Hello all,
Senior, step up and select senior D training camp had to be moved to NAIT for the majority of practices as what I initially understood to be available was not. I will send out the schedule on Tuesday December 9th. This may also slightly affect the Senior D training but that will remain at Millennium.
I appologize for the change.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Qualifiers Galore!
We had swimmers making new qualifying standards all weekend long at the JP Fiset Christmas Classic at the Kinsmen Sports center at every level except the Senior National level. I hope I don't miss anyone!
First of all a big congratulations to Amanda Madsen, this first year Silver Tide swimmer achieved her first Western time in the 50 freestyle on Sunday tying the standard to the one hundreth of a second. This is an even bigger feat when you think that she only achieved her first ever B time in June of this year.
Matt Whiteside achieved his first A time in the 50 meter breastroke and narrowly missed his A times in the other 2 breast stroke races this weekend. Matt attended Age Group Champs last year after winning the 200 breast at Age Group Trials but is now officially an A swimmer.
Liam Strocher, Emma Funk and Allison Hender each earned their QT's this weekend as well. Liam achieve both his 200 IM and his 400 Free time standards this weekend and Emma had a great last 50 in her 400 free to slide just under her first ever QT. Allison also achieved her first ever QT in the 400 free on Sunday, this was her first 400 free as a member of the Silver Tide Swim Club. It has been a great year for Ali and this is only another step to great achievements.
Other swimmers got QT standards a little early as they age up before long course season too which is fantastic. Sierra Weatherby achieved her 14 year old 400 free QT this weekend with a 15 second best time. Sarah Peddie and Haley Wirachowski both earned their 11 year old QT's with great 400 freestyles on the weekend and both also narrowly missed 10 year old A times on the weekend. Haley just missed her 100 back A time and Sarah is becoming more and more well rounded now within 2 seconds of her A time in Backstroke, Freestyle, Butterfly and IM. You just know that they will be coming soon. Aaron Vanderleek in his first year of year round swimming narrowly missed his QT's in both the 200 IM and 400 freestyle this weekend.
It was a fantastic weekend with tons of best times and great swims right throughout the weekend. After I was at the pool for 40 hours over the weekend I can honestly say there was never a dull moment when we had a swimmer in the water (and that was most of the time with more than 50 Silver Tide athletes in the meet).
Great Job Everyone!
First of all a big congratulations to Amanda Madsen, this first year Silver Tide swimmer achieved her first Western time in the 50 freestyle on Sunday tying the standard to the one hundreth of a second. This is an even bigger feat when you think that she only achieved her first ever B time in June of this year.
Matt Whiteside achieved his first A time in the 50 meter breastroke and narrowly missed his A times in the other 2 breast stroke races this weekend. Matt attended Age Group Champs last year after winning the 200 breast at Age Group Trials but is now officially an A swimmer.
Liam Strocher, Emma Funk and Allison Hender each earned their QT's this weekend as well. Liam achieve both his 200 IM and his 400 Free time standards this weekend and Emma had a great last 50 in her 400 free to slide just under her first ever QT. Allison also achieved her first ever QT in the 400 free on Sunday, this was her first 400 free as a member of the Silver Tide Swim Club. It has been a great year for Ali and this is only another step to great achievements.
Other swimmers got QT standards a little early as they age up before long course season too which is fantastic. Sierra Weatherby achieved her 14 year old 400 free QT this weekend with a 15 second best time. Sarah Peddie and Haley Wirachowski both earned their 11 year old QT's with great 400 freestyles on the weekend and both also narrowly missed 10 year old A times on the weekend. Haley just missed her 100 back A time and Sarah is becoming more and more well rounded now within 2 seconds of her A time in Backstroke, Freestyle, Butterfly and IM. You just know that they will be coming soon. Aaron Vanderleek in his first year of year round swimming narrowly missed his QT's in both the 200 IM and 400 freestyle this weekend.
It was a fantastic weekend with tons of best times and great swims right throughout the weekend. After I was at the pool for 40 hours over the weekend I can honestly say there was never a dull moment when we had a swimmer in the water (and that was most of the time with more than 50 Silver Tide athletes in the meet).
Great Job Everyone!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
JP Fiset.
It is going to be a long FAST weekend. There are 890 swimmers entered into the JP Fiset meet so make sure that you are prepared for a long but fast weekend. Top swimmers from Alberta and beyone are going to be up for a fantastic meet. Make sure your water bottle is always on you and that you have plenty of good snacks: fruit, veggies, sandwiches, yogurt but save the bigger items like sandwiches for when you have at least 1 hour before you swim next.
With so many swimmers at the meet and the length of the sessions we will not be enforcing that swimmers return each night for finals if they have not qualified however your support will be very much appreciated.
Some swimmers had to be removed from the 200IM and or 400 free and were not given the opportunity to add other events which is too bad. Those swimmers have been notified. There will be other changes to the meet layout to ensure that swimmers are given the best chance at success but I am not sure what they will be doing. Please stay posted for further details.
With so many swimmers at the meet and the length of the sessions we will not be enforcing that swimmers return each night for finals if they have not qualified however your support will be very much appreciated.
Some swimmers had to be removed from the 200IM and or 400 free and were not given the opportunity to add other events which is too bad. Those swimmers have been notified. There will be other changes to the meet layout to ensure that swimmers are given the best chance at success but I am not sure what they will be doing. Please stay posted for further details.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
5km pool championships
November is half over and we almost let this one slip by but not quite. Saturday November 29th the Senior and Senior Development groups will be taking part in the 5km pool championships. This is a great opportunity to compete in a national championship without leaving the comfort of your own pool. Parents we will need you assistance in counting we hope to have at least one counter for every 2 swimmers. Swimmers, please e-mail me if you know that you will not be around that day or if any parent are available to count laps please let me know.
Should be a great event.
Should be a great event.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Poppy
Poppy was another success this year! Great job to everyone. Lots of best times and for many it was their first meet or first full weekend meet with the club and it was great to see you all racing so well. Keep posted to your group blogs for further updates. Provincial Elite there should be a blog up and running for you shortly. I will send out the link when it is available.
Once again I would like to honor the senior swimmers with their meet awards:
I would like to honor Amanda who swam her first full weekend meet with the club and did a great job getting best times in her best events narrowly missing getting under the 29 second barrier in 50 free while swimming a number of new events as well all with very good performances. Congratulations and here's to plenty more success to come.
For swimmers in the senior group this was an opportunity to swim some off or different events then they would normally compete in at the regular heats and finals meets that are a higher level so I would like to award Zac King with the swim of the meet for his 100 breast stroke. After a bit of a rough competition he stepped up and had some fun in his 100 breast surprising himself taking off 5 seconds and showing a lot of speed.
I think this was a great meet and swimmers had very good attitudes and energy level throughout the competition so at first thought I had a hard time picking an OOPS award for the meet and then I quickly remembered a couple of things that need to be brought up so I will actually award 2 oops awards:
OOPS number 1 goes out to your own coach Matt who forgot about the group swim down that everyone in the Senior group was supposed to do together while the 400's finished up. We were supposed to do this in lieu of Monday morning practice.
OOPS number 2 however goes out to everyone!!! for the horrible state we left our team area in both days. We were the dirtiest club there and we are the ones that should be setting the example. I talked to everyone about this after Saturday and then Sunday it was even worse! Thank goodness some of the swimmers stayed to help clean up the area, those who didn't owe them and the parents involved a big thank you for cleaning up your pigsty.
Once again I would like to honor the senior swimmers with their meet awards:
I would like to honor Amanda who swam her first full weekend meet with the club and did a great job getting best times in her best events narrowly missing getting under the 29 second barrier in 50 free while swimming a number of new events as well all with very good performances. Congratulations and here's to plenty more success to come.
For swimmers in the senior group this was an opportunity to swim some off or different events then they would normally compete in at the regular heats and finals meets that are a higher level so I would like to award Zac King with the swim of the meet for his 100 breast stroke. After a bit of a rough competition he stepped up and had some fun in his 100 breast surprising himself taking off 5 seconds and showing a lot of speed.
I think this was a great meet and swimmers had very good attitudes and energy level throughout the competition so at first thought I had a hard time picking an OOPS award for the meet and then I quickly remembered a couple of things that need to be brought up so I will actually award 2 oops awards:
OOPS number 1 goes out to your own coach Matt who forgot about the group swim down that everyone in the Senior group was supposed to do together while the 400's finished up. We were supposed to do this in lieu of Monday morning practice.
OOPS number 2 however goes out to everyone!!! for the horrible state we left our team area in both days. We were the dirtiest club there and we are the ones that should be setting the example. I talked to everyone about this after Saturday and then Sunday it was even worse! Thank goodness some of the swimmers stayed to help clean up the area, those who didn't owe them and the parents involved a big thank you for cleaning up your pigsty.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Silver Tide in the news
If you didn't see the article in the newspaper check out this link http://www.sherwoodparknews.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1280618 or go to the sports section of www.sherwoodparknews.com
Monday, November 3, 2008
video, dream to WIN!!!!
