Aquadawg Weekly Update #2 First Swim Meet

Aquadawgs!

Thanks for another great week of swim practice.

This week at practice we worked on backstroke, breaststroke, and starts.

The beginner group worked on backstroke with UP! (chin up/tummy up/toes up), rotation, grabbing the water and pushing it down to their side, and straight-leg kicks. They also worked on breaststroke with gliding, breathing every stroke, and correct timing (pull, breathe, kick, glide!). Finally, they worked on starts with tight streamlines and getting far out with each dive.

The intermediate group worked on backstroke with chin up/tummy up/toes up, rotation, grabbing the water and pushing it down to their side and straight-leg kicks. They also worked on breaststroke with gliding (pressing with their chest), breathing every stroke, and correct timing (pull, breathe (press with hips), kick, glide (press with chest)). Finally, they worked on starts with tight streamlines, underwater kicks, and getting far out with each dive.

The advanced group worked on backstroke with chin up/tummy up/toes up, rotation, grabbing the water and pushing it down to their side and straight-leg kicks. They also worked on breaststroke with gliding (pressing with their chest), breathing every stroke, and correct timing (pull, breathe (press with hips), kick, glide (press with chest)). Finally, they worked on starts a little but more so flip-turns. With the flip-turns they worked on not lifting their head before the turn, pushing off quickly on their back, turning to their side and stomach, and underwater dolphin kicks. The advanced group did have some trouble with lightening at the end of both of the practices, but on Tuesday we did some abs to take up the rest of the time and Thursday we had a meeting about personal times and the swim meet.

As you hopefully know our first swim meet is tomorrow at our YMCA! This will be a wonderful opportunity for our swimmers to get a sense of what a swim meet is like and to compete to beat those personal times.

Personal times or personal records (sometimes referred to as PR’s) are the fastest times a swimmer has ever gone in each race. These times should be kept track of somehow. I suggest writing them down in a swimming notebook or posting them up on the fridge. My older swimmers should have these times memorized. This way when I say let do a 50 sprint at practice, swimmers know an approximate goal of how fast they should be going. Written down times should also be accompanied with written down goals. Swimmers’ goals should always be to improve their times or get faster.

For example:

Event	Best Time	Time Goal	Technique Goal
50 Butterfly	38.67	36.99	Arms out of the water Two-hand-touch Keep feet together
50 Backstroke	35.23	34.00	Flip-turn Tight streamline Underwater dolphin kicks
50 Breaststroke	40.20	39.99	Tempo Gliding Two-hand touch
50 Freestyle	31.03	Break 30 seconds (29.99)	Good start Flip-turn Don’t breathe from flags to wall

At swim meets the swimmers in the lanes next to you are there to push you. Beating each other should not mean much unless you beat your personal time. And then you should actually thank the people next to you for pushing you to accomplish this personal goal. By putting the focus on the times and not the place swimming becomes a very individualized sport.

Improved times always are successes no matter what place the swimmer came in.

At most swim meets the times will be posted and/or given to the swimmer. But just in case, it is always good practice for a swimmer to ask the timer after they finish what their time was. After the swimmer receives their time they should write it down and compare to previous meets.

I believe that if swimmers and parents encourage the goal of improving times, swimmers will feel successful and gain a sense of personal pride for their accomplishments. I also believe that this helps strengthen our team because swimmers are working toward personal goals and not beating each other. We are a team and we always should want our teammates to do well.

Hope to see you all tomorrow at the meet!

PARENTS, We will need volunteers for timers so come prepared and willing to help. Also there will be a parent’s race for parents who want to cool off and show their kids how awesome they are!

SWIMMERS OF THE WEEK:

These swimmers are working hard in practice by showing respect, being good leaders, showing motivation, taking direction well, and being a good teammate. These swimmers will be recognized at practice on Tuesday.

Thanks!

Coach Alisha