December Newsletter A note from our Head Coach Another piece of the puzzle is put in place. Great news for RST members as the club has hired a new coach who will be working with us full time. As you read these lines you have probably already met Pietro Dieru. Originally from Italy, Pietro was working in Rhode Island prior to joining RST. He brings with him his extensive knowledge of the sport both as an athlete competing at the international level and as a coach. Pietro will be working mainly with the senior silver group and will assist me in the overall administration aspects of the club. This is a very important piece of the puzzle that is put in place and we are very positive his arrival will benefit all our members. Welcome Pietro ! Morning workouts: RST has morning workouts at RHS on Wednesdays and Fridays from 5:30 to 7:00 am. Yes it is early, but it is a great way to start your day and especially to get more training done. Those workouts are open to all RST swimmers and they are a great opportunity to swim with Pietro and the Head coach. This is a great way to challenge yourself by swimming with faster and older swimmers and a great way to get direct coaching from the head coach and from Pietro. Did you know that a top swimmer does more than 1,500 miles per year and takes roughly 60 strokes (freestyle) per 100 meters, it means a world class swimmer will repeat a minimum of 1,440,000 his stroke (freestyle or backstroke) per year. What about a typical swimmer from the silver group? We are looking at roughly 600,000 strokes per year, or about 40% of what the best are doing. Yes, there is the age factor and many other factors but still you have plenty of room for improvement and the best way to improve is to practice! As December approaches, we can expect some cold days and cold nights. I sincerely encourage everyone at being a winter warrior! Swimming year round does make a huge difference versus swimming 6 to 8 months a year. There are various tricks a swimmer or parent can adapt to enjoy coming to the pool even in the winter time: - Have a strategy! Try to identify what makes you cold during the winter time and try to find a solution. If you get cold when the coach is giving instructions, you can stay active by listening to the set being explained while you are doing stationary kicking for example (eggbeater). If it is to get out of the water at the end of workout, maybe an extra towel or two will fix the problem. If you get cold when diving in a set, maybe winter is perfect timing to practice your backstroke dives! Continued on page 2 RST Newsletter - December Page 2 Head Coach…continued. President’s Message This time of year, between Holidays - Feet, head, hands. It is well know you and New Year’s and Winter Championship lose a lot of body temperature by the meets, everyone has a busy schedule. I extremities. Have a pair of warm boots, hope the recent stability to our practice gloves and a hat. Keep them on as long as schedule has made it easier for families to possible before entering the water. Put them navigate their daily lives. Coming this back on quickly once the workout is over. month is our annual Red and Black Meet While swimming, make sure you wear a cap and Toys for Tots drive December 11th . or even two. Some people find earplugs Information will be available through the helpful in cold weather, give it a try! web site and coaches soon, but for those new to the team this is an informal and - If your experience with winter training has internal meet we run each year where our been painful, set yourself realistic goals. If kids have fun and other less fortunate kids you are used to swim 5 to 6 times a week in benefit. And after that we begin our Winter the normal months, give yourself a target of Warrior program that awards our swimmers 4 or 5 workouts per week. Try to make them for regularly attending practices during the at the beginning of the week so you have months of January and February. room for skipping one if there is cold weather towards the end of the week. Allow Please have a safe and happy holiday yourself a treat at the end of the week or the season and Go RST! month if you are making more than your initial target. Corey Longfellow RST Brand: Swimmers and parents, please keep in mind that every time we attend a swim meet, the swimmers and the parents are promoting the RST brand. This can go in both directions... We are proud of RST and expect the swimmers and parents to display a positive image of our club. Courteousness, sportsmanship towards the other athletes, coaches, parents and officials is a must. Newsletter/Webmaster Thank you and Go RST! Needs your Help We would love to include a couple of Martin Grégoire photo’s from each group in the monthly Head Coach newsletter and/or