Check out the Ryan Cochran video on the Swimming Canada home page, www.swimming.ca under headline news. If it is not there you can find it under the title more news. He did not look up to National team members when he was growing up, nor did he look up to the likes of the world record holder in his event Grant Hackett, he just thought, What do I have to do to beat them at the trials in the future to make an international team and then what do I have to do to beat the best once I am there.
Some may call this cocky, I call it confident and necessary if you truly want to be the best.
Some may call this cocky, I call it confident and necessary if you truly want to be the best.
Friday, October 31, 2008
November 11th practice change
On November 11th only Senior and Senior Development swimmers will be swimming all others have the day off.
Our AM practice is at the regular scheduled time for Senior and Step up swimmers. I will open it to all senior swimmers as it is a holiday. I would encourage you to set up some kind of team/group event for during the day, maybe a post practice breakfast or afternoon movie prior to the start of afternoon practice but this is up to you.
In the afternoon both groups will have dryland starting at 4:15 and will swim from 5:15-7:00pm.
BE THERE!
Our AM practice is at the regular scheduled time for Senior and Step up swimmers. I will open it to all senior swimmers as it is a holiday. I would encourage you to set up some kind of team/group event for during the day, maybe a post practice breakfast or afternoon movie prior to the start of afternoon practice but this is up to you.
In the afternoon both groups will have dryland starting at 4:15 and will swim from 5:15-7:00pm.
BE THERE!
Owning your swimming
Take pride in your swimming and care about what you are doing. The more you care about what you are doing the more the coaches will care and the better you will perform.
With Silver Tide we pride ourselves in developing better people through swimming and instilling the life skills that are necessary to be successful in all aspects of your life. Time management, a desire to succeed and do your best along with self responsibility top the list of skills that we want you to have when you leave our program. This message is about self responsibility.
As a student, especially in highschool when you have too many unexcused absences you receive a suspension and if you miss a test or assignment on one of those days more often then not you will also receive a zero for that test or assignment (this will vary by school). When you have a job if you just decide not to show up one day or send a message with a co worker to the boss that you will not be coming into work today you may get a warning or maybe not and then you will be fired. This is life and I want all of you to use this skill in all aspects of it. As members of the senior group, YOU need to be equally responsible towards your swimming (not your parents). There are many means of letting me know, e-mail, text etc all you have to do is use them.
By doing this you show that you are responsible and have thought out your decision not to attend. This demonstrates how much you care and value your swimming and as a result tells me how much the coaches and your parents should care about your swimming.
With proper time management skills little if anything will get in the way of your swimming if you truly value it and if something does come up odds are it did not happen just before practice.
To hold you all to this starting in November I will be publishing monthly attendance and will seperate the informed and uninformed absenses. This is simply to hold you accountable for your swimming and to help you understand how much you have actually missed or how dedicated you actually are.
Most if not all of you are already training as fast as you ever have. This is a great sign as we head into our first year as a large club with Westerns and Age group trials in our own back yard this swim season it is time to really keep the Tide on the rise!
With Silver Tide we pride ourselves in developing better people through swimming and instilling the life skills that are necessary to be successful in all aspects of your life. Time management, a desire to succeed and do your best along with self responsibility top the list of skills that we want you to have when you leave our program. This message is about self responsibility.
As a student, especially in highschool when you have too many unexcused absences you receive a suspension and if you miss a test or assignment on one of those days more often then not you will also receive a zero for that test or assignment (this will vary by school). When you have a job if you just decide not to show up one day or send a message with a co worker to the boss that you will not be coming into work today you may get a warning or maybe not and then you will be fired. This is life and I want all of you to use this skill in all aspects of it. As members of the senior group, YOU need to be equally responsible towards your swimming (not your parents). There are many means of letting me know, e-mail, text etc all you have to do is use them.
By doing this you show that you are responsible and have thought out your decision not to attend. This demonstrates how much you care and value your swimming and as a result tells me how much the coaches and your parents should care about your swimming.
With proper time management skills little if anything will get in the way of your swimming if you truly value it and if something does come up odds are it did not happen just before practice.
To hold you all to this starting in November I will be publishing monthly attendance and will seperate the informed and uninformed absenses. This is simply to hold you accountable for your swimming and to help you understand how much you have actually missed or how dedicated you actually are.
Most if not all of you are already training as fast as you ever have. This is a great sign as we head into our first year as a large club with Westerns and Age group trials in our own back yard this swim season it is time to really keep the Tide on the rise!
It has been way too long
Hello all, it has been much too long but you will be seeing weekly updates from here on out so keep posted.
I would like to start by awarding the senior group swimmeet awards from our last 2 competitions. I will be awarding the swim of the meet award, swimmer of the meet award and the opps card.
For the Octoberfest at Kinsmen the boys both shone and faltered. Nathan had a fantastic meet with all huge best times in the 100 free by over a second, the 50 back and the 200 IM by over 6 seconds to earn swimmer of the meet.
Greg also had a very strong showing including a 50 breast stroke that puts him within striking distance of age group nationals. A very big feat considering he did not have an B time in the event last year.
Then there was the ever reliable Zac. Ever the social butterfly, after 2 solid swims himself he let the girls distract him and missed his 100 freestyle, OOPS!
The Goldfins meet was our first real test of the swim season and it came only 3.5 weeks in and after only 1.5 weeks of morning training but the swimmers all still did very well and walked away with some great swims.
Swimmer of the meet hands down goes to Greg, 100% best times and second swims in all possible races. Not being used to the busy evening schedule and with it being so early in the season there were some ups and downs but all in all a fantastic performance at anytime in the year.
For swim of the meet I would like to award Rachelle, she had a great start to the meet with a huge best time in 200 IM taking off over 3 seconds for her first best time in the event short course since March of 2007.
The OOPS goes to a particular 100 free. It wasn't a bad swim or a bad time but this individual found a way to swim drastically different on each of his 4 25's, breathing every 3 one way, breathing every 2 another way, using a combination of the 2 styles on another 25 and then resorting to straight are plowing on the final 25. Earning the OOPS, Brayden McCaul.
Be sure to keep posted.
I would like to start by awarding the senior group swimmeet awards from our last 2 competitions. I will be awarding the swim of the meet award, swimmer of the meet award and the opps card.
For the Octoberfest at Kinsmen the boys both shone and faltered. Nathan had a fantastic meet with all huge best times in the 100 free by over a second, the 50 back and the 200 IM by over 6 seconds to earn swimmer of the meet.
Greg also had a very strong showing including a 50 breast stroke that puts him within striking distance of age group nationals. A very big feat considering he did not have an B time in the event last year.
Then there was the ever reliable Zac. Ever the social butterfly, after 2 solid swims himself he let the girls distract him and missed his 100 freestyle, OOPS!
The Goldfins meet was our first real test of the swim season and it came only 3.5 weeks in and after only 1.5 weeks of morning training but the swimmers all still did very well and walked away with some great swims.
Swimmer of the meet hands down goes to Greg, 100% best times and second swims in all possible races. Not being used to the busy evening schedule and with it being so early in the season there were some ups and downs but all in all a fantastic performance at anytime in the year.
For swim of the meet I would like to award Rachelle, she had a great start to the meet with a huge best time in 200 IM taking off over 3 seconds for her first best time in the event short course since March of 2007.
The OOPS goes to a particular 100 free. It wasn't a bad swim or a bad time but this individual found a way to swim drastically different on each of his 4 25's, breathing every 3 one way, breathing every 2 another way, using a combination of the 2 styles on another 25 and then resorting to straight are plowing on the final 25. Earning the OOPS, Brayden McCaul.
Be sure to keep posted.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Parents meeting
I will be hosting a parents meeting up the stairs in the lobby at Millennium on Wednesday Oct 8th from 5:45-6:15pm. All families should be represented.
Monday, September 29, 2008
e-mails
Hello all swimmers and anyone else who is interested.
Senior swimmers I need all of your personal e-mail accounts. Please send me an e-mail to coach_matt@silvertide.ca. Don't worry, I won't spam you all. I am just going to register you to my blog and the entries and results blogs so that you receive an e-mail every time that something is added and pass on any relevant swimming information. This is the first step in you all becoming more responsible for your swimming.
Please send me your e-mails by the end of the week, no message needed.
Senior swimmers I need all of your personal e-mail accounts. Please send me an e-mail to coach_matt@silvertide.ca. Don't worry, I won't spam you all. I am just going to register you to my blog and the entries and results blogs so that you receive an e-mail every time that something is added and pass on any relevant swimming information. This is the first step in you all becoming more responsible for your swimming.
Please send me your e-mails by the end of the week, no message needed.
goal setting retreat
Well, it was a great weekend out at Birch Bay Ranch and everyone looks to be really excited for the start of the swim season. Here's to a great season or team bonding and great racing.
See you all at the pool.
If any of you have pictures I would love to have copies, if you don't mind please e-mail them or make a cd.
Much appreciated,
Matt
See you all at the pool.
If any of you have pictures I would love to have copies, if you don't mind please e-mail them or make a cd.
Much appreciated,
Matt
Monday, September 22, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
Dream, Plan, Reach
Dream the dream, set out a plan and you will not be disappointed by what you find.
