Seizing Opportunities

Two weekends ago we had the opportunity to race at the historic Yale 50 meter "practice pool." The facilities were adequate, the warm-up space and time was exceptional, the meet hosts were generous and friendly and the schedule of events was ideal. We were given an exceptional opportunity to race long course indoors early in the long course season. This was a chance for our athletes to challenge themselves competitively and begin trying their racing strategies for the season. While we were not blessed with exceptional competition from the other teams participating in the meet, we were certainly blessed with many competitive advantages at this meet.

It was wonderful to see many of our athletes at the meet making the most of the meet. The majority of our athletes took the opportunity to warm-up for the entire sixty minute warm-up session and gain a feel for the long course pool. The majority of our athletes raced incredibly well with focus and determination to achieve best times and learn from their experiences. The majority of our athletes raced in 8-10 events within 20 hours. The majority of our athletes left the meet either with personal best times or with new observations about their approaches to racing which. While the conditions were not ideal, our GMA athletes seized their competitive opportunities.

GMA athletes have also seized their training opportunities over the last week during school vacation. Our athletes who were in town over the school vacation showed incredible dedication to their training. Almost all of our athletes who stayed in the area for vacation INCREASED their practice attendance last week. By all accounts, our athletes who travelled on vacation over the school break found ways to exercise and maintain their fitness levels. I have received reports that our athletes took their workouts to local pools while on vacation to train their normal GMA workouts. We have heard that our athletes spent and hour to two hours each day on vacation running, swimming, lifting and exercising. GMA athletes love to train and keep themselves in shape. They take the opportunity to remain fit, whether at home or away over vacation periods.

As we all return to the pool as a team, I know that we will seize the opportunity to take our training to the next level. We have only one month until our major long course competitions begin. In less than 15 weeks, the long course season will be completely over. Now is the time to get training, get working and get going FAST! Our GMA swimmers have shown that they have the focus and attitude that is required to make the most of their competitive, training and team opportunities!

Carpe diem, GMA!

Laura Matuszak

At Last Vacation Time Is Here!

At last vacation time is here! I am leaving on Friday for a week in St. Lucia with my family (and Merritt) and I will say, without apology, that I am glad to be getting away. I absolutely, without a doubt, 100 percent love coaching and working with the athletes everyday, but I am smart enough to appreciate and enjoy a vacation when it comes my way. I will surely miss everyone, especially the hard workers in Lane Finity or Lane David or whatever they are going to be!

I know that a lot of other folks will be traveling over break and this brings me to my point. While it is great for your attitude and state of mind to get a break from the pressures of your training routine, your conditioning will suffer unless you pay a little attention to it while you are away. I know it seems like a drag to have to think about working out when you are supposed to be relaxing, but consider this…exercise is relaxing! Imaging what your life would be like if you weren’t exercising your minds and bodies each night? How would you deal with social and academic stress? How would you deal with family issues? The work you do in the pool is not only essential for helping you meet your swimming goals, it is a tool that helps you survive the day-to-day in middle or high school. But the big thing to remember is that each day you don’t train, your goals are harder to achieve. Although it may feel good right now to say “I deserve a break” or “One week off won’t hurt me”, the truth is that this is a very important time in long course training and a week off could very well be the difference between getting that cut time, or missing it by a second.

So what am I suggesting? Well, it is not as bad as you may think! By all means, relax on your vacation! Put swim practice out of your mind if it helps you refresh. Don’t, however, neglect your body or your goals. You wouldn’t go a whole week without water or food, would you? Exercise is just as important for what you all have stated that you want to achieve this summer. So, what should you do? Well, swim ideally! If you are near a pool, swim for an hour or more a few times over the week. Laura can give workouts to anyone who wants them if you feel like doing more. No pool? How about running? A 45 minute run combined with push ups and crunches is an excellent workout. Get your heart rate up as often as possible. When you think about it, how much time are we really talking about? 4 hours over the course of the week? Are you willing to commit 4 hours to meet your goals? Are you willing to commit more? I am confident that all of you could answer yes to both of those questions!

As for me? Well, fear not! I will be maintaining my coaching skills while I am on vacation. (I want to meet my goals as well). Merritt and Dylan will enjoy all of the benefits of being on vacation with their swim coach! So pack those goggles GMA and have great break. I will see you all when I get back!

Coach Eileen Hall

Let the Long Course Season BEGIN!

Just when you thought we would have a break from the intensity of the swimming season, we are back to racing again!! The long course season is off to a great start. Our Senior, Sectional and National athletes have had several weeks of great training and are fully engaged in the goal-setting process. Additionally, some of our National athletes competed in a long-course Montreal
last weekend and are on their way to achieving some of their competitive goals. We are so excited to see our Age Group athletes and Clinic swimmers back in the pool next week. It will be great to have the GMA team back together and working hard together to be the BEST we can be!



Enjoy the video clips of our GMA swimmers in their first long course races of the season and I will see you in the pool soon!

Sincerely,

Laura Matuszak