Blog 2225: Nottingham Northern Gala

Please could all swimmers get their entries to me no later than Monday 2nd March.
Thank you
Debbie

Blog 2224: Blue Seventy Nero TX Suits

Two fantastic opportunities to get your hands on a new Blue Seventy Nero TX Suit: -

1. Purchase a raffle ticket, cost £5. These are still available from your squad reps. Draw date to be announced soon.

2. Purchase an orange Nero TX at a massive 60% discount from www.blueseventy.co.uk using the discount code LESC60TX.

Blog 2223:Too many cooks

The old saying too many cooks spoil the broth is no more true than it is in swimming. It is for this reason I insisted that we had separate coaches responsible for each squads training instead of different coaches for each session, it is why myself and Alex are in constant communication behind the scenes to ensure our sharing of B squad runs smoothly and we have a common thread running between the sessions, it is why I want all the squads knowing the same pre and post pool routine and why all our coaches use the same terms and drills. Having reviewed performances at County Championships it was very clear that those swimmers who were following the clubs plans and no one elses, were the swimmers that had made the most technical improvements in their races and swimming styles. We spend a large majority of the time working on technique at this club and therefore there is no reason to look for additional tuition. Junior and Age group swimmers only hear and have the mental capacity to implement 2 or 3 instructions at a time and if one coach is saying work XYZ and another is saying do ABC then neither will be done and therefore no improvements in technique are made. I would only recommend going on any swim camp or training day not run by this club or having a member of this clubs coaching staff on it, if they were using video analysis and you are able to bring that video back to the coaching staff for further work. We have asked in the past if parents wanted us to put on specific training sessions at additional cost and time to our own programme where more focus can be made on swimmers but no response was forthcoming. If this is something you are interested in please contact your squad reps and let them know what you would like us to provide you with.

Blog 2222: Loughborough Training

For this Sunday only 1st March 2015 the session will be 12.30pm to 2.30pm at Loughborough.


Queens Street and West Park are as usual.

Blog 2221: Rugby Open Meet 25th/26th April 2015 Level 3

Full details of this meet can be found on the following website http://www.rugbyswimmingclub.co.uk/open-meets/4576613058


The closing date for this meet will be 20th March, please make cheques payable to Long Eaton Swim Club.
Thank you


Debbie

Blog 2220: Nuneaton Draft Programme

The draft programme is now available to view on the following website http://www.nun-bed-sc.co.uk/
Thank you


Debbie

Blog 2219: Eckington Gala 10th May

Full details of this meet can be found on the following website http://www.eckingtonswimmingclub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ESC-2015-Entry-Pack.pdf


This is a first come first served gala so I will be closing this on Friday 20th March. Please make cheques payable to Long Eaton Swim Club.

Blog 2218: Miami Video

Thanks to Josephine Parker for putting together this video from Miami.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzTAPTAkEA8&feature=youtu.be

Blog 2217: Long Eaton Swimming Club Branded Drawstring Bags

A potential new supplier has been found for the drawstring bags.

We can now offer to include the name of the swimmer printed on the bag.

The price will remain at £5

The bag can be seen here and orders placed through email

Blog 2216: Responsibilities

Please can all parents note that the Club is only responsible for swimmers during the time of the training session. Parents take responsibility for children before the session commences and after the session has ended.

Parent of children who are under the age of nine must remain on the premises during training.

 

Sarah Tew

Welfare Officer

Blog 2215: Lincoln Vulcans Level 1 Meet

This gala will take place at Ponds Forge on 9/10 May, full details can be found on the following website http://www.lvsc.co.uk/resources/Open-Meets/2015-Open-Meet-LC/entries_summary_form2015

The closing date for this gala is 30th March 2015. Cheques made payable to Long Eaton Swim Club.

Debbie

Blog 2214: DX Level 1 Meet

This gala will take place 11th/12th April 2015 at Ponds Forge, the closing date for this gala is Monday 2nd March 2015.
Full details can be found on the following website http://www.derventioexcel.org.uk/event/derventio-excel-9th-long-course-open-meet-2015. Cheques made payable to Long Eaton Swim Club.

