Weekly Update

Hi Gators! This week there will only be practice Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Wednesday we will take our team picture, have some pancakes, and then head over to WaterWorld! Friday is the Fourth of July, so there will be no practice. Hopefully everyone gets to do something fun! I know all of you are tired coming off of Gator Week and all four meets we had this week, but we had some great swims this weekend.We did win our dual meet on Saturday, so we have won all of our dual meets so far. Keep up the good work!!
Clinics this week will be butterfly on Tuesday, and starts and turns on Thursday. Sign ups will be posted tomorrow morning.

AAC Relay Meet

There have been several questions about the AAC Relay Meet that will take place this Wednesday, June 25th, and I just got more information about the meet. Relay meets are super fun meets to go to, and swimmers have a lot of fun competing in different relay events! For this meet, each relay will consist of two girls and two boys, and each swimmer can compete in up to four relays. The entries for this meet are due tomorrow night, so I will be making relays and turning in the entries some time later tonight or in the morning. Please sign up tonight so that I know you will be there!

On Wednesday, the meet will be at the Applewood Athletic Club pool. Our warm-up will be from 2-2:30pm, and the meet will start at 3pm. 
Some examples of events for this meet are a medley relay, back/breast relay, fly relay, back relay, IM relay (where each swimmer swims a 100IM), fly/free relay, etc. 

GO GATORS!!

Awesome job this weekend Gators!! We had lots of best times, new cuts, and lots of team spirit. Because of all your hard work, Green Mountain placed SECOND overall, and because of all your cheering and excitement, we also won the SPIRIT AWARD! At the end of the meet, a couple coaches from other teams came up to me to congratulate our team on really stepping it up this year. I could not be more happy or more proud of every single one of you who swam this weekend!

Keep up the good work! 🙂

Friday Practice

Hi Gators, there is still practice tomorrow! We will be doing some warm up sets for the meet. Upper division practice will start at 7am instead of 6:30am, but all other practices will be the same.

I really want to win the Spirit Award again this year, so I would love it if all swimmers could come up with something fun to show our team spirit!

Gator Week:

The time has come.  Time to lift the shroud of mystery that surrounds what has infamously become known as “Gator Week”.  
Undoubtedly you have by now come to know the phrase “Gator Week”; either from your fellow swimmers or even directly from one of the coaches.  And I’m also sure by now that you have gathered, to a small degree, what this week will entail.  The coaches have been dropping hints and writing menacing messages on the white board at practice for a couple of weeks. Perhaps by now, you may even be slightly afraid.  You may be thinking to yourself, “Maybe this will be the week I take an unexpected vacation”.  But you shouldn’t….and you won’t. The magnitude of “Gator Week” is truly incomprehensible to all of you….At least it was, until now.
“Gator Week” is coming and it’s time you got the 411 on what it is, when it is, and how to prepare – so here it is.
“Gator Week” begins next Monday and will persist through the whole week of practice.  You may feel nervous about it, and that’s exactly how us coaches want you to feel.  But the reasons why we want you to feel this way are different than what you may expect.  “Gator Week” (I’m considering getting the phrase trade-marked) is more than just a week of hard practice.  It is more than the coaches laying down the hammer for seemingly no reason at all.  “Gator Week” is an obstacle or better yet, a challenge.  One which we hope all of you strive to conquer.  Practices during this week are going to be exceedingly difficult, but not a single one of them will be impossible.  
“Gator Week” isn’t simply a week of physical punishment.  It’s more importantly about a mind-set.  Our hope for you as coaches is that you will come to practice during “Gator Week” and approach each day with the confidence that you can accomplish something great by just putting your mind to it.  This is the week where that voice in your head that whispers “I can’t do it” is put to rest.  We challenge every single one of you to make every practice possible during this week and approach each one of them with the attitude that you are unbeatable.  More importantly,we would like to see all of you walk away from this week with a new sense of confidence that every goal you set is achievable – if you decide to work at it.
The coaches are getting creative with the workouts and each day will have a particular “flavor” to it.  Not every day is going to consist of a soul-crushing amount of yards or an over-abundance of sprint, but every day will be a challenge that we want to see you overcome.
A couple quick notes:
  • Asthma – Swimmers with asthma; please be sure to bring your inhalers this week!  There will be some days that may trigger an asthma attack due to the nature of the practice.  While our goal is not to give anybody an asthma attack we would like you to be prepared.
  • Breakfast – If you wish to get the most out of these practices it would be wise to eat a light breakfast beforehand. Banana’s, granola, yogurt,and whole-grain cereals are good options.
  • Hydration – Try to bring a water bottle or better yet a bottle of Gatorade to every practice.
More tips will follow in the days to come.
Sincerely,
Josh, Jaimie, Porter.