 LVST News From Eric
Emailed
Monday 6/30/08
Dear Lucas Valley Swimmers and Parents,
Here we are at the end of the season already. So let
us talk about the Big One, Championships. We have a
simple goal here at Lucas Valley: to swim faster than
we have ever swum before and to come together as a team
in doing so. This goal is most fully realized at Championships.
It is the one meet where we can put our best effort
together and do it against all the other teams who are
also at their best. The league standings are determined
at Championships. All the duel meets are just kind of
practices for this final meet. Since Championships is
at the end, the kids are fitter, faster and more in
control of their technique than at any other time during
the year.
In past years we have had amazing swims at Championships.
Last year our best duel meet saw 19% of our swims as
best times. At Championships we achieved 51% of swims
as best times. We were the smallest team at the meet
but came in 3rd, 98 points (out of 120 points scored
by us) behind 2nd place Scott Valley. Championships
is the swimmer’s and the team’s day to shine
our brightest.
We have several events designed to achieve maximum physc
for Saturday July 19. On Wednesday July 16th is the
Captain’s Beach Trip to Stinson. It is a right
of passage for 12 and Ups. The trip is for 12 and up
swimmers, alumni and coaches only. We meet at the pool
at 4:00pm and drive to Stinson for a BBQ. Every one
should bring food and drinks, including something to
BBQ. BBQ instructions will be provided by Eric and the
older boys. So far we have managed to keep Steven Spalding
from burning down the State Park. We will return around
9:00-10:00pm. It is a very special trip.
Thursday July 17th we are hoping to have a special Indian
Valley Practice. We will drive up to the IVC pool after
our regular practice. This day is for every one, but
especially the 8 and Unders and 9-10s to get them comfortable
and excited about swimming up there. We bring a bottle
of our own pool water and pour it into the IVC pool,
making it our home water. When we are racing we can
saw with total accuracy, that the water we are racing
in is Lucas Valley’s water. We measure the pool
and last year it turned out, that despite looking bigger,
IVC was slightly shorter than our pool. It will be a
good day. Details are coming on this practice since
I am waiting to here from the staff up there.
Finally there is the Pasta Pot Luck Shave Party on the
evening of Friday July 18th. All 12 and Ups should shave.
It is simply faster to have less hair no matter how
little you have to start with. It is an old wives’
tale that hair grows back different. DNA, not sharp
steel dragged over skin, determines what your hair look
like. So shave away and swim fast. If you have any questions
about shaving’s effectiveness just ask Nick Bigot.
When he was 9 he went from 30th in the league to 6th
with one shaved swim in the 50 Free. Any swimmers under
11 who want to shave need to bring a parent. We are
still looking for a location so any one who has a good
back yard and doesn’t mind a lot of slippery kids,
razors and shaving cream, let me know. Details about
what to bring will come later.
Rested swimmers swim faster so any thing you can do
to keep the week before Championships free of too much
activity will help the kids do better. Keeping things
as quiet and relaxing as possible will help the swimmers
have a great day on July 19th. So let’s get ready
for the Big One. Go Lightning.
Eric
Emailed Monday 5/5/08
Dear Lucas Valley Swimmers and Parents,
Time Trials are this Saturday at 10:00am. They are a dress rehearsal for the first meet next Saturday. Warm-ups for 12 and ups will be at 9:30. For 9-11s and Wolves only at 9:45. Warm-ups are mandatory for Wolves and all 9 and Ups. Physically swimmers need to warm-up but there is also an important mental component. They arrive at the meet get in with their team and swim. It gets them ready to race, their head in the game. However we do not want the Coyotes or Foxes to warm up. They are too young to really need it but more importantly it is a safety issue. Warm ups are very crowded with bigger faster swimmers zooming across the pool so keep the little ones warm and safe on the deck until their race.
Please let me know by e-mail or written note before the end of Tuesday’s practice if you are not going to be there. This dead line will be the same for every meet and it is very important.
