Regional Age Group - Notice Board: February 2012

Wednesday 29 February 2012

Harrogate A/ B Grade Meet

Entries for the Harrogate A/ B Grade meet on the 21st and 22nd April will be taken on Monday 5th March in the Denison Suite.

The club has an allowance of only 400 entries so please only enter a maximum of 5 events on those you require qualifying times for.

Kevin, Nina & Elysha

Sunday 26 February 2012

As the group have performed so well over both weekends of racing at the Yorkshire's, Richard has said the group can have Monday am off this week. Everybody will get a free mark. Well done everyone! Enjoy your lie in.

Kevin, Nina & Elysha

Thursday 23 February 2012

Yorkshire SA Championships

Yorkshire - Meet 1
The group performed fantastic last weekend at the Yorkshires achieving 56PB's out of 75 Swims, 22 more NER times, 14 final swims, 8 Gold Medals, 4 Silver Medals and 1 Bronze Medal.

I will put the swimmers who won medals on the blog after this weekends meet. Carry on chipping away at those times and lets have another great weekend of racing.

Squad Promotions
For some swimmers this will be your last meet with C Central as you have been selected for promotion to National Age Group.

Well Done to the following swimmers on their promotion,
Jacob
Ellie
Sophie
Layla
Enjoy your last few weeks in C Central, take the skills you have learnt with you and show those older swimmers how it is done!

These swimmers were selected to move by Richard and Craig as they have achieved over 95% attendance since the start of the year, have North Eastern times in 200FC & IM (and other strokes) and have shown to have a great attitude to move to the next level. I wish you the best of luck when you move to your new squad, you will be missed by us all.

Some of you are very close to being considered for promotion but are just outside the two North Eastern Times needed to move up. The 200FC & 200IM NER are required before you move up as this shows Craig that you are likely to be able to cope with the demand of the sets and turn around times in National Age Group.

Craig does have space for some more swimmers in the near future but he has said they have to show great commitment, he will not take anyone who's attendance is under 95% regardless of what times swimmers are achieving.

For the rest of you keep training hard, the results show that the training is defiantly paying off as you are all improving your times.

Yorkshires - Meet 2

Just a reminder of the arrival times at John Charles this weekend.

Am Sessions

Arrive: 07:30

Warm Up: 08:00

Start: 09:00

Pm Sessions

Arrive: 12:30

Warm Up: 13:00

Start: 02:00

The programme of events for the weekend can be viewed by clicking the following link:

http://www.yorkshireswimming.org/2012_championships.htm

Training Changes

To make sure you are all tapered and ready for the Yorkshires, Thursday night we will finish once the set is finished and Friday night will just be an hour.

I know some of you miss Friday night before a meet, which is fine if you have attended your required amount of sessions during the week. The session before a gala is great for race preparation and should not be missed, as we iron out any last minute problems, practice turns, finishes, starts etc.

There will be No Training Sunday Pm due to nearly all the group competing again.

Training will be back to normal next week.

Quote Of The Week

"The water is your friend....you don't have to fight with the water, just share the same spirit as the water, and it will help you move. (Alexander Popov, 50m & 100m Freestyle Olympic Champion, 1992, 1996)

Good Luck for the weekend!

Kevin, Nina & Elysha

Membership

Hi,

I have been asked to pass on this message from Sarah Reed regarding membership.

Hey…….Please could you give a reminder to the following swimmers/parents to renew their memberships on Monday 27^th Feb please, this is their last chance to renew as John will be inputting them on the internet to be sent for the 1^st March.

If they fail to renew, they will have to pay a £25 charge on top of the ASA/Club membership and will also be suspended from training.

Any queries then get in touch with me (if I can help I will) or John Clayton.

Swimmers from C central who still need to renew their membership:

Tide Dracup

Viktoria Gnandt

Kind Regards,

Sarah J

Sarah Reed

Training Scheme Coordinator

Tel: 0113 3950154

Sunday 19 February 2012

Lockers

Hi All,

Just wanted to pass on a message.

Unfortunately several lockers at John Charles have been broken into over the past few months with wallets, keys, bags, phones, costumes etc going missing. The management are aware of the problem and the police have been informed. The locks on the lockers have been changed but still the problem is happening. Until the thief is caught this could continue. A lot of the swimmers in the senior squads have been a victim of this along with someone in our squad and some of the swimmers from other clubs at the Yorkshires over the weekend.

I would advise you to leave your bags on the balcony with your parents or bring your belongings on poolside where everybody can see.

