I would like to pass on my congratulations to Bob and his team for last nights performance. The team spirit showed by the swimmers there was amazing, proving there is no I in team. With many swimmers having to competing against swimmers much older than themselves in different age groups, caused by drop outs and injuries, I would like to stress that event's such as Leicester League are an important part of the clubs calendar, as it is times like these where we come together and swim for each other not ourselves. So whether you are there for just one relay or for 3 individuals and 4 relays, you are all part of a team and should consider it an honor to be selected, especially as places for teams are getting more and more competitive. We have the Diddy league coming up, and a couple of Trophy gala's as well, one where we will be selecting swimmers who don't normally do team events to give them a chance of experiencing this exciting format of swimming and one where we will be entering the strongest team possible as a last preparation for Arena league, where I hope we repeat the performance of last year and make the final.
Sat in amongst the parents last night gave me an opportunity to watch and listen. The main focus was starts and turns and once again I have to point out a few simple facts. No other clubs program have focus sessions on starts and turns, they are incorporated into sets just like ours. It is down to the swimmer to take on the advice of the coach when doing a start or a turn and not be lazy in doing so, as it showed last night those swimmers with poor training habits took them into the races, something myself and the other coaches have warned against time and time again to these swimmers. Every time you do more than one length you do a turn so practice every turn you do in training as if it were a race turn even if it is not at race pace you can still focus on the skill level. Every time you do a sprint set from the blocks when the coach says take your marks, take your marks, don't just flop down on the block and fall into the pool, do a proper racing start. When someone commented on how strong the opposition looked I took it upon myself to speak to their coach afterwards and he told me his swimmers (13 and under) were doing 7/8 sessions a week totaling around 12 hours and many were working with the local performance club (City of Leicester - ours is Derventio), if you don't match the hours you won't be able to compete so I ask, please attend as many sessions as possible, we as a club are on the verge of something special we just need you, the swimmers, to push us over the line with focus hard work and increased attendance.
