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Birmingham, Michigan

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Coach Kevin's Comments  Posted 2/44/10

 

Championships!

Wow! The season is going way too fast for me. I feel like I’m like one of those crazy Olympians careening down a hill at breakneck pace!  We have had two OUTSTANDING championship meets and I am AMAZED by the results and now we are heading for the YMCA State Meet!  At the Cluster Meet we picked up several new State, AA and Zone qualifiers.

 

Banquets

We like to celebrate the end of the season with two banquets for our swimmers. The Eight and Under Ice Cream Social will be held at the Y on Sunday, March 7th. Details will be posted soon.  Eight and under swimmers who attended the Cluster Meet and/or the Eight and Under State Meet are invited to come and celebrate.

 

The banquet for swimmers nine and up will be held Sunday, April 18 at Forest Lake Country Club. Swimmers, nine and up, who participated through the championship meets are invited. The coaches want this to be a memorable affair for our swimmers with plenty of time to socialize with each other. That means we need to plan our part of the program well, so that our swimmers are recognized and honored without having to listen to us drone on endlessly. To do that we need to know who is coming, so reservations must be made and the deadline will be final. NO EXCEPTIONS!

 

Volunteers

BBD is a hugely successful team because of the commitment of our volunteers. It is the time of the season when we need to identify the people needed to fill all of our leadership positions. Now that everyone has at least one year under their belt, consider playing a larger role with the team. I know our volunteers find their roles fulfilling. Would you like to take on a role, but you feel like you do not have enough knowledge or experience? We’d be glad to partner you with one of our veterans until you learn the ropes.

 

Spring/Summer Programs

Our spring tune-up will be five-week programs beginning April 26th. The ten and unders will be at the Y from 5:00-6:30 Monday through Thursday. We need at least twenty swimmers registered to offer this program. The eleven and ups will be at Cranbrook Monday through Friday.   Our summer program is being planned; information is forthcoming.

 

                                                                                                                                Kevin

 


Coach Kevin's Comments  Posted 2/8/10

 

Clusters/Michigan Open - I can’t believe we are already here! Our first championship meets. The swimmers who are trying to get their first YMCA State qualifying time are tapering this week and those swimmers (and only those swimmers) may wear “speed suits” this weekend.

 

Remember, there are relays AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF THE SESSION!  It is important that the swimmers know what events they are swimming this weekend so they can set goals and mentally prepare to do their best.  Swimmers should eat correctly and rest well for the meet. That means swimmers should eat breakfast BEFORE they arrive at the meet and pack water and snacks to maintain their energy during the session.

 

Time Trials will be offered at the end of each session of the meet. Swimmers may come to swim a time trial after any session. If your swimmer needs advice for what to trial have them ask their coaches.

 

Taper As we move into the championship season you will hear the word “taper” a lot both as a noun and a verb. Swimmers taper once a season. Taper is the period of rest and refinement in the period shortly before a championship meet. While a taper isn’t magic, the results can be magical. During the taper period a swimmer’s body is recovering from all of the stress created in training during the season. The rest sets the stage for the swimmer’s peak performance. The more a swimmer has trained the more dramatic the results in taper can be. That is why consistent workouts done over a long period of time create the background for a successful taper. A number of factors determine how coaches will taper children. The older and more muscular swimmer is the longer a taper will be. How much a swimmer has trained also influences the length of the taper period. During this period swimmers need to eat right, rest and rest well. Mental preparation is key as well. Swimmers are encouraged to WRITE down their goals---both in terms of time and method and focus on the goals as they prepare.

 

New Record - Last week I reported about our success at Indy. What I didn’t realize at the time was that Ava Suchara set a new team record in the 9-10 200 freestyle. This is a very impressive accomplishment. The team has kept records for over forty years and for a swimmer to set a record is amazing, but to do it during the regular season before they are tapered makes it even more incredible.

 

Eight and Under State Meet- The Eight and Under State Meet is the end of the season for the eight and unders. We like to make sure it is special. Parents, we want all of the swimmers to stay at the end of the meet for the trophy presentation. Please plan to stay until the very end.

 

National Team-Our National Team has grown! Jack Howard qualified in the 100 breast this past weekend.

