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All-Star Aquatics Swim Team Potomac Valley

Freestyler Welcome to ASA’s newsletter, Freestyler, for the entire community to share news, photos and information about meets, social events and swimming in general. Jump In! Have news and photos you would like to share? Please email anything of interest to [email protected]

Issue 9, May 2016

On the Flip Side: ASA Swimmers Caroline McTaggart and Hannah Lindsey Getting Ready for Omaha!! Upcoming Events 5/22 RMSC Welcome to Summer The U.S. Olympic Trials will be conducted June 26th through Mini Meet @ Rockville July 3rd in Omaha, Nebraska.

5/27 – 5/29 2016 Premier Spring Open @ Pleasant Caroline will swim the 100 fly (Sunday June 26th), 100 free Praire, WI (Thursday June 30th) and 50 free (Saturday July 2nd)

5/27 – 5/29 VA State Championships @ Oak Marr, VA Hannah will swim the 200 back (Friday July 1st)

6/12 PVS LC 1 @ TBD Information about the U.S. Olympic Trials can be found on the USA Website: http://www.usaswimming.org

Look Out for the Next Issue!

lorem ipsum dolor 6 Questions Swim Parents Always Ask issue, date

They are in the stands, they are behind the blocks timing, they are manning the snack trays, the timing booth and the carpool. They are equipment managers, board members, financiers of dreams, expert managers of towel drying operations, and our biggest cheerleaders.

They are your local swim parents. And as an informed and involved parent it’s natural to be curious about your child’s swimming. With all the time your kid spends swimming back and forth, around and around the black line you want to make sure that they are getting the most from the sport, their time, and their energy as possible.

Here are 6 of the most common questions swim parents ask:

1. HOW FAST WILL MY LITTLE SWIMMER BE? The meet over the weekend went well, really well, in fact. Your little swimmer dusted the competition, won first place in half her events, and set a couple club records along the way.Even though she is 10 years old, you are starting to get ideas of collegiate scholarships, international medals, and having a conversation over dinner with her at some point about making the decision to go pro.

But, as we know from our own experience we sometimes grow apart from the things we love when we are 10. What she is interested in now will change.

And interestingly enough, just because she is setting NAG’s at the same pace that was at of 10 doesn’t mean she will be still doing it when she is 18.

USA Swimming’s own research showed that 10 and under “wonders” who ranked top 16 in the country were only 11% likely to still rank highly as 17-18 year olds.

2. HOW MANY PRACTICES SHOULD MY SWIMMER BE GOING TO? IS THE MORE THE BETTER? It’s a fine balance, and there is no one-size-fits-all answer. After all, it depends on many different factors from training background, to what kind of training the athlete is doing, to their aspirations in the pool.

At its core, the number of practices your swimming should be going to should reflect progression and balance.

After all, suddenly jacking up the number of weekly workouts from 6 to 10 will cause more problems than it will solve. Beyond destroying the swimmer physically, mentally it is tough to escalate commitment so quickly overnight.

Allow the swimmer a chance to adapt to performing 7-8 workouts a week before leveling up any further.

Similarly, having some sense of balance is one of the things that will keep swimmers from burning out over the long term. We see how Tiger Woods’ father groomed him from an early age and fall for the belief that this is the only way that champions are made. Not so.

3. WHAT AGE SHOULD MY CHILD SPECIALIZE? It’s a bit of a running joke that most swimmers lack out-of-the-pool coordination and athleticism, which I don’t think is terribly accurate if you see swimmers like , or Natalie Coughlin doing dryland. These swimmers are exceptional athletes out of the water as well in it.

But the generalization persists, perhaps because many swimmers specialize so early. The requirements of training end up creating this demand, with swimmers often training 20+ hours per week by the time they are 12 years old.

With this type of training load, in addition to school it doesn’t leave a lot of room for other sports.

Which is too bad, because general athleticism means that our young swimmers will be better rounded out athletes. Will be less likely to burn out. And because they can do more than just pull and kick in the water they will be better prepared to avoid injury when it comes to performing physical activity outside of it.

