What a whirlwind 24 hours...from Friday morning to Saturday morning. We left here Friday morning with the intention of swimming faster that night in Madison than we have all year. We left the natatorium Fri. night not only faster, but also smarter. From Colin's strong steady performance on the boards Friday afternoon, to the "Ice Cream Championship of the World" at Ella's Friday night...the trip was certainly unforgettable. Steven learned about oxygen, Jim learned NOT to turn left in a pool with lane lines, Billy snores, and and Bob makes loooong 10 minutes speeches.
This was the first trip to State for this crew...but the last only for Jim Jens. An unlikely participant only one season ago, Jim certainly made the most of his opportunity. He swam faster than even I thought he could, then proceeded to leave his senses for a brief moment. Grambow, Wong, and Lillie all were faster than ever before on our 400 Free Relay, with Steven Lillie claiming the title as the teams fastest swimmer for this season.
Our alternates did their job as well, Ladd, Daniels, Gilles, and Davis all had the chance to "FEEL" the State Meet up close and personal. Next year boys....next year!
As the bubbles settle on the 2010 Boys Swim/Dive season, I look back with pride and satisfaction on a job well done. There is always a price to pay for success...but there are riches to gain as well. Your coaching staff is proud of your accomplishments this season gentlemen. You should be too! Some of you are moving on to a new swim season, some to other sports, and some are just taking a deep breath and relaxing....all are good. Pick up your homework a bit, remember the term "student-athlete". Tapers are over so go shovel the driveway for your parents and the special tour of "potter duty".
Personally, I am going to become a "Dad" again. My son Sam swims in his first State Meet next weekend....in Madison...and I'll be there cheering him on. (yes, more pool time for me...but it's a good thing) Tony is beginning practice for the USM MS play and I will be Maddies sidekick again. And oh yeah...my wife gets her husband back.
So....thanks for the memories....and remember...if God will bring you to it, He will bring you through it.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
We're on our way...
To Madison. We have successfully completed the journey we set out on in November. We share a common sense of accomplishment, yet with a bit more work to do. We are in the top 16 in Wisconsin. The question is...how much higher can we climb?
BD/USM......START YOUR ENGINES.....
BD/USM......START YOUR ENGINES.....
Monday, February 15, 2010
Not quite finished yet...more cudos...
21 OUT OF 27 PR'S!!!! Holy Cow!
Even with the disappointment of losing the Medley to disqualification,(wrongly I might add) our boys still stepped up and let 'er rip. Our first swim after that was Billy Wong's 200 IM. I had no idea how Billy would react to losing the Medley, but he knew he swam well on it and quickly prepared himself for the IM. All Billy did was drop a fabulous 5 sec. in 200 yards from 2:16 to 2:11. YEAH BILLY!!! Not to be outdone, in the same heat of the IM, Geoff Gilles dropped and equally impressive 4 seconds from 2:21 to 2:17. YEAH GEOFF!!!
And that's the way the day went...even though there may have been a disappointment here or there, someone was there to pick up the peices and move the team forward. That's what TEAM is all a bout. One day it's you picking up the team, the next day it's someone else. To get all athletes performing at their best on the same day at the same time is very rare. To achieve 50% or more is terrific...and we had 78%.
As we are looking forward to the State Meet this Friday, we must not forget...even though each individual athlete can't be in the water, it took each individual athlete to get us where we are. Each and every one of you owns a peice of this Meet Friday. Our TEAM is there...represented by a few.
Friday night is the pinnacle of high school swimming in WI. And we will be there! Congratulations gentlemen...
Success is spelled....BD/USM!
Even with the disappointment of losing the Medley to disqualification,(wrongly I might add) our boys still stepped up and let 'er rip. Our first swim after that was Billy Wong's 200 IM. I had no idea how Billy would react to losing the Medley, but he knew he swam well on it and quickly prepared himself for the IM. All Billy did was drop a fabulous 5 sec. in 200 yards from 2:16 to 2:11. YEAH BILLY!!! Not to be outdone, in the same heat of the IM, Geoff Gilles dropped and equally impressive 4 seconds from 2:21 to 2:17. YEAH GEOFF!!!
And that's the way the day went...even though there may have been a disappointment here or there, someone was there to pick up the peices and move the team forward. That's what TEAM is all a bout. One day it's you picking up the team, the next day it's someone else. To get all athletes performing at their best on the same day at the same time is very rare. To achieve 50% or more is terrific...and we had 78%.
As we are looking forward to the State Meet this Friday, we must not forget...even though each individual athlete can't be in the water, it took each individual athlete to get us where we are. Each and every one of you owns a peice of this Meet Friday. Our TEAM is there...represented by a few.