The National Team ran two very successful clinics this past weekend.  Members of the National Team work to raise funds to help defray the rather significant cost of making the trip to Fort Lauderdale. One of our parents was telling a friend about our National Team’s efforts and they made a SUBSTANTIAL gift to the team. I do not know the whole story, but I am certainly grateful that someone could think so highly of our program and be so generous even though they have no direct connection to it.

 

Last Word- As we move into the championship season I have had time to review all of our qualifiers for the different championship meets (Y States, AAs, Zones and Nationals.) We aren’t done yet. We will add many new names to those rosters in the next few weeks. What strikes me is the fact that if swimmers commit to the team and do what they are asked they can qualify for these meets. Already, we have fifteen 9-10 girls qualified to swim the 50 back at the Y State Meet. We have a raft of nine year olds who have qualified for AA’s. We have large Zone team. My point is if swimmers make qualifying for these meets their goal, they will get there. I often have parents talk about our National Team as if their children will never be a part of it…and that simply isn’t true. My experience tells me otherwise.

 

Yesterday, I was getting ready for the 9-10 practice and we had about twenty swimmers doing their dryland exercises. Of the twenty, more than half have already qualified for Y States. Of those who haven’t there were only a few I am not confident will qualify this weekend, and those few are mostly swimmers who aren’t at practice regularly. The kids are able to achieve whatever they choose.

                                                                                                                                Kevin

 


Coach Kevin's Comments  Posted 2/2/10

 

BBD did beautifully at the Indy meet. Anne, Karen, Parker and Mike led a squad of just under 100 swimmers and we placed SECOND in the meet! What makes this especially noteworthy is that many of our top swimmers did not opt to attend. Being a Y team our swimmers have a much broader menu of meets to choose from and so this isn’t a required meet like it is for many of our competitors. Congratulations to all who made the trip. We are nicely set for a fine championship season!

 

Highlights included Peter Palmer winning the first event of the meet---the 1,650 (the mile) and qualifying for the Y National Meet in that race. Ava Suchara and Katie Minnich finished 1-2 in the high point competition for the 9-10 girls, Jack Russell finished 3rd in the 11-12 high point race, Maggie Pyett qualified for YMCA Nationals in the 100 breast and Christine Edwards re-qualified for this spring’s meet in the 100  back.

 

Our first places came from Ava Suchara in the 9-10 50 free (27.99,) 200 free (2:13.54,) 100 back (1:10.25,) and the 50 fly (31.75.) Allie Russell took the 9-10 50 breast (38.36.) Jack Russell won the 11-12 50 free (24.38,) 50 breast (31.79,) and 50 fly (27.00.) Jaynie Pulte qualified first in the Open 50 free (24.44.)

 

Our 9-10 girls and 11-12 boys won both of their relays: the team of Ava Suchara, Allie Russell, Katie Minnnich and Mary Kate Nodland (medley 2:15.98 and free 2:03.22,) and the team of Mark Blinstrub, Jack Russell, Mitchell Buccalo and Bobby Powie (medley 1:58.62 and free 1:45.42.)

                                                                                                                                Kevin

 


Coach Kevin's Comments  Posted 1/20/10

 

Bulldog/Macomb Meets: We had fabulous swims at both of the meets that the swimmers swam last weekend. The coaches are thrilled! Some highlights: Mitchell Buccalo set a new team record in the 11-12 boys’ 200 butterfly. Ava Suchara (9-10 50 back), Lara Kokubo (11-12 100 free) and Jack Russell (11-12 200 free) set new meet records at the Bulldog Meet. Andrew Biskup dropped nine seconds in the 9-10 200 fee and qualified for the YMCA Zone Meet. Sarah Kilbride qualified for the Great Lakes Zone Meet in the 400 Individual medley (4:57) and Mollie Pulte finished third in the high-point race in her age group.  At Macomb, Ally Vogelheim (8 and under) won several events, Alexander Margherio (9-10) and Mary Kate Nodland (9-10), in their respective relays, staged exciting come-from-behind swims to capture first places. Alexander also had impressive swims in the 100 fly and 200 free. Grace Wilkins (9-10) had personal bests in every event she swam. Grace Wallace (9-10) got her first AA cut in the 200 IM at the Bulldog Meet on Friday night, and then picked up several YMCA State cuts at the Macomb Meet. Audrey Belf (11-12) got her YMCA State cut in  100 free.   There were many, many great swims. Congratulations to all of our swimmers!

