December Updates

DECEMBER UPDATES:
Happy New Year!
2024 - an exciting new start and to add to it, an Olympic year :) The New Year is a great time to think about changes you want to make in and out of the pool. I have started by setting up my new house, including a gym, and am looking forward to getting back to my workout routine. New goals don’t deliver new results.....New lifestyles do, and a lifestyle is a process, not an outcome. For this reason, all of your energy should go into building better habits, not chasing better results.

The challenge of swimming all practices this week in the Nakata pool has given us the opportunity to work on being resilient, practice teamwork and learn the importance of hydration. We appreciate all that Parks is doing to get the boiler fixed and look forward to being back in Ray pool to train when repairs are complete. Let’s forge ahead and make 2024 great!

Highlights from the past month:
Divisionals in Snohomish- 41 BISC Swimmers attended this meet. Most swam personal best times, Harper Rich qualified for PNS 14U Champs and bringing home ribbons were: :Amanda Herten, Jonathan Fort, Surya Jain,Aiden Johnson, Olivia Longridge, Louis McKibbin, Estella McVey, Anika Nelson, Natalie Ramey & Harper Rich.

Pasta Feed-Celebrating our Championship Meet swimmers is always exciting. Thank you to the BISC Boosters for providing team t-shirts for the meets. They were much appreciated as was the food everyone contributed. Way to Celebrate TEAM!

Age Group Champs at KCAC BISC placed 12th overall out of 23 teams with 26 swimmers. Over 80 personal best times achieved. Placing in Finals were: Kyler Boydon, William Browning, Rylee Dupont, Lena Everett, Romy Greer, Lola Jasperson, Ian Letson,Wyatt Livingston, Wyatt Majors, Aria Michael, Lily Rehder, & Winston Williams. Thank you to our swimmers who came to compete in relays, as relays are fun and worth double points!: Medaling, placing in the top 8 were: Rylee Dupont, Lola Jasperson, Ian Letson, Wyatt Majors, Aria Michael & Winston Williams.

Senior Champs at KCAC: 19th out of 32 teams with 6 swimmers.This was a very fast and competitive meet. Placing in finals were Kathryn Houseman (16th 100 BR), Sota Inoue(16th 50 BK) & Sara Kriegh(13th 100 FLY, 6th 50 FLY). Every BISC swimmer dropped time in something. Special shout out to Kyler Boydon for coming down to swim the lead off leg of the 400 free relay and hit a best time as well.

Holiday Party - food & fun games shared by all. The sock exchange was super creative and full of surprises. BINGO ( get to know you game brought out some mysteries) & musical chairs were spirited. The food was plentiful and so were the smiles. Sharing relaxed time together was just what we needed.

National Coach Talk with Coach Dave Kelsheimer- Those in attendance got tips on how to excel as a swimmer and in life. Some tips were: Stay hydrated, count your strokes always (stay engaged while training), always strive to do your best. He also shared how to talk to your swimmer after a race (What did your coach say?), how to plan vacations around meets & training “If it matters, it matters”), and stressed the importance of attending practices. Additionally, he gave in water tips to the swimmers who attended Tuesday’s practice before his talk (key points: entry, catch, power pull & exit to make stroke efficient & powerful) His olympic rings ring was pretty cool as well.

Team Movie- Home Alone at Lynnwood Theater was well attended. Thank you Silver Group! Other swim-a-thon prizes are being distributed at practices. Bag tags for swimming 100 or 200 lengths are in the swimmers folders. Swim caps, bucket hats, sunglasses and fanny packs for high $ earners are being passed out by coaches at practice. Thank you all for a great swim-a-thon fundraiser for 2023.

Holiday Training - Those in town trained a full hard week the first week of break and then we offered Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday clinic style practices between Christmas and New Years. We had really nice attendance under the circumstances.
Alumni participated throughout the holiday break and shared tips, college experiences and brought tons of energy to the pool. Those returners were: Kevin Houseman, Garrett Waite, Andrew & Thomas Witty, Brendan Kerns, Colin McDevitt, Emma Solseng, Jacqueline Hall, Margaret Hayes & Nathan Ramey.

New Year: New Goals- After our Championship meets closing out 2023 it's a great time to reflect and set new goals & priorities for 2024. Coach Leilani produced an amazing goal sheet, if you were at practice last week you should have picked one up, and if you missed, check swim folders for the handout. There are some great questions and opportunities for you to really think.

Upcoming Events:
ALL STAR MEET: Wyatt Majors will fly down to Southern California Jan. 5th to compete as part of the PNS All star team. Good Luck Wyatt! Can’t wait to hear how great it was.

WA Open- Jan 11- We will not be attending this meet.

Polar Plunge-Jan 27- OAC pool by the Fairgrounds in Silverdale. For those looking to try new events, chase cuts, get more comfortable with racing or swim more events.

Bluefin Invitational-Feb 3-4th. Home meet. All swimmers should participate. All parents will be needed to help run this meet. Even if you are new to this team, there is always something to do that may not require a specific skill set or knowledge of swimming.