IOWA CITY EELS

 

Contact: 351-3336 or swimice@aol.com            website: www.iceels.org        February 2003

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Thanks to our corporate sponsors: Scheels All Sports, the Coral Fruit Market, Hawkeye State Bank, and Iowa State Bank & Trust- their generous support helps   keep our Club in the water!

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Coming up:

 

2/20:             Cookies & Crafts at both Mercer and Coralville

2/21:             Last night of practice at Coralville until 4/28

2/22-2/23:          East Regionals in Davenport

2/22:             Boys High School State Swim Meet at the Fieldhouse

2/23:             Master’s Swim Meet at the Fieldhouse

2/24:             Special practice times at Mercer begin

2/26:             Pasta Night at Mercer

2/28-3/2:          12 and Under          Championships at Coe College

3/3:              ICE Board Meeting 6:30 PM at Mercer

3/7-3/9:          13 & 14 and Senior Championships at the Fieldhouse

3/13-3/16:          Sectionals in Minneapolis

3/15:             ICE bills due

3/30:             Swimmer Recognition Dinner and Annual Membership Meeting

3/31:             Practice resumes at Mercer for the Long Course season

4/1-4/6:          USAS Nationals

4/7:              Stroke Clinic begins at both Mercer and Coralville sites

4/28:             Practice resumes at Coralville

 

 

 

 

 

COACHES CORNER

 

Racing Rituals

 

Coach Paul Bergen of Oregon has given numerous talks and presentations at clinics about his swimmers.  He has written articles for Swimming World magazine and the American Swim Coaches Association journal about his swimmers and his ideas on training as well.  The one thing that stuck out in one of his articles that has stayed with me was his statement that he has been to enough big meets that he can tell who will win the race “just by how they act behind the blocks.” 

Sure this is easy to say after the fact at big meets, but I watched Mr. Bergen coach on the deck of the 1999 USA Nationals and during finals on the third day he predicted almost every winner of every race (bonus, consolation, and final) to his coaching buddies sitting by him.  This may have been unbelievable luck except for the fact that Paul Bergen is directly responsible for giving us two of the best female swimmers of all time (he coached Tracey Calkins and Inge DeBruijn) and has qualified numerous amounts of swimmers to compete at Nationals (many of them high school aged kids). 

On deck that night I started paying a lot more attention to how the best swimmers act before championship races both at the pool and away from it.  Most good sprinters have more set pre-meet and pre-race rituals.  Distance swimmers are a mixed bag and IM’s or breaststrokers differ a lot.  Some things I have noticed that some of the big names do on a regular basis are things that in most cases would help an age-group swimmer develop.  So here is a list by topic of what the best do before they dive in to do their best:

 

1.      Pre-Meet away from the pool: Every one tapers a little differently than each other but most tapers are similar based on events.   The main thing to focus on during tapering is to avoid added stress and let the body rest periodically.  Taper is the time to let speed come back to the body and to let the body rest from the hard training done during the season while not resting enough to get out of shape.  Some athletes like to use this time to read a new book and get a lead on homework.  Three time gold medallist Janet Evans liked to go shopping (with orders from her coach not to walk around too much).  Ed Moses (2000 Olympian) likes to play video games with his down time between workouts.  Josh Davis (1996 and 2000 Olympian) tends to stay at home and hang out with his wife and kids. 

2.      Pre-Meet food: Back when I was first starting to swim coaches, trainers, and athletes advocated a pre-meet diet that was high in carbohydrates.  Over the years that idea has changed to coaches and trainers advocating a more balanced pre-competition diet with a focus on using carbohydrates for quick use.  We now have food like Power Bars directly created for that purpose.  Most athletes tend to reduce their caloric intake along with their yardage but eat what they are used to eating.  I always liked to add more fruits and vegetables to my diet during this time before a big meet and reduce my caffeine intake (so I could sleep more).  Mike Barrowman (92 Gold Medallist in the 200BR) liked to eat at McDonald’s during his taper phase.  In his days as an age-grouper he swam fast at a meet after eating at the golden arches so it became part of his big meet preparation.  While most nutritionist and coaches would not recommend doing this on a daily basis during tapering it is okay to eat out and enjoy yourself a bit a both before and during the big meet.  One of the fun things about traveling to Zones and Sectionals and Nationals is the team dinners. 

3.      Pre-meet packing: This is an easy one.  Drag suits and practice suits for warm up, extra swim cap, extra goggles, two towels, and one or two competition suits (like and Aquablade or Aquapel type suit).  Goggle straps can break and swim caps can rip so you want more than one.  Competition suits can rip and it is good to have a backup ready.  You want an extra towel for after the meet when your main towel gets wet from using it all day.  Older swimmers may also consider bringing some extra razors and shaving cream for touch up shaving of arms, legs, and sometimes heads.  If you do not have a team outfitter handy like the Olympic team you have to bring this stuff yourself.

