Information for Swimmers & Parents of Regional Age Group

Please check at least every other day for updates.

Kevin Schofield (Kevin.Schofield@leeds.gov.uk)

Oli Nevitt (Oliver.Nevitt@leeds.gov.uk)

Friday 30 April 2010

100 % Attendance Club April 2010

Well done to Callan, Abby and James W!

This is a really big achievement and you should be very very proud of yourselfs. It is also something that all the people who aren't in the club this month should be aiming for- A long time ago when I was in C group, I didn't miss a session for 4 months, and that is the truth, so it is possible.



Also can I just say a big GOOD LUCK to everyone who swam there last session with us last night, and how much fun did we have? Eventhough me and Kevin did end up slightly wet....



Yours in Swimming,

Ryan.

Thursday 29 April 2010

No Training - May Day!

Just so you all know there will be no training on the coming Monday(3rd), as it is May Day and the pools are shut.

Thanks for understanding,

Ryan & Kev.

Converters, Updates, and 'The End of an Era, Start of a new Beginning'.

Morning Everyone....

Sorry about how long it has taken us to update the times from the weekend, but Kevin spent nearly 3 days converting them to put them on the master-sheet, to find out that the converter we use has done them all wrong, giving us ridiculous times of 7 seconds on top on a 200m. So we have now changed the converter we used, and the link to it is in the useful links section, and we have abandoned the 'pullboy' converter.
When Kevin has updated the times, I will then begin to try and make the spreadsheets we use for both our and your benefit more efficient by combining them all into on spreadsheet with plenty of fancy formulas to work it all out for us, which will improve how quickly we can update the blog.

Thanks,

Ryan


Message from Kevin.....

Firstly apologies for the time taken to update the times from the weekend. The times were all converted and ready to go up but due to the converter used some of the times are wrong so bear with us a couple more days and I will have them up. In the meantime;
Just wanted wish anyone who is moving groups the very best of luck in your new squads. I hope you will work hard for your new coaches like you have for me and Ryan. You need to take the skills you have learnt and continue to practice them in your new squads.
Swimmers staying in C Central please make the new swimmers feel welcome as they maybe a bit nervous and don't forget to set a good example for them to follow.


Kevin

Monday 26 April 2010

Quote of the Week! + 200m Fc Kick!

Hello Everyone!

I have come up with another crazy idea to keep the blog fresh and updated, so every week the blog will updated with a quote from a star of the sport and some not, but these are all aimed at motivating the swimmers. So i would like you as parents to explain the quote to your child so they understand its meaning, and hopefully learn from it. Keep checking back though, because you never know when I ask you what the quote of the week is! (This weeks quote will be on the right of this paragraph, and I plan on building up a quote bank, and you can find this in the bottom right hand corner).

Also the 200m Fc Kick test is updated and you can find that in its usual place, and the members of the under 4 minute club was listed on the bottom of the last post!

See below for a summary of the weekend, with more exact figures on it to follow.

Thanks,

Ryan.

Harrogate, Training, Success, and the 4 Minute Club!

A Message from Kevin....
Harrogate Meet!

Just wanted to say how impressed both me and Ryan were with all your fantastic swims over the weekend.  We were both shocked at the amount of Pb's you were achieving not just in small amounts but big chunks.  Lyn also commented on how impressed he was with all your swims on Saturday.  You should all be very proud.

As you have swum so good, this means more work for me so please be patient as I have to convert all your new best times to long course before I can put them on the Pb sheet.  I promise I will do this as and get them back up as soon as possible.  

The NER entries are on May 10th.  Some more swimmers achieved times this weekend.  NER qualifiers will be highlighted green on the PB sheet in the events they have qualified for.  Parents if you could print an entry form off the City of Leeds website and fill in all the events your swimmer has qualified for, I will sign this in advance so I will not have to leave poolside or coaching on the night the entries has to be in.

So far I have counted 21 Golds, 16 Silvers and 8 Bronze medals achieved by our group over the weekend.  It looks like the hard work in training is paying off.

After the National Age Group Qualifier event I identified the areas of improvement for the group were;
- Underwater Phase
- Not breathing on and out of turns
- Streamlining
- Sticking to breathing patterns

Some of these skills are getting better however the front crawl turns we still have people breathing in and out of the wall.  We can all do this in training, it needs to be transfered into your race.  I am confident all the underwater work and no breathing exercises will make this become easier for you in the near future but you must stick at it if this is going to be achieved!!!

A big thank you to Ryan for all his enthusiasm and assistance on the group so far.  I would like to say a special mention to Joseph who has had a hip problem on Breastroke for quite some time and this weekend managed to swim his 200 IM and 50 BR without getting disqualified.  Keep up the effort and determination and your kick will be perfect soon.  I would like to welcome back Amelia who got stuck in Turkey for a week, Franchesca who has finally recovered from a broken wrist and would like to wish Jessica and Amy a speedy recovery with their injuries.  The rest of the group I am impressed with your team spirit at the moment lets keep it up and keep delivering the results!

Also well done to the following swimmers for getting in the 4 minute club on the 200m Fs Kick Test:
Euan, Elysia, Callan, Zoe, Finlay and James W.

