High School Swim Mom
A whole new era starts tomorrow. First high School Swim Team practice, followed by a shitload of meetings and paying for gear type things. Stuff like this doesn't happen in the UK, so it's all new to me. School doesn't start for another three weeks, but they will have had three meets by then! CRAZY. Plus, my kid is actually pretty good, so that kinda adds extra something because she will probably be noted by the local news and may go straight to Varsity even though she's a freshman..... scary but cool....
I intend to use this thread as a blog about being a high school swim mom over the next 4 years, so tune out now if you are bored already......
She was put into the Varsity practice group... but practice was lame... and we're $100s poorer. $250 for suit, caps, warm-ups and bag, and $40 for the front snorkel....
Front snorkel?
Funny, if I don't know what it is, pretty much everything sounds dirty.
Never used one of those. Of course, I never trained within a team. I always considered swimming as fun. And I usually never worked on speed, more on endurance. My longest distance being 50 km in one session of 12 hours.
That's a lot of Kms and a lot of hours
24 years later, I'm still able to do 7 km in about 2 hours.
I love long distance swimming too. Once, in a previous century, I swam from Log Boom Park in Kenmore to Gene Coulon Park in Renton. It took all day and I had a boat (not a chase boat, they actually were off to the side to keep from poisoning me with their exhaust). It was a fundraiser and I made a bunch of money for the cause. Google maps pegs the distance at about 17 and a half miles, by road of course, but that's probably close, call it 15 miles as the fish swims.
call it 15 miles as the fish swims.
snigger
First week of practice done. Whew. This is a whole new level for sure, with lots of equipment and instructions i don't even understand and I've been poolside for many years now. Who knew there were a bajillion parts to each stroke and someone had taken the time to name them all? The coach is all miked up even though there are only 30 girls swimming at the moment (the rest are at orchestra camp)
20 hours of practice a week, the swim taxi drove over 300 miles and the pool is only 10 miles away. Swimmer Girl coaches between practices (and from next week will do an hour of synchro too). here I was thinking I'd get loads of cleaning and sorting done between pool runs and be ready for a yard sale today. Wrong. :lol:
The coach has tweaked her breaststroke kick and changed her freestyle completely and says that she is very coachable. She says she feels faster but she has yet to really test them at a meet She did get put in the Varsity practice group. First meet is next Thursday, we're hearing coach makes all the freshmen swim the 500. She has never raced a 500 -the 200 is like pulling teeth.
She just got together with her summer team buddies who are going to the other schools and they are practising nearly twice as much as the other teams. It's their first year with seniors and first year in Division 1, so I guess they have something to prove. The coach's husband is there coaching most days. He's a former U of M swim coach. I think they mean business :lol:
The coach is definitely a one for having favorites, I wouldn't like to get on her bad side, but right now it looks like Swimmer Girl is going to be a favorite, so it's good for now. And I think the early sport involvement is helping ease her into the new school. She's still apprehensive about getting lost etc, but she knows kids in every grade and at least knows her way around the pool and gyms.
Watching an army drama... swim team practice isn't a whole load different from army training!
Boot camp babby , Boot camp
She will be a Betterer Person for it
she will be able to look back when time are Bad
and rember what she acomplished and
what she had to go thru to get there ,
Ha this aint Shit , YOU should have been on Coach XXXXXXXX's team ,
Damn she flogged us !!!
So, she has definitely got/gotten/become faster! After I finished walking with a mate, I popped into the bleachers to read/watch the last half hour of practice. By this point, they had swum thousands of yards. They were doing an interval set (where they have a specific distance to swim within a specific time and anything left over is their rest period before they start the next one...). They finished with a 100 free on the 1:15. She came in at 1:06. That's equal to her personal best swimming the 100 in a meet (i.e. off the blocks, not exhausted after two hours of hard practice....)
Go Swimmer Girl!
She placed in her first meet! 5th in the 200 IM -top 5 score.
But OMG does the coach get tight as a wire! This is a whole new level of swimming.
I was learning how to work the computer and the coach had tried to speed things up by preparing it all on her laptop. First of all, we couldn't load the meet data for the visiting team, then it turns out she seeded her swimmers wrong anyway so we had to hand enter all their entries. I was shown how to do it and did it very quickly.... we printed the heat sheets and then........ the guy who actually knows how to do the stuff shows up and works out that the coaches laptop does not have the right connection for the cable that talks to the timing system.
so we need to switch back to the pool lap top. which has nothing set up. and we can't find a data file to transfer the meet over. So we have to build the meet from the start, then import the rosters, then the entries, then merge them, seed them and then fix the problem caused by the visiting coach seeding stuff wrong.
The coach got really mad with us (well in our direction), even though it was her error we were fixing. But now i know how wound up she gets, i can let that pass!!!
They started about 15 mins late without us, we got it sorted by the diving and were able to import the times for the heats already passed, but that was crazy nuts. And, after the diving it was tied, so both coaches kept making changes to the line-ups. Mo-Jo (yes, that's the coaches name) was pacing the pool on every race, even the slow heat of the 500.
We won by 2 points.
Swimmer Girl was in the slow heat for both her individuals, but won both easily (as I knew she would because even though there were no seed times, i know who she is faster than......#crazyswimmom). I guess you don't put untried freshmen in the fast heats. After she placed, she got moved up from the C to the B 200 free relay, and they came in 3rd, also scoring points.
WTG Hebe. She was so pumped when we got her home, never seen her this "high" before. Had to force her to bed because it's freshman orientation tomorrow. early.
So... results are up, and include splits -times for each swimmer's leg of relays or events longer than 50y. OMFG, she did awesome. (to be a little unBrit there for a moment)
dropped
2 seconds (35>33) in 50 breast unbelievable
3 seconds in 50 fly (33>31) surprising as her coach hadn't even worked on Fly at this point (she did today and didn't change her stroke at at all -she has changed her free and breast (she's a breaststroker first, IM second, fly third)
2 second in 50 free (29.5>27.5) AMAZING
Splits from relays are generally faster than individuals but this is so much faster, and the fly is from the IM!
Her coach really moved her up in the relays for the meet tomorrow and I was kinda suprised, but now I see why.
Braggy Braggy Braggy -almost everyone is swimming the medley relay -we have teams A-H. She's on B. as a freshman.
Lots of pressure, though -and that's just what I feel! :lol:
The Infinite Monkey stroke.
You propel yourself forward by doing this:
What stroke is IM?
Individual medly, one swimmer does:
Backstroke
butterfly
breast
freestyle
I know back is always first and free is always last. Not sure the order of middle two.
The Infinite Monkey stroke.
You propel yourself forward by doing this:
That's how I will picture you from now on. :D
Individual medly, one swimmer does:
Backstroke
butterfly
breast
freestyle
I know back is always first and free is always last. Not sure the order of middle two.
Actually it's fly back breast free so the swimmer can start from the blocks.
The medley relay is backstroke first (then breast fly free) because the backstroker will always start in the water so it makes more sense for them to go first.
That was a crazy meet! There were eight schools, all with about 40 swimmers and they all did their little war chants for about 15 minutes before the meet actually got started. It was LOUD! But such a good atmosphere. The bleachers sure hurt our butts, though, we need to dig out the cushions we have somewhere.
It wasn't a regular meet, it was a relays meet, where each individual event was turned into a relay event. There were only two heats of most things -an A heat and a B heat, one team from each school in each, but there were unlimited entries allowed for the 200 Medley relay (a regular event) and the 200 free relay (ditto), but only the A and B heat were scoring heats.
First off, there was a regular medley relay where she was on the B relay, which cam in third in the B heat, scoring major points and she dropped more time off her 50 breaststroke split.
Then the IM relay, where she was in the A relay and they came in second! They only swam 100IMs each -normally at this age they swim a 200 for an individual, so her 100 time is old, but she dropped at least 5 seconds on that.
And then the breaststroke relay, where she was on the B relay. And here's where she kinda gets stiffed. They call her school the "Breaststroke Battalion" -they have 4 amazing breaststrokers already. So she gets to be number 5. in any other school, she would be #1 or 2. Her relay came in 4th, but she was first swimmer and led the field by over a second. she was the fastest swimmer in the entire heat by over a second. In fact, she was also faster than 21 of the 32 swimmers in the A heat! Including all of the swimmers from the other two Ann Arbor High Schools. But 4 of the 11 girls who were faster than her (one only just) were our A team -who won the event and set a new record.
So an awesome meet, all in all. Shame about the team dinner afterwards at Applebees :vomit: :zzz:
:lol:
Hmmm.
School actually started and is going well, away meet tonight. They finally got their team warm-up suits last night and were instructed to wear them to school today, and Swimmer Girl reported that it was cool to spot all the other swimmers in the halls, and see all the other athletes who had games/meets tonight wearing suits/ties (boys) and warm-up suits (girls)!
So, to the meet. An away meet in a 6 lane, 25 meter pool (8 lanes of 25 yards is the norm). So the coaches agreed to run only one heat in some events to speed things up. There are usually two.
Swimmer Girl swam three events (the maximum), all in lane 2, which had timimg problems, so results are somewhat uncertain until the manula times are posted.....
SG got on the B Medley Relay, swimming breast. They got third and scored points. rocking!
SG was in the 200 IM (one heat only = 6 swimmers, top 5 score). We think she got 4th (behind her two teammates) ..and she might have got 3rd -but she started the last leg (freestyle) in 5th, and that's her second worst stroke. Way to catch up, honey. Coach was pleased.
Then.... she got "lucky" and was swimming the "freshman 500". Her coach makes all freshmen swim the 500 free at some point. She got "lucky" tonight. She is NOT is distance or a freestyle swimmer. It was actually a 400 because it was a meter pool. But there was only one heat. So only one swimmer would fail to score. That was her. The time she swam was actually freaking fantastic and will probably get her a Junior Olympic cut for USA swimming, but her coach tore her a new one! She's a freshman swimming against 5 seniors/juniors FFS! and is a breaststroke /IM sprinter.
I guess the coach just has big dreams for her, but really? is it necessary to pile the high pressure on so early?
