Swim Like A Champion (a real life journal)

[Breeze]

Emory & Henry - ODAC Championships - DAY 2, PRELIM RESULTS

Brett was looking at two individual events on Day 2, the 100 breast and surprisingly the 400 IM.

200 Yard Medley Relay

- 6) E&H Women - (2:01.14) - Trotter (back), Mumpower (breast), Sweigart (fly), Simmons (free), swam the relay in 2:04.57, and finished 6th. I expected this relay to be reworked for finals.

- 7) E&H Men - (1:54.16) - Justice (back), Breeze (breast), Gardner (fly), Barr (free) - in a relay that it appeared E&H might struggle to make the top 8, the team finished 7th with a time of 1:47.96. Brett split a 29.68, which was an all time best for him, and he was very excited to have broken 30 seconds on his leg.


400 Yard Individual Medley

Women
- 11) Scarbrough - (5:04.51) - Savannah stepped up to take on this event and she qualified for the 'B' final in the 10th spot with a 4:57.99 swim.

Men
- 11) Madaris - (4:59.81) - Blake ended up 13th, his time was crushed by his breaststroke leg which took over 1 and a half seconds. 4:49.86.

- 18) Breeze - (NT) - Brett's personal best in this event was a 5:02 from back when he was 14. Coming into ODACs Brett was originally scheduled to swim the 500 free, but in practice his fly had improved so much that Cody started training him for the IM. Cody initially didn't believe Brett would be ready to compete in the 400 IM, but changed his mind a few days before the meet. Brett was anxious about this race, because it had been so long since he swam it, and because it is a grueling event. On the other hand, he was intrigued by the opportunity, knowing he was much bigger and stronger and a better swimmer. I was hoping Brett would go in the 4:50 range, and Cody had a goal time for him of 4:45.

The race started and Brett opened with a fly leg just under 1:05. It was a shock to see, and while he was probably 6th in his heat to the wall after the fly, he was only around a half second to 1 second behind the majority of the pool. The back, which is now Brett's weakest stroke didn't really hurt him. He posted a 1:12 split, but was actually slightly faster than the average time in the heat. In fact, Brett managed to pass 1 swimmer and close on a second. In the breast leg, Brett separated from the majority of the field. he split a 1:17, which was the second fastest in his heat. He pulled into 3rd overall in the heat during this leg. On the freestyle, he opened with a 35.64 second 50, but the swimmer next to him was closing hard, so Brett sprinted home in the last 50 to hold on to his position and he finished with a 30.84 split. Overall, he finished with a time of 4:41.61, a personal best by a mile, and good enough to seed him 10th heading into finals. This swim blew me away. I had no idea he could go this fast!!!


100 Yard Butterfly

Women
- 12) Tunstall - (1:03.37) - swam a time almost identical to her seed - 1:03.35. Seeded 13th heading into finals

Men
- 21) Gardner - (1:03.40) - went sub60 - 59.95, but still didn't qualify for finals.
- 25) Moore - (1:11.53) - big time drop 1:05.46


200 Yard Freestyle

Women
- 2) Anson - (1:55.40) - blistered prelims with a 1:54.61 and was top seed headed into finals.
- 22) Simmons - (2:16.39) - managed to drop a couple of seconds and slip into the last qualifying spot - 2:14.22

Men
- 17) Henningsen - (1:55.59) - Mack dropped down to 1:51.82 and moved up to 14th so he qualified for the 'B' final
- (28) Barr - (2:11.96) - - Nick dropped 6+ seconds and finished in a 2:05.07, finishing 17th overall, just missing the finals by 1 spot (but also by 6+ seconds)


100 Yard Breaststroke

Women
- 6) Sweigart - (1:09.50) - Cat managed to drop about half a second and hang onto 7th place with a 1:09.08. Qualifying her for the 'A' final.
- 13) Scarbrough - (1:11.99) - swam a 1:11.29 - and qualfied for the 'B' final in the 10 spot.
- 20) Mumpower - (1:19.47) - dropped over 6 seconds to climb all the way to 14th and a spot in the 'B' final - 1:13.25

Men
- 10) Justice - (1:05.28) - Braxton's huge pullouts help propel him to a 1:03.52 time and a 10th place spot in the 'B' final.

- 17) Breeze - (1:08.75) - Given his 2 good swims in the medley relay the day before, and his nice split in the 200 medley earlier in the day, I was excited to see what he might be able to swim. I was hoping he could go under a 1:06.69, because that would give him the Georgia state cut and make him eligible to swim at long course state in July. He and Braxton were next to each other during this race, and Brett was chasing the whole way. He would fall behind on every wall, then he'd close in the middle of the pool, only to reach a wall and start chasing again. Brett said, "I'm closing hard on him every lap, I get to his shoulder, we turn off the wall, and I'm staring at his damn feet again." Regardless, it helped push Brett to a personal best swim of 1:05.50. After the race the two hugged over the lane rope, it was pretty cool to see the comradery between Brett and his teammate. This swim was good enough to place him 14th overall. It was also Cody's goal time for Brett next year.


100 Yard Backstroke

Women
- 25) Simmons - (1:12.73) - dropped time to 1:11.32, but only climbed to 21st.
- 32) Trotter - (1:22.42) - dropped 10 seconds to 1:12.81, placing her 22nd in prelims.

Men
- 23) Madaris - (1:01.41) - only dropped a fraction of time at 1:01.26, which was outside the top 16.

[Breeze]

Emory & Henry - ODAC Championships - DAY 2, FINAL RESULTS

Brett made 'B' Finals in both of his individual events and will be swimming them again in finals.

200 Yard Medley Relay

- 6) E&H Women - (2:04.57) - left the same lineup in place - Trotter (back), Mumpower (breast), Sweigart (fly), and Simmons (free)...this was a smart bit of coaching by Cody, who realized they were 3 full seconds from 5th, which would be difficult to improve in a 200 yard swim, and they were 4 seconds from 7th, so this became an opportunity to use some additional swimmers in relays, which will make his top swimmers available for the last 2 later in the meet. - 26 points

- 7) E&H Men - (1:47.96) - Justice (back), Breeze (breast), Gardner (fly), Barr (free) - The team split a 1:45.92, which was good enough for 6th - but they were DQed. This was a painful call for a couple of reasons. The DQ cost the team 26 points, which force them way down the standings. It was also difficult because it was a bad call. The officials stated the Brett left early on the relay exchange, but the touch pads, which are synched to record the difference between when a swimmer touches the wall and when the next swimmer leaves the block stated Brett was .16 after the touch. However, for some stupid reason the coaches in the ODAC elected not to use the touch pads, but rather use the officials discretion. Making matters worse, another team did have a negative split in the relay that wasn't caught. Brett again improved on his split from the morning, this time going a 29.23.


