Michiana Marlins Swim Club Weekly Announcements for Week of 11/10-11/16

John VanDriessche

Dear Marlin Families.

Practice Schedule

Penn High School

Splash 1 & 2: Monday and Wednesday 6:00-7:30

Splash 3: Monday, Wednesday 6:00-7:30, Thursday 5:30-7:30 & Friday 5:00-6:30

Fins Flex: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 5:30-7:30, & Friday 5:00-6:30

Fins Compete: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 5:30-7:30, & Friday 5:00-6:30

Fins Compete AM: Wednesday & Friday 5:30-7:30

Elite-next scheduled practice after high school season

New Prairie High School

Splash: Monday and Wednesday 5:00-6:30 CST

Fins: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 5:00-7:00 CST

Elite: next scheduled practice after high school season

Knollwood CC

Splash 1 and 2:

Monday and Wednesday 4:30-5:30 or 5:30-6:30

Tuesday and Thursday 3:30-4:30 or 4:30-5:30

Practice Notes:

Splash 3 will practice on Friday this week and NOT Tuesday.

New Prairie families continue to use door N18 to enter the building. Penn families use door D. If you arrive at Penn and the gallery door is locked, please feel free to get my attention on deck to let me know. Here is the link for this week’s practices. Please share these with your athletes

ELK Rudolph Romp/Elkhart Aquatic Center/Dec. 6-8

The meet information has not yet been posted. We will keep the meet commitment section open until we know ELK’s entry deadline. Please commit if you know you want to attend.

IA Tim Welsh Invite/Elkhart Aquatic Center/Jan.3-5

We have extended the deadline to commit to this meet to Sunday November 17.

Coaches Corner

A topic that was brought up in the survey was asking about intensity levels of practice. I think that could be summed up with an explanation of my general training philosophy for each group. This week I will cover the Elite Group

Elite Group

Our training approach is based on Dr. Brent Rushall’s USRPT (Ultra Short Race Pace Training), a model I’ve been using successfully for nearly a decade. When this method was first introduced to the swimming community, it sparked significant controversy and resistance. Many coaches and swimmers were skeptical, and those attempting to implement Dr. Rushall’s approach faced considerable pushback. This initial reaction is precisely what motivated me to explore it further.

At its core, USRPT is designed to maximize the amount of training done at race pace, which aligns with the SAID (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands) principle. However, the benefits of this training extend far beyond just physiological adaptation.

In my experience, USRPT offers a wealth of opportunities for learning and growth, both for athletes and coaches. As coaches, we’re not only training athletes but also teaching them the sport itself. The bulk of our training consists of short, intense 25- or 50-yard repeats, with rest intervals of 15-20 seconds between each. In contrast, traditional training might involve swimming around 400 yards in a 5-minute period with one similar rest period. Within the same 5-minute span of USRPT, athletes have the opportunity for up to 10 shorter rest periods, which creates frequent touchpoints for instruction and feedback.

This format provides invaluable opportunities for athletes to refine their technique, and for coaches to build deeper connections with their swimmers. The increased frequency of interactions fosters trust and strengthens relationships. When there is mutual trust between an athlete and coach, the likelihood of achieving performance goals is greatly enhanced.

USA Memberships

We will need all of our athletes that have not done so already, to renew their USA Swimming memberships. Here is the link. From my experience with my own athletes just purchasing the membership will initiate the transfer process.

If you qualify for the Outreach Program email me and I will send you the link you will need to use for registrations.

If you have any questions about any registration issues you can reach out to me or our team/business manager Kelly Laneman ([email protected])

Fall and Winter Meet Schedule/Dates of Meet/Location/Deadline to commit

This is our tentative meet schedule for the fall and winter. We may add meets if we find ones that fit our club’s needs. There will be two different dates listed with each meet The first date listed is the day(s) of the meet and the second date is the deadline to commit.

Swimmers wanting to compete will need to commit to those meets. The deadlines will be based on deadlines that were set in previous years. They may change once the meet hosts posts the meet information. When committing to multiple day meets, if the option to select the days you want is not available, leave a message in the notes section stating the specific days you would like to attend.

Some meets will be marked with an * and those will require swimmers to meet minimum time standards. You can view all pool locations on our website under the "Pools" tab.

DUNE Sweater Weather Swim Spectacular/Our Results

CON Skypoint Transit Invite/Elkhart Aquatic Center/Nov. 1-3/Our Results

GSI Goshen Rays Veterans Day Meet/Goshen Aquatic Center/Nov. 9/Our Results

ELK Rudolph Romp/Elkhart Aquatic Center/Dec. 6-8/TBD-commit ASAP

IA Tim Welsh Invite/Elkhart Aquatic Center/Jan. 3-5/Sunday Nov. 17

CON IMXtreme Invite/Concord High School/Jan. 24-26/Dec.15

IA Jr. Superstar Invitational/Rolfs Aquatic Center/Feb. 15&16/Jan.12

CON Leisure Pools Last Chance Showdown/Concord HS/Feb. 28-Mar. 2/Jan.19

*IN Swimming Divisional Championships/TBD/Mar. 7-9/Feb.23

*IN Swimming Senior State/TBD/Mar. 13-16/Feb.23

*IN Swimming Age Group State/TBD/Mar. 21-23/Feb. 23

*USA Swimming Speedo Sectionals/IU Natatorium Indy/Mar. 27-30/Feb.23