Debbie

Blog 2213: Miami Wrap Up

By now many of you have spoken to the guys who went to Miami and have realised that despite the set backs this was one of the greatest camp experiences of all time with everyone still wishing they were out there in the sun. Yes, wallets went missing but they were found, Aine went to the hospital but she was fine, the schedule got changed but we adapted and discipline and stress levels were brought into line in time. So any issue we had we overcame and this galvanized the team into a great unit with lots of swimmers and staff learning valuable lessons, not only in the pool but in life as well. This is exactly why we do these camps and exactly why we do them away from home, so the normal support network is not there and swimmers have to adapt and develop. For me the variety of external activities, standard of the facility and choice of food made this camp far superior to any camp I have been involved in before.  There are only 2 things I would change in future, the need for a full time team manager was made clearly apparent and a location closer to the pool so that travel time does not effect training or team time, again these are things that we have learnt from this camp for the future and by no means a dig at either the accommodation, which was great or the the people who stepped up to ensure the camp went ahead. I would like to thank Tracey Young for booking the hotel, Alex Michell for booking the flights, Helen Akers for sorting the payments out, Sue Parker for helping the team managers and Hannah Cox and Adam Freundlich for stepping into the Team Managers shoes, without your contributions this amazing experience would not of happened.

Peter Softley was Top Camper
Kye Hazelton Top Male Camper
Lauren Searby Top female camper

These awards were based on the swimmers nutrition, attitude, pool performances, manners, behaviour and how they helped other members of the team.

Blog 2212: Upcoming galas

Below is a list of galas, who they are for and what to do in them.

Date	Gala	Sqauds	Focus
07/02/2015	Leicester league	Team Selection	To give experience to swimmers not in the A team or who usually dont compete
14/02/2015	County Champs	All	Race Practice Heavy Programme
21/02/2015	County Champs	All	Race Practice Heavy Programme
14/03/2015	Leicester league	Team Selection	To give experience to swimmers not in the A team or who usually dont compete
28/03/2015	Nuneaton	A/YNS	Youth Focus for Midland qualification if not already qualified
			Youth if qualified Half heavy programme race practice
			Age Group Race Practice Heavy Programme
11/04/2015	Derventio Excel	Qualified Swimmers	Race Practice or focus meet discuss with coach Diddy League takes priority
18/04/2015	Diddy League	Team Selection	Strongest Team Possible ages 9-12 as at 20/6/2015
25/04/2015	Rugby lvl 3	Age Group	Regional Qualfier
01/05/2015	Midland Youth	Qualified Swimmers	National Chances Race Practice on main events
			Focus meet for non national chances
			Relay Teams
10/05/2015	Eckington	C/B/A YNS?	Race Practice Heavy Programme
15/05/2015	Midland Masters	Masters/YNS	Race Practice Heavy Programme
16/05/2015	Diddy League	Team Selection	Strongest Team Possible ages 9-12 as at 20/6/2015
09/05/2014	Lincoln	National Qualifying	Focus Meet for national prospects - other qualifiers to enter as well
30/05/2015	Age Group Midlands	Qualified Swimmers	Focus Meet
06/06/2015	Age Group Midlands	Qualified Swimmers	Focus Meet
12/06/2015	British Masters	Masters/YNS	Focus Meet
20/06/2015	Diddy League	Team Selection	Strongest Team Possible ages 9-12 as at 20/6/2015
28/06/2015	Notts Northern Junior	C/B	Race Experience heavy programme
04/07/2015	City Of Derby B	C/B/A YNS?	Race Experience heavy programme
11/07/2015	Tauten Dean	youth/senior	Stay Away meet
			Focus meet for non national qualfiers
			Race Practice for Nantional Qualifiers half programme
19/07/2015	Club Champs	All	No National Qualifiers everyone else full programme
28/07/2015	British Champs	Qualified Swimmers	focus meet
01/08/2015	English Nationals	Qualified Swimmers	focus meet

Blog 2211: First weekend of Counties

Having just got back from Miami it was straight back to work at County Championships and I have to say it was well worth it. The swimmers put on an amazing display and 95% of them hit personal best times or times that were quicker than this point last season. Not only were the times of a high standard but how the swimmers raced was even better. Remember this is not a focus meet for older swimmers just race practice and the tactical skills used in the racing were a vast improvement and result of following the race programme correctly. Long Eaton swimmers were some of the best behaved and professional in and around the pool at the gala and this is a credit to not only the swimmers, but the Team Managers and the hours of hard work put in by the coaching staff in educating the swimmers correctly. Overall we had an amazing first weekend and I am proud to be Head Coach of such an impressive group of swimmers.

