ELITE NEWS BULLETIN 1-31-11
“Cultivating Excellence in Academics, Character and Swimming”
SLEPIAN “SPRINTS” TO A SECTIONAL QUALIFYING
TIME &
2ND PLACE IN HIGH POINT AT AGE
GROUP CHAMPIONSHIPS;
WINS BOTH 100 BREAST & 200 FREE;
BIGHAM, CRITCHLEY, LARAIA, MCGRATH, C
PICK, SLEPIAN,
L.STEARNS & WALSH ADD 8 JO SWIMS:
13 year old Sarah
Slepian sprinted her way to her 5th Sectional qualifying time &
2nd place in the female high point race this weekend at NJ Swimming’s
Age Group (14 & Under) Championships held at Witherspoon Pool in Princeton,
NJ.
Slepian, whose previous
expertise leaned towards distance (as her previous 4 Sectionals cuts are in the
200 IM, the 400 IM, the 200 Back and the 200 Breast), rocked the 100 yard
breaststroke final on Saturday night, winning the event in a 1.07.24 time in
earning her Sectional qualifying time. Slepian followed up on Sunday by winning
the 200 free in a 1.57.88 time.
Despite being
handicapped in the high point race, Sarah placed 2nd overall (due to
Sarah’s expected competition in this weekends Eastern Zone IM Xtreme Games in Washington DC, Sarah was not entered in any
of her other 4 Sectional qualify time events. This certainly “handicapped” her
in her point total but also encouraged her to explore her secondary sprinting events).
Sarah also placed 2nd
in the 100 back (1.00.45-just .16 over the Sectional cut), 4th in
the 1650 free (18.00.11-a new JO cut & only 6 seconds off the Sectional cut)
5th in the 50 free (25.34-.4 off the Sectional cut), 6th
in the 100 free (55.83) and 10th in the 100 fly (1.02.89).
Far from a one man band,
Slepian had plenty of Elite company on the awards
platform:
12 year old Kaitlin
Stearns chopped 19 seconds off her 1000 free time (11:06.85) to place 4th
overall. Kaitlin also placed in top 8 in three other events: dropping under the
magical 2 minute mark in for 6th in the 200 free (1.59.55), 8th
in the 500 free (5.19.17) & 8th in the 100 free (56.15). Kaitlin
also scored a 25.78 time in the 50 free, good enough for 10th.
14 year old Lindsay
Stearns matched her sister’s 4th place finish with one of her own:
100 fly (1.00.72). Lindsay placed 6th in the 200 IM (2.16.66).
Ironically, Lindsay’s best two swims were in consolations: she blew her heat
away in the 500 free, dropping almost 9 seconds from her preliminary swim to
post a 5.17.32 time (a JO cut as Lindsay ages up in Feb) and then she also
dipped below the magical 2 minute mark in the 200 free, winning her 2nd
consolation heat by two body lengths in her 1.59.67 performance.
13 year old Cullen Walsh
placed 8th in the 1000 free with his 11.11.08 effort. This was also
Cullen’s first JO cut time this year.
14 year old Gabrielle
Pick clipped another second off her 100 fly swim, posting a 1.03.52 time in her
11th place finish.
14 year old Andrea
Shepard placed 12th in the 1000 free with her 11.34.06 performance
and followed that with a 13th place finish in the 400 IM (5.03.39).
Andrea also placed 15th in the 1650 free (19.23.71).
11 year old Alicia
Iizuka did not respect her elders as she placed 12th in the 200
breast (2.39.09) and 13th in the 100 breast (1.23.41).
14 year old Juliet
Felsen placed 12th in the 100 fly (1.03.72) as did Isabel LaRaia,
who dropped 4 seconds to post her 1.13.48 time & first JO cut time this
year!
14 year old Katie
McGrath sliced off almost 8 seconds in placing 13th in the 200 back
(2.18.62). This was Katie’s first JO cut of the year!
14 year
old Darragh O’Gorman was 15th in the 200
fly, dropping 4 seconds to a 2.27.96.
