 |
12-19-2011, 01:25 PM
|
#1 | ||
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Swim Like A Champion (a real life journal)
I have been on these boards for a while, and I have done quite a few dynasties...including, Golf, Track & Field, and Baseball. However, I've never done a real life dynasty. I've thought about it a couple of times, because I've enjoyed reading some other real life accounts, but I've always held back, probably because I'm pretty private and I didn't want to bore anyone with the accounts of my athletic endevors. Now though, I've decided to go ahead a do one, but thankfully you won't have to read about my sorry performances...rather, if you are interested you can allow the efforts of my kids to bore you...
A little background is probably in order. Let's start with the subjects of the dynasty I have 3 kids, an 11 year old boy, and 9 year old boy/girl twins. All 3 are year round swimmers at Swim Atlanta, and all 3 are pretty good (in different ways too, which makes things interesting at times). When I say pretty good, I mean just that...none are world class, but they are good swimmers that post good times. They have their goals that they really work hard to achieve, and there is quite a bit of emotion between the 3 of them and their interactions with their friends. I will attempt to capture some of that as I go along so you'll know what is happening. I'll get more in depth about my kids and where they stand and what they've done in the past and what their goals are. Year round swimming The swimming season for my kids can be divided into 3 distinct seasons... 1. Short Course which starts in August and runs through March 2. Long Course which starts around April and runs through July 3. Summer/Rec league which starts in May and runs through July Swim Atlanta My kids are on the 3rd level of development for SA (Swim Atlanta)...they practice 4 days a week MWF & Sat for a total of 4.25 hours a week. At practice they usually swim about 3400 yards. While those of you unfamiliar with year round swimming might think this seems like a lot (and it is a lot), it is significantly shorter than most of the other year round facilities have their young athletes swim. It is not uncommon for some other groups to have their kids swim 5000+ yards. I say this so you will understand the philosophy of SA...they believe at the younger ages it is important for the kids to know the technique and to enjoy the sport. Swimming has a very high burn out rate, because practices are long, hard, and solitary (hard to talk while your face is in the water)...and forcing pre-teens to swim that many laps leads to more kids quitting. Moreover SA believes that until kids are fully grown, there is no need to have the extra effort, because what they don't put in now, will be a non-factor by the time they get full grown. In addition, they feel that pushing kids to swim that many laps leads to some poor technique due to fatigue. I'll fill in more on the kids soon... Please let me know if you have any questions or if you need more explanation on anything. Because I deal with this on a daily bases, and most of my friends I communicate with are parents of year rounders, it is possible I'll assume you know information that I have failed to explain or even post... Last edited by Breeze : 12-19-2011 at 01:26 PM. |
||
|
|
|
12-19-2011, 02:23 PM
|
#2 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
As you can see from the post above...we are right in the middle of the short course season (25 yard pools), and so I've been trying to figure out the best way to present this information, and I believe the more entertaining way to do this is for me to go back to the beginning of the season and fill you in as we go...this means I'll be doing a good deal of posting on information that happened months ago. I'll do my best to be as detailed as possible..but the information will probably be more high level....
I have some pictures and videos I can post from time to time, but I'll have to figure out where to put them on the Internet to make them available... Last edited by Breeze : 12-19-2011 at 02:26 PM. |
|
|
|
|
12-19-2011, 04:07 PM
|
#3 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Brett
Age: 11 Birtdate: August 2000 (this is important because the birthdate will impact how old the swimmers are for each season) Height: @55" Weight: @70 lbs Description: Brett is a very small and skinny 11 year old, who wears glasses is very intelligent. He also but suffers from extreme ADHD, and is quite possibly the most stubborn child I've ever met. Many things have come easy to him through his life...he learned to read music (and write music too actually) and play the piano really quickly, then lost interest and gave it up. He is a gifted artist (so much so he drew portriats of himself and his siblings for my mother for Christmas and he drew my niece for my brother...and they are phenominal), and he is a bit of a geek. He isn't really all that athletic, though he was a decent baseball player prior to giving it up for swimming. Unfortunately, Brett is also a bit of a loner. Due to his late birthday, Brett is by far the youngest and smallest in his class (in fact he's over a year younger than 3 kids in his class), and as I said above, not all that athletic, so the other boys aren't trying to buddy up to him. His intelligence, ADHD and stubborness also cause problems in making friends...as he doesn't relate well with kids around his age. He is very sensative and gets his feelings hurt easily, though it is hard to tell because he internalizes everything. Swimming is the one place where he truely feels comfortable...he really loves the sport and it is part of his idenity. Resume: 2008 7/8 Forsyth County Championships 25 Yard Breaststroke - Champion Brett was not a year round swimmer at this point (in fact, it was this win that started the entire swimmer family train down the track). He won this race by 1.25 seconds despite the fact he didn't even know how to dive. 7/8 GRPA Championships 100 Yard Medley Relay - 8th Place Brett swam the Breast leg in the relay, and though he earned the spot by winning the county championship and there was no one better in the county to swim in his place, he was the weak link on the team. 7/8 GRPA Championships 25 Yard Breastroke - 21st Brett finished 21st in the state - not bad - especially given he still didn't know how to dive 2009 7/8 Forsyth County Championships 25 Yard Breaststroke - Champion Brett defended his title winning by over 1 second. 7/8 Forsyth County Championships 50 Yard Freestyle - Champion Brett battled neck and neck with a former baseball teammate in this event, but his year round swimming allowed him to take a lead on the turn (due to being able to flip-turn) and then enabled him to out work his opponent to the wall. 7/8 Forsyth County Championships 25 Yard Freestyle - 5th By finishing 5th in this event, Brett qualified to swim in the "B" Free Relay at the state meet. 7/8 GRPA Championships 25 Yard Breaststroke - 17th Not his best swim, but posted a time similar to the one he won county with 7/8 GRPA Championships 50 Yard Freestyle - 14th Good swim, but too many bigger powerful kids. 7/8 GRPA Championships 100 Yard Medley Relay - 5th Good race for Brett here. His split was actually a personal best 7/8 GRPA Championships 100 Yard Free Relay - 6th Swam the anchor and the team did well...the highest placing B team at the meet 2010 9/10 Forsyth County Championships 25 Yard Breaststroke - Champion This was an amazing race. Brett's regular season this Summer wasn't particularly good. His times didn't improve much from 2009, and when the county meet rolled around Brett wasn't even in the fastest heat (the 10 fastest times swim against each other in the last heat - but the meet is run as a timed finals so every heat is factored into the final standings). Brett swam an amazing race in his heat. Dropping 2+ seconds from his previous best. I was thrilled, I remember jumping up and down and running to the end of the stands (we swim our county meets at the Ga Tech Olympic pool - so we really have stands) to tell him I thought he probably did well enough to qualify for state (top 3 time qualify)...but I didn't think he would win. But before I could get there to tell him the final race had already started...and I starting watching it with 1 eye and watching the clock with the other. When the race ended, the winner was .8 seconds behind him. I yelled at him from the stands that he had won, and his face just lit up...(I had been preparing him for days that he probably wasn't even going to make the state team this time, telling him to do his best, but not to get disappointed. When he made it, seeing the joy on his face absolultely brought tears to my eyes. 9/10 GRPA Championships - 25 Yard Breaststroke - 22nd Similar time to county, but we didn't have much hope it would be much higher in the final standings 9/10 GRPA Championships - 100 Yard Medley Relay - 4th Just missed getting on the podium...sort of...2 seconds from 3rd...but only 1 spot which is what Brett remembered. 2011 9/10 - Georgia 14U Short Course State Championship - 100 Yard Breastroke - DQ This is an event for year round swimmers and to qualify for this event you must swim a time that meets the event minimums (state cuts). Brett worked extremely hard during this short course season to get a state cut. He was very close all year to the 50 yard time but never achieved it. However, in the last chance meet (so named because it is your last chance to get a state cut)...he dropped his personal best in the 100 breast by 3 seconds and qualified. This meet was in Savannah, but we decided he had put too much effort into this achievement to not be rewarded...so we took the family. It was expensive...hotel, food, entertainment. The day of the meet we get there for warm up...he does his prep work and we wait, and wait and wait for his event (the meet was running behind). Finally, his event is called and he gets in line. Then when it is time for him to step up on the blocks, he doesn't hear the whistle...so he's a second late getting up. The start says take your marks...then stand - another official walks over to my son, asks him to step down and DQs him for being late on the blocks. I WAS PISSED...in fact, I wrote a nasty letter to the Georgia Branch of USA SWimming. This was another moment where I got tears in my eyes. My son was devistated. Rather than being pumped up about swimming he was ready to quit. And to make matters worse we had a 6 hour drive home, where he would stew about what had happened to him. 9/10 - Georgia 14U Long Course State Championship - - 100 Yard Breaststroke - 18th After a brief period of pouting we were able to get Brett refocused and ready for long course. He did great here. swimming a personal best at the meet. This 18th place is a MUCH bigger achievement than his finishes at the GRPA meets 9/10 Georgia 14U Long Course Stat Championship - 50 Yard Breaststroke - 22nd Again a personal best and a great swim 9/10 Forsyth County Championships - 25 Yard Breaststroke - 2nd Brett lost in this race by .04 seconds. It was a disappointment, but he took it pretty well. 9/10 GRPA Championships - 25 Yard Breaststroke - 9th This was a huge disappointment for Brett. Coming into this season he really wanted to get to the state finals in breaststroke, which meant finishing in the top 8...and he would have had it if not for a bad dive. He was way too deep on the dive and he ended up finishing .04 seconds out of 8th. Had he swum what he was swimming in training he actually would have finished 6th... 9/10 GRPA Championships - 100 Yard Medley Relay - 4th This time Brett wasn't a problem for the relay and they were just beaten by 3 better teams. Summer League Team MVP: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 Notes You may have noticed that most of Brett's achievements have been in Breaststroke. He is a very natural Breaststroker...in fact, he was swimming Breast in the relays on the summer team as a 6 year old because there were no 7/8 boy that could do it legally. His year round coaches constantlytell us his form is amazing for a young swimmer, and Brett sees himself as a breaststroker. This is good and bad. Good in that he has an identity and bad in that he has ignored the other strokes a bit. As you may have noticed...he hasn't gotten any other state cuts and he hasn't even qualified for GRPA events other than Breast. Some of that is because the breast causes him to have a sloppy kick when doing scissor kick or dolphin kick, and some of it is because he mails in the drills on those strokes. He is only now starting to try to get better in those strokes. Also so many of these Forsyth County championships have come really easily and he's just now learning how to work hard in practice. Last edited by Breeze : 01-02-2012 at 08:38 AM. |
|
|
|
|
12-20-2011, 08:53 AM
|
#4 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Bailey
Age: 9 Birthdate: April 2002 Height: @52" Weight: @62 lbs Description Bailey is an extremely athletic and competitive kid (especially competitive with her brothers). She is unquestionably the best athlete of all my kids. In fact, she is still to this day the fastest in a foot race (but she's also been the fastest girl and one of the fastest kids in her grade every year). Another good way to illustrate Bailey's athletic ability is to note that she also plays tennis and is currently ranked 38th in State's 9/10 age group, and she has another whole year to compete. Bailey is also very smart and popular. She has a big group of friends on the swim team, which helps, as they push and motivate each other to get better. Resume 2010 7/8 Forsyth County Championships - 25 Yard Free - 3rd Bailey finsihed 5th in this event, qualifying her to swim in the Free Relays at the State Meet 7/8 Forstyh County Championships - 100 Yard Individual Medley (IM) - 2nd Bailey swam a strong race, but finished a distant second to the winner, but was ahead of the 3rd place swimmer by almost 7 seconds. The swim wasn't a personal best for Bailey, but it wouldn't have mattered if it was...she would still have been second, as there was 1 girl coming in that had times significantly faster than the rest of the swimmers. 7/8 Forsyth County Championships - 25 Yard Breaststroke - 2nd In this race Bailey was still recovering from the IM (as the races are back to back), but she still posted a time within half a second of her personal best and finsihed 2nd, which is basically what I expected going in, as we knew there was 1 girl who was just a lot better than the field. 7/8 GRPA Championships - 25 Yard Breastroke - 16th Bailey swam a personal best. 7/8 GRPA Championships - 100 Yard IM - 15th Bailey swam a personal best in this one as well. 7/8 GRPA Championships 100 Yard Medley Relay - 7th This was a really cool relay for Bailey. Due to an amazing course of events at the county meet, Bailey ended up swimming at the State Meet with 2 other girls from her summer league team. So 3 of the 4 swimmers in the relay swam the same strokes all year long together in their Thursday night competitions. 7/8 GRPA Championships 100 Yard Free Relay - 2nd Here again, one of the swimmers in the relay was a summer league teammate (and another girl is one of her group of friends described above - but at this point they didn't know each other). The team swam very well, they were just beaten by a better team. The group swam 4 seconds faster than their seed time in the finals and they were 2 seconds faster than their preliminary time. Summer League Team MVP: 2007, 2008, 2010 Note Bailey was unable to swim in the 2009 Forsyth County Championship Meet due to illness. While she wasn't likely to earn a spot on the State team, she was seeded 5th in the back and 7th in the fly - so it wouldn't have been a complete surprise if she had managed to get into the top 3. In 2011 Bailey just missed earning a State Cut for the Long Course season. She was a half second from the cut in the 50 back and the 100 back, unfortunately, there were only 2 events for her to try and qualify and she didn't make it. One of her best friends from the group did slip in though...it was a very disappointing time for her. In Bailey's Summer League MVPs (listed above), she loses to another year round swimmer in her group of friends that is a year older in 2009 and 2011, but Bailey finishes second in MVP points both years. Last edited by Breeze : 12-20-2011 at 12:08 PM. |