2 lorem ipsum dolor issue, date 4. MY KID SHOWS UP TO PRACTICE EVERY DAY. WHY ISN’T HE SWIMMING LIKE “INSERT- ELITE-SWIMMER’S-NAME-HERE”? Swimming, when performed at its highest levels is supremely graceful.

The best simply make it look so easy. Alexander Popov, and all had freestyles that made it appear so effortless, that it launched a million daydreams–

“Looks easy, surely my child who trains a few times a week can do it too!”

That effortless performance is the result of thousands upon thousands of hours done with relentless attention to technique.

It’s unrealistic to expect an age grouper with a couple years of part-time training under their belt to be able to emulate some of the greatest swimmers of our time.

5. WHY IS THE PERFORMANCE OF MY LITTLE SWIMMER PLATEAUING? Getting better in the pool almost never happens smoothly. It doesn’t happen in a gradual incline that is perfectly representative of the work that was being done in practice. It’s a jagged, fitful line that generally trends upwards, but has sections where it plateaus or even drops.

The work is done in baby steps, in small increments during their swim practices. But the improvements end up usually manifesting themselves in leaps and bounds, creating unrealistic expectations that this is the way it should always be.

Keep in mind that spikes in performance are just as often a result of psychology as physical preparation.

One of the most challenging aspects in coaching is how to have a swimmer truly believe that they are the kind of swimmer that their training background represents.

It’s stunning how you can watch an athlete drop 5 seconds overnight simply because mentally they have made the adjustment necessary to be that faster swimmer. This element alone adds a layer of unpredictability of performance that goes beyond what they are doing in practice.

Inconsistency in improving is okay, and it is natural. Swimming requires a blind act of faith that the work that is happening in practice will eventually pay off, even though it is not always immediately apparent.

6. WHY DOES MY SWIMMER PERFORM ALMOST AS FAST IN PRACTICE AS IN MEETS? When viewed on the surface, this doesn’t make any sense at all.

How on earth could a swimmer perform just as fast, from a push, at the tail-end of a 5,000m practice as when they are fully rested, going from a dive, in a high performance setting?

But there are circumstances in practice that encourage fast swimming:

They are fully and completely warmed up. By the end of practice they have gotten their stroke and rhythm dialed in. All of their energy systems are in play. And perhaps most importantly, they can reach down and swim as fast as possible without the pressure and the “all-or- nothing” thinking that arises during competition.

Courtesy of Olivier Poirier-Leroy and SwimSwam March 31, 2016

3 lorem ipsum dolor issue, date Important ASA Information

LONG COURSE MEET SCHEDULE ASA END OF YEAR EVENTS (SAVE THE DATES)

MARCH 2016 MAY 18th – AG3, AG3 MS, SR1, SR2, NTG 31-3 – USA Speedo LC Sectionals @ Richmond, VA (Qual)

Where: Walt Whitman Cafeteria APRIL 2016

When: 6:00-8:00pm 8 -10 – March Madness (Short Course) @ Oak Marr, VA (All Ages) Food: ASA will provide pizza, but we are asking 22 -24 – Machine LC Classic @ Lee District, VA (All Ages)

families to bring: MAY 2016

Families A-O (side dish), Families P-Z (dessert) 7-8 – LC Derby @ GMU, VA (All Ages) 22 – Mini Meet @ Rockville (9 and under) 27-29 – Speedo Premier Open @ Pleasant Prairie, Wi (Qual) 27-29 – Virginia State LC Championships @ Oak Marr, VA ** Raffle Tickets will be sold, Silent Auction items (All Ages)

will be for bid, and awards will be presented ** JUNE 2016

12 – PVS LC 1 @ TBD (All Ages) 26 – PVS LC 2 @ TBD (All Ages) MAY 21st – AG1, AG2 26-3 – USA Olympic Trials @ Omaha, NE (Qual)

JULY 2016 Where: Tilden Woods Pool 14-17 – PVS SR/JR LC Champs @ UMD, MD (Qual) When: 5:00 – 7:00pm 21-24 – PVS LC JO’s @ UMD (14-un Qualified Swimmers)

