Harrogate, Training, Success, and the 4 Minute Club!

Monday, 26 April 2010

Harrogate, Training, Success, and the 4 Minute Club!

A Message from Kevin....
Harrogate Meet!

Just wanted to say how impressed both me and Ryan were with all your fantastic swims over the weekend. We were both shocked at the amount of Pb's you were achieving not just in small amounts but big chunks. Lyn also commented on how impressed he was with all your swims on Saturday. You should all be very proud.

As you have swum so good, this means more work for me so please be patient as I have to convert all your new best times to long course before I can put them on the Pb sheet. I promise I will do this as and get them back up as soon as possible.

The NER entries are on May 10th. Some more swimmers achieved times this weekend. NER qualifiers will be highlighted green on the PB sheet in the events they have qualified for. Parents if you could print an entry form off the City of Leeds website and fill in all the events your swimmer has qualified for, I will sign this in advance so I will not have to leave poolside or coaching on the night the entries has to be in.

So far I have counted 21 Golds, 16 Silvers and 8 Bronze medals achieved by our group over the weekend. It looks like the hard work in training is paying off.

After the National Age Group Qualifier event I identified the areas of improvement for the group were;

- Underwater Phase

- Not breathing on and out of turns

- Streamlining

- Sticking to breathing patterns

Some of these skills are getting better however the front crawl turns we still have people breathing in and out of the wall. We can all do this in training, it needs to be transfered into your race. I am confident all the underwater work and no breathing exercises will make this become easier for you in the near future but you must stick at it if this is going to be achieved!!!

A big thank you to Ryan for all his enthusiasm and assistance on the group so far. I would like to say a special mention to Joseph who has had a hip problem on Breastroke for quite some time and this weekend managed to swim his 200 IM and 50 BR without getting disqualified. Keep up the effort and determination and your kick will be perfect soon. I would like to welcome back Amelia who got stuck in Turkey for a week, Franchesca who has finally recovered from a broken wrist and would like to wish Jessica and Amy a speedy recovery with their injuries. The rest of the group I am impressed with your team spirit at the moment lets keep it up and keep delivering the results!

Also well done to the following swimmers for getting in the 4 minute club on the 200m Fs Kick Test:

Euan, Elysia, Callan, Zoe, Finlay and James W.

Kevin

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Quote Bank!

"Kevin!, On the whole I think C Central have swum absolutely fantastic this year". Jacob Butterfield - C Central.

"Winners are not people who never fail, but people who never quit"

"I wouldn't say anything is impossible. I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and put the work and time into it". Michael Phelps.

"Train insane, or remain the same".

"Dream. Believe. Achieve".

"You can't put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get". Michael Phelps.

"I can definitely take more off my world record - a lot more. I have no doubt about that. I'm by no means putting pressure on myself, it's just the belief I have in myself ..... I'm not going to limit myself by nominating times or anything like that. I never thought I'd do 14:34 and I did. I thought I'd maybe do 14:38 or 14:39 that day, and I went nearly five seconds quicker so I don't want to limit the possibilities". Grant Hackett.

"In training everyone focuses on 90% physical and 10% mental, but in the races it's 90% mental because there's very little that seperates us physically at the elite level". Elka Graham.

"The hardest thing about climbing the ladder of success is getting through the crowd at the bottom".

"We need to create a way of working, and that's why I felt the need to set some rules. For example, we will all eat together, leave the table together - it is all about respecting each other. And being punctual is key". Fabio Capello.

"Unleash the Inner Beast!".

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing". Muhammad Ali.

"Many people say you are as only good as your last race, but we know we are only as good as our next race!".

"It was not the 10 work outs I did every week for four years that allowed me to overcome my competitors, it was the ones that they missed". Graeme Smith (1996).

"It's how you prepare months before in the training pool that will determine your performance at the main event. Your ruthless attendance, quality and consistency of your training will serge you forward to a result you will be happy with!"

"Winning the Gold Medal was undoubtedly the biggest day of my career, mostly because I won the way I had prepared to run it. It was a totally satisfying experience". Frank Shorter (American Athlete, Olympic Gold Medalist) (Munich 1972).