|
|
|
|
12-20-2011, 12:04 PM
|
#5 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Bear
Age: 9 Birthdate: April 2002 Height: @53" Weight: @66 lbs Description Bear is a super sweat kid, who wants to make everyone happy, and because of this he is a hard worker. He is also pretty sensative and has for a while stated that "I'm the worst swimmer in the family", "I hate swimming", and of course "I want to quit". His mother and I haven't forced him to swim, we tell him he may quit if he likes, but he'll still have to go to the meets to watch his brother and sister swim (no small thing considering each meet is a minimum of 3+ hours for both Saturday and Sunday). Bear also has some other sporting interests...he wants to play football and he does play golf (Brett plays golf too, but . Resume 2009 7/8 Forsyth County Championships - 25 Yard Fly - 5th This is noteworthy only because of the circumstances surrounding the results. Of the 4 people that beat Bear, the 3rd place finisher was also the 2nd place finisher in the 25 Free and he elected to swim the Free leg in the B relay at state rather than the Fly leg of the C relay team, and the 4th place finisher opted out of going to state, so Bear swam the Fly leg in the C relay (no individual events). 7/8 GRPA Championships - 100 Yard Medley Relay - 13th Bear swam a personal best in his heat (of course the rolling start of a relay helps). He looked great as he was able to make up ground on several other teams during his 25 yard swim. 2010 7/8 Forsyth County Championships - 25 Yard Free - 8th This qualified Bear to swim on the B Free Relay at the State Meet 7/8 Forstyh County Championships - 100 Yard Individual Medley (IM) - Champion This was an unbelievable swim for Bear. His best time coming in was a 1:48.50. In the race he got out to an early lead with the fly leg (his best), then opened the lead with this back (2nd best stroke). He was up by about half a pool at this point, but his Breast is weak (not compared to his other strokes, but in general), however, he was able to hold the lead, then bring it home in the free. He ended up not only swimming a personal best, but he dropped his time by 5 seconds (1:43:55). 7/8 Forsyth County Championships - 25 Yard Butterfly - Champion Bear swam a personal best in this race as well, and improvement of .6 seconds and he won by .8 7/8 GRPA Championships - 100 Yard IM - 8th The GRPA Event is one where preliminaries are swum in the morning and finals for the top 8 qualifiers in the afternoon (I never mentioned it before now, because it wasn't necessary). In the prelims, Bear once again blew me away with his effort. Just like county Bear opened up a big lead in the fly and back legs, Unfortunately, unlike county he wasn't able to hold off all the other swimmers as 1 boy beat him in the heat. However, Bear not only swam another personal best, he improved from his 1:43.55 to a 1:36.12 (a huge 7+ second drop...meaning in his last two races he dropped 12+ seconds in this event). We sweated out the results and Bear finsihed 8th in the prelims, earning him a spot in the finals and in individual medal no matter where he finished in the finals. Unfortunately, the finals didn't go as well for Bear. Fatigue really set in and he was unable to match is time from the prelims, swimming a 1:40.51, which placed him 8th. In all honestly though, even if he had matched his prelim time he still would have been 8th...and he honestly wasn't as good as the other 7 swimmers. I was thoroughly impressed he had even made the finals. He was disappointed however...in fact we have a picture of him sitting apart from the other swimmers before the medal presentations...(it is a great picture with him back lit by the glass walls of the facility). When he was handed his medal he was so upset he didn't look at it at first, but we snapped a picture when he peaked at it, finally accepting his accomplishment. In his eyes he had finished last...it took some significant explaining that he hadn't finished last but rather 8th in the State... 7/8 GRPA Championships - 25 Yard Butterfly - 10th This one was a bit disappointing. The Fly followed the IM at this event, and Bear was still exhausted from the effort of his 1:36. He ended up swimming about half a second off of his personal best, had he been within .25 of that time he would have made the finals here as well. I will until the day I day, say that if the event order were different Bear would have made the finals here... 7/8 GRPA Championships 100 Yard Medley Relay - DQ This was a heartbreaker...Bear was on the A Medley relay for the county, swimming the fly leg. In the prelims they killed it winning their heat by a bunch...however, the backstroker turned over going into the wall and was DQed. Making matters worse...the County's B team finished 2nd in the state only losing to the first place team by .22 seconds - and Bear's relay came in with a seed time more than 2 full seconds faster....ugh... 7/8 GRPA Championships 100 Yard Free Relay - DQ Another heartbreaker. Bear was on the B relay team, but an unfortunate thing occurred right before the meet...one of the A swimmers broke his arm, so the 5th place B team swimmer moved up to the A relay and the 9th place county swimmer moved up to the B relay. This means the boys that had practiced their relay starts for several practices weren't together for the preliminaries...and as you can guess the swimmer moved from the C to the B team - left early and the team was DQed. This became more bitter with the county's C team (including inserting a swimmer into the relay that didn't even finish in the top 15 at the county meet to take the place of the swimmer that left early) finished 8th. The A team finsihed 2nd. Bear's team, based on seed time probably finishes 5th if they aren't disqualified. Summer League Team MVP: 2007, 2008, 2010 Note Bear just missed qualifying for the C Relay in the GRPA State Meet in 2011, similar to the way he qualified in 2009, but this time the swimmer that qualified in both fly and free elected to swim the fly...rather than the free (same swimmer as a matter of fact). Bear's Summer League MVPs (listed above): in 2009, and 2011 he loses the MVP for his age group to Brett...he is second in MVP Points both years... Last edited by Breeze : 02-12-2018 at 08:47 AM. |
|
|
|
|
12-20-2011, 01:02 PM
|
#7 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Now that I've introduced the subjects of this journal, I'll fill in a couple of more notes before going into performances for the beginning of the short course season...
1. I didn't fill in any Forsyth County Summer Team Relay information in their resumes...I didn't want to overly clutter that section, but relays are fun and on odd years Brett and Bear swim together...and Bailey has several of her year round swimmers in her relays regardless of year - so I thought I'd plug it in here... 2009 was the first year the Summer Team fielded relays at the County Meet... 2009 - 7/8 100 Yard Medley Relay - 3rd Bear and Brett's relay team came into the event seeded 10th and finished 3rd. I may be a proud papa, but I can tell you in that race, Brett (who swam the Breast which is the 2nd leg of the relay) was 8th off the wall and 2nd at the end of his leg. Bear (Fly leg and 3rd swimmer in the relay) was 2nd off and 2nd at the end...and the freestyler was passed (by the best swimmer in the county at freestyle - so no shame there)... Bailey's Medley relay finished 5th 7/8 100 Yard Free Relay The boys relay finished 5th, Bailey's team finished 6th 2010 - This year the boys don't swim together as Brett ages up to the 9/10s... 9/10 - 100 Yard Medley Relay This is where I knew that Brett might be able to get into the top 3 in the Breaststroke event later in the day. During the relay the team came in seeded 8th and again Brett was one of the last off the walls of the 10 teams swimming but passed 5 other swimmers and was 2nd at the end of his leg. The other two swimmers held on to a 3rd place finish. 7/8 Boys 100 Yard Medley Relay Bear's group came in 7th seed and finished 3rd. Bear had a very strong swim and the anchor freestyler passed a kid on his leg to secure 3rd 7/8 Girls 100 Yard Medley Relay This is Bailey's relay where 3 of the 4 girls swam together in the state meet as the B relay team for the county. The 3 girls that made county swam great, unfortunately, the one that didn't - didn't and they finished 2nd losing by .06 seconds. 7/8 100 Yard Free Relay Bear's relay team included himself (8th in county) and RJ (5th in county) and those two were able to push the team to 2nd. Never challenged to win, but did beat 2 higher seeded teams. 7/8 Girls 100 Free Relay Bailey's group included her (3rd in county) and Savannah (4th in county) and they finished 2nd in the relay as well. (the team that beat them had the 1st and 2nd place county swimmers in the 25 free...) Brett's free relay finished 9th 2011 - Boys are on the same relays again... 100 Yard Medley Relay Bailey's group came in seeded 2nd and finished a solid 2nd...well ahead of the 3rd place team but a full second behind the winners Brett and Bear unfortunately finished 4th....the backstroker (who is a great swimmer) got a terrible start (didn't hear the starter) and was last at the end of his leg...the team finished 4th, but out of the medals. The team that finished 3rd was a team we swam against in the regular season and beat by half a pool length in this event... 100 Yard Free Relay Bailey's group finished 4th, the boy's group finished 6th... 2. In case you haven't noticed...the girls field of swimmers is much tougher than the boys...there are about twice as many girls in swimming...so tougher to do well I think that just about does it...if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions just jump in... |
|
|
|
|
12-20-2011, 01:22 PM
|
#8 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
2011 Short Course Season Goals
Brett Brett, who had a good 2010 Short Course season, qualifying for State in the 100 Breast, ages up and the time standards drop significantly, due to many boys starting to hit growth spurts at this age. These growth spurts mean bigger, stronger boys and faster times. The time drop for Brett's state qualifying cut for the 100 Breast dropped from 1:39.78 to 1.25.99. That is a huge difference, and given that Brett's personal best was in the 1:38 range...he understood getting a cut in that event was going to be next to impossible unless he hit his own growth spurt. Therefore, he didn't really have any specific goals coming into the season. I urged him to set them, but (I did mention he was stubborn, right?) if he did, he never shared them with me. Bailey As I mentioned in Bailey's bio, she just missed getting a state cut as an 8 year old (in the 10 and under age group) in the 2011 Long Course Season (by the way, a state cut earned in an event short or long course, carries over to the next season automatically as long as the swimmer stays in the same standard...so a state cut last year would have qualifed Bailey to swim at state during short course season because she is still in the 10U age group). Her goal was to qualify for state in as many events as possible, and my goal for her was the same as it seemed pretty obvious she was going to make the meet. Bear Unlike Bailey, Bear wasn't terribly close to a state cut at the end of the 2011 Long Course Season. His closest event was the 50 Fly, but he was still 2+ seconds off of the required time. His goal was to qualify for state in at least 1 event, and I have to say that I was really hoping he would get a state cut. My fear here was that Bailey was going to get in easily and in a number of things and Bear would fail to make the meet. This would crush him as he would fall back on the "i'm the worst swimmer in the family" mantra...and in all honesty he probably would quit at that point. He would be too heartbroken to try again. |
|
|
|
|
12-20-2011, 02:08 PM
|
#9 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
2011 Short Course Season - Personal Bests (these are their personal bests coming into the season)
Bailey 50 Free - 37.33 - from 12/10/10 50 Back - 40.74 - from 2/11/11 50 Brst - 48.18 - from 2/11/11 50 Bfly - 43.37 - from 12/10/10 100 IM - 1:32:72 - from 2/11/11 100 Free - 1:25.64 - from 2/11/11 100 Brst - 1:46.81 - from 3/12/11 Bear 50 Free - 39.72 - from 11/13/10 50 Back - 43.16 - from 3/12/11 50 Brst - 55.07 - from 2/11/11 (I mentioned his Breast was weak...didn't I?) 50 Bfly - 42.79 - from 2/11/11 100 IM - 1:40.94 - from 11/13/10 100 Free - 1:33.76 - from 12/10/10 NOTE: Bear's best IM is actually the 1:36.12 described in his bio from the GRPA State Meet, but that is a different organization so the time doesn't count in the Short Course Season. Interestingly, more than a year after that swim he still hasn't come close to breaking that time, as you can see from his personal best above with is almost 5 seconds slower...he really rose to the occasion that day Brett 50 Free - 36.92 - from 12/10/10 50 Back - 45.85 - from 11/13/10 50 Brst - 46.10 - from 12/10/10 50 Bfly - 44.78 - from 2/11/11 100 IM - 1:32:24 - from 2/11/11 100 Free - 1:23.41 - from 12/10/10 100 Brst - 1:39.50 - from 2/11/11 Last edited by Breeze : 12-20-2011 at 02:08 PM. |
|
|
|
|
12-20-2011, 02:18 PM
|
#10 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Georgia Short Course State Cut Time Standards
Girls 10U 50 Free - 33.49 100 Free - 1.14.59 200 Free - 2.49.09 50 Back - 38.49 100 Back - 1.27.09 50 Breast - 45.49 100 Breast - 1.38.69 50 Fly - 39.89 100 Fly - 1.34.59 100 IM - 1.26.49 200 IM - 3.08.99 Boys 10U 50 Free - 33.39 100 Free - 1.16.09 200 Free - 2.46.69 50 Back - 38.89 100 Back - 1.29.29 50 Breast - 45.79 100 Breast - 1.39.79 50 Fly - 39.79 100 Fly - 1.37.39 100 IM - 1.24.99 200 IM - 3.08.99 I am not going to post the time standards for 11 year olds, unless Brett gets within striking distance of one and at that point I'll post the needed times in the write ups... Last edited by Breeze : 12-20-2011 at 02:19 PM. |
|
|
|
|
12-20-2011, 03:53 PM
|
#11 | |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Quote:
Hey thealmighty... I missed your notes in the process of doing my postings. Actually, Bear was 8 at the time...and his performance in the county and then the state meet really blew me away. I honestly didn't think he was capable of swimming the IM that fast. In fact, I always sort of come up with a time I think they might possibly reach in the event before hand to see where they might place, and my best case scenario was 4 seconds slower than he actually swam. Oh, and I agree with you...fly and IM are a serious workout...but those are what Bear loves the most... Thanks for reading... |
|
|
|
|
|
12-20-2011, 03:53 PM
|
#12 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
I'll start posting meet results from short course tomorrow...