BTW, all the other freshmen and most of the sophomores only swam one event because places were limited.
I am one proud -but kinda pissed- mama.
Maybe he was doing a reverse psychology thing so that the juniors/seniors won't hate her for being such a superstar? Berating her in public so they don't think she's the coach's pet.
Could be, although it's a little late for that. It's probably to make sure she remembers her place, but she's not the sort of kid who gets too big for her boots anyway.
So....... this week's meet (on Thurs) is against a school with 20 swimmers and Swimmer Girl can beat their fastest in anything -and so can most of the rest of the team of 45. We know them well because SG's Winter club before she went to high school is located in this school and is their feeder team.
So the result is pre-determined
Just last night, SG and I discussed that she wanted to try a free sprint -even though that is not her thing- just to see how much she'd improved. I speculated that the coach might even put her in back (her worst stroke).... we didn't go far enough....
The coach is making her dive! Her School has two divers, most others have 5 or 6. Top 5 score, so we bleed points there. SG dives in summer, is OK/good, but not good enough to get near places at championships any more (places are taken by year-round divers). I had said to SG she may need to dive as a Freshman to get more events, but it turns out so far her swim times are good enough to get the maximum number anyway. (They can compete in 4 at dual meets, each swim race is an event, diving is also an event.)
She is amused. Which is good, because we're at that teenage point where we could get any reaction from tree falling in the forest to 9/11 on acid
I'm beginning to have mixed feelings about this coach guy. I guess he is thinking more about the overall team, whereas I'm seeeing just what concerns Fishy Beast-Monster.
she's fine diving. It's good for them to do events they wouldn't normally so they can develop as all rounders. 13 is too young to specialise for good. But they really can't in meets that will be close because they need to put the best in each event in that event. We just never imagined coach would have her dive -we didn't even know she'd remembered she could.
Although this morning we realized it might be a reverse meet and a reverse is the one dive she doesn't have. So she's going to mention that to coach today.
And.... not diving any more because the required dived for the meet is a reverse. The only dive group she doesn't have a dive from. Two days is not enough to learn a whole new complex and dangerous dive. (Reverses are the hardest group, you take off the board in a forward dive, but then you arch/flip back so you enter facing away from the board)
[YOUTUBE]P6ZqW63RML8[/YOUTUBE]
Definite potential for head-thunking there.
Just reflecting that Fish-girl is only starting out, and in a few years she'll be swimming her core events, so a bit of diversification now is probably harmless, and maybe a good thing.
Thing is, one of her two "core events" is the IM, so includes all of the strokes (except diving), so no event is a time waster for her. Except diving.
But she's actually a very beautiful and graceful diver. The problem is that she only dives for the 6-week summer team and our board is .5 meter, static fulcrum.
[YOUTUBE]L5nqeFWufrE[/YOUTUBE]
no thanks.
First in the 100 breaststroke, dropped 5 seconds!!!!!
Half a second is a big cause for celebration at this point, she had a 1:19.xy and has swum close a few times, but she got 1:14.93 tonight. Amazing. And her coach reckons she can drop another 5 by the end of the season which will be well within a State Cut (qualifies her to swim at High School Division 1 State Championships). She's now less than a second off the State Cut for USA age-group swimming.
She also dropped 7 seconds in her 200 free and took 2nd, but she should have dropped more -that time was old, she has only swum it once a year to this point.
The first and second are great, but there was never a question of not thrashing this team tonight, so coach did not swim the fastest and best in their regular events. The A Medley Relay team was all freshmen -including SG. And they took first. The four super-breastrokers on the team did not swim the breaststroke event. It was on SG and she pulled it off!
Enough about her, back to me.
last home meet, I was shown how to run the computer -get the times from the scoreboard, match them to the swimmers, enter DQs and manual times when the electronic time is incorrect (swimmer didn't hit the pad), make the last minute line-up changes, produce scores and results etc. Tonight was supposed to be my second "training session" but no-one else showed. just me. i made it. but several hair-raising moments along the way including the program crashing in the middle of the meet. And lots of manually entered times -this is very unusual.
The team we were swimming against is from the high school where Hebe's winter team for the last 6 years practice. So we knew loads of them. they have all been on the same team for a long time. Weird to swim against them. She triumphed, though. Incidentally, it was them mostly failing to hit the pads properly. Faulty pads has plagued that pool forever. now I'm wondering, maybe it isn't the pads hat are faulty? Or perhaps they are just so used to them not working, they just touch wherever.....
Let me tell you this, though. Coach is nutso. This was a given win. Some of the oppo could barely swim. And yet she was still wound up tight as a scotsman in a gay bar befoe the meet.
Oh and the name-embriodered team color/logo Speedo backpacks came in today, but somehow SG's got missed from the order. :(
Swimmer Girl don't need no stinkin' embroidered suit. Throw on a burlap bag and she'll STILL kick AZZ! :)
Let me tell you this, though. Coach is nutso. This was a given win. Some of the oppo could barely swim. And yet she was still wound up tight as a scotsman in a gay bar befoe the meet.
Ha!
OK so I'm all WTF with this shit.....
i'd kinda got the hang of if the meet is a challenge, they swim "their events" and if we're gonna kick butt, they do kookie stuff.
So last week, the meet was a given (they could barely swim either), but coach put most of the girls in their best events. So SG came 4th in her two individuals -she scored points for the IM, but not for breast beacuse only 3 from each team actually score and we came in 1-7 in that event....
And then coach tells the girls "OK, I'm done with experimenting, from now on you only swim your events..."
This week, we should win, but it isn't a given and it's anothe AA school -former state champs..... and coach put SG on the 500 free, the 200 free, the 400 free relay (and the medley relay)
SG maintains coach is not pissed with her. I don't think coach is pissed with me. but rly? distance freestyle for a breaststroke sprinter? And shitloads of it?
Odd. Has anyone asked Coach to ... explain ... ?
I'm trying to think from the coach's point of view. Here are the events to fill, here are the swimmers I have. Hmm...
This team already has four star breaststrokers (straightfacestraightfacestraightface) doesn't it? And they're seniors, so they will swim the breaststroke events. Hebe is good, but as a novice, will have to swim what is available. Next year she'll be doing the breaststroke.
it's not that, though. She is a top placer in IM already. It's that she said one thing then did the complete opposite. And if she wants her to do well in the 500, why is she wearing her out with all the other distance events? And she's got 4 events. Plenty freshmen will swim only one (which means that SG is a valued team member), but they could "fill up" in other ways.
The one thing I know is unless it is physically damaging your girl YOU NEVER QUESTION COACH!
So i'mm'a just be puzzled here instead.
"That which does not kill me makes me stronger?"
or maybe the coach has an un-diagnosed brain tumor? No one ever expects that.
Or the, umm, you know. That other thing no one ever expects.
The Spanish Inquisition?
YOU NEVER QUESTION COACH!
Sod that. Let her know that you accept her decision, but would like help understanding your (kid's) role in the team and what plans coach has for developing her.
Coach came over after the meet tonight. Apparently SG had showed so much improvement in the freestyle at practice, that's why she got those races (and I think she knew in advance the meet would be a walkover). But she was concerned that SG seemed to be taking her post-race coaching as "yelling at her" rather than positive reinforcement and steps for further improvement, and wanted (me) to reinforce that it's just because she gets so excited and sees so much potential and she's impatient for it to bloom that maybe it seems like admonishment........:rolleyes:
and it never occurred to coach (until i "joked" about it) that this might be seen as a punishment set for someone who is a sprinter
Tough love, baby.
She told me that SG is a good swimmer now, will be a great swimmer and may well be a super-great swimmer. Which is nice.
btw, she was lagging almost all they way in the 500 and then pulled it out at the last minte to take 4th (and score points). She plowed the 200. Well no, that's not fair, she did drop time, but she should have dropped more because her time was old. Her two relays were good -her medley relay came second.
The Spanish Inquisition?
Sod that. Let her know that you accept her decision, but would like help understanding your (kid's) role in the team and what plans coach has for developing her.
With this coach, you have to wait until she's ready to tell you (which turns out to have been tonight, sorta) She's a great swim coach, but not so good with the interpersonals and everyone sees that the kids of the parents who piss her off swim less and get less coaching. There comes a point when the swimmer has enough value on the team that you can get away with more as a parent..... but that time isn't as a freshman.
The coach and I actually get on OK -we've been dealing with each other for a few years prior to this -she and I both coach middle school teams and are both in Summer swimming and swimming is a small world. And I've watched unsuspecting parents wade in and their kids suffer as a result.
And they are at the age where they should be starting to fight their own battles. But it's hard sometimes.
She's a great swim coach, but not so good with the interpersonals
Bit of a shortcoming in a coach, IMHO.
Still, can't be as bad as the twerp who coaches at the tennis courts near the park near my house. I've walked past and seen him yelling at kids who looked about 10. "That was YOURS, Timmy, WHY DIDN'T YOU GET IT? WHY WEREN'T YOU THERE?" etc. :facepalm:
He must be
really good at tennis, cause he's a horrible teacher.
ya know.... it's only a shortcoming for the parents. And they aren't really important. She sees what is wrong with as stroke an is able to communicate with the swimmer how to fix it. That's what makes a good swim coach. If you can improve any swimmers time in any stroke, that's all you need to be a good swim coach.
There are plenty of coaches out there who are popular because they make nicey with the parents... but they don't know wtf they are doing and their kids may do well, but not as well as they could.
Surely there is more to swim coaching than stroke correction. Motivation, focus, long-term development management, etc.
So last night's meet was agaianst one of the other two high schools in the city. The one that won State champs several years running. The one whose district was completely fucked up by the new school, resulting in all the best athletes (=rich kids who have received top tuition on travel teams) coming to us.
We slaughtered them. which is nice. kinda. and sad at the same time.... (not so sad though, because this is not the school that SG is zoned for) But what was really nice is that I knew many parents on the other team, and many of them took the time to tell me that they knew SG was a swimmer, but had no idea she was so good! A proud parent moment.
