Hello everyone,
Welcome to the WST 2012 Season! Summer is coming and it’s time to think about our team and all we wish to accomplish. I am happy to announce that we have retained all our coaches from last year! This means that we will have much of the same experience that we did a year prior, which I hope will be to your liking. Everything will operate as it has in years past with some new things that we are going to try this year.
- I have learned the importance of core strength and conditioning from starting to coach CB West High School. Therefore, I have decided that during our morning practices for 11 and ups, we will have dryland for 30 minutes on Mondays and Wednesdays. This would mean that practice would go from 8:15am- 10:30am for them. 10 and unders would still be 10am - 11am and 8 and unders 11am- 11:45am. Only 11 and ups are doing dryland. We will be working on core strength and cross training through sprinting, and possibly with stretch cords, a pull-up bar, and medicine balls.
- I understand that some swimmers may choose to swim with their USS team during the summer. Many swimmers go to CBST, which I am very familiar with since I am close to Stu and have coached the program. This year I will require USS swimmers to attend at least one WST practice a week during the morning practice season. We want everyone to be part the team and as coaches we want to feel like we get to work with you outside of just meets.
- I want to try out Saturday morning practices this year. WST members without a USS commitment should be attending at least 3 practices a week. I know when life happens sometimes that is not possible for everyone. This is why we are going to do Saturday practices starting the first week of morning practices to give an extra opportunity. There will be no Saturday practice on June 23rd (Cold Water Classic), and July 7th (4th of July weekend). The last Saturday practice will be July 21st. Saturday practices will run like an Advanced Swim Clinic for the first half of practice, and an endurance driven practice for the second half. We will split the lanes into strokes, and it will give the swimmers an opportunity to think about technique and racing strategies for their particular stroke. Then we will translate that into an endurance set. Times will be different than M-F: 11 and up 9am - 10:15am, 10 and under 10:15am - 11:15am, 8 and under, 11:15am - 12pm
- Here is a gentle reminder that if you have not signed in for a meet before its deadline, you will not be put in the meet. The lineup takes a very long time and since we will be having two meets a week, I have little time to change the lineup for swimmers who were not signed up. Thank you!
Let me know if you have any questions. I am very excited for this year. We are going to work hard as coaches and we expect the same from our swimmers. At the same time we will be a team based around fun and friendly competition. See everyone soon!
Julian
