ELITE NEWS BULLETIN 10-11-10

“Cultivating Excellence in Academics, Character and Swimming”

EARLY SEASON SCRIMMAGE; MID SEASON RESULTS!!!

ELITE CRISENS NEW NEPTUNE POOL WITH BEST TIMES;

STRAND DIPS UNDER ANOTHER JR NAT CUT;

GORHAM, WATT EACH ADD A JO SWIM:

Invited to participate in the inaugural competition of the brand new Neptune High School pool (opened just 6 weeks ago), Elite Seniors and Senior Preps, after only training for 5 weeks, swam this early season scrimmage in mid season form!!!

Leading the way was 17 year old Michael Strand, who dropped .28 to win the 50 free & post a sizzling 21.54 time. The astonishing thing about this swim and his 100 free time of 47.89 (another best by .46) was the fact that the Senior training group is currently emphasizing aerobic training (endurance) rather than anaerobic training (sprint training). Unfortunately Michael’s time, which was under the SCY Junior National qualifying time (SCY Junior Nationals will be held in December in Atlanta, Georgia) can not qualify him for the event (he currently has 4 other events) as this meet was really a scrimmage and was not sanctioned by New Jersey Swimming. Obviously, the spectacular news is if Michael is already swimming this fast this early in the season, the sky is the limit for his last year of club/high school swimming.

Friends and training partners Jess Gorham (14) and Caroline Watt (14) used their opportunity to dip under the Junior Olympic qualifying times in the 1000 free race, which they competed head to head in. Watt got to the wall first with her 11.30. 00 time with Gorham close behind with a 11.31.78 time. Both swims were approximately 10 seconds under previous bests.

As expected since the Elite’s training cycle is currently focused on endurance, most of the best times were distance oriented events. 14 year old Ryan Sebastian dropped 15.6 seconds in the 1000 free with a 10.24.73 time & 7 seconds in his 200 breast-2.24.70 while 15 year old Jonas Singer dropped 98 seconds in his 1000 free with a 11.49.51 time. 16 year old Brent Jones dropped 70 seconds in his 1000 free (11.59.61) and 15 year old Jenni Allocco clipped 7.4 seconds off her 500 free with her 5.48.55 performance. 16 year old Greg Macchia chopped 11 seconds off his 500 free time with a 5.41.10 time.

The full results are posted on the team website.

  Swimmers who participated (# in parathesis is number of best Elite SCY times):  Jenni Allocco (1), Sam Duren, Krishna Duvvuri, Jess Gorham (1), Victor Hui (3), Brent Jones (2), Emmie Lai, Michael Li (1), Gregory Macchia (3), Alex Mango, Dan Muro (1), Ryan Sebastian (2), Andrea Shepard, Jonas Singer (2), Lindsay Stearns, Michael Strand (2), Caroline Watt (2) & Ryan Wyer.

“MIRACLE MAN” LEZAK & OLYMPIAN JOSH DAVIS ROCK ELITE; SPEND 4 HOURS TEACHING & ENTERTAINING SWIMMERS (AND PARENTS!);

3 time Olympian Jason Lezak, who swam down the world’s fastest swimmer in the world with the fastest 100 meter swim in the history of swimming in the 4 x 100 free relay at the 2008 Beijing Olympics to win the gold medal for the USA and 3 time Olympian Josh Davis spent 4 fun filled hours yesterday the teaching and entertaining the swimmers (and the parents) of the Elite Swim Club. The event was coordinated and sponsored by the Elite Swim Club Parents Organization and absolutely, positively lived up to its pre-clinic hype.

Jason and Josh spent 1.5 hours signing autographs for the 114 swimmers. In addition, Jason and Josh posed with each swimmer and allowed each swimmer to wear the 3 gold medals Elite’s new friends had earned at the Olymics.