A new swim season is upon us. I hope that you all enjoyed your summer and were able to enjoy some of the Olympic festivities. There will be no early swimming this year and I look forward to seeing everyone back in the water on September 29th. Prior to that I would like everyone who is interested, to come out for a few team runs to get back into shape. I think that we should get together Tuesdays and Thursdays around 4:30pm starting Tuesday September 9th. I will e-mail out a location and hope to see a lot of you come out. If any of you have some ideas for a run that is about 5-10km pass them my way and I will send out the location for everyone to meet. We will start small and build up from there.
See you all soon.
A new swim season is upon us. I hope that you all enjoyed your summer and were able to enjoy some of the Olympic festivities. There will be no early swimming this year and I look forward to seeing everyone back in the water on September 29th. Prior to that I would like everyone who is interested, to come out for a few team runs to get back into shape. I think that we should get together Tuesdays and Thursdays around 4:30pm starting Tuesday September 9th. I will e-mail out a location and hope to see a lot of you come out. If any of you have some ideas for a run that is about 5-10km pass them my way and I will send out the location for everyone to meet. We will start small and build up from there.
See you all soon.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Nationals report
Day 4 ... And we finish with a bang, 100% best times and big move ups through the rankings. We finished the meet off in style with Mike getting 2 more best times, the first in the 200 IM with a 2:17.24 then in the 1500 he took off over 20 seconds to go a 16:46.43 to put that senior national cut within reach. Nadine impressed once again taking off over 11 seconds from provincials to go 9:05.11 with her traditional small negative split of 4:32.82 to 4:32.29. A sub 9 minute 800 is in her near future. That swim guarrantees her a 13th place finish or better with the final to come in the morning. That caps a great weekend and next weeks age group nationals should be even better. See you all Monday.
Day 3 ... We are now fully into the meet and there is no sign of a let down. Mike and Nadine are both still excited and swimming great after 2 more big best times. Nadine took off over 3 seconds in her 400 free to earn her a 3rd long course national cut with a time of 4:29.0 and Mike took off 5 seconds in his 400 finally break the 4:20 barrier in style to go 4:15.52. One day left and it is the big one with the Olympic length distance races and Mikes 200 IM.
Day 2 ... After the Final of the 1500 this morning Nadine ended up 11th overal with one girl from Mexico in front of her Nadine was the 10th fastest Canadian at these summer nationals. Great way to bust onto the scene!
After the heats session our 100% PB performance has continued with Nadine dropping 3 seconds in her 400 IM to go 5:22.0 and Mike broke 9:00 for the first time long course even splitting his way to an 8:48.1.
Day one... was very successful for STSC going 3 for 3 best times. Mike went 2:01.22 in his 200 free and Nadine broke club records in both the 200 free where she went 2:10.71 and she jumped way under the 18:00 barrier in the 1500 for the first time long course going 17:29.71 guaranteeing her at least a 15th place finish with the top 8 to swim in the morning. You can watch the swims live on-line: go to http://www.swimming.ca/, click on events, summer nationals and video/photo. ThursdayNadine will swim the 400IM shortly after 5:00pm and Mike will swim the 800 around 7:00pm, FridayNadine will swim the 400 free around 4:20 and Mike around 5:00 Saturday Mike will swim the 200 IM around 4:40 and the 1500 around 7:50, Nadine will swim her 800 around 7:00. All finals will start at 9:00am. These are Alberta times.
Keep posted!!!
Day 3 ... We are now fully into the meet and there is no sign of a let down. Mike and Nadine are both still excited and swimming great after 2 more big best times. Nadine took off over 3 seconds in her 400 free to earn her a 3rd long course national cut with a time of 4:29.0 and Mike took off 5 seconds in his 400 finally break the 4:20 barrier in style to go 4:15.52. One day left and it is the big one with the Olympic length distance races and Mikes 200 IM.
Day 2 ... After the Final of the 1500 this morning Nadine ended up 11th overal with one girl from Mexico in front of her Nadine was the 10th fastest Canadian at these summer nationals. Great way to bust onto the scene!
After the heats session our 100% PB performance has continued with Nadine dropping 3 seconds in her 400 IM to go 5:22.0 and Mike broke 9:00 for the first time long course even splitting his way to an 8:48.1.
Day one... was very successful for STSC going 3 for 3 best times. Mike went 2:01.22 in his 200 free and Nadine broke club records in both the 200 free where she went 2:10.71 and she jumped way under the 18:00 barrier in the 1500 for the first time long course going 17:29.71 guaranteeing her at least a 15th place finish with the top 8 to swim in the morning. You can watch the swims live on-line: go to http://www.swimming.ca/, click on events, summer nationals and video/photo. ThursdayNadine will swim the 400IM shortly after 5:00pm and Mike will swim the 800 around 7:00pm, FridayNadine will swim the 400 free around 4:20 and Mike around 5:00 Saturday Mike will swim the 200 IM around 4:40 and the 1500 around 7:50, Nadine will swim her 800 around 7:00. All finals will start at 9:00am. These are Alberta times.
Keep posted!!!
Your Provincials recap is here...
Sorry for the delay, there were just so many successful stories, I didn't want to miss a thing, though I am sure I missed some any way. Please add any other highlights to the comments section. I also sent this into the newspaper so keep your eyes peeled.
Lead by 14 year old Nadine Williams and 10 year old Ryan Schamber the Silver Tide Swim Club had another very successful Age Group and Senior Championships July 3rd-6th at the
One of our youngest was by far the strongest. Ryan Schamber swam 8 events plus relays and over the weekend was best times in all of his individual events. He walked away breaking nine 9-10 year old club records and 8 gold medals around his neck. He was truly a dominant force and was by far the top 10 and under male swimmer at the meet. In his last meet as a 10 year old Ryan did everything he could to make it a memorable one.
Many other swimmers really stepped up on the provincial stage and put together a fantastic weekend. With the meet finishing 2 days before her 15th birthday, Nadine put together some great swims. She swam 8 events and made finals (top 10) in all 8 events. She won gold in the 400, 800 and 1500 meter freestyle races in dominating fashion; she is now the fastest Silver Tide swimmer ever in those events. She also collected a pair of bronze medals and narrowly missing another with a 4th place finish. Here she showed once again that she is the top up and coming distance freestyler in the province. She will be in action again later this summer at Senior Nationals in
Greg Kozell, 15, and Josie Poliquin, 10, were 2 other swimmers finishing with 100% best times while making a number of second swims throughout the weekend. Josie was also a leader on the 10 and under girls relay teams. Rebecca Schamber and Halle Elford also stepped up with some great swims on the 10 and under girls side. With one more full year in the age group both girls had a ton of best times and Rebecca finished in the top 10 in 7 of her 8 races making her one of the top 9 year olds in the meet. This was there first year at Age Group Championships. Other new qualifiers this year were Josie P, Matt Whiteside, Brooklyn Janzen, Delaney Weibe and Liam Strocher who made a number of second swims in his first championships.
Brendan Elford and Connor Rawson put wonderful caps on a pair of fantastic seasons but left still wanting a little bit more. After being couple of the top 12 and under swimmers for much of the year the boys both turned 13 and had to compete against the top 13-14 year olds in the province and did very well both making a number of second swims. These 2 swimmers did nothing but improve leaps and bounds at every chance they had all season narrowly missing their qualifying standards to attend Age Group Nationals later this month. It was a great job and they have nothing to be disappointed about. Sydney Harnack also finished off a great season with 7 best times and she saved her best for the last day of the competition where she had 3 best times including a bronze medal finish in the 200 breast. One of our other breast strokers also had a strong meet Sarah earned 2 bronze medals and will be back in action at Age Group Nationals. Karlyn Elford was back on her game after a couple days of rest leading into the meet she really blossomed with 7 out of 8 best times and making second swims 7 of her 8 races. She earned herself 3 new age group national time standards while inching closer and closer to that senior national cut and 3 top 5 finishes including a silver medal in the 400 IM where she became the fastest girl to ever swim the event as a member of Silver Tide. Rachelle Winsor earned us another medal with a bronze in the 50 fly missing the win by only 14 one hundredths of a second.
This was the end of a fantastic season for many of the Silver Tide swimmers and it was truly a memorable one. In an Olympic swimming year where 29 World records have already been broken (and the Olympics don’t start till August 8th) we had plenty of successes of our own and lots to be proud of. Like anything else there were lessons learned and many successes by all. We will have 2 swimmers continuing on to represent the club at Senior Nationals in
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
News from out of the pool
News of success from a Silver Tide athletes success away from the pool in part from his work in the pool:
http://www.sherwoodparknews.com/Sports/408993.html
http://www.sherwoodparknews.com/Sports/408993.html
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Freeze or Fry Pics
For All who attended Freeze or Fry, pictures from the meet taken by a photographer at the meet can be viewed at www.terriellephotography.ca.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Fastest meet ever?
The US Olympic swimming trials are fast approaching and will be on TV nightly starting Sunday June 29-July 6th. Be sure to set your TV's to record as dreams will be made and broken over the week long meet. It will serve as great motivation as we head into our provincials and National level meets.
Friday, June 20, 2008
meet entries
Hello all,
Meet entries for Summber Games Trials and Age Group/Senior Champs have been posted on the entries blog site.
Be sure to check them out.