"Go into the sport because you have fun doing it, not because of 'what if's' and dreams of gold medals. That way, no matter what happens, you win". Shannon Miller (American Gymnast, two time Olympic Gold Medalist) (Atlanta 1996).

"As the years go by I train physically harder and I am always trying to go faster, further and higher. I train seven days a week and at the end of the day, I'm pretty tired but I never wish I was anyone else. If I miss a days training I feel guilty and I know I should have done it. I'm conscientious and unless I have a very good reason to, I never miss a session. It seems unfair to train for years and miss days just for the hell of it, and if I ever start to skip days, I would realise my attitude was not right and it was time for me to finish". Olympic Champion.

"Have a clear goal in your head of where you want to be and never give up!".

"Remember what doesn't challenge you, doesn't change you!"

"Not a day goes past where I don't go to bed with aching limbs ..... I have lost friends over it ..... I have lost girlfriends because of it ..... My family hates it ..... The only person that understands it wants to beat me ..... But I love it more than anything in the world!"

"Don't let the fear of losing be greater than the excitement of winning". Robert Kiyosaki.

'Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday'. William Rudolph (American Athlete, three-time Olympic Gold medalist) (Rome 1960).

"It's been told that swimming is a wimp sport, but I don't see it. We don't get timeouts in the middle of a race; we can's stop and catch our breath; and we can't ask for a substitution".

"We can accomplish almost anything within our ability if we but think we can".

"In 2004 , I won a bronze. This is a silver. Maybe in 2012, it will be a gold. Slowly, slowly". Eliud Kipchoge (Kenyan Athelete, Olympic silver medalist) (Beijing 2008).

"I came out here to beat everybody in sight and that is exactly what I'm going to do. Sure, I can do anything". Mildred 'Babe' Didrikson (American Athlete, two-time Olympic gold medalist) (Los Angeles 1932).

"Before the (Olympic) trials I was doing a lot of relaxing exercises and visualisation. And I think that that helped me to get a feel of what it was going to be like when I got there. I knew that I had done everything that I could to get ready for that meet, both physically and mentally". Michael Phelps. (6 Gold Medals, 2004 Olympic Games).

"Success comes with determination to get up the morning after the hardest practice of your life and do it all over again!"

"There is nothing like the smell of chlorine in the morning, and nothing like the smell of victory in the evening"

"Enjoy the journey, enjoy every moment and quit worrying bout winning and losing". Matt Biondi. (American Swimmer, eight-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992).

"You only get one shot, go out there and do your best". Chad le Clos (200m Butterfly Champion).

"No negative thoughts cross my mind on race day. When I look into their eyes, I know I'm going to beat them". Danny Harris. (American Athlete, Olympic Silver Medallist. Los Angeles 1984).

"When I go out and race, I'm not trying to beat opponents, I'm trying to beat what I have done ... to beat myself, basically. People find that hard to believe because we've had such a bias to always strive to win things. If you win something and you haven't put everything into it, you haven't actually achieved anything at all. When you've had to work hard for something and you've got the best you can out of yourself on that given day, that's where you get satisfaction from". Ian Thorpe.

"I concentrate on preparing to swim my race and let other swimmers think about me, not me about them". Amanda Beard.

"An athlete cannot race with money in his pockets. He must race with hope in his heart and dreams in his head". Emil Zatopek. (Four Time Olympic Gold Medallist).

"If you win something and you haven't put everything into it, you haven't actually achieved anything at all. When you've had to work for something and you've got the best you can out of yourself on that given day, that's where you get satisfaction from". Ian Thorpe. (Australian swimmer, five-time Olympic gold medallist. Sydney 2000, Athens 2004).

"No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, show up and never give up!".

"Push harder than yesterday if you want a different tomorrow".

"Champions train, losers complain".

"Success isn't overnight. It's when everyday you get a little better than the day before. It all adds up." Dwayne Johnson.

"Life is full of disappointments, failures and setbacks. None of those things can permanently stop you. You have the power to overcome anything that life throws at you. There is nothing as powerful as a made up mind. Surround yourself with people who remind you that you matter, and support you in the ways that matter most to you. No person, situation, or circumstance can define who you are. Don't give up. cave in, or stop believing that it's possible. It's not over until you win."

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Monday, 26 April 2010

Harrogate, Training, Success, and the 4 Minute Club!

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