Age Group Championships
also is formatted to allot 12 & Unders a “finals”
heat at night. Elite had a number of youngsters earn a spot in the 12 & Under heat (if a 12 & Under earned the right to swim in
the top 16, they did):
12 year old Christina
Pick was sensational all weekend, posting 8 best times. Christina’s best swim
was her 14th second drop in the 400 IM (5.05.25). Christina 12 &
Under finaled in the 200 back (2.20.81), the 50 free
(27.77-her 12th JO cut time!) & the 100 back
(1.06.90).
11 year old Abbie Bigham rocked both the 200 fly (2.29.97- a 12 second
drop) and the 400 IM (5.15.45-a 6 second drop!). Abbie’s
100 fly swim of 1.09.84 was a JO qualifying time.
12 year old Matthew
Critchley eliminated 6 seconds from his 200 breast time (2.46.80) and finaled in the 100 back (1.09.92). Matt also earned his 9th
JO cut time in the 50 free in leading off the 4 x 50 free relay (27.41).
12 year old Amy Duren double 12 & Under finaled; dropping 5.6 seconds in the 200 fly (2.31.05) and .9
second in the 100 fly (1.08.27).
11 year old Emily Gorham
double 12 & Under finaled
in both the 50 free (27.27) and the 100 free (59.86).
11 year old Karen Iizuka
12 & Under finaled in the 100 breast (1.18.58).
Full results are posted on the team website.
Swimmers
who participated (# in parenthesis is number of best Elite SCY best times):
Abigail Bigham (5), Morgan Conley, Matthew Critchley (2), Amy Duren (4), Avinash Duvvuri (1), Juliet Felsen, Emily Gorham (2),
Alicia Iizuka (1), Karen Iizuka, Jared Kovacs (1), Isabel LaRaia (4), Katie
McGrath (7), Karl Melchior (3), Ryan Miller (1), Charlotte Morrissey (1),
Caroline Nash (5), Eugene Ng, Darragh O’Gorman (7),
Nicholas Pachiolo (2), Danielle Peterson, Christina Pick
(8), Gabrielle Pick (4), Andrea Shepard (1), Sarah Slepian (9), Kaitlin Stearns
(7), Lindsay Stearns (3), Jason Steinberg (2) & Cullen Walsh (4).
SEBASTIAN &
SLEPIAN NAMED TO EASTERN ZONE SELECT CAMP:
1ST ELITE SWIMMERS TO BE SO INVITED:
Last week, USA Swimming named
two Elite swimmers, Ryan Sebastian and Sarah Slepian to its Eastern Zone Select
Camp to be held in May, 2011 at Penn State University. It is the first time an
Elite swimmer has been named to this camp (although these camps are only a few
years old).
Ryan and Sarah were
selected on the basis of their total IMX score in comparison to all other
swimmers their age within the Eastern Zone (Maine thru Virginia). This is a
score is created by USA Swimming that assigns a specific point total to each
time achieved in the following 6 events: 200 IM, 400 IM, 500 Free, 200 Back,
200 Breast and 200 Fly. This score is
meant to be a motivational tool for swimmers to compete within these grueling
events. Any swimmer can go onto USA Swimming’s website and find out their IMX
score.
Coincidently, Ryan and
Sarah will compete at the Eastern Zone IM Xtreme
Games this coming weekend (along with Juliet Felsen, Andrea Shepard, Lindsay
Stearns & Caroline Watt) in Washington, DC. This meet is for 14 & Under swimmers within the Eastern Zones who have achieved an
IMX score higher than 1800 points. While Elite has approximately 30 swimmers
with over 1800 IM points, Head Coach Bill Deatly elected to send those swimmers
who are training with the Seniors & Senior Preps.
COLLEGE BOUND AND
SWIMMING?
NJ SWIMMING SCHOLARSHIP MONEY AVAILABLE:
New Jersey Swimmers who are attending college next year and plan to swim can apply to receive a $1,250 one-time scholarship from New Jersey Swimming.
Information regarding this scholarship opportunity is attached and the application will be posted on the NJ Swimming website shortly.
PREPARATION
BEGINS FOR 9-10 SILVER/BRONZE CHAMPS (PLEASE RESPOND TO BALBO EMAIL LAST WEEK!!). 13-19 SILVERS/BRONZE COORIDINATION EMAIL
OUT SHORTLY;
Meet Coordination for the 9-10 Silver Bronze Championships is
gearing up for this championship meet which Elite will host February 26th
& 27th at Newark Academy. All parents of swimmers 10 years
of age and younger (yes, including 8 year olds, 7 year olds and 6 year olds)
are expected to work this meet as part of their parental obligation to
Elite.