Surely there is more to swim coaching than stroke correction. Motivation, focus, long-term development management, etc.
yup she's good at that too
she just doesn't play well with parents .....I supect unless they have multiplr state-qualifying swimmers and then they can do s they please......
yup she's good at that too
Err, well, if you say so, but it doesn't look that way from here. Meh, I have very limited information. Whatevs.
really? That's funny. This coach is awesome. As a coach. One of the reasons for choosing the school (not one of the main reasons, though, the coach at the other school is good too)
She just hasn't "got" my kid yet. And that's why she talked to me after the meet last night. She knew she wasn't connecting quite the way she wnted to. If she could only show this witht he parents too then..... wait.... she wouldn't be coaching high school.....
She's a Team USA caliber coach with personality issues that have her coaching high school and college. I think. Rumor has it she was Phelps' breaststroke coach at one point.... Shew was certainly a CW coach at the right time for that....
here she is dry and all full of team spirit at the homecoming game.....
So, it's been ....a week ...10 days? really? wow feels like more.....
So Saturday was a fresh/soph invitational meet. 8 schools attended. coach allowed 1 swimmer choice for those who happened to be online at the time. SG asked for 100fly or 50free. She's faster than all the other freshmen in fly, but some of them are good, and she's better at breast and IM, so she hasn't swum it at a meet yet. And the 50 free because she know's she's gotten (sorry brits) faster and wants to know how much.
Her fly wish was granted and she also swam breast and two relays (4 is max # events).
Top 12 swimmers medal, Top 8 relays. She medalled in everything. 5th in the breast with her second best time ever. wtg! dropped 5ish seconds from her fly time.
Then yesterday, an away dual meet against a tiny team (17 athletes, we have 45). So they each only got two events and not what they usually swim. We still slaughtered them. It was kind of embarrasing -I'd fire their coach. I understand that this is a poorer area, and swimming is not as big of a deal/priority as it is in Ann Arbor, but their starts were terrible and that's kinda easy/quick to fix/improve. Every single one of the races was lost by all three of their swimmers and won by all three of ours by the time they surfaced from the start. I could have improved their starts and I'm a faux swim coach..... I'm not exaggerating.
So SG swam the 50 free and a free relay. 1st in both, new personal best for the 50 free (28.16s for enquiring minds -good but nowhere near states) awesome.
So, big stuff coming. the team is 6 - 0 but next week we swim the other Ann Arbor high school -the one she should have gone to. and it will be so close. both teams are unbeaten.
and then, on Saturday, there is the MISCA meet -an invitatational only open to swimmers who have made the cut in each event. SG made the breaststroke cut. But coach also entered her for the IM. She should be able to make the cut, but hasn't yet. She needs to shave 5 seconds off her 2:29 time. So no pressure or anything!
No other freshmen are going.
proud swimmom tonight.
And coach and I had a chat and we're good. We have differences, but I can deal with her being a bitch and she can deal with needing my kid ;)
Shes Just driven Mon ,
So are You ,
the big question is IS SG happy ?? is she haveing fun , can she deal with all this ??
And are you ready for an Olympian and what country will she swim for ?????
She's having a fucking blast! I'm thinking of buying shares in Speedway and Speedo.
It's going to be so weird when the season ends. But at least we have polo season to look forward to -I already have the sticker on the car and she's never played a game in her life (she's been to clinics and open sessions and kinda scrimmaged) -she made me get it.
She's having a fucking blast!
Good , Then Proceed !!
The big meet against the school she should have gone to and all her summer swim buddies. We leave in an hour. I have my eagles in pink t-shirts at the ready, she had a 10 minute strategy session on the IM with the former U or M swim coach this morning....... ready as we'll ever be......!
Have fun storming the castle!
We WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And she got the IM cut for the MISCA invitational! She dropped that 5 seconds, baby! -she was 4th And another personal best in the breaststroke! -she was 3rd
And I think a new personal best for her split in the 200 free relay and possibly also for her 50 breast split in the 200 medley relay.
pwned, River Rats! Go Eagles!
congratulations!!!!
Interesting note for me. A LONG time ago when I swam and was a coach, our team was called the River Rats. Those were some good times!
So the story behind the river rats.... long long time ago, there was only one high school in Ann Arbor. Then the built a new one, on the Huron river. And it took the kids from the less financialy-abled side of town. The Old AA high school was forced to get a new name -they became the AA Pioneer. Home of the Pioneers. They decided to call the AA Huron students River Rats -in a derogatory manner. Huron ran with it. AA Skyline is even newer, and had no say in the Eagle thing. It's not very original. But it could have been worse. Plus the new zoning knocked the pioneers down a little and as of tonight, WE RULE ANN ARBOR. :lol:
WE RULE ANN ARBOR. :lol:
That reminds me. I'd love to hear the story of how you and Beest wound up in the states and Ann Arbor.
I'm guessing
Beest is some sort of science teacher at the University
Oh, and I'm not sorry about ur rats
That reminds me. I'd love to hear the story of how you and Beest wound up in the states and Ann Arbor.
Car industry. He works for a parts manufacturer.
Car industry. He works for a parts manufacturer.
Ooookayyyyyy. That was a bit shorter than I expected.
:lol:
They're in the Witness Protection Program.
shhhhhhh
;)
Ooookayyyyyy. That was a bit shorter than I expected.
Sorry, it's really not all that exciting. Here, if you're an immigrant, you're either U of M or you're car industry.
Beest's company was bought by an American company. They also bought a German company, then they decided the two needed "consolidating" so the put the German company in charge of that operation. So the Germans closed the British operations down and fired everyone. Then the American company said "wait, we needed that section!" So those lucky dozen people or so and their machinery and their families got shipped over here. Everyone else lost their jobs.
Oh and then the American company went into chapter 11 because it bought too many companies with too many problems -most notably the British company....... and it stayed there until very recently.
Please can we get a payrise now?
Witless protection more like.....
I'm in the Whitbread protection program. I'm not doing a bangup job of it either. They keep vanishing.
Wigless Protection Agency
Well she wouldn't have to bother with a swim cap......
MISCAs today.
OMFG she dropped another two seconds on her breaststroke and is now within one second of a Division 1 High School State cut! She has 4 meets left in which to drop that second..... no pressure, though..... :lol:
ETA: 103 swimmers, seeded 71st, finished 25th, highest placed freshman......
her IM was also good -tad slower than thurs (and her seed time) but not much, and finished 10ish places above her seed position...... plus coach had told her not to kill herself on it so she's be good for the breast.
This is crazy. Fun but crazy. I had no idea quite how much the ante was going to be upped when she moved to high school swimming. or just how good she was..... No-one drops 8 seconds in a 100 of their best stroke in 6 weeks. That's 10% in breaststroke.
The totally nuts thing is she was still the third placed swimmer from her school -and another two faster than her didn't swim because they already had state cuts and needed cuts in other events.....
Soooo.... at the MISCAS, most of the super-fast girls were wearing tech suits rather than their team suits. The $300 variety. So I gulped and thought, well she's just a freshman, I guess I'll start watching the sales and special offers ready for next year or the year after....
...nuh-huh. SG came home today saying that volunteer coach (head-coach's hubby, former U of M (Phelps) coach, who gave her the game plan for the IM last Thursday that dropped her the 5 seconds- (=God)) .....says that all swimmers who could make it to finals at the division championships in two weeks should have one. And he currently has connections with Speedo (and that is the only suit to have) and he can get them approx 50% off if we have enough orders...... If we can't buy one right now, they may be able to find loaners ...but they only get the 50% discount if enough people want them. ...and that discount is way better than I could ever find in a sale.....
So suddenly next year or so becomes next week? eek!
I have to say I was totally in the No camp until the MISCAs. I thought they were a con -especially at this level. I mean how much time can they really cut? But then I saw wet swimmers coming up to the bleachers to talk to their parents, and those suits were amazing! They were repelling water to the point where it was balling and looked like it was trying to jump off the suit -not even just perching in a hemispheric blob on the outside.
but... we only paid $120 for the team suit, two silicone team caps -with individualized name and team t-shirt and shorts. and that felt like a lot at the time......
I thought the tech suits were banned.
I still think they should be.
lots of them are. So they all want the maximun that isn't banned..... These are like fastback swimsuit tops, knee-lenght jammer-style bottoms.
Damn, that's a lot. Can you earmark some scrip money for the cause?
No, this is a different school. And the thing about scrip is that it can't benefit ndividuals directly. They'd have to be aiming to get suits for the whole team.
and yes, I know this isn'r how many schools run it. mostly they are in violation of federal law. but mostly they are private cathloic schools and a blind eye is turned.
So shoot me for making an observation. occasionally the feds make an example. We weren't one, but we were close enough to have to change fundraising in a way detrimental to income, and yet the private catholic schools carried on regrdless. Bitter? maybe a little...
Yeah, I've never been involved closely enough to know the details of our fundraising. My daughter is in the school band, and they do band trips to competitions where they need to pay for the bus and hotels. But there is fundraising done so that everyone, regardless of income, can go. I don't know how they determine which students get a free ride, and which pay out of pocket, but we have always just paid out of pocket. (Maybe they look at the list of who gets the free school lunches.)
It seems a little strange that you have to buy the team suit, but then are encouraged to swim in a different one. Maybe they should tell parents about that up front, so you can decide where to focus your spending and get one or the other and not both.
Wouldn't it be cheaper just to buy normal swimsuits for all the other competitors? [/commie]
Yeah, I've never been involved closely enough to know the details of our fundraising. My daughter is in the school band, and they do band trips to competitions where they need to pay for the bus and hotels. But there is fundraising done so that everyone, regardless of income, can go. I don't know how they determine which students get a free ride, and which pay out of pocket, but we have always just paid out of pocket. (Maybe they look at the list of who gets the free school lunches.)
It seems a little strange that you have to buy the team suit, but then are encouraged to swim in a different one. Maybe they should tell parents about that up front, so you can decide where to focus your spending and get one or the other and not both.