Blog 2210: County Fines

A number of swimmers failed to follow the withdrawal process as outlined below this weekend and will therefore be receiving details of their fines in due course.

Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that the fine is paid, THE CLUB WILL NOT DO THIS FOR YOU.

Non-payment of the fine will result in the swimmer being prevented from entry to any other competition promoted by Derbyshire ASA until the fine has been paid.

Blog 2209: Found

A pair of boys jammers and a skipping rope were found yesterday at the Matlock pool, if these belong to you please email me.


Thanks


Debbie

Blog 2208: Withdrawing from the Counties

Just a reminder that it is your responsibility to let Joyce Mellor know if you are not intending to swim at any of the sessions this weekend at Matlock.

Competitors may withdraw up to 1 hour before the scheduled start of the session by telephoning 07929 377809 and leaving a message stating swimmers name, gala, event number and competitor number. Later withdrawals due to illness or injury, a completed form must be given to Admin desk to avoid fine.

FINES FOR LATE WITHDRAWAL OR NO-SHOW

Late withdrawals and no-shows will result in a £5 fine per swim, payable by the club under whose name the swimmer has entered the competition.  Non-payment of the fine will result in the swimmer being prevented from entry to any other competition promoted by Derbyshire ASA until the fine has been paid.

Blog 2207: Last Day's Training

So we said farewell to the Pine Crest and 'thanks for having us'. We will definitely be back to an amazing school with great staff and friendly students. What a facility, what an atmosphere, what a camp - best one ever despite the early teething problems.  So what better way to end our training here than with a big kick set......well let's try a challenge set to get out of the kick set. Stand up and swim time. The swimmers were initially challenged to stand up swims to get out of parts of the kick set, the further and hard the swim, the more they got off provided times were acceptable. Some amazing performances like Callum Henley going 2:03 on 200fr, Mischa 1:49 for the same event and the young girls doing 200 breast in 3:06, 3:07 and 3:11 (Beth, Aine and Lauren) gave me an idea. I had originally challenged the swimmers to write the afternoon session by way of writing down their nightmare and dream sessions and then drawing them out of a hat to make the session, but as most had put tolerance as their nightmare set it looked like it was going to be 20 x 100 off 4 mins for the last session max. I wasn't a fan of this so I challenged the swimmers to better themselves, to stand up again. Those that did 100 had to go faster and those that did 200 had beat half their time less 5 seconds, to make it fair 14 out of 18 swimmers had to hit this mark. Mischa went 48 100fr., the girls sub 1:25 on breast, Callum 55 and Sam 57, with Sian in a 58 as well on the 100, so going into the final heat 4 swimmers left with the score 13-1 in favour of the swimmers. Adam, Jo and Eden all missed their targets by less than .5 leaving Ryan to better his 100 fly time of 61 from the first round. The prize was the afternoon off and a trip to the beach. He clock a 59.2 so off to the beach we went; its a hard life! So all that is left is a walk to the steak house, packing and a trip to the Mall. See you all Saturday for Counties at Matlock. I will be the one with a very sad look on his face dreaming of sunshine, palm trees and Miami Baby.

P S   Mother dropped my Dad off at Heathrow 2 days ago and the roadworks on the M1 are adding nearly 2 hours to the journey, so those coming to pick us up may want to use the M40.

Bog 2206: Feel the HEAT

Back in to full training now with a VO2 max set smashed out the park and a power and threshold set in the afternoon destroyed. The swimmers have really stepped up after a good rest and geeup on Sunday am. The swimmers repeated the first session Sunday pm and everyone did over 1000m more of the set than when we first got here. Despite the two hard training sessions on Monday, we still got a quick beach visit in and Helen, as it was her last night, wanted to do a stand up 100m swim after the 3.5k IM threshold set. 1:11.27 for 100br SCY - proving what great shape the guys are in still, despite many of them already doing more sessions and metres than they would do in two weeks. Monday brought about our planned trip to Miami Heat vs. New York Knicks and a chance for the swimmers to experience the hype around American sports. We googled the route and it was 48 minutes, so we decided to leave at 5:45pm to get there for a 7:30 start, giving us ample time to drop Helen off at the airport - or so we thought. 2 hours 15 later we finally arrived at the American Airways Arena just prior to the end of the 1st quarter, which saw the Heat down by 12. After we found our seats and high fived Helen as she flew past as they were that high up, we partook in the tradition of eating junk food (no change for the burger boys) and drinking sodas whilst Miami got a new cheerleader in Greg, and I'm sure it was his noise that brought about the turn in fortune for the Heat, as they ended up winning 109 to 95. The journey home took 48 minutes on the same route. active rest set completed in some style this morning, with final 50 times being extremely quick, so it's now time for a quick nap after a Dunkin Doughnut, then a trip to ASDA, then to the beach for lunch and a splash, followed by race pace and speed endurance, then a meal on the Ocean front before tomorrow's last day of training.

