Age Group One Meet Wrap-ups

Michael Chasson

AG State summary:

Great work at the State Meet everyone! You all battled through some very tough conditions and you came out victorious. Across the board, it was a tough meet for our individual races, however, when it came to stepping up for the team relays we killed it. I have mentioned this before but the ability to step up the focus level for relays is 100% transferrable to individual races. 

Highlights:

  • Ryan Foley 200 Fly: Ryan went a best time in November and then did not go faster until the state meet where she dropped 4 seconds. I love this perseverance! 
  • John Kim 50 & 100 breaststrokes: What I love about he way John races, he sees swimmers faster than him and chooses to brave the discomfort of something new
  • Zephyr Narus 100 Free: FIRST TIME UNDER 1:00!!! One of AG1's hardest workers, reaping the benefit of consistency at practice 
  • Ellie Pena 50, 100, 200 Breaststroke: Ellie has understood the idea of outworking your self-doubt. She worked so hard for so many practices in a row, she had a stack of undeniable evidence so high we couldn't even see the doubt. Dropping 7 seconds in the 200 and over a second in the 100 and 50.

 

March Swimmer of the Month: Charli Hames

      In the month of March, we had so many of our swimmers finding new motivations and skills, but one stood out as the swimmer of the month. Charli started leading a lane one day and the next thing I knew she was dropping time both in meet and practice scenarios. A month later she is one of our vocal leaders, helping to explain sets and support her teammates. She also likes to win, and so do many of our swimmers, so we are seeing a steep rise in competitive ability at practice. Beyond the nitty gritty, Charli has taken her drill and technique work very seriously. She always asks questions that expand on the skills, help her further understand the drill, or just come up after practice to ask what she could have done better.

 

Neptune April Opener:

      Great first meet of the LCM season! MANY of us haven't swam long course in a while, so seeing these massive time drops is great, however, we have to remember those kinds of drops can be very difficult to recreate. With consistent work and great focus, it's something we can work toward! Everyone approached these races with a great mindset, some of us had limited time between many races which was a great challenge. The biggest takeaway from this meet: take everything one at a time. It could be a set we are doing with multiple rounds, it could be an exercise, or maybe you have 4 homework assignments all in one night. If you are busy thinking about all 4 tasks at once, your brain's ability to comprehend the initial task is severely decreased. A great quote my coach told me from Alexander Graham Bell, "Concentrate all your thoughts on the work at hand. The sun's rays don't burn until brought to a focus."