Meet entries for Summber Games Trials and Age Group/Senior Champs have been posted on the entries blog site.
Be sure to check them out.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Cascade
There were tons of great swims at the Cascade meet in Calgary June 6-8. Every swimmer in attendance made second swims which is exactly what we want to see at this time of the year. It was a great warm-up as we head into our Chamionship season.
We had Brendan and Connor inching closer and closer to their Age Group National qualifying standards, they each have 2 more opportunities to qualify. Swimmers swam upto 18 individual events plus relays, the days were very long but it was very important for swimmers to learn to deal with these types of situations as we head into provincials which will be a 4 day meet and with Senior and Age Group Nationals being just as long or longer.
We had Brendan and Connor inching closer and closer to their Age Group National qualifying standards, they each have 2 more opportunities to qualify. Swimmers swam upto 18 individual events plus relays, the days were very long but it was very important for swimmers to learn to deal with these types of situations as we head into provincials which will be a 4 day meet and with Senior and Age Group Nationals being just as long or longer.
Age Group Trials
Congratulations to Matt Whiteside for qualifying for Age Group Champs this past weekend in Medicine Hat by winning the 200 Breast. And to all of the other Silver Tide swimmers great meet. Lots of 2nd swims and best times you should all be very proud of your achievements.
Keep posted for full meet recaps from Ryan and Kellie.
Keep posted for full meet recaps from Ryan and Kellie.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Silver Cup recap
What a great competition and team bonding experience for the entire team at Silver Cup. It was great to see all of the swimmers hanging out together and supporting each other throughout the meet. We do not get many opportunities to come together as a full team and it was great to see so many come and take part in this meet. Along with this great event came fantastic results.
We walked away with 5 of the 12 aggregate awards with Ryan Schamber winning the 9-10 year old boys, Connor Rawson winning the 11-12 year old boys, Jolene Janzen taking the 15-16 year old girls, Nathan Weatherby taking the 15-16 year old boys and Mike Clark walking away with the Senior boys award. Along with these awards Rebecca broke 2 more club records in the 50 free and 400 IM and Ryan broke the 400 IM club record.
For many of the younger swimmers this was their first meet in quite some time and for the more seasoned swimmers this was a great chance to swim some different events along with some of their better events. With the limited meet list this year it was great to have our swimmers swim their off events as we would really like to see swimmers swim as many different events as possible.
With almost 50 Silver Tide swimmers in the meet there were a ton of great results going on throughout the weekend. Some of the highlights were the following 100% PB results from:
We walked away with 5 of the 12 aggregate awards with Ryan Schamber winning the 9-10 year old boys, Connor Rawson winning the 11-12 year old boys, Jolene Janzen taking the 15-16 year old girls, Nathan Weatherby taking the 15-16 year old boys and Mike Clark walking away with the Senior boys award. Along with these awards Rebecca broke 2 more club records in the 50 free and 400 IM and Ryan broke the 400 IM club record.
For many of the younger swimmers this was their first meet in quite some time and for the more seasoned swimmers this was a great chance to swim some different events along with some of their better events. With the limited meet list this year it was great to have our swimmers swim their off events as we would really like to see swimmers swim as many different events as possible.
With almost 50 Silver Tide swimmers in the meet there were a ton of great results going on throughout the weekend. Some of the highlights were the following 100% PB results from:
- Olivia
- Omar
- Brooklyn
- Greg
- Langley
- Lauren
- Matt Whiteside along the way he also qualified for Age Group Trials
- Megan Wirachowsky
- Annalea
- Kiersten
Honorable mention goes to Brayden who missed 100%PB's by adding 2 one hundreths of a second in his 100 freestyle. Other swimmers who missed only 1 PB were: Alyssa, Halle, Sarah N, Josie, Sierra, Melissa and Haley.
Great Job to these and all Silver Tide swimmers who came and competed this weekend. It was a huge success for all the swimmers and a team as a whole. Be sure to check out your results on your results blog site.
For some this was your last competition of the season and to you I say CONGRATULATIONS on a fantastic year and here's to more success in the future. For the rest of us, lets keep up the great work as we head in to our provincial and National level competitions to finish off the swim season.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Swimming opportunities
There is another city of Edmonton workout opportunity for all swimmers in Northern Alberta being put on by Jan Bidrman Tuesday June 17.
This workout will be made available to the same swimmers that had the opportunity to do it last time. Same schedule 4:00-6:30 in the water from 4:30-6:30. Please let me know if you will be unable to attend. It was a great experience last time and our swimmers really impressed so lets go and do it again. You must be prepared to attend and complete the entire workout so please organize rides so that you can be there on time.
On a more disappointing note, it looks as though we will not be attending Far Westerns this year due to the lack of interest from the Senior group. After seeing how many swimmers supported Mel Zajac last season I was surprised to see such limited response at what would be a better meet (for the level of swimmers) at a better time in the season and a new location. I know that it is later in the year than what everyone is used to swimming but swimming is becoming much more year round and since we cannot get fully started until October you will all still receive a long well deserved break when finishing in early August. Next year we will not be able to offer this opportunity as Age group nationals are in Montreal but we will be offering a travel training camp for the senior group. We will be doing this whether it is for 3 swimmers or 23 swimmers. The next time Age group nationals are in the west we will try to make the trip to Far Westerns once again.
I know that swimming (especially high level swimming) is an expensive sport. I will do my best to get you all of the events with approximate costs as early as possible but it will be up to all the swimmers and families to do their best to find a way to take advantage of these wonderful opportunities. As it is these types of great experiences that swimmers will remember for the rest of their lives.
This workout will be made available to the same swimmers that had the opportunity to do it last time. Same schedule 4:00-6:30 in the water from 4:30-6:30. Please let me know if you will be unable to attend. It was a great experience last time and our swimmers really impressed so lets go and do it again. You must be prepared to attend and complete the entire workout so please organize rides so that you can be there on time.
On a more disappointing note, it looks as though we will not be attending Far Westerns this year due to the lack of interest from the Senior group. After seeing how many swimmers supported Mel Zajac last season I was surprised to see such limited response at what would be a better meet (for the level of swimmers) at a better time in the season and a new location. I know that it is later in the year than what everyone is used to swimming but swimming is becoming much more year round and since we cannot get fully started until October you will all still receive a long well deserved break when finishing in early August. Next year we will not be able to offer this opportunity as Age group nationals are in Montreal but we will be offering a travel training camp for the senior group. We will be doing this whether it is for 3 swimmers or 23 swimmers. The next time Age group nationals are in the west we will try to make the trip to Far Westerns once again.
I know that swimming (especially high level swimming) is an expensive sport. I will do my best to get you all of the events with approximate costs as early as possible but it will be up to all the swimmers and families to do their best to find a way to take advantage of these wonderful opportunities. As it is these types of great experiences that swimmers will remember for the rest of their lives.
Success is in YOUR hands
Alas, summer is upon us. The birds are singing, the sun is shining and our other friends and the beautiful outdoors is calling our names pulling us in all different directions. This change of weather is a very powerful thing and it can really help or really hamper your performance as we head into our championship season.
This great weather will put a smile on your face and make you happy and excited but you have to use this excitement and apply it to everything. Apply it to your school, apply it to your swimming and apply it to your other extra curriculars don't let it take away from any aspect of your life, let it enrich you life. If you skip out of some areas that is your choice but remember what is important to you and what you have been working for all year. It would be a shame to throw away the last 9 months of work (in school and the pool) just before you are ready to reap it's full rewards.
As coaches there is nothing that we can do to MAKE you swim fast, like I said, success is in your hands. We have a large box of tools that when used as instructed can help you be successful. This is what we have to offer, but you have to take advange of it and follow the instructions. To do this you have to:
#1 show up
#2 believe that the tools being offered will help
#3 read the instructions (what's on the board) and figure out how to use the tools
#4 use the tools (do the sets) as instructed
By doing this to the best of your ability you will build your masterpiece and achieve everything that you have worked so hard for.
So the choice is yours, make your bed well because in the end you have to lie in it.
This great weather will put a smile on your face and make you happy and excited but you have to use this excitement and apply it to everything. Apply it to your school, apply it to your swimming and apply it to your other extra curriculars don't let it take away from any aspect of your life, let it enrich you life. If you skip out of some areas that is your choice but remember what is important to you and what you have been working for all year. It would be a shame to throw away the last 9 months of work (in school and the pool) just before you are ready to reap it's full rewards.
As coaches there is nothing that we can do to MAKE you swim fast, like I said, success is in your hands. We have a large box of tools that when used as instructed can help you be successful. This is what we have to offer, but you have to take advange of it and follow the instructions. To do this you have to:
#1 show up
#2 believe that the tools being offered will help
#3 read the instructions (what's on the board) and figure out how to use the tools
#4 use the tools (do the sets) as instructed
By doing this to the best of your ability you will build your masterpiece and achieve everything that you have worked so hard for.
So the choice is yours, make your bed well because in the end you have to lie in it.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Swim-a-thon
Swimmers turned a new leaf on swim-a-thon this year and it was really embraced with the group swimming almost 230KM for the 37 swimmer sheets that were handed in (for the couple of you who did not hand them in if you could send me the numbers that would be great). Pretty darn amazing, that is an average of over 6KM per swimmer. It is this ability to embrace new challenges that will really bring you all to a new level. It was great to watch! With a few swimmers still in need to complete the event that number will continue to climb.
