Quote of the Day for February 28th

"If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough."

The quote for today comes from open wheeled racing legend Mario Andretti who was born on this day in 1940.

Watching the Men's Big 10 Championship Meet really brings this quote to life. Its really neat to watch guys go after the first 100 fly of the 400 IM, well, like they are just swimming the 100 fly. They are swimming fast because they are attacking every lap, and this goes for all of the races. I am sure that these guys are swimming the exact same way in practice and that their coaches don't have to remind them to go hard at workouts. I am also sure that their coaches don't have to remind them they should be going faster or yell at them because (after being told this) they still aren't swimming fast enough in workouts.

Too many people talk to me about how they "feel" during practice or in a race. This thought process consumes them to the point where it overruns the most basic thought they should be having: JUST SWIM FAST! I hear swimmers say all of the time that there were "just really tired". That's crap. If you aren't tired during a race then you aren't swimming fast enough. If it doesn't hurt then you aren't swimming fast enough. If you have an excuse for your performance then you probably spent too much time thinking about what the excuse would be and not enough time racing.

Quote of the Day for February 27th

"Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody."

The Quote of the Day comes from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poet and writer was born on this day 102 years ago in 1807.

Championship Meet Explanation

Okay everyone. I am going to attempt to explain each of the Championship Meets our team is attending in March and April. I will go through the meets in chronological order, starting with the meets closest to starting now.

One thing everyone should remember: you can go to more than one meet. Some swimmers may actually qualify to swim in up to three or four meets. The coaching staff feels it is very important for swimmers to attend more than one meet, if possible (based on travel time, costs, and qualifying times). Some swimmers will only qualify to swim in one meet. But if you are qualified to swim in more than one of these meets you should definitely try to attend two or more of these meets. If you have any questions on your meets, please talk to your coach(es).

On to the meets....

NJ State Individual High School Championships (March 7-8) - This meet is for high school swimmers. They will be competing with for their high school team and will be signed up for the meet by their HS coach. I am putting this meet on the list for two reasons:

1) Swimmers from this team will be focused on swimming fast at this meet. While they are representing their respective high schools they are also still representing GPAC. Since the 04-05 school year GPAC has had swimmers claim 12 state championships.
2) This is a great meet for parents of younger swimmers to bring their children to to watch GPAC team members (and other great swimmers from around the state) compete for state titles. Go ahead and wear your GPAC colors to the meet to show your support for your teammates.
Date: March 7-8
Location: GCIT
Times (Prelims are Saturday and Finals are Sunday): Girls meet @ 10am, Boys meet @ 2pm
Entries: Sent in through NJ High School coaches

Middle Atlantic Junior Olympics (March 12-15). This meet has qualifying times the swimmers must achieve in order to compete. This meet is only for swimmers ages 14 and under. The meet allows for Bonus swims (a bonus swim means that if you have the qualifying time in an event, you can swim extra events that you do not have the qualifying times in...but you must have at least one regular meet cut time.
Date: March 12-15
Location: GCIT
Start Times and Meet Information: click here
Qualifying times: click here
Bonus Swim time standards: click here
Entries: coaches will talk to swimmers with qualifying times and entries are done through the USA Swimming website by the Head Coach
SPECIAL NOTE: We will have to significantly alter practice times for our team during these days. Please check the team calendar for practice times. IMPORTANT: swimmers who are entered into the meet should attend warm-ups each day even if they are not swimming to serve as their practice. You cannot attend warm-ups if you are not entered in the meet.

NCSA Junior National Championships (March 17-21). This is the fastest meet of the year for swimmers ages 18 and under. The qualifying times are extremely fast! You will be able to follow the action from the meet through the following websites:
www.juniornationals.org
www.swimmingworldmagazine.com
www.floswimming.org
Date: March 17-21
Location: Orlando, FL
Qualifying standards and Meet Info: click here
Entries: Done by the Head Coach

Middle Atlantic Senior Champs (March 20-22). This meet if for all swimmers who meet the qualifying standards. It is primarily for swimmers ages 15 and older but anyone can swim in the meet if they have the qualifying times. Hotel information can be found in the "News" section at www.swimgpac.org. This meet allows for bonus events and there is no separate qualifying time for the bonus events like at Junior Olympics. No matter how many events you qualify in, you can swim one bonus event.
Date: March 20-22
Location: York YMCA in York, PA
Meet Information and start times: click here
Qualifying Times: click here
Entries: Picked by swimmer and their coach and entered by Head Coach