4.      Before the race on deck: Most of the best talk with their coach and get a race plan in their head minutes before they race.  After that they go into their own pre-race world.  Tom Dolan (2 time Olympic 400 IM champ) liked to listen to music and scowl in the ready room before Olympic and Nationals.  Steve Lundquist (1984 100BR Gold medallist) would lay down behind the blocks during his competitor’s introductions and then spring up for his own.  Kurt Grote (96 Olympian) used to do a warm up full of drills 20 min. prior to his race and make sure he was one of the last one’s into the ready room so everyone knew he was there.  Tomas Dayrni (four-time IM Olympic gold medallist for Hungary) would do an elaborate stretching routine in front of his competitors to throw them off and limber himself up.  One of my favorite pre-race rituals involved the Men’s West German 400 Med. Relay.  They would dress up in costumes before that race which always ends the meet at Worlds and Olympics.  In 1988 at Seoul they came out in historic Alps mountain gear (a la October fest lederhosen), at the 1991 World Champs they dressed as jungle animals (masks and all).  That is one thing that was lost to the reunification process of the two national teams.    

5.      Behind the blocks: Jumping up and down is good way to get your heart rate up (just don’t jump too much and fall if the deck is wet).  Last minute stretching is not bad for you, and trying to stay relaxed and calm is a good idea (as opposed to nervous and crazy). Alexander Popov (two time 50 and 100 Free Olympic Champ from Russia) liked to put on his goggles early and stare down his competitors.  This is okay as long as it there is no unsportsmanlike conduct involved.  Other athletes make last minute adjustments to swim caps and goggles so they stay on at the start.  Some athletes pray at this time or talk to themselves.  The main thing at this point is to get yourself into a Zone so you can totally concentrate when the horn sounds.    

 

See ya at pool!

Donald P. Spellman

 

 

Swimmers of the month for February:

 

                        Frost:               Cameron Herting

                        Cubes:              Devra Flatte and Lauren Katalinich

                        Moray:             Devin St. John

                        Eels:                 Stacia Johns and Brian Johns

 

 

 

End of season practice schedule: Beginning Monday February 24th the following practice schedule will be in effect:


                            Senior, Sectional, and 13-14 Championship qualifiers: 5:45-7:30 PM
                            ISI 12 & Under Championship Qualifiers: 6:30-7:30 PM
                            Non-championship qualifiers: 7:30-8:30 PM (February 24th-27th only)

 

Please note that these practices will be held at Mercer.  Practice at Coralville stops on February 21st and will not begin again until April 28th.

 

Upcoming social events: Cookie and craft night for both Mercer and Coralville will be this Thursday, February 20.  Cookies and pop will be available before practice at Mercer so if anyone wants to decorate their eel or fish before swimming they can.  At Coralville the swimmers can have treats and crafts immediately following practice.  Pasta night will be on the Wednesday February 26th, after practice, around 7:15 or 7:30.  We couldn’t secure the Proctor and Gamble room this year so we will use the lobby instead.

 

Swimmer Recognition and Annual Membership Meeting: Mark your calendars for Sunday March 30th!  At the Robert Lee Recreation Center in downtown Iowa City the Eels will once again be holding their Swimmer Recognition and Annual Membership Meeting. Beginning at 4:00 PM and lasting until 8:00 PM we will be having a swimmer recognition presentation, dinner, a Membership meeting, and, new this year, registration materials for the Long Course Season will be available. Final details are yet to be determined but more information should soon become available. In any case, reminder mailings will be sent out by mid-March.

 

Top 16 swimmer:  The final standings for Top 16 swimmers for the 2002 Long Course Season have been tabulated by USA Swimming and ICE swimmer Beth Eyanson placed 11th in the nation in her 50 Backstroke for 10 and under girls.  Beth and her parents wish to acknowledge the support of the ICE coaching staff that made this accomplishment possible.  In particular a special thanks to Matt Hamer whose enthusiasm and magic Sharpie played a key role in Beth’s super performance at last summer’s Central Zones in St. Paul, Minnesota.

 

ICE Merchandise:  Vicki McBreen will be at Mercer on Thursday, Feb. 20th during Cookie Night and again on Tuesday February 25th.  Be sure to stop by and purchase ICE merchandise to show your ICE spirit for the upcoming Regional & Championship meets. ICE suits, caps, goggles, t-shirts, sweatshirts, etc. will be available.  Contact Vicki at Kennedy-Mcbreen.Vick@iccsd.k12.ia.us for specific information on item availability. If anyone is still interested in buying ICE swim caps emblazoned with the swimmer’s name please let Vicki know. The price for these will be 2 for $10.00.