400 Yard Individual Medley

Women
- 10) Scarbrough - (4:57.99) - added a little time from the morning (4:58.94) and finished 11th, the time add didn't matter, she was 5 seconds from 10th. - 6 points

Men
- 13) Madaris - (4:49.86) - In similar fashion to prelims, Blake's back enabled him to charge out to the top 3 in the heat, but his breast killed him and he finished where he was seeded 13th - 4:48.94. - 4 points

- 10) Breeze - (4:41.61) - After the morning swim, Brett came by to talk, and he was extremely pumped up. He said he did really, well, but he felt he could go faster. He said he felt he could go 1:02s in the fly, and he thought 1:17 on the breast as too slow. Plus he wanted a more even split in the free, something like 32/32 rather than the 35/30 he swam.

After the race started it was obvious Brett was going to take the fly out faster. He posted a 1:02.84, and again was 6th or 7th after the opening 100, but was within a second of most of the pool. Just like in prelims the back wasn't great, it was still in the 1:12s, this time about half a second faster, but just like prelims, it was good enough to catch up to or pass 3 swimmers. Going into breast Brett was 4, but by the end of the first 25 he was already in second. he split in the 1:15s this time. Heading into the freestyle he was being challenged by the same swimmer that attempted to pass him in prelims. Brett tried to pick up the pace, but wasn't able to hold him off this time, closing with a 33.2 and 32.06 split in the free. All in all, he swam another personal best 4:36.18, and finished 11th. This was again faster than the time Cody wanted from Brett as a sophomore - 6 points


100 Yard Butterfly

Women
- 13) Tunstall - (1:03.35) - swam much better in finals dropping to a 1:02.73, and climbing to 11th - 6 points


200 Yard Freestyle

Women
- 1) Anson - (1:54.61) - battled hard to win this event, but faded late and settled for 3rd - 1:55.41
- 16) Simmons - (2:14.22) - Added over a second back to her time - 2:15.77, but still earns a point - 1 point

Men
- 14) Henningsen - (1:51.82) - Mack also added time back in finals, but he held on to 14th place - 1:52.37 - 3 points


100 Yard Breaststroke

Women
- 7) Sweigart - (1:09.08) - with a huge effort in the finals, Cat dropped to a 1:08.20 and edged out a tight battle to take 5th - 14 points
- 10) Scarbrough - (1:11.29) - similar swim to the morning - 1:11:51, 11th place - 6 points
- 14) Mumpower - (1:13.25) - similar swim to the morning - 1:13.42, 14th place - 3 points

Men
- 10) Justice - (1:03.52) - managed another good swim and held on to 10th spot - 1:03.17 - 7 points

- 14) Breeze - (1:05.50) - Brett started out good, with a split right on 30, and he was chasing Braxton again, who was 1 lane over, but in the back half, he faded back a bit. Could have been fatigue, it wasn't long after his 400 IM that he was back in the water for this race. However, he still managed to post a personal best, and it just continued his run of great swimming. He finished in 1:05.32, but he did slip to 15th place. - 2 points


800 Yard Freestyle Relay

- 8) E&H Women - (NT) - Tunstall, Scarbrough, Mumpower, Anson - the team combined to swim an 8:34.67 and a 5th place finish - 28 points

- 5) E&H Men - (8:04.28) - Justice, Breeze, Madaris, Henningsen - before this event someone asked which of the boys was going to be swimming this event, and one of the father's replied, "Probably the only 4 capable of doing it." Which is a joke, but with a thread of truth. Justice opened with a 1:51.06, Brett followed with a 1:59.30, the first time he split under 2 minutes in this event. Madaris, was a 2:00.52, and Mack closed with a 1:55.15. In total they posted a 7:46.03, and they finished 5th. - 28 points


Day 2 Women's Scores

 1 WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY     672
 2 RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE            448
 3 ROANOKE COLLEGE                   356
 4 BRIDGEWATER COLLEGE               185
 4 EMORY & HENRY COLLEGE             185
 6 HOLLINS UNIVERSITY                122
 7 RANDOLPH COLLEGE                  112
 8 SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE                78
 9 FERRUM COLLEGE                     74
 10 GUILFORD COLLEGE                  55
 11 VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY      46
 12 GREENSBORO COLLEGE                 3

Day 2 Men's Scores

 1 WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY     601
 2 ROANOKE COLLEGE                   442
 3 RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE            346
 4 RANDOLPH COLLEGE                  211
 5 HAMPDEN-SYDNEY COLLEGE            177
 6 EMORY & HENRY COLLEGE             105
 6 BRIDGEWATER COLLEGE               105
 8 VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY       90
 9 FERRUM COLLEGE                     80
10 GREENSBORO COLLEGE                 25

At one point following the DQ in the opening relay E&H men fell all the way to 8th place.

[Breeze]

Emory & Henry - ODAC Championships - DAY 3, PRELIM RESULTS

After 2 great individual swims yesterday, Brett has what I believe is his best event, the 200 Breaststroke.

200 Yard Backstroke

Women
- 27) Simmons - (NT) - had a nice swim with a 2:34.77, but only managed 18th place.

Men
- 18) Madaris - (2:13.73) - Blake dropped 4 seconds from his seed time down to a 2:09.76, and climbed to 15th place and a spot in the 'B' final


100 Yard Freestyle

Woman
- 5) Anson - (54:06) - Liv posted a 53.30, which put her 5th heading into finals.
- 16) Tunstall - (57:07) - improved slightly to a 56.74, but she slipped out of the top 16 so no finals appearance. I thought she should have been in the 200 fly, but apparently she requested this race and Cody accommodated.
- 38) Trotter - (1:12.86) - 10+ second drop for Lauren - 1:02.30

Men
- 17) Justice - (51.41) - Huge swim from Braxton, drops below 50 seconds with a 49.14, 14th heading into finals.
- 28) Gardner - (54.64) - similar swims to most of the season - fading bad in the back half - 54.24, did climb to 24th
- 35) Barr - (57.73) - 55.52, climbed to 29th
- 42) Moore - (1:08.16) - huge time drop for Nick, and if his turns were better this would have been much closer to Gardner's time. Form in the middle of the pool is very good...may have a good upside for next year if he can get his turns figured out - 57.57


200 Yard Breaststroke

Women
- 9) Sweigart - (2:35.83) - - continued her strong meet, with another 'A' final performance - 2:29.86, qualifies 6th
- 28) Mumpower - (NT) - - another great swim for Leah as she gets into the 'B' final - 2:45.52 - 14th

Men

- 13) Breeze - (2:31.48) - Coming into this event, my hope for Brett was similar to my hope in the 100 Breast - swim fast enough to get the state cut. In this case, he'd needs to go a 2:24.19. Cody wanted him around a 2:25. Brett was excited about this race, knowing this had been his best event previously. However, he also admitted that he was really getting stiff and sore from his efforts over the last 2 days. I wasn't sure how that was going to impact him, but I suggested he drink a lot of water and stretch the best he could.

Brett opened his heat with a 31.02, which was pretty quick given the distance he was going to need to go. I was concerned he may have taken it out a bit too fast, like he did at the mid-season taper. He followed with a 36.73, so he split the opening 100 in 1:07.75. In the back half he faded a bit more than he wanted closing in 1:17.63. Overall he posted a personal best time of 2:25.38, right where Cody wanted him. Though Cody wasn't super pleased with his 1:17 back half, feeling he should have been a little quicker there given his 1:15 split in the breast during his 400 IM final swim.

