With the all-team practice held on Friday, March 20th, 2009, we wrapped a great season. Our GMA swimmers have worked hard this year and it was fun to see them all have so much fun together. At the practice our swimmers continued working on their goals, worked with each other and just had fun in the water. I was quite impressed with the dedication of the older swimmers at the all-team practice. They taught our younger athletes about their experiences and they shared their knowledge of the sport with the team. In the water, our older athletes provided a safe and fun environment for the team to celebrate the end of a successful short course season. I think their efforts in the pool reflect several GMA core values - to be the best program, not just for technique and training but also for committment and for personal development. GMA swimmers show incredible teamwork. They work together to make each swimmer achieve their personal best with the strong support of their teammates.
Even though the short course season is over, it was very apparent the swimmers are excited to celebrate their accomplishments at the Banquet on Sunday March 22nd. The athletes in my Regional improved tremendously in their stroke technique. They can now roll their hips efficiently in freestyle and backstroke, they can breathe every 3 strokes in freestyle and they can press forward from the chest and core body for their short axis strokes.
During the team meetings this last week, many of the Age Group, Regional and State swimmers were excited about continuing their swimming either through long course with GMA, summer swim team with the Knights or with one of the many other summer swim teams. We talked about the importance of staying active and healthy and of keeping their goals in mind throughout the summer.
I am very proud of the individual and team accomplishments of my group and the team as a whole. The hard work put into the season is very apparent and each swimmer should be proud of their achievements, big and small. It is sad to see the short course season come to an end and it is very exciting to see the long course season, spring clinics and summer swimming on the horizon!
- Tim Bard
Green Mountain Aquatics: Team and Coaches' Blog
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Championship Excitement . . . Way to go TEAM GMA!
Wow! What exciting New England Championship meets we have had as a team. We have seen our athletes make incredible time drops, improve their racing skills and display the results of all of their hard work this season. More importantly, we have seen our teammates cheer each other on and become closer in their relationships with one another. What a pleasure to share in these experiences with our athletes!
While I have been totally energized by the enthusiasm and emotions of our championship meets, I was equally enthused by our athletes' efforts in training these past few weeks. Yesterday, we had excellent team attendance. The pool deck was alive with our athletes working hard to improve their swimming and our coaches engaged in teaching the best swimming skills. This commitment to improvement is one of the many things that makes GMA a great team! Thank you coaches, parents and swimmers.
We are looking forward to our final championship meet, the Speedo Championship Meet, this weekend. We are also looking forward to celebrating the season on Friday, March 20th with a special all-team practice and on Sunday, March 22nd with team photos, the Olympic Meet and the team banquet. We have much to celebrate GMA swimmers!
Thank you,
Laura Matuszak
While I have been totally energized by the enthusiasm and emotions of our championship meets, I was equally enthused by our athletes' efforts in training these past few weeks. Yesterday, we had excellent team attendance. The pool deck was alive with our athletes working hard to improve their swimming and our coaches engaged in teaching the best swimming skills. This commitment to improvement is one of the many things that makes GMA a great team! Thank you coaches, parents and swimmers.
We are looking forward to our final championship meet, the Speedo Championship Meet, this weekend. We are also looking forward to celebrating the season on Friday, March 20th with a special all-team practice and on Sunday, March 22nd with team photos, the Olympic Meet and the team banquet. We have much to celebrate GMA swimmers!
Thank you,
Laura Matuszak
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Champs Are Here!
The splash symphony at the pool has had a different melody this week. Monday marked the beginning of the last week of training before the New England 13-19 championship meet at MIT. Team meeting Monday was pretty powerful. Everyone got to say out loud what their meet goals were and after that, they all talked about what they were going to for the team this weekend. We heard many great voices all with really team oriented focus. Some of the best plans came from the crowd in the corner-Jessie, Lauren, Galen, Hadley, Emma and maybe a few others. They spoke up with pride about their plans to come to practice this weekend and stay in touch with teammates who were swimming. It was a great opportunity to highlight the long term team goals that require everyone to remain committed regardless of what point in the season we are in. We did some visualization as well to help to isolate the race in their minds and be able to really feel and see what they are doing!
There has been a TON of energy from the kids. Each day during dryland I have felt an increased impatience. No one really wants to intentionally goof off, but they are all itching to swim! It is pretty awesome. We have worked them hard on race pace and technique, reminding them over and over that they need to have every detail of their race down pat. It takes an enormous amount of focus and the athletes have attacked the challenge! We have also put the relays together to let them practice their starts. Thanks to Laura’s brilliant idea-“Relay Challenge 2009”, there is new motivation to race fast in the relays. There is a pizza party on the line for the first relay team to swim the Junior National qualifying time and there is an added buzz of competitiveness all around.
Tonight was the last night of practice before we set out tomorrow. We used the bands to “slingshot” the athletes for 25 yards, really giving them a feel for crazy speed! First, they had to swim to the end with the resistance band on. (Ok, so the coaches need amusement too!)
I am really looking forward to being on deck with these outstanding kids. They are ready to swim fast and represent GMA. They have set challenging goals and I know many will be achieved. See you at MIT!
- Eileen Hall
There has been a TON of energy from the kids. Each day during dryland I have felt an increased impatience. No one really wants to intentionally goof off, but they are all itching to swim! It is pretty awesome. We have worked them hard on race pace and technique, reminding them over and over that they need to have every detail of their race down pat. It takes an enormous amount of focus and the athletes have attacked the challenge! We have also put the relays together to let them practice their starts. Thanks to Laura’s brilliant idea-“Relay Challenge 2009”, there is new motivation to race fast in the relays. There is a pizza party on the line for the first relay team to swim the Junior National qualifying time and there is an added buzz of competitiveness all around.
Tonight was the last night of practice before we set out tomorrow. We used the bands to “slingshot” the athletes for 25 yards, really giving them a feel for crazy speed! First, they had to swim to the end with the resistance band on. (Ok, so the coaches need amusement too!)
I am really looking forward to being on deck with these outstanding kids. They are ready to swim fast and represent GMA. They have set challenging goals and I know many will be achieved. See you at MIT!
- Eileen Hall
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