Friday night is the pinnacle of high school swimming in WI. And we will be there! Congratulations gentlemen...
Success is spelled....BD/USM!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
WE DID IT AGAIN!!!
After a year's absence from the State Meet in Madison, WEEEE'RE BAAAAACK. And not in a small way. Colin Rice started the journey with a qualification in Diving Friday night At the Schroeder Aquatic Center. In preparation for his first trip to the pinnacle of high school swimming in WI, Colin was steady alll night with his dive scores! CONGRATS COLIN!
On Saturday, in the swimming portion of the Sectional meet at Cudahy High School, your the BD/USM swimmers did their best to follow Colins'lead. With 27 swimming opportunities on Saturday, our boys achieved 21 PR's.(Personal Records) in a sport wherer the best coaches will tell you a 50-60% rate of PR's at a season ending meet is a terrific season...my son told me that's about a 78% success rate. Every coach would be pleased with that...and in fact we a not only pleased...we are thrilled.
Joining Colin in Madison will be Steven Grambow who, after dropping an astounding 21 seconds in his 500 Freestyle last season, dropped an equally impressive 14 seconds to place himself as the 9th seed in Madison. (equally inpressive because the faster you get, the harder it is to get faster) Steven swam a near-perfect race in his 500 Free Saturday, narrowly missing out on first place at Sectionals. CONGRATS STEVEN!
The final event of the day presented one more chance for qualification for our motivated athelets. The 400 Free Relay needed to drop considerable time to make it through, and they succeeded with flying colors. Jim Jens, Steve Lillie, Steven Grambow and Billy Wong will represent BD/USM at the State meet as well. CONGRATS GENTLEMEN!
There are many more highlights from our terrific meet Friday and Saturday....they will come in the next posting....THE COACHING STAFF CONGRATULATES OUR ENTIER TEAM! With a JV Confrence Championship, a 4th place team finish at Sectionals and a trip to Madison....YOU ARE THE BEST!
Happily...we're not done yet...stay tuned...
On Saturday, in the swimming portion of the Sectional meet at Cudahy High School, your the BD/USM swimmers did their best to follow Colins'lead. With 27 swimming opportunities on Saturday, our boys achieved 21 PR's.(Personal Records) in a sport wherer the best coaches will tell you a 50-60% rate of PR's at a season ending meet is a terrific season...my son told me that's about a 78% success rate. Every coach would be pleased with that...and in fact we a not only pleased...we are thrilled.
Joining Colin in Madison will be Steven Grambow who, after dropping an astounding 21 seconds in his 500 Freestyle last season, dropped an equally impressive 14 seconds to place himself as the 9th seed in Madison. (equally inpressive because the faster you get, the harder it is to get faster) Steven swam a near-perfect race in his 500 Free Saturday, narrowly missing out on first place at Sectionals. CONGRATS STEVEN!
The final event of the day presented one more chance for qualification for our motivated athelets. The 400 Free Relay needed to drop considerable time to make it through, and they succeeded with flying colors. Jim Jens, Steve Lillie, Steven Grambow and Billy Wong will represent BD/USM at the State meet as well. CONGRATS GENTLEMEN!
There are many more highlights from our terrific meet Friday and Saturday....they will come in the next posting....THE COACHING STAFF CONGRATULATES OUR ENTIER TEAM! With a JV Confrence Championship, a 4th place team finish at Sectionals and a trip to Madison....YOU ARE THE BEST!
Happily...we're not done yet...stay tuned...
Monday, February 8, 2010
Well Done Gentlemen!!!
The road to success has many bumps in it...but our objectives were clear and resolve unwaivering.
Objectives;
1. To place 4th in the Varsity Conference Championship Meet
2. To WIN the JV Conference Championship
3. To set up the varsity for a great finish next week at Sectionals.
To obtain Objective #2, we had to have all our athletes healthy and physically ready. The physically ready part was up to me, since my job is to train these young men, and prepare them for this. As recently as 2 weeks ago, we lost our third JV swimmer, 2 of them to a lack of committment in the classroom. So we knew were going into the meet with fewer athletes than we wanted. When the beep sounded for the first event, our boys showed they were ready. With 24 swims in the JV relays, we achieved 19 season best performances...that's just on the relays. Out of 6 relays, we placed 4 in the top 4. Leading the way for the BD/USM Wildfalconcat JV Team were Dan Kass, Brian Roberts, Ryan Murphy, Michael Short and Zach Ferrell. All four had the meet of their lives in leading their team to a FIRST PLACE finish...a full 185 points ahead of 2nd place Cudahy.
