Summer Practice Schedule, 6/16 ­ 8/15

Click here for printable schedule

Furniture City Long Course Invitational, June 12-14, 2009

The meet information and entry form for the Furniture City LC Meet are attached. This meet is a little different in that there is a prelim/final session for swimmers with at least two "A" times and a timed final session for swimmers with "BB" times or lower. I have indicated on the entry form which entry to use based on your swimmers. If you have any questions about which session your child should be in, please speak with your coach or myself. Entries are due May 30th.

USRY (Upper Southeast Region YMCA)

We had an amazing meet in Cary this weekend!! Our kids swam very fast with the vast majority of swims being best times. The team finished 7th overall (out of 38 teams). Here are the results by the numbers:

• 1 relay event winner - 13/14 boys 400 medley relay - Isaac Klinger, Stuart Moffitt, Alec Hider, Sean McCarthy
• 2 meet records - Chad Burton, 100 free & Isaac Klinger, 200 fly
• 3 individual event winners - Chad, Isaac & Safiyyah Abdullah
• 6 swimmers qualified for YMCA National Championships - Chad Burton, Daly Brower, Isaac Klinger, Alison Simon, Clara Wynn, Izzy Brassfield
• 11 relays finished top 8
• 15 swimmers finished top 8 in at least 1 event
• 43 individual top 8 finishes
• 170 best times

GYSSA Meet

Congratulations to everyone who participated in our GYSSA Championships this past weekend. Everyone swam incredibly well with nearly every swimmer getting best times and several swimmers with new BB times for our USRY meet this weekend.

GCY placed 2nd overall and 1st for small teams (under 75 entered swimmers). This is a great accomplishment for a relatively small number of swimmers. Great job everybody!!

Practice Attendance

Attached is an article emphasizing the importance of regular practice attendance. It is also on our web site. The bottom line is that there are no short-cuts to fast swimming. Every great swimmer works hard at practice everyday.

NCS 14 & Under Champs

Congratulations to our Top 16 finishers at the 14 & Under Championships in Charlotte last weekend.

• Pieter Brower 11-12
  • 200 free 14th
• Safiyyah Abdullah 11-12
  • 100 breast 4th
• Mackenzie Cole 11-12
  • 50 breast 16th
  • 50 fly 14th
• Isaac Klinger 13-14
  • 100 back 4th
  • 200 back 5th
  • 200 fly 5th
  • 200 IM 5th

Based on their Top 5 finishes, Isaac and Safiyyah qualified for the NC Select Camp!

GCY 2008-2009 Registration

See the 2008-2009 GCY Brochure for registration information.

The Swimming Experience

What are the things that we would ideally like children to take away form a sporting experience? Fun, accomplishment, work ethic, confidence, self-discipline, and a life-long love of fitness may be just a few. Well, there is a sport that can offer children all of those things wrapped up in one. That sport is competitive swimming!

Throughout the years many people in different communities across the world have recognized what type of person comes from a competitive swimming background. Student-athletes in University swim programs across North America are known for their incredible self-discipline, time management skill, and commitment to excellence.

Many swimmers such as Beth Botsford and Ron Karnaugh have gone on to compete internationally while successfully completing medical school. Anette Salmeen went on to become a Rhode Scholar and Olympic Gold Medalist. These are only a few examples of swimmers who have learned through their sport important skills that are needed to be successful in all are of their lives. Achieving success is a process, a journey that has many lessons that come along the way. In the sport of competitive swimming there are many aspects that young athletes learn that will develop their character for the rest of their lives.

Athletes are put into a unique situation right from the beginning. They are taught that doing a good job comes first. Who teaches them this? Their sport does by stressing personal best times. As a result, most competitive swimmers learn early in their careers that what’s important is not the ribbon, medals, or awards you win, but whether or not you do the work you need to improve yourself. These traits develop in an ideal environment that stresses the importance of self-reliance and co-operation. Although swimming is an individual sport and teaches children a great deal about responsibility and independence, an aspect that is often forgotten is that it is also a team sport. Swimmers are involved with a team that is heading in one direction; a team that is focused on supporting and helping every athlete to achieve their personal aspirations. Athletes not only benefit from the support of their team-mates in their individual pursuits, but also learn how to support others and work co-operatively to become better people.

As a result of learning many of these lessons, most competitive swimmers also learn the value of being a certain kind of person – a person with a good character.