If they all go, then it's good.
having digested it and thunk about it, I'm kind of fine with it actually. Although I'd obviously rather not fork over the 150. This is a suit that you would only wear for the BIG meets. Teams suits are de rigeur at dual meets. This is for when you're REALLY FLIPPING SERIOUS. Only 10 of the team of 45 made MISCAs most had only one cut, she had two. Less than that have made States so far. She is good, $150 is not really a lot for a pice of sports equipment at this level. it just feels like a lot because it's an itst bitsy thin swimsuit. But we paid $70 last year for a used blocker and catcher for Hector and knew we had a steal. and $40 for used legpads and $40 for a used helmet and $40 for used skates...... And coach says these suits now last for much longer than they used to, and she's going to try and instigate a pass-it-down program, so if SG outgrows it, hopefully she will be able to pass it down to the next person with her body shape, and there will be someone to pass one to her....
So anyway, I was kinda thinking I was into it, but needed to discuss with beest, then i walked onto deck tonight and was immediatley accosted by coach, who let me know in no uncertain terms that SG is awesome, they have huge plans for her and the suit is pretty much not a choice......
And apparently Stu -the coaches husband- was one of the 5 responsible for it's design and development -the American part of a 5-people, 5-nation team. And then i saw him personally supervising SG's warm up. These people -who are well respected in the swim coaching world- are investing so much in her it's wonderful and scary.....
Today, while waiting to pick her up from school, I was reading her USA Swimming magazine, and saw that her time was much closer to the current olympians' times than I had thought it would be, so I checked it out, just a few minutes ago. Her current time for the 100 yard breaststroke -when converted to 50m long cours as per olympics) would have been a
world record in 1958. OK, so things have come a long way -but that's pretty bloody fast. She's 6 seconds behind the fastest high school girls in the State (who are actually also on her team), but she's 13 and one of them is 18. And she's dropped 8 seconds in the last 7 weeks. I'm totally blown away by this. I know it seems I'm all brag here, but that's really not the point of this. I knew she was good, but I really hadn't grasped how good and how excited people were about her until today.... So many other parents made a point of coming over and saying something complimentary tonight.... Their daughters are even faster, it's so nice that they noticed and took the time to say so.
Tonight, she didn't swim any relays because coach wanted her to save energy for the breaststroke (it's always the penultimate event). She swam the IM towards the beginning and took 3rd with a new personal best time. She came second in the breaststroke, only 4 seconds behind the State champion of 2 years ago and in front of the girl who
did get a state cut on Saturday. She hated her race -and it's true, her turns were poor, but she still swam her second best time ever.
We remain undefeated. Next week we swim the state powerhouse, though. they are undefeated in forever. But SG says she likes that pool and is confident she will get her state cut there. go SG, I love you. I'm so proud of you and the work you put in to be the best that you can be.
Man, I can't wait until I can watch her on TV in the Olympics, and I can trot out the awkward photo evidence and say, "She came to my house once!"
This is exciting. Way to go SG!
SG just got a text from coach.... only two more morning practices and then tapering for SECs (Regional championships)... but her and two others who are sooooo close to a state cut are on a "special taper schedule". we have yet to learn what this means, but it involves more weight training, apparently..... this is really starting to feel pretty heavy...... and exciting... and scary... and suddenly way beyond recreational swim team....
wow.
oh and the special suit may now be $225.......
....oh, and, they heard that one of the seniors River rats is going to Olympic trials. They raced each other in the 200IM at our dual meet. Olympian was 1st, SG was 4th, but not even by half a length....
...and yet $225. Takes money to be an amateur....
$225 = new faster suit.
new faster suit = half a length per 200M.
Half a length = olympic trials.
So long as SG is still enjoying this and seroius about pushing it, this is definitely worth paying for. [COLOR="LemonChiffon"]Sell Hector[/COLOR].
So we decided to/finally came to terms with the fact that we need to cough up the 225.
$225 for a 3oz piece of material that's virtually disposable is kinda hard to stomach. But if coach said "she needs to attend this weekend stroke clinic, it will cost $225", we'd've had far less problem commiting ...and yet time is also disposableand the results may be comparable..
Also... I was kinda hoping/dreaming she'd get the cut a the meet tomorrow (Thu), and it would make the decision (rqd by Friday) more crystal cut. But no, coach is resting her from the breaststroke this meet. Instead, she's swimming her worst stroke -backstroke. Because she's improved it so much. (IM -which involves all 4 strokes- is her second best event, so this is important) they want to see how well she can do. And they've put her in the 50 free. Also not her event, but she's come a long way, baby!
In other news, they're tapering (reducing practice to reserve energy for "the big one".). I'm all done with the 5am starts! Just as I was getting used to them. (Monday was the last 6am practice for most swimmers, but "State" swimmers taper later. Even though she doesn't yet have a cut, SG was included in the State group (which numbers about 10, out of the team of 45)
I joked with SG about the "shaved and tapered" thing (=readiness for a big meet). Swimmers shave all body hair before big meets, high school girls generally have a thing about not shaving their legs all season until the night before championships, so they get the "extra drag" at practice, and feel more aerodynamic at championships. She informed me she hasn't shave dthem all Season and Nov 3rd is shaving day. OMFG, my baby is not a baby any more.....
.....
So here's the thing.... There is a sophomore on the team who has times better that Senior River Rat who's going to Olympic trials (allegedly) did when she was a sophomore. i think this girl may also get invited to a trial when the time comes. but.... all of the swimmers who are serious competition for SG swim for he same powerhouse AA club (since they were 6sh, and off season now they're at high school) -the one Phelps swam for.... Costs a fortune. SG's coach is/was a coach for this team. They mean business. Swiming is not fun for them, it's business. The sophomore's mom is a coach there.
SG swims/swam with the nearest "rival" team. A fun team, with good, balanced workouts, but no olympic dreams. In her first season, she has dropped8 seconds on her best event. These other swimmers came in better, but only dropped two or three in their first season....
We're nervous.
Last night she (who sleeps like the dead) woke up and got up at 11 (when we were starting to head to bed) thinking it was morning. She reports also waking at 1 and thinking time to get up, but checking the clock and realising not. then at 3 she woke up and figured it must be time to get up, didn't check the clock properly, had breakfast, got her stuff together, then saw the clock...... so went back to bed for a couple of hours -dressed and ready to go. Today wasn't even THE DAY.
It's tomorrow and Saturday. (District Championships -all the local big high schools)
I'm nervous too, although I'm trying/pretending not to be. But I keep playing over the scenarios for if she doesn't get the State cut. She's 13 FFS, this is nuts!
We have the psych sheets, and she's looking good.... Psych sheets are lists of swimmers in seed order for each event. She's 9th seed (out of 38) in the 200 IM -highest seeded freshman. Heats have 8 swimmers, so 9th seed means she'll be in the prime lane in the second fastest heat -a good position to make it to the last 8. She has 9 seconds to drop to get a state cut in this event, so that isn't likely, but in the top heat at finals on Saturday would be spectacular!
And then she's 10th (out of 61) seed for breaststroke. Which seems worse, but 4 of the 9 above her are her teammates, and she's less than a second off the state cut on this one.
A state cut means you qualify to swim at the state chamionships. This is the level where universities start to take note.
$225 = new faster suit.
new faster suit = half a length per 200M.
Half a length = olympic trials.
Should have added
Olympic trials = college scholarship
College Scholarship > $225.
We're nervous.
Today wasn't even THE DAY.
:lol:
Although, seriously, too much of this isn't good. I hope it is just the "first big meet" nerves.
Externally, she's more excited than nervous. I think the sleep thing is partially due to the tapering -within a week she's gone from 5-6 hours per day to less than 2 with no morning practice, but she's keeping the same bedtime.
She posted on Facebook tonight about shaving her legs for the first time in the season -and all her other freshmen friends on all the other teams in the city were all IKR..... so funny.
STATE CUT!!!!! She did it, bitches! State Cut is 1:10.69, she had 1:11.67 ...she swam 1:08.52. More than a 3 second drop. incredible. that's over 11 seconds since the start of the season -almost unheard of in a year-round swimmer's best stroke.
Better still, she came in 4th, just ahead of the now deposed #4 breaststroker on the team (The Breaststroke Battalion took 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and a few other spots in the top 16). only 4 from each team can swim in the final tomorrow, so SG is in the finals (fastest heat) and the other girl (sad for her but great for SG) only gets to swim in the consolation heat.
She also dropped 5 seconds on her IM and came in 7th, so is in the fastest heat of Finals in that too. And in her two relays, she also dropped time on her splits (and was again faster than the former #4 in the breaststroke -they keep leapfrogging each other, though, so chances are she'll be back to #5 tomorow. but hopefully still in the points....)
One of her relays got through to finals tomorrow too, the other had the right time to, but they are reserve because we already filled our allotted number of spots.
Way to go SG! Fantastic.
Now go kick some azz in the Statessssssssss.
Holy Were-dolphin, batman! Hebe, you RAWK!
It gets better....... because she's so young, for USA age-group swimming, it's not only a state cut, it's a zone cut (= many states, like entire flyover country), so she'll get to swim for Michigan against the other states. (High school swimming takes no account of age, so they can be 13 or 18. Age group swimming is 8U, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14 and 15-17.)
Is this with the expensive superfast suit or without?
with the expensive superfast suit.
and thanks all.
Finals today but I'm so much more chilled........
Sg already at the pool, I'm just getting my act together......
7th in the IM (dropping another 2 seconds), 8th in the breaststroke with another 1:08 (tad slower than yesterday but still well under state cut time, so not a fluke). The fastest heat in each event was paraded in with a sign displaying the race, introductions as they walked to the blocks and music! SG's brother got to be a sign carrier and led Swimmer Girl in for her IM which was quite cute.
......and we're back to 6am practices :( two more weeks.....
Sg= Super Girl? Swimmer Girl?