Short---2PR's on 200 IM and 100 Back
Kass---4 PR's in 50 Free, 100 Free, and anchored a 1st and 2nd place relay
Murphy--- 4 PR's in 4 events. Medley Relay, 100 butterfly, 500, and 400 Free Relay
Ferrell---500, 200 Free Relay, 100 Back, 400 Free Relay
Roberts--- 4 PR's in 4 events; Medley Relay, 200 Free, 100 Butterfly, and 200 Free Relay
Objective #2---DONE!
On the Varsity side, it would be a tough road to 4th place. The right people in the right places, and they MUST perform. It was a see-saw battle with D1 Wauwatosa the whole meet, with each of us taking over the 4th place slot as each event passed. We were remembering the thrashing they gave us in a dual meet in their pool a few weeks ago, so we had a bad memory to erase. It all came down to the last event, the 400 Free Relay, and the BD/USM Wildfalconcats prevailed in outscoring Tosa in the last event to pass them in the final standings. While our varsity boys won't be fully rested until next week, they swam their hearts out and were quite impressive. Special kudos go out to;
Steven Grambow---PR in 200 Free
Rob Davis---PR in 50 Free and 200 Free Relay
Geoff Gilles--PR in 200 IM
Matt Daniels---PR in 400 Free relay
Steve Lillie---PR in 100 Butterfly and 400 Free Relay
Adam Brostowicz---PR in Medley Relay
Jack Ladd---PR in 100 Back
OBJECTIVE #1---DONE
I believe Objective #3 is done as well...but you will have to come watch us swim at Cudahy next Saturday to find out. This is a team ready to explode....On Thursday of this week I'll light the fuse...
Objectives;
1. To place 4th in the Varsity Conference Championship Meet
2. To WIN the JV Conference Championship
3. To set up the varsity for a great finish next week at Sectionals.
To obtain Objective #2, we had to have all our athletes healthy and physically ready. The physically ready part was up to me, since my job is to train these young men, and prepare them for this. As recently as 2 weeks ago, we lost our third JV swimmer, 2 of them to a lack of committment in the classroom. So we knew were going into the meet with fewer athletes than we wanted. When the beep sounded for the first event, our boys showed they were ready. With 24 swims in the JV relays, we achieved 19 season best performances...that's just on the relays. Out of 6 relays, we placed 4 in the top 4. Leading the way for the BD/USM Wildfalconcat JV Team were Dan Kass, Brian Roberts, Ryan Murphy, Michael Short and Zach Ferrell. All four had the meet of their lives in leading their team to a FIRST PLACE finish...a full 185 points ahead of 2nd place Cudahy.
Short---2PR's on 200 IM and 100 Back
Kass---4 PR's in 50 Free, 100 Free, and anchored a 1st and 2nd place relay
Murphy--- 4 PR's in 4 events. Medley Relay, 100 butterfly, 500, and 400 Free Relay
Ferrell---500, 200 Free Relay, 100 Back, 400 Free Relay
Roberts--- 4 PR's in 4 events; Medley Relay, 200 Free, 100 Butterfly, and 200 Free Relay
Objective #2---DONE!
On the Varsity side, it would be a tough road to 4th place. The right people in the right places, and they MUST perform. It was a see-saw battle with D1 Wauwatosa the whole meet, with each of us taking over the 4th place slot as each event passed. We were remembering the thrashing they gave us in a dual meet in their pool a few weeks ago, so we had a bad memory to erase. It all came down to the last event, the 400 Free Relay, and the BD/USM Wildfalconcats prevailed in outscoring Tosa in the last event to pass them in the final standings. While our varsity boys won't be fully rested until next week, they swam their hearts out and were quite impressive. Special kudos go out to;
Steven Grambow---PR in 200 Free
Rob Davis---PR in 50 Free and 200 Free Relay
Geoff Gilles--PR in 200 IM
Matt Daniels---PR in 400 Free relay
Steve Lillie---PR in 100 Butterfly and 400 Free Relay
Adam Brostowicz---PR in Medley Relay
Jack Ladd---PR in 100 Back
OBJECTIVE #1---DONE
I believe Objective #3 is done as well...but you will have to come watch us swim at Cudahy next Saturday to find out. This is a team ready to explode....On Thursday of this week I'll light the fuse...
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Does Shaving Down actually work?
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1989 Oct;21(5):576-80.
Related Articles, Links
Influence of body hair removal on physiological responses during breaststroke swimming.
Sharp RL, Costill DL.
Human Performance Laboratory, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306.
