IOWA CITY EELS

 

Contact: 351-3336 or swimice@aol.com            website: www.iceels.org      October 2004

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Thanks to our corporate sponsors: A.W. Welt Ambrisco, the Coral Fruit Market, Hills Bank, Hodge Construction, Iowa State Bank & Trust, The New Sycamore Mall, Oral B Industries, Scheels All Sports and Universal Climate Control- their generous support helps keep our Club in the water!

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Coming up:

 

10/9:                Parent’s Meeting at Mercer- 9:30-10:30 AM

10/11:               ICE Board of Directors Meeting- 6:30 PM in the P & G Room at Mercer

10/12:               City High Girl’s HS swim meet- NO EVENING PRACTICE at Mercer

10/16:               NO PRACTICE due to swim meets in central Iowa

10/16-17:            Senior Shootout in Des Moines

10/17:               ACAC 14 and under Invitational in Ames

10/23:               MVC Sophomore Championships at Mercer- 7:00 AM start time for all groups

10/29:               Sign-up deadline for the DMSF Fall Invitational

10/30:               U of Iowa home football game- 7:00 AM start time for all groups

11/5:                Sign-up deadline for the CRAA Harvest Invitational

11/6:                U of Iowa home football game- 7:00 AM start time for all groups

11/6:                Girl’s HS State Swimming Championships in Marshalltown

11/8:                ICE Board of Directors Meeting- 6:30 PM in the P & G Room at Mercer

11/10 or /11:            Picture and pizza night at Mercer

11/12-14:            DMSF Fall Invitational in Des Moines

 

         

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COACH’S CORNER 

 

 

New Season / New Goals

 

Welcome back to a new short course season with the Iowa City Eels.  I would like to take a moment here and congratulate all the ICE swimmers who swam so well at the Iowa Swimming Summer State Championships this past August.  What an awesome meet for the Eels team.  Both Matt and I thought we had a shot after watching our short course results in the spring but a victory over 700 points wide was amazing.

 

This year I would like to establish some ICE Team goals right off the bat:

  1. Win Age-Group Overall Championships (with 100% of qualifiers participating).
  2. Win 3 ISI divisions at Age-Group Championships.
  3. Qualify over 12 swimmers for Sectionals.
  4. Place top 25 at Sectionals – Combined Team.
  5. Increase in season meet participation (support Iowa meet depth).
  6. Qualify 10 swimmers for All-Stars (Team Iowa).
  7. Win Spirit Award at Regionals.
  8. Win Sportsmanship award at ISI Championships Meets.
  9. Achieve over 4 NRT relay times.
  10. Climb into USA-S Bronze level rankings for club excellence.

 

I think this is also a great time of year for swimmers to set some individual goals.  This period of pre-season work is a great time to sit down and figure out where you want to be when the season is done.  Both short term (like “get a Q time in the 50 FLY”) and long term (swim in college) should be included in your list.  I think 3 or 4 of each is the way to go for most swimmers.  Make sure to communicate these goals to your coach and parents so they can help you not only achieve them but modify them if needed.  Then take action to get the job done. A sample list for a very good Moray group / 12 year old male distance swimmer on our team (Kanoe Russell) should look something like this:

 

Short Term Goals (next two seasons):

1.  11-12 NRT time in the 1000 Free

  1. Make Iowa All-Star 13-14 boys team (500 Free, 400 IM, 200 FR, 200 IM, 200 FLY)
  2. Sub 5:20 500 Free
  3. Improve starts and turns
  4. Make 5 workouts / week minimum (when healthy).
  5. Move into Eels in 8th grade.