Brett finished 13th in a very tight event, with 8th place less than 3 seconds faster. In fact, Brett was closer to 8th than the 14th place swimmer was to him.

- 21) Bracero - (NT) - decided to switch to this event...was very nervous about it, but Brett talked him through. Finished in a 2:56.03.


200 Yard Butterfly

Women
- 19) Scarbrough - (NT) - she had a awesome swim, so good that she missed the 'A' final by just .08 seconds. Her 2:25.89 time was good enough for 9th.

Men
- 11) Henningsen - (2:15.65) - Mack dropped around 3 seconds and qualified in the 'B' final as the 12th seed. - 2:12.41

400 Yard Free Relay

Women
- 6) E&H Women - (3:56.53) - Trotter, Simmons, Sweigart, Anson - posted a 4:01.18 and qualified 4th.

Men
- 7) E&H Men - (3:35.55) - Gardner, Henningsen, Moore, Justice - combined for a 3:35.58 time and a 6th place finish heading into finals.


1650 Yard Freestyle

No E&Hers were competing in the mile, but I'm including this event because the men's score coming into the final day has E&H tied with Bridgewater, and while E&H doesn't have a swimmer in this event, Bridgewater has a swimmer seeded 3rd. The points he receives in this event, will set the primary target for the E&H boys to shoot for, as this is a timed final, so his points will go on the board first.

[Breeze]

Emory & Henry - ODAC Championships - DAY 3, FINAL RESULTS

Women's Standings
Heading into the final day, the E&H girls were tied with Bridgewater, but the Eagles had 3 girls score in the 1650 which gave them a 26 point lead. Plus BC had 5 swimmers qualfied for 'A' finals swims and 3 set to swim in the 'B' final. Whereas E&H only had 2 in the 'A' and 2 in the 'B'. Even with the better seed in the relay (and beating Bridgewater in the relay wasn't guaranteed), E&H was clearly not going to match Bridgewater down the stretch and was going to have to settle for 5th.

Men's Standings
On the men's side the Bridewater swimmer in the 1650 finished 5th, giving them a 14 point lead. However, the men had 4 guys swimming in 'B' finals, Blake in the 200 back, Braxton in the 100 Free, Brett in the 200 breast, and Mack in the 200 Fly, compared to Bridgewater with 2 swimming in 'B' finals (1 in the 200 breast, and 1 in the 200 fly). Plus, the men had a higher seed in the 400 free relay. It was going to be close.


200 Yard Backstroke

Men
- 15) Madaris - (2:09.76) - seeded 15th coming in, Blake dropped a tiny bit from the morning but did move up a spot, which earned a very needed extra point. 2:09.37, 14th place - 3 points

(Bridgewater's lead 11)


100 Yard Freestyle

Woman
- 5) Anson - (53.30) - continued to swim well with a 53.61, good enough for 5th overall. - 14 points

Men
- 14) Justice - (49.14) - stopped watches at 49.23 and also finished 14th - 3 points

(Bridgewater's lead 8)


200 Yard Breaststroke

Women
- 6) Sweigart - (2:29.86) - - almost identical swim from the morning 2:29.81, but slipped to 7th - 12 points
- 14) Mumpower - (2:45.52) - - dropped another 4 seconds and moved up to 12th overall - 2:41.96 - 5 points

Men

- 13) Breeze - (2:25.38) - before this race, I asked Brett if Coach Cody had any suggestions for him on how to swim the race, and he said Cody told him that he really should take it out a little slower and try to bring it home in a 1:15, but then he commented that he thought he might just try and sprint the whole thing. I warned him that might not be a great idea. That E&H was in a tight race with Bridgewater and every point mattered. That he didn't want to go out to fast and collapse on the back half and cost his team points.

The race started and Brett was out exceptionally fast, opening with a 30.54, almost a half second faster than the morning, and the fastest opening 50 in the race, with second place .04 back. In the second split Brett went a 35.77, the second fastest split in the heat, and it meant his opening 100 was a 1:06.31 close to 1.5 seconds faster than the morning. At this point it was obvious he was trying to sprint the whole thing, so I was just hoping he could hold on. He was currently in second place .7 behind the leader. In the 3rd 50, Brett posted the fastest split in the heat again with a 36.50, moving back into first place by .24 seconds. In the final 50 it was a dead heat all the way to the wall, but the other swimmer finished perfectly on his stroke and Brett had a slightly long finish, which cost him the heat. He did post the 3rd fastest split in the last 50 and finished 10th with an overall personal best time of 2:20.08. Coach Cody told him that he was prepared to chew him out for taking it out too hard, but then he never faded...so Good Job!

This AMAZING swim earned him the state cut that I was hoping he'd get. I do believe his success early in the meet provided him the confidence to attack this race. I also believe some of the racing he did earlier may have taught him how to push through the discomfort racing can create. This was a huge outcome for him. - 7 points

(Bridgewater's lead is 3 points - the Bridgewater breaststroker took 15th to provide them with an additional 2 points)


200 Yard Butterfly

Women
- 9) Scarbrough - (2:25.89) - Savannah looked a bit tired the second time around in this event. She added over 4 seconds to post a 2:30.01 and settled for 10th - 7 points

Men
- 12) Henningsen - (2:12.41) - Mack has another great swim dropping almost 4 seconds to post a 2:08.63and finish 12th, but the Bridgewater swimmer was 13th, so E&H only gains 1 point - 5 points

(Bridgewater's lead - 2 points)


400 Yard Free Relay

Women
- 4) E&H Women - (4:01.18) - Tunstall, Sweigart, Scarbrough, Anson - combined for a 3:51.34 and a 5th place finish - 28 points

Men
It all came down to this event, but the Bridgewater boys failed to make the 'A' final in prelims and they ended up being stuck with 9th place and 18 points. As long as the men don't get DQed the worst they could do is 8th place which will give them 22 points, so barring some terrible gaff E&H was going to pass Bridgewater in the standings.


- 6) E&H Men - (3:35.58) - the men were extremely conservative with their takeoffs to insure they didn't get DQed, and Gardner, Henningsen, Madaris, and Justice combined for a 3:29.44 and a 6th place finish - 24 points

[Breeze]

Emory & Henry - ODAC Championships - FINAL STANDINGS


Women's Scores

 1 WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY     988
 2 RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE            675
 3 ROANOKE COLLEGE                   516
 4 BRIDGEWATER COLLEGE               296
 5 EMORY & HENRY COLLEGE             251
 6 HOLLINS UNIVERSITY                162
 7 RANDOLPH COLLEGE                  147
 8 FERRUM COLLEGE                    103
 8 SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE               103
 10 VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY      61
 11 GUILFORD COLLEGE                  55 
 12 GREENSBORO COLLEGE                19

Men's Scores

 1 WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY     913
 2 ROANOKE COLLEGE                   622
 3 RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE            541
 4 RANDOLPH COLLEGE                  280
 5 HAMPDEN-SYDNEY COLLEGE            274
 6 EMORY & HENRY COLLEGE             149
 7 BRIDGEWATER COLLEGE               143
 8 FERRUM COLLEGE                    125
 9 VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY      122 
10 GREENSBORO COLLEGE                 42

[rjolley]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I'm not going to spoiler anything (duh) but I will tell you that I just went through the posted times from Fri & Sat. (As of 740p Sun isn't up yet)

Affirmation, if nothing else, that we do care & we do enjoy following this.