 

Indy- We have over 100 swimmers going to the Circle City Meet in Indianapolis soon. There will be teams from all over the country attending. It’s not unusual to see the Colorado Stars, Parkway from St. Louis, or Atlanta teams in addition to the Indiana and Michigan teams. Please make sure you are wearing your team apparel…BBD suits, caps t-shirts parkas, etc….. We’re proud of you. We want everyone to know where you train!

 

Speed suits-Soon we will be into our championship season. As you probably know there are suits specifically designed for that time of the year. As a general rule, swimmers are allowed to wear “speed suits” to their biggest meet AND NOT BEFORE. National swimmers will wait until Nationals. AA and Zone swimmers will wait until those meets. If in doubt…ask a coach. The suits lose their effectiveness when they are worn too often.

Remember we raise fast swimmers; the suit doesn’t do it.

 

Time Trials At Clusters and State Meets time trials are offered at the end of each session for swimmers to get qualifying times in events that they did not swim in the regular meet. Swimmers may trial at the end of any session. Registration for trials happens during the meet. I think it’s a great idea for most swimmers to try at least one (It’s hard to do more than one per session because the races come up very quickly.) All swimmers should get the coach’s approval  before registering for a trial.

 

Clusters You have probably seen that the deadline for Cluster entries was extended. It is required that all swimmers swim in Clusters or the Michigan Open. We have advertised that requirement since the introductory meetings when I said that people who are unavailable to swim should not register for the team. It has been on the website and in the handbook. In spite of that, I have had e-mails from people who are unable to attend (and I am sure there are people who simply won’t register and will let us discover it later.) I know there are reasons that are justified, but many are not, and I think of the swimmers we had to turn away because the team was full who would have fulfilled the requirements. Swimming is a demanding sport. Our kids have trained long and hard to be successful and our coaches have worked diligently to produce as many big meet qualifiers as possible. The weekend of these meets is the last chance to qualify for the Y State Meet and the performances at these meets determine relay teams for future championships so missing the meet is not something we take lightly.

The calendar for championship meets has to be backed up from the National Meet and it will not change. It will always conflict with some mid-winter breaks. It’s another sacrifice good athletes make. Our swimmers have trained since September to be successful at these meets and they need to be there.

 

                                                                                                                                Kevin

 


Coach Kevin's Comments  Posted 1/7/10

 

Now that the holidays have come and gone we need to plan for our championship season. It may seem early for this but I have had many requests so that people can plan ahead. Please read through all of the meets so that the swimmers are registered for all of the meets they are expected to attend.

A swimmer’s season ends after their last meet. Swimmers MUST swim in all of the championship meets for which they qualify.

 

February 13-14 - Our first championship meet is the Eastern Cluster Meet which will be hosted by the North Oakland YMCA at one of the Waterford schools. Each age group has one session. On the same weekend there is a US Meet in Rochester (Oakland University). All swimmers are expected to swim in one or both of the meets. High school boys are required to be at the Cluster Meet so that they have a YMCA championship meet.

 

February 21 - The YMCA Eight and Under State Meet hosted by the Flint Y Falcons at Waterford Mott. This is required for all eight and under swimmers. The eight and unders’ season is over after this meet unless they have qualified as a 9-10 year old for another championship meet.

 

February  27-28 - The YMCA State Meet hosted by the Rapids Area Y. This is a required meet for all swimmers who have qualified for the meet (except for the high school boys.) There is one session for the 9-10 year old swimmers, one for  11-12s and one session for 13 and up swimmers.

 

March 6  The YMCA “B” Meet at L’anse Creuse North. The “B” Meet is for those swimmers 9 and up who did not qualify for the 9 and up YMCA State Meet. It is one session for all age groups.

 

March 12-14  - The US 12 and Under State Meet at Waterford Mott. This is a required meet for all qualifiers. This meet  is pre-lims/finals. There are events on Friday during the day.

 

March 19-21 - The YMCA Great Lakes Zone Meet at Bowling Green (Ohio.) There are distance events on Friday evening for older swimmers and a session on Saturday and Sunday for all age groups 9 and up.

 

I hope this is helpful. Please ask a coach if you have any questions.

                                                                                                                                Kevin

 

 

Page last updated February 28, 2010

 

BBD Sidebars


Is Taper Really Just Rest?


The next BBD Board of Directors Meeting will be on Monday, March 22, 2010 @ 7:00 pm at the Birmingham Family YMCA

                                                            


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