J & J then spent 45 minutes telling their stories of glory, hard work and of their perseverance. Both Jason and Josh had long and difficult routes to their gold medals & glory, and each was candid that it was difficult at times for them to keep their respective eyes on their goals. But with each setback and/or unfinished goal, they persevered and pushed themselves harder at practice. Jason’s uneven and difficult route made him so battle tough that when presented with a near impossible situation of catching the fastest swimmer in the world, he was ready for the ultimate challenge. He is now considered the “Miracle Man” based upon this super human performance.

J & J finished by spending two hours instructing swimmers in stroke technique and encouraging them always to do their best in practice. Josh especially entertained the swimmers (and parents) with his super human enthusiasm. The swimmers learned tips in all 4 strokes and in starts and turns.

A very special thanks to Susan Gorham, the ESCPO coordinator of this event. Not only did she manage to book these sensational people for Elite, but Susan was able to coordinate J & J schedules (getting them to and from the airport!! Not an easy task!).

Many thanks Jason and Josh!!! Elite is rooting for Jason at” Worlds” next year and at the Olympic Trials in 2012!!!

STRAND OFFICIALLY NAMED TO USA SWIMMING’S SCHOLASTIC ALL-AMERICAN TEAM:

17 year old Michael Strand was officially named to USA Swimming’s Scholastic All-American Team last week for the 2009-2010 Season. Michael achieved this prestigious honor by scoring a 3.5 Grade Point Average or better plus achieving at least a Junior National Standard Time (50.31 in the 100 yd back & 50.64 in the 100 yd fly. Michael was recognized at the Elite’s Annual Awards Banquet last March for this achievement.

1500 swimmers were named to this list, with 57 of those swimmers being from the New Jersey LSC. The countywide total is an increase of over 20% from the previous year! The Scholastic All-America program is open to all 10^th-12^th grade USA Swimming members who earn a 3.5 GPA or better and achieve a Junior National Bonus Time Standard or swim in a selected disability championship meet or the Open Water National Championships. 

For more information regarding this prestigious award, please visit the USA Swimming Link: http://www.usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=1582&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en

ESCPO HAS SCHEDULED ITS 4^TH ANNUAL PARENT SOCIAL FOR FRIDAY, OCT 22: PARTY TO RETURN TO CHATHAM’S FISH & GAME: PLEASE RSVP TO CAROLYN BALBO:

The Elite Swim Club Parents Organization (“ESCPO”) is planning its 4^th annual Parent Social for Friday, October 22^nd from 7:30 to 10:30 pm at the Chatham Fish & Game Club in Chatham.  The Parent Social Invitation is now posted on the website under the Parents Organization tab and attached to this week’s memo email. The link is http://www.eliteswimclub.org/Parents%20Org/Homepage.htm.

Please RSVP Carolyn Balbo at cbalbo@comcast.netif you are planning on attending.

We need people to help on the night of the Social (set-up and clean-up) as well as a few people to help with shopping. Please let us know when you RSVP if you can help. .

ELITE LEADING WAY WITH “SWIMMER/PARENT FRIENDLY MEETS”:

DISTANCE DERBY REFORMATTED INTO 2 HOUR SESSIONS!!!

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THEY ARE EXPECTED TO WORK THE SESSIONS THEIR SWIMMER IS COMPETING IN:

The one unanimous complaint about year round swimming is the length of the meet sessions during competition. Between the need 1) to have enough swimmers/competition in the building to make the meet competitive & to pay for the pool rental 2) to have enough recovery time for the swimmers between events and 3) the USA Swimming rule discouraging sessions to last longer than 4 hours, most New Jersey Sanctioned swim meet sessions last the prescribed 4 hours.

Elite is taking the lead in attempting to change these “needs” and the overall mentality within NJ Swimming. A “Swimmer/Parent Friendly Meet” is the goal of this year’s Distance Derby.