Carolyn Balbo emailed a questionnaire to all parents last
week requesting preferences as to which volunteer job each parent prefers.
Please respond to this email asap
as it will help Carolyn create her work coverage chart. Carolyn’s email is: cbalbo@comcast.net. Jobs
include officiating, timing, concessions, hall monitor, medical, admissions,
coach’s hospitality, set-up & clean-up, etc.
If Carolyn does not hear from you, she will reach out again.
Two non-responses will require Carolyn to place those non-response workers in
positions she needs filled, rather than their preference.
If a parent/family forsees a
problem fulfilling their parental obligation, they need to contact Bill AND
Carolyn asap.
In the past, parents/families have fulfilled their parental obligation by
having a relative (grandparents or siblings) work, or even hiring a worker for their
spot. Thus, there is really no reason a parental obligation can not be
fulfilled by an Elite club member.
Failure to fulfill a parental obligation will jeopardize a swimmer’s roster
spot on Elite. As part of having a swimmer on Elite,
parent have agreed to step up and help when it is Elite’s turn to provide
splash opportunities for the greater swimming community.
Parents of all 13 & Older swimmers will also be contacted in the near future regarding Elite’s co-hosting of the 13 & Older Silver Bronze Championships at Rutgers University on March 12th and 13th. All parents of swimmers 13 & over are expected to work this meet. Please respond to this email.
REMINDER: SCHOLAR/ATHLETE AWARDS WILL BE
HIGHLIGHT OF AWARDS BANQUET:
2)
The Elite
Scholar-Athlete Gold Award: A swimmer must have all A’s and no more than 1 B
(or the equivalent of all A’s and 1 B) plus at least 1 individual Junior
Olympic Qualify Time
3)
The Elite
Scholar-Athlete Teal Award: Swimmer must have all A’s and B’s (of the
equivalent) plus at least 1 individual Silver Qualifying Time
ELITE TO ADD 2 NEW TRAINING GROUPS
THIS SPRING:
A SMALL TRAINING GROUP BETWEEN SENIOR
PREPS & WAVE GOLDS &
A PRE-COMPETITION TRAINING GROUP;
Elite will expand during the Spring
2011 Session by adding two training groups to the club. Each group are created to enhance the overall performance of the club.
The creation of these groups will have no affect on the training schedule of
the existing 7 training groups. The Spring 2011
Session training schedule will be identical to the Winter 2010-11 training
schedule.
Starting with the Spring 2011
Session, Elite will promote a very select group of older swimmers (mainly if
not totally Seniors-to-be in High School) into a new training group called the
Senior Preps-2. This training group will train from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at
Morristown-Beard School along with the Seniors and
Senior Preps. This group will consist of 3-10 swimmers and will train in one
lane at a MBS from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.
Also
starting in the Spring 2011 Session, Elite will create
a Pre-Elite Program. This Pre-Elite program will actually be two programs in
one:
1) Program #1: For swimmers at the Wavebuster Teal, Marlin Black or Marlin Teal level whom would be turned away at tryouts due to lack of space
within these Elite training groups. By offering these swimmers training in the Spring 2011 (and in the Fall 2011 from Sept thru Nov 15),
Elite will be developing swimmers to enter Elite when room becomes available.
Each year, Elite experiences attrition during the season; this training group
would “feed” the Wavebuster Teals, Marlin Blacks and
Marlin Teal levels during the season when space becomes available. Swimmers in
this group will also be given priority entrance into Elite at the next tryout
if space does not become available during the season.
2) Program #2: For swimmers who are not yet at
the Marlin Teal level. This program will give these swimmers “water time” to
develop their swimming within the structure of Elite’s training system. These
swimmers will also have priority entrance into Elite upon achieving the Marlin
Teal level (when space opens up or at the next tryout).
At the moment, the plan
is for the Pre-Elite program will train 3 times a week, Monday, Wednesday and
Friday for 1 hour (4:00 pm to 5:00 pm).
