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Need State High School Swimming Results?

Posted on November 10, 2011 by swimmerjoe

Go to Florida Swim Network at http://FloridaSwimNetwork.com, we’ll see you over there!

We now have 3A up under the Results Tab and the High School Tab.

Start Now! Visualize Yourself Being Great!

Posted on November 8, 2011 by swimmerjoe

For future reference – This blog has moved over to the Florida Swim Network site. Take a look - http://FloridaSwimNetwork.com

After focus, the world’s greatest athletes list visualization as the next most important aspect of their mental training. The importance of this is definitely a must! You have to see yourself being great. I can only speak from my experience, but visualization was huge for me in swimming and other sports that I participated in. (Yes, I was Middle School Champ in wrestling, too!)

In swimming, I would visualize over and over, and over and over again, just to do it absolutely perfect in my mind. I would know how I was going to start, how the stroke felt, how fast the turns were going be, when to breath, on and on until I touched the wall and saw the clock with my best time! Bedtime is the perfect time to practice this…What you can do is relax your body and start from the beginning of your race with how your body feels, the air, the sounds, what you hear and have the special event in your empty relaxed mind. You go through your pre-swim ritual in your head, the stretches, the breathing and the preparation of your event. You see yourself starting swimming and pulling through the water with 100% effort and efficiency….then you glance up at the wall and are extremely overjoyed by the numbers you see on the scoreboard. If you believe you can be the best you can be, if you can actually visualize yourself excelling at your sport and feel the power through your visualization techniques, your will be one mean, powerful and unstoppable athlete!

If you are just training hard that’s great, you will get benefit from that, but if we also add the focus component and visualization technique you will start becoming an even greater well-rounded and more complete athlete. The focus and the visualization probably are worth 50 – 60% of the entire picture, so don’t go on much longer without it. I don’t like giving people a 60% advantage over me doing something and I assume you don’t either! Practice this every night and you will start noticing a difference by mid November…..Let me know how it goes.

Final Recap and Day 4 – Florida Age Group Championships

Posted on July 18, 2011 by swimmerjoe

Well, well , well, what can I say? I don’t know if I have ever seen such a crazy fast Junior Olympics (now FLAGS) as this past weekend. The times were pretty much unbelievable. Athletes in every age group were getting Top 10 times in the nation, records, Junior National & Senior National Time Standards as well as Olympic Trial Standards. Wait a minute, what? Olympic Trial Standards? Not by a tenth of a second either! Numerous were by over 3-5 seconds! Truly incredible for the one of the best, if not the best swimming states in the nation!

Summer Finke (SPA) and Eric Woodruff (GCST) in the 1500s were very speedy as well as Sherridon Dressel (BSS), Matt Hirschberger (CAT), Kasey Schmidt (BSS), and Caleb Dressel (BSS) in the 50s. In fact, Mr Dressel dumped a 9-year-old record!

Speaking of old records, 12-year-old Jackson Defore (T2) broke a 17-year-old record in the 200 IM with a 2:21 and change.

I hear you, what about the 10 & under athletes? They were equally as fast with Talia Bates (GSC), daughter of former UF football player James Bates, winning the 50 freestyle (30.24), while Lucas Kravelenko (CBS) sneaked by Blake “Hollywood” Wilton with a time of 30.03. Other great swims by the 10-year-olds were Kaitlyn Cronin (GSC), 1:17.01, Marshall Webster (SYS), 1:12.79, both in the 100 Backstroke. In the 100 Fly event, Bates wins another one with 1:18.64, while Hollywood Wilton takes the gold with a time of 1:14.51. In their final event, the 200 freestyle, Katelyn Kilpatrick (CFM) wins the 200 freestyle, 2:30.34 and Kravelenko closes the meet for these youngsters with a blazing 2:17.54.

After seeing the amount of Olympic Trial Standards, Senior National Standards, Junior National Standards and State Records at the Age-Group Championships, I can’t until we see Senior Championships this week! Be sure to tune in to the coverage of the Senior Championships this weekend on http://FloridaSwimNetwork.com and http://swimmerjoe.com.

Day 4 Results

Going to Texas!

Posted on June 28, 2011 by swimmerjoe

Swim Meet, Vacation, Filming and Crazy Fun!