Top performers from each group were:
Jenny G with 8700m
Kevin and Brendan with 8200m
Matt W with 5900m
Brooklyn with 5700m (closely followed by Halle and Olivia only 50m behind)
Jaeden with 3300m and Nicole M with 2950m
What a great performance, you almost swam all the way to Calgary and it was great to see how technically sound you were all swimming from beginning to end. Great job also goes out to all the coaches for having your swimmers prepared to do this great event.
Top performers from each group were:
Jenny G with 8700m
Kevin and Brendan with 8200m
Matt W with 5900m
Brooklyn with 5700m (closely followed by Halle and Olivia only 50m behind)
Jaeden with 3300m and Nicole M with 2950m
What a great performance, you almost swam all the way to Calgary and it was great to see how technically sound you were all swimming from beginning to end. Great job also goes out to all the coaches for having your swimmers prepared to do this great event.
Monday, May 5, 2008
EKI
We went back to back the last 2 weekends with a mentally and physically challenging double double to a fast action packed heats and finals EKI where a number of EKI records were broken along with a number of Silver Tide records too.
Leading into EKI we had some of our fastest workouts of the season with a number of best times being set during our week of training which had everyones spirits high as we headed into the meet. For some it was a bit of a streaky meet which is normal for in season meets where as others really excelled all weekend long. We could see that this meet will once again grow into one of the premier in season meets hosted in this country. This meet has a history of top Olympic athletes attend and I am sure that we will see some of the athletes who attended this meet go on to reach their own Olympic dreams.
We started off with some great distance swims where Ryan Schamber stole the show with a 20:29 to finish 4th which was one of the most amazing swims I have ever seen a 10 year old do, with 3 other STSC swimmers in the heat all leaving with best times it was a great show. Nadine and Karlyn also through down best times in the 800 with Nadine going head to head with National record holder Alexandra Gabor for the first 400 before she started to pull away. The weekend continued with great successes especially in team relays...
The 12 and under boys won all but 1 of the relays over the weekend with club records being set in the 400 FR and MR, 800 FR. The 15-17 year old girls also set a couple club records in the 400FR and MR, 800 FR. We are really putting an emphasis on fast relays this year because it really shows some depth and will go a long way in our growth to become a large team with a presence over the next couple of seasons. Swimmers of all levels are really stepping up when given the chance on relays. They have been really fun and fast all year. Swimmers seem to take even more pride and enjoyement from great relay performances than they do from individual performances.
From the Senior group we took some big steps forward this weekend with Karlyn really lighting it up in Butterfly with a 106 going head to head with Lori Kremer. Everyone walked away with some great best times and fantastic races. It was a bit of a streaky weekend which is normal but many swimmers are starting long course season ahead of where they finished long course last year which is a great way to start the season off. Keep up the great work everyone. You all have lofty goals this season and you are well on your way.
Leading into EKI we had some of our fastest workouts of the season with a number of best times being set during our week of training which had everyones spirits high as we headed into the meet. For some it was a bit of a streaky meet which is normal for in season meets where as others really excelled all weekend long. We could see that this meet will once again grow into one of the premier in season meets hosted in this country. This meet has a history of top Olympic athletes attend and I am sure that we will see some of the athletes who attended this meet go on to reach their own Olympic dreams.
We started off with some great distance swims where Ryan Schamber stole the show with a 20:29 to finish 4th which was one of the most amazing swims I have ever seen a 10 year old do, with 3 other STSC swimmers in the heat all leaving with best times it was a great show. Nadine and Karlyn also through down best times in the 800 with Nadine going head to head with National record holder Alexandra Gabor for the first 400 before she started to pull away. The weekend continued with great successes especially in team relays...
The 12 and under boys won all but 1 of the relays over the weekend with club records being set in the 400 FR and MR, 800 FR. The 15-17 year old girls also set a couple club records in the 400FR and MR, 800 FR. We are really putting an emphasis on fast relays this year because it really shows some depth and will go a long way in our growth to become a large team with a presence over the next couple of seasons. Swimmers of all levels are really stepping up when given the chance on relays. They have been really fun and fast all year. Swimmers seem to take even more pride and enjoyement from great relay performances than they do from individual performances.
From the Senior group we took some big steps forward this weekend with Karlyn really lighting it up in Butterfly with a 106 going head to head with Lori Kremer. Everyone walked away with some great best times and fantastic races. It was a bit of a streaky weekend which is normal but many swimmers are starting long course season ahead of where they finished long course last year which is a great way to start the season off. Keep up the great work everyone. You all have lofty goals this season and you are well on your way.
Double Double wrap up
This weekend was a great team building experience where swimmers got to know each other better, cheered fantastically and really noticed what kind of abilities each other have.
At double double we had 45 swimmers entered and we broke out team into 3 different groups to have the swimmers work on different skills to earn points for their team. Teams were scored on punctuality along with team support and unity. Swimmers were scored not just on how fast they swam but how strong their skills were like splitting, aggression, streamlines, breathing pattern etc. All are things that the coaches expect and see on a regular basis but we wanted to bring them to the forefront so that the swimmers understood how important these skills actually are and we saw some very good results along the way.
In the end the Yellow team took the win with the other 2 teams almost dead even fighting it out for 2nd. The Yellow team was supposed to win a doughnut each but with the limited number of swimmers back for the final session there were doughnuts for all.
The meet was highlighted by a number of first timers doing 200 fly which was a lot of fun to watch. It was great to see how well the swimmers supported their teammates. We saw some great skills and fantastic racing all weekend long, it is fun to take a step back from final times and placings and just race to the top of your ability with great skills and let the rest take care of itself. Racing is a huge skill that we can all learn a lot from and it was great to see everyone doing a great job.
At double double we had 45 swimmers entered and we broke out team into 3 different groups to have the swimmers work on different skills to earn points for their team. Teams were scored on punctuality along with team support and unity. Swimmers were scored not just on how fast they swam but how strong their skills were like splitting, aggression, streamlines, breathing pattern etc. All are things that the coaches expect and see on a regular basis but we wanted to bring them to the forefront so that the swimmers understood how important these skills actually are and we saw some very good results along the way.
In the end the Yellow team took the win with the other 2 teams almost dead even fighting it out for 2nd. The Yellow team was supposed to win a doughnut each but with the limited number of swimmers back for the final session there were doughnuts for all.
The meet was highlighted by a number of first timers doing 200 fly which was a lot of fun to watch. It was great to see how well the swimmers supported their teammates. We saw some great skills and fantastic racing all weekend long, it is fun to take a step back from final times and placings and just race to the top of your ability with great skills and let the rest take care of itself. Racing is a huge skill that we can all learn a lot from and it was great to see everyone doing a great job.
And I thought we might slow down a bit...
Well we are barely 1 month into our long course season and we have not only continued but maybe increased our record breaking ways. For some age groups it may be a bit harder to go out and break records in season but for our 12 and unders PB's seem to come every time they hit the water and Rebecca and Ryan Schamber have been on a record breaking spree so far this long course season. To date we have already broken 30 club records. Be sure to check them out. In those 31 there were a ton of relay records broken at EKI this past weekend which is a real sign that we are making the move from a small team to a large team very effectively with all of our swimmers stepping up big time when given the opportunity.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Efficiency
At both events camps over the weekend efficiency was the main theme. This is the time of the season where fine tuning is the focus. The ability to do this with short rest and strong efforts is what will hard wire those techniques into the swimmers mind. This is very easy for a swimmer to control and monitor with stroke counts and times. Once they start to monitor this it is also up to the swimmers to ask the coaches how they can improve upon different things. It is easy to notice if you are swimming faster and more efficiently in your workout as you monitor this. By monitoring those things you begin to own your own swimming and it is this skill that will allow you to reach your dreams.
Swim AB events camps
After a run of illnesses we had 6 swimmers represent us at Swim Alberta events this past weekend and they all represented very well. There was lots of learning to be done over the weekend and Nadine, Karlyn, Brayden, Jolene, Sarah and Sydney are all very lucky to have been able to attend the camps. It was a great experience for both the coaches and swimmers that were involved in the camp. In Lethbridge at the AB vs BC dual meet and camp the swimmers were stressed in many different ways and then expected to perform their best during the dual meet. There were some great presentations throughout the weekend and I hope to receive some of the information and pass it on to the rest of the club. At the meet the AB Girls narrowly beat the BC Girls in what was a very competitive battle but the AB boys were a little outclassed over the weekend. The coaches were all very happy with how the swimmers performed. They made great strides over the weekend to continue to progress to new levels. And we all left happy with where we are at as a province but we also realize how much better we can be. There is a lot of talent in Alberta and our swimmers are some of the best. How far they will go in this sport is completely up to them.
Up in Grande Prairie there was a similar message and the swimmers seem very excited to come back and use their new skills. Our swimmers made other coaches take notice, all were very coachable and eager to learn. It was a great setting for the swimmers to work and learn. It should be a very exciting long course season.