Swimmer Girl. I don't put it past her coach to look her up, so I don't use her name in this thread ;)
oh except the post above where i fucked up, apparently! :lol: was rusjhing out to the party. oh well
oh and, I'm not sure if I mentioned this on the cellar (I must have....), but back in March, when SG was swimming for her middle school at the meet at the High school she should have gone to, and won the breaststroke, We 'fessed up to that coach that she was going to Shiny New School aka the Breaststroke Battalion, and that coach emailed me around midnight that night trying to "help" fix the reasons I had given her for SG going to the other school over Grungy High.
Today her husband came over and said "are you SG's mom? Nice swims this weekend. Yeah, my wife was emailing you like mad trying to get SG to go to Grungy High...." So now I know I wasn't imagining it (They're not supposed to do that....). It's very flattering.
- - - -
10 of the 45 swimmers made the State team. SG is the only freshman. 5 of the 10 are breaststrokers. States are in 2 weeks. I honestly never thought she would make States as a freshman. In fact, foolishly, several weeks ago, when she was still a long way off a cut, I said I would dye my hair blue if she got a state cut..... :rolleyes: (we were swimming a team whose color is purple and my hair was purple and I was told it needed to be blue). It's no biggie except the blue just doesn't last and i hate high maintenance..... and I kinda like purple better than blue. But I'll do it.
Pic or it didnt happen !!
there will be a pic of the hair and I may have pix of her today... hard to say, camera is fucked -I'm on the back-up as beest hase the main camera at HockeyNut's tournament
Thank goodness you didn't say pink.
Save that for the Olympics.
nu-huh not even for that.
Today they got their State Swag. Hebe is Made Up! They got camp chairs with their first names on the back, State team etc on the front, and last names on the cover. Matching Headbands, and Hebe and the two others who hadn't made the team before got team jackets. She is chuffed to bits and happily wore her state team jacket as she left tonight to watch the State Championship Men's Water Polo Final between the other two Ann Arbor High Schools (she's cheering for the River Rats)
Oh and..... this was so funny... (to me...)
On the way to practice this morning, I said "how awesome would it be for your team to get 5 swimmers in the State finals for breaststroke" and she said "Awesome, but it would also be awesome if coach could get us elevator passes, the stairs are ruining my taper". I chortled. But it turns out she was deadly serious. Most of her classes are on the 4th floor, so she's up and down stairs all day. generally good, but apparently -during taper- BAD. Coach is a serious coach, is olympically connected and apparently a college/olympic coach was visiting the other day and was horrified by the stiars they were doing. No exercise outside of practice is allowed during taper. OMFG -did we accidentally relocate to USSR? :lol: She did not tell coach about the community service type thing she did today because we were raking leaves......
This is SO CRAZY!
Don't fuck with the taper.
Ok. Psych sheets are posted. = list of all swimmers for each event in seed (speed) order. making it to finals on Saturday suddenly got less likely...... but that's ok, 'cause it makes me less apprehensive.
Last year, her time (1:08.52) would have easily placed her in the top 10.
She's #22 seed out of 44. it got a whole shitload faster!
but 22 is OK. Only the top 24 really have a chance -they get placed in the last three heats, which are "circle-seeded" -like dealing out the swimmers. So the last heat will have swimmers 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19 and 22; the penultimate heat will have swimmers 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20 and 23.... and you get the picture. So the top swimmers have less competition in their heats. and swimmers like SG who are borderline for making the last 16, get to swim againmnst much faster swimmers to pace them. Swimmers 25-32 all swim together, they all have very similar times, much harder to be in the running. not impossible, though. top 16 overall go through to Finals on Saturday.
As seed 22, SG does get to swim in the last heat with the #1 seed (time of 1:04.85) -that is the best she could hope for. She'll be in the outside lane though (but at MISCAs she won from the outside in a 10-lane meet, so.....) She is the lowest seed of the 5 Skyline swimmers, and bizarrely, only one of them is not in that heat. We have seeds 2, 4, 7, 19 and 22. It will be interesting.
for the Stats Nerds, there are 76 schools in Division 1. only 44 swimmers qualified for the breaststroke. 5 are from one school -ours, 4 are from another -both of these schools are new to Division 1 and -allegedly- are the reason it got so much faster! 3 are from the school that has been state champion for several years, all other school only have 1 or 2. the balance of power may be changing!
OK braggety-brag/omfg-is-this-for-real time..... DO NOT READ if you are not totally pro SG because you will want to barf.......
SG just told me that her coach said today that the mother of SG's friend (SGF) -the #1 breaststroker on the River Rat team, had called her to ask if she gave private lessons. Coach told SG "you make SGF look ordinary". In tones that suggested that coach is pretty impressed with SGF.
I'm guessing SGF has been on coach's radar for longer than SG because she swims off season for the BIG team around here, and SG swims for the small one. So Sg is kind of a nice surprise for coach. But it's all good. SG may be number 5 here when she would have neen #1 elsewhere, but I think it was the right choice. These are top class coaches.
SG is not a boaster, so for her to tell me this means it is really, really big.
(Just watch her fall off the block and get DQ'd on Friday! :lol:)
good luck, break a flipper, or .. whatever.
ps, I preferred to race in the outside lanes and not the center lanes, back in the day. I felt less distraction and I could just focus on my own race. I was never a favorite though, so maybe this was just making lemonade from sour grapes. who knows.
Gooooooooood Luck! Go SG!
thanks. She hates the outsides -or used to.
ok I lied about the less apprehensive. I spent this morning making her a team color fleecy blanket when I should have been doing something else. she loves it :)
She painted her nails last night so one hand said SkyHi and the other Eagle. Coach told her she loves it, but she needs to take it off to swim. Drag. :lol:
[size=1] DEADLY SERIOUS[/size].
Drag as in friction and not bumming her stone?
Maybe she should switch to silicone based nail polish.
Now there's an idea to pitch to Speedo......
Best of luck to Hebe! This is exciting!
:)
OK the child is fucking manic. her taper means she just isn't ready to go to bed. About as far from that as she could be. usually she's packing in the last calories befor ebed with drooping eyelids at this time of night. She has no school tomorrow, so no homework. Rescue me from this whirling Dervish of energy. And i mean that literally. She twirling away on the wood floor in the kitchen -I'm afriad she'll get dizzy and knock herself out as she falls over.
She's chatting on FB with friends who stay up late and play video games -she's usually all done with online before they get on, so she's buggin me about what the hell they are talking about.
it's almost surreal.
10:45pm. she just got up, thinking it was morning..... after less than an hour in bed. Didn't look to me like a kid who had even been to sleep.....
*sigh*
Well it's over. For her. She swam well (another time well within the state cut) but didn't make the last 16 so won't be swimming tomorrow. But three of the 5 breaststrokers did -they are seeds 1, =4 and =4 for tomorrow so it will be exciting. I won't be there (thankfully) but SG will.
So...... now I have to rant... and I was very restrained and reserved but several of the other team parents weren't.....
There are three teams new to Division one this year -Division is based on school size. (Well three good teams. There may be more who don't make much of a mark) We are one. Farmington Hills Mercy is another. They may well be the new division champions.
It's a private catholic girls school.......
OMFG those people are so obnoxious it's untrue! parents and kids. But especially the parents. I know a couple of FHM swimmers and families, they are nice, so this totally took me by surprise. Seating is limited, reserving seats is not allowed, but they tried to do it anyway -by the block, not just the odd seat or two -40 schools at least and they were reserving about 1/8th of the bleachers ....and were extremely unpleasant to anyone who pointed out it was not allowed ....and played the 'catholic card'....... "well we know it's not allowed but these people have to get siblings to school so can't come until later, and it's especially important they get them to school because it's Friday and so they can't miss mass....."! wtf? We all had siblings to get to school. titarses.
And then they were loud in a really trashy way, deliberately chanting over the cheers from the other swim teams (not the parents' cheers, the teams on deck.... even the swimmers tend to let the groups near them finish rather than trying to chant over them). And no, most parent groups do not have cheers/chants.
SG said the Mercy girls were deliberately delaying races by elaborately crossing themselves before stepping on to the blocks. I didn't see that, but SG is not one to bitch or overexaggerate. it's generally an advantage to be last up onto the block.
The Marion girls (another catholic girls only school) had apparently brought the rest of the team to support them. Which is nice. Standing at the back with their t-shirts scrunched up into bralettes, sagging PJ shorts and having the school name spelled out in paint on their midriffs, however..... not quite so nice... oh and the shouting down heat wins by other teams..... not classy at all.
My eyes were opened to a whole new level of swimmerdom today. And it wasn't terribly pretty. yes, I'm an atheist, but I really really did not expect the two catholic schools' supporters to be the ones exhibiting the worst behaviour. The parents of our team were nice to be with, though. We chatted in the breaks with some other parent groups who were also very nice. And the team looked great on deck with their chairs and jackets.
.....oh and every single swimmer had one of the miracle suits......
SG reported that the two offending groups of parents were more offensive today, although the worst behavior came from the TV crew from Faux News, based right next to our team, who physicaly manhandles the girls trying to get to their races if they were getting in the shot at an inconvenient moment. At least until coaches' husband went to give them what for.
Skyline came in 6th, less than 10 points behins the River Rats. Mercy won but not by much. We took 1, 2 and 4 in the breaststroke :)
Cutthroat at that level, huh?
I'm not surprised. In these parts there is a private Catholic HS, and I know it is nowhere near the level of what you're talking...this is 'small towns surrounded by lots of land' land. But I've seen the level of snobbery and competition that some of the parents exhibit. My friends and I hung out with a few of the guys in HS a couple times. I had a big crush on this guy who had starred in Fiddler on the Roof, and he also ran track so I saw him at meets and invitationals. Turns out, he AND his friends were spoiled little assholes.
Anyway, back to Hebe. She's got 3 more years and a lot of those girls were older, right? To make it to state is so damn amazing, and to do that already! Can you imagine what a contender she's going to be...even more so than now!