Want to echo Jon's sentiments about caring and following along. I must admit I look forward to seeing updates about Brett, Bear, and Bailey, like I'm seeing updates for one of the kids I coached. It's great to hear about kids developing through their time with sports. Thank you for sharing your family's triumphs and setbacks with us.

[Izulde]

I also follow along. Phenomenal meet by Brett, by the way - love seeing him finally break through in an environment that appears to be perfect for him.

[JonInMiddleGA]

And I'm going to further add that my wife knows enough of these particular tale to ask about all three competitors all season long.

Her takeaway from the ODACs -- even before hearing the final day results -- been similar to Izulde's: that it's wonderful to see kids find the right place for themselves.

Congrats to Brett on a great meet

[Breeze]

Thank guys...I've really enjoyed doing this journal, and going back to re-read sections has definitely brought back a lot of memories. I also know that Brett was completely blown away when I gave him a copy of it last year around this time; when it looked like he was going to give up the sport. In fact, I think the journal helped remind him how much he actually enjoyed swimming, and I honestly believe it had an impact on his final decision to attend E&H.

However, even with all that, it's nice to know that others are actually reading along and enjoying the journey as well. Thanks again guys.

[Breeze]

Emory & Henry - ODAC Review

The ODAC Championship was probably the most fun I've had at a swim meet. Other meets have had moments of joy, even overwhelming joy with...High School swims against rival schools. Bear & Bailey swimming in A finals at State Championships. Fantastic finishes, huge time drops, compelling and breathtaking comeback charges, Bear even participated in a state championship relay that battled all 4 legs head to head to win by a hair at the end.

But, for all of that, the overall experience at ODACs was extremely different..

Big year round meets, like state championships and sectionals are very businesslike. Yes, teams do compete in these meets, like Chattahoochee Gold, SwimAtlanta, Dynamo, etc., but those are "teams" more in name than practice. Sure, each team will field relays, but that's about the only time it feels like a team meet. Once relays are over, things become much more focused on individual performance and fall into a very monotonous pace of heat followed by heat with the overall outcome of the meet almost always a forgone conclusion. These big year round meets limit participation only by time cut standards so the largest teams will always win because they'll put the most swimmers into an event giving them more opportunities to score. Meaning, there is little to no excitement around the standings. In our case, the Gold team kids are pretty tight and so are the parents. While we are at the meet we follow all of them, but even with that, there are maybe 8 to 10 kids you are rooting for in total, out of thousands who are swimming.

At high school meets, the team aspect is present, but the execution is off and the swimming is lacking in fundamental ways. For us the teams are very large, with 80+ kids on the roster, and well over half of those non-year round swimmers. So there is a distinct lack of ability in many cases and heats can be painful to watch because the swimming is so poor. Moreover, there is little to no coaching. In fact, the coach's lack of interest often hinders the team's ability to perform, because swimmers are put into the wrong events, or the wrong kids are used in the relays. It can be very frustrating.

At ODACs, the energy and team atmosphere was evident from the first race through the last, with loud cheering and chants taking place every session. The pool of swimmers was much smaller so the sessions were shorter, and the level of swimming was on average very good. In our case it was great to root for every E&H swimmer because we know every one of them and we knew every swim and every point was going to be important. ODACs was truly a combination of the best of year round and the best of high school with a smaller pool of competitors so it was easier to follow along and less time was spent waiting for a race you had interest in.

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

E&H did very well in during the meet. I believe Coach Cody has to be extremely pleased with the outcome. In all here is how the team scoring broke down:

Women

Oliva "Liv" Anson - 44 points - Second Team All ODAC
Cat Sweigart - 27 points - Third Team All ODAC
Savannah Scarbrough - 19 points
Anne Louise "Al" Tunstall - 10 points
Leah Mumpower - 8 points
Taylor Simmons - 1 point

In total 6 of the 7 women scored in the meet, and his 3 freshmen all contributed, accounting for ~43% of the individual points earned. Here is a breakdown on each swimmer:

Liv Anson - did exactly as expected. There was a hope she might challenge an NCAA D3 'B' cut, but she didn't
Cat Sweigart - had an excellent meet, probably slightly out-performed expectations
Savannah Scarbrough - did exactly as expected
Anne Louise Tunstall - the one female swimmer that may have under-performed a little. Mostly due to insistence on swimming 100 free, when she should have been in a mid-distance free or fly race instead.
Leah Mumpower - dropped a significant amount of time in every race. Significantly outperformed expectations
Taylor Simmons - earned a point this year, which probably wasn't expected.
Lauren Trotter - improved significantly in her swims, may have moved up into a bigger role next year.


Men

Brett Breeze - 15 points
Braxton Justice - 11 points
Mack Henningsen - 8 points
Blake Madaris - 7 points

4 of the 6 freshman accounted for all the individual points earned by the men. They also were the most frequent names on the relays as well. Here is a breakdown on each swimmer:

Braxton Justice - knew with more significant training he had a huge upside and he showed some of that early in this meet.
Mack Henningsen - grinder who improved a bunch at championships and appears to be positioned for a nice career.
Blake Madaris - his results were probably a bit disappointing. He is significantly overweight which hindered his performance, if he can get back in shape could be more of a factor next year.
Tariq Gardner - didn't step up as hoped
Nick Barr - only returner from last year improved significantly this time around.
Jarod Bracero - non-swimmer with no expectations - did drop a good bit of time
Nice Moore - project swimmer from the start with no expectations, but form improvement is dramatic and upside appears good

Brett Breeze - given that he exceeded my most grandiose expectations, I have to believe he exceeded Cody's as well. I do know that he basically swam goal times Cody wanted him to hit as a sophomore in all three of his races. I also would bet the farm that Cody didn't expect Brett to be the top male point earner on the team! (In fact, in some of the videos of the races, even from across the pool, you can tell by Cody's body language that he is stunned by Brett's performance)


If anyone is interested, the entire meet was broadcast on the Internet. You can watch by choosing a session here:

http://www.odaconline.com/tournament...eaming-channel

[Breeze]

General Update - Bear

After practice this morning Bear went back home suffering from a headache, sore throat, and nausea. I'm extremely concerned right now. The flu is rampant in our area, and I have 4 or 5 co-workers that have been infected this week. I'm praying he doesn't get sick because even a just a cold right now would significantly adversely impact his performance at Sectionals in a few weeks. It would also mark the 3rd straight year his performance at this meet would be hindered by sickness.

There is too much hard work put in to have the rug pulled out from under you 3 years in a row!!! It's just no fair!!!

[Breeze]

General Update - Bear & Bailey

I mentioned previously that Bear wasn't feeling well the other day. It ends up he's just got a cold. He missed a couple of practices, and he's still far from 100% but at least it hasn't crippled his preparations for Sectionals.