Nine male collegiate swimmers (EXP) were studied 8 d before (PRE) and 1 d after (POST) shaving the hair from their arms, legs, and exposed trunk. A control group (CON, N = 4) of their teammates was also tested at these times but did not remove body hair. In PRE and POST, distance per stroke (SL), VO2, heart rate (HR), and post-swim blood lactate concentration (BL) were measured during a 365.8 m breaststroke swim at approximately 90% effort. Subjects also performed a tethered breaststroke swim with retarding forces of 6.27, 7.75, and 9.26 kg. The EXP group experienced a significant (P less than 0.05) reduction in BL (mean +/- SE: 8.48 +/- 0.78 to 6.74 +/- 0.74 mmol.l-1), a decreased VO2 (3.60 +/- 0.15 to 3.27 +/- 0.14 l.min-1), an increase in SL (2.07 +/- 0.08 to 2.31 +/- 0.10 m.stroke-1), and an insignificant (P = 0.08) decline in HR (174 +/- 5 to 168 +/- 4 beats.min-1) during the free swim. The CON group showed no changes in BL, SL, or HR. During the tethered swim, there were no significant PRE-POST differences in VO2, HR, or BL for either group. In a separate group of swimmers (nine who shaved body hair and nine controls), removing body hair significantly reduced the rate of velocity decay during a prone glide after a maximal underwater leg push-off. It is concluded that removing body hair reduces active drag, thereby decreasing the physiological cost of swimming.
Publication Types:
• Clinical Trial
• Controlled Clinical Trial
PMID: 2691818 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Related Articles, Links
Influence of body hair removal on physiological responses during breaststroke swimming.
Sharp RL, Costill DL.
Human Performance Laboratory, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306.
Nine male collegiate swimmers (EXP) were studied 8 d before (PRE) and 1 d after (POST) shaving the hair from their arms, legs, and exposed trunk. A control group (CON, N = 4) of their teammates was also tested at these times but did not remove body hair. In PRE and POST, distance per stroke (SL), VO2, heart rate (HR), and post-swim blood lactate concentration (BL) were measured during a 365.8 m breaststroke swim at approximately 90% effort. Subjects also performed a tethered breaststroke swim with retarding forces of 6.27, 7.75, and 9.26 kg. The EXP group experienced a significant (P less than 0.05) reduction in BL (mean +/- SE: 8.48 +/- 0.78 to 6.74 +/- 0.74 mmol.l-1), a decreased VO2 (3.60 +/- 0.15 to 3.27 +/- 0.14 l.min-1), an increase in SL (2.07 +/- 0.08 to 2.31 +/- 0.10 m.stroke-1), and an insignificant (P = 0.08) decline in HR (174 +/- 5 to 168 +/- 4 beats.min-1) during the free swim. The CON group showed no changes in BL, SL, or HR. During the tethered swim, there were no significant PRE-POST differences in VO2, HR, or BL for either group. In a separate group of swimmers (nine who shaved body hair and nine controls), removing body hair significantly reduced the rate of velocity decay during a prone glide after a maximal underwater leg push-off. It is concluded that removing body hair reduces active drag, thereby decreasing the physiological cost of swimming.
Publication Types:
• Clinical Trial
• Controlled Clinical Trial
PMID: 2691818 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Great Info...
For those of you who are research oriented.....feel free to read the following.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/what-you-eat-after-exercise-matters
Scientific Bases for Precompetition Tapering Strategies.
APPLIED SCIENCES
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 35(7):1182-1187, July 2003.
MUJIKA, INIGO; PADILLA, SABINO
Abstract:
MUJIKA, I., and S. PADILLA. Scientific Bases for Precompetition Tapering Strategies. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 35, No. 7, pp. 1182-1187, 2003. The taper is a progressive nonlinear reduction of the training load during a variable period of time, in an attempt to reduce the physiological and psychological stress of daily training and optimize sports performance. The aim of the taper should be to minimize accumulated fatigue without compromising adaptations. This is best achieved by maintaining training intensity, reducing the training volume (up to 60-90%) and slightly reducing training frequency (no more than 20%). The optimal duration of the taper ranges between 4 and more than 28 d. Progressive nonlinear tapers are more beneficial to performance than step tapers. Performance usually improves by about 3% (usual range 0.5-6.0%), due to positive changes in the cardiorespiratory, metabolic, hematological, hormonal, neuromuscular, and psychological status of the athletes.
(C)2003The American College of Sports Medicine
Maximize Performance Through Resting - The Taper
Training is an important part of any athelte's race preparation, but resting to maximize performance can be a challenge. Discover how to make the most of this final and crucial phase of training.
