SWIMZONE NEWSLETTER

TERM 4 2009

The last day of this term is on the 18th December for all junior squads.

Barracudas, Hammerheads and Orcas will carry on until Wednesday 23rd

Term One for 2010 is a very long Term from January through to the annual pool closure in April so Swim Fees have been adjusted accordingly. To all families, we encourage everyone to pay on time or before the Term starts as we will need to pay staff over this period. Please try to book in early so we know who will be attending during the holidays. Please contact Yvonne if you want to make arrangements or automatic payments, but fees should be paid strictly in advance.

After the January holiday period the next terms group times will be the same as the term just finished.

Term 4 summary

There have been many highlights this year but for the Coaching Team our results at national meets has been very pleasing with:

112 swimmers qualifying and attending the Wellington Winter Champs

20 swimmers have qualified for the NZ Age Groups Champs for 2010

23 swimmers have qualified for NZ Division 2 in 2010

20 swimmers have now qualified for the NZ Junior Champs in 2010

Recently we have had some positive results with our Junior Nationals camp in the October holidays and some of the junior swimmers who attended this camp headed up to the Auckland Junior Champs. This meet had some outstanding swimmers from all around New Zealand and they gave our younger swimmers a taste of what tough competition is all about. We achieved many PB’s and gained so much valuable experience.

Now that exams have finished for many of the age-group swimmers it is the time swimmers need to put in a greater effort. We need work at our best effort during our training sessions and be a regular attendee to achieve our seasonal goal. If the training has gone as planned now is the time to push ourselves to the limit. Some call it a shock dose of swimming. There is plenty of swimming this holiday season and we have times for all squads from Stingrays through to Marlins. Normally in January it is our month of fitness, a month to train as long and as hard as we can. Most of the season’s improvement will come from this month. On anniversary weekend in January we have Wellington champs and just like the Winter Champs we would encourage everyone to try at least one event. Please talk to John, Kelly or Brad if you need to discuss this.

One key focus area next term for the coaches is with the Killer Whales and the Hammerheads. Firstly we will be focusing more on having two levels for these groups.

The Swimzone Racing Killer Whales and the non-competition Killer Whales. Competition swimming will be the main focus for this group and we will try to set goals and encourage commitment from these swimmers. Killer Whales competition group level should be able to do 3 sessions a week, year round to make consistent improvement over this period. The non-competitive swimmers should have similar commitment and skill learning but will be more fitness and skill based with less emphasis on competition. We would encourage twice a week to be in this group.

The Hammerheads. There are currently many Hammerheads coming fewer than five sessions a week. If you are then you should be swimming in the Dolphins group. This is more a fitness group but swimmers are still encouraged to race if they a keen to do so. The Hammerheads goal is Division Two nationals or Age Group nationals. If you are not training at least six times a week you will never be fit enough to compete well at Div 1 or Div 2. There is not actually much difference between Div1 and Div2 and swimmers need to step up and train with more effort. All swimmers in the hammerheads are old enough to accept the challenge and just like at school the standard gets harder and more effort is required. 

The Orcas Trip to Australia. We would like to thank the generous two sponsors 12d LTD and The Winton and Margate Bear Trust .We thank them so much for their support in helping the swimmers from our club to have the chance to train at Runaway Bay Super Sports Centre in January. The swimmers themselves have been working hard over the last three months now have covered about 70% of the cost through fundraising and sponsorship. A fantastic effort.

Ono on One swimming lessons

John has now started up “one on one” swimming lessons. This is for anyone, parents , swimmers, tri-athletes,  ocean water swimmers. For whatever reason you want, to get fit, to learn tumble turns or just to get a tune up occasionally. Check it out here: www.oneononeswimming.co.nz. For all Swimzone customers and family there are special rates, so check it out and if anybody needs personal tuition then contact John.

Swimshop

Naenae pool has now opened a Swim shop with a better selection of Speedo swimwear. Check this out as well they have a new selection of swimwear in stock now.