Bailey on the other hand ended up getting an infected lymph node in her neck. Which is causing her a considerable amount of pain, especially when she has to turn her head to breath. She came home early from practice yesterday, and now she is running a fever. She's going to miss several days of practice as well. Though she is qualified to swim at Sectionals she has decided to skip that event and participate in the March Madness swim a week later, because she'll be able to swim more events and she's hoping to earn more Sectional cuts. I'm hoping that extra week will enable her to get over this sickness and swim well when the time comes.

[Breeze]

General Update

During the second day of the Ivy League Swim Championships, Raunak Khosla, a kid that Brett used to compete against regularly (especially when Brett was younger) broke a conference record.

The 200 IM saw an new Ivy league meet record and Brown pool record. Princeton freshman Raunak Khosla swam a speedy 1:42.80, out-touching Penn senior Mark Andrew (1:42.97). Both swimmers were under the previous meet record of 1:43.24, and pool record of 1:43.80, both of which were held by Andrew.

[Breeze]

2019 ESSZ Senior Short Course Sectionals @ Triangle Aquatic Center, Cary, NC - 3/7 - 3/10

Bear will be heading up to Cary, NC tonight only this time I won't be going. I came down with the flu over the weekend and I'm not fully recovered, so the wife will be going. Bear is still not 100% recovered from his cold reported earlier, plus he still trying to rebuild his stroke and is severely lacking in confidence right now. Unfortunately, this is looking like a 3rd straight sectionals meet where Bear doesn't perform the way he was hoping.

#2 Men's 1000 Yard Freestyle - (9:41.74) - Seeded 12 - capable of dropping enough time to climb into the top 8 (which equals an A final only the 1000 is only swum 1 time), but any drop in time would be huge...

#6 Men's 200 Yard Freestyle - (1:45.91) - Seeded 53 - extremely tight race here...a drop of a couple of seconds and Bear could climb into the top 20...but an add of a couple of seconds and he could fall just as far

#12 Men's 400 Yard IM - (4:11.59) - Seeded 34 - will almost certainly scratch this race

#16 Men's 200 Yard Butterfly - (1:57.01) - Seeded 34 - hasn't raced a bunch of fly this year, so not sure what to expect...

#24 Men's 500 Yard Freestyle - (4:41.77) - Seeded 27 - another pretty tightly seeded event. Bear showed some promise in this event at high school state by trying to adjust his stroke. He posted a better time than he had in quite a while there and he's had a month or so to fine tune it a bit. Even if it isn't 100% perfect, he could drop time in this one if he's managed to cut down on the drag a bit.

#30 Men's 1650 Yard Freestyle - (16:37.04) - Seeded 22 - last time Bear swam this he had that amazing race where his goggles came off on the dive, but fixed them while swimming and still posted a personal best and climbed through the field to finish 3rd. Given his stroke was far from perfect on that weekend, and he had the entire effort of fixing his goggles in his last swim, I believe there is time he can cut here no matter what kind of form he's in. Without the goggle issue at State I believe he was looking at a 16:20 something effort. Hoping he can get there this weekend.

[Breeze]

2019 ESSZ Senior Short Course Sectionals - RESULTS

This was a very disappointing meet. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting huge drops, especially with his stroke being off, but I was hopeful that Bear might get a personal best or two. However, not only did he not get a PB, but he added significant time in his distance events. Making matters worse - we found out that he's been dealing with cramping/muscle spasm issues for 2 years now! This is heartbreaking because with him getting bigger and stronger his times should be improving, but now I learn that every distance race he competes in (and some sprints), he cramps up in the shoulders, back, and hips, and he fights through the pain to compete. In fact, these cramps were apparently the catalyst of the stroke issues, as he adjusted his stroke to make it less painful.

The information about the cramping was told to Coach Andy years ago, but Andy felt the issue was mental and that Bear was tightening up because he was trying to hard, and he urged him to swim more relaxed. At this point however, it seems pretty obvious there is something else going on. We are going to look into options to try and determine the underlying problem.


#2 Men's 1000 Yard Freestyle - (9:41.74) - Seeded 12 - 9:59.62

#6 Men's 200 Yard Freestyle - (1:45.91) - Seeded 53 - 1:46.64

#12 Men's 400 Yard IM - (4:11.59) - Seeded 34 - Scratch

#16 Men's 200 Yard Butterfly - (1:57.01) - Seeded 34 - 2:01.10

#24 Men's 500 Yard Freestyle - (4:41.77) - Seeded 27 - 4:50.88

#30 Men's 1650 Yard Freestyle - (16:37.04) - Seeded 22 - 17:08.35 - tried taking it out slower to see if he could avoid the cramping - didn't work.

800 Free Relay - Bear split a 1:47.28

400 Free Relay - Bear split a 50.01

[Breeze]

General Update - Bailey

We finally have a reason for Bailey's swollen lymph node. She recently went back to the doctor with a sore throat, and while culturing her tests it was determined that she has mono. This will effectively shut down the rest of her short course season. She had a meet scheduled for this weekend but she's now going to withdraw. It's unfortunate, because she was swimming well coming into 2019, but she's really struggled to stay in the pool most of this year so far, and mono explains a lot of that. Plus by not taking the time off, she's been unable to completely recover. Hopefully, she can take a few weeks, get healthy, let her back rest, and prepare for a good long course season.

[rjolley]

Sorry to hear Bailey and Bear are having problems. Hope they have a speedy complete recovery and return to the pool.

[JonInMiddleGA]

:/

[Breeze]

General Update - Bear

Scary moment yesterday. Bear came home very upset. He was playing basketball after practice and he was accidentally tripped up and fell on his elbow. He was afraid it was broken, so we spent the evening at Children's Healthcare. Turns out it doesn't appear to be broken (may have to follow up with an orthopedic to look for hairline fractures if it is still bothering him in a week). He's just got some significant swelling and bruising, which we will treat with ice and ibuprofen. Thank the Lord it wasn't more serious.

[Breeze]

Emory & Henry - General Update

Looks like the ODAC conference might be adding 2 new women's teams for the 2019 season. In addition to the University of Lynchburg joining for both men and women, Salem College in North Carolina is also starting up a swim team for 2019. The all girls school is apparently looking to join the ODAC. If they join it would bring the number of women's teams to 14.

[Breeze]

General Update

On Friday (4/26), Bailey and Bear both have doctor appointments. Bailey will be going in to get her blood tested to see if she is finally over her mono and will be allowed to get back in the pool. Bear will be going to a sports medicine doctor to see if he can determine how to address his lat cramping issue that has held him back for the past 2 years.

[Breeze]

General Update - Bear


Bear's "cramping" problem appears to be a repetitive motion/overuse injury and will require physical therapy. I haven't gotten the whole scoop yet, but basically what I currently know is:

- he will not have to quit for awhile, but will have to back-off on his workouts some
- he is going to become part of the doctor's study on peak performance and optimal training

Basically the doctor is trying to work with athletes to help them identify their optimal training level so that effort with diminishing returns that often cause overuse injuries can be avoided in the future.

I do not know the timeline for how long the PT will last.