First, the Texas Open. A swim meet for 6 Blue Dolfin swimmers, heading to one of the fastest pools in the country. I look forward to seeing how these young athletes react in a new atmosphere, new competition and swimming without most of their friends hanging around. Should be interesting. I know in years past the athletes really kicked some serious tail (That’s a swimming term, haha). To see their speed and others, it will be streaming LIVE on http://FloridaSwimNetwork.com beginning on Friday. Check the website for times! Join in the chat while you’re watching!

Vacation, Vacation! If you have never been to Austin, it is a must! The arts, the music, South Congress Ave, Cupcakes, Ladybird Lake path, RunTex, Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop, hill country, Whole Foods Headquarters, on and on—it’s a blast!

Filming at Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop and UT Swim Coach Eddie Reese. I will be helping Florida Swim Network at Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop and also filming the SwimmerJoe Show there with UT Head Men’s Coach Eddie Reese. We will have many other great guests along the way, so stay tuned to the Network!

Crazy Fun! I love hanging with my sis, her hubby and their 6 kids. Yep, 6. We are on the go from 7:00 – 11:00 everyday going antquing, shopping, swimming at UT, finding old cities in South Texas, etc.

So next year, join us! We would love to have you, wherever you are in the country. Also stay tuned on this blog to get updates along the way this week!

If you are able, tune in tomorrow, Wednesday night, at 8:00 pm EDT and all weekend for the swim meet. See you there!

Up to the Scary Group!

Posted on June 16, 2011 by swimmerjoe

Hello, back again. It surely has been a crazy month with tons going on, helping with Florida Swim Network, swimming meets and a 70.3 event that was quite fun!

I wanted to talk about this time a year that means only one big step in a swimmer’s progress. This giant leap involves moving up into the scary Senior Group and/or doing two practices a day over the summer. It is a time where the last of the training wheels are finally taken off. For us, the time is after school ends for the summer and the athlete is going into 9^th grade or high school. Currently this season, I had roughly 12 kids or so and it surely was a sad transition for me. And now that most of the group has transferred to the Senior Group, I know that the moving up was a great idea. Why? They need the extra work and the extra discipline along with the internal pressure they put on themselves to see their potential through. Not only was my son in the group, but a few kids that I’ve known for years and years.

What They Don’t Know Is

What they don’t know is that these extra practices along with extra yardage and dryland will make them more tired than they have ever been. Broken down beyond their own thoughts would ever take them. What won’t kill them will make them stronger, right?

Maturity Levels of the Senior Athletes

What also will happen is the newcomers will see that the athletes in this group most likely “want” to be there and are not pushed by their parents. They want to train hard and they want to be in the best shape of their life. So what happens? Success breeds success in training and in the “will to succeed” area with what they are doing. Also the newcomers to the group learn from the more experienced swimmers and hopefully it’s the correct things.

Meets

What some athletes don’t know about swimming in meets with all this extra training is that meets are sometimes painful both physically with all the hard training going on and mentally, because sometimes best times are extremely hard to come by, but not impossible. With me, when I used to swim years ago and swim in meets while training hard and doing doubles, I was down right awful. Yeah, that’s right, even horrible. BUT, I knew that I was training hard and as long as the athlete knows that, the taper and shave will be ballistic. Let up? Even if slow in practice, keep the hammer down! The agony will pay off.

There is a time and place for every athlete to go to the next level. Some times are different than others, but mostly between 14-15 years old seems to work out best. A general step in progress and training is the best way to grow mentally and physically in a young athlete. If you are an athlete, train hard, even if you are crazy tired, eat well and sleep as much as you can.

If you are a parent, feed them, support them, and realize what they are going through. They are the hardest working athletes in the world. If you are a coach, train them harder and understand that you have athletes that love to be the hardest working athlete on the planet.

I’m Finally Back… and this Weekend

Posted on March 23, 2011 by swimmerjoe

Hello, guys – I am back. I had a computer screen crash and I kept thinking, “Oh, I’ll get it fixed.” Well, I never did, and so I am on a “stand by” unit right now…

This weekend is the last weekend of this crazy-busy month. The Florida Swimming vs Florida Gold Coast Age Group Duel Meet is in Ft Pierce at Indian River State College. This meet is always fun for the athletes and a great way to meet other swimmers in the state and create life-long friendships. And, by the way, you can watch it LIVE on Florida Swim Network. (Be sure to check it out!)

