JUNE 4, 2008

Well, our season is off and running! This past weekend saw Dolfins at
the Colgate Invitational and the Meter Madness meet. Entries for the
Colgate Classic are due and summer is right around the corner! The USA
Olympic Swimming Trials will be televised on NBC and USA channels, which
should be exciting for members of our sport. We will attempt to have a
social outing for the team wrapped around one day of the trials on Monday
June 30 (info on our web site). We've never done this and I'm hoping the
response is good. Sometimes it appears that Adirondack gets left out of
the mix with USA Swimming and I think it's important for us to feel a
part of the bigger picture. Adirondack has had a number of swimmers at
Trials over the years and a few just missed making the team in the past
-Jim Wells (New Hartford/Peddie School, USC), Richelle Depold
(Scotia/UCLA), John Trembly (Shaker/Tennessee).

We've been taking practice attendance on a pretty regular basis this year
and I'm pleased to see that many Group 1&2 swimmers have been coming to
practice a lot this season! Although it's easier to get the Excellent
and Perfect attendance in Group 1&2 because only 4 practices are offered
each week, it's also tough because the practice days change each week so
I'm sure it's difficult to plan for each week. Our goal, of course, is
to try and motivate our members to continue reaching for the Excellent and
Perfect attendance as they move up into Group 3 and finally into Group 5.
Group 5 is a little sparse right now and I'm hoping it will expand over
the next few years (Group 5 has a minimum practice requirement of 5
days/week). Swimming is one of those sports where the more you practice,
the quicker you improve, and there is always someone out there who wants
to do more to stay on top and forces everyone else to follow their lead!
In the recent Splash magazine, an elite swimmer who competed in the
1960's and is now swimming Masters, noted that he is actually swimming
more yards now than when he was on top of the swimming world 40 years
ago! Our top members come to 6 practices every week unless they are ill
or have a school or family obligation, and most will find a pool or do
some dryland work if they have to miss a workout. There is no hiding
when it comes to swimming! I think it builds character for our swimmers
to reach for goals that are not easy to make and not take the easy way
out. An old saying was mentioned in a recent Wall Street Journal
article: Character is who you are when no one is looking. In another
article I found in the Boston Globe that is relative to our sport, Kahill
Gibran (the nephew of the philosopher who was a well know artist and
recently passed away) was quoted as saying "I believe talent is a grace.
You don't deny it, you don't affirm it. But if you don't work at it, you
can lose it. The only sin is in squandering talent." Not everyone will
make the Olympic Team, but everyone has the ability to fulfill their
potential in our sport if they just make the commitment to themselves to
give 100%. Many a Group 4 or 5 swimmer has felt the "wrath of Doug" by
making the mistake of telling me they are missing a practice to go to the
mall, or get a haircut, or buy a prom dress! As I tell them, using poor
judgment to miss a workout never affects me. I'll be at practice
everyday whether they are there or not. But it does affect their ability
to reach their goals. Anyway, enough soap box stuff! Have a great
summer and see you at the pool!