SICK? COULD BE YOUR LACK OF “AT HOME” SWIMMING
DETAILS!!!
Are you sick? Got the flu, strep or a bad head cold? Your sickness
is may be caused by your own lack of swimming details!!!
Since we are in our heaviest training, swimmers are
“broken down” or tired based upon the heavy swimming workload. To stay healthy, each swimmer needs
to practice their “at home” swimming details: drinking lots of fluids, eating
properly and often, getting enough sleep and dressing properly for winter.
There are literally dozens of swimmers that ignore these vital “at home”
swimming details, and most of these swimmers end up missing significant
training and/or actually missing their meets because they do not live their “at
home” swimming details. These swimmers literally shorten their training seasons
due to their sickness!!!
Be a winner: do your swimming details at home and at school, in addition
to at the pool!!!
PROMOTION REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDENCE, LEVEL OF TRAINING
AND STROKE TECHNIQUE:
As we are already well passed the mid-point of our training season, swimmers and parents are reminded that swimmers EARN their promotions by accomplishing 3 criteria thru the season. Coaches are making their recommendations for promotions to Bill starting in mid January and the promotion letters will be mailed in early February. No swimmer will be considered for promotion unless they comply with the following 3 criteria (and swimmers are reminded that they control this process, not the coaches);
1) great attendance as defined as follows:
· over 70% for Marlin Teals, Marlin Blacks, Wave Teals & Wave Blacks.
· over 80% for Wave Golds
· over 85% for Senior Preps
2) Training within the top lanes in one’s training group. Each training group has 2 to 6 different levels of training within the training group. A swimmer must be training within the top 2 training levels to be considered.
3) Great stroke technique. While swimmers are training in the top level of their training group, they need to hold their stroke technique. Each swimmer is aware of those things they need to work on.
Each swimmer is encouraged to talk to their coach regarding their current
status and things they need to do during the 2nd half of the season
to earn a promotion.
PARENTS: PLEASE BE PROMPT IN PICKING UP SWIMMERS:
Parents are requested to be prompt in picking up their swimmers at the end of practice. Recently, especially after the Wave Golds on weekdays and the Wave Teals on Saturday, swimmers have had to wait 30-45 minutes after practice for their ride.
Bill has asked the coaches to remain at practice until the last child has been picked up (for the obvious safety reasons). Coaches are more than willing to do so occasionally. But Elite coaches have other full time jobs and several are attending school in addition to their primary jobs and coaching. It is unfair to ask the coaches to spend an additional 30-40 minutes waiting for parents to pick up their children.
Elite is prompt about ending practice on time. Please help out the coaches by being prompt to pick up your child.
TIMING
COORDINATORS ASK FOR YOUR HELP IN RESPONDING TO EMAILS:
Parents of
Elite swimmers are asked to add the following four email addresses to your
e-mail address book to ensure you receive important information regarding Elite
Hosted Meets, Timing Information for all other meets and Parent Association
Information. Adding the e-mail addresses will insure that these important
e-mails do not go to your junk/spam folder.
Carolyn Balbo
-
cbalbo@comcast.net
Sanjeeta
Mukherjee - sanjumukhe@gmail.com
Sue Duren -
sueduren@aol.com
Antone Balbo -
abalbo@comcast.net
NEXT UP: CLIFTON DUAL); GO ELITE!!!; MEET INFORMATION POSTED; PLEASE RESPOND TO TIMER
COORDINATORS EMAILS:
Elite’s next competition will be the Clifton Dual Meet for Wavebuster Teals, Marlin Blacks and Marlin Teals on this Saturday, February 5th. Information regarding this meet is posted on the team website at: http://www.eliteswimclub.org/Meet%20Schedule/homepage.htm. Please have your swimmer get in the habit of checking this page on a regular basis (and report back to you about details such as warm-up times, entries, meet locations!).
The Tidal Wave (TWST) dual meet originally scheduled for Sunday, Jan 30 has been cancelled. Elite will hold its normal practice schedule that day.
WHEN IN DOUBT, CHECK THE WEBSITE:
If you have questions about Elite, your first source of information is Elite’s website located at eliteswimclub.org. When in doubt, first check the website!!!