Thanks

Kevin, Nina & Elysha

Yorkshire Teams 2012

Please can the following swimmers confirm your availability to swim on Sunday 18th March 2012 at Ponds Forge, Sheffield to Craig Robinson (craig.robonson@leeds.gov.uk)

AM Teams (Arrive 7:30am)

Thomas

Oliver

Stephen

Tide

Matthew

Jake

Ben

Billy

Anna

Layla

Rebecca

Abbie H

Zoe

Abigail J

Amber

Hannah

Helena

PM Teams (Arrive 1:00pm)

Leah

Viktoria

Sophie

Ellie

Ciara

Amelia

Shaheen

Liam

Jacob

John

Euan

Harry

William

Huzayfa

Kit

Brannan

Thanks

Kevin, Nina & Elysha

Thursday 16 February 2012

Yorkshire SA Championships Meet 1

I am looking forward to seeing some fast racing this weekend. The turns are looking great at the moment, make sure you transfer them into your race. Remember use the walls to pick up speed not loose speed, every millisecond counts. With move ups just around the corner it would be great to show the other coaches what you can do.

Just a reminder of the arrival times at John Charles this weekend.

Am Sessions

Arrive: 07:30

Warm Up: 08:00

Start: 09:00

Pm Sessions

Arrive: 12:30

Warm Up: 13:00

Start: 02:00

The programme of events for the weekend can be viewed by clicking the following link:

http://www.yorkshireswimming.org/2012_championships.htm

Hopefully you all now have a copy of the North Eastern times which I printed out for you, if not they can be found on the right hand side of the blog under qualifying times. Get chasing those times!!!

'If you win something and you haven't put everything into it, you haven't actually achieved anything at all. When you've had to work for something and you've got the best you can out of yourself on that given day, that's where you get satisfaction from' Ian Thorpe, Australian swimmer, five-time Olympic gold medallist (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004)

Best of luck to you all

Kevin, Nina & Elysha

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Breakfast Club & Training Alterations

Hi All,

Just to remind you we will be having a team breakfast this Thursday am after training for those of you who have broken up from school. It would be great to see as many of you there as possible.

Training Alterations

Thursday 16th February - We will be finishing once the set is done approx 8.15 - 8.25 ish

Friday 17th February - We will be finishing around 8.30pm

Sunday 19th February - Due to nearly all the group competing in the Yorkshires there will be no Training

Kevin, Nina & Elysha

Thursday 9 February 2012

Land Training

I was disappointed to hear that a small minority of swimmers are not behaving during the land training sessions on a Monday and spoiling it for the swimmers who do want to be there and work hard. This is a shame as during the pool sessions you are all swimming incredibly well at the moment.

The few swimmers that letting the team down need to stop.

The land training is an important part of the training week to develop flexibility and core strength and should be taken seriously.

The Coach cannot take the land training session properly and safely if people are messing about and talking during the work out.

Richard has told the coaches anyone who talks over the coach or is not performing the task correctly will be asked to leave land training.

From next Monday onwards any swimmer who is asked to leave land training due to bad behaviour will not be welcome at the pool work out afterwards.

I hope to hear that the behaviour has improved next week.

Kevin & Nina

Thursday 2 February 2012

Lost Property/ New Coach

Hi All,

If anyone lost a City of Leeds T Shirt at the Sheffield or Leeds B Grade Meets, Team Manager Sara Eastwood has quite a pile she picked up at the end. She will be on the balcony Monday night if you think you have lost yours and wish to collect it.

I am looking forward to our new Assistant Coach starting on Monday morning. Her name is Nina Williams and she used to be a GB freestyle sprinter. She still continues to train with the Masters. Nina is an accountant but wants to start reducing her hours and get into coaching. She has just passed her Level 1 and is excited to be starting work on such a talented squad. I am sure you will all make her feel welcome as she settles in and gets to know all your names. Elysha who has been a great help will continue to help out on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday nights along side both me and Nina.

I am very impressed with the way the group is training at the moment, particularly with the distance off the walls on the turns. This along with the stroke technique work is really coming along nicely. Keep up the hard work and we will have a great Yorkshires.

"For myself, losing is not coming second. it's getting out of the water knowing you could have done better. For myself, I have won every race I've been in." (Ian Thorpe, 400m Freestyle Olympic Champion, 2000, 2004).

Kevin

Quote Bank!

"Kevin!, On the whole I think C Central have swum absolutely fantastic this year". Jacob Butterfield - C Central.

"Winners are not people who never fail, but people who never quit"

"I wouldn't say anything is impossible. I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and put the work and time into it". Michael Phelps.

"Train insane, or remain the same".

"Dream. Believe. Achieve".

"You can't put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get". Michael Phelps.

"I can definitely take more off my world record - a lot more. I have no doubt about that. I'm by no means putting pressure on myself, it's just the belief I have in myself ..... I'm not going to limit myself by nominating times or anything like that. I never thought I'd do 14:34 and I did. I thought I'd maybe do 14:38 or 14:39 that day, and I went nearly five seconds quicker so I don't want to limit the possibilities". Grant Hackett.

"In training everyone focuses on 90% physical and 10% mental, but in the races it's 90% mental because there's very little that seperates us physically at the elite level". Elka Graham.

"The hardest thing about climbing the ladder of success is getting through the crowd at the bottom".

