Well, our first meet is done. Final scores…
Varsity Boys: Independence 95 Del Mar 75
Varsity Girls: Independence 82 Del Mar 68
JV Girls: Independence 0 Del Mar 50
For many of you, this was your first high school swim meet. For some of you, this was your first swim meet ever!
That’s pretty cool.
All and all, I thought we swam pretty well. The meet goes fast and sometimes you get events really close together and that can make it difficult. Especially difficult since we haven’t been training for very long or had the kind of workouts you need to really dominate.
Here’s how I graded the meet….
- Turns: A I saw way more good turns than bad. I saw very few illegal turns. If a Del Mar swimmer was next to an Indy swimmer, we won the turn contest.
- Finishes: A You guys were paying attention. Finishes were awesome. I was very impressed with the JV team kicking in and going super fast to the wall. I didn’t see anyone glide in. We touched the top of the gutter a bit but overall you stepped up.
- Relays: A- Very good. Good relay turns. Combined with the finishes it was impressive. Lots of team spirit and togetherness too.
- Individual races: B. The starts and turns were good. I know we can grab more water and get better distance per stroke. A lot of you (girls especially) were rushing the front part of the stroke. It caused you to drop the elbow, spin your arms and not go anywhere.
The pacing was ok. I think you don’t know how fast you are, or how much pain you can tolerate. So you tend to not push as much as you need to do. - Team Spirit: A. I loved watching you guys hanging out, supporting each other and just plain having fun. You did a good job (though it took a while) with the set-up and clean-up. I was also impressed how you paid attention to the meet and showed up to the race.
- Coach Ron: D. I was overwhelmed on this meet. Some very basic coaching skills I didn’t do. I got stuck in being a meet operator not a coach. And since this is so new for most of you, you really need a coach before your race and after your race. I didn’t get to watch enough races, record any times or splits. I will learn and do better next time. Promise.
Upcoming stuff.
First, it looks like the Live Oak team will be a home meet for us. They only have 4 girls and 2 boys, all varsity. That means we won’t have a travel meet which is too bad because it’s fun to travel.
Second, you’re welcome to come out tomorrow (Friday) and play water polo. I want to make it fun for everyone so it won’t be a conditioning type of practice. We will cover basic body position, polo swimming technique. ball control drills and do some light scrimmaging. Plus, you’ll get to try on those way cool caps!
Finally, I really need help at the meets. I’m working on getting officials but we need a crew of score keepers to run the desk, timers and recorders and someone who can operate the computer. (Getting a crew to help set-up would be great too. We need to get out of class earlier to help me). Six to ten helpers would be awesome.
Ron
PS…I love having your parents there. It’s a big deck and bleachers. They can watch or even time. I can tell you that I watching my son swim and play polo was a highlight of my parenthood. Be sure to encourage your parents to come to our meets.