 

Weather cancellations: Unfortunately, ICE had to cancel practice several times this past month due to poor weather conditions.  Hopefully, everyone got the word prior to going to the pool for practice.  We apologize for any inconvenience the cancellations may have caused your family.  Be sure to check your e-mails, the ICE website or the ICE office answering machine before starting to practice when there are winter weather warnings or school delays, cancellations or early dismissals. Also consider calling Mercer or Coralville pools when things look questionable.  If their facilities are closed, we will not be holding practice. 

 

Billing Reminder:  All families should have received a bill at the beginning of February, which was due on the 15th.  If you still have questions on this bill, you should contact Michelle Larson.  There will be a bill coming out at the end of February and a final short course season bill with championship meet fees in March.  All swimmers should be up to date in the payment of their fees in order to swim at the championship meets coming up in the next few weeks.  If this is a problem for you due to the billing situation this season, please contact either Michelle or Jan Lawler. 

Competitive Stroke Clinic:  Registration forms are now available for the Spring Competitive Stroke Clinic.  Forms can be downloaded from our website (www.iceels.org) or picked up at Mercer or Coralville pools. Beginning April 7 and running for three weeks the Stroke Clinic also includes one free week with the team. If you are aware of anyone interested in swimming, be sure to let him or her know about our stroke clinic. Since we can no longer distribute Stroke Clinic information in the schools, word of mouth plays a big part in our recruitment efforts.  For additional information, contact Don at 351-3336 or swimice@aol.com

High School Competitive Swimming Surveys:  ICE conducted a survey about starting a new program for high school swimmers who want to train for high school swimming during the summer.  This is not a program to replace our current Moray or Eels programs.  It is an additional program to offer swimmers who can't commit to the ICE Moray or Eel programs, but want a "boost" for their high school seasons with training in competitive swimming.  More information will be available for this program in March.  If you know someone interested in getting involved in this program, please contact Don at 351-3336. Surveys were distributed to junior and senior high schools and are available at Mercer and from our website as well.

 
Fundraising Commitment vs. Volunteer Commitment:  There seems to be some confusion on the ICE Fundraising and Volunteer commitments.  As a volunteer, parent run club, each family is asked to assist with the fundraising and volunteer hours needed to run the Club.  The fundraising commitment is $50 per season/per family with one swimmer and $75 per season for families with more than one swimmer.  So, for the year-around swimmer, this is $100 or $150 you are responsible for either raising through our numerous fundraising opportunities or by just writing a check for amount.  The Volunteer commitment involves the number of meet sessions you are asked to work each season.  The meets are our major fundraisers each year and require many workers to run them.  Each family is asked to work at least 2 sessions during the short course season and 5 sessions during the long course season to fulfill your commitment.  If for some reason you are unable to work during the meet, you should contact the meet director to fulfill you commitment by doing work prior to the meet or after the meet.  If unable to fulfill this requirement, a family will be asked to pay $20 for each session not worked.  If you have any additional questions on these two club commitments, please contact Jan Lawler at blawler251@aol.com

 
Swimming scholarships: Applications for the Iowa Swimming Scholarship and the Judy Hoffman Memorial Scholarship are now being accepted at the ISI office.  Deadline is March 15th.  Scholarship form APP-20 (10/2001) is available in the ISI Codebook, ISI Website (under the forms section) or by contacting Elaine Sortor.  The mailing address for applications is: Iowa Swimming Inc., 2715 Pioneer Ct, Davenport, IA 52804-1099.

 

Coach Evaluations: The board has appointed a committee to conduct a performance evaluation of Coaches Don Spellman and Matt Hamer.  The committee members are Brad Gilchrist, Vicki Siefers, Mary Kampling, Sara Hartman, and Jan Lawler.  Committee members will be taking input from any ICE member this month.  Members may call any committee member (check the ICE website for a complete listing of board phone numbers and e-mail addresses), e-mail Vicki Siefers at vsiefers@mchsi.com, Brad Gilchrist at 338-2001, or drop off a written comment at Mercer Park or Coralville.  Leave your written comments in the notebook at Coralville with the pocket labeled “Website” or put in the Website folder in the Mercer Park file cabinet.  You may leave anonymous comments but more weight will be given to those with names.  Let us know what you think about the coach’s strengths, areas needing improvement, or any concerns.  Input is due as soon as possible.

 

Final note from communications:  With the championships approaching it is almost time to begin planning for the upcoming long course season.  I’m always open to suggestions as to what sort of content you would like to see in either the newsletter or on the website and now would be a good time to pass along any such ideas. I will consider just about anything so feel free to let your creative energies flow!  I can be reached at either 339-7579 or via e-mail at keleyn@inav.net.