[Breeze]

General Update - Bailey


Bailey has been cleared to slowly start working back into swimming.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Breeze

General Update - Bailey


Bailey has been cleared to slowly start working back into swimming.

Cool.

[Breeze]

General Update - Bear

Bear went to his first PT session yesterday. Most of the time was spent with diagnosis movements, which led the therapist to warn Bear that he may have lesions in his shoulder and if he doesn't he certainly close to getting one. This is a huge concern. If he has a lesion, he will require shoulder surgery and he'll basically be finished with swimming for the year, meaning he would miss his entire senior year. The therapist said the treatment will let her know for sure if lesions are present.

Following the diagnostic period, she massaged his trap and lats, and he was in a significant amount of pain during the procedure. They will be doing some dry needling and may do some cupping as well as the massage. He's been told he can continue to swim while he's in therapy, but the problem we are having is convincing him to take it easy. His mindset right now is to swim as much as he can but still fall under the doctor's orders. For instance, the doctor said to back off his yardage 25% to 50%, so he immediately started calculating 25%. The therapist said she felt 40% off at a minimum, so he calculated 40%, with thoughts of increasing each subsequent week. The boy has always been a grinder, which is exactly what made him so successful in the difficult events, and I admire him for his dedication, but this mindset is also what led to his current situation as he attempted to swim through discomfort. Now we have got to get him to understand his best option is to back off long enough to allow the PT to work, then slowly ramp back up. Trying to keep the yardage up will only prolong the amount of time the PT will require to provide a benefit (or it could completely negate the PT altogether).

[Breeze]

General Update - Bailey

Bailey's back has been bothering her again, which is a surprise considering she's been out of the pool for so long. In fact, despite the fact she was cleared of Mono and told she could start practicing, we've held her out of the water until we can take her to see the sports doctor that looked at Bear's shoulders. She is scheduled to go on Friday. Obviously, I'm hoping it isn't serious, but the doctor mentioned during his discussions with Bear that lower back issues are not something to mess around with, and I'm concerned that she may have a bigger issue than what we were initially led to believe.

[Breeze]

General Update - Bailey

So Bailey went to see the doctor on Friday and he diagnosed her with lumbar fasciitis syndrome. I won't go into too much detail on this as it's complicated and you can find much better explanations online than I can provide here. Basically, the fascia in question is a thick membrane that covers all the muscles in the region as well as the spine. It is subject to injury from strain, overuse, or repetitive stress. The doctor believes that Bailey strained her back with her hyper-flexibility while swimming the fly and then compounded the problem by continuing to swim, thus adding overuse and repetitive stress on top of the strain.

The extremely good news is he told her that "She doesn't have a bad back" and "This will not be a chronic problem for you". However, he did say that we need to get it healthy, and that she can only swim moderate effort freestyle and backstroke, until she is released from treatment.

She starts her PT today, only she will be going to a hospital based facility due to the fact this is the 3rd time she's had her back treated.

[Breeze]

General Update

A number of changes have occurred recently and they significantly impact Bear and Bailey. Let me start by stating that Bear and Bailey are basically the youngest of the kids in the group they hang out with. Basically, all the kids fall in a range between Brett and the twins, which was great until now. Now with the older kids graduating and going off to college, the number of friends the twins have to hang out and practice with is getting small.

Over the last several weeks a few of the guys that Bear trains with have left. One because his school schedule conflicts with his ability to attend morning practice, another because he wanted to move to a team where his good friends swim. Initially this wasn't a big deal because it cleared up room in the lanes. However, with his good friend Seth graduating and going to Gannon University to swim and play water polo, and the college kids who've been swimming with Gold to keep in shape returning to campus in the fall, Bear would be left with just Tommy and Riley (when healthy and attending). Unfortunately, we just learned that Tommy is changing teams effective today. That leaves Bear with only an inconsistent Riley to practice with and no one to really train with.

We called the SwimAtlanta where Tommy is moving (not the same one we used to swim with) to see if they could take Bear as well, but they are already overfull. The coach said he would know in July if he's going to have a spot available, but the problem is Gold auto-renews our contract in June. We are really in a tough spot right now.

Bailey appears to be fine staying with Gold. She has her one good friend remaining still swimming on the team, and her commitment to swimming has dwindled significantly (of course being out of the pool for basically all of 2019 thus far will do that).

We'll see where this goes, but I hope Bear can get in with SwimAtlanta, the sport is too hard to do it solo.

[Breeze]

General Update - Bear

Bear had his follow up with the doctor after a month on PT and swimming at about 60% of the yardage. The doctor noted some improvement, as he could feel the muscles being a little looser. Bear admitted during the discussion that he does still occasionally get a flair up at practice and he has to stop. The doctor asked Bear what his focus was with this treatment and Bear admitted he just wants to be ready to go full speed in the fall, so the doctor suggested he continue with the same treatment, exercise, and swim plan he was on for another month.

[Breeze]

College Update - Bear

Bear had his first phone conversation with a college coach on Friday (6/7). Washington & Lee reached out to gauge his level of interest. They had a nice talk, and Bear got some good information about the school, team, support staff, and more. He's wanting a high academic school, and one where he can compete at a high level in conference and W&L definitely fits that definition. Also, the head coach swam with Coach Andy for years, so Andy sent an email to endorse Bear.

[thealmighty]

Remember back when you started this dynasty and your kids weren't even that close to being teenagers yet?



Now look where we (yes, we followers feel a part of the family in a way by now) are!

[Breeze]

Originally Posted by thealmighty

Remember back when you started this dynasty and your kids weren't even that close to being teenagers yet?



Now look where we (yes, we followers feel a part of the family in a way by now) are!

I'm glad to have you guys along for the ride.

[Breeze]

General Update - Bear

Bear was cleared to start ramping up his practices just before we went on vacation (6/24). Unfortunately, the ramp up method is a slow one, with incremental increases on a weekly basis. It's important that he follow this method to increase workload because the Dr. believes the initial injury was due to ramping up effort too quickly. The reason it's unfortunate that he has to ease into this is...the state meet is in a few weeks, and at this point there is no way Bear can be at full training before that event takes place. Bear is planning to swim it, we just aren't sure what he's going to swim. He obviously won't be doing the distance stuff, but right now he's thinking maybe the 200 free and the 200 fly, and time trialing some sprint frees.

[Breeze]

General Update - Bear

It's been so long since I posted regularly in this thread I had to go back and re-read some to determine where I left off...

Bear will be changing teams in the fall back to SwimAtlanta (only a different location near us). He has really enjoyed his time with Gold and it was absolutely the right move to make when we switched initially but now things have significantly changed. Just 2 years ago Bear had a large group of friends that swam for Gold, but Brett, Daniel, and Charlie graduated in 2018, and this year Seth will be graduating, which was going to leave Bear with about 3 other guys to hang out and train with...Noah left the team about earlier in the summer because he lives too far away to take advantage of morning practices, so he found a team closer to home. Owen left a few days later because Noah wasn't going to be there, and he had quite a few friends at SwimAtlanta. Then Tommy (Coach Andy's son), moved to SwimAtlanta just a few weeks back - this move was facilitated by Coach Andy to try and spark Tommy's effort and interest in swimming following a long period of lethargy. This left Bear as not just the last remaining member of the group that hung our regularly, but 1 of only 2 boys on the entire team, and the only one in the elite lanes. So we were able to get him a spot at the same SwimAtlanta facility that Tommy moved to. It also is the facility where Owen is swimming. In addition, his high school teammate and friend Jake is at the same pool, and he is a distance swimmer so he'll provide Bear with a great training partner moving forward.

