FALL 2010 START UP FOR GROUP PLACEMENT 
September 7-9 (Tuesday through Thursday) September 13-16 (Monday through Thursday) 10 & younger from 4-4:45 11 & older from 4:45-5:30pm All at the Jamerson Family Y. Just show up with goggles and suit ready to swim! Try us out with no obligation.
YMCA Swimming's National Top 10!
The YMCA of the USA released its top 10 list, recognizing the top 10 fastest times swum in the nation by YMCA swimmers in each event by age, from 11-18 years old, for the past short course season. LY had several swimmers make the list:
Among 12 year olds girls, Ashley Mauzy posted the 9th fastest 100 yard backstroke time; among 13 year old girls, CT Skorcz had the 6th fastest 1650 yard freestyle time. Among 16 year old girls, Susannah White posted the 8th fastest 400 yard IM, the 6th fastest 100 yard free, the 5th fastest 50 yard free and 200 yard IM, and the 4th fastest 100 yard breaststroke.
On the boys side: Logan White had the 8th fastest 200 yard free and 200 yard IM, the 7th fastest 1650 yard free, the 6th fastest 500 yard free, the 5th fastest 400 yard IM, the 4th fastest 1000 yard free, and the 3rd fastest 200 yard fly out of all the 13 year old Y swimmers in the country. Caleb Williams swam the 10th fastest 400 yard IM, the 3rd fastest 100 yard back, the 2nd fastest 200 yard back and 500 yard free, and the FASTEST 200 yard free swum by any 15 year old YMCA swimmer in the country! Carter Watson posted the 7th fastest 100 yard free and the 8th fastest 200 yard free among 16 year olds, as well as the 8th fastest 200 yard free among 17 year olds. Andrew Cook had the 10th fastest 500 yard free among 16 year olds and the 10th fastest 1000 yard free and 9th fastest 1650 yard free among 17 year olds. Kemp Pettyjohn swam the 8th fastest 500 yard free and 1000 yard free among 16 year olds, and the 6th fastest 500 yard free, 8th fastest 100 yard free, and 7th fastest 1650 yard free among 17 year olds.
The 11-12 girls - Ashley Mauzy, Anna Meinke, Alyssa Reed, and Amanda Naylor - combined to finish 8th in the country in the 200 yard free relay, 6th in the 200 yard medley relay, and 4th in the 400 yard free relay.
Congratulations everyone! You can find the top 10 times at this link:
http://www.ymcacompetitiveswim.org/YMCASwimsdbReports.asp
Championship Season Approaches!
The long course season is rapidly moving toward the end and after many hours of grueling (and yet always FUN) practices, the time is coming to reap the benefits. While there are as many different goals among our swimmers as there are swimmers, many of the details of preparing to do your best are the same. Whether you are swimming in the LAL “B” meet, or trying to pick up a Capital Classic cut at AG Champs, or trying to make the Zone Team, or trying to pick up a Junior National qualifying time at SR Champs, the importance of eating right, getting enough sleep, and staying out of the heat applies at every level. As we begin to rest and taper, and practices begin to get shorter, swimmers will begin to feel more rested and energetic; this does not mean that you should spend a lot of time at the neighborhood pool with your friends or take up jogging to cross train. AU CONTRAIRE! This is the time for your muscles to recuperate and prepare for your strongest and best swims of the year. This is a good time to catch up (start?) your summer reading, practice your piano, go see a movie in a nice air conditioned theatre, lie in your bed and write thank you notes you failed to write at Christmas, buy a coloring book and relive your kindergarten year, have meaningful conversations with your parents. SAVE YOUR ENERGY for your big meet.
Remember, too, that when you get to your big meet, eating and resting are a very important part of swimming your best. VSI championship meets have a prelim/finals format and last three and a half days, so they can be particularly tiring. It is critical to eat properly and get adequate rest THROUGHOUT the meet. This is not the time to plan dinners with teammates or mall excursions between sessions. Try to get in four meals during the day and constantly keep yourself hydrated. Resting between prelims and finals is a must, as well as getting to bed as early as possible at night. If you do not make finals, please come back and cheeer your teammates on, but try to get back to the hotel as soon as possible when finals end. Given all the training that you’ve done all season, it would be ashame to waste it by not giving yourself the best opportunity to perform well.
A recent article by Michael Brooks (current head coach of the York County YMCA, previously worked at North Baltimore) in American Swimming magazine focused on engineering success at meets. I’d like to share the entire article with you later, but for now, I think swimmers can be helped by focusing on Brooks’ “Rules for Racing” when they attend their championship meet:
* Race your guts out.
* Get your best time in the morning, and move up spots.
* Always swim faster at night, and move up more spots (unless you qualify first, then hold.)
* Swim better as the meet progresses and others tire.
* In any close race, get your hand on the wall first.
* Get tougher the tougher the conditions. Enjoy the challenge. No Whining!
* Expect to swim fast; decide to swim fast - every time.
* Learn from your mistakes; fix them. Learn from others’ mistakes; avoid them.
* Cherish being on relays; swim even faster on relays, Swim for your TEAM!
LY swimmers train hard at practice every day and should approach meets as an opportunity to be successful. Good luck to everyone as they head to their championship meet!
