In the tenth edition of the Howloween meet the Wolfpack came out on top. It was a great first home meet of the season and the swimmers did a nice job racing and know what they need to work on moving forward. Thank you to all of our parents for helping make meet run so smoothly and a huge shout out to the Weffer family for their help in organizing all of the towels and team shirts. The strength of the Wolf is in the Pack! Grant Robinson set a...

How Much Sleep Do Swimmers Need? Swimmers push themselves hard in the pool. They try to make healthy life decisions when it comes hydration and nutrition. But where many begin to cut corners is on their sleep. Not getting enough sleep goes beyond just doing the occasional head-bob-and-jerk in class or in public. Or feeling a little groggy and yawning repeatedly while coach writes up a workout on the whiteboard. At the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Laboratory Cheri Mah has been tracking and studying the sleeping habits of...

Pre-Competition Nutrition for Swimmers The night before a swim meet, pair lean protein with low–moderate GI carbs to top off glycogen and support recovery without gut drama—think salmon or chicken with sweet potato and veggies, whole-grain pasta with turkey meatballs, or a brown-rice/quinoa bowl with tofu and roasted veg. On race morning, eat a light, familiar breakfast 2–3 hours before warm-ups (oatmeal + banana + a little nut butter, or eggs + whole-grain toast), then graze every 60–90 minutes between events with easy options—half a bagel with honey, a small...

1. THE UNDERWATER DOLPHIN KICK AND BREAKOUT CAN MAKE UP AS MUCH AS 60% OF YOUR RACE. You don’t need to be a space scientist to understand how vital your push offs and breakouts are in a short course format, whether it is meters or yards. When you consider that in a short course race up to 60% of your race can be done performing UDK it becomes apparent many races are being won off the walls and under the water. 2. YOUR BREAKOUTS ARE THE MOMENTS YOU ARE GOING...

CWAC swimmer Claire Wood has committed to swim at Holy Cross next year. Claire is the fourth member of the class of 2026 to commit to swim next year - click here for the list. Congrats Claire and go Crusaders!

DATES MEET NAME / LOCATION GROUPS Sep 19-21 Intrasquad with practice All groups at coach's discretion Sep 27-28 HPAC at Highland Park HS All groups Oct 18-19 CWAC Howloween X at UIC All groups Nov 21-23 CPSC Invite at Crown Point High School SR1, SR2, G2, G3, S2, S3, BR1, BR2, BR3 Nov 21-23 Speedo Grand Challenge at FMC NAT - qualifying times Nov 21-23 Speedo Classic at Hinsdale Central HS G1, S1 - qualifing times Dec 6-7 CWAC / Rise Meet at UIC All groups Dec 11-14 Winter Juniors...

Congrats to the 200 CWAC swimmers that helped lead the team to a second place finish in the opening meet of the year in Highland Park. It was a great chance for some early season racing against some of the top teams in the state. Click here for results New State Cuts: Quinn Bartels (1); Ryan Bezsaly (2); Tavion Brown (1); Magdalena Calahorrano (1); Benjamin Eggleston (1); Xingyu Gai (2); Jonathan Li (1); Jake Moldovan (2); Grant Robinson (2); Avni Sudarshan (3); Addison Sydel (1); Shima Uto (2) New Regional...

A lot of awesome stuff happens on the way to swimming excellence, whatever that means for you in your own particular case. Overcoming failures and setbacks, learning how to plan to accomplish something big, managing your thoughts and self-talk and more all happen when you master the pool and your mental training. But there is one other thing that happens along the way that doesn’t really get much attention. And it’s something insanely critical to performance, and yet, we don’t really stop to think about it. (We’re too busy focused...

In a recent story, someone commented, “When and what should swimmers eat during meets?” I discussed this question with several swim moms from a variety of backgrounds, including two nurses, former swimmers, athletes, a dietitian and parents of Olympians, to find out their advice about nutrition at meets. Although none of them claim to be experts, they have years of experience and have learned what things do and do not work for their kids. They provided five practical tips and a list of foods their swimmers eat at meets. ONE...

Congrats to Biko Hooper-Haviland who was selected to the USA Swimming National Junior Team. In addition to setting an Illinois state record in the event, Biko's performance in the 200 butterfly this summer was one of the top 5 performances for all 18&Unders in the United States. Biko is the first ever member of CWAC to earn this recognition. Biko is just starting his freshman year at Purdue this fall and is swimming for the Boilermakers. Congrats to Biko, his coaches, family and teammates on this great achievement! COLORADO SPRINGS,...