Congratulations to Arizel Sosa for placing 1st and Ariana Sosa for placing 2nd in their school's Spelling Bee competition! Way to go girls!

Raising the Bar in Youth Sports “Have I ever told you about the defining moment of my coaching career?” long time University Portland baseball coach Chris Sperry asked me the other day over lunch. “It is a speech that changed everything for me at the 1996 American Baseball Coaches Association convention.” “No, please tell,” I said between bites, and so began an amazing tale about a legendary coach named John Scolinos, and a life changing moment for Chris, which he has written about here on his amazing block Baseball/Life. He...

Rust Never Sleeps By Don Swartz Rust Never Sleeps is an album released July 2, 1979 by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young and American band Crazy Horse. Young used the title "rust never sleeps" as a concept for his tour with Crazy Horse to avoid artistic complacency and try more progressive, theatrical approaches to performing live. On our team we use this phrase at this time of year when we go to our first meet to acknowledge our own rustiness at the game of racing. It has been 6 or 7...

From the Sunday NY Times, Jan. 17 "I've failed over and over and over again throughout my career" he said "I know what its like to fail on the biggest stage, like the Olympics. It’s a bummer; I don't want to go through that, but I'm not afraid of it. And if you're not afraid to fail, you're also not afraid to run against the best guys, and you're not afraid to lose. I have so many failures throughout my career. But I needed those to have the success." -...

“Why Be Unhappy with Your Swim Meet IF You Are Not Unhappy with Your Training?” By John Leonard Every once in awhile, I see an athlete on our team leaning on “somebody” (Mommy, Daddy, teammate) and being unhappy with their results in a swim meet. Laughably, these are ALWAYS (100% of the time) people who have not done the work in practice. There are multiple ways “not to do the work in practice”. First, don’t show up as often as you should. Each of your coaches tell you how often...

We hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving this past week. Earlier this month, Nakai Chinogwenya won a Turkey at the Pompano Turkey Classic. To qualify for the all-around awards, the swimmer must participate in all four 50 yard races, one of each of the competitive strokes. The final time results of each individual swim by each swimmer are then added to determine the overal time for each competitor. The fast 8 girls and 8 boys for each age group category were awarded a prize. Congratulations to Nakai and her delicious...

“Chop Wood, Haul Water” By John Leonard In my office is a metal bucket filled with water. And a log with an axe attached to it. They are there to remind myself and our staff, of the ancient Chinese wisdom that ALL OF LIFE is about “chopping wood and hauling water.” And that is true whether you are a rural peasant in china, or a stock broker in Manhattan, Or an actress on Broadway or Hollywood, or a teenage swimmer in Davie, Florida. What does it mean? It is a...

The Three Phases of Learning By John Leonard Watching winter champs this weekend had its frustrating moments. I saw a lot of my wonderful 4 PM group at various times look A) GREAT! B) Ordinary C) like “who the heck coaches that child?” WHICH REMINDS ME OF SOMETHING THAT I EDUCATE COACHES ON ALL THE TIME BUT ITS PROBABLY USEFUL FOR PARENTS TO KNOW AS WELL………….. “Learning Something” just isn’t that simple. First, we all learn by being “mindful”…thinking our way through it. (Parents, remember when you first drove a...

To Be Thankful What are you thankful for? Who is thankful for you? Who have you thanked this last week? If you missed an opportunity to say “thanks” do it now or really soon. What you need will come to you if you give it away – freely, without expectations of payback. What great quote will motivate you to do the unthinkable as you strive for greatness? Will you allow yourself to be grateful and then ask for more? Coaches are often looked to for motivation. Who motivates the coaches?...

“Training Versus Exercise” By John Leonard When a child comes to swimming and has not been athletically active in their 5-7 years of life, Any and All Exercise IS GOOD! (Get the couch potatoes off the couch!) Exercise is simply an increased heart rate, giving that muscle something a bit more challenging to do….making it stronger. And meanwhile, some muscle tissue is formed as required by the exercise, and the daily metabolism revs up to meet the energy needs of the exercise. All VERY good stuff for people of all...