year. He will almost certainly make the team as well.

So a while back I posted about the possibility that 3 athletes my kids swim with might make the Jr. Pan Pac team...well as it turns out Jake Magahey did. In fact, in his first swim, 200 Meter Free he missed breaking Caleb Dressel's national record for 16U by .01 seconds. He then followed that up last night by teaming up to break the Pan Pac record in the 4 x 200 Relay, and his best events are typically the longer swims.