 

Long Term Goals (next 3 to 6 years):

1.   Qualify for Iowa Zones team every summer

  1. Qualify for Sectionals by Sophomore Year (distance free events)
  2. Qualify for US OPEN before college
  3. Qualify for Iowa HS State meet Freshman Year (500 Free)
  4. Swim in college

 

Not to pick on Kanoe but this list reflects some seriously high goals and will require some modifications along with way (Kanoe – you can copy this down if you want).  That is where communication with the coaches comes into play (especially in Morays and Eels).  Remember that once you have some goals it will help make practice make more sense.  Encourage your teammates too – they in turn will help push you to achieve some of your goals. Feel free to E-mail Matt Hamer or me if you need some advice on goal setting.  Good luck!

 

See ya at the pool

Donald P. Spellman – ICE Head Coach

 

USMS TOP TEN RANKINGS:  The annual United States Masters Swimming (USMS) rankings are out and ICE is well represented this year again.  These swims were achieved at the Iowa Masters Swimming Championships and at the USMS SCY Nationals in May.

 

Adam Osweiler (19-24 Men)

100 Free 8th, 200 Free 2nd, 100 Fly  5th,  200 Fly 2nd (won USMS National Champs)

 

Donald P. Spellman (25-29 Men)

200 Breast 9th

 

Bridget Riley            (19-24 Female)

1000 Free 6th

 

 

ICE @ 2004 Central Zone Championship (University of Miami of Ohio):

The following swimmers represented ICE as part of Team Iowa this summer at the Zone meet in Ohio:  Grace Murray, Beth Eyanson, Shelby Doehrmann, Sarah Striegel, Devin St. John, Keagan Recher, Stacia Johns, Kanoe Russell, Ashley Matteson, and Chelsea Hartman.  Besides all these athletes swimming quite well there were some really big swims this weekend. Devin St. John broke an ICE team record in the 13-14 100 Fly and Beth Eyanson recorded some NRT times in the backs and the 100 Free.  Congrats to all those who made it and swam so well.

 

ICE @ USA-S Speedo Series Sectionals  (University of Minnesota):  ICE was represented by the following swimmers at Sectionals:  Stacia Johns, Brian Johns, Lauren Talman, Ashley Lawler, Anna Kampling, Josh Schubert, Peter Cilek, Katie Koenig, Karen Kelly, Erica Noah, Abbie Van Maaren, Keagan Recher, Jennifer Sanderson, and Donald Spellman.  Highlights included Abbie breaking the ICE club records in the 50 and 100 Freestyles (with US Open cut times) and the ICE Senior Girls 400 and 800 ‘A’ Free Relays placing in the top 10.  Great job ICE!

 

ICE @ ISI Championships (Mercer Park Pool):  What a great meet!  Highlights:

Individual State Titles: David Tao, Chelsea Hartman, Grace Murray, Beth Eyanson, Sarah Striegel, Kanoe Russell, Shelby Doehrmann, Lilian Zhu, and Karen Kelly

Relay State Titles: 11-12 Boys (Sweep), Senior Girls (Sweep), 11-12 Girls (Sweep), and 8 & Under Girls (Sweep)

Division Titles: 8 & Under Girls, 11-12 Boys, 11-12 Girls, Senior Girls

 

Age Group (14 & Under) State Champs & Overall State Champs

 

USA-S National Reportable Time Swims:  The 11-12 Girls 200 Medley Relay team of Beth Eyanson, Sarah Striegel, Shelby Doehrmann, and Vivian Zhu broke the state record and notched an NRT swim at ISI Champs with a time of 2:14.37.  Beth Eyanson swam to NRT times in the 50, 100, 200 Back, and 100 Free this LCM season.  Great Job gals!

 

Mia Richter makes the IRONMAN TRIATHLON qualifying time!  ICE Masters swimmer and Senior group Pilates instructor Mia Richter qualified for this year’s Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii.  Good Luck and congrats from the staff and swimmers at ICE (make us proud on the swim portion!).

 

 

Parent’s Meeting: On Saturday, October 9th there will be a Parent’s Meeting in the P & G room from 9:30-10:30 AM.  Everyone is invited but we especially encourage parents new to the team to attend.  Several of our more experienced parents will be on hand and as such this is good opportunity to get your club swimming questions answered.

