Everything but the Kitchen Sink

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-Athletes here

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...

Finally, a quick butterfly turn tutorial:

Quote of the Week

I eventually became proud of my strikeouts, because

each one represented another learning experience.

Wilver Dornell "Willie" Stargell

Quote of the Week

Slumps are like a soft bed.  They're easy

to get into and hard to get out of.

via Sporting News

Johnny Lee Bench

Looking Ahead to August (Revisited)

We've been able to stick pretty close to the schedule on this post from July 16

Again, the expectation is that everyone will make sure they get some time off in August.  That might mean taking a week (or two) off, or maybe a day (or two) off each week.

We'll take the first week of September off and then get back on our regular schedule after that.  If there are any new additions to the program for the short course season, we'll give them an opportunity to try out and register that second week of September.

In September, we'll return to the schedule we used in April/May - generally six (6) days per week for two (2) hours per day.

Some of our September workouts will include open water swimming strategies (sighting, buoy turns, etc.) to prep any of our swimmers who'll be competing in fall (October) & spring (April) Gulf Open Water events.

Whenever possible, we'll throw in two-a-days.  Expect those around school breaks for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and in the spring.

Important Notes:  I'll be working with the new BCJH girls' & boys' athletic coordinators on a start date to begin junior high swim practices.  Expect that to start sometime in November.  We're encouraging all our junior high and high school athletes to be multi-sport athletes.

Starting in November will serve several important purposes:

1) It will allow 7th & 8th graders to finish up their fall sport commitments in football, cross country, & volleyball.
2) By working closely with our junior high coaches, we should be able to bring more kids into the program than in the past.
3) We'll be shortening the season to avoid the burn-out that can occur with newcomers to the sport.

The junior high program is not an officially recognized part of BCJH athletics.  We utilize our high school assets (facility, coaches, equipment, etc.) to provide for our 7th & 8th grade swimmers.  If we can get our numbers up, we might be able to ask the school board to officially include swimming at the junior high level.  This would go a very long way toward growing our high school program!

On the subject of the high school program, plan is to start them in September with a limited practice schedule (fewer days weekly & shorter practice duration).  We plan to stick with this limited schedule for high school swim/dive through October this year.  As our BCHS fall sports (tennis, cross country, football, & volleyball) wind down, we'll ramp up into a regular practice schedule for high school (5 days per week) in November.

Monday, 5^th – 5-7

Tuesday, 6^th – 5-7
Wednesday, 7^th – 5-7*
Thursday, 8^th – 5-7*
Friday, 9^th – 5-7*

Monday, 12^th – 5-7*
Tuesday, 13^th – 5-7
Wednesday, 14^th – 5-7
Thursday 15^th – 5-7
Friday, 16^th – 5-7

Monday, 19^th – 5-7
Tuesday, 20^th – 5-7
Wednesday, 21^st – 5-7
Thursday, 22^nd – 5-7
Friday, 23^rd – 5-7

Monday, 26^th – 5-7
Tuesday, 27^th – 5-7
Wednesday, 28^th – 5-7
Thursday, 29^th – 5-7
Friday, 30^th – 5-7

Note:  Check ShAC schedule for opportunities when in Houston

*Athlete Directed

Week 17 Attendance

With four (4) weeks to go:

MB - 4/90
LF - 0/81
MM - 1/76
OS - 0/58

Long course season attendance goes through August 30th.

Short course season tryouts & workouts begin September 9th.

Underwaters

I'm willing to bet that Giles Smith is the best butterflyer you've never heard of.

When you really, REALLY need a breath after a long underwater, experiment with Smith's technique - take it to the side.

Giles is normally a front-breather on butterfly, but sometimes takes a quick side breath when breaking out from underwaters.

Keeping your head low helps keep your legs up, right?

Watch Smith go :45.77 in the 100 SCY fly below.  He swam for Arizona in lane 5.  If you watch full screen, you should see him sneak in side breaths on a couple of breakouts.

100 LCM Free

Underwater view:

Week 16 Attendance

MB - 4/86
LF - 1/81
MM - 2/75
OS - 4/58

...it's complicated...