If you check back here, I will be listing the results on this site and maybe showing a couple videos from the Annual 11/12 Boys Bellyflop Competition we have after warmups.

So stay tuned and check back often for the All Star Weekend events.

Lessons Learned While Staring at a Black Line

Posted on March 8, 2011 by swimmerjoe

The following is a guest post from Courtney Wagner, a former swimmer, US swim coach and now stand out triathlete. Yeah, she knows what she’s talking about!

Lessons Learned While Staring at a Black Line:

1. Not every race will be a best time

No matter how hard you practice or how fast you race you can’t drop time every single race. Eventually you will hit a plateau that can last a month, a season or even a year. If you didn’t get a best time, try to figure out why and fix what you have control over. Did you have a slow start? Are you tired from a hard week of practice?

2. Swimming fast = 33% talent + 33% coachability + 34% hard work

Swimming fast boils down to this equation (stolen from Coach Charlie Rose). Talent is important but not the only component to swimming fast. Coachability means you not only listen to your coach but you make the changes in your technique, pace, etc; put into action what your coach is telling you. Lastly, notice how hard work is given that extra percentage more than the other two. Eventually, hard work separates out the good from the great swimmers.

3. Goals aren’t based on people

This is a difficult lesson when you are constantly racing against people. I remember being told to set our goals based on the clock and not the person in the lane next to you. You only have control over how fast you swim. Is it a failure if you drop 3 seconds off your 100 breast only to be out touched by your teammate by only 0.02 seconds? Not if your goal was a best time.

4. Big dreams, small steps

Go ahead and dream about competing in the Olympics! Now develop a plan to get there. What other meets do you need to qualify for first? What areas of your stroke need major improvement? There is a lot of planning and hard work in small steps to achieve any big dream; take it one step at a time.

5. It’s a mental sport

The biggest thing that held me back in swimming was me. I trained my heart out but when it came time to race I froze. I learned not to let my inhibitions stop me from RACING. Don’t hold yourself back.

6. Swimming is a team sport too

Everybody knows swimming is an individual sport but not many people see the team aspect. The camaraderie that comes from training with people day in and day out is a unique and important experience. Nobody understands what it means to look at a black line for hours, race the clock, or smell of chlorine even after two showers like your teammates do. Support each other, push each other, and have fun together.

7. Be on time, come prepared, and fuel your body right

Arrive early to the pool with all your equipment and be ready to dive in on time. This lesson will follow you to college, work, and almost everything in life. This is assuming you actually come to every practice. Whenever you think about skipping swim practice think about how your competition is in a pool somewhere else training and becoming that much faster than you. Coming to practice on time and training won’t be as effective if you aren’t nourishing your body with good fuel. Try to eat food that doesn’t come out of a box or wrapper and drink water every chance you get.

8. Have a role model, be a role model

My role model growing up was my swim coach, Charlie Rose. He believed in trying your best, testing your limits, going after goals and most importantly having a positive attitude along the way. By looking up to somebody, I worked on developing those same qualities I admired. Also keep in mind; you might be somebody’s role model because you are older or faster. So be a good role model.

9. Sacrifices and time management

Sacrifices must be made to accomplish our goals; not a new lesson. With good time management you can still have a life and swim too. Studying is NOT a sacrifice made for swimming. In high school I graduated second in my class with a nearly perfect GPA but never missed a swim practice. This wasn’t because I’m smart…it’s because I managed my time well so I could succeed in and out of the pool. Besides, academic scholarships pay substantially more.

10. Lessons in swimming translate directly to life

Swimming will help prepare you for life.

11. Always have fun

Don’t forget this is a sport and it’s supposed to be fun. Find joy in the process of achieving goals, training hard, and of course listening to your coach.

Florida Age-Group Championships (FLAGs) Recap

Posted on February 21, 2011 by swimmerjoe

Oftentimes in this incredible sport, the athletes that get up early, train harder than anyone, never get the respect they really deserve!

This weekend was an awesome spectacle that anyone could enjoy. The speed was blazing…many records were set, including National Swimming Records, that have never been achieved before….anywhere! Wow!