Up in Grande Prairie there was a similar message and the swimmers seem very excited to come back and use their new skills. Our swimmers made other coaches take notice, all were very coachable and eager to learn. It was a great setting for the swimmers to work and learn. It should be a very exciting long course season.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
We hit a milestone!
Congratulations Silver Tide Swim Club you have now broken 60 club records for short course season after Rebecca broke the 50 free club record at Novice series on the weekend. Great job.
Now the fun of Long Course record breaking begins: After Olympic trials we have already broken a few. You have set high standards, but with less long course meets lets see how close we can get!
Now the fun of Long Course record breaking begins: After Olympic trials we have already broken a few. You have set high standards, but with less long course meets lets see how close we can get!
Monday, April 14, 2008
lucky bunch
After my first spin class I am so jealous of all of you. It hurt so much and it felt soooo good. You are one lucky bunch to be able to workout like that in the water and with dryland on a daily basis. It just makes you feel good! Keep it up and continue to push yourselves to new heights. Follow the path of hard work and you will get to your desired destination.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Seeing success through a meet
There are different challenges at different meets to swim well from start to finish. To get through any meet of any length, you need to be in great shape! But what you do at the meet varies greatly depending on the meet. In a 3 day meet where you might swim 7 events, relays and finals in every event it is all about RECOVERY, RECOVERY, REFUELING AND RECOVERY! You have to do everything you can to help the body rest and get ready for its next events. This all starts with being in great shape both physically and mentally. In a 6 day meet where you might swim 4 or 5 events and not make a second swim you have to swim and train through the meet. If all you did was race 1 event and warm down each day you would actually fall out of shape by the end of the meet especially if you are fully rested and ready to swim fast from Day 1. Don't change what your body is used to. If it is normal for it to do a certain amount of work or meters each day don't let yourself drop below that at meet. Keep yourself in shape ready to perform each day. If that means doing a little workout after your heats or during finals if you don't make second swims do that!
Always give yourself every opportunity to succeed. Know your own body and give it what it needs every day.
Always give yourself every opportunity to succeed. Know your own body and give it what it needs every day.
Morning wake up call!
We are coming up to the halfway point of the meet and it is just information overload! Lots has happened over the first 2.5 days of the meet and we have learnt a ton from our own experiences and those of others. We have watched stars miss the final because they were not prepared in the morning to swim to their potential and the % of PB's being set in the morning is really low, showing the importance of a great warm-up and being ready to swim FAST in the morning. It is a different feeling and thought process for some when they are only warming up for 1 event. Some think that they can shorten up their warm-ups and change it to more of a 'finals' warm up. This simply isn't the case. At night the body is awake and has already done a ton of work so it may not need as much prep but in the morning when getting ready to swim fast you need a full proper warm up whether you are getting ready for a 50 free or 200 fly, 200 IM and 100 free. You need to get the body ready to go essentially the same way. DON'T CHANGE WHAT WORKS! The girls also found out today how important it is to do a fair bit of pace and speed work within their warm up as they swam strong swims but looked even better in the warm down tank after their races finished warming them up. These are great learning experiences and the sooner you can learn them the better.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Age Group Champs report
We took big step towards winning back the small team championship banner this season; after a top 5 finish at Age Group Champs we have a 500+ point lead over the next closest small team. This is Silver Tides highest finish since Alberta separated provincials into 14 and under and 15 and over as well as their second highest finish ever. Along with the 5th place finish we also had 8 swimmers qualify for 2 different Swim Alberta tour teams. Our 11-12 year old boys of Kevin Labonte, James Janzen, Brendan Elford and Connor Rawson qualified and represented Silver Tide at the North South dual meet/camp very well Easter weekend at NAIT. Coach Kellie was also nominated as one of the Boys coaches. Connor was recognized by the staff for his outstanding performance at the meet and Kevin was awarded for his wonderful team spirit. We also had Karlyn (IM), Erin (Fly), Nadine (Mid Free), Brayden (Distance Free) qualify for the Alberta vs BC dual meet in Lethbridge April 18-20. We are still waiting to hear about the coaching selection for this meet but it looks as though I should be selected for that meet as well. We have the 2nd most swimmers attending the Alberta/BC Dual meet with 4.
As a club we scortched the record book once again with 13 more club records bringing our seasonal total up to 59 club records!! WOW!!!! Congratulations to all Silver Tide swimmers who have taken part in this record breaking spree this season. Keep it up.
We had 100% best times from Jasmin who attended her first Age Group Champs and had 2 scoring swims, Sarah L, Josie who scored in all of her events and Rebecca and Ryan who both rewrote the record book in the process with Ryan coming home his weight in medals. We also had Connor, Brendan, James and Brayden with all but one best time. There were tons of huge best times, too many to catch them all but Brayden stuck out with a fantastic performance making a few second swims and showing that he can qualify for age group nationals in EVERY freestyle distance by the end of the year. Connor, Brendan and Kevin also showed that age group nationals is just around the corner for them. And the 13-14 year old girls made other around the province take notice 2 or more girls in many of the A final events including 1-2 finishes from Erin and Karlyn in 100 and 200 fly while inching closer and closer to their first senior national cuts. With only 1 swimmer aging themselves out of the meet for long course season we should be ready for another fantastic season.
As a club we scortched the record book once again with 13 more club records bringing our seasonal total up to 59 club records!! WOW!!!! Congratulations to all Silver Tide swimmers who have taken part in this record breaking spree this season. Keep it up.
We had 100% best times from Jasmin who attended her first Age Group Champs and had 2 scoring swims, Sarah L, Josie who scored in all of her events and Rebecca and Ryan who both rewrote the record book in the process with Ryan coming home his weight in medals. We also had Connor, Brendan, James and Brayden with all but one best time. There were tons of huge best times, too many to catch them all but Brayden stuck out with a fantastic performance making a few second swims and showing that he can qualify for age group nationals in EVERY freestyle distance by the end of the year. Connor, Brendan and Kevin also showed that age group nationals is just around the corner for them. And the 13-14 year old girls made other around the province take notice 2 or more girls in many of the A final events including 1-2 finishes from Erin and Karlyn in 100 and 200 fly while inching closer and closer to their first senior national cuts. With only 1 swimmer aging themselves out of the meet for long course season we should be ready for another fantastic season.
At last... it is your Senior Champs recap
With swimmers being entered with their short course converted times this was a tough meet to judge as their first long course meet of the season but once you analyze it compared to last years best you see how great a meet it actually was for the swimmers. It was highlighted with a couple of very impressive Freestyle sprints by Julie who achieved her CIAU qualifying time in 50 free thus securing her a spot on the U of A swim team. This also showed that she is definitely ready to make the jump to senior nationals this summer in Winnipeg. All but one of the swimmers walked away from the meet with some good best times including 100% long course bests from: Delaney, Linnea, Greg, Kam and Max with Meagan missing only one PB.
That first long course meet is always a big challenge and these swimmers, though a little unknowling, stepped up really well with some fantastic swims. Health was a bit of an issue during the meet but all in all the swimmers did a really good job. It is a good sign as we head into our long course season full force in April. The relays were a lot of fun and it was great to see a group of 16 swimmers who attended the meet you can really see that the club is going in the right direction with only 2 graduating swimmers this season we will be that much bigger and better next year.
That first long course meet is always a big challenge and these swimmers, though a little unknowling, stepped up really well with some fantastic swims. Health was a bit of an issue during the meet but all in all the swimmers did a really good job. It is a good sign as we head into our long course season full force in April. The relays were a lot of fun and it was great to see a group of 16 swimmers who attended the meet you can really see that the club is going in the right direction with only 2 graduating swimmers this season we will be that much bigger and better next year.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
2 New Age Group Champs qualifiers
Congratulations to Brooklyn and Jasmin who both won an event at Age Group Trials this weekend qualifying them for Age Group Champs. Great job girls!!!
There were a number of other fantastic swims, be sure to check out Ryan and Kellie's blogs for full meet recaps.
There were a number of other fantastic swims, be sure to check out Ryan and Kellie's blogs for full meet recaps.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Westerns recap
Wednesday Feb 13th
We arrived in Victoria with high spirits and expectations around 8:30am. We checked into the hotel and headed off for a walk along the ocean for some added inspiration. It was a beautiful day and a great way to start the trip. Later that afternoon we went to the pool for our final preparations. The swimmers look great and energetic. I am very excited to see what comes of the weekend.
Thursday Feb 14th, Day 1
We all had a bit of a sleep in today with warm-ups not starting till noon. With it only being the stroke 50’s and the off distance events not everyone swam but all who did were very successful. We had Sydney kick us off with a great 50 breast taking off more than 1 second. That was followed by Rachelle also taking off a full second and qualifying for the B final of the 50 fly. It is our first of many scoring swims at the meet. Next up, came Julie with a blistering 50 back. Karlyn and Nadine followed up with very strong 1500’s. Karlyn set a great pace out in a best time to the 800 by 10 seconds. Nadine also started strong breaking her club record by 4 seconds to finish 8th overall.