website. We would Redlands Swim Team prefer to have unique photos that have not 909-557-3596 appeared on the RST or Renegades Facebook pages. The more swimmers included in the photo, the better. Please email a .jpeg file to Richard Benveniste at [email protected] . Thanks for your help…. RST Newsletter - December Page 3 8 & Under 11-12 Group What a great month we have had. Happy Holidays 11-12ers! There We had 2 really great meets. We had a ton are a lot of swim team events happening: of Bronze swimmers that had an incredible MESA meet, Redlands Xmas Parade, meet and earned a spot in the silver group! Winter Age Group Champs, Red and Coach Amanda, Coach Lauren and Coach Black Meet, etc. This makes it a great Ashley are so proud of their swimmers and time to be part of our team. Be sure to are excited to see them move up. We had stay informed so you know where to be 12 swimmers from the Silver and Gold and when to be there. Congrats to all our groups represent us at Turkey Classic and swimmers who raced at the MVN Turkey we really shined. We had multiple Classic. There were lots of great swimmers get best times and had many top times...including a new team record in the 3 finishers. Please remember as it gets 9-10 girls 100yd breast by Izzy Hopkins! colder to make sure you are bringing warm As the holiday busy season gets clothes to dress in for when you get out. Do underway, do your best to make it to the your best to get to as many practices as you pool for practice each and every day. can. The key to having success is coming to as many practices as you can! Coach Matt, Coach Anna, & Coach Nick Coach Kelly, Coach Amanda, Coach Ashley, Coach Lauren 9-10 Group 10&Unders have been training extremely hard, even through the holiday season. If you want to see something Water Polo News impressive, come watch dryland as they do lunges, squats, ab work, weight balls, Renegades Water Polo Club is and balance balls. This is a hard-working, moving into an exciting time this winter. impressive group. Coach Michelle, Coach Our first High School and Masters groups Heidi, and I are extremely excited to are forming and we are thrilled to now be watch these swimmers continue to grow a “full-service” club! We have several in their swimming careers. We have lots tournaments lined up from here until the of fun things to look forward to during the New Year, so make sure we’re signing holidays such as potlucks, the red/black up and getting good turnouts to training meet, the Christmas Parade, and hot sessions. Remember to dress warm and chocolate! Best of luck to all swimmers be ready to work hard once you hit the shooting for invitational times, as well as pool. You get out what you put in. those participating in the December Go Renegades! Invite. GO RST! Coach Brian Coach Jamie, Coach Michelle & Coach Heidi RST Newsletter - December Page 4 Red-n-Black Meet The RST annual Red and Black Winter Warriors Meet is scheduled for December 11, 2012. This is a fun celebration to kick off As an incentive to encourage the Holiday Season. Every RST swimmer, attendance for RST’s age group from 8 and under to master level, is swimmers, RST will once again be rewarding its “Winter Warriors”. The encouraged to participate. Entry for this nd special event is one un-wrapped toy which program will start January 2 and will be donated to the “Toys for Tots”! continue through the end of February. Treats will be served and we will enjoy The requirements for this years program holiday music along with a visit from the are as follows: Redlands Fire Department to pick up the donated toys. 80% practice attendance (Saturdays included) Attend 1 swim meet in the two month period Groups Participating: 8 and Under, 9-10, 11-12, Senior Bronze, Senior Silver Upcoming Events Swim Meets: MESA - BRW - SC Nov 30 ~ Dec 2, 2012 Winter Age Group Championships- (WAG) Dec 7 ~ 9, 2012 Winter Gold Sectionalionals- Belmont Dec 12 ~ 16, 2012 Water Polo Tournaments: Ventura County Cup Waterpolo Tournament Nov 30 ~ Dec 2, 2012 Costa Mesa Water Polo 12U Boys & 12U Girls Dec 9, 2012 Costa Mesa Water Polo 14U Mixd & 10U Mixed Dec 16, 2012 Commerce Holiday Water Polo Invite Dec 22 ~ 23, 2012 Team Events: Redlands Christmas Parade Dec 1, 2012 Red-n-Black Meet Dec 11, 2012 RST Newsletter - December Page 5 The Future of USA Swimming is Bright 11/23/2012 By Mike Watkins//Correspondent As I looked around the room Monday night at the Golden Goggle Awards (my first time – I highly recommend it), it became very apparent to me that, despite the retirement of Michael Phelps and uncertainty surrounding the return of several other “veteran” swimmers who have been the nucleus for some of the USA’s strongest teams over the past decade, the future of swimming in the United States is in very good hands.