|
|
|
|
|
12-21-2011, 10:20 AM
|
#13 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Swim Atlanta Fall Time Trials - 9/10/2011
The Short Course and Long Course seasons always kick off with a time trial. This meet is typically shorter due to the fact many of the longer events aren't offered, and the reason they aren't offered is because this meet is used to provide swimmers with a baseline time that they will look to improve upon throughout the season. For my kids...we swim the 50 in all 4 strokes and that's all (at least at this point). Coming into this meet these were my expectations... Bailey - I really felt she had a great chance to get her 50 back state cut. I also expected her to improve across the board as she had been swimming extremely well in practice. Bear - I was more curious for Bear than anything. He was working hard in practice (always does) but his technique isn't really the best. I expected some improvement in Back and Free...his Fly was already fast so I wasn't sure he'd improve in this stroke. I was hoping he might get a state cut, but not expecting it. And his Breast has been poor, so I expected an improvement just because it wouldn't take much to get better. Brett - This one I was apprehensive about. As I mentioned in his bio...he really has for almost 2 years mailed in his efforts on all stroke but Breast. His times (as you can see from the personal best post above) were unimpressive in the other strokes, so I felt he might get improvement just because he was stronger and older, but I don't expect big improvements. Plus I was eager to see if his Breast had improved much (I was hoping for about a 1 second drop). Note:Normally, I'll try to post unofficial results as they happen in order...then follow up once official results are released (typically a few days later). But in the case of the first few posts on results, I'm just going to follow the order of the official release because I can't remember the order of events Girls 10U 50 Yard Free Bailey swam a great race finishing in 35.47 a drop of almost 2 full seconds. Interestingly, one of the girls from her group (the newest one as she just moved to town from Chicago during the Summer), beat her by .01 seconds. Girls 10U 50 Yard Back Bailey improved on her 50 back...but not enough to get her state cut. Her time dropped to 39.63, so she's right at 1 second. This race was frustrating because he was swimming against a couple of her friends and she had a lead on them, but she didn't charge into the wall. She was unsure on her count (number of strokes from the flags to the wall) and she ended up gliding into the wall. This easily cost her more than half a second, but a good swim nontheless... Girls 10U 50 Breast 47.15 a drop of 1 full second...and her stroke looks very good. She has been watching Brett in the Breast for a while and she has started to use his style of Breaststroke...very technically sound... Girls 10U 50 Fly This was a very entertaining race because Bailey was swimming next to 5 of her friends. MK, Haley, Lexi, Maddie all side by side. Bailey finished 3rd out of the group, losing to Maddie and Haley but beating the other two. But more importantly she swam a 39.44...and improvement of 4 seconds and our first state cut. Bailey Summary - a great meet for Bailey 4 for 4 in personal bests, 1 state cut and close on the 50 back, and within striking distance on the 50 Breast. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boys 10U 50 Free Bear improves by a second in the 50 free to 38.87 Boys 10U 50 Back Surprisingly, Bear didn't improve in his back, swimming a 43.91. The drop in time isn't significant, and the reason for the drop was a finish worse than Baileys. This time add isn't concerning in light of the finish. He probably would have finished in a 42 flat if he had trusted his count. Boys 10U 50 Breast Bear's breast is still poor...way to much up and down motion and not enough drive forward, but it is getting better as he drops 2+ seconds to 52.75 Boys 10U 50 Fly My hope here was that Bear would drop enough time to really get into striking distance of a state cut. I didn't expect him to get the time in this race, but I wanted him to get down in the high 40s to low 41s...he didn't. He swam a personal best of 42.15, but that number really concerns me because there is still a bunch of time he has to cut to make the state meet and this stroke is his best chance. Bear summary - all and all a good meet for Bear. Some modest improvement in Fly, a drop in Free, Breast is getting better and the rise in Back isn't concerning... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boys 11/12 50 Free Brett doesn't improve in the 50 free...he made some fundamental mistakes - like breathing every stroke and not flip turning so he put on 1 second, finishing at 37.90. I told him that if he wants to get better he'll have to clean up his approach to the stroke...and that there was no excuse for not flip turning at this point in his swimming career, and that he shouldn't be breathing every stroke (I'm sure he wasn't listening because he doesn't really care about these "other" strokes - and he's stubborn) Boys 11/12 50 Back No improvement here either...for all intense and purposes he swam about the same as his personal best 45.95 (only .1 off), but still no improvement from the previous short course season. Boys 11/12 50 Breast In the one event that Brett does believe in, he improved by just over 1 second, dropping is personal best to a 45.03. This is a good sign, in that the improvement will hopefully motivate him to work hard. Boys 11/12 50 Fly Brett added time in his Fly race...swimming a 45.28. His stroke in this looked pretty good, but he decided to breathe every stroke again, which causes his chest to get too high in the water and his feet too low...thus the strokes are less productive in getting him down the pool... Brett summary - Brett's meet was disappointing but not surprising. This type of performance isn't uncommon for him. I keep hoping that he'll get stronger and start showing some improvement in the other strokes, then start believeing he can swim them well and put more effort in at practice - which will create better results and maybe we can get a cycle of improvement / increased confidence / more effort / improvement going - but it hasn't happened yet. Last edited by Breeze : 12-21-2011 at 11:04 AM. |
|
|
|
|
12-21-2011, 11:22 AM
|
#14 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
2011 Short Course Season - Personal Bests @ 1st Meet
Bailey 50 Free - 35.47 - from 9/10/11 50 Back - 39.63 - from 9/10/11 50 Brst - 47.15 - from 9/10/11 50 Bfly - 39.44 - from 9/10/11 100 IM - 1:32:72 - from 2/11/11 100 Free - 1:25.64 - from 2/11/11 100 Brst - 1:46.81 - from 3/12/11 Bear 50 Free - 38.87 - from 9/10/11 50 Back - 43.16 - from 3/12/11 50 Brst - 52.75 - from 9/10/11 50 Bfly - 42.15 - from 9/10/11 100 IM - 1:40.94 - from 11/13/10 100 Free - 1:33.76 - from 12/10/10 NOTE: Bear's best IM is actually the 1:36.12 described in his bio from the GRPA State Meet, but that is a different organization so the time doesn't count in the Short Course Season. Interestingly, more than a year after that swim he still hasn't come close to breaking that time, as you can see from his personal best above with is almost 5 seconds slower...he really rose to the occasion that day Brett 50 Free - 36.92 - from 12/10/10 50 Back - 45.85 - from 11/13/10 50 Brst - 45.03 - from 9/10/11 50 Bfly - 44.78 - from 2/11/11 100 IM - 1:32:24 - from 2/11/11 100 Free - 1:23.41 - from 12/10/10 100 Brst - 1:39.50 - from 2/11/11 Last edited by Breeze : 12-21-2011 at 11:22 AM. |
|
|
|
|
12-21-2011, 01:39 PM
|
#15 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
SCAT Fall Invitational - 10/1/2011
This meet, held at the GaTech Olympic Pool comes only a few weeks after the time trials, so I'm not expecting a significant difference in times for any of the kids, but here are my quit thoughts on each kid for this meet... Bailey - I am still hopeful she'll get her 50 Back state cut at this meet. Bear - I'd like to see him clean up his back and get a personal best and I'd like to see him cut into that Fly time so he can challenge for a state cut before Short Course season ends Brett - I'd like to see some improvement in the "off" strokes Note: again I don't know order of events for this meet, so fatigue may have impacted some of the results but I honestly can't remember what order the events were swum in...so I won't be able to elaborate on that aspect of their efforts Girls 10U - 50 Free Bailey doesn't improve on this one...her time is pretty consistent only .5 slower at 35.95. Girls 10U - 100 Free Bailey swam an amazing race, clocking in with a 1:19.97 - an improvement of almost 6 full seconds. I believe most of this is due to her being stronger than she was last year...but even with that ind it was an extremely shocking an unexpected result. Girls 10U - 50 Back Very similar swim to the time trials in time and appearance. Still a little hesitent into the wall...39.78...slower by about .15 Girls 10U - 50 Breast Bailey's breast continues to improve rapidly...her time drops more than .7 seconds and she is not swimming her 50 breast in about the same times as Brett was last year...46.38. This time also puts her in a good position to get her state cut. Girls 10U - 100 Breast Bailey's good technique on the Breast serves her well in the 100 Breast as she posts a 1:40.66, another 6+ second improvement...and it puts her about 2 seconds from another state cut Girls 10U - 50 Fly A bad swim here for Bailey as she posts a time of 42.14...2.6 seconds slower. Not really a big deal due to the fact she already has her state cut and isn't going to obtain a sectional cut in this stroke anyway (Sectionals is the meet for the Southeastern region and requires an even more stringent time standard to qualify), but she was very disappointed in that time. Girls 10U - 100 IM Bailey again drops a chunck of time swimming a 1:29.30...almost 3.5 second improvement... Bailey had an extremely impressive meet...no new state cuts, but some very significant improvements. The one stroke were she swam poorly was the one that mattered the least (50 Fly). She has now positioned herself to really challenge for more state cuts than I thought she'd be able to get. Now whether she obtains any or all of them will remain to be seen, but it should be fun going forward with so much on the line. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boys 10U - 50 Free Bear again improves his 50 free, and again it is marginally...he drops the times by .3 seconds to 38.58 Boys 10U - 100 Free Bear, like Bailey, improves dramatically in the 100 free, dropping his time to 1:28.98 - an almost 5 second improvement. Again I believe this is mostly due to being stronger than last year...but again a huge surprise. Some improvement was expected but not this much. Boys 10U - 50 Back A personal best here...but only BARELY...43.09...improved by .07. But a personal best is never something to take for granted... Boys 10U - 50 Breast Bear swam a personal best in this race, but he was DQed for an illegal pullout (the portion of the race after the dive or turn where the underwater strokes occur). Bear apparently did too much of his second stroke underwater before he surfaced...and the swimmer is only allowed 1 underwater stroke. He was very upset about the DQ...especially since it removed a personal best, but I told him not to worry about it, as it didn't help his time and he improved even if it didn't count. Boys 10U - 50 Fly Bear improves in his favorite stroke again, but again it is marginally...he drops down into the 41 level with 41.78, but we still aren't in the low 41s high 40s where I'd like him to be in his efforts to get a state cut. At this point he'll have 3 more chances to qualify and we still need to drop 2 full seconds...but I'm proud of him and I tell him so. Boys 10U - 100 IM Bear improves on his official IM best (but still isn't terribly close to his amazing swim at the GRPA State Meet), with a time of 1:38.79. Over a 2 second drop. Bear's had a great meet he was 5/5 on personal bests for those strokes that he was given credit for and he did improve his Breast by about 2 seconds, even though he was DQed. He continues his string of improvements, but I am concerned that we aren't getting close to a State Cut and with Bailey already having one and now close on several more it will break his heart if he doesn't get one, -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boys 11/12 - 50 Free Another swim where Brett's times backup...finished with a 38.12 Boys 11/12 - 100 Free Brett swims better than he had been at the end of the year, but he doesn't come close to a personal best with a time of 1:26.75 Boys 11/12 - 50 Back Brett has a typical Backstroke swim at 46.90...slower than his best but in the same time frame most his backstrokes fall... Boys 11/12 - 50 Breast Doesn't improve in Breast this time, which isn't completely surprising...his time falls back into the mid 45s, so only a half second off his last swim Boys 11/12 - 100 Breast Like the 50 Breast, Brett is off by .5 seconds and doesn't get a personal best Boys 11/12 - 50 Fly DQed...he forgot what stroke he was swimming, and started out freestyle...which eliminates him for non-simultaneous arms. This infuriated me and we had a long chat about taking this more seriously or giving it up for good, because I wasn't going to waste my money on his swimming if he was going to make mental mistakes like this... Boys 11/12 - 200 Breast I signed Brett up for this event, because his coach had told him, numerous times that he will do better on the longer Breast swims because his technique is so good. That he doesn't do as well on the short swims, because he isn't as strong at many boys that are bigger than he is, but those boys can't hold up their strokes and speed for the longer swims and his technique will allow him to beat them. Unfortunately, Brett was intimidated and refused to go...so we No Show...and I'm not happy... Brett had a horrible meet. Now I must qualify something here. Brett was forced to go to the pool for the morning session because his siblings were scheduled to swim then...meaning he got up around 6 to eat and hit the road, then he had to sit around for hours waiting until the afternoon session when it was his turn to go. He doesn't do well when this is the case, but I did expect a little better effort from him. We have had issues with him of taking swimming for granted in the past, and I was serious when I stated that if he didn't take it more seriously then I was going to pull him out (though I'd really pull him out for a couple weeks intially to get his attention). We'll see if it comes to that... ----------------------------------------------------- |
