Sunday, October 18, 2009

OLY Fall Classic - October 17, 2009

This weekend's swim meet in summary -- four events, four best times!

What was different about this meet? Just about everything. First, it was in the evening. The kids started warming up at 4:30 pm. We are used to swimming in the morning, and early mornings at that. Sometimes we're in the pool as early as 7 am!

With such a late start, we were, of course, worried about what time it would end. But we shouldn't have worried -- this meet was very well run, and we were done by 8 pm. With such a wonderful facility at Oakland University, the club had 12 lanes to work with, and they ran a very efficient meet.

This was also a special meet because it was the first meet that Sydney's boyfriend Julius was able to join us at an away meet. It was his 18th birthday, and Sydney had plans to take him to dinner in Midland. She was a little upset when she found out our swim meet was in Auburn Hills, nearly 90 minutes away. But when I told her, "There are restaurants in Auburn Hills!" she got excited and looked forward to taking Julius to Rainforest Cafe to celebrate. They had a fun time.

While they were off having dinner, Lexy had one of the best meets of her young swimming career. She swam four events -- the 100 Free, the 100 Breast, the 100 I.M. and the 200 Freestyle. When I think about where she was last year at this time, and how difficult swimming in the 9-10 age group was for her, it didn't seem like we would ever see a day like today.

Lexy's first event was the 100 Freestyle, and she was going into it with a 1:18.10. She finished 8 seconds faster, with a 1:10.71! Watch Lexy swim the 100 Free: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql5iLgCHtk0

I should mention now, that I had a very difficult time uploading all Lexy's videos to YouTube, so I will try again tomorrow. . .

In the 100 Breast, she was seeded in the final heat, because she had such a great summer swimming breaststroke. She was able to better her time by about three seconds, finished at 1:32.29. She needed a 1:32.49 to qualify for the state meet, so she achieved that tonight!

In the 100 I.M., we weren't sure how she would do, since she was starting to report fatigue. Also, since the 100 I.M. includes all four strokes, Lexy's backstroke isn't strong, and she finished about three seconds slower last weekend, we weren't looking for any major victories. We got a nice surprise, with Lexy finishing about one second faster than her best time!

Last but certainly not least, the final event for the night, the 200 Freestyle. At 8 lengths, this is still pretty demanding for the 9-10 age group. Last year, Lexy had clocked this event under 3 minutes, which made us very proud. The qualifying time for the event at this level is 2:31, and Lexy finished in 2:35, nearly 22 seconds faster than her best time! We were just thrilled and amazed to see her do so well, so late in the day, and at the end of a meet.

This finish positions her well for the rest of the season, which will likely see her seeded in the faster heats, giving her better competitors and a better chance to further improve her times.

Great job this weekend Lexy!

Saturday, October 10, 2009

BAYS Pentathlon, Oct. 10, 2009

The big question today -- to cheer or not to cheer. I LOVE to cheer. I LOVE to urge my swimmer on and give her support from the bleacher seats.

Three problems with cheering:
1. Lexy says she can't hear me with her head under water. Can this be true?
2. If I cheer when I'm videotaping, my video viewers can hear me. . .
3. When Lexy watches my videos, she says "Mom! Stop!"

I guess this is a "development opportunity" for me. But when my swimmer is swimming, my spidey senses start tingling and I've got to cheer! GO LEX GO!

Today's meet was organized as a pentathlon, which is a great idea for a swim meet. In essence, every swimmer who signs up will swim each of the four main strokes at the prescribed length for his or her age group, and an I.M. While not everyone will want to swim every stroke, this makes for an efficient meet.

Our session concluded in about 90 minutes. It doesn't give the kids a lot of time between events which, in some cases, can be a good thing, so they don't get bored and start asking for snacks! It also can result in the kids not getting enough time to recover between events.

Lexy's pentathlon consisted of the 50 Fly, 50 Back, 50 Breast and 50 Free, and the 100 I.M. She had a great morning, dropping time in the first three events. She added a couple of seconds in the 50 Free and 100 I.M., but she was still within the qualifying times, so I'm confident she'll pare those back down to where she was last spring or perhaps better them further.

