What Levels of Training Result in National Team Level Performance? One of the vital pieces of data that coaches need to know is a simple one. How much work is required to excel….specifically to the level of being a successful NATIONAL TEAM ATHLETE for the USA? We put two simple measures of that to our National Team Coaches. 41 Coaches Responded. We asked for the number of hours per week required and then the number of weeks per year. The AVERAGE of the responses were: 25 Hours Per Week of...

Congratulations to Jade Renaud for being awarded for Academic Excellence at her school in June!

Man on the Moon Don Swartz/Theo St. Francis In 1962 President JFK (John Kennedy) declared in a speech at Rice University that the United States would put a man on the moon. People were utterly flabbergasted. The brashness of the statement made no sense. JFK had not one single shred of evidence that it could happen. The science wasn’t there nor was the equipment necessary to pull it off even developed. But the goal was laid out for all to see and hear. Six years later the US had put...

Please see next week's practice schedule (June 27th-July 1st) for every group: THERE WILL BE NO PRE-COMP, STROKE SCHOOL 1, 2 OR 3 (GUY'S GROUP) FROM MONDAY, JUNE 27TH THROUGH MONDAY, JULY 4TH DUE TO HOLIDAY BREAK. Pre-comp/Stroke School practice will resume as usual on Tuesday, July 5th. PRACTICE SCHEDULE FOR AGE GROUP 1, 2 & SENIOR GROUP Monday, June 27th - Friday, July 1st: Morning practice 6 am - 8 am (AG 1, 2, and Senior Group) Afternoon practice: AG 1(4 pm), AG 2(5 pm), Senior Group(4:30 pm) Saturday,...

Happy Belated Father's Day to all of our SwimFast dads! Thank you for your contributions and daily sacrifices to help make our team succeed. Coach Jackie

"It isn't the mountains ahead that wear you down. It is the pebble in your shoe." -- Muhammad Ali

SUMMER SWIMFAST TRAINING SCHEDULE This schedule begins on JUNE 13TH and continues until JULY 24TH, 2016 SENIOR GROUP Monday through Friday 6-8 AM. LONG COURSE. Monday through Friday – 4:30-7 PM (short course, Including dryland) Saturday Practice: Varies by week AGE GROUP 1 and 2 (Coaches John and Peter’s Groups) Monday through Friday, 6-8 AM, Long Course* Afternoon practices as normal - 4 or 5 PM start Saturday Practice: Varies by week *Age groupers, we expect you to attend 3 of these practices per week. It is the ONLY long...

Racing As A Way to Improve World famous Coach David Salo of University of Southern California gave a talk last year called “Swim Like the Cheetah Runs”. HIS MAIN POINT WAS THAT WHEN WE RACE WITH EFFORT AND ENTHUSIASM WE ENGAGE PARTS OF OUR BODY AND MIND THAT WE CANNOT POSSIBLY ACCESS IN PRACTICE. The Cheetah of course is a cat. And has high percentages of fast twitch fibers. (They’re sprinters.) When the Cheetah moves, it is usually at top speed because if they don’t outrun their prey, they go...

This Is Your Swimming By Don Swartz So a horse walks into the bar, sits down and the bartender comes over and says, “So why the long face?” Think about the challenge in this way; the distance between expectations and reality is disappointment. Our sport relies so heavily on personal responsibility. That is one of several things that make it so compelling. You don’t rely on anyone to throw you the ball so you can score. No one else’s fumble costs you the victory. Your swimming is all about you...