|
|
|
|
12-21-2011, 01:45 PM
|
#16 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
2011 Short Course Season - Personal Bests @ 2 Meets
Bailey 50 Free - 35.47 - from 9/10/11 50 Back - 39.63 - from 9/10/11 50 Brst - 46.38 - from 10/1/11 50 Bfly - 39.44 - from 9/10/11 100 IM - 1:29:30 - from 10/1/11 100 Free - 1:19.97 - from 10/1/11 100 Brst - 1:40.66 - from 10/1/11 Bear 50 Free - 38.58 - from 10/1/11 50 Back - 43.07 - from 10/1/11 50 Brst - 52.75 - from 9/10/11 50 Bfly - 41.78 - from 10/1/11 100 IM - 1:38.79 - from 10/1/11 100 Free - 1:28.98 - from 10/1/11 NOTE: Bear's best IM is actually the 1:36.12 described in his bio from the GRPA State Meet, but that is a different organization so the time doesn't count in the Short Course Season. Interestingly, more than a year after that swim he still hasn't come close to breaking that time, as you can see from his personal best above with is almost 5 seconds slower...he really rose to the occasion that day Brett 50 Free - 36.92 - from 12/10/10 50 Back - 45.85 - from 11/13/10 50 Brst - 45.03 - from 9/10/11 50 Bfly - 44.78 - from 2/11/11 100 IM - 1:32:24 - from 2/11/11 100 Free - 1:23.41 - from 12/10/10 100 Brst - 1:39.50 - from 2/11/11 |
|
|
|
|
12-22-2011, 10:38 AM
|
#17 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
War Eagle Invite - 10/21/11
As you can guess by the name this event takes place at the Auburn University pool. A very impressive facility with a TON of Championship banners in the rafters and an impressive list of Olypic swimmers displayed on the wall (including like 18 former alumni that competed in the 2008 games...). This is probably the fastest pool we will swim in all year, so I'm hoping for improvements from the kids in this event. Bailey - It is my hope that the faster pool combined with some good practices will allow her to get another state cup, probably the 50 back, but unless she gets better on the turn and finish, I'm not sure she can cut that 1+ second she needs. Middle of the pool is fast, but the other parts still need work/confidence. Bear - Bear has made the switch to the "man suit" for this event. This is his coaches way of describing the briefs (before Bear wore the jammers, which look like bike shorts without the pads, now he wears what I grew up calling a Speedo). He is pumped up and he likes the new suit...hopefully he'll swim well. Brett - Started working harder at practice...even his coach mentioned it...so maybe it will pay off in improved times. We need to have something good happen here, or Brett might shut down his efforts soon. Note: All of the events (except the time trials) described above were 2 day events...but like I said, I don't remember the order of events. In this case Auburn reports the official results in the order they were swum. So, You'll see the results in order and I will try to note 1st day vs 2nd day, which I can't remember in the other cases ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 1 Girls 10U - 50 Breast Starts the meet our well, but not quite an improvement but a nice swim regardless...only .3 slower 46.61 Girls 10U - 50 Back This wasn't a good swim 41.31 - over 1.5 seconds slower than the last couple of time she swam it... Girls 10U - 100 IM Bailey's followed up her 3 second improvement from a few weeks earlier with another (almost) 2.5 second drop. She posted an impressive 1:26.94. Unfortunately the state cut is a 1:26.49...so she just missed it. But she is really close here and if she doesn't faid back in her next meet (possible given the level of improvement in the last couple of times she swam it) she should get this one before the end of the season. Day 2 Girls 10U - 50 Fly Improved significantly from the bad 42+ swim a few weeks ago, but not a personal best...40.38. Again not a big deal due to already having her state cut. Girls 10U - 50 Free Bailey had reported to us, prior to this event, that she was being put in the front of her line every practice during kick sets because she was passing everyone. Well that hard kicking in practice paid off. Bailey blew away her best time posting a 33.96. That is about a 1.5 second drop, pretty significant in a 50 where you were already posting good times. Girls 10U - 100 Breast Bailey improved again in the 100 Breast...dropping her time another 2.4 seconds to a 1:38.28 - And in only her 3rd time swimming the event She gets her state cut. She now has 2...and she's still close on several more. Bailey's meet was very up and down. Huge improvemens in the 50 Free and IM, plus a state cut in the 100 Breast, but she's still struggling to get her backstroke to down to where it was to start the season, and I'm starting to wonder if she'll be able get her state cut in this stroke at all. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 1 Boys 10U - 50 Breast Bear swims a 50.73 in the 50 Breast...not a great time, but still a 2 second improvement...and this is his weakest stroke. Boys 10U - 50 Back Like the previous meet, Bear improves his 50 back...barely. This time the drop is .11, but still a personal best (42.96) Boys 10U - 100 IM Bear's run of moderate improvements is over. In the 100 IM he drops 6.7 seconds to a true personal best of 1:32.08. He has finally bettered that amazing swim from the GRPA meet and he looked strong doing it. The improvement in his Breaststroke is the biggest driver in this time reduction, but I must say that his freestyle in warmups for day 1 and even in the final 25 yards of the 100 yard race looked particularly strong. Day 2 Boys 10U - 50 Fly Another improvement. The time drops .4 seconds to a 41.38. Still have about 1.5 seconds more to go in order to earn that cut, and we are running out of meets. We have one in November, but it is a slower pool, we'll be back at Auburn in January, then the last chance meet in February... Boys 10U - 50 Free Remember I said Bear's free look particulary strong in warm ups and in the 100 IM, well looks like my observations were right. He cuts almost 3 full seconds on his 50 Free and drops the time to 35.78. Boys 10U - 100 Free About that stronger Freestyle...the 50 showed that it had improved...the 100 showed just how much. He dropped 8.3 seconds to a 1:20.60, with a 50 split of 37.63 (faster than his 50 had been coming into this meet). This was an unbelievable meet for Bear. He was a perfect 6 for 6 in personal bests and is now 15 for 16 on the year. This run is extremely impressive, especially when you consider some of the improvements are significant. I expect this streak will be coming to an end soon, as I can't believe he'll be able to maintain this level of improvement. This does give me hope that he'll be able to earn his state cut - it is still not a given, as he needs to cut a good bit of time on all the strokes other than the 1.5 on the fly, but the fact that he is getting stronger shows that 1.5 may be doable. Also, in this meet Bear earned 32 points for SwimAtlanta, as he had several top 10 finishes. In fact, he was in the top 15 point earners in the boys 10 and Under age group (to give you a measuring stick, Bailey earned 4 points). In fact, had I entered Bear in a full slate of events (meaning giving him 2 more swims which was the max for the meet), he would have probably finished in the top 10 and earned a trophy. Regardless, he is very pumped up following this effort. Oh, and the "man suit" is here to stay... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 1 Boys 11/12 - 50 Breast Brett gets off to a good start in this meet. His time drops about 1.25 seconds to a 43.79. This a big drop in an event that he swims well. I was hoping for an improvement, but this was a bigger one than I would have thought possible at this point. Boys 11/12 - 50 Back After almost a full year, Brett has finally improved on his backstroke. The time of 45.41 still isn't good...but he improved and we will take small victories at this point. Boys 11/12 100 IM Brett was DQed in this one but not for a technical issue, he swallowed a bunch of water coming into his Breaststroke leg (ironic I know) and he stopped. It's unfortunate, because he was well ahead of his best time on the split with only Breast and Free to swim, he probably posts a personal best. He seems to have handled it well (hard to tell because he internalizes things), but I'm concerned at this point. He was 2 for 2 on personal bests, and this could cause a drop in confidence or simply cause him to lose focus, which could lead to a bad second day. Day 2 Boys 11/12 - 50 Fly The first race after the DQ from the day before, is also the event he was DQed in at the previous meet for swimming the wrong stroke. Thankfully, he rebounds strong with a personal best 43.95 - not quite a full second, but close, and a VERY good sign for the day (I Hope). Boys 11/12 - 50 Free Marginal improvement on his previous personal best. Posts a 36.32 Boys 11/12 - 100 Breast With the improvement iinthe 50 breast, I was hoping we'd see one here to, since he's typically stronger in the longer breast events. Sure enough, he improves...but not a little - A LOT - his time drops 4.2 seconds to 1:35.39... Brett has finally had a strong meet this season. He was a 5 for 6 on personal best and would have been 6 for 6 if not for the flukie instance of swallowing water. He had some big improvements in the 2 strokes he cares the most about and he is very happy with his performance. Thankfully, he seeing some rewards for his hard work in practice. ----------------------------------------------------- Last edited by Breeze : 09-26-2018 at 09:26 AM. |
|
|
|
|
12-22-2011, 10:47 AM
|
#18 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
2011 Short Course Season - Personal Bests @ 3 Meets
Bailey 50 Free - 33.96 - from 10/21/11 50 Back - 39.63 - from 9/10/11 50 Brst - 46.38 - from 10/1/11 50 Bfly - 39.44 - from 9/10/11 100 IM - 1:26.94 - from 10/21/11 100 Free - 1:19.97 - from 10/1/11 100 Brst - 1:38.28 - from 10/21/11 Bear 50 Free - 35.78 - from 10/21/11 50 Back - 42.96 - from 10/21/11 50 Brst - 50.73 - from 10/21/11 50 Bfly - 41.38 - from 10/21/11 100 IM - 1:32.08 - from 10/21/11 100 Free - 1:20.60 - from 10/21/11 Brett 50 Free - 36.32 - from 10/21/11 50 Back - 45.41 - from 10/21/11 50 Brst - 43.79 - from 10/21/11 50 Bfly - 43.95 - from 10/21/11 100 IM - 1:32:24 - from 2/11/11 100 Free - 1:23.41 - from 12/10/10 100 Brst - 1:35.39 - from 10/21/11 Last edited by Breeze : 12-22-2011 at 10:48 AM. |
|
|
|
|
12-22-2011, 11:08 AM
|
#19 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Swimming Notes
A couple of items that don't directly involve my kids, but are part of our swimming experience and could have some indirect impact. 1. Bailey friend from her group, Maddie (mentioned in the Time Trials Meet), has exploded...her times have plummetted so much so that she already has several Sectional cuts (she'll not only swim at State, but will go to Greensboro, NC this Spring to compete in regionals), and she is very close to Select Cuts (a motivational time that earns the swimmer rewards from the club - limited swim cap and some other items). Maddie is 10, and she is a big and athletic girl. She is at least 6" taller and 50% heavier than Bailey - and she uses her strenght well. It is exciting to watch her swim...and if she keeps improving she will be in a position to win some state championships. 2. Haley (another friend in the group and mentioned in the time trial write up), is closing in on a sectional cut for backstroke (both 50 & 100). 3. Lexi (see time trial write up), has had to stop swimming for a while. She (according to her mother) had complained about knee pain for a while, and they finally took her to get an MRI. It turned up some damage in the knee that required surgery. The surgery went fine, and she's recently started swimming again, but she's on a max of 1000 Yards, so she isn't practicing with the team, and won't be for several weeks. She's hoping to swim a few short events (50 free, 50 back) at Auburn in January. Last edited by Breeze : 12-22-2011 at 11:09 AM. |
