Los Alamos High School Hilltoppers Swimming & Diving Handbook

2017-18

2017-18 LAHS Hilltoppers Swim/Dive Handbook Team Philosophy

We are a team of student athletes. A team works together toward a common goal.

We view swimming as an opportunity to participate in healthy competition, improve physical conditioning, and learn important life skills such as goal-setting, teamwork, discipline, hard work, tenacity and resilience.

High school swimming is a team sport; sometimes an athlete will have to set personal goals aside for the greater benefit of the team.

Improvement in times will be an important - and objective - goal for all swimmers, regardless of ability.

Relays are a very important component of our high school team – as a source of team pride and barometer of team strength - and they count double points. Relay composition, relay order and meet lineups are the head coach’s responsibility.

Some athletes may have situations that will compromise their ability to make scheduled workouts. We are offering a flexible workout program to accommodate special situations, but missed workouts jeopardize the athlete’s and team’s achievement.

The number and intensity of workouts may vary according to an athlete’s ability and best events.

Team members are expected to show good sportsmanship and respect for their fellow Hilltopper coaches and teammates, regardless of their ability, class year, gender, how many months per year they train, their best strokes or distances, or their affiliations with various swimming clubs or other athletic teams. Bullying will not be tolerated.

We will channel our training efforts during the season toward maximizing our individual and team performances at the district and state meets.

When participating in competitions, we expect team members to dress appropriately to command respect and present a good image for the team.

Good sportsmanship, good citizenship and good behavior is essential, even beyond the athletic field of play, since it reflects on the individual, the team, the high school, and the community.

Team Captains

Team captains can be elected by the team, or selected by the head coach, or a combination, normally at the end of the prior season. Ideal captains will be athletes who are team players with a demonstrated commitment to, and enthusiasm for, high school swimming, good interpersonal skills with teammates and coaches, good communications skills, and good sportsmanship.

Captains are expected to participate in high school team-building, fundraising, and social activities, and work with the head coach in developing and achieving high school team goals.

Captains may be removed and/or additional captains may be added by the head coach if captains show poor interpersonal skills, poor sportsmanship, lack of leadership, or are not willing or able to fulfill their responsibilities to the high school swimming team. Cuts to the Team

The swimming teams have limited training space and equipment, as well as limits on participation in some meets. The swimming coaches reserve the right to make cuts from the squad if necessary for these reasons and to ensure safety and sufficient coaching attention. Each swimmer will be given an adequate period of time to demonstrate swimming proficiency (with objective standards) and passion for the sport. Prospective high school swimmers can demonstrate proficiency by swimming 300 yards in 5 minutes or less. Practice Schedule

Monday – Wednesday – Friday

3:30-5:30pm swimming at Walkup Pool

Tuesday – Thursday

6:00-7:15am swimming at Walkup Pool

3:30-5:30pm swimming at Walkup Pool

Note: Afternoon workouts will start Thursday, October 19, 2017 at Walkup Pool

Morning workouts will start on Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Note: Athletes must report for practices no later than November 2 to participate in swimming for the season, unless participating in another Los Alamos High School fall sport or LAHS activity.

Holiday Training during the Year-end Break (December 26 – January 4, 2018)

Monday 8:30-10am swim at Walkup, 3:30-5:30pm swim at Walkup

Tuesday 8-10am swim at Walkup, 3:30-5:30pm swim at Walkup

Wednesday 8:30-10am swim at Walkup, 3:00-5:00pm swim at Walkup

Thursday 8-10am swim at Walkup, 3-4:00pm swim at Walkup (note: no Jan 4, 2018 pm workout due to meet)

Friday 8:30-10am swim at Walkup, 3-5:00pm swim at Walkup (note: no Jan 5 2018 workouts due to meet)

Note: Morning workouts will cease in early February as the taper phase of training starts.

The Los Alamos High School swim team normally has seven scheduled training sessions per week. To pursue excellence in high school swimming in New Mexico, seven workouts are recommended. However, swimmers will remain in good standing on Los Alamos High School swimming teams if they attend 5 workouts per week. If minimum workouts are not achieved, the coaches may trim meet participation, withhold letters, or excuse offending athletes from the team.

Dues-paying club swimmers who wish to represent Los Alamos High School in swimming are required to make AT LEAST TWO high school practices per week, on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, or risk being pulled from competition. After school jobs or participation in non-LAHS activities are not an excuse to miss required afternoon practices. In addition, dues-paying club swimmers are required to swim five afternoon sessions per week with the high school team during the taper week(s) before their final meet of the season (district/state).