SUMMER HOLIDAYS “A Swimmers Life”

The main part of our season is almost over! Holiday time is here. Ask yourself the question, have I done everything possible to set myself on the best track for success for the end of the season? We have now done the ground work, the base that gives us the fitness to complete the last phase of the season, the hard yards as they say. The last part of training starts over the holidays and is a great time to put in the extra effort. Sunny skies, time to recover after sessions and best of all no schoolwork. Great swimmers all tend to do their best training over the summer break. With many meets now completed most motivated swimmers should have a good understanding of where they are at and where they would like to be at the end of the season. It is important to walk into each session with some clear goals in mind and know what needs to be achieved over the next two months to prepare our selves for our main meet. Are you committed to achieving your personal goals? Without believing and commitment your goal will only be a dream. Here are some thoughts, What if you perform 25% of your strokes correctly and 75% of your strokes less than perfect then you can only expect to be 25% as good as you could have been. Same for turns starts and finishes. So view training as a daily REHERSAL for competition. If you can see a connection between training and racing then you can decide to do things more often at competition standard every single day. The job of the coach is to guide you in the right direction but only you the swimmer can make your journey complete.

Wellington champs advice 

the hard work is mostly over and the real fun is about to begin.

Results will now come from the process of performance. Meaning, if you complete warm up

correctly, follow your race plan, swim down correctly and refuel correctly you are highly likely to

do well. If you forget to follow the process, you are more than likely going to be unhappy with your results.

Here are some helpful hints that can help you prepare for the weekend:

- Ensure you are hydrated well before you get to the meet (hydrated swimmers swim faster)

- Ensure you are looking after your nutrition well before the meet (fully fueled swimmers swim faster)

- Ensure you get the best rest possible leading up to the meet (well-rested swimmers swim faster)

- Try to minimize how much you think about the meet (save you mental energy, you will swim faster)

- Enjoy the lighter workload, but ensure you still swim at the correct pace with best possible skills

- Focus your thoughts on what you are doing well and how that will benefit you for the meet

- Have fun

TAKING THE NEXT STEP

Over the past 18 months, the depth of swimmers at Swimzone Racing Club has improved dramatically. Our results at Wellington Championship level have been excellent and the improvement in the junior levels at most meets has been very encouraging. Although we are only second overall club in Wellington behind Capital Swimming club we were more than double the third teams points at Wellington champs. This was very pleasing but we still have so much work to do to maybe become Wellington’s top club. It would be pretty hard to be the top club in New Zealand if we are not the top club in our region. I think for something like this to happen there is always going to be three parties involved, the coaches the parents and the swimmers. Firstly I would like to say that there is always a cycle of success, at the moment we have a strong selection of talent in our squads and I feel that we are at the beginning of the cycle . I know all our coaches are working hard to give swimmers an opportunity to compete at the swim-meets and give swimmers a better training schedule. It would be fair to say that this year our club has been the most consistent at supporting the Wellington swim-meets. I am sure that at 95 % of all meets our club has been the largest team attending. All our coaches have encouraged swimmers to get involved this season and we are getting good for results for the our club.

Secondly, I would like parents to understand their role and take a little bit of ownership towards the sport as we are all doing this for the swimmers benefit. As a parent it is so easy to just focus on you own child but it is actually the success of others that will guide your own child to success. Young swimmers follow better swimmers, they want to emulate them copy them and they try to keep up with them. We need to support the club, as a team .You need to think of it as your team .The better the team gets the better the results for all. Every one wants follow the rugby team when it is doing well and it is no different for a swim team. I believe a team going forward is a swimmer going forward. Parents need to get involved, they need to help with the daily running of the club, Firstly time keepers at Timezone and local meets, without this we can not give swimmers the chance to test themselves out and test their confidence. We need the parents to support the coaches and understand their role which would be to help develop and nurture all the swimmers fitness and skills.

Helping with fundraising, team managing and organizing club activities is a great help as well.