"We need to create a way of working, and that's why I felt the need to set some rules. For example, we will all eat together, leave the table together - it is all about respecting each other. And being punctual is key". Fabio Capello.

"Unleash the Inner Beast!".

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing". Muhammad Ali.

"Many people say you are as only good as your last race, but we know we are only as good as our next race!".

"It was not the 10 work outs I did every week for four years that allowed me to overcome my competitors, it was the ones that they missed". Graeme Smith (1996).

"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 to a result you will be happy with!"

"Winning the Gold Medal was undoubtedly the biggest day of my career, mostly because I won the way I had prepared to run it. It was a totally satisfying experience". Frank Shorter (American Athlete, Olympic Gold Medalist) (Munich 1972).

"Go into the sport because you have fun doing it, not because of 'what if's' and dreams of gold medals. That way, no matter what happens, you win". Shannon Miller (American Gymnast, two time Olympic Gold Medalist) (Atlanta 1996).

"As the years go by I train physically harder and I am always trying to go faster, further and higher. I train seven days a week and at the end of the day, I'm pretty tired but I never wish I was anyone else. If I miss a days training I feel guilty and I know I should have done it. I'm conscientious and unless I have a very good reason to, I never miss a session. It seems unfair to train for years and miss days just for the hell of it, and if I ever start to skip days, I would realise my attitude was not right and it was time for me to finish". Olympic Champion.

"Have a clear goal in your head of where you want to be and never give up!".

"Remember what doesn't challenge you, doesn't change you!"

"Not a day goes past where I don't go to bed with aching limbs ..... I have lost friends over it ..... I have lost girlfriends because of it ..... My family hates it ..... The only person that understands it wants to beat me ..... But I love it more than anything in the world!"

"Don't let the fear of losing be greater than the excitement of winning". Robert Kiyosaki.

'Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday'. William Rudolph (American Athlete, three-time Olympic Gold medalist) (Rome 1960).

"It's been told that swimming is a wimp sport, but I don't see it. We don't get timeouts in the middle of a race; we can's stop and catch our breath; and we can't ask for a substitution".

"We can accomplish almost anything within our ability if we but think we can".

"In 2004 , I won a bronze. This is a silver. Maybe in 2012, it will be a gold. Slowly, slowly". Eliud Kipchoge (Kenyan Athelete, Olympic silver medalist) (Beijing 2008).

"I came out here to beat everybody in sight and that is exactly what I'm going to do. Sure, I can do anything". Mildred 'Babe' Didrikson (American Athlete, two-time Olympic gold medalist) (Los Angeles 1932).

"Before the (Olympic) trials I was doing a lot of relaxing exercises and visualisation. And I think that that helped me to get a feel of what it was going to be like when I got there. I knew that I had done everything that I could to get ready for that meet, both physically and mentally". Michael Phelps. (6 Gold Medals, 2004 Olympic Games).

"Success comes with determination to get up the morning after the hardest practice of your life and do it all over again!"

"There is nothing like the smell of chlorine in the morning, and nothing like the smell of victory in the evening"

"Enjoy the journey, enjoy every moment and quit worrying bout winning and losing". Matt Biondi. (American Swimmer, eight-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992).

"You only get one shot, go out there and do your best". Chad le Clos (200m Butterfly Champion).

"No negative thoughts cross my mind on race day. When I look into their eyes, I know I'm going to beat them". Danny Harris. (American Athlete, Olympic Silver Medallist. Los Angeles 1984).

"When I go out and race, I'm not trying to beat opponents, I'm trying to beat what I have done ... to beat myself, basically. People find that hard to believe because we've had such a bias to always strive to win things. If you win something and you haven't put everything into it, you haven't actually achieved anything at all. When you've had to work hard for something and you've got the best you can out of yourself on that given day, that's where you get satisfaction from". Ian Thorpe.

"I concentrate on preparing to swim my race and let other swimmers think about me, not me about them". Amanda Beard.

"An athlete cannot race with money in his pockets. He must race with hope in his heart and dreams in his head". Emil Zatopek. (Four Time Olympic Gold Medallist).

"If you win something and you haven't put everything into it, you haven't actually achieved anything at all. When you've had to work for something and you've got the best you can out of yourself on that given day, that's where you get satisfaction from". Ian Thorpe. (Australian swimmer, five-time Olympic gold medallist. Sydney 2000, Athens 2004).

"No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, show up and never give up!".

"Push harder than yesterday if you want a different tomorrow".

"Champions train, losers complain".

"Success isn't overnight. It's when everyday you get a little better than the day before. It all adds up." Dwayne Johnson.

"Life is full of disappointments, failures and setbacks. None of those things can permanently stop you. You have the power to overcome anything that life throws at you. There is nothing as powerful as a made up mind. Surround yourself with people who remind you that you matter, and support you in the ways that matter most to you. No person, situation, or circumstance can define who you are. Don't give up. cave in, or stop believing that it's possible. It's not over until you win."