Blog 2205: Development Squad Training Kit

Graham will be at Trent College at 7pm on Monday and Wednesday for swimmers who require any items of kit. Graham's contact details (Club Shop) can be found on the left hand side of the Blog.

Blog 2204: Training over the County Weekends

Please be aware:

14th/15th Feb and 21st/22nd Feb

There will be NO training sessions on

Saturday mornings at West Park
Sunday afternoons at Queens Street
Sunday afternoons at Loughborough

This applies to both weekends and is due to the County Championships.

Blog 2203: Busy rest period

After Friday morning,s session with some very fast stand up swims we embarked on our much needed rest period. Friday afternoon saw a great drive down to Miami beach where the team played in the sea and took in the amazing sites of Downtown Miami. We then went to pick Jo P up from the airport before going to an eat all you can pizza buffet for the extremely expensive price of $8.99. Saturday we took a trip out to the Everglades held some baby Gators, after seeing their big brothers in the wild, then ate some for lunch. We also got to see an Osprey expertly catch a fish and eat it for its lunch. After the 'glades we went to the International Swimming Hall of Fame; unfortunately this was shut so we had to go to Fort Laurderale beach instead - shame. We tried to book Hustons for a nice meal but couldn't so we were left looking for somewhere to eat on Saturday night. This proved to be hard. Fortunately we meet a very nice local man called Patrick who drove round several restaurants that he knew the owners of to get us in somewhere. He also invited us back to his house for a BBQ if we couldn't find somewhere to eat which goes to prove that there are still nice people in the world. So, after a Sunday morning of chilling, which was much needed for the staff who have already clocked up over 1000 miles driving, as well as constantly being on the go, we are back to training this afternoon, but I think we'll pop to the beach first.

Blog 2202: Be proud

Dining out is always fun, but trying to get 19 hungry swimmers fed in time for bed is hard work. Tonight on camp I wanted to move away from Burgers or Diner food and try something different. Stopping in the highly exclusive area of Boca Raton (they have more water fountains on the main road than Manchester United has fans!) has its draw backs in terms of cheap eats. Don't get me wrong, the area is lovely and only 30 minutes away from the pool but it is where a lot of professional tennis players live, so locally is very pricey. Anyway, long story short, we decided to try Greek tonight. A last minute booking into a small family restaurant suited us just right. At the end of the meal the lady who owned the business with her husband, and had served us all night, stood in front of the group and thanked us all for coming to them and complimented the swimmers on their behaviour, saying how well mannered they were and how they were not like American kids who were all, now she was Greek and people heard different words at this stage so you choose which one you think is best to end her sentence, "hotdogs""hobbos""hooligans""hound dogs". No matter what, the swimmers are representing the club well.

Blog 2201: Thunder, Lightning its all very exciting

Following on from a great afternoon session where one of the quotes of camp came out of Chloe Blaydons mouth "well that wasnt very Tom Daley was it", the swimmers were back on track this morning with an early session and 2k kick on the cards. Training once again under the lights is so atmospheric; it's great and the swimmers have really stepped up to the surroundings. Trouble was brewing in the sky as black clouds rolled in during our session, and just as we started the warm down the heavens opened and down came the rain. As our swimmers stayed in to finish the set off, a siren started going off and we thought World War 3 had started, but it was just a thundersorm warning and we were soon told to evacuate the pool and retire to the changing rooms for saftey. The timing could not have been better as most had finished; the poor Danish Squad, however, who had missed both sessions yesterday only managed to get 100m done prior to the storm. Driving back with the wipers on full and clash of thunder and sparks of lightning going off all around, it became clear our luck was in with the time of the session. It's still hot and the clouds are clearing ready for this afternoon's session. Aine trained this morning and actually drank a lot of water - lesson learned I hope.