Starting with 10 & Under 500 freestyle winners, Christin Rockway & Lucas Kravchenko the meet got under way with great wins for TBAY and FSLA. After 11 & 12 Kendall Brent from Swim Florida won her 1000 free, up came CAT swimmer Matt Hirscherger. And what happened? He blew away Nicolas Caldwell’s National Record with a 9:38.50! Pretty quick for a 12 year old! Other great swims in distance events were achieved by Summer and Ariel Finke and Alex Katz.

Some of the other super swims of the weekend were by breaststrokers, Sydney Pickrem, Andrew Wojcik, Ingrid Wall and John Fulginiti. All very quick swims and awesome times. The premier sprint freestyler Caeleb Dressel, with his straight arm recovery, won his 50 in record fashion, breaking an old mark, as well as Zachary Poti, impressing the audience with a 26.58 in the 50 fly! The 11 & 12 Boys relays were dominated by Blue Dolfins, who almost broke their 31 year old ancestors relay from 1980, missing the old National mark of 1:41.79 by .02 seconds.

Speaking of Matt Hirschberger, he also broke the 11 year old 100 Freestyle record (50.33) by former Blue Dolfin standout, Alex Forbes (50.91), which I thought would last for quite a while longer. Other awesome swims were by Savannah Bowser, Michelle Turek, Wesley Olmstead, Tristan Sanders, Jeremy Rockaway and Sherridon Dressel (yes, it runs in the family).

For the entire results of the Spring 2011 FLAGs Championships, click here.

The Top 4 teams were, Sarasota (SYS), Tampa Bay Area (TBAY), Jacksonville (Bolles), and Oviedo & Winter Park’s (Blue Dolfins). For more awards and team scores, click here.

SwimmerJoe with some of his Boys 11-12 team, John Fulginiti, Mickey Kennedy, and Zach Poti. Missing swimmers, Reilly Maguire and Cody Leonard.

Check out next week’s results of the SENIOR Champs Meet with Ryan Lochte and Peter Vanderkaay.

Interesting Meet Format

Posted on January 29, 2011 by swimmerjoe

Interesting swim meet format today. Trinity Aquatics, a swim team in Winter Park, Florida, hosted a prelim / final, two-day meet (tomorrow also), where the swimmers went meters in the morning and then switched to yards at finals tonight. And, the meet consisted of 4 finals, a D final (8 swimmers), C final (6 swimmers), B final (4 swimmers), and an A final (2 swimmers going head to head, “Ultra Final”). It wasn’t bad. What it really did was get the faster kids to swim harder in the morning to get into the “head to head” or the B final of the next 4 top swimmers.

I really didn’t get to talk to many people, but the coaches seemed to get into it a little and the kids would gather at the end of the lanes and cheer for the head to head swimmers. I at least applaud the host swim team for trying to do something a little different.

Make Swimming More Interesting

There is something to be said about making swim meets more interesting. It gives everybody a little change up and I think teams as well as state swim associations should experiment with different formats. There will be one that makes it very exciting…we just may not know the best yet. (Although, if we had more teams at the meet this weekend, it could have happened right there in Winter Park… Who knows?)

Good Question: If you guys have any ideas for meet formats, let me know. I would enjoy hearing about it.

Your Weekly Video Segment

Posted on January 17, 2011 by swimmerjoe

I saw a video “round up” like this on http://centralfltop5.com (my wife’s site) and thought it would be a great thing to do for swimming. SwimmerJoe’s videos will be a weekly list of videos, that are current and can teach you something about swimming, whether you are a competitive or recreational swimmer, triathlete, or even runner that needs some swimming for rehabilitation, etc.

I will list 5 or so videos that have been uploaded on the internet within the past week. I may even put some of mine from our swim team on there if they can help you all! What this will utlimately do is save you endless minutes or hours looking for videos on swimming or the previously mentioned areas.

So check it out once a week, I will try and keep it on the same day so you can count on it. So here we go with our first set. If you like this idea, let me know, if not, let me know. Have a great week and keep training hard and extremely focused on your goals!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMTDR5ax-bY]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5MIt6kVTgQ]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDaDpAXAJ3g]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOQ2t6qhS6A]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGvq7fQD2tg]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPx8KS4JyQ4]

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