This weekend's meet, that is.  Links:

Warm-Up/Timing Assignments

Timelines

Lots of important info at those links!

Our swimmers' prelim schedules are below.

Race times are approximate!

Friday

ShAC warm-up - 7:50 a.m.

400 free (MB) - 11:52 a.m.

Saturday

ShAC warm-up - 7:00 a.m.

100 fly (OS) - 8:40 a.m.

200 free (MB & OS) - 9:27 a.m.

100 breast (MB) - 10:37 a.m.

50 free (MB & OS) - 11:10 a.m.

200 medley relay (MB*) - 11:47 a.m.

Sunday

ShAC warm-up - 7:25 a.m.

200 back (OS) - 9:31 a.m.

100 free (MB & OS) - 9:56 a.m.

200 breast (MB) - 10:45 a.m.

200 free relay (MB*) -  11:44 a.m.

800 free (MB) - 12:44 p.m.




*ShAC coaches will let us know about relays

Titmus vs. Ledecky (edited)

Edit:  Ledecky has since scratched both the 200 free & 1500 free due to illness.

Titmus with a great kick and the race's fastest last 50 (:29.51) & Ledecky with 2nd slowest (:31.34):

Quote of the Week

Sports do not build character.  They reveal it.

Heywood Hale Broun

Week 15 Attendance

MB - 10/82
LF - 8/80
MM - 10/73
OS - 10/54

Looking Ahead to August

First, I hope everyone's pleased with our kids' performances this past weekend.  They put up plenty of best times and were able to perform at a very high level all the way through.

Next, I've tried to look into the old crystal ball and come up with a practice schedule through the end of August.  I've added that very tentative schedule below.

We'll be in pre-taper mode (plenty of quality work) this week, then get the kids some rest next week.

The expectation is that everyone will make sure they get some time off in August.  That might mean taking a week (or two) off, or maybe a day (or two) off each week.

Finally, we'll take the first week of September off and then get back on our regular schedule after that.  If there are any new additions to the program for the short course season, we'll give them an opportunity to try out and register that second week of September.

Monday 15^th – 5-7

Tuesday 16^th – 7-9, 5-7

Wednesday 17^th – 7-9, 5-7

Thursday 18^th – 7-9, 5-7

Friday, 19^th – 7-9, 5-7

Saturday, 20^th – 9-10:30

Monday, 22^nd – 5-6:15

Tuesday, 23^rd – 8-9, 5-6

Wednesday, 24^th – 8-9, 5-6

Thursday, 25^th – 8-9, 5-6

Monday, 29^th – 5-6

Tuesday, 30^th – 5-6*

Wednesday, 31^st – 5-6*

Thursday, 1^st – 5-6*

Friday, 2^nd – 5-6*

Monday, 5^th – 5-7

Tuesday, 6^th – 5-7

Wednesday, 7^th – 5-7**

Thursday, 8^th – 5-7**

Friday, 9^th – 5-7**

Monday, 12^th – 5-7**

Tuesday, 13^th – 5-7

Wednesday, 14^th – 5-7

Thursday 15^th – 5-7

Friday, 16^th – 5-7

Monday, 19^th – 5-7

Tuesday, 20^th – 5-7

Wednesday, 21^st – 5-7

Thursday, 22^nd – 5-7

Friday, 23^rd – 5-7

Monday, 26^th – 5-7

Tuesday, 27^th – 5-7

Wednesday, 28^th – 5-7

Thursday, 29^th – 5-7

Friday, 30^th – 5-7

Note:  Check ShAC schedule for opportunities when in Houston

*A.M. practices w/Aquacats (I’ll be there w/swim camp)?

**Athlete Directed

Week 14 Attendance

LF - 8/72
MB - 8/72
MM - 8/63
OS - 6/44

Quote of the Week

The backbone of surprise is fusing speed with secrecy.

Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz

Swim Camp Change

We're moving our FREE swim camp to July 30 to August 2 (Tuesday-Friday). We'll swim from 8 to 10 each morning. Let's get all our returning high school swimmers out to help!