Blog 2200: Counties February 14th

Please find the start times for the Derbyshire County Championship on Saturday 14^th February on the following website http://www.derbyshireswimming.org.uk/index.php/competitions/county-championships.

Swimmers please be on poolside at least 15 minutes before the start of each session.

Space is limited so make sure that you take a small bag on poolside containing your drinks and snacks, lockers are also available.

Remember that when you are in the gym, please be on your best behaviour.

Parking as usual will be very limited, so make sure that you arrive early.

Please notify Mrs Mellor if you need to withdraw from any events.

Thank you

Debbie

Blog 2199: Aine Returns

Tonight I have collected Aine from the hospital and she has been given a full clean bill of health - now to work her!!!!!! lol

Blog 2198: Miami Day 2

What a great facility we are training at; it is really impressive and watching the young athletes train here prior to our session you can see why America are so dominant in the world of sport. A coach per lane, World class facilities, everyone on the same page and supportive, and the respect for the coach is unbelievable. Even in restaurants, you say you're a coach and they address you as Coach and look up to you. It is a different world out here and so the swimmers are finding out. A night session and some amazing performance in the pool with everyone stepping up; even the lights going off on a timer halfway through the session couldn't stop the swimmers.

Training next to Ben Titley's Canadian squad and with rumour of James Gibson's squad, including Fran Hassall and Liam Tancock, arriving next week, our swimmers are standing toe to toe with some of the best in the World and looking as good.

Aine is still in hospital as we are waiting for the results of one more test, but hopefully we will be able to pick her up after this afternoon's set. A visit to the Cheesecake Factory for tea last night and then Las Padas for a monster hoogie, to make sure the swimmers are fueling up, will be followed by a trip into Fort Lauderdale for tea tonight. Hope the weather is ok over there as it was cooler today at around 26 degrees.

Blog 2197: Land Training

Land training is permanently cancelled on Wednesdays. There will be NO land training on Fridays at West Park until Spencer has returned from swim camp. 
Land training will resume on Friday 20th February.
Thank you


Debbie

Blog 2196: Miami day one- things don't always go to plan

Hi all. Its 28 degrees here and the facilities are amazing, first session down with a hard couple of sessions planned for tonight. But that's not the important stuff. These camps are designed to be a learning curve and an educational procedure to not only give swimmers a chance to grow in the pool but as human beings as well and with the start to the camp, a lot of growing has needed to be done by all very quickly. Whilst the thought of a fellow club member being in hospital may scare you, please use this as a learning curve for yourself. Before I continue, I want to point out that, other than missing her mum and friends, Aine is ok and is due to be released tomorrow. Having spent 9 hours on a slightly bumpy but otherwise uneventful flight, then having to endure the queue of Customs in hot temperatures. Unfortunatley Aine had become dehydrated to the point where she collapsed in the queue, something the security guards see all too often according to them, with Lauren Searby in attendance being a little star, the paramedics came to Aine's aid and, despite falling and bumping her head, she was concious and wanting her mum. After a talk and an iv drip, the paramedics wanted to take her to hospital to be sure, and since then Aine has recieved the best medical care and attention and is now nearly rehydrated and able to rejoin her friends. These things happen and I am proud to say the reaction of the group to this distressing time has been one of support for each other and Aine, and very mature coming together with them handling the situation with a calmness that says a lot about them. Special thanks go to Hannah Cox who went to the hospital and sat with Aine for seven hours whilst we collected cars, got lost due to a dodgy sat nav, scrambled to get to a Wendy's for tea and booked into the hotel. It was 2:30am by the time I had collected Hannah and returned to the hotel with a 5:45 wake up for breakfast. On a lighter side Mischa and Ryan were trying to pose for the Ben Titley's Canadian squad that are training alongside but it has to be said the Canadian girls could not have been less interested.

Blog 2195: Nottingham Northern Gala

Details of entries are now available to view on the website http://www.northernsc.co.uk Click on the Junior Open 2015 and scroll down to check your entries,
Please notify me as soon as possible if there are any errors.


Thank you
Debbie