I like following along throughout the season, so thanks for keeping us in on it. It's, like, one of the Cellar kids, like one of our virtual 'own' ya know? :)
End of Season banquet on Weds. Facebook group going nuts, dress style is "nice/formal" current question is ...."so more homecoming or more church?" neither of which help us one iota. :lol:
SG doesn't care anyway. She usually over-formalizes (floor-length for 8th grade graduation....) :D
Banquets are evening. The teenage equivalent of a cocktail dress, whatever that might be these days. :)
For this team they are themed, but this year the theme is "The FirstFarewell" because it's the first year we have girls graduating, so they wanted "formal" but not too formal :rolleyes: whatever. my responsibility is over, I will just clear the plates afterwards :lol:
Nominated for two of the 5 big awards: Most Improved and Freshman of The Year.
Won Freshman of the Year and Lettered!
WTG Swimmer Girl, so proud :D
3 hour ceremony though, ouch.
Rock on SG !!!
Freshman ?? Wounder what the next few years hold ??
Worlds ??
Olympics ??
Shoulder injury? :lol:
She starts Winter training (same coach) Monday. No competition, but she will compete with her old team
little wind-up swimming crocodiles would have been more awesome
2 seconds (35>33) in 50 breast NOW 30.80
3 seconds in 50 fly (33>31) NOW 29.83
2 second in 50 free (29.5>27.5) NOW 26.60
So I thought I'd look back to see my thoughts at the start and I found this post of times dropped in her first meet. the NOW bits, I added tonight to emphasise how much further she has come.
these are not the times we really concentrate on
(real time drops over the season: 100y breast: 1:19 > 1:08, 200 IM 2:35 > 2:18)
but they are the ones that are hardest to improve.
She came a long (and expensive) way.
I thought she might Letter. I had no idea she'd make State Team. I hoped she'd be Freshman of the Year, but you never know who else is coming...
I knew I'd have to buy more suits, more goggles. I never expected the Olympic Level Kneeskin LZR.
I had no idea about the yard signs for State meets.
So, seems I forgot to talk about the State Team party. I think coach was a little tipsy and had just learned that the coach of the team at the school SG is zoned for had solicited her over the summer when she found she was going to a different school. She was MAD! I'm not even sure it had really registered with her that SG wasn't forced by zoning to attend that school. But last year, their best/only diver -who was/is awesome and also in the same position as SG defected back to her zoned school and now dives for the river rats. Suddenly, we're getting the red carpet treatment. So funny. (And the "If she's have gone to Huron, she'd be #1 but never have gotten the time drop... speech -we know that.......... but it's funny to hear this suprememly confident amazingly scary awesome swim coach justifying that her team is the best place for SG) :lol:
Hmmm. So SG is doing winter technique with coach. She is also doing High School Girls Water Polo (Rec and Ed course) with the Huron team. See her very presence there and the fact it's through rec and Ed makes it not illegal early training...... ;).........
Coach is OK with her doing both. But apparently, whicle she's "perfectly OK" with SG playing water polo in Season 3 -after all coach's daughter does it- she wants us to be very aware that taking a season off from swimming is going to set her back a long long way..........(in other words don't). It is flattering that this means she thinks SG has great potential, but SG (rightly IMO) told her "stuff it, I'm playing anyway" She said she's given up so many spoorts to swim, this seems like fun and she'll regret not doing it. Go SG.
Also, Varsity Jackets cost $300. There are three places we can get them from. The Official University of Michigan Supplier, a mid-range fanwear store, and an allgedly discount sporting goods store. All charge $300 for Varsity Jackets, though...... :eek:
I loved water polo from back in the day, SG will have a wonderful time. It can be a seriously aggressive sport, the refs can't really see everything that happens below the surface. And swimming for a long time at 10/10ths with no wall or bottom to rest on.. that is a helluva workout. It's gonna be great.
Varsity jacket ordered :eek:
email sent to coach saying "fuck you, she's playing polo anyway" :eek: :eek:
:lol:
that said, coach is right, but she's just too young to give up fun completely
And to close out her first season..... Varsity Jacket.
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.....and Water Polo conditioning started today......
she's as cute as a button
Nice jacket! She earned it.
cool jacket for a cool girl !!!!!
And now we enter Michigan Swimming Championship season. It's becoming very, very clear just how far she's come. Michigan swimming is an affilliate/subsection/something of USA swimming -the national governing body. At the highest level meets you are competing for a place in the Olympics. But anyone can join.
There are 3 levels of championship within Michigan -then we leave the state.....
Level 1: Districts
If you don't qualify for any higher level in an event, you can swim it at District championships. There are three of these across the state.
Level 2: Junior Olympics
I agree, the name doesn't make sense for this level. You have to be pretty fast to swim an event at JOs. but not fast enough to swim at the State Championship. There are two of these meets in the state
Level 3: State Championships
One meet, fast times required.
Then we move out of states to the Central Zone Sectionals. You have to swim really fast to qualify, there are no age groups at sectionals. It's not just kids. It covers about 7 states.
Two years ago, Hebe was 2nd in the 100 breaststroke at Districts in the 11-12 age group, and qualified for JOs in that event.
Last year, she was first in the 100 breaststroke at Districts -her first 1st at a big meet (first of 4 that year) and qualified for JOs in the 100 breaststroke and the 200 breaststroke, despite only just having "aged up" to the 13/14 group.
This year, she didn't swim at district championships because there were so few events she could swim and all ones she hates. She was too fast for the rest. So we got a weekend off (last weekend). it was weird. (we filled it with hockey)
This weekend, we go to JOs. She's swimming three events -although she qualified in four. We're passing on the 200 free because she only just qualified, she doesn't really like it and it's after the 400IM and immediately before the 200 fly in which she might get a state cut. The 100 fly is the next day
In two weeks, we go to States. She's never qualified for States before. She will swim the 100 breast, 200 breast and 200 IM. And anything she qualifies for at JOs. She's in reaching distance with all three events she's swimming.
And then, we go to Sectionals the next weekend. She will be swimming the 100 breaststroke against 26-year-olds! and three other bonus events -she can swim them even though she hasn't qualified for them. She's not going to get to finals never mind place at this meet, but it will be one hell of an experience, And she'll probably get some personal best times.
now I know why her coach said it was time to invest in a tech suit.
Crazy,
Fun.
Scary.
Proud.
Expensive.
Chlorinated.
(anecdotally, her stroke coach prior to going to high school (Val) left town this fall, leaving a lot of swimmers we know without a private coach. Some of them (the cheaper ones) are interested in taking lessons from Hebe, the rest are now taking private lessons from Hebe's high school coach. I don't know if she did privates before, but when they asked me who Hebe was taking from now Val was gone, I told them..... :lol: )
....oh, and apparently, Hebe's off-high-school-season USA Swimming team is also recruiting her high school coach -to train their coaches!
I should claim recruiting fees, no? :lol:
So we're looking at the 2016 Olympics, then? I want to get my bets in with the bookie early, so I can get the highest odds.
I doubt it, she's not the best by a long way, although a good amount of it is attitude and dedication. But I'm hoping a college scholarship might come out of it.
WOO-HOO! State cuts in both events today -400 IM and 200 fly -both by a couple of seconds. (Wearing the magic suit) That girl is rocking the pool. She came in 5th and 3rd in the events, but the 13-14 and 15-18 age groups are combined at this meet. At States, they will be separated...... (She's 14)
WTG Hebe!
Sent by thought transference
Gearing up to leave for States Thursday afternoon, straight after the Middle School swim meet (go Hector!)
So we're looking at the 2016 Olympics, then? I want to get my bets in with the bookie early, so I can get the highest odds.
I poopooed this before, and have superstitiously not been looking at these things But I succumbed tonight.
Pootling about the USA swimming site finding official warm up times, pool addresses etc...noticed there's one other meet left this season, called "Last Train to Omaha" Omaha is Olympic Trials. Times required were Sectionals or better. Sectionals is where we're headed in 10 days :eek: (in other words she's already qualifying for the last stage before olympic trial meets, aged 14)
These are the time cuts required to compete in Olympic trials at Omaha this year.
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She's 6 seconds too slow for an Olympic time trial this year. Next trial 2016. She dropped 11 seconds this year. That's unprecedented and never-to-be-repeated, but that doesn't mean more couldn't go..... She's a late bloomer (maybe because we didn't go gung-ho on the training until she got to high school........)
Today was the first water polo practice of the season and she cut another second off her 100 free time, without a dive start (pushing off the wall) The child is ON FORM!
But for right now, State Championships is the focus. She will swim 5 events -400Im and 100 breast on Friday, 200 Im and 200 breast on Saturday, and 200 fly on Friday. We'll be stuck in a hotel for three nights. If there's working wifi, teh cellar better watch out! (I go stir crazy in hotels) :lol:
It is funny seeing the huge difference in the time standards between Men and Women because right now -at 13-14 age group swimming, they're still pretty similar, and the girls are still faster in some things. Come high school cuts, the boys edge ahead -especially in freestyle. By Olympics -those differences are massive.
It's only because the women are too chicken to use steroids!
Seriously though, I'm super impressed with your lovely daughter, monster. She's a good kid and I hope she goes all the way!
...And when she does, I'm gonna take that picture I have of you guys at my house, and sell it to People magazine for ten grand.
She's a good kid and I hope she goes all the way!
:eyebrow:
Seemed to me mutually exclusive.
7th in the 100 breaststroke prelims today brings her back for the finals tonight.....
That's amazing. Good work, Hebe.
4th in the 200 breaststroke prelims today brings her back again for the finals tonight (she was seeded 16th and dropped 5 seconds!)
Wow! Keep going, Hebe! :cheerldr:
[size=6]3rd![/size] dropped another 3 seconds! Bronze bling!
made a Zone cut (summer multi-state meet in Wisconsin, swimming for Team Michigan), only 1.5 seconds shy of a Sectional (the meet next week in Ohio)
Schweeeeet!!
Say, when she swims at the 2016 Olympics ... will she swim from USA or UK?
remains to be seen ;)
You're thinking of poorly stashed hobo corpses.
No, that's the hockey locker room, not the swim one.
remains to be seen
I don't think UK athletes get to be on the Wheaties box. Say, maybe glatt will buy two dozen of them with her picture, pull out the bags of cereal, and send the rest of us the boxes. Just so, you know, the cereal doesn't go to waste.