Most people train for months and forget that 2 weeks before the race it's time to think about resting. Many triathletes find this more difficult than swimming 5,000 yards, biking the hills, or running a half marathon!
Here are some things for people to keep in mind during the “rest period” before a race:
1. Do longer warm ups and warm downs. You can keep your distance up, but start to add more to the beginning and end portion of your workout. This 'active rest' will assure that you are well rested for your race but not out of shape.
2.
3. Avoid big meals and sugar. Tapering is an adjustment for your body, and your immune system may not be as strong during this time.
Big meals and carbohydrates like sugar will wear your immune system and leave you susceptible to colds and flus. Keep in mind that as your workout intensity decreases, you must decrease calorie intake accordingly.
4. Get as much sleep as you can before midnight. Ideally, get to bed by 10:30. The sleep you get before midnight is the most crucial to your recovery. You will feel more rested if you can do this for at least 2 weeks before your event.
5. Lay off the strength training. This is more of an individual call (some people feel better if they are doing some strength work all the way up until the event, others will be too broken down unless they take a good 2 weeks off), but at the minimum, you should go lighter in the weeks leading up to your event.
6. Avoid caffeine. It may be tough if you are a coffee addict, but 2 weeks of not having that morning cup will give you more natural energy for your race. Take it from 6-time Ironman champion Mark Allen- he practiced this for every race and it worked pretty well for him!
7. Increase your meditation or yoga. Less time working out means more time to prepare mentally! If you don't do yoga already, don't start now. However, find some quiet time during the day to get away from work and working out to clear your mind.
8. You will have more energy during your rest or taper period. Don't be tempted to use it! Save it for your event and you will be glad you did.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/what-you-eat-after-exercise-matters
Scientific Bases for Precompetition Tapering Strategies.
APPLIED SCIENCES
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 35(7):1182-1187, July 2003.
MUJIKA, INIGO; PADILLA, SABINO
Abstract:
MUJIKA, I., and S. PADILLA. Scientific Bases for Precompetition Tapering Strategies. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 35, No. 7, pp. 1182-1187, 2003. The taper is a progressive nonlinear reduction of the training load during a variable period of time, in an attempt to reduce the physiological and psychological stress of daily training and optimize sports performance. The aim of the taper should be to minimize accumulated fatigue without compromising adaptations. This is best achieved by maintaining training intensity, reducing the training volume (up to 60-90%) and slightly reducing training frequency (no more than 20%). The optimal duration of the taper ranges between 4 and more than 28 d. Progressive nonlinear tapers are more beneficial to performance than step tapers. Performance usually improves by about 3% (usual range 0.5-6.0%), due to positive changes in the cardiorespiratory, metabolic, hematological, hormonal, neuromuscular, and psychological status of the athletes.
(C)2003The American College of Sports Medicine
Maximize Performance Through Resting - The Taper
Training is an important part of any athelte's race preparation, but resting to maximize performance can be a challenge. Discover how to make the most of this final and crucial phase of training.
Most people train for months and forget that 2 weeks before the race it's time to think about resting. Many triathletes find this more difficult than swimming 5,000 yards, biking the hills, or running a half marathon!
Here are some things for people to keep in mind during the “rest period” before a race:
1. Do longer warm ups and warm downs. You can keep your distance up, but start to add more to the beginning and end portion of your workout. This 'active rest' will assure that you are well rested for your race but not out of shape.
2.
3. Avoid big meals and sugar. Tapering is an adjustment for your body, and your immune system may not be as strong during this time.
Big meals and carbohydrates like sugar will wear your immune system and leave you susceptible to colds and flus. Keep in mind that as your workout intensity decreases, you must decrease calorie intake accordingly.
4. Get as much sleep as you can before midnight. Ideally, get to bed by 10:30. The sleep you get before midnight is the most crucial to your recovery. You will feel more rested if you can do this for at least 2 weeks before your event.
5. Lay off the strength training. This is more of an individual call (some people feel better if they are doing some strength work all the way up until the event, others will be too broken down unless they take a good 2 weeks off), but at the minimum, you should go lighter in the weeks leading up to your event.
6. Avoid caffeine. It may be tough if you are a coffee addict, but 2 weeks of not having that morning cup will give you more natural energy for your race. Take it from 6-time Ironman champion Mark Allen- he practiced this for every race and it worked pretty well for him!
7. Increase your meditation or yoga. Less time working out means more time to prepare mentally! If you don't do yoga already, don't start now. However, find some quiet time during the day to get away from work and working out to clear your mind.
8. You will have more energy during your rest or taper period. Don't be tempted to use it! Save it for your event and you will be glad you did.
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