Southern Regional Sectional Championships (March 26-29). This meet is the next step up the ladder from Senior Champs and is for all those that qualify. In fact, swimmers will be able to qualify for this meet at Senior Champs. An email was sent to all Senior 1, Senior 2, and National families regarding the qualifying proceedure for this meet as well as the hotel information. Please reference that email for this information. The coaching staff wants all swimmers who qualify to attend this meet...even if it is for one day in the 50 free. It is a great opportunity to gain experience swimming against the top level of competition outside of Middle Atlantic but still close to home.
Dates: March 26-29
Location: Laurel, MD hotel is in Gaithersburg, MD
Qualifying Standards: click here
Meet Information: click here including information on the availability of bonus events
Entries: Picked by swimmers and coaches and entered by Head Coach

Mini Championships (March 28-29). This is just for the 8 and unders on the team...your age on the first day of the meet determines how old you are for that meet. This meet is a great opportunity for swimmers to compete in some different events like the 200 free or 200 IM. There are never very many entries for this meet so the chances for medals and ribbons are greatly increased here. We want every 8 and under swimmer on the team to sign up for this meet. There are no qualifying standards for this meet...everyone ages 8 and under can swim!
Date: March 28-29
Location: GCIT
Meet Information: click here
Entries: Done through team website. Entry deadline is Wednesday, February 25th

Regional Champs (April 3-5). This meet is for swimmers who do not have qualifying times in events for JOs (if they are aged 14 and younger) or Senior Champs (for 15 and older swimmers only). A SWIMMER CAN COMPETE IN BOTH JUNIOR OLYMPICS AND REGIONALS! You just cannot swim an event you have a JO qualifying time (the same goes for Senior Champs). FOR INSTANCE...let's say you qualify for JOs (as a 14 and under) or Senior Champs (as a 15 and over) in just the 50 free and 200 IM. You can swim those events at JOs/Senior Champs but cannot swim them at Regionals. You can swim any other event at Regionals. Regionals present a great opportunity for swimmers to compete in events they never get a chance to swim at a rest meet (Pittsburgh/NJ State Meet/Elite/JOs/Senior Champs). What does that mean? HUGE TIME DROPS! There is no better way to end the short course season!
Date: April 3-5
Location: University of Delaware
Meet Information: Not available yet...will be emailed to all families when it is released on either 2/24 or 2/25
Entries: Done through team website by each swimmer/parent. When the meet information is released you will have 7 days to enter the meet online or by March 3rd...which ever comes first!

ONE LAST NOTE: I know there are a lot of people out there who were gunning for qualifying times for these various meets. To a lot of people it may seem like there is nothing else to shoot for...well there is always best times...there isn't anything more important than that! However it is important to remember that swimming is not a 6 month sport....we are not going to sit around and wait for the first summer league meets on June 20th. We are already starting to look at qualifying for meets within the next year. TIMES YOU ACHIEVE AT A MEET LAST AT LEAST ONE YEAR!!! So the following meets are completely "in play" and ready for more GPAC qualifiers:
JW Summer Solstice @ GCIT: June 19-21...Senior events require 15-16 age group "A" times...all other age groups require that group's respective "BB" times.
Summer Junior Olympics: July 15-18, 2009
World Championship Trials @ Indianapolis, IN (July 2009)
US Open @ Seattle, Washington (August 2009)
Speedo Junior Nationals @ Seattle, Washington (August 2009)
Summer Sectionals @ Buffalo, NY (August 2009)
Long Course Zone All-Star Meet (August 2009)
USA Swimming short course Nationals (December 2009)
USA Swimming short course Junior Nationals (December 2009)
Pittsburgh Christmas Meet @ University of Pittsburgh: December 14-16, 2009 (very tentative)
MA Elite Meet 2010
MA Junior Olympics 2010
Ma Senior Champs 2010
Sectionals 2010
NCSA Junior Nationals 2010