Hello EMAC Families,

We've gone through one week of 2021 and it was a bit of a crazy week. Getting back in the water in of itself is usually a difficult transition for swimmers, let alone under social distancing procedures, and capping the week off with racing. Our swimmers did pretty well this week; please read on to see how the week progressed and what our future plans are.

SCHEDULE

The schedule is slightly different from last week as we finalized and addressed pool time for our athletes. This schedule is what our swimmers should follow for this week, and the rest of January.

Blue = Rodale, Green = Steel Fitness

Blue = Rodale, Green = Steel Fitness

Blue = Rodale, Green = Steel Fitness

WEEKLY REVIEW

As we said before, this past week was a bit different for all of our swimmers. Different pools, different practice requirements, new protocols that need to be remembered. Overall our swimmers handled the week rather well. We spent the week reviewing freestyle skills and drills while adjusting to this new schedule. To make practice easier for our swimmers we created a lane assignment diagram. Every practice, our swimmers are to report to their assigned location to better help with transition and overall use of practice time while we are limited to 50 minutes per practice.

Lane Assignments - These may be different than from what your swimmer had last week. Please have them review their lane assignments before attending practice

• 8 and Unders
• 9-10 (While at Steel Fitness. Will be assigned lanes 3-8 in order at Rodale for race day)
• 11-12s
• 13-14s

RACE DAY REVIEW

We had our first Sunday Race Day with the age group, and it went surpising well. The swimmers held their social distancing with only a few reminders, they reported their times quickly, and most importantly: got to race! A reminder to our parents and athletes:

For most of us, this was the first time getting to race since FEBRUARY OR MARCH of 2020. That is a long time away from a race atmosphere and a lot of our swimmers spent the day yesterday knocking of that racing "dust". Just like in the beginning of a normal season, that first meet is used as a benchmark for the rest of the year, this race day is a benchmark for what we are planning on doing for the next few months in the pool. We had some good results, some not so good ones, some amazing results, and some we would rather forget. With that said, this needs to be a learning experience for our athletes.

Things we need to take into account: Last time competing, how much we physically grew, how often we've physically attended practice, and how often we've mentally attended practice. This last one is very important. Over the last 8 months, a good portion of our swimmers physically attended practice, but mentally were lacking. That is understandable with the COVID pandemic raging throughout 2020, as most of our swimmers used the pool to fullfill that gap in their lives of social connection. With races starting again, those of us who used swimming as a social outlet were a bit unhappy yesterday. Use that as a start to turning that foot back around to hard work and focus, and you'll see the results you prefer soon!

This weeks race day was spent focusing on our freestyle/backstroke skills. Our 12 and unders all got in at least 1 freestyle race and 1 backstroke race. our 13-14s got in 2-3 freestyle races. Parents and Swimmers, Reminder: Our athletes are used to racing 3-4 times in 4 HOURS. These Sunday races will involve 2-3 Races in 35 or 60 MINUTES. In this type of atmosphere you will see performance drop off as we advance in the later races. Races are listed in the order swam. Before opening the results, please look at the PERFORMANCE MATRIX here to better set yourself up for success!

Race Results 1/11/2021

• 8 and Unders
• 9-10s
• 11-12s
• 13-14s

The biggest thing the coaching staff noticed during the races this week was our lack of wall and underwater discipline. These are major skills all of our groups have made a priority not just this year, but in all past years. Steamlines, pushoffs, underwaters, these are the skills a that make a swimmer fast. You don't become fast and then fix these skills. Instead they are the base in which we become fast from! As we progress through the weeks, these will still be a major priority and wall discipline will be a mainstay in all age group practices.

SHOUT OUTS

• Adhira Reddy went  over 12 meters on both walls of her 50 backstroke, and in doing so went 1.4 seconds faster than her best ever 50 back!
• Gloria Klees spent the past few months focusing on her skills and form while having nothing to race for, and when finally allowed to race had an amazing day posting 3 best times in all 3 events raced!

Everyone dig in, keep it up, and in a months time we will race this same stroke again and look at how they compared to today.

THIS WEEK

Focuses at practice will consist of wall/underwater discipline in all age groups while making a focus to address breaststroke. Races for this week will be backstroke, breaststroke, and depending on time an underwater fly kick relay.

See you at the pool!

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