In the 50 Fly, Lexy dropped from 44.69 to 43.58 and made the qualifying time for the Michigan Team Swim League (44.00). Her kick vs. arms timing is really showing improvement. Watch the 50 Fly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB99oZDCZqw

Lexy has been struggling with her backstroke, but we were encouraged today when she dropped about two seconds, from 45.12 to 43.10, just about one second shy of the MTSL cut (42.00). Lexy is in Lane 1; her teammate Jenny Yu is in Lane 2. Jenny is a rocket at backstroke! Watch the 50 Back: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf2mHXzInLk

Breaststroke has been Lexy's best stroke lately, and we were confident she would do well in this event. She didn't disappoint, dropping more than two seconds from her best time, from a 47.87 to a 45.56, and surpassing the MTSL cut (47.00). We were impressed with her start. Watch the 50 Breast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgOdr2OmeLw

In the 50 Free, she went 36.33, about two seconds slower, but these events were moving pretty quickly. She'll get back there. The MTSL cut is 36.00, so she already has that event. Lexy is in Lane 5, Jenny Yu is in Lane 6. Watch the 50 Free: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3XOXhcHkuI

The cut for the 100 I.M. is 1:31.00, and she got this cut last year, going a 1:27.60. Today she went 1:30.14, but again, I think this is a matter of having the meet go so quickly and being tired. Lexy is in Lane 5 and Jenny Yu is in Lane 6. You can see where Lexy falls behind in the backstroke but catches up in the breast. Watch the 100 I.M.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZvdcQjtWLc

Next week: OLY (Oakland Live "Y"ers) at Oakland University, one of our favorite "away" pools. This will be our first USS meet for the Fall and it will NOT be over in 90 minutes!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Swimming with the Olympians!

Today we had the pleasure to meet and spend the afternoon with three American heroes. Unlike other "professional" athletes, whom kids decide to idolize without ever meeting them, today's interaction with three of the U.S.'s most outstanding swimmers will be a day we won't soon forget.

Here are three people in their mid-20's -- Peter Vanderkaay, 25, a two-time Olympian with two gold medals; his brother Alex Vanderkaay, 23, a two-time NCAA champion; and Megan Jendrick, 25, who won two gold medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Peter just happened to have his name up on the wall at the Oakland University pool, holding three pool records there: the 100, 200 and 500 free. Peter and Alex are natives of Rochester, Michigan, and U of Michigan alums. How sad that their alma mater lost today (to STATE! hee hee). Ahem.

These are three well-spoken, genuinely nice people, who understand the importance of getting kids excited and keeping them motivated about their chosen sport of swimming. As they tell it, they weren't superstars the moment someone threw them in the pool. They each had their challenges and had to work hard to achieve their moments on the medal stands.

Here also, were 96 well behaved members of USA swimming or other Michigan swim leagues, who listened, did as the champions told, and just had fun with the afternoon. There was no heckling from the bleachers, nothing being thrown, no parents fighting. Nothing happened that would make headlines, or, refreshingly, the Auburn Hills police blotter. Well-behaved kids, supportive parents, smart, well-spoken champions, sharing their sport during a rainy October afternoon.

When we first signed up, I thought this would be a good way to get Lexy charged up for the Fall swim season. After it was over, I realized how much differently these athletes present themselves than those we're used to seeing. I think the pendulum needs to swing in the other direction. Outstanding role models for kids are out there -- we just have to look hard to find them.

During the introductions, all three swimmers took questions about their background, training regimens, and shared funny and personal stories. Then the swimmers suited up and joined the kids in the pool. They each spent time on their best stroke (Peter, freestyle; Megan, breaststroke; Alex, butterfly) and then they all did a backstroke session. After each instructional session, the kids got to race the champions in a one-length heat. How fun it was to watch 6'4" Peter Vanderkaay give the kids nearly a 3/4 length headstart and still beat them!

Lexy races Peter Vanderkaay -- freestyle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr1TrTb24fA

I missed the start of this race, but caught it in the middle. Lexy is on the left, in the back.

Lexy races Megan Jendrick -- breaststroke: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PcBUPKyyFY

It was so fun to find out that another CUDA family, the Bollands, were there too. In this race against Alex Vanderkaay, Lexy is on the left and Thomas Bolland is on the right. It's a CUDA double-team!

Lexy races Alex Vanderkaay -- butterfly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBzOO1MMvcc

Lexy races Alex Vanderkaay -- backstroke: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMTy0oAd5oU

Afterward, the champions were so gracious about autographing everything in sight! Don't they all have beautiful smiles?

Megan Jendrick: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qaGLIA0oZ4

Alex and Peter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4xhC9OTqdA

I would highly recommend this athlete interaction with anyone who is on the fence about it. It was definitely worth the registration fee and the trip.