|
|
|
|
12-22-2011, 01:41 PM
|
#20 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Woodie B Malone Invite - 11/19/12
This event takes place at a rival year round swim club's facility. We've swum here in the past, and it isn't one of our favorite venues. Crowded, old, and the event is typically over crowded. In the meet this time, Brett will be swimming in the morning, in the "outside" pool (it is actually under a huge permenant tent). It is a long course pool that they will swim from side to side (Rather than end to end). Bailey and Bear will compete in the afternoon in the indoor pool (where we typically compete). Bailey - Another meet, another chance for a state cut...and with numerous events in striking distance I feel pretty good we'll see her get one at this meet. Bear - I'm hoping Bear will be able to continue his astonishing run of personal bests. He is getting pumped up about swimming for the first time in a long time and it is exciting to see. Brett - Coming off a strong meet, I'm hoping we can build on that success and continue our improvements. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Girls 10U - 50 Free Bailey doesn't get a personal best, but she's close enought that I don't expect her to slide back for long. Her time of 34.13 is only fractionally slower than her best from Auburn. Girls 10U - 100 Free Bailey didn't swim the 100 free at Auburn...but like Bear did in his most recent 100 free, Bailey cut a bunch of time. She dropped from a 1.19.97 to 1.15.86. A very strong swim. Girls 10U - 50 Back Another shot at the State Cut missed, Back to the mid 40s in this stroke and still not confident enough going into the walls... Girls 10U - 100 Back This is a new event for Bailey (never swam it short course), but because she has 2 state cuts, I elected to have her not swim the 100 Breast and the 50 Fly in this event to try and get a cut in another race. I felt she had a good shot to get the cut...she didn't - swimming a good 1:28.90...but she stopped on the 3rd lap, sat up and looked around. Not sure what that was about. It was the strangest thing, but she honestly stopped swimming. Had she not stopped, I fell comfortable in saying she'd have gotten her cut. So we'll be swimming this one again at our next meet for sure. Girls 10U - 50 Breast Slid back here to a 47.28...about where she was before her improvement at the 10/1 meet. Girls 10U - 100 IM For the 3rd straight race, Bailey improved on this stroke. This time the drop wasn't significant (like the 5.5 seconds combined from the last two times she swam an IM), in fact, this time the drop wasn't even a full second. It was about .8 seconds, as she posted a 1:26.11. All she needed was about a half second for her cut, so Bailey got her 3rd State Cut . It was actually cute when she got out of the pool following this race. This was her last race of the meet (though they aren't listed in any particular order), and she didn't think she had done well enough to get her state cut and she was upset. She really wanted to get another one this meet and It took a good bit of talking to convence her she had gotten it, at which point she perked up and gave me a big kiss... Bailey continues her strong season, earning a 3rd state cut and showing that the 100 Back should be attainable (1:27.09 is what she'll need). Her strong kicking is really the catalyst behind much of this improvement. I brag on her about her efforts in practice and point our how well they are paying off. Coming into the season I thought Bailey would get 3 to 5 cuts...we already have 3 so it has been as successful season already in my eyes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boys 10U - 50 Back Another personal best - this time it isn't a minor drop as he posts a 41.60, that's a 1.3 second improvement and it moves him within a couple seconds of a cut (still a ways off, but reachable now). Boys 10U - 50 Breast Bear breaks the 50 second mark and swims his breast in 48.18. Another drop of 1.5 seconds, and his streak of peronal bests continue Boys 10U - 50 Fly Bear gets another personal best here - swimming in 39.76. So his streak of personal best is still going strong and more importantly he got his state cut by .03 seconds. Thank God...now I can relax a bit...as he won't be left out when the state meet rolls around. He was so pumped up after he found out he got his cut he was jumping up and down, giving me "bear" hugs...it was a truely awesome moment. Boys 10U - 100 IM A 4th straight personal best at this meet, as he posts a 1:28.40...1.5 seconds off again. And Bear's strong swimming continues. In this event Bear has dropped his time 12 seconds in the last 2 meets... Boys 10U - 50 Free In his second to last event of the meet (and I do remember it was his second to last event), his string of something like 18 straight personal bests came to an end...(which is how I remember it was his second to last event of the meet). He swam a good 36.18, but .4 slower than he swam at Auburn. Boys 10U - 100 Back I decided to Bear in the 100 Back due to the way the order of events fell (there weren't a whole lot of other options, and I felt he could do well in this one). He wasn't too thrilled about it...he was concerned about executing all those backstroke flip turns, but like the champ that he is, he attacked it. And he did extremely well, posting a 1:26.43...which is a state cut. In fact, it is 3 seconds under the required time for a state cut... Bear continues his incredible season with another strong meet, going 5 for 6 in personal bests (by the way, I was never so specific in counting how many personal bests out of how many swims the kids had, until Bear got on this run). And more importantly he has 2 State Cuts. I honestly don't expect another one, and that's fine, he got in which was my goal for him coming in. However, I will qualify my statement about not expecting another one...if he continues to improve the way he has all season, he certainly might get additional cuts. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boys 11/12 - 50 Breast Brett starts the meet with his favorite stroke, so I was hopeful this would lead to a good meet. It didn't. In fact, just the opposite. Brett's coach worked in practice on him extending in his Breaststroke...wanting him to really reach on the streamline portion of the stroke, telling him that he has been shorting up in an effort to increase his stroke rate to go faster. He told him that he isn't strong enough to compete that way and he was slowing himself down a bit. Good advice, but unfortunately, Brett's execution of the change caused him to slow way down. To times that he hadn't posted in over a year. He ended up swimming a 46.88...and he was crushed. You could visably see the fight go out of him following this race. I tried to keep him focused and positive, but he was not listening... Boys 11/12 - 50 Fly Breathed every stroke on the Fly (something he hadn't done since the time trials) and added 4 full seconds to his best time from the previous meet. Again, his heart wasn't in it...posted 47.30 Boys 11/12 - 100 IM I was able to get a little spark of life out of him prior to this race, and he worked hard in this event, but he came up .4 second short of a best time. He thought he had it getting out of the pool...and was disappointed to find out he didn't. This meet was a heartbreaker for Brett. He was coming off a good performance in Auburn, and he laid an egg in this one. It demoralized him so much he didn't go back to compete the 2nd day, and I didn't make him. It was a tough decision for me...I'm one that says you fight through your problems and you don't quit...but when I looked at the situation, his mom and I felt that if we make him go and he performs poorly again (which is possible given his state of mind isn't all that good at this point), it's liable to cause more harm and further depress him. To make matters worse, Bailey earned her 3rd cut and Bear got 2 in this same meet. Brett was proud of them and happy for them (he even told them so), but you could see the hurt in his eyes, and the knowledge that despite the fact that he was the one that truely loved swimming...he was doing poorly while his bother and sister were tearing things up. He feels like he is getting left behind... We talked to his coaches following this meet, and told them how depressed he was. We asked if they could suggest some things we might do in order to build him back up. They explained that the jump to 11/12s can be a hard one (we knew that already), especially for small 11 year olds (that's us), because they just lack the raw strength needed to compete. Great insight but not terribly helpful...they did say they were sorry to hear that and they would try to do some positive reinforcement to build him back up. They were genuinely concerned. They don't want him to quit, because they believe he has a bunch of talent (in Breaststroke) and that he'll grow into a competitive swimmer. ----------------------------------------------------- |
|
|
|
|
12-22-2011, 01:52 PM
|
#21 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
2011 Short Course Season - Personal Bests @ 4 Meets
Bailey 50 Free - 33.96 - from 10/21/11 50 Back - 39.63 - from 9/10/11 50 Brst - 46.38 - from 10/1/11 50 Bfly - 39.44 - from 9/10/11 100 IM - 1:26.11 - from 11/19/11 100 Free - 1:15.86 - from 11/19/11 100 Brst - 1:38.28 - from 10/21/11 100 Back - 1:28.90 - from 11/19/11 Bear 50 Free - 35.78 - from 10/21/11 50 Back - 41.60 - from 11/19/11 50 Brst - 48.18 - from 11/19/11 50 Bfly - 39.76 - from 11/19/11 100 IM - 1:28.40 - from 11/19/11 100 Free - 1:20.60 - from 10/21/11 100 Back - 1:26.43 - from 11/19/11 Brett 50 Free - 36.32 - from 10/21/11 50 Back - 45.41 - from 10/21/11 50 Brst - 43.79 - from 10/21/11 50 Bfly - 43.95 - from 10/21/11 100 IM - 1:32:24 - from 2/11/11 100 Free - 1:23.41 - from 12/10/10 100 Brst - 1:35.39 - from 10/21/11 Last edited by Breeze : 12-22-2011 at 01:52 PM. |
|
|
|
|
12-22-2011, 02:24 PM
|
#22 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Swimming Notes
A new meet popped up on the schedule...the Gold Invite (another year round team's hosted meet). The meet is scheduled to take place 12/17...right in the gap between the Woodie B (listed above) and the Auburn meet in January. It is also in our town (read 10 minutes down the road), so we'll swim it. However, a golden opportunity popped up for us. The Duel in the Pool is taking place at Ga Tech on teh 16th and 17th. It is a duel meet between the U.S. and some European All-Stars, and we can get tickets for $25 each. Typically, we wouldn't do anything the night before a meet because we like the kids to get to bed on time, but this is just a once in a lifetime type of event that we can't pass up. So not only do we get tickets, but we get front row seats at the turn end of the pool for Friday night. The kids have a blast, cheering the entire time and seeing some elite athletes do their thing (they are already asking about the London Games now...). This also seems to have pumped them up (especially Brett). Not sure how it will ultimately affect their swim at the meet the next day, but I'm not concerned and I've told the kids not to put any pressure on themselves. Just go swim and have fun... We'll see... |
|
|
|
|
12-22-2011, 03:44 PM
|
#23 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Gold Invite - 12/17/2011