Kevin

Friday 23 April 2010

Something to think about before you swim at the weekend

Think how many lengths you swim in training without having rest!  A race is a tiny fraction of what we practice in training.  Don't be scared of going out fast on your races at the weekend.  Don't save yourself for the last part of the race as you may have more energy left than you think.  You should feel like you have nothing left to give when you climb out of the pool after your swims.  When you feel like you are tiering in your race, think about holding good technique, it is this good practice that will get you to the end.

Go out fast! 
Hold the second 50m
Work the third 50m 
Use what ever energy you have left on the last 50m (No breathing last 5m)

Don't slow down into the walls on turns and remember as soon as your feet leave, BANG BANG BANG with fly legs!!!!!  

'It's how you prepare months before in the training pool that will determine your performance at the main event.  Your ruthless attendance, quality and consistency of your training will serge you forward's to a result you will be happy with!'

Let the hard work in training pay off.

Info for the weekend!
Session 1
Saturday am:  Swimmers should arrive on poolside at 12.00pm - 12.10pm for dynamic stretching warm up
    Pool warm up is at 12.30pm
    Session starts at 1.30pm

Session 2 
Saturday pm:  Swimmers should arrive on poolside at 4.45pm - 4.55pm for dynamic stretching warm up
    Pool warm up is at 5.15pm
    Session Starts at 6.15pm

Session 3
Sunday am:  Swimmers should arrive on poolside at 7.30am - 7.40am for dynamic stretching warm up
  Pool warm up is at 8.00am
  Session starts at 9.00am

Session 4
Sunday pm:  Swimmers should arrive on poolside at 12.30pm - 12.40pm for dynamic stretching warm up
  Pool warm up is at 1.00pm
  Session starts at 2.00pm

More information on which events are in each session can be looked at by clicking the following link:  http://www.swimharrogate.org/2010%20AB/2010%20AB%20Graded%20Events.pdf

Kevin and Ryan.

Thursday 22 April 2010

Swimming Sessions this weekend! + Use of the Blog

Good Morning everyone....

Even though the Harrogate Gala is on this weekend, all sessions will go ahead as normal, and are NOT cancelled.

If you ARE swimming this weekend, then you are to report to Lyn on Saturday as Me and Kevin will be taking training, and on Sunday, Kevin will be there most of the day. Also if you are swimming at the Harrogate gala, you are not expected to come to training on that day,  and you will get your mark, so don't worry about that.

One more thing.... Good Luck to everyone who is swimming this weekend, remember, starts, turns, and finishes! Lets hope for some fantastic results and NER times!

Do Your Best,

Ryan and Kev.

P.S, I asked a few of the swimmers this morning when they last checked the blog/noticeboard/website, and quite a few answered with "What Blog?", this is intended for both parents AND Swimmers, so I would like to encourage you as parents to check the blog with your children, so they can see there times, things that affect training etc. Thanks for your co-operation.

Sunday 18 April 2010

Water Bottles!

Hello.

Can you all remind your children please to pick up all water bottles at the end of the session and put them in the bin if they are not the type you reuse.

Keep up the hard training, and remember,
'Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice does!'

Yours,

Ryan and Kev.

Thursday 15 April 2010

Gala Entry Information & PB Update

Gala Entry Information
Mon 10 May 2010 - NER Age Group Championships Entries

*Any swimmer on the PB sheet/NER % Sheets who's time is highlighted green has qualified and should enter that event*

UPDATED
The PB Sheet is now updated along with both % off NER times sheets.
These are online for you.


Yours,

Ryan & Kevin.

Monday 12 April 2010

Just a Note...

Hello,
The PB sheet will be updated from the weekend over the next few days, but its not a simple process, especially the % off NER times sheet, so keep looking, it will be updated soon.


Ryan.

Sunday 11 April 2010

National Age Group Qualifier Summary

Hello Everyone!

Well done at the Gala we had some excellent swims with great PB's!

Summary of the Meet:
66 Swims
49 PB's
6 more NER Qualifying times

7 Finals

Areas for improvement:
Underwater Phase
Not breathing in and out of turns
Streamlining
Sticking to a breathing pattern on Frontcrawl

We keep working on these in training, eventually if you all get it right in training, it WILL develop into competitive meets.

Big Shout out to Kev for giving up his time this weekend!

Keep working hard,

C Central Coaching Team.

Wednesday 7 April 2010

Hello.
PB's sheet is updated again, please check and let us know if you spot any errors, we think we are gettting more accurate with it.
Also the targets for 100 and 200 m NER targets are update.
Also the training programme is now online, again, since it dissapeared the first time (its not as easy as it looks this blogging thing you know!)
See you all tonight,

Ryan & Kev.

Saturday 3 April 2010

PB's, NERS, Easter....

Hello Hello Hello.

Under the Squad Times section, we have updated the PB sheet, and added the files which tell you what % each swimmer is off achieving a NER time, for all 100 and 200m events.
Also the C Central Training Plan is now online... again, under the Competition Squad Central Section.

Enjoy your time over the easter holidays, both of us are still very happy with the way training is going since we started on the group, and are seeing major signs for improvement because of this.

Yours,

The C Central Coaching Team.

P.S, Don't eat too much Chocolate!

Thursday 1 April 2010

100 % Attendance Club March 2010


100 % Attendance Club March 2010 
 
(Chocolate Bar Included)
Well done to Callan and Abigail who attended every session this month.  
Fantastic!! Well Done Keep Up the Hard Work.
 
Kevin and Ryan.