December 14, 2025 Preliminary entries for the Patriot Pride Winter Invitational meet have been posted to the meet page. This meet is open to all swimmers from All Locations that have achieved a minimum of one (1) Winter Regional Championships time standard. We will also be attending the Build the Base meet the following weekend. Swimmers may attend one (1) of these two competitions. Please speak to your group coach if you are unsure what meet is right for your athletes(s). Please look through the entries very carefully to be...

December 14, 2025 Preliminary entries for the Speedo Rick Peterson Build the Base Invitational meet have been posted to the meet page. This meet is open to all swimmers not attendin the Patriot Pride Winter Invitational the weekend prior from All Locations. Swimmers may only compete in events in which they do not have the Illinois Swimming Winter Regional Championships standard. Please look through the entries very carefully to be sure your swimmer(s) is entered properly. If there are any changes to the entry, such as a swimmer neeeding to...

February 25th, 2020 Want to lose races? Lose the walls. Want to win races? WIN THE WALLS! Many young swimmers completely change what they're doing when they start approaching the wall, and give up precious time because of it. Focus on accelerating into your turns and finishes, and finish each length with ferocious intent! #TuesdayTip

February 11th, 2020 Many young swimmers go into a weekend meet with one or two events they REALLY want to do well in, and sacrifice preparing for other races in the meantime. This can lead to wildly inconsistent swimming, and can actually hurt your chances of performing the way you want to in the events you want most. Take each meet one event at a time. Focus on what's right in front of you, and try not to get ahead of yourself. You may end up outperforming your expectations in...

February 4th, 2020 Open turns done correctly can offer you a quick change of direction, a bit of oxygen, and an increase in speed every time you push off the wall. Open turns done incorrectly - utilized as an opportunity to take a break from swimming or to take a bigger breath - can ruin your chances of winning close races and/or going best times. Want to do it right? Time your approach so you hit the wall in stride. Tuck yourself into the tightest ball possible while bringing your...

January 28th, 2020 Sleep is one of the most important things you can do to promote great recovery. Unfortunately, it's one of the things that tends to be overlooked while scrolling through Instagram, sending Snaps, or binge-watching The Office. We then look to gimmicky procedures that don't carry as much bang for their buck as simply sleeping does (think recovery boots, ice baths, cupping, etc.). Feeling tired, run down, or sore from training? Sleep. Your body (and mind) will thank you. #TuesdayTip

December 17th, 2019 Working with intent is such a crucial component to a swimmers development. Success rarely happens by accident, so the more we can do things in practice "on purpose," the more likely we are to achieve the outcomes we desire. Unfortunately, many swimmers fall into the trap of not understanding that there is a big difference between just doing the yards and doing the yards well. Everything you do in practice should be done the way you'd want to do it in a race at your last meet...

December 10th, 2019 Cooling down appropriately is an often overlooked, but crucial component of managing a meet with multiple events. Most swimmers tend to cut it short. Let's face it - easy swimming isn't really the most exciting part of a meet. Between the actual racing, and the opportunity to hang around with your friends for a few hours, cooling down can feel like a useless exercise meant only to keep you from the things you'd rather be doing. BUT...there's actually a good reason for it. Cooling down after your...