An important part of training occurs during the year-end holiday break when the team will train twice daily. All high school-only swimmers who are not travelling are expected to attend all workouts. For those who are travelling, the coaches may help arrange workouts and/or facilities. (Note that exercise physiologists have found that being out of the water for more than a few consecutive days is detrimental to swimming fitness.)

Everyone on the team is a student-athlete, so everyone has homework and exams. Athletes should use effective time management skills to stay in competitive swimming shape and also accomplish academic goals. If the athlete is struggling or if academic goals are all-encompassing, then the athlete should reconsider participation in extracurricular sports. Recognition

Varsity letters will be awarded to swimmers who have made significant athletic contributions to the team; attended required practices and competed in meets (normally at least six); shown passion for the sport; maintained positive relationships with their teammates; and demonstrated good sportsmanship. Varsity letters normally will go to athletes who perform at the state meet, but may also be awarded to others: seniors, athletes with a multi-year commitment to high school swimming, foreign athletes, or those who make major contributions to the team by scoring points during the season, by superior fundraising efforts, or by providing inspiration.

Junior Varsity certificates may be awarded to swimmers who have attended required practices and competed in meets (normally at least five); shown passion for the sport; maintained positive relationships with their teammates; and demonstrated good sportsmanship. Junior Varsity certificates normally will go to members of the district meet team.

Academic achievement is encouraged for all high school athletes. Seniors who earn a varsity letter and have GPAs greater than 3.75 should consider applying for NISCA Academic All-America.

High School All-America honors can be earned by swimmers whose individual or relay times in high school competition rank among the top 100 in the country. This is a very high athletic standard that can only be achieved occasionally.

Participation in extracurricular sports at Los Alamos High School is a privilege and not a right. The swimming coaches respect the fact that the team is composed of student-athletes who may have serious academic demands and other extracurricular activities. However, if a prospective swimmer cannot commit to regular practice 5 times per week, and cannot commit to swimming in the district and/or state meet, his/her time is better spent on other activities.

Strength Training (“dryland”)

Strength training (“dryland” in swimming) is beneficial for almost all athletes of high school age in any sport. The purpose of strength training is to develop strength that translates to swimming improvement, not to be a bodybuilder, powerlifter or to “get ripped.” Parents and athletes should be aware that there is some risk of injury from strength training, but it is our goal to minimize injury. We can avoid injury by limiting repetitions of fundamental exercise such as situps, pullups, pushups, and body weight squats, and increasing repetitions slowly. If we cannot be safe and work as a team in dryland, we will proceed straight to the pool.

Diving

Swimming and diving points are scored together in high school (and college) competition. Diving is an important component of team success, even though the divers and swimmers may train and compete at different times. The diving program at Los Alamos High School is well-coached and has produced many state finalists. On several occasions, diving points clinched the swimming and diving district or state team title for Los Alamos.

Fundraising

Fundraising is an important way to supplement a very modest school budget for swimming. Selling tickets to waffle breakfasts and/or spaghetti dinners, working in the concession stands at various HS events, and helping with other fundraising activities is a required part of being on the team.

Team Bus

Coaches and athletes will take a team bus to all competitions. Athletes are not allowed to travel to competitions by private vehicle unless granted special permission of the coaches AND the Athletic Director. Only high school athletes and high school coaches are allowed on the team bus. Team members are expected to behave appropriately on the team bus. Both genders will travel to competitions on the same bus. Bullying and public displays of affection (PDAs) are not appropriate behaviors on the bus, at practice or at competitions.

Dress Code

When participating in competitions, we expect team members to dress appropriately to command respect and present a good image for the team, the high school, and the community. The coaches will address the specific guidelines with the team.

Swimmer Log Book

Many elite and aspiring athletes, including swimmers, runners and triathletes, keep digital or physical log books of their training load. These logs can be very simple, with just an amount of swimming yardage or strength training entered for each day, or more elaborate, including body weight, swimming sets, times achieved, mood, amount of sleep, diet, etc. Even simple log books can be very helpful for understanding how training impacts season-end performances for an individual swimmer.

Team Communications

Coaches will communicate primarily by email. The coaches will also, of course, be at the pool every weekday for training sessions. Los Alamos High School utilizes the MaxPreps.com web site for standard team information like rosters, meet schedules, and results. Los Alamos High School will also host a team page for swimming.

Coach Contact Information

Stu Corliss, Head Swimming coach

phone: 661-4981 (home); email: [email protected]

Carl Cady, Head Diving coach

phone: xxx-xxxx; email: [email protected]

Ted Atkins, Assistant Swimming coach

phone: 412-5486; email: [email protected], [email protected]

Megan Rains, Assistant Swimming coach

email: [email protected]

MaxPreps.com - Hilltoppers Swimming & Diving Website

Los Alamos High School uses MaxPreps.com to post rosters and results.