This meet is held at a new facility in the City of Cumming. It is a nice facility, but results from high school swimmers who have had meets there suggest it is a slow pool. Most of the swimmers reporting it is slow because the water is kept to warm for the senior citizens that use the pool for physical therapy and fitness. Again we came into the meet with no expectations and are just doing it so we don't practice for 2 months without competing. Bailey - I expect another meet similar to her recent ones, with a few improvements (though not ones with significant time drops) and several that are similar to what she swam coming in. I feel pretty good she'll get her 100 Back cut unless she does something silly like stop in the middle of the pool again. Bear - I have to believe he won't continue to get personal bests, but I'm hoping his amazing season continues. I don't expect any state cuts though Brett - Got my fingers crossed...please let him do well... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Girls 10U - 50 Back A better effort on Backstroke for Bailey this time around. She didn't get a personal best, but she did break the 40 second plateau she had hit - 39.89 Girls 10U - 100 Breast A personal best, but by the slimmest of margins. Her 1:38.21 drops her time .07 seconds... Girls 10U - 50 Free 34.92, not a personal best, but right in line with where she has been swimming this event. Girls 10U - 100 Free Bailey 100 free fell back a bit, and it upset her. She swam a 1:17.45, down 1.5 or so seconds from her best. I believe it upset her because she doesn't want to fall further behind Maddie (who won the event outright with a ridiculous time of 1:05.44). Of course I could be misreading it...she could just be disappointed by the big drop. The problem in the event was she didn't get an early catch on the water, so there were some inefficiencies in the early part of the pull...easily corrected... Girls 10U - 100 Back Well, she didn't stop, when she was swimming the event this time, and she was able to post a 1:25.66, which is 2+ seconds under the required state cut time Bailey gets her 4th state cut. This one I felt she'd get easily and she did... Girls 10U - 50 Breast A Personal Best of 45.48 is also .01 under the state cut time, Bailey now has 5 state cuts. Surprisingly, her stroke doesn't look as good right now as it did earlier in the season. She appears to be a little flat with her pull, so she may have more speed in this stroke when she figures it back out, but it won't really matter... Bailey earns two more state cuts on her last 2 swims (yes they are in order this time). She has 5 on the year and is doing really well. It is a bit surprising to me that the 50 back remains the stroke she can't seem to get, and it was the one I expected her to get first. Because she has so many state cuts now, and because she has requested this in the past, I'm going to be entering her in some longer races during the last few meets. This is the plan 200 free (and based on how she does possibly the 200 IM or 100 Fly)...she'll decide, but first I want her to do a 200 in freestyle so she'll know what it is like before she jumps into a 200 IM... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boys 10U - 50 Back Another Personal Best - 40.48 so a drop of 1.2 seconds...and it moves him only .6 seconds from the state cut. Boys 10U - 50 Free Another low 36 swim...36.10 so no improvement here, but still showing consistency in his speed... Boys 10U - 100 Free Back to the Personal Best...a drop of 2.5 seconds puts his new time at 1:18.05. In this race Bear showed off some really greatly improved underwater swimming. Having watched the elite swimmers at duel in the pool take control of races on turns, Bear decided to try and do the same, and in this event it was obvious. He would hit the wall slightly behind a swimmer in a close by lane, but after the turn and underwater work, he'd come up head and shoulders ahead. It was pretty cool to see this executed on a smaller scale (we have some need video on this...). Boys 10U - 100 Back Not a personal best and not even a very good swim. Time was fine - 1:28.76 and would have been good enough for a state cut had he needed it, but he completely screwed up his turns - twice. He got wrong armed and it tied him in knots. He got out laughing about how badly he executed those turns. He said he'd work on it hard in practice. Boys 10U - 50 Breast Bear swims a 46.70...I NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THIS POSSIBLE...his breaststroke was so bad, he didn't even want to swim it, ever...but now he's less than 1 second from a state cut as a 9 year old (albiet an old 9 year old)...oh, it is another personal best in case you didn't figure that out on your own. Boys 10U - 100 IM Another 1.5 second drop from his personal best...a time of 1:26.94. Hard to believe he started the year swimming the IM in 1:40.xx. Another interesting tidbit from this race. Bear is working on swimming fly a little differently. He was the type of kid that swam fly fast, but he did so by working hard and "wiggling" fast, rather than creating that big smooth, beautiful motion the great flyers have. He's trying to go fast with that bigger motion now and from the first let of the IM, he's doing pretty good. I don't believe currently he is as fast as he was, but it's close and he'll benefit in the long run from making the change. Bear's season is just mindblowing to me. He has set a personal best in 24 our of 28 swims...I wouldn't believe it if someone told me that and I hadn't seen it for myself. The kid is super pumped up about swimming. After this meet, he's put himself into striking distance of another couple of cuts...I'm not holding my breathe that he'll get them, but he might...(if he gets Breast I'll be completely floored) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boys 11/12 - 50 Back Brett has to start on his most hated stroke...the backstroke. I was hoping that he'd get off to a good start to maybe set the tone for the meet, and I was scared for the tone to be set with him swimming back. But he looked good. Got his feet up in the kick and made that more productive and he increased his stroke rate, plus his turn was perfect...personal best 43.10. Yes I know it isn't a great time, but for him it is a monumental improvement on a number of levels. He drops his time by about 2.5 seconds, and he get a personal best (regardless of how slow it is still confidence building for him). Boys 11/12 - 200 Breast I finally got Brett to agree to swim this event. In fact, all morning he was talking about it as his nervous energy was building...when the race came, because he had an NT (no time), in the event he was in the first heat with 2 other NTs. Only neither showed up. So Brett, in his first 200 of any kind, swims solo...He looks awesome doing it posting a time of 3:18:94. In fact, that time is so impressive I look up the state cut, which is a 3:15.99...so we are only 3 seconds shy. That sounds like a lot, but if you read back and notice how often we have significant drops in 100 yard races, the getting 3 seconds in a 200 yard event is definately doable. Also Brett had no one pacing him or racing him so no adrenaline or guide...Regardless if he gets it or not...(and I'll go more in detail on how likely it is in his summary) it has pumped him up and will hopefully be the spark he needed to push him through this tough time Boys 11/12 - 100 IM After finishing his 200, Brett has to turn around and swim the IM...and he does great...he posts a personal best of 1:30.90...and without fatigue I bet it would have been even better... Boys 11/12 - 100 Free 1:18.35...a 5+ second improvement over his previous best...He still needs to clean up the stroke a bit, but he worked harder in a Free race then I've seen him do in years...I was very proud of this effort. Boys 11/12 - 100 Breast A personal best of 1:33.28, which is 2 seconds better than his previous best. I believe he's starting to figure out the coach's suggestion of going long, and his more recent suggestion to delay the breath just a bit (which i think is an effort to keep him lower in the water). Regardless, it worked... Boys 11/12 - 50 Fly Brett's fly looked really good. Nice rythem and movement. He needs to get stronger doing it but the form was good. He posted a best time of 42.22, another 1.5 second (or so) drop. This meet was just what the doctor ordered. Not only did he go 6 for 6 on personal bests, and get some significant drops, but he put himself in a position with the 200 Breast to earn a state cut. He was so pumped up after the meet that he asked me to work with him on our exercises at night again. This is something we've done in the past when he wanted to get faster for some reason. We don't do anything major, just some chin ups, push ups, jumping exercises...but the point is he believes he has a shot now and he's willing to work harder to get there. He does have a shot...3 seconds in a 200 is not much...but I do have a few concerns...first - when I look at his splits and I compare them to his personal bests, I'm not sure there are 3 seconds to gain. I've explained above why I think he can go faster (pacing, racing, familiarity with the race, etc.), but here is why I'm concerned. First, he swam his opening 50 in 47.02...a great time for a 200, but also less than 1.5 seconds from his personal best at the beginning of this season and only 3 seconds slower than his personal best now. His first 100 time was 1:38.37, his personal best just a couple months ago was 1:38.xx. His best has now dropped to 1:33...so maybe we can cut a few there. But here is where the real crux of the issue is in my mind. Typically the time gains come from understanding the race and having the strength to finish stronger...but Brett's back half was only 2.2 seconds slower than his first 100. That is an amazing bit of info in my mind, and extremely impressive as well. It also illustrates what his coaches have been telling him, that his techique will allow him to swim longer races better. They have told him he can swim breast all day and never stop. So will he be able to cut 3 seconds, I'm not sure, and he'll only have a couple shots at it...We shall see... ----------------------------------------------------- |
|
|
|
|
12-22-2011, 03:59 PM
|
#24 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
2011 Short Course Season - Personal Bests @ 4 Meets
Bailey 50 Free - 33.96 - from 10/21/11 50 Back - 39.63 - from 9/10/11 50 Brst - 45.48 - from 12/17/11 50 Bfly - 39.44 - from 9/10/11 100 IM - 1:26.11 - from 11/19/11 100 Free - 1:15.86 - from 11/19/11 100 Brst - 1:38.21 - from 12/17/11 100 Back - 1:25.66 - from 12/17/11 Bear 50 Free - 35.78 - from 10/21/11 50 Back - 40.48 - from 12/17/11 50 Brst - 46.70 - from 12/17/11 50 Bfly - 39.76 - from 11/19/11 100 IM - 1:26.94 - from 12/17/11 100 Free - 1:18.05 - from 12/17/11 100 Back - 1:26.43 - from 11/19/11 Brett 50 Free - 36.32 - from 10/21/11 50 Back - 43.10 - from 12/17/11 50 Brst - 43.79 - from 10/21/11 50 Bfly - 42.22 - from 12/17/11 100 IM - 1:30:90 - from 12/17/11 100 Free - 1:18.35 - from 12/17/11 100 Brst - 1:33.28 - from 12/17/11 200 Brst - 3:18.95 - from 12/17/11 |
|
|
|
|
12-22-2011, 04:02 PM
|
#25 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
ok, i'm caught up now...I'll post updates or interesting tidbits as they occur...
The next meet is the middle of Jan at Auburn...hopefully, the kids won't slack off too much during the holiday... |
|
|
|
|
01-03-2012, 09:31 AM
|
#26 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
ok, I'm going to try and get some video up...
|
|
|
|
|
01-03-2012, 10:33 AM
|
#27 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
alright, I can't seem to get the embed to work from my online location (not really interested in posting my kids videos on YouTube)...unfortunately, I guess I'll post links to the videos - unless someone wants to advise me on the best way to accomplish this...
Last edited by Breeze : 01-04-2012 at 02:41 PM. |
|
|
|
|
01-03-2012, 01:20 PM
|
#28 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Bailey's 100 Yard IM @ Woodie B. Malone Meet
This isn't one of Bailey's swims from our most recent meet, but I decided to post this one for a couple reasons. 1. Because it is the IM, you'll get to see all of her strokes, and with her qualifying for state in numerous events you'll have an idea what she looks like in all of those strokes. 2. This swim qualified her for the State Meet so you'll get to see her in an event that she earned a cut. Due to the layout of the facility this recording was taken from the side, making it a bit harder to find Bailey. She is wearing a black suit with a white Swim Atlanta cap, and she is the 4th lane from the top of the screen. She'll be the one of the first off the blocks and the last in the picture to surface (dove too deep)... *Note: To strip out the background noise I had to convert the file to a WMV. I hope that doesn't cause any problems for anyone. Also because the race is almost 1.5 minutes it is a pretty large file. |
|
|
|
|
01-04-2012, 07:57 AM
|
#29 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Bear's 100 Yard Free @ Gold Invite
This is Bear's 100 Free swim from our most recent meet. This isn't a state level swim, and in fact, he hasn't qualified at all for state in this event (a bunch of kids swim Freestyle very fast - and often only Freestyle - drop the qualifying time), but this is the swim where his strong turns are pretty obvious. If you watch the first turn you'll see him enter the wall slightly behind the swimmer in the lane closer to the camera, but comming off the wall, he's clearly pulled ahead, by a decent margin. The angle of this, and the flow of the race will make identifying Bear easier than Bailey's video above. But at the start of the race he's the swimmer with the "man suit" (briefs), and white cap. He's also 3rd lane from the top of the screen... Last edited by Breeze : 01-04-2012 at 02:41 PM. |
|
|
|
|
01-04-2012, 02:38 PM
|
#30 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: St. Paul, MN
|
Good read buddy.
|
|
|
|
|
01-05-2012, 08:07 AM
|
#31 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Hey JAG,
Long time...thanks for checking in... Breeze |
|
|
|
|
01-05-2012, 08:11 AM
|
#32 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Brett's 200 Yard Breaststroke @ Gold Invite
Here is Brett's swim which put him in striking distance of a state cut. A couple of warnings here... 1. This is a 200 Yard race, twice as long as the two posted above, so it is a large file. 2. This will be 8 laps of Breaststroke (you'll get a good look at his form), but you'll also see a lot of it over 8 laps. 3. He swims this race solo...no competition whatsoever. So he's basically exhibitioning it I do think this race illustrates his breaststroke pretty well, but you might not want to sit through the full 3 minutes of the race... Oh, and I just watched it again myself and I forgot about the extra on the end. My wife doesn't always get the camera turned off when she does the recordings...sorry about that Last edited by Breeze : 01-05-2012 at 08:17 AM. |
|
|
|
|
01-06-2012, 09:51 PM
|
#33 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
We got some bad news for the Auburn Meet...we found out that Brett won't be allowed to swim the 200 Breast...