Awesome. Maybe she can be a weetabix girl
"You can't swim on a titchy breakfast."
OMG. so 28th seed in the 200 fly today. dropped over 5 seconds (she only swam it 2 weeks ago to qualify), came in 18th, which is second alternate for finals. Two scratched, so now we're hanging in Holland for 5 hours!
That girl is amazing! :jig:
Yes, yes she is. We had an 8 hour wait between swims. But she dropped another 1.5 seconds and took 14th. The score points, too and it looks like she's 17th in points out of 65 who scored any points at all and and untold number who didn't score. She was the only one to score for her team, but last night her team was 36th in the points table -out of 83.
And now we are home. 5:30am departure for polo practice looming.....
oh and........ The state records for many of the events at this weekend's meets are held by Michael Phelps and one by Peter Vanderkay. mostly from 2008. Which is nice. But..... Why were these Olympians swimming what is predominantly a teenage meet in Michigan in an Olympic year? And now the records are so high, most of the boys don't stand a chance.....
Say, maybe glatt will buy two dozen of them with her picture, pull out the bags of cereal, and send the rest of us the boxes. Just so, you know, the cereal doesn't go to waste.
I've done this before for other people. Not two dozen, but saved the boxes of teams/athletes that friends are loony over. I can walk into the office of a cow orker here at work and see, hanging on the wall, a box of cereal that I ate about ten years ago.
Do you have a Joe Montana? ;)
It's really remarkable how almost all your posts report on how much time she keeps dropping.
She's on fire!
Well that's the cool thing about swimming. Whilst it's nice to win and all, even at Olympic level it's still all about setting personal bests.
Well, we survived Sectional Championships. Swimmer Girl had no coach and was the only swimmer from her team, but did a great job warming up, cooling down, adapting to the long course pool and getting in the right place at the right time. And she finished in a higher place than her seed place in all four events, and crushed her previous personal best in the 100 free. And bust another cap.
thank you all for putting up with this. Swimming is now done until the summer.
And now for something a little more violent...... :lol:
Major congrats Hebe.
Now, pics from your meet with Infi please!
We know both of you take a lean photo.
Only one pic was taken to prove it happened, but no Infi, no monster.
Hebe is going to run out of seconds to drop.
We found the cure for that -use a 50 meter pool instead of a 25 yard one. Her 1:06.31 was actually a time drop on her previous 1:01.08 :lol:
Are you silly Merkins STILL sodding about mixing metres and yards????
Hebe is a great swimmer and an awesome young lady. I was honored to get to see her swim. She's a contender!
Are you silly Merkins STILL sodding about mixing metres and yards????
yuss. Because they love their sports stats. This way, you can have three personal best times for each distance and stroke..... and you can argue about the best way to convert them until kingdom come......
and if you think that's odd, check out the Junior Nationals that were held this weekend in Orlando...... the Prelims were swum short course yards and the finals were swum long course meters. In the same meet.
http://www.ilswim.org/NCSA/Hebe is a great swimmer and an awesome young lady. I was honored to get to see her swim. She's a contender!
thanks -she was very flattered that you came
OMG she got a a recruitment letter from a college today!
OK I'm hijacking this for High School Polo mom so I don't clog up the proud parent thread.
The Skyline water polo team are a little fluid in the season as to Varsity/JV. Polo Girl has played every game in both levels (except when both teams had tournaments at the same time) until this Tuesday. When she didn't play the JV game because she got named to the post-season team -the one that should go to States and will get letters, and it was JV night to honor those for whom the season just ended.
She's a freshman and has never played a game before, although she did train and learn the basics with most of another school's team for a few months prior to the season through our city's rec and ed program.
Tonight was the first game of district championships. As the top seed in the district, we played the bottom seed in the first game. After three minutes, if was 5-0, so the starters got out and the "B-team" got in. Including Polo Girl. After a few more minutes at was 10-0, with polo girl's name on the score sheet. Still in the first period. So then Skyline stopped scoring and started playing drills (no mercy rule, so the game had to play out, although the did run the clock after half time). So we got a skills demonstration.
SHE IS AMAZING. i'm sat in the bleachers with the other parents and I can see so much better than I can when I'm on deck at home games, just how accurate and long and hard her passes are. She reads the play spectacularly, is already taking charge of her line verbally, calling the plays, and has mastered a fair few tricks for relieving the opposition of the ball legally but sneakily (and a little illegal but undetectable stuff too). So i'm sat there and I can hear all the other parents pointing out her nice moves to each other and even applauding on some of them (we stopped cheering after goal three, still within the first minute of the game). We went out for dinner afterwards, and the mother of the girl who was named to the all-state team last year told us her son (just back from college where he plays and now helping coach) thinks she has amazing skill and potential.
I am gobsmacked by this girl. Swimming, yes, we knew she was good. We didn't know how good, but we knew. Polo was an unknown. She played soccer for 8 years and had a good boot and read of play, but wasn't spectacular. She certainly didn't have killer instinct. And polo players are usually tall or chunky and she's neither. Tonight I watched her push a much bigger opponent back 20 feet and then obstruct her pass. By "push" I mean swimming/bulldozing in the water with no hands -they were above water and clear of the player- an opponent who is actively trying to go in the other direction. that there is some power!
Oh and she won all three sprints she did. But to be fair, the opposition were SO bad, I could have won them.
I asked her on the way home what she will do when she has to choose and she said she can;t even think abbout it. I never thought she'd ever consider anything over swimming.
So proud, and yet kind of apprehensive that she may fallout of love with swimming. I'm hoping though, that she will get back into it and take the killer with her. She has already said she can't wait to race a short course 100free now to see how fast she can go. She never said anything like that before (and she used to hate racing freestyle)
Where the Hell is that Like button !!!!
Tonight I watched her push a much bigger opponent back 20 feet and then obstruct her pass. By "push" I mean swimming/bulldozing in the water with no hands -they were above water and clear of the player- an opponent who is actively trying to go in the other direction. that there is some power!
Big congratulations to her! I **loved** water polo, it let me be in the water where I was quite at home physically, and it let me ... "play". Different kinds of swimming, interaction with my friends, lightly restrained aggression against my opponents, sometimes not so restrained. It is amazing fun, I'm tickled to hear how much she likes it, and how good she is at it. Of course, those two things do reinforce each other strongly.
The little quote above? That's the breaststroke talking. Go get'em tiger!
Team is now through to states, but must play the #1 seed in the state in the semi finals at regionals tomorrow. Team is =#3 seed in State.
Well they beat us, but only 3-1. They slaughter almost everyone else. Like 12-0. Polo Girl played at least half the game and had some great passes, defensive moves, an awesome steal and a really good drive. Coach put her in because one of the starter players had two kickouts (three is ejection from the game, so you save them for the important moments... and because she wanted a fast swimmer to replace her as trailer) but then said "well you didn't do anything wrong and did lots of things right so there was no reason to pull you back out".
So we went to the 3/4 place play-off game.
The River Rats -our local rivals and the othe =3 seed- who just beat us in the district finals last week (their only victory over us and a very slender one), were beaten in the semis too -by a team they should have walked over. So they joined us in the 3/4 game -our girls were happy, they wanted revenge.
I told Polo girl "coach kept you in for half of the hardest and best game of the season, maybe she'll start you". She was all "no, no-one but the A-line will be in in this game". She was right -but so was I. :D She started and played most of the game, and once we had it under lock and key, she was pulled out while the B-line got to play :D :D :D
So proud.
Just back from States.......
Three games.
Polo Girl started and played most of all 3. i.e. (for those not in the know) she is officially part of our best line-up. Couldn't believe it, when I saw it in the first game and then.....
...she scored two goals. (Also got two kick-outs)
They went through to the semis.
They ended up 3rd overall. There was some very weird/biased reffing in the semi game vs Okemos (a top seed and one of the hosts), and some very unsporting play from okemos, but I think even without that okemos did outplay them. But then they won the "consolation final" decisively
PG put in some great defence too -today she blocked an oppo from passing for a whole 20 seconds until the shot clock ran out without getting a foul called against her.
So Gobsmacked.
So a cup, and medals for all.
Including my little freshman who had never played a game of polo before March.
She's pissed that this means back to swim practice. Not so much fun, apparently......
Oh and watch this space (or one near it) for an update about cops being called for fighting parents, a drama unfolding as we speak........ apparently the unsportsmanlike fruit doesn't fall far from the tree......
....and today an email from the Olympic Development Program coach :eek: her swim coach will be apoplectic!
Bout damn time they are getting in touch !!! ;)
WTG SG !!!
....and Rookie Of The Year award at banquet.
And we're done.
Swim practice has already started......
Rookie of the Year?
DAMN girl! That's awesome.
Polo Girl==Superman
Swim Girl==Clark Kent
(sorry I couldn't come up with a suitable female pair like those, but you get the point)
Oi, swimmer girl.
The whole sport of water polo gets two gold medals per Olympics.
Swimming gets several dozen.
Oi ZenGum--
Every water polo match gives you four quarters of opportunity to kick, elbow, dunk, punch (oops, sowwy) and run over your opponent. Equal parts finesse and force, speed and stealth, collusion and collision.
Swimming offers no contact whatsoever. Beep, swim, turn, swim, repeat. One's way funner, that's what I'm sayin.
Furthermore, there's no reason she can't get a dozen medals across both events.
Oh dear........ Fun Friday at summer pool swim practice....they played "gutter ball"..... kind of like polo but fewer rules. I saw my sweet child try to drown her coach and pull the suit off her best friend.
(and laughed)
...she says thank you all :)
And back to swimming... got the entry/meet info for Zones in Wisconsin where she will swim for Team Michigan.... (vs both Dakotas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota.) Kind of excited... there's a team uniform (and it's actually a bargain) and a team get-together and pic and she might get to swim on a relay...... (Her club doesn't have enough swimmers at her age and level to get relays going...) She has cuts in both 100 and 200 breaststroke, she may get more at State championships the week before.
Summer League Championships today, She was going for the breaststroke record, but missed it by half a second. :( She did win, though!!! in a very close race and a personal best for the 50. (There were approx 60 entered in the event) :D CHAMPION!