Weeks 12 & 13 Attendance

LF - 10/64
MB - 13/64
MM - 13/55
OS - 9/38

Schedule (& more)

Kids all looked very good this a.m.!

I've asked each to give me a list of all the workouts they swam while I was out of town.

We'll be using a mini-taper plan this week.

Modified workout schedule for the rest of the week is below.

Also including tapering guidelines.

If y'all haven't yet paid July lap swimming fees to the city, please get to that ASAP.

Tuesday

5-6:30 p.m.

Wednesday

8-9:15 a.m.
5-6:15 p.m.

Thursday

8-9 a.m.
5-6 p.m.

Friday

8-9 a.m.

Tapering Guidelines

• Cut back on the caloric intake (you will be burning fewer calories than you were during heavy training)
• Cut back on outside activities (we'll rest at the pool - you rest while away from it)
• Pay more attention to the "little things" (training intervals will be easier and you'll have a chance to "sharpen" while getting more rest)
• Conserve energy (you'll have excess energy that you've not had for months - don't waste it)
• Stay positive (both about your upcoming races and your teammates')
• Visualize races (take yourself through your races from before the start to after the finish)

Finally, not sure if anyone is planning to shave for this weekend.  If so, here is shaving info:

Shaving Guidelines

• Allow plenty of time and take breaks while shaving for your championship meet
• Electric shavers, Nair, &/or wax are not used in this process
• Have plenty of new razors/blades available before you begin
• Start by using clippers on exposed body hair
• Carefully shave exposed body hair
• Be especially careful around shins, wrists, elbows, knees, forearms, and ankles
• Change blades/razors often

USA Swimming in Bay City

via Stephanie Koenig

During the 80's and 90's, Bay City had a stand-alone USA Swimming team that was affiliated with the Bay City summer league CCAA/TAAF team.

That team was Bay City Swimming.  One member of that team, Keith Hill, represented us at USAS Junior Nationals.

At the time, all three programs (summer team, USAS team, and high school team) used the Bay City Swimming "wave" logo we still use with our high school program.

Swimmers in Bay City have also represented other programs over the years.

Here's a list of our "satellite" teams/coaches, by their Houston-based parent clubs:

?-1985 - Space City Aquatics Team (SCAT)/Bob Lara
1985-00 - The Woodlands Swim Team (TWST)/Eddie Adams, Keith Nathan, Bob Button
2007-08 - Aquastar Swimming (STAR)/Bob Button
2019-present - Swim Houston Aquatics Center (ShAC)/Bob Button

We had numerous TAGS, USAS Junior Nationals, & USAS Nationals qualifiers who represented SCAT, TWST, & STAR.

Breaststroke: Then & Now

Much has changed in breaststroke over the years.

Are you taking advantage of those changes?

The first video is from the 1964 Tokyo Games, while the second is from the 2012 London Games.




Second video won't embed, but link is here.  Note:  Micah Lawrence is from Pflugerville.

In Tokyo, the guys were swimming the 200 LCM breast in the 2:30's.  In London, a gal took the event under 2:20.

While better blocks, lane ropes, gutters, etc. have made a difference, it's rule and technique changes that have been most important in the advances in breaststroke.

Pullout rules now allow us a dolphin kick (since '12 we've learned to take it before the pull).

Elimination of the "head must not go below surface" rule has allowed for tremendous improvement in distance per stroke.

We're now able to extend into the streamlined position after kicking in order to get that efficient speed we're always seeking.

We now know that a "clean" entry is much better than the flat belly-buster.

We take much more advantage of streamlining on starts & turns than in the past.

Check out underwater shots (4:44 in first video) to see how much we've learned about narrowing both the pull and kick!

Quote of the Week

Throughout my career I swam for
form.  Speed came as a result of it.

Johann Peter Weißmüller,
a.k.a. Johnny Weissmuller

Week 11 Attendance

LF - 9/54
MB - 3/51
MM - 7/42
OS - 8/29