Food: ASA will provide pizza and Carmine’s ice. AUGUST 2016

Families are asked to bring their own drinks and 3-6 – Eastern Zone LC Champs @ East Meadow, NY (Qual) volunteers are asked to sign up for fruit, veggies/salad - 4-7 – USA Future LC Champs @ UMD, MD (Qual) 8-12 – USA JR LC Nats @ Minneapolis, MD (Qual) http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0f45aaa628 3-allstar

For both events, please RSVP through your Make sure you check the calendars Team Unify account indicating in the notes for practice and meet updates! how many people will be attending

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Long Course Derby Meet and more…

Long Course Derby Meet

ASA participated in the LC Derby Meet at George Mason University May 7-8. The meet is unique, in that every swimmer is given a "horse name" with the idea coming from the running of the Kentucky Derby on the same weekend. Different coaches, teams and athletes find creative names for the swimmers. Coach Bob choose all roller coaster names for the ASA swimmers in his group. I think finding out your "horse name" adds to the hype of the meet. Everyone is given awards based on the swimmers entry times, so there are many awards given out at the end of the meet. This is a great early season meet, in a fast pool and fun for the swimmers.

USA Paralympic Trials

ASA swimmer Ben Ertman will be swimming at the USA Paralympic Trials in Charlotte, NC June 30 to July 2, 2016

LC Zones Trip and LC JOs Congrats to Charlie O'Shea and Thomas Hatchett for qualifying for the LC Zones trip.

Congrats to Zoya Memon, Clare Vinal, Tessa Meretta, Cassidy Groft, Zachary Fayed, Noah Potter, Colin Groft, Justin Zacharia and Jake Cannistra for qualifying for LC JOs for the first time! AG1 News!

Our mini's attended the RMSC Mini Championships March 5th & 6th, donning their orange championship shirts, and they did shine brightly! Several individuals won events and our team score netted us a 3rd place overall, which is a great accomplishment given our size and the competition we were up against.

April 9-10 we attended the 'March Madness' and despite the craziness of running the girls and boys sessions simultaneously (essentially two meets at the same time!) the kids came to swim fast. The boys team of Cameron Groves, Chase Donahue, Kirk Morgan, and Kyle Fuster, set a new ASA standard for the 8 & under 100 freestyle relay. Over the two days, the kids achieved dozens of best times. Throughout the spring, the parents also performed at a high-level volunteering to officiate, time and other duties to ensure the meets run smoothly.

The coaches are very proud of the kids’ accomplishments and look forward to celebrating with them at the end of year function on May 21.

5 lorem ipsum dolor issue, date Let’s Get Technical: Housekeeping Issues STONE RIDGE CAMPUS MAP

Elmhirst

Pkwy

Cedar Lane Primary Cedar Lane Entrance Lane Cedar

New Turf Field Maintenance Director’s Residence REGISTRATION FOR Parking

Lower Field ive Dr ial or em M Rockville Pike You must Upper School Academic Building 2016 – 2017 bear LEFT after entering Rockville Pike from Entrance Playground Rockville Pike/ ’59 Building Rt. 355 Harkins Field

Hamilton Gymnasiums House ’47 Building Aquatic Center Rockville Pike Registration for the new Visitor Parking

Mesa Field

Early Parking Childhood Handicapped Program Volunteer House Parking swim season will open

910 1 Roc Bet kville hesda , Pike MD 2 0814 WWW .STON soon!! ERI DGES CHOO L.ORG Adhering to Traffic Rules at Stone Ridge and Please look for an email Bolger Center about registrations and At All Star Aquatics, we must remember that 2016-2017 information we are guests at the facilities where we practice, coming after Memorial Stone Ridge and Bolger Center. Being a guest means being respectful of the people that work Day weekend there and following all of the traffic rules on each campus.

Lately, Stone Ridge has been going through many traffic changes, so we emailed an updated campus map to make sure that we familiarize ourselves with those changes. For additional and the most up to date information, go to…. Please be respectful drivers and follow all of the www.allstaraquatics.net. traffic patterns on each campus. Have news and photos Important Links you would like to share? www.usaswimming.org Please email…. [email protected] www.pvsswim.org Don’t forget to like us on Facebook! www.reachforthewall.com Meet Mobile & Deck Pass (apps for phone)

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