Friday Feb 15th, Day 2
It is the first full day of the meet and we are looking for some big swims to step up into finals. It started with the 50 free where Julie officially breaks the 28 second barrier for the first time. Rachelle followed up with a PB of her own narrowly missing her Olympic Trials cut. This time of 27.10 got her into a swim off later that morning where she was narrowly out touched but snuck under the 27 second barrier to qualify for Olympic Trials and break the club record. Karlyn looked very good in her 200 IM with a good best time and another club record which has her very excited for her 400 IM Sunday. And Nadine qualified for the C final in the 400 free with a club record swim in the morning.
Later that night in Finals Nadine swam a very aggressive race and had a great last 50 in her 400 free to get Silver Tide their second Olympic trials qualifier in a time of 4:23.81 to come second in the C final and Rachelle came back with a great 50 fly in a time of 29.30 good for 14th place. To finish off the night the 400 Free Relay team of Rachelle, Julie, Karlyn and Nadine broke the club record in a time of 4:01.33.
Saturday Feb 16th, Day 3
This should be our hardest day to meet our goal of at least 1 scoring swim each day. That being said we had a couple of surprising results in the morning. This was started off by Erin’s 200 fly in a club record time of 2:26.35 snuck her into the C final which was a big lift and a club record. This was followed by Sarah’s 200 breast in a time of 2:42.00 which also secured her a spot in the C final. Sydney narrowly missed a spot too taking off 2 full seconds in the same race. Other highlights that morning came in the 200 back where Karlyn took off over 7 seconds and Sarah took off almost 4 seconds.
In finals both Sarah and Erin showed very few jitters and swam some great races at night. We also had the girls 800 Free Relay team of Karlyn, Rachelle, Nadine and Sydney break the 15-17 and senior club record by almost 20 seconds in a time of 8:38.56.
Sunday Feb 17th, Day 4
This morning we started off a little sluggish but finished off very strong. Kyle started us off with his first 200 free best time in over 2 years. Next came Sarah and Sydney in the 100 breast, both achieved best times and both missed making the final by less than 1 second. We were a little scared with no one qualified for finals yet but then came the 400 IM one of our signature events where we saw Sarah, Sydney, Erin and Karlyn achieve best times with Karlyn qualifying for the C final in a club record time of 5:08.39. The morning continued with Rachelle narrowly missing the final in her 100 fly with a big best time by almost 3 seconds. Then Nadine stepped up in the 800 free with her second Olympic Trials qualifying time, top 10 finish, and club record with a time of 9:05.16.
In Finals, Karlyn dropped another 1.5 seconds for a 5:06.88 putting her well within range of making her Olympic Trials cut in the event and then we finished off with a fantastic relay record in the 400 Medley Relay where the team of Julie, Sarah, Erin and Rachelle swam a great race in 4:27.48 where each of the 4 swimmers were more than 1 second under their best time. It was a great way to finish off a fantastic meet.
In other Silver Tide news; Mike Clarke, who was representing Simon Fraser University on a scholarship, also had a great meet qualifying for Senior Nationals in the 800 free and breaking club records in the 400, 800 and 1500 free races. He will be back to represent his home club after the school year.
All in all we broke 12 individual club records plus Mikes 3 club records and 3 relay records. Overall it was a wonderful representation of Silver Tide on the National swim scene finishing 30th overall with the girls finishing 24th overall.
We arrived in Victoria with high spirits and expectations around 8:30am. We checked into the hotel and headed off for a walk along the ocean for some added inspiration. It was a beautiful day and a great way to start the trip. Later that afternoon we went to the pool for our final preparations. The swimmers look great and energetic. I am very excited to see what comes of the weekend.
Thursday Feb 14th, Day 1
We all had a bit of a sleep in today with warm-ups not starting till noon. With it only being the stroke 50’s and the off distance events not everyone swam but all who did were very successful. We had Sydney kick us off with a great 50 breast taking off more than 1 second. That was followed by Rachelle also taking off a full second and qualifying for the B final of the 50 fly. It is our first of many scoring swims at the meet. Next up, came Julie with a blistering 50 back. Karlyn and Nadine followed up with very strong 1500’s. Karlyn set a great pace out in a best time to the 800 by 10 seconds. Nadine also started strong breaking her club record by 4 seconds to finish 8th overall.
Friday Feb 15th, Day 2
It is the first full day of the meet and we are looking for some big swims to step up into finals. It started with the 50 free where Julie officially breaks the 28 second barrier for the first time. Rachelle followed up with a PB of her own narrowly missing her Olympic Trials cut. This time of 27.10 got her into a swim off later that morning where she was narrowly out touched but snuck under the 27 second barrier to qualify for Olympic Trials and break the club record. Karlyn looked very good in her 200 IM with a good best time and another club record which has her very excited for her 400 IM Sunday. And Nadine qualified for the C final in the 400 free with a club record swim in the morning.
Later that night in Finals Nadine swam a very aggressive race and had a great last 50 in her 400 free to get Silver Tide their second Olympic trials qualifier in a time of 4:23.81 to come second in the C final and Rachelle came back with a great 50 fly in a time of 29.30 good for 14th place. To finish off the night the 400 Free Relay team of Rachelle, Julie, Karlyn and Nadine broke the club record in a time of 4:01.33.
Saturday Feb 16th, Day 3
This should be our hardest day to meet our goal of at least 1 scoring swim each day. That being said we had a couple of surprising results in the morning. This was started off by Erin’s 200 fly in a club record time of 2:26.35 snuck her into the C final which was a big lift and a club record. This was followed by Sarah’s 200 breast in a time of 2:42.00 which also secured her a spot in the C final. Sydney narrowly missed a spot too taking off 2 full seconds in the same race. Other highlights that morning came in the 200 back where Karlyn took off over 7 seconds and Sarah took off almost 4 seconds.
In finals both Sarah and Erin showed very few jitters and swam some great races at night. We also had the girls 800 Free Relay team of Karlyn, Rachelle, Nadine and Sydney break the 15-17 and senior club record by almost 20 seconds in a time of 8:38.56.
Sunday Feb 17th, Day 4
This morning we started off a little sluggish but finished off very strong. Kyle started us off with his first 200 free best time in over 2 years. Next came Sarah and Sydney in the 100 breast, both achieved best times and both missed making the final by less than 1 second. We were a little scared with no one qualified for finals yet but then came the 400 IM one of our signature events where we saw Sarah, Sydney, Erin and Karlyn achieve best times with Karlyn qualifying for the C final in a club record time of 5:08.39. The morning continued with Rachelle narrowly missing the final in her 100 fly with a big best time by almost 3 seconds. Then Nadine stepped up in the 800 free with her second Olympic Trials qualifying time, top 10 finish, and club record with a time of 9:05.16.
In Finals, Karlyn dropped another 1.5 seconds for a 5:06.88 putting her well within range of making her Olympic Trials cut in the event and then we finished off with a fantastic relay record in the 400 Medley Relay where the team of Julie, Sarah, Erin and Rachelle swam a great race in 4:27.48 where each of the 4 swimmers were more than 1 second under their best time. It was a great way to finish off a fantastic meet.
In other Silver Tide news; Mike Clarke, who was representing Simon Fraser University on a scholarship, also had a great meet qualifying for Senior Nationals in the 800 free and breaking club records in the 400, 800 and 1500 free races. He will be back to represent his home club after the school year.
All in all we broke 12 individual club records plus Mikes 3 club records and 3 relay records. Overall it was a wonderful representation of Silver Tide on the National swim scene finishing 30th overall with the girls finishing 24th overall.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Jumping Gee Willakers!
We had another typical Silver Tide weekend. Congratulations go out to Brooklyn who achieved her QT this weekend at 10 and under series which now gives us a 10 and under relay team at Age Group Trials and the more swimmers we have there the better chance we have at qualifying more 10 year olds for Age Group Champs. Also up in Grande Prairie we had 3 club records broken by the Schamber family, Rebecca broke the 50 and 200 free 8 and under club records and Ryan broke the 400 IM club record for 9-10 year old boys in his first attempt of the event. Robyn also swam her first 400 IM in a time that would have won Age Group Trials last year, Age Group Champs here we come...
Stay tuned to Kellie's blog for a complete GP wrap up and to Ryan and Chelby's for more details on 10 and under series.
Keep up the great work everyone!!!
Stay tuned to Kellie's blog for a complete GP wrap up and to Ryan and Chelby's for more details on 10 and under series.
Keep up the great work everyone!!!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Welcome!
Well our quest to become provincial small team champs once again may soon be over as we continue to grow at a rampant rate at all levels.
We are expecting a number of swimmers to move up from our pre competitive program and I would like to welcome all that come to give it a shot. If you see any of them please make them feel at home. We have already had 2 swimmers make the move after our first session. We have had a couple of new swimmers join us in the Fitness Development program which is great, Andrew is new to swimming and Roxanne comes to us from another team. And just recently James Janzen has joined the Senior Development group and his sister Jolene has joined the senior group. All are welcome additions!! There is also news that a couple more swimmers are coming to try out the program. Please make them feel welcome. We definitely have something special building here, lets keep it going and growing!