 

Wreath sales fundraiser:  We will once again be selling wreathes as our major fundraiser for the Short Course season.  Expect to see more details regarding this project by Monday of next week.

 

Scoreboard update:  Both scoreboards are up and running. Not all of the funds have been raised yet to cover the costs of these units and donations are still being accepted. Feel free to contact Bill Talman at wtalman4@mchsi.com if you would still like to make a donation (tax deductible). No amount is too small and all donors will be recognized.   

 

Videodisc project: I’m still willing to put together a videodisc for last year’s swim season but I need your help.  Pictures, especially candid shots and particularly photos of older swimmers, are in short supply.  If you have any pictures from last year you would like to have considered for placement on the disc please contact Kelly at 339-7579 or keleyn@inav.net.

Swimming on TV: ESPN 2 is broadcasting the 2004 FINA World Championships this month. Beginning October 7th and running through the 11th the meet will be televised daily.  Some of these events will be live and others will be on tape delay. Do check the times on these as the meet approaches as ESPN may move things about a bit.  October 9th: 9:00-11:00 PM; October 10th: 12:00-2:00 AM & 9:00-11:00 PM; October 11th: 8:30-11:00 PM; and October 11th: 7:00-9:30 PM.

ICE Honorees: The USA Swimming Scholastic All-America team was recently announced with six women and two men from Iowa high schools making the list. ICE teammates Lauren Talman and Ashley Lawler both qualified for the 2003-2004 school year. In addition, last July, Ashley made the NISCA All-American High School list for the 500 Free. Congratulations to both Lauren and Ashley for their fine performances in both the pool and the classroom.

 

Christine Olson update: Former ICE swimmer Christine Olson achieved her first National cut last summer. Christine managed a 2:37.83 in the 200 meter Breaststroke. Quite a remarkable accomplishment for a 13 year old!  Her strong showing does not surprise anyone who knew Christine and her family and we are all cheering her on from afar. 

 

Merchandise changes: A final reminder that all suit orders need to be placed by Monday, October 11th.  We are still trying to reach the magic number of 24 suits in order to qualify for the best discount possible with our supplier.  If you have any questions regarding this or other merchandise issues please contact Ed at: esj178@southslope.net or 319-848-4491.  Starting soon, a link to Elsmore Aquatics- the ICE team merchandise supplier- will be activated on the club website.  From this link you will be able to directly contact Elsmore Aquatics for all of your swim needs.

 

Office hours: The coaches’ office hours for the Short Course season have been finalized.  Don will be available on Wednesdays from 4:00 to 6:00 PM and Matt will be on hand on Thursdays from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM.  You can always call the office (351-3336) or try e-mailng: Don at swimice@aol.com or Matt at Tyfish25@aol.com.

 

Weber Meet: The 2004 Irving B. Weber Invitational is about two months away (December 11th & 12th).  Planning has begun for this meet and you can expect to soon see additional announcements for further organizational meetings.  The Weber Invitational is the only meet we host during the Short Course season and each family is required to assist with at least two sessions.  This is our second largest meet of the year in terms of athlete numbers (414 swimmers in 2003) and we need everyone’s help in making this event a success. 

 

Billing: We are in the process of switching billing persons so don’t be surprised if it takes some time to get things back on a more consistent track.  Transitions are always time consuming and often nagged by worrisome details therefore we appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding in this matter.

 

Final note from communications:  Over the last three years or so ICE has moved steadily into the realm of electronic mailing as our primary way to contact club members.  Typically about 95% of our membership has access to e-mail and this makes the posting of team information much easier and much more effective.  In most cases swim team updates will be sent every week or so throughout the season.  In addition, when possible, other items (forms, etc.) will be sent via e-mail and/or posted on the team website. If you have access to e-mail and you are not receiving these notices please contact Kelly at keleyn@inav.net in order to get yourself linked to the ICE database.