The meet didn't offer a 200 Breast for 11/12s, so I entered him in the open race. But his coach informed us tonight he won't be able to swim that race (actually he could swim that race, and only that race - or he can swim all the strokes and not that one. It has to do with a rule of swimming in the Open category). He also isn't allowed to swim against 13/14s...so he'll have to withdraw from that event. That's terribly disappointing. This means he'll have only 1 shot next month at the Last Chance Meet to get his state cut, and it will only be the 2nd time he's ever swum the race. Last edited by Breeze : 01-06-2012 at 09:55 PM. |
|
|
|
|
01-10-2012, 08:10 AM
|
#34 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Bailey came home from practice last night all excited (not our turn to drive the carpool). 2 time Olympic Silver Medalist Amanda Weir had worked out with the Swim Atlanta National Team just prior to the Gold Team practice and was in the locker room. Bailey got her swim cap and bag autographed...
When she got home she was talking 100 miles an hour and bouncing all over the place...she couldn't stand still... |
|
|
|
|
01-11-2012, 09:41 AM
|
#35 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
There have been some new secondary issues that are interesting occur. You may recall from reading the Gold Meet information that it is a new facility in my area and a rival swim club. Well 3 of the members of Bailey's group (and members of our Summer team), elected to go over there and investigate, and they all came away throughly impressed. They reported the facilities are great, the teams are much smaller, and the instruction is much more personal. So, MK, KJ and Raylee were planning on changing to Gold Swim Club.
However, Raylee was really attached to her coaches at SA and after talking with the SA coach, her parents decided to stay put. When SA coaches were notified by MK and KJ's parents of the switch they asked to have a conference to talk about the decision. MK elected to pass and will change. KJ's parents met with the coaches and are still considering their options. I have to say, that we have known MKs parents for a while (MK and Brett started year round swimming together)...and every time MK hits a plateau her mom starts complaining that she isn't getting better and starts looking to change. 4 years ago it was Dynamos she was thinking about going to, 2 years ago it was a new SA facility in our proximity she was going to take MK to, and now it is the Gold Swim Club. I figured eventually she would actually make the change. That being said...I do think she will do well at the Gold facility. She has a few things she needs to clean up, which will make her faster, and she's about to grow, which will also make her faster - so they'll see some good results...it will be interesting to me to see how long those improvements will calm the parents from looking to find something better. |
|
|
|
|
01-11-2012, 09:44 AM
|
#36 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
The meet this weekend is in Auburn and the wife and I are wrestling with the decision on when to head down. We know from experience that our kids don't swim as well if we drive down on the same day as the meet, but with Christmas so close behind us, we could certainly stand to save the $100+ by staying home an extra night...
Not sure what we are going to do... |
|
|
|
|
01-11-2012, 10:48 AM
|
#37 |
|
Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
|
What are the prospective state cuts available for the Auburn meet? I know Brett's been removed from the 200 breast, so that's out, and Bear and Bailey have a bunch of cuts already.
I suppose I would look at it from the standpoint of what benefits could be derived from the night in the hotel other than presumably better times.
__________________
2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
|
|
|
|
01-11-2012, 02:18 PM
|
#38 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Hey Izulde,
Thanks for reading...that is what my wife and I are doing. Plus we try to keep in mind that meets are their rewards for the hard work at practice and the out of town meets are especially fun for them. We do have a shot at serveral cuts...I'll be posting an update on that later... |
|
|
|
|
01-12-2012, 09:07 AM
|
#39 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Here is an update of the events the kids will be swimming this weekend.
Bailey Day 1 100 Breaststroke - 1:38.21 - Qualified for State Meet 50 Freestyle - 33.96 - Needs to cut .47 seconds to achieve the cut 200 Freestyle - NT - She's never entered this event, needs a 2:49.09 Day 2 100 Freestyle - 1.15.86 - Needs to cut 1.27 seconds to achieve the cut 50 Breaststroke - 45.48 - Qualified for State Meet 50 Backstroke - 39.63 - Needs to cut 1.14 seconds to achieve the cut Bailey is competing in 4 events she needs a cut in, and in 3 of the 4 her personal best is within 1.5 seconds. The 4th is an event she has never swum, but she is a strong kicker and may be able to power through to the needed time. I think she'll get at least 1 cut this weekend... Bear Day 1 100 Breaststroke - NT - Bear's Breast is finally good enough to swim this one 50 Freestyle - 35.78 - needs to cut 2.39 seconds for a State Cut 50 Butterfly - 39.76 - Qualified for the State Meet Day 2 100 Freestyle - 1:18.05 - needs to cut 1.96 seconds for a State Cut 50 Breaststroke - 46.70 - needs to cut .91 seconds for a State Cut 50 Backstroke - 40.48 - needs to cut .59 seconds for a State Cut Bear has 5 races that he needs a cut in, and 2 are less than a second. He'll be hard pressed to get the 2 Freestyle times, but the way he's been improving I won't completely rule it out. My bet is he comes up just short of both the Back and Breast. I just can't believe he'll continue to improve at the rate he's been going. I hope he will, but I don't expect it Brett Day 1 100 Breaststroke - 1.33.28 50 Butterfly - 42.22 Day 2 100 Freestyle - 1:18.35 50 Breaststroke - 43.79 50 Backstroke - 43.10 My hope for Brett is he continues to improve in his off strokes. His level of effort in practice has gone up even more, but because of his sloppy form, often he can be stronger and work harder but also swim slower. We will probably enter him in the 50 Free the day of the meet to take the place of the 200 Breast we were forced to drop. If he can cut time and get to around his siblings in some of the other events, I think it will have a very positive impact on him Last edited by Breeze : 01-12-2012 at 09:10 AM. |
|
|
|
|
01-13-2012, 03:31 PM
|
#40 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
About to head out of town...we decided to try and make it as special for the kids as we cood, so we'll spend the extra money.
Of course, after making the decision on Wednesday night, on my home yesterday my car starting having problems and it's going to cost a bunch to get it running right again... Last edited by Breeze : 01-13-2012 at 03:31 PM. |
|
|
|
|
01-17-2012, 08:22 AM
|
#42 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Sorry thealmighty
I was waiting for the official results... Posting soon... |
|
|
|
|
01-17-2012, 12:34 PM
|
#43 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Ralph Crocker Meet @ Auburn - 1/14/2012
Day 1 Back at the Auburn pool for the second time this season, but unlike the first time, this time the facility is over packed, and the meet organizers aren't nearly as prepared. Heat sheets (where we learn which event number, heat, and lane the kids are swimming in) are sold out and it takes 4 minutes a piece to print a new one. There are no seats available in the stands and we are forced to sit on the floor of the walkway, pressed up against the back wall (even though we arrived at the facility over an hour and a half before our warmup session). The whole experience was a little stressful, but we made do... ------------------------------------------ Bailey Girls 10U - 100 Yard Breaststroke (Personal Best - 1:38.21) Bailey's stroke her is a little off...I think it is mostly caused due to her being a little flat through the pull stage, which is causing her to be just a bit slower than she was at her peak. Time = 1:39.53 Girls 10U - 50 Yard Freestyle (Personal Best - 33.96) Quick dive, but too deep. She has also developed a strange move with her left arn on the freestyle. She is pulling her arm out of the water with a cocked wrist (similar to what you might see someone do in butterfly), but because in freestyle you don't reach all the way above your head, but rather to in front of the shoulder, the hand isn't rotating flat and is entering the water thumb first. Her kick is still real strong though, so the poor arm work isn't killing her. She's just off a PB with a 34.15. Girls 10U - 200 Yard Freestyle (NT) In her first effort on the 200 Freestyle Bailey did a tremendous job. The funky left arm looked painful - but she was fast covering the distance in a very respectable 2:50.82 seconds. Only 1.73 seconds shy of a state cut on her first atttempt. In fact, for a good portion of the race she was on pace to get the state cut. She swam the opening 50 in 38.30 and opening 100 in 1:21.50. The back 100 was completed in (quick math here) 1:29.32. Not a bad slip for a first time. Here are all 4 50s in order...38.30 : 43.20 : 46.48 : 42.84. Nice strong finish in the last 50, which gives me hope she can put out a bit more effort in the middle 100 and get the time needed for the state cut. ----------------------------------------------- Bear Boys 10U - 100 Yard Breaststroke (NT) With Bear's recent strong showing in the 50 Breast I decided to put him in the 100 Breast to see how he would fair. I expected his time in the 100 would not be as close to the state cut as his 50, but wanted to get a baseline time. As expected he wasn't as fast, swimming a 1:46.xx. His lack of comfort in the stroke caused a bit of a breakdown in form before the swim was over which cost him time. Unfortunately, because he is such a butterflyer he also over kicked during one of the pullout turns and was DQed for a double dolphin kick. Boys 10U - 50 Yard Freestyle (Personal Best - 35.78) Bear still looks strong with his turns and underwater work and his form is good. The dive was quick but a bit deep which hurt his time some, but he still posted a personal best of 35.65...it is a very marginal improvement, but I never undervalue a personal best swim. Boys 10U - 50 Yard Butterfly (Personal Best - 39.76) I believe I mentioned above somewhere that Bear had been really working on getting a more fundamentally sound stroke with the bigger "wiggle" through the stroke. This was the first time he actually attempted it in a race. His stroke looked much more sound (if a bit slow in execution). However, while he was slower through the stroke, the improved form was also more powerful and efficient as he posted a very respectable 40.01 - just fractions off his personal best. I expect this will position him for a big improvement in this stroke by this time next year. ----------------------------------------------- Brett Boys 11/12 - 100 Yard Breaststroke (Personal Best - 1:33.28) Brett gets to start the meet with his 100 breast. I was really hopeful that he would get off to a good start. He looked great in warmups especially in the breast, where he was staying low and driving foward. His mom mentioned to him that he looked good doing his breast in warmup and if he swam like that he would do great. Unfortuntately he took the suggestion literally, and he attempted to swim his 100 like it was the 50 sprint. He went out hard and with quick strokes (rather than using his good glide phase of the stroke). It worked pretty well as his first 50 was a 44.31, but his fatigue in the back half killed him as he came home in a horible 52.70 to finish 1:37.01. He was very upset by this...and I was afraid it would impact the rest of his meet (as I've seen it do in past meets), and I encouraged him to forget it and rebound strong in the rest of his swims for the day. Boys 11/12 - 50 Yard Freestyle (Personal Best - 36.32) This was the write in event that took the place of the 200 Breast we were forced to drop. Brett got a great start and had a good dive, and he looked strong (though he still needs to kick better) through the race. He posted a personal best of 36.06. A nice rebound. Boys 11/12 - 50 Yard Butterfly (Personal Best - 42.22) Brett's fly looked good in this race. His kick is looking stronger. He did shorten up the arms of the stroke in order to relieve some of the stress on the kick, which unfortunately causes a reduced pull (which is where he is stronger in the stroke) and therefore a bit of a slower time 43.34, but still a good looking swim for him. Unfortunately, he was DQed in this race...the reason given was "Both arms not moving foward above water at same time". I have watched the video numerous times and didn't see the stroke that resulted in the DQ, and Brett's coach admitted to not seeing it during the race. But because this race didn't results in any points and wasn't a personal best there was no point in fighting the ruling. (if anyone is interested I'll post the video and you can look for the bad stroke). -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- Day 2 Day 2 started off a bit better, as we were able to find seats (albiet all the way down at the diving well). One of our group got good seats by the 10U pool which the whole group rotated the extra seats based on who's kid was swimming. -------------------------------------------------- Bailey Girls 10U - 100 Yard Freestyle (Personal Best - 1:15.89) The left arm issue was still present in this race, but Bailey looked strong, beating her personal best and posting a 1:14.94. Putting her about 1/3rd of a second off of the state cut. Girls 10U - 50 Yard Breaststroke (Personal Best - 45.48) Bailey's flat stroke was still a problem here, and it caused her to be a full second slower than her