We hated to do this, as we are big fans of the Gold Coach, Ryan, but it was unquestionably in Bear's best interest. As I've said before, swimming is way to hard a sport to do if you don't have a support group that makes it fun. Bear was quite reserved for over a day knowing he was going to have to tell Ryan about the switch; I think mostly because there was some guilt weighing on him. Ryan, if you'll recall, is the coach that helped him train to break the team record in the 1000 a few years back. Thankfully, Ryan understood, even telling Bear that there were no guys left for him on the team, and that he understood the reasons behind the switch.

I really feel bad for Ryan. Numerous kids have left recently, and I think he's overwhelmed. They moved him up to head coach when Andy left, and he absolutely deserved that role, but they didn't back fill his position. Instead the owner of the club, in an obvious effort to save money has decided he'll start coaching some of the teams on occasion. Which means when he decides not to, Ryan is left to figure out how to get that team's practice covered. In addition, they hired recent graduates Daniel and Charlie to be summer coaches for the team. While they are both good guys, and undoubtedly can help, it does create an odd situation at times. Hopefully, Ryan doesn't get blamed for the exodus occurring because he doesn't deserve that.

[Breeze]

General Update - Bailey

Bailey had her first phone conversation with a college coach. Cumberland University called her a few weeks back. They have been emailing her for quite a while, and they are extremely interested in trying to get her on the team. Cumberlands is an NAIA school, and if they could sign Bailey, the moment she steps on campus she makes the team much better. Her times indicate she would be an A finalist at the conference championships in whatever 3 events she chose to compete in. In addition, she has several times that are good enough to immediately qualify her for the NAIA National Championships, and her 200 Fly is good enough to potentially make the A final at the National Championship meet.

I was present for the talk, and Bailey really down played it to the wife, but seemed pretty upbeat when talking to me about it. Unfortunately, Cumberlands isn't the type of school Bailey is interested in. She wants to go to a bigger school in a nice size city (not necessarily urban, but definitely not rural). In truth my expectations are that she will quit swimming at the end of the high school season this upcoming season, but I made her promise to visit a few schools to see what they have to offer. My fingers are crossed that she'll swim in college. She's going to enter college as a Sophomore because she's dual enrolled last year and she'll do it again this year, and I keep trying to impress upon her that she could swim at a small college for 2 or 3 years, graduate and then go to a bigger college to get her Master's degree, and she'd still be the same age as most of the students on campus.

[Breeze]

General Update – Brett

I regret to inform you that Brett’s time at E&H has come to an end. I noted in an earlier thread that during the first semester Brett’s girlfriend had been causing him a lot of issues, which ultimately impacted his grades. I didn’t get into how significant that impact was, but needless to say, it put him behind the 8-ball heading into the second semester. He really needed to have a strong performance this time around, and while he did better, he didn’t do well enough to maintain his scholarship. Given that we could barely afford to send him to E&H as it was, we certainly can’t afford to do so now.

This wasn’t entirely unexpected. Before he ever left for college we knew with his ADHD issues that he would struggle, but he is extremely smart and we hoped he would mature quickly away from home and rise to the occasion. I am heartbroken for him, as he really enjoyed being on that team, he was at home on the campus, and he loved Coach Cody. He also found a girl that he cared about and was a good influence on him. I’m so sorry it’s come to an end so soon.

I’m also a bit depressed if I’m being honest - and this is probably why I've taken so long to post this message. I'm going to really miss watching him swim, especially given that he was finally starting to achieve and get rewarded for his efforts in the pool, it’s a shame that it’s over. I absolutely loved going up to Abingdon and watching meets, and the ODAC Championship was, without question, the most fun I’ve ever had at a swim meet, and I was looking forward too many more.

Brett is currently enrolled at North Georgia. He’s hoping to get his AA degree there and then look to finish up his bachelor’s degree somewhere he can swim. My fingers are crossed he can make this happen.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Breeze

Brett is currently enrolled at North Georgia. He’s hoping to get his AA degree there and then look to finish up his bachelor’s degree somewhere he can swim. My fingers are crossed he can make this happen.

Obviously it's a tough situation but, if I can offer something optimistic, I've known quite a few students who got their feet on steadier ground with time at UNG and they've transferred easily into more rigorous environments.

This may very well be only a detour.

[Izulde]

Yep. I got kicked out of two different universities due to academics. Got my head right at a community college and eventually ended up with honors graduate from my bachelors program, then got my MFA.

So this type of detour is quite common and isn't the end of the world by any means.

[Breeze]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Obviously it's a tough situation but, if I can offer something optimistic, I've known quite a few students who got their feet on steadier ground with time at UNG and they've transferred easily into more rigorous environments.

This may very well be only a detour.

Originally Posted by Izulde

Yep. I got kicked out of two different universities due to academics. Got my head right at a community college and eventually ended up with honors graduate from my bachelors program, then got my MFA.

So this type of detour is quite common and isn't the end of the world by any means.

Thanks guys...this is the same message we've delivered to Brett. In fact, I used my former college roommate as an example. After his first year in college he had attended more universities than he had credit hours (3 to 1), and he turned out just fine. Hopefully, he dedicates himself a little better the second time around.

[Breeze]

Georgia Senior Long Course State @ UGA Natatorium - 7/26 - 7/28

It's been a long time since we've had a meet, so long it feels a bit odd posting this. Bear will compete at the state meet, but because he's been in rehab and it's in shape, he will not compete in any of the distance event. In fact, the only event he'll swim in the 200 free. I asked him about how he's doing in that event at practice and he said he can go out in his fastest time but he could also come back in a 1:30...so lack of peak shape is even impacting him in a 200. However, if he does well enough in the opening parts of the race, he may time trial the 50 and/or the 100 free as well.

[Breeze]

Georgia Senior Long Course State @ UGA Natatorium - 7/26 - 7/28

#6 Men's 200 Meter Freestyle (2:01.03) - Bear will be swimming this one event during the state meet. He still has qualifying times in all the distance events and the IMs and 200 Fly, but because of his limited training due to being in physical therapy he won't be contesting those other events. If his stroke is strong in the opening 50 and 100 it is possible that he might choose to time-trail those events in an effort to improve on his person best. Honestly, I expect that he'll do fine in the first 100, but the lack of extensive training will bite him back half. My guess would be he posts something in the 2:05 range.

Note: Last night was Bear's final practice with Gold. It passed without any comment because all his friends have left the team already. It will be interesting to see if Coach Ryan has any comment for Bear today, since this will most likely be their last interaction.