Please try to be more helpful and maybe get a little more involved , our club needs your help. With so many swimmers heading off to major meets now and some are traveling overseas we need all the club to get in behind them. Every swimmer at some stage will have an opportunity to train or race for these events and they need to be totally supported by all members. If everybody helps even a little it makes our goal a little more realistic.

As for the swimmers of our club

Now is the perfect time for swimmers to take the next step. Listed below are a number of areas that swimmers can improve and focus on daily in an effort to be the best swimmer they can be.

• Turn up to every session you are required to attend with a ‘ready to go’ attitude. This is particularly important for older athletes;
• Listen to your coach’s instructions and do what you are asked to do – this includes focusing on technique and understanding how hard you should be going in each set;
• Take responsibility for your own stroke technique and skill improvement. Your coach will guide you and remind you but ultimately each individual swimmer must take responsibility;
• Stretch cross train or gym on a daily basis, this can be done before and after swimming and at home as well;
• Encourage your training partners in every session;
• Streamline off every start and turn, with a minimum of five butterfly kicks in freestyle, backstroke and butterfly;
• Do not breathe on the first stroke in freestyle or butterfly;
• Accelerate every turn in training and ensure they are done correctly.
• Do not worry about what others are doing just get on with the job yourself

10 COMMANDMENTS FOR SWIMMING PARENTS  BY ROSE SNYDER

1. Thou shalt not impose your ambitions on thy child. Remember that swimming is your child’s activity. Improvements

and progress occur at different rates for each individual. Don’t judge your child’s progress based on the performance of

other athletes and don’t push them based on what you think they should be doing. The nice thing about swimming is

people can strive to do their personal best and benefit from the process of competitive swimming.

2. Thou shalt be supportive no matter what. There is only one question to ask your child after a practice or competition –

“Did you have fun?” if meets and practices are not fun, your child should not be forced to participate.

3. Thou shalt not coach thy child. You are involved in one of the few youth sports programs that offer professional

coaching, do not undermine the professional coach by trying to coach your child on the side. Your job is to provide

unconditional love and support and a safe place to return to at the end of the day. Love and hug your child no matter

what. Tell them how proud of them you are. The coach is responsible for the technical part of the job. You should not

offer advice on technique or race strategy or any other area that is not yours. And above all, never pay your child for a

performance. This will only serve to confuse your child concerning the reasons to strive for excellence and weaken the

swimmer/ coach bond.

4. Thou shalt only have positive things to say at a swimming meet. If you are going to show up at a swimming meet, you

should be encouraging, but never criticize your child or the coach. Both of them know when mistakes have been made.

Remember “yelling at” is not the same as “cheering for”. You also may want to consider being positive anytime you are

around the pool.

5. Thou shalt acknowledge their child’s fears. A first swimming meet, 400 free or 200IM can be a stressful situation. It is

totally appropriate for your child to be scared. Don’t yell or belittle, just assure your child that the coach would not

have suggested the event if your child was not ready to compete in it. Remember your job is to LOVE and SUPPORT

your child through all of the swimming experience, Most of their fears are one’s you have given them.

6. Thou shalt not criticize the officials. If you do not care to devote the time or do not have the desire to volunteer as an

official, don’t criticize those who are doing the best they can. You too can be trained to be an official in an afternoon.

7. Honor they child’s coach. The bond between coach and swimmer is a special one, and one that contributes to your

child’s success as well as fun. Do not criticize the coach in the presences of your child; it will only serve to hurt your

child’s swimming.

8. Thou shalt be loyal and supportive of thy team. It is not wise for parents to take their swimmers and too jump from

team to team. The water isn’t necessarily bluer in another team’s pool. Every team has its own internal problems, even

teams that build champions. Children who switch from team to team are often ostracized for a long, long time by their

teammates they leave behind and are slowly received by new teammates. Often time’s swimmers who do switch teams

never do better than they did before they sought the bluer water.

9. Thy child shalt have goals besides winning. Most successful swimmers are those who have learned to focus on the

process and not the outcome. Giving an honest effort regardless of the outcome is much more important than winning.