Elite’s hosted meet Distance Derby (held Saturday, Nov 20 & Sunday, Nov 21) has been reformatted into more but much shorter sessions. In fact, Elite is attempting to halve the session times into 2 hour sessions (yes, you read that correct: two hour sessions!!). With any luck at all, a swimmer (and parent) will be in and out of the building in less than 3 hours (when you factor in the warm-up time). The exception will be those swimmers participating in one of the distance sessions (which have been limited to 1.5 hours). The sanctioned meet information is now posted on the team website (and more information will be posted shortly). The meet format is as follows:

Meet Schedule:

Saturday, November 20, 2010		Warm-up	Start
Session 1	10 & Under Day 1 Session	12:00 p.m.	12:40 p.m.
Session 2	12 & Under 500 yd Free Session	2:40 p.m.	3:00 p.m.
Session 3	11 - 12 Day 1 Session	4:30 p.m.	5:10 p.m.
Sunday, November 21, 2010		Warm-up	Start
Session 4	13 & 14 Day 2 Session	7:00 a.m.	7:40 a.m.
Session 5	Open 1000 Free Session	9:40 a.m.	10:00 a.m.
Session 6	15 & Older Day 2 Session	11:30 a.m.	12:10 p.m.
Session 7	10 & Under Day 2 Session	2:10 p.m.	2:50 p.m.
Session 8	11-12 Day 2 Session	4:50 p.m.	5:30 p.m.

This goal is for all parents and swimmers to spend less time at the pool. In order to accomplish this, Elite put a 2 event limit per session on each swimmer’s entries.

Carolyn Balbo, as team meet coordinator, will shortly be reaching out to each participating family as to meet job responsibilities. Swimmers in the Seniors, Senior Preps, Wavebuster Golds, Wavebuster Blacks, Wavebuster Teals and Marlin Blacks will participate. Please respond to Carolyn as soon as you are able.

NEXT UP: FALL CHALLENGE; MEET INFORMATION NOW POSTED:

Elite’s next competition will be at Fall Challenge. 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!

HEAD COACH BILL TO VISIT SWIMMAC THIS WEEKEND TO LEARN FROM FROM COACHING LEGEND DAVE MARSH & HIS STAFF;

Two weeks after Coaches Michael Turkot and Patty Martin visited SwimMAC in North Carolina, Head Coach Bill Deatly follow and visit Coaching Legend Dave Marsh and his staff to learn what SwimMAC does to be one of the best programs in the country. Bill spend 3 days in North Carolina & will be gone from Thursday thru Saturday.

Mike & Patty returned flush with ideas as to how to make Elite an even better program in both the Senior and Age Group level. These ideas will be presented by Mike and Patty to Head Coach Bill Deatly, whom will implement those “best practices” for Elite. One idea which has already become a reality: breakout buoys. SwimMAC uses breakout buoys, which are plastic poles covered with cushion and are attached to lane lines 5 to 8 meters from each wall to provide a tactile measurement as to how far our swimmers need to streamline off their walls before “breaking out” into their stroke. Mike will actually construct these breakout buoys for both NA and MBS.

Bill’s focus will be global, seeing how Elite can emulate the best of SwimMAC here in NJ on a club wide basis.

Assuming this program works as well as anticipated, Elite plans to send other Elite coaches on a regular basis to pick the brains of the best of the best. Tentatively, Coach Cindy Ross is scheduled to travel to SwimMAC this spring.

SWIMMING AND AUTISM; VOLUNTEERS AND DONATIONS WANTED:

Somerset Hills YMCA has provided a program for swimmers to interact with children with autism called Saturdays in Motion. SHY is looking for swimmers to donate their time and money to interact with these children.

Attached is a flyer with the information. For more information, swimmers can contact Art Raynes at araynes@wmands.com.

NEXT PARENT WORKSHOP (NUTRITION): TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19 AT NEWARK ACADEMY:

The next planned Parent Workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, October 19 from 6:45 pm to 8:15 pm at Newark Academy. The main topic of discussion will be nutrition for athletes.

All Elite parents are welcome to attend.

