Written by Josh Hyde
Casey Storch, 10, is November's FISH of the Month. Casey's performance at the November Open was outstanding; he qualified for Junior Olympics in every event he competed. After this meet he came to practice with a new found focus on his training and enthusiasm to do whatever it takes to improve. This was apparent at the recent Tom Dolan Invitational meet where he improved his times in all of his events, only 4 weeks after the November Open.
When: December
11, 2009 6pm-8pm
Where: Fuddrucker's
- 1587 Spring Hill Rd. Vienna, VA. 22182
Cost: Tickets
are $1 each or 6 for $5
Items: Enter
to win:
• 30
Minute private lesson with Coach Josh Hyde to work on Butterfly
• 30
Minute private lesson with Coach Josh Morgan to work on Freestyle
• 30
Minute private lesson with Coach Gunther to work on Breaststroke
• 30
Minute private lesson with Coach Julie to work on Backstroke
• FISH
swim cap signed by Kate Ziegler
• $25 gift card to Sport Fair
Tickets will be on sale during the FISH dinner at Fuddrucker's
on December 11, 2009.
Raffle winners will be drawn at 8pm.
Contact Kris Delta.
by Josh Hyde
This week in Coach's Corner we are reviewing proper
butterfly technique. Who better to use than the best in the world? Please
follow the link to see a great video and tutorial of Michael Phelps performing
butterfly. Pay close attention to the narrator as he explains each phase of the
stroke; he does a great job of
breaking it down and using the video to illustrate his points.
One very important item to keep in mind while watching this
video is to remember that everyone's stroke is unique and not everyone will
look exactly like Mr. Phelps. However, you can still learn a great amount from
watching this video and perhaps something will click the next time you perform
the stroke in practice.
Written by Coach Gunther
Athletes often are unsure of how much carbohydrate, protein and fat they should be consuming. A swimmer's energy requirements depend on several variables, which include their age, gender, body weight (and possible body composition) and level of training. USA Swimming has posted an article, which include a formula and chart to help swimmers determine how much is enough. Please click on the link to access this information.
Written by Josh Hyde
In this week's Coach's Corner we cover our
second stroke of the season - backstroke. By following this link you will be
taken to a video of one of the best backstroker's in the world, Margaret
Hoelzer. This short video provides a number of great angles and provides a
great look into proper backstroke technique.
Some key points to pay close attention to
are how she is catching the water as soon as her hand enters the water behind
her head. She anchors her with a bend of her elbow and then proceeds to 'sweep
and shove' with her entire arm propelling her through the water.
Another key item to watch for is the
rotation throughout the stroke through the hips and shoulders. You will hear
your coaches refer to your core often throughout practice. This is because the
core is where you generate most of your power, therefore, it is imperative that
a swimmer has good rotation in both the freestyle and backstroke - which is
excellently demonstrated in this video.
Finally, the last thing to focus on is from
the :45 to :55 second mark when they show two swimmers doing a flip turn. Take
note of how she attacks the flip then proceeds to 'out kick' the other athlete
off the wall. This was covered in a previous installment of coach's corner (see
the 5th Stroke), but this is a great illustration of just how
important the underwater kick is.
Written by Josh Morgan
October's FISH of the Month, 13-year old Alexandra Cramer, is off to an impressive start to the 2009-2010 short course season. In just two meets, she has managed to not only swim every event offered in her age group, but has also swum personal best times in 13 of 14 events!
Alexandra, who swims with the Incredible FISH, has averaged over 100% attendance throughout the fall. Undoubtedly her persistence, consistent effort and hard work at practice have translated into improvements in the competition pool. Additionally, Alex was one of only two Incredible FISH who successfully swam in all four sessions as well as Saturday's between session practice at the MSSC Senior Meet.
Alex, who has been swimming competitively since she was 8
years old, also plays the violin, enjoys drawing and has two cats (Buttercup
& Sophie) at home. The FISH coaches are eagerly monitoring Alex's progress
and are looking forward to her continued improvement and leadership by example.