personal best at 46.49. Girls 10U - 50 Yard Backstroke - (Personal Best - 39.63) Another shot at a cut in an event that she would have had the cut all the way back at the time trials (1st event of the season) had she simply pushed all the way to the wall rather than glide in. But the cut for this event still eludes us. She does manage to post her 3rd best time ever with a 40.14. Staying in striking distance, but not getting over the hump. -------------------------------------------------- Bear Boys 10U - 100 Yard Freestyle (Personal Best - 1:18.05) Bear's stroke looked good in this race, but his speed wasn't there. It was very strange as he appeared to have good body position and consistent strokes, but the time states he wasn't going very fast. He was the slowest in his heat, and may have burned himself out early trying to keep up with the other swimmers, but he posted a poor time of 1:23.24...this is his worst swim in this event since the SCAT event at the beginning of the season. He was extremely upset following this race. Boys 10U - 50 Yard Breaststroke (Personal Best - 46.70) Bear came into this one really hoping to get a state cut, since he was just a second off of it. But unfortunately, he had another poor swim. I contribute this to 2 factors...First, it is partially my fault for putting him in the 100 Breast the day before. I believe the longer swim caused his form to breakdown a bit and when he attempted to swim it on Sunday he was out of rythem and very inefficient. In fact, his stroke looked very similar to the way it was in the beginning of the year - a lot of up and down with very little forward push. The second reason was a combination of wanting the state cut and wanting to redeem himself for his bad swim in the 100 free. In essence, he simply worked to hard, trying to power threw the water. He posted a 50.68 and was demoralized after the event. Boys 10U - 50 Yard Backstroke (Personal Best - 40.48) I was really pulling for Bear in this one. I wanted him to end on a good note, but it wasn't to be. He again tried way to hard, so much so that he was bouncing up and down in his stroke. He ended up finishing with a 41.57... ------------------------------------------------------- Brett Boys 11/12 100 Yard Freestyle (Personal Best - 1:18.35) Brett was excited to swim again this morning, and decided to go down for his event a bit early. Unfortunately, while he was standing on the bulkhead waiting for his event/heat, he got shoved off and into the warm up pool by a girl who needed to get around him. He ended up hitting his knee and shin on the lane rope. He got out of the pool and was barely able to walk (typical initial pain from a bruise on a joint). He didn't recover in time to swim his event. Boys 11/12 50 Yard Breastroke (Personal Best - 43.79) Brett iced his knee for about a half an hour following his incident. Coming off of his bad 100 Breast, and his missed 100 Free, he was hoping to swim well here, but he was still walking gingerly heading down for the race. His strong breaststroke from warmups on Saturday and again on Sunday showed up in this race, as he stayed low and really pushed forward. In fact, he does a nice job in the race of closing on the swimmers around him (as he is often behind after the dive and turns due to being much smaller than the kids he swims against). He posts a personal best at 42.32. Boys 11/12 50 Yard Backstroke (Personal Best - 43.10) Brett's form in this race was even better than it was at the Gold Meet the previous month. Legs were up, body low in the water and arm rotation was quick (for him). I'm not sure how this wasn't a personal best swim, but regardless the form is coming around and if he keeps this form, we should see some improved times during long course. Posted 44.24. --------------------------------------------------- Summary Bailey Immediately following the meet you'd have to say this was a disappointing one for Bailey. She was expecting to get another cut here and it didnt' happen. Several of her friends came away with additional cuts, and she is feeling like she isn't as good right now. She needs to clean a couple of minor things up in her strokes and she'll do fine. I also think she needs to relax and not put too much pressure on herself during the races. I think she's tightening up which is causing her to swim slower. A couple of days removed from the meet and she is showing some excitement about going for the 200 free cut in the last chance meet. I believe she will get at least 1 cut in that meet....just not sure which one it will be. Bear This ended up being a terrible meet for Bear. It was the dreaded fall back to Earth that I was afraid of. The constant drops in time just aren't normal and this meet was the official crash. On the positive side, his strokes still look very good and I don't feel these fall back times are going to be the norm...in fact, I expect he'll get back to around his personal bests at the last chance meet. His coach told him following the meet, not to be upset, that he's improved so much and been working extremely hard in practice for so long that he thinks Bear is worn out. He told Bear to take Monday off, and maybe miss a Saturday practice in the next couple of weeks to allow his body to recover. I can also add, that Bear has been eating like a horse, and in the past when he's done that he has grown shortly thereafter, so we may be looking at a growth spurt - and when growth spurts hit, times suffer as the kids energy level isn't as good and their form seems to suffer a bit.... Brett Despite his bad performance (poor strategy) in the 100 Breast, he actually had a good meet. An improvement of 1.5 seconds in his best stroke and a 50 is a pretty big accomplishment. He got a second personal best in the 100 Free (though we still need to kick harder), and his fly and back looked pretty good. This is 2 good meets in a row and we still have the last chance at the 200 Breast coming up in a month. Last edited by Breeze : 02-17-2012 at 08:02 AM. |
|
|
|
|
01-17-2012, 12:37 PM
|
#44 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Note: I thought I'd add this in, because it was mentioned above and is a nice story...
Lexi, the girl in Bailey's group that had to have knee surgery a couple of months ago, returned in this meet, and she was able to obtain the state cut in both the 50 and 100 Backstroke events. She was the last of the kids in the group to not have a state qualifying time. Now all 5 will be swimming at state together. |
|
|
|
|
01-17-2012, 01:19 PM
|
#45 |
|
Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
|
Yay for Lexi!
And here's to hoping everyone finishes strong at the Last Chance Meet.
__________________
2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
|
|
|
|
01-18-2012, 12:27 PM
|
#46 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Did a little search and found out MK will be swimming her first meet for her new club this weekend. I will be interested to see if there is much improvement.
I wouldn't expect a bunch, as she's only be practicing with the new coaches for a couple of weeks. Also saw where the Gold Swim Club will be invited to the same last chance meet we will attend...so we'll see her swim next month. Last edited by Breeze : 01-18-2012 at 12:28 PM. |
|
|
|
|
01-19-2012, 09:32 AM
|
#47 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Quick Update - I have some news to pass along and because of that I figured I'd go ahead and give an update on the kids...
Bear missed practice as scheduled on Monday. It was funny but my wife said he really was moping around about having not gone. Last night (Wednesday), he was back in the water, working hard and looking good. Bailey did a much better job at practice last night of fixing the funny move she has with her left wrist. It was a little stiff in the execution, but the hand position as it entered the water was good, and the more she does it the more it will become natural. Not the real reason for the update... Brett was forced to miss practice yesterday. We (parents) found out that he had failed to turn in a couple of pretty big assignments in Science class. The failure to do the work wasn't that it was too hard (one of the assignments was a study guide for a test he got a 100 on that he didn't study for), just that he felt it was unnecessary (here is that stubburn streak again). He was told that until he got caught up in all his work (and at this point the teacher may not even accept the assignment, but he is going to do it regardless), he won't be allowed to swim. He was very upset about missing practice, but we had to send the message that school comes first. Now he could have completed the work last night, but the arguing, pouting and lack of effort prevented that from occuring. He did attempt to get the work done (sort of), but what he did do, didn't meet my standards (and I told him, you don't want it to get to a point where I am involved or you'll work significantly harder than if you had done it when you were supposed to). He should get the work finished tonight and be able to practice tomorrow, but that doesn't mean he will...he is just as likely to die on his sword by continuing to say what he did was good enough... Unfortunate timing...but not surprising. We have similar issues to this several times every year. Last edited by Breeze : 01-19-2012 at 09:32 AM. |
|
|
|
|
01-20-2012, 07:33 AM
|
#48 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Brett got his late work finished, but we had issues getting the work from last night completed. He is basically on a day-to-day status...if he gets his school work done (and does it well) and he is respectful, then he can swim.
Sorry, this isn't intended to be an airing of family issues, but I believe it is pertinent to the story, because if he misses practice he will definantely impact his ability to get his cut in the 200 Breast. |
|
|
|
|
01-23-2012, 12:15 AM
|
#49 |
|
Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
|
Re: The Science thing. I do see his point after getting 100 on the test, but I'm also wondering, based on that and the fact that the issue wasn't difficulty level, if perhaps he needs to be challenged more in that class?
Not to derail the thread here, but I know a lot of times when I was in school I wouldn't do the work because it was too easy and it bored me.
__________________
2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
|
|
|
|
01-23-2012, 10:23 AM
|
#50 |
|
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL
|
Hey Izulde,
I appreciate the input so don’t feel bad about interjecting whenever you want… just because this part isn’t specifically tied to swimming doesn’t mean it is off limits, and moreover, I appreciate suggestions and observations. Your assessment of him needing harder work is accurate. Brett is extremely bright and this often causes problems...His mother and I have been attempting to get the school system to recognize this as well, but we are fighting a real uphill battle. As I mentioned in his profile section above, Brett is extremely ADHD (to give you a measuring stick, when we got him diagnosed the Psychiatrist we used specialized in ADHD and Autistic Children and she said, “He is not only ADHD, he is ADHD for ADHD kids…”), and the school system seems to be incapable of handling a gifted ADHD child, (In the Georgia school system, the gifted program is for children that reach certain high standards on some specific tests). All through Brett’s elementary school years he was identified as needing to be tested for the gifted program…but because of the way the test is designed, he was unable to get in. He qualified on several of the areas, but he can’t qualify in motivation (the test administered for determining motivation is one of the same tests that were used to diagnose him with ADHD – and you can’t score as motivated and having ADHD). This becomes the major sticking point…because he is viewed as not motivated and unorganized so the gifted program doesn’t want him (he would require too much effort on the part of the teachers). Thankfully, in middle school we were able to reference his grades and we got him placed in advanced classes (and because he is doing so well in Math – he’s currently targeted to go to Accelerated Class in 7th Grade – which is even faster paced harder classes). However, for him to get into any more Accelerated Courses, like Science, he’ll have to do a better job on the basics (like study guides and worksheets) and not just concentrate on the tests and projects. The teachers don’t see the lack of doing the work as an issue of being bored, but rather an attitude of not caring or being so unorganized that he can’t remember and thus can’t handle the harder curriculum in the already advanced classes (we actually just had meeting with his teachers a few weeks ago, where they were arguing that he should be in on level classes, even though he got mid-90’s grades in all his courses last quarter). It is all very frustrating. I really wish I could afford a private school for him, because he could honestly do high school level math and science right now, but he is always going to struggle with the little things because they don’t seem important enough to him for him to remember them (like a study guide when he doesn’t need to study). I have tried to impress upon him the need to get all his work done (even explaining how it effects the teacher’s impressions of his abilities), and that failing to do it, is only holding him back – but he is 11 and getting great scores on his tests and he doesn’t see the big deal with missing the work or turning it in late. Hope this makes since...Thanks for chiming in, and your instincts are good on this one…nice interpretation of the underlying problem… Last edited by Breeze : 01-23-2012 at 10:27 AM. |
|
|
|
 |
| Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 2 (0 members and 2 guests) | |
| Thread Tools | |
|
|