NA OPEN HOUSES NOW A SCHEDULING ISSUE:

The practice schedule during three Saturdays this fall will change as Newark Academy will no longer let Elite train during their Open House programs. For the previous 15 years, Elite was allowed to train during NA Open Houses.

On October 2, October 16 & October 30, the practice schedule will change for the Wavebuster Golds, Wavebuster Blacks and the Wavebuster Teals; this groups will practice in mid day/afternoon at Newark Academy rather in the morning/mid day.

The changed practice schedule will remain the same for all 3 dates.

Elite will be unaffected on the 4^th NA Open House this fall as swimmers from the 3 affected training groups will be at a meet on Nov 13.

POOLS WILL BREAK DOWN; CHECK EMAIL AND WEBSITE FOR INFORMATION:

The unfortunate fact of swimming pools is that they occasionally breakdown. And usually when it is most inconvenient (like the beginning of the season).

Thru the email chain, a blast will be sent to all swimmers if practice is unexpected cancelled. In addition, a note will be placed prominently on the website front page announcing the cancellation of the practice. This note serves as a reminder that swimmers (not parents) should regularly check the team website and emails in case there is a last minute pool disruption.

If there is a pool disruption & practice is cancelled, all Elite members are requested to reach out to their friends (phone, text, email) to let them know of the situation. Cover your friend’s back!

WANT TO SAVE $? LET BILL KNOW PRIOR TO ENTRIES SUBMITTED

THAT YOUR SWIMMER WILL NOT ATTEND A MEET (OR A SPECIFIC DAY OF THE MEET):

EVENTS TO DOVE-TAILE TO UPDATE WIDEST VARIETY OF TIMES:

Swimmers who know they are not available for all or part of Elite meets should email Bill early early as possible. These emails will actually result in the family saving 50% of the entry fee (credit to be posted on the swimmer’s next bill).

All swimmers (and parents-with the exception of the Marlin Teals) are expected to participate and work Distance Derby (Nov 20 & Nov 21) during the sessions that their swimmers are participating)..

Any parent who knows their child is NOT available for one or more of these meets (and if they are not available for 1 day of a 2 day meet) should email Bill NOW!!!

Swimmers and parents should note that Elite’s philosophy is to dove-tail entries for several meets. This gives the swimmer the opportunity to update the widest variety of events and distances.

PARKING AN ISSUE AT NEWARK ACADEMY (& MORRISTOWN-BEARD):

There is a distinct shortage of parking spaces at Newark Academy, especially on weekdays between 5:15 pm and 6:30 pm. Parents are welcome to “drop off” or “pick-up” their swimmers by the field house entrance during this time period if the driver remains in the car. If a parent is coming into the building, they are requested to park in the “upper” lot and walk thru the school to reach the pool.

Please remember to drive slowly thru the parking lots and do not park in the fire lanes, as the Livingston Police will ticket improperly parked cars.

Morristown-Beard School parking has eased as a result of the completion of the school construction. Parents are reminded not to park anywhere designated as fire-lanes!

OFFICIALS & COMPUTER VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO RUN MEETS:

To effectively run meets, Elite needs a variety of parents to volunteer their time and efforts during these meets. This season, Elite will again be strongly encouraging those parents who have an interest to become New Jersey certified officials.

To run New Jersey sanctioned meets, certified officials are a necessity. Currently within New Jersey Swimming, there is a shortage of officials certified. Elite, while having more officials than most NJ Swim Club is still understaffed and thus, under represented officiating meets. In addition, Elite likes to have officials present even when we run our dual meets/intraclub meets, as the officials provide significant feed back as to areas the coaches need to focus upon.

In addition, this year Elite continue to build up its volunteers with regards to the electronic running of the meets (touch pads, timing console & processing the data coming thru both into Elite’s computer). If you are computer savvy or have an interest, please let Bill know!!

We are always in need of developing our Parental Talent as well!!!

Anyone with interest in either volunteer position should contact Bill as soon as possible.

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!!!