One Olympian said “My goal was to set a world record. Well, I did that, but some else did it too, just a little faster than I

did. I achieved my goal and I lost. Does that make me a failure? No, in fact I am very proud of that swim” What a

tremendous outlook to carry on through life.

10. Thou shalt not expect they child to become an Olympian. Swimming is much more than just the Olympics. As your

coaches why they coach. Chances are they were not an Olympian, but still got so much out of swimming that they

wanted to pass the love for the sport on to others. Swimming teaches self-discipline and sportsmanship: it builds selfesteem

and fitness; provides lifelong friendships and much more. Most Olympians will tell you that these intangibles far

outweigh any medal they may have won. Swimming builds good people, like you want your child to be and you should

be happy your child wants to participate.

What Does ‘Ready’ Feel Like? By: Wayne Goldsmith

Warming up is something all swimmers do to prepare to swim fast. Why warm up? An effective warm up:

• increases confidence by giving swimmers a feel for the pool, the water temperature, wall, flags, blocks and general conditions,

(increases familiarity with the race conditions).

• Increases race readiness through the opportunity to rehearse specific pacing and stroking strategies.

The overall aim of warm up is to get your mind and body "READY" to race fast. How many times has

your coach or your swim team friends asked "So, are you ready?" But what does "READY" feel like?

What's "ready" for you may not be "ready" for someone else. Some swimmers like to sit with friends and family,

laughing and joking to help them feel ready. Some swimmers prefer to do just the opposite - they need peace and quiet to perform at their best. Others like to listen to music, some read, a few walk, others talk, some jog . . . there are many ways that swimmers prepare to get the best out of themselves.

The key to an effective warm up is to know what your own personal "READY" feels like before you get to a meet.

It doesn't make sense to prepare for months, commit yourself to training and working hard, eating the right foods and so on then not knowing what actually gets you "ready to race". One simple way to learn what your "ready" is all about is to write down everything you can about your race day routine. Simple things like the quality and quantity of sleep, your breakfast, your

stretches and your pool warm up can have a real impact on your racing performance.

A few little tips to help you get ready on race day:

1. The Swim Meet Program tells you only two things - what lane you are in and what race you are in. All other information is relatively unimportant. Many swimmers get "freaked out" when they look in the meet program and see the entry times listed by the other swimmers. It doesn't matter who you are racing or what times they may have claimed to have done, your job is the same - swim to the best of your ability. If John Gatfield and Moss Burmester  is on one side of you and Michael Phelps on the other side, you still have to swim the same race distance, in the same water, in a lane that is the same length and width. The race

credentials of other swimmers have no bearing on your own swimming performance. 

2. If you are not ready to race, do something about it before the race. Going to your coach at the end of the day and saying "I really wasn't ready to swim fast" is not an excuse for a poor performance. If you are not ready – do something to get ready.

3. Being ready is an individual thing. If you are not feeling ready to swim fast and your swim team friends are off to the showers, don't go with them just to be sociable. If you are not ready to do your best, do more warm up, or rest, or go for a jog, or skip, or eat something, or sleep, or talk to your coach - just do it! You can catch up on the meet chat later.

4. Pack in your swim bag all the things you need to get ready to race. If you are a reader, pack a few books. If you like music, pack your favourite CD's. If you like to sleep, pack your own pillow. Take what you need to get the job done.

5. Ignore 90% of what you hear said in the change-rooms and marshalling area. Every competitive swimmer has heard questions like "What time do you do?" or "How many sessions a week do you swim?" etc in the marshalling area. Most of it is 100% pure rubbish. The swimmers who try this cheap attempt at "psyching out" are usually the ones who have not prepared for the meet themselves and are looking to make up for their poor preparation by making you feel less confident. Do not listen to them. Or have a clever answer for them. If you get asked "What's your best time", answer "I'll tell you after this race".

Learn how to get ready to race. It is a skill that will make the difference.

A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,

Regards

John Ross and the Coaching Team