Some of our top swimmers have been attending a training camp in Essen, Germany, since August 20th and they have had a fantastic time. Yes, there is a lot of swimming going on with nine practices thus far and two more tomorrow, but we also have seen a lot of Germany. Not only do people speak a different language, but they also lead a different lifestyle which was met with a lot of curiosity by our swimmers. Staying with host families allows our swimmers to experience at least an impression of how another culture lives.
The hospitality we have experienced over the past week can only be described with superlatives: excellent, outstanding; more than we expected.
The Team Manager of SG Essen, Bernhard Gemlau has blown us away with putting together cultural highlights including a visit to Cologne Cathedral, the Chocolate Museum in Cologne, a canoe ride on the Ruhr river, a visit to Zeche Zollverein, and much much more.
Our swimmers have been intrigued by the magic of Senior Assistant Head Coach Tobias Heinrich. He has exposed our athletes to different practice sets consisting lot of kicking and pulling which makes them work in different ways. They have also had the opportunity to work with Olympic Coach, Henning Lambertz, during intense dryland sessions. Needless to say, we are all appreciating what our German friends are offering us here at SG Essen. What an opportunity!
