Last weekend, Sharks stalked the lanes of the Kent Roosevelt High School Pool at the Winter Wonderland Meet. It was a great meet for the Sharks on a bitterly cold January day. Many Sharks learned some valuable lessons in perseverance.

Learning to deal with adversity is an important part of learning to compete. Adversity comes in all shapes and sizes: colds and illnesses, disqualifications, lack of sleep, lack of food, grumpy brothers or sisters, mean swim coaches or parents, items forgotten at home, loneliness, long drives, getting lost on the way, being nervous, not swimming your best time, and on and on.

The coaches would like to take this opportunity to congratulate those swimmers who persevered even though it was soooo hard! We’d also like to encourage those swimmers who are still learning to perservere even when it is sooooo hard. Our message is this: We believe in you! You can do it! You are a crazy swimming machine! Yeah!

Some pics from the meet:

Question/Activity of the Week:

Use the handbook, write down what you need to bring to a swim meet.

Complete the question/activity and give it to your coach at practice.  You will receive a Shaker Swimming pencil.

Youth Shark Swimmers of the Week:

• Hannah Thellian
• Meredith Modlin
• Brendan Frothingham
• Kyle Whitlatch
• Tyler Krantz

Select Youth Swimmers of the Week:

• Anna Russ
• Jacob Herbst

HS/SR Swimmers of the Week:

• Katie Spielman
• Meg Green

Question/Activity of the Week:

Draw a picture of something you do besides swimming.

Take your picture to practice, give it to your coach, and you will receive a Shaker Swimming pencil.

Youth Shark Swimmers of the Week

• Patrick Reed
• Valeria Autieri
• Lillian Platten
• Sarah Beavers
• Andrew Murphy

Select Youth Swimmers of the Week

• Emily Fletcher
• Bridget Coburn

High School/SR Swimmers of the Week

• Adam Pitas
• Emily Janata

Click here Jim Scullion Warm-up Info if you are swimming in the Jim Scullion meet this weekend (January 19 & 20).  The warm-up and meet start times are in this information.

Friday, January 18:  Select youth practice will be at the Middle School from 6:00 - 7:20 p.m.

Monday, January 21:  We will follow a regular practice schedule.  There will be Middle School practice from 3:15 - 5:15 p.m.  There will be no Woodbury morning practice.  Those swimmers are encouraged to attend one of the evening practices at the Middle School (5:20 - 6:00 p.m. or 6:00 - 6:40 p.m.)

Friday, January 25:  Since there is no school for the Shaker Middle School students (teacher professional/clerical day), the Middle School practice will start at 3:15 p.m. (not 3:45 p.m.) and end at 5:15 p.m.  Youth shark and developing practices will be held from 5:20 - 6:00 p.m., 6:00 - 6:40 p.m., and 6:40 - 7:20 p.m.

Saturday, January 26:  There will be no select youth or youth shark practice at the Middle School due to the 10 & Under meet at Kent Roosevelt High School.

Question of the Week:

Who has “dropped” the most time this year?

Find the answer to the question, tell your coach the answer, and you will receive a Shaker Swimming pencil.

Youth Shark Swimmers of the Week:

• Claudio Calzado
• Emeline Wilson
• Katie Hoover
• Greth Lyon
• Kyle Whitlatch

Select Youth Swimmers of the Week:

• Nicole Bondy
• Isabel Dimoff

High School/SR Swimmers of the Week

• Wilson Fraser
• Lizzie Sords

What a wild weekend in Rocky River. Did anyone else notice the similarities between the Rocky River pool and our very own Woodbury Pool? Did it take you 20 minutes to find a parking spot too? Did you notice what a great job the Sharks did getting to their lanes even without a Clerk of Course? And… last but not least… do we have to swim that 100 free?! (Note: The answer is YES!)

Some other notes: the girls impressed the coaches (as well as a number of other coaches and parents) with their loud cheer on Saturday afternoon, the boys impressed the coaches with their willingness to try their flip turns, the girls did not have a single DQ in backstroke events, and the boys had a number of top finishers in their events. All in all there was a lot of fun, many improved times, and great swimming. The coaches did notice that swimmers need to continue to work on swimming legally in relays.

Speaking of top finishers, let me take this opportunity to highlight the Youth Shark Handbook. This quote is taken from a section titled Youth Shark Philosophy of Competition. I think it is particularly useful for those wondering about what the coaches think about awards and “finishing first” at meets.

“The Shaker Sharks Youth Program emphasizes competition with oneself. Swim meets are learning experiences. Winning ribbons, medals, or trophies is not the main goal. Even if a swimmer finishes first, but has swum poorly in comparison to his/her own past performances, he/she is encouraged to do better. The individual swimmer’s improvement is the primary objective.”

Keep working hard and listening at practice. Championships are not very far away!!!

New Year’s Stretch - Swim Your Own Age Meet Info (Jan 12 - 13)

Location - Rocky River High School

Saturday Monring (11 & Over girls)

• Warm-ups begin at 7:45 a.m.
• Meet will begin at 8:35 a.m.

Saturday Afternoon (10 & Under girls) - warm-ups will NOT begin before 11:30 a.m.

Sunday (boys only - one session - all ages)

• Warm-ups will begin at 8:45 a.m.
• Meet will begin at 9:35 a.m.