It is the same deadline for requesting events. In most cases when a swimmer wants to swim a race I try to honor it but there are circumstances when I need to choose the events. For time trials Foxes will swim Free, Coyotes Free and one other, Wolves and all 9 and Ups will swim every event: Free, Back, Breast, Fly and IM. In regular meets they can only swim three individual events so this is a chance to try them all and see what is the best fit. There will be no relays in the time trials.
If you are the parent of a new swimmer please do not pressure them to compete. Racing is entirely optional on this team. We have never had a swimmer who did not compete eventually. They have to feel in control of this decision because it can be terrifying for them. Always let them out of it up to and including the moment of the start. If they choose not to race let them know it is okay and that they can try again next week if they want to. If you already know they don’t want to swim please tell me by e-mail or written note before 7:15pm on Tuesday.
Some other advice for swimming in meets: dress warm, like for skiing, drink water, eat a good breakfast and NO DOUGHNUTS, cheer for teammates, watch some of the older faster swimmers(they are inspiring) and enjoy the experience. The meets are fun.
Next week we will be racing for points and more importantly, best times. This year every best time will earn the swimmer a Lucas Valley coin. Three coins equal a lightning bolt pin that they can wear on a cap or sweat shirt. It is like counting coup for the Plains Indians. If members of the Plains tribes showed bravery in battle they could count coup. Once they counted coup they could marry. If my plan works, eventually in Lucas Valley young adults will have to present the appropriate number of lightning bolt pins that they earned during their years on the swim team before they can get engaged.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns(342-5163). Good luck Saturday.
Eric
 back to top
Emailed Sunday 4/13/08
Dear Lucas Valley Swimmers and Parents,
The exciting stuff is about to begin. Saturday, April 26 we are running a start clinic. 12 and Ups are 9:00am-10:00am, 9-11s are 10:00am11:00am and the 8 and Unders11:00am-12:00. The price will $25 per swimmer. Sign up at the pool. This is a great way to get your starts ready for the meets.
After the clinic we encourage people to invite kids who might be interested in the team to come and meet the coaches. It is not to late to join for the season and we can always use some more members. Word of mouth is absolutely the best advertising for our swim team so if you know of a family that might be interested, tell them to come and watch a little of the11:00 am clinic and then talk with Eric and Bella afterwards.
Sunday, May 18 the day after our first meet, we have the opportunity to see some of the worlds best swimmers, including Natalie Coughlin, possibly Michael Phelps and Lucas Valley’s own Stacey Sorenson at the Santa Clara International Swim Meet. It is a very inspirational experience. Kids often bring a note book and collect autographs of their favorite swimming stars. It would also be nice to support one of own former swimmers and former captain Stacey as she attempts to qualify for Olympic Trials in June. The finals begin at 5:00pm and are the most fun to watch but Stacey will probably swim earlier at about 10:00am. Let’s get a group together and car pool down there. Please sign up with me at the pool. For more information on the meet you can go to pacswim.org and look it up at the Pacific Swimming home page under Meet Schedule. It is officially called the Toyota XLI Santa Clara International Invitational Swim Meet.
Some kids have expressed a desire to train more. As a coach this is tough to turn down so we are offering the following additional work out times for 12 and Ups only: Saturday, April 26th 7:00am-9:00am before the start clinic and Tuesday and Thursday mornings 5:30-am-7:00am starting April 15th until the summer season starts. These practices are optional and they are not meant to replace regular practices but as an addition. It is a big psychological boost at the meets to think about how you have been practicing at 5:30am. It gives you a lot of confidence in yourself and abilities. Hope to see a lot of you older swimmers there.
The season has been going great with a bigger and more excited team. Please, if you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact me. E-mail is great(cmerun@aol.com) but I don’t check it every day so if you need a quick response call at 342-5163.
Eric Whitten
back to top
|
