First, some nutritional info here Many young swimmers are caught in a desire to eat healthy, eat “clean,”
and adopt a plant-based diet, worthy goals to be sure. However, ensuring
that enough calories are eaten throughout the day can be challenging
when school, training, social activities, and family life get in the way
of planning meals and snacks. Without enough calories from food,
physiological functions can go awry including metabolic rate, menstrual
function, bone health, immune function, protein synthesis, and
psychological health.
Next, the superstars in USA Swimming were honored at the Golden Goggles Awards. Full article here
Olympic champions and world-record holders Simone Manuel (Sugar Land, Texas/Alto Swim Club) and Caeleb Dressel
(Green Cove Springs, Fla./Bolles School Sharks/Florida), who led Team
USA with standout performances at last summer’s FINA World
Championships, took home Athlete of the Year honors on Sunday at USA
Swimming’s annual Golden Goggle Awards.
I'll be at the ASCA World Clinic in Dallas next week. Kids may still get in during lap swim if they'd like.
The plan is to offer as many workouts as possible for the remainder of the month. Since our kids are participating on other sports* in addition to swimming, the hope is that they'll be able to get to at least a few swim practices each week.
Please don't forget lap swim fees for September ($10 to the City of Bay City).
Any newcomers wishing to join the group may try out during the week of September 9th.
Beginning Monday, the 9th, we'll practice on weekdays (5-6:45 p.m.) and Saturday's (9-10:45 a.m.) with the following exceptions:
Wednesday, the 11th, I have meet the teacher at the high school starting at 6:00 p.m. I'll have to leave the pool around 5:30 p.m. I plan to have a written practice for athletes to follow.
Friday, the 13th, we may have traffic issues due to a home football game. We'll finish up that day at 6:30 p.m.
If all goes well, we'll have nearly twenty (20) opportunities for our kids in September.
ShAC is hosting an intrasquad** meet on Saturday, October 5. We should be ready for some good early season swims!
First, athletes should get me their attendance numbers for the four (4) workouts swum while I was out of town. Thanks in advance for getting that to me ASAP!
Next, ShAC is having some pool issues. If you plan to drive up to swim Saturday, please check with Gilbert or Karol before making the trip.
If y'all haven't taken care of August lap swim fees, please do that right away. I write checks to the City of Bay City each time and include the month on the memo line.
Now for the "dad" talk:
In the past, I've discussed social media, bullying, etc. with my high school swimmers. Now that it's become very common for younger student-athletes to have greater access to the digital world than ever before, we need to address issues with them as well.
For many years, USA Swimming did a rather poor job of protecting athletes from predatory a) coaches, b) volunteers, and c) other athletes.
Thankfully, that has changed! Misbehavior hasn't gone away completely, but things are much better now than twenty or thirty years ago.
Please visit USAS's Safe Sport page (here) and review policies and procedures with your child.
A recent addition to the program focuses on adult athletes (18 & up) on clubs with minor athletes.
I wouldn't be surprised to see the focus begin to shift downward to our HS-aged athletes within the next couple of years.
When it comes to Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, chat rooms, emails, texts, etc., our young people aren't always aware that this "stuff" doesn't go away.
If y'all don't believe me, just Google "recovering Snapchat messages" for some "how to" help!
College recruiters check social media accounts and do not pursue athletes who display poor judgement in their posts. Read Five Social Media Tips for Student-Athleteshere
It’s no secret that college coaches are active on social
media. According to a survey released by Cornerstone Reputation in 2017, 85
percent of college coaches pull up athletes’ social media profiles during the
recruiting process. Of these coaches, who represent over 200 DI, DII and DIII
schools across the country, 87 percent use Facebook, 79 percent use
Twitter and 65 percent use Instagram to screen recruits and determine
whether they would be a good fit for their team.
We must remind our athletes to pause and think before hitting "send" or "post"!
Also, they should take advantage of "block" or "unfollow" features to keep unwanted/inappropriate content at bay.
If Twitter awards medals for using "block", I should have a great shot at making the podium...