Online resources

Parents and athletes may want to bookmark the following websites for further information on competitive swimming (swimming news, results of high school and college meets, rankings of times, swimming camps): www.niscaonline.org www.usaswimming.org www.collegeswimming.com www.swimswam.com www.swimmingworldmagazine.com www.ussportscamps.com

Los Alamos HS Hilltoppers Swimming 2017-18 Schedule

Nov 4 9:30am Gold vs Green Intrasquad Walkup, Los Alamos Nov 11 1pm Barney Relays Albuquerque Academy

Nov 18 7-11am Waffle Fundraiser Masonic Lodge, Los Alamos Dec 1 5pm Bill Hudson Swim & Dive (diving) Walkup, Los Alamos Dec 2 10am Bill Hudson Swim & Dive (swimming) Walkup, Los Alamos Dec 16 8:30am Albuquerque PS Invite West Mesa, ABQ Jan 5 1pm Lubbock Invitational (swim prelims) Lubbock, TX Jan 6 11:30am Lubbock Invitational (swim finals) Lubbock, TX Jan 13 10:30am Albuquerque Academy Invitational Albuquerque Jan 19 4pm Santa Fe Prep Invite Chavez Center, Santa Fe Feb 2 4pm District 1 Championships (prelims) Walkup, Los Alamos Feb 3 9a/12:30p Dist. 1 Champs (dive/swim finals) Walkup, Los Alamos Feb 16 3pm NM State HS Champs (prelims) Albuquerque Academy Feb 17 11:30am NM State HS Champs (finals) Albuquerque Academy

Transportation and Team Travel At the beginning of the week of an upcoming meet, the coaches will send an email with all the details pertaining to the meet, including bus departure time, meet location, competition start time and end time, pre- or post-meet meal plans, and approximate return time. All team members are required to travel with the team to competitions on the team bus unless an exception has been granted by the coaches AND the athletic director (AD). When the team is scheduled to stay at a hotel before/during a meet, team members must stay at the team hotel unless an exception has been granted by the coaches AND the athletic director. Parents may sign out their own athletes after the meet, but must get permission from the AD to provide return transportation for other athletes.

2017-18 New Mexico State High School Meet

Swimming Qualifying Standards

Girls Boys 200 Medley Relay 2:04.69 1:54.39 200 Freestyle 2:08.29 1:53.89 200 Individual Medley 2:20.59 2:09.99 50 Freestyle 26.09 23.49 100 Butterfly 1:05.29 58.09 100 Freestyle 57.69 51.69 500 Freestyle 5:42.29 5:22.09 200 Freestyle Relay 1:52.49 1:39.89 100 Backstroke 1:05.09 58.59 100 Breaststroke 1:12.79 1:05.79

400 Freestyle Relay 4:08.99 3:41.19

I have read and agree to the requirements for participation in the 2017-18 Los Alamos High School Swimming Team Handbook. (Please write legibly!)

Parent/Guardian Name/email athlete name/email Parent signature

______

2017-18 National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association

All-America Consideration/Automatic Standards

Girls Boys 200 Medley Relay 1:46.69/1:44.91 1:35.18/1:33.53 200 Freestyle 1:50.65/1:48.82 1:40.34/1:38.63 200 Individual Medley 2:04.08/2:01.89 1:51.96/1:49.83 50 Freestyle 23.63/23.24 20.97/20.65 100 Butterfly 55.75/54.56 50.07/49.06 100 Freestyle 51.17/50.41 45.80/45.06 500 Freestyle 4:57.09/4:52.12 4:33.61/4:29.04 200 Freestyle Relay 1:37.32/1:35.67 1:26.18/1:24.94 100 Backstroke 56.30/55.05 50.86/49.66 100 Breaststroke 1:04.26/1:02.82 57.27/56.00 400 Freestyle Relay 3:31.42/3:27.95 3:09.26/3:06.28

(Note: The top 100 athletes determined by time will be recognized as All-America in individual and relay events.)

2017-18 New Mexico State High School Meet

Swimming Qualifying Standards

Girls Boys 200 Medley Relay 2:04.69 1:54.39 200 Freestyle 2:08.29 1:53.89 200 Individual Medley 2:20.59 2:09.99 50 Freestyle 26.09 23.49 100 Butterfly 1:05.29 58.09 100 Freestyle 57.69 51.69 500 Freestyle 5:42.29 5:22.09 200 Freestyle Relay 1:52.49 1:39.89 100 Backstroke 1:05.09 58.59 100 Breaststroke 1:12.79 1:05.79

400 Freestyle Relay 4:08.99 3:41.19