We are expecting a number of swimmers to move up from our pre competitive program and I would like to welcome all that come to give it a shot. If you see any of them please make them feel at home. We have already had 2 swimmers make the move after our first session. We have had a couple of new swimmers join us in the Fitness Development program which is great, Andrew is new to swimming and Roxanne comes to us from another team. And just recently James Janzen has joined the Senior Development group and his sister Jolene has joined the senior group. All are welcome additions!! There is also news that a couple more swimmers are coming to try out the program. Please make them feel welcome. We definitely have something special building here, lets keep it going and growing!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Blue Bear
Wow, I am almost getting tired of writing about all the success we are having. Can't someone just make a mistake already!
We had a fantastic time at Blue Bear this past weekend with 1 new Age Group National qualifier, 3 new Age Group Championship qualifiers and 1 new Age Group Trials qualifier. It started Friday night with Sarah Laplante getting her A time in the 1500 with a very aggressive swim. and Jasmin Hillman came back to achieve her QT in the first 400 meters of her 800 free after a heartbreaking DQ at PCS. Then on Saturday she came back and went even faster. Saturday Rebecca Schamber followed suit with a fantastic 100 fly for her first A time and not to mention another club record and then on Sunday Brayden McCaul stepped up with a great 50 freestyle to achieve his first A time of the season. Also on Sunday Nathan Weatherby had a fantastic 100 back to qualify for Age Group Nationals this summer. Of note we also had 2 very near miss by only a blink of an eye as Caylee missed her A in the 100 fly by only 0.09 seconds. But we have another shot next week so we will keep our fingers crossed. And Sarah Peddie missed her 100 fly A time by only half a second. I am sure that both will be achieved very soon.
Along with these qualifiers we also broke a few more club records just for good measure. As I mentioned, Rebecca broke the 8 and under 100 fly for the second time in as many weeks with a time of 1:40.76, we also found that our 8 and under 100 breast record was actually a backstroke time and Olivia Anderson broke the actual 100 breast with a time of 1:54.58. Nadine also broke the 13-14 and Open 400 free club records with a time of 4:30 (exact time has not been posted yet). On the relay end of things we also set a pair of club records. The 11-12 year old team of Kevin, Conor, Brendan and Liam broke the club record in the 400 MR with a time of 5:29.34 and the 13-14 year old team of Kam, Brayden, Max and Calvin broke their own club record from JP with a time of 4:57.34.
This brings our seasonal total up to 25 records. Way to go STSC!!!
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR NEW QUALIFIERS!!!
The rest of the weekend brought many other great successes with tones of best times and many finals swims. The swimmers really showed their true character this weekend as almost every final swim was faster than their morning swim to get them there. This is a great quality that you all have that will help you continue to see success throughout your swimming careers.
With all these achievements we are continuing to hear the praise of other clubs from around the province. The latest has come from the host of the weekend the Keyano swim club who's coaches had nothing but praise for our performances and the way we went about achieving them along with our great team presence all weekend. Keep up the great work and just remember your greatest challenges are still ahead of you.
We had a fantastic time at Blue Bear this past weekend with 1 new Age Group National qualifier, 3 new Age Group Championship qualifiers and 1 new Age Group Trials qualifier. It started Friday night with Sarah Laplante getting her A time in the 1500 with a very aggressive swim. and Jasmin Hillman came back to achieve her QT in the first 400 meters of her 800 free after a heartbreaking DQ at PCS. Then on Saturday she came back and went even faster. Saturday Rebecca Schamber followed suit with a fantastic 100 fly for her first A time and not to mention another club record and then on Sunday Brayden McCaul stepped up with a great 50 freestyle to achieve his first A time of the season. Also on Sunday Nathan Weatherby had a fantastic 100 back to qualify for Age Group Nationals this summer. Of note we also had 2 very near miss by only a blink of an eye as Caylee missed her A in the 100 fly by only 0.09 seconds. But we have another shot next week so we will keep our fingers crossed. And Sarah Peddie missed her 100 fly A time by only half a second. I am sure that both will be achieved very soon.
Along with these qualifiers we also broke a few more club records just for good measure. As I mentioned, Rebecca broke the 8 and under 100 fly for the second time in as many weeks with a time of 1:40.76, we also found that our 8 and under 100 breast record was actually a backstroke time and Olivia Anderson broke the actual 100 breast with a time of 1:54.58. Nadine also broke the 13-14 and Open 400 free club records with a time of 4:30 (exact time has not been posted yet). On the relay end of things we also set a pair of club records. The 11-12 year old team of Kevin, Conor, Brendan and Liam broke the club record in the 400 MR with a time of 5:29.34 and the 13-14 year old team of Kam, Brayden, Max and Calvin broke their own club record from JP with a time of 4:57.34.
This brings our seasonal total up to 25 records. Way to go STSC!!!
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR NEW QUALIFIERS!!!
The rest of the weekend brought many other great successes with tones of best times and many finals swims. The swimmers really showed their true character this weekend as almost every final swim was faster than their morning swim to get them there. This is a great quality that you all have that will help you continue to see success throughout your swimming careers.
With all these achievements we are continuing to hear the praise of other clubs from around the province. The latest has come from the host of the weekend the Keyano swim club who's coaches had nothing but praise for our performances and the way we went about achieving them along with our great team presence all weekend. Keep up the great work and just remember your greatest challenges are still ahead of you.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Just another day at the office
Another swim meet and 3 more club records! Great Job Rebecca for your 2 individual club records in the 200 back and 100 fly. Then she joined forces with Olivia, Madison and Megan for another amazing relay club record.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Camp Mascot
Like a swimmer, the squirrel does the same thing over and over with the same enthusiasm every time! 
The Senior Group is Back at it
Well, we are back to Millennium, swimmers are back to school, and everyone is sleeping in a real bed once again. Everything is back to normal. We have a busy couple of months coming up. With Mayflower this weekend and Blue Bear next weekend before we gear down into GP, Westerns and provincials. It will be very interesting to see how well everyone races after another very good cycle of training. This will be the last month of Tuesday mornings for quite some time as we will be in a reduced training load after January right through till April. There will also be some changes to dryland as you can see above along with other slight changes. Flexibility and coordination will again be brought to the forefront. This is an area where you can see huge improvements over a small period of time and I would encourage all of you to do a bit on your own after each practice. It only takes 10 minutes a day and if you stick to it you will amaze yourself.
With it being January, time management becomes a huge skill. High school kids are getting into finals and Junior High is getting into mid terms. So you really need to manage your time well so that you can continue to succeed in the pool and the classroom like you have all done so well this season and in the past. Do your best not to let one get in the way of the other and best of luck in all of your exams!
With it being January, time management becomes a huge skill. High school kids are getting into finals and Junior High is getting into mid terms. So you really need to manage your time well so that you can continue to succeed in the pool and the classroom like you have all done so well this season and in the past. Do your best not to let one get in the way of the other and best of luck in all of your exams!
Jasper Training Camp
It was a great 9 days in the beautiful rockies. We all got to breathe some wonderful mountain air (and maybe a little too much chlorine too). The swimmers all worked hard and did an amazing job. For the first time all year everyone was a little worn down which bodes very well as we head into our championship competitions.
The swimmers all learnt a lot about taking care of themselves. Maybe the accomodations weren't 5 star but as a package it was a great setting for a camp. The kids were all fed wonderfully by the lovely Shirley (some may have over indulged a little on the deserts though). No swimmer could go home and say they were not fed well or that they were not given enough to fuel their body. With the pool being right next door some swimmers were getting close to 10 hours sleep some nights and then napping during the day to boot. We had some high intensity days like the practice where we went 8 x 100 on 8:00, we had a long practice of 100 x 100 plus 8 x 25 and everything in between.
On our off time the swimmers got to do some other activities: we went curling one day which could have been a big mistake after seeing all the spills everyone was taking but we all walked away relatively unscathed. For New Years we spent the day at the amazing Jasper Park Lodge and everyone tried skating (some with more success than others) and drank some hot chocolate. Went for a walk and just got to relax away from our dungeon.
The swimmers all learnt some valuable life lessons and the coaches all learnt a lot more about the swimmers and they just continued to impress us with how mature and motivated they all are. Congratulations to everyone at camp and a special thank you to our 2 chaperones Shawna and Laurie.
Keep up the great work everyone!
The swimmers all learnt a lot about taking care of themselves. Maybe the accomodations weren't 5 star but as a package it was a great setting for a camp. The kids were all fed wonderfully by the lovely Shirley (some may have over indulged a little on the deserts though). No swimmer could go home and say they were not fed well or that they were not given enough to fuel their body. With the pool being right next door some swimmers were getting close to 10 hours sleep some nights and then napping during the day to boot. We had some high intensity days like the practice where we went 8 x 100 on 8:00, we had a long practice of 100 x 100 plus 8 x 25 and everything in between.
On our off time the swimmers got to do some other activities: we went curling one day which could have been a big mistake after seeing all the spills everyone was taking but we all walked away relatively unscathed. For New Years we spent the day at the amazing Jasper Park Lodge and everyone tried skating (some with more success than others) and drank some hot chocolate. Went for a walk and just got to relax away from our dungeon.
The swimmers all learnt some valuable life lessons and the coaches all learnt a lot more about the swimmers and they just continued to impress us with how mature and motivated they all are. Congratulations to everyone at camp and a special thank you to our 2 chaperones Shawna and Laurie.
Keep up the great work everyone!
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