[Breeze]

Georgia Senior Long Course State - RESULTS

#6 Men's 200 Meter Freestyle (2:01.03) - As expected, it wasn't pretty. Bear opened with a one minute 100, which was only about 1.5 seconds off the times he was posting when he swam personal bests. In the back half, the lack of training reared it's head - he ended up swimming a 1:09.31...which was over 7 seconds slower than the split he posted during his personal best...

[Breeze]

General Update

Piedmont College here in Georgia is starting up a swim team for the 2010 season. I'm only posting this because it could be a good landing spot for Brett if he decides he wants to swim when/if he gets his grades in order. Of all the schools in the area, I'm really surprised this is the one that decided to start a program.

Here is the press release:

Piedmont College President James F. Mellichamp announced today that the college has launched a men’s and women’s swimming program and that Teddy Guyer, a 25-year coaching veteran, will lead the teams.

With varsity competition planned for 2020-21, the squads will train and host meets at the Ruby Fulbright Aquatic Center in nearby Clarkesville. Guyer, who served as head swimming coach at Mars Hill University from 2005 to 2019, will begin his duties August 1.

“Our focus at Piedmont has been adding value to our student experience. And we have been able to accomplish that, in part, by adding sports programs that align with our core values and mission,” said Mellichamp. “Swimming has tremendous potential, and we are particularly pleased to partner with the aquatic center in this exciting new venture. This new program is an example of Piedmont’s continued growth and rising profile.”

Guyer served as the inaugural swimming coach at Mars Hill University and Warren Wilson College where he served as head coach from 1993 to 2005. He has compiled a record of 354 wins to 73 losses. Guyer has coached 114 all-conference swimmers, had 19 swimmers make NCAA national cuts and coached an All-American. Along the way, he’s collected seven Coach of the Year Awards.

“We are extremely excited to add men’s and women’s swimming as our 20th and 21st programs,” said Piedmont Athletic Director Jim Peeples. “As a successful head coach who has started programs, Coach Guyer has a unique skillset. I know that he will serve our student athletes with both passion and personal touch.”

One of the top Division III athletic programs in the region, Piedmont has won the USA South Presidents Cup award three consecutive years. The award is presented annually to the institution with the top-performing athletic program within the conference. During the 2018-19 academic year, Piedmont captured four regular-season championships and won five conference tournaments.

A native of North Carolina, Guyer graduated from Western Carolina University in 1991 with a bachelor of science in physical education. He also received a Certificate of Coaching Excellence by the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) in 2013.

“I am so excited to be at Piedmont, and I can’t thank President Mellichamp and Athletic Director Jim Peeples enough for giving me this opportunity to start this team,” Guyer said. “My goal is to produce a winning team right away with dedicated student athletes. I am looking forward to this new challenge in my coaching career.”

With swimming being very popular in North Georgia and Atlanta, Guyer plans to spend much of his time recruiting in-state talent. But he’s looking beyond Georgia, too.

"Swimming is a worldwide sport, and everyone wants to come to the United States to swim so I will also be trying to work the international side,” said Guyer. “I would like to see the team have more than 30 swimmers within two years and eventually around 40 after that.”

The 14,500 square-foot aquatic center, maintained by the Habersham County Parks and Recreation Department, includes stadium seating for 250, locker rooms, a 25-meter competition pool and a heated recreation pool.

“Habersham County is delighted to be working with Piedmont College to host the swim teams,” said Habersham County Manager Phil Sutton. “It is exciting for us to be able to use the county’s athletic facilities to host college-level swim practices and meets.”

Just an FYI, the Ruby Fulbright center is the same pool where Bear practices in the summer while we are on vacation at a lake in the north Georgia mountains.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Breeze

Of all the schools in the area, I'm really surprised this is the one that decided to start a program.

Question about how stuff works: would student/athletes enrolled at a satellite campus be eligible?

Piedmont operates a satellite campus in Oconee County (i.e. right across the county line from Athens), and it's a somewhat popular option for locals who didn't get admitted to bigger schools for their freshman year. There's also a decent (to my understanding) swim program or two around here.

Just kinda made me wonder if that might be some part of their thinking with this move.

[Breeze]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Question about how stuff works: would student/athletes enrolled at a satellite campus be eligible?

Piedmont operates a satellite campus in Oconee County (i.e. right across the county line from Athens), and it's a somewhat popular option for locals who didn't get admitted to bigger schools for their freshman year. There's also a decent (to my understanding) swim program or two around here.

Just kinda made me wonder if that might be some part of their thinking with this move.

Honesty, I'm not sure how that works. I'd assume as long as you are enrolled in courses, regardless of where you attend you are eligible to be on the swim team. However, I'm not sure how practice would work. Typically the head coach wants to watch/coach the team, so I don't know if the Oconee swimmers would be expected to commute for practice or if they might assign a satellite coach to work out of another facility. It'll be interesting to see how this fleshes out. I've said for a long time that there are so many great swimmers the Georgia and North Carolina area that it's a shame that the colleges in north Georgia haven't stepped up to start a team, because I think you can build a pretty competitive one quickly. My comments were more centered on the public schools (lower costs), but this might still fit especially with the Hope scholarship helping to pay for school. I'll be following along just out of curiosity.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Breeze

if the Oconee swimmers would be expected to commute for practice or if they might assign a satellite coach to work out of another facility.

I had to Google to be more precise but that's basically a 60 mile trip one-way.

A lot of HS athletes around here are already accustomed to frequent (near daily) trips to Atlanta for training in sports such as track & field as well as (out of season) seasonally for baseball & football so it isn't THAT out of the realm of possibility that they'd commute to practice.

edit to add: as you said, it's something I'll keep one eye on a bit just out of curiosity

[Breeze]

General Update

Today is the start of the new swim season for Bear. He will have his first practice with Swim Atlanta this afternoon. Bailey's first practice with Gold will be tomorrow.

[Breeze]

College Update - Bailey

With practice for the 2019/2020 season underway, and with this being the twins' senior year, I figured I'd take a moment to highlight the schools that are actively recruiting them.

While I find it unlikely that Bailey will choose to swim in college, I did make her agree to visit 3 schools to at least see what they have to offer before she decides to give up the sport. Here are the teams actively recruiting her:

Alfred University
Arcadia College
Asbury College
Assumption College
Babson College
Bard College
Barton College
Berry College
Birmingham Southern College
Bryn Mawr College
Catawba College
Centre College
Columbia College
Cumberlands University
Eastern Connecticut State University
Florida Southern University
Grinnell College
Grove City College
Hamiltion College
Hartwick College
Juniata College
Lake Forest College
Lawrence University
Lenior Rhyne University
Lewis & Clark College
Macalester College
Medaille College
Millersville University
Milligan College
Oberlin College
Randolph College
Salem College
Sarah Lawrence College
Smith College
Soka University
State University of NY at Oswego
Stevens Institute
Sweet Briar College
Trinity College
University of Lynchburg
University of Mount Union
University of Sioux Falls
US Merchant Marine Academy
Vassar College
Washington & Lee University
Westminster College

[Izulde]

Some fantastic colleges on that list with high educational and prestige value.

[Izulde]

dola, I'd put Vassar on the for sure visit list.