Directions:  Take 90 West to the Hilliard Exit.  Go right off the exit.  The street will be Westway - stay on Westway and go right on Wager.  The school is on the corner of Wager and Detroit.  You can go in the entrance off Wager and the pool is right there.

PLEASE BE AT THE POOL 10 MINUTES BEFORE THE START OF WARM-UPS.  Check in with a Shaker coach when you arrive.

If you are interested in joining the Shaker Sharks, we are having tryouts on Tuesday, January 15 & Thursday, January 17 at 7:20 p.m. at the Middle School.  Please have your swimmer ready to swim.  Parents can pick up an informational packet from the coaches at tryouts.

Swimming

Happy New Year! Our numbers continue to grow. We have many new members and lots of “veterans”. Please make sure to introduce yourself to those within your lane and others around you.

Meets

Lakewood

The Lakewood meet is held at the Lakewood High School on February 10, 2008. The entry deadline is Wednesday February 6, 2008. Sign ups for relays, including relay only swimmers will be available at both the Middle school and Woodbury School pools. You can get more specific meet information online or at practice. We will attempt to defend our 1st place title against OHIO Masters and others. Go SHAKER!

Wooster

The next meet will be held in Wooster on March 8-9, 2008. The information is available at practice and on the Shaker website www.shakerswimming.org.

Go The Distance

“Go the Distance” is a free program offered by USMS. Your job is to track your daily yardage and submit totals monthly. You can receive awards from USMS and receive recognition on the USMS website at www.usms.org.

Check Off Challenge

USMS is offering the “Check-off Challenge” as a way to help motivate and monitor progress in USMS meets. Each swimmer must complete all of the 18 events offered in order to receive the award. You check off the events on your T-shirt as you complete them. Time is not a factor. Visit the website www.usms.org for more details.

Practice Schedule

Regular practice schedule

Mondays and Wednesdays 5:45 – 7:15 am at the Middle School

Tuesday and Thursdays 5:45 – 7:15 am at the Woodbury Pool

Saturdays 7:00 – 8:15 am at the Woodbury Pool

Upcoming Holidays

Monday Jan. 21 5:45-7:15 am at the Woodbury Pool (not MS)

Thursday Jan. 24 5:45 – 7:15 am at the Middle School due to HS conflict

Monday Feb. 18 5:45 – 7:15 am at the Woodbury Pool (not MS)

Other Events

Saturday Jan. 26 7:00-8:15 am is a breakfast morning (provided by lanes 3 &4)

Lane 7- For Your Health Tips

Stretching

A little bit of stretching (5-10 stretches for :20 each) before practice and after each practice will go a long way towards maintaining healthy joints and muscles. Vitamin C is very helpful during this time of year. Exercise is great way to stay healthy. Try and help your body stay healthy by practicing good dietary habits. Supplements and/or any and all Vitamin C rich foods will help your immune system fight off viruses that would otherwise interrupt your training schedule.

Passing within the lane

When you are about to overtake a swimmer you are, in fact, drafting off that person for a little while (drafting is where you enter, and are carried along by, the stream of water that the swimmer in front of you has already started moving - you benefit from the work that swimmer has already done, you swim faster with less effort). Then you are ready to swim past it (I’m referring to the other swimmer, remember our agreement? - this is the kind of stuff you have to put up with when you insist on being politically correct.). At this point you swim out of the draft of water the other swimmer was gracious enough to get moving for you and into his/her wake and turbulence. You now are fighting more resistance than ever before. Unless the wake is big enough to body surf on you will find yourself having to work quite a bit harder just to keep from slowing down. Of course, from your vantage point, it may very well appear as though the other swimmer chose just at that moment to speed up.

This phenomenon is easy to see from the deck but is often misinterpreted, even by experienced swimmers, in the water. So, the next time you have trouble passing someone in mid lane be aware that it may not be all his/her fault. And, if you get lucky, others will realize that it’s best to stay to the right as both of you approach the wall so that you won’t be cutting across each other when turning.

(excerpt from USMS 1993 article on passing within the lane)

Birthdays

January February

John Bucchieri 1/28 Fiona Green 2/11

Audrey Gray 1/13 Chuck Lawrence 2/23

Marc Harrison 1/12 Alex Rae-Grant 2/11

Lou Horowitz 1/29 Joanne Siegel 2/17

Valerie Pierce 1/2 Gina Suozzi 2/3

Andi Wasserman 1/19 Jackie Wilson 2/13

Bill Watson 1/1

Have a very Happy Birthday from Shaker Swimming!

Friday, January 11:  Select youth practice will be at the Middle School from 6:00 – 7:20 p.m.

Saturday, January 12:  There will be no select youth or youth shark practice at the Middle School due to the New Year’s Stretch Meet at Rocky River High School.
Friday, January 18:  Select youth practice will be at the Middle School from 6:00 – 7:20 p.m.

The Shaker Sharks Bowling Party will be Sunday, January 27 at Southgate Lanes in Maple Heights.  Swimmers who are 8 year old and younger will bowl from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.; 9 and 10 year olds will bowl from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.; 11 and overs will bowl from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.  We only have room for 40 swimmers per hour so sign-ups will be on a first come first serve basis.  Swimmers must sign up in advance and attend the session you signed up for.  We cannot accept walk-ins.  The cost of this event will be $5.00 per swimmer which will include bowling, shoe rental, pizza and pop.  Click Bowling Party Information for the sign up sheet.