She was also 4th in the IM, 5th in the fly and her Medley relay was 6th.
Hector also did great -he just aged up and is tiny, but was keeping up with the big boys -just missing the points places in his individual events, and scoring with his medley relay team. Thor swims tomorrow.
clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap~!
Summer League Championships today, She was going for the breaststroke record, but missed it by half a second. :( She did win, though!!! in a very close race and a personal best for the 50. (There were approx 60 entered in the event) :D CHAMPION!
She was also 4th in the IM, 5th in the fly and her Medley relay was 6th.
Hector also did great -he just aged up and is tiny, but was keeping up with the big boys -just missing the points places in his individual events, and scoring with his medley relay team. Thor swims tomorrow.
There's only one first place in the Infinite Monkey event and we know
whom that is.
hmmmm...
Thor was 13 in the Fly and scored with both his relays too,
Hector missed scoring in diving by 1 point.
Where's Hebe?
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No she isn't. Is she? Tell me she's not the one in orange!
:lol:
She's not the one in orange. She is sitting on a bench. She didn't make it back for finals of the 100m breaststroke today, so we went to Chicago and went on a speedboat instead :D 200 tomorrow, bright and early
One year on, first meet tonight. She is not swimming either of "her" events (breaststroke and IM). She asked for some fly and free this year so she got those instead (50 free) and breast on the medley relay. Presumably not the A relay, but we'll see.
She's already been told she's moved up to the A breaststroke relay for the crazy relays meet next week. Coach said "and the pressure is on Hebe this year as she moves up to the A relay and we have never lost this event!" Don't mince your words, will you, coach? :lol:
It's an away meet and Banana Lady is here to see grandaughter swim at this level for the first time.
She placed in her first meet! 5th in the 200 IM -top 5 score.
Swimmer Girl was in the slow heat for both her individuals, but won both easily (as I knew she would because even though there were no seed times, i know who she is faster than......#crazyswimmom). I guess you don't put untried freshmen in the fast heats. After she placed, she got moved up from the C to the B 200 free relay, and they came in 3rd, also scoring points.
WTG Hebe. She was so pumped when we got her home, never seen her this "high" before. Had to force her to bed because it's freshman orientation tomorrow. early.
Banana lady? And we never heard about you straightening up for her arrival. Was the house kind of clean?
I think you see Banana Lady more often than I see my MIL, and she doesn't even live in another country!
No, the house was a wreck. Still is. Yes, we see Banana Lady more than when we were in the UK -more time, anyway, used to be a few hours every couple of weeks at best. Now it's 5-6 weeks 24/7 each year.
State Cut, baby! And a personal best in the 50 free.
This year the School is in Division 2 for women's swimming (It's done by enrolment size and we're on the cusp of D1/D2). Which means State Cuts are a little slower. so her 1:11:11 in the breast was fast enough. What do you mean she wasn't swimming the breaststroke? :lol: Intense coach was intense and realized we weren't winning as easily as she anticipated so dropped her from the Fly and put her in the breast. And the 200 free relay. She would have dropped her from the 50 free too and put her in the IM or left her in the fly if she could, but she'd already swum it by then. Last year she went in as Breaststroker #5. One graduated. She just slaughtered last year's #4. So now she's #3. Or maybe #2....who knows ......#2 didn't swim that event tonight.
Well dang! Happy dance! :jig:
State Cut, baby! And a personal best in the 50 free.
This year the School is in Division 2 for women's swimming (It's done by enrolment size and we're on the cusp of D1/D2). Which means State Cuts are a little slower. so her 1:11:11 in the breast was fast enough. What do you mean she wasn't swimming the breaststroke? :lol: Intense coach was intense and realized we weren't winning as easily as she anticipated so dropped her from the Fly and put her in the breast. And the 200 free relay. She would have dropped her from the 50 free too and put her in the IM or left her in the fly if she could, but she'd already swum it by then. Last year she went in as Breaststroker #5. One graduated. She just slaughtered last year's #4. So now she's #3. Or maybe #2....who knows ......#2 didn't swim that event tonight.
wtg !!
at what level do you start competing with the clock and not another swimmer #n or whatever?
Every level. It kind of goes the other way -you always compete against the clock, then you find someone of a similar ability and they are who you race to get better times, which gets you to the better meets, and eventually the outtouch to win is way more important than the actual time.
RECORD BREAKER!!!!!
The breaststroke relay won and smashed the previous record (from 2005) by 3 seconds!!!
WOW!
Three seconds is HUGE. Please relay my congratulations to her and her teammates!
Thanks, will do. Record was 2:08, now 2:05 (200y breaststroke relay)
Today she had to choose between the two sports for the first time. Tryouts for the Midwest Water Polo Olympic Development Team are tomorrow (cost $100 + $85 membership -coach said she will make the team). It's 4 weekends of intensive training followed by the Regional Tournament in March (cost $700 :eek: plus hotels etc). The same weekend as USA Swimming state championships.
She chose polo, athough we are waiting to get confirmations that they are OK with her not being a citizen
For now swim season is going well, she missed the state cut in the IM by .8 of a second this week, but there are plenty more meets to go and she almost equalled her personal best -which was swum tapered and in her "magic suit"
they are OK with her not being a citizen
I did not know this. For some reason I was thinking they'd all been born here. How old was she when you came over? Does this mean she'll swim for the UK in the Olympics? :)
And does she have an English accent? The boys will be crushing on her.
The time I met her, she didn't, except for the occasional extremely out-of-place word, like "pasta" rhymed with "faster." I think that was part of why I assumed she'd been here her whole life.
She was three when we moved here. Turns out it doesn't matter and she's on the team. The thing is, the next team after this is the National Team, but hopefully we'll have her "fixed" by then. ;)
Now, wonder how hard it will be to keep it quiet from the swim coach? :eek:
I told the polo coach that Mo-Jo would kill us when she found out. She said well she doesn't need to find out --oh wait this is Mo-Jo we're talking about..... :lol:
They made her swim the backstroke tonight. I suspect coach found out...... :lol:
Srsly, she didn't mind, she was OK with it and dropped 4 seconds. She also got to swim the 100 free which she's been wanting/begging to do and also dropped 4 seconds, getting her 3rd MISCA cut of the season. (MISCA is a "practice state meet" with slightly lower cuts aimed to help swimmers get their state cuts.) Last year she had a cut for breaststroke and was close in the IM so coach had her swim that anyway and she got the cut at the meet. This year she already has MISCA cuts in breaststroke (State cut in that too) IM (close to state should get that at MISCA if not before) and 100 free. Her personal bests are also faster than MISCA in fly and 200 free and she's really close on the 50 free. She's come a long way and still going....... Very proud.
I don't really understand any of that, but if she's cutting 4 seconds off this and 4 seconds off that, I'm impressed. Way to go, Hebe!
:lol: thanks. her time to swim 100 free is now 57.55 seconds. The last time she raced she came it at 1:01.something. So yes, it's huge %age wise. At this level dropping 1 second is good.
She was three when we moved here. Turns out it doesn't matter and she's on the team.
With times like she has you don't want to eat her all at once. Wait, that's a different joke. With times like she has, who needs enemies? No, not that. I'm getting closer though.
With times like she has they'd be crazy not to want her on the team!
"fix her" that's funny.
'nother meet, 'nother MISCA cut..... dropped 1.4 seconds in the 100 fly and didn't know she was swimming it until 10 minutes before the race (another swimmer was taken ill so they had to change the line-up because it was a close meet). plus.... that personal best was (a) recent and (b) swum in a "magic suit".
(MISCA is like a "practice" State meet -the times required are slightly lower, gives the swimmers a chance to race against lots with similar times in a championship environment for practice and also to help those who are close get their state cuts.)
btw last week she swam all freestyle -dropped 17 seconds in the 500 free (5%) nearly got a MISCA in that and in the 200.
There are 37 swimmers on the team. She is currently in the top 10 in every event (that's just about to change -tonight's results will drop her to #11 in the backstroke, althoug maybe not for long -that's her weak stroke and coach has determined to bring in someoutside help to sort her out! :eek: :lol: -she was supposed to get her stated cut in that tonight, but was truly awful.)
next one is thursday....
Weirdest Swim Meet Evaaaaah! kind of surreal. It was a gimme, so all the girls were swimming their worst events. (50 Free and 100 back for swimmer Girl).
But shortly after warm-up started, SG walked by and indicated that she was going to change into a "competition suit". (A "magic Suit"). These are reserved for Championships. They retail around $400 and last 8 meets. She said "see you in 45 minutes". She made it out in about 35, just in time for the start of the meet. Yup, they take that long to get into.
So one other swimmer comes out in one.
As the meet goes on, girls disappear -including a couple from the other team- and come back wearing these suits.
To the point where we were hoping for a flashmob thing......
nah, it was just coach's other half doing technical trials for Nike's new suit. (He developed the first one for Speedo -the one the olympians wear- but left last year after a row over that suit's replacement (he was right, it turned out...) )
#cuttingedgeofswimmingtechnology :lol:
Umm....
So...
She's kind of frightening me with her improvements.
They all swam their best events on Tues because it was a good team. They all swam horribly andlost a little horribly. Swimmers girl's best events are 100 breast and 200 IM
Tonight was THE local match-up they had to win But SG is being rested from her best events in the hope that she'll swim them even better on Saturday at MISCAs.
So she swam the 50 free .... dropped.29 seconds to swim a 26.74. That's nuts! One of my goals for her this season was to break the 27 -she just blew that away.
....and the 500 free
For the 4th time ever. She swam it a couple of weeks ago and dropped 15 seconds from last year. It's a 6-7 minute race for most, 5 plus change for champions. Last year she swam it twice and clocked 6 minutes both times.
She swam it a couple of weeks ago and dropped 17 seconds but coach was all "oooh you can do so much better....". So SG said to me and i passed on to coach that she feels abandoned. She doesn't know how to swim a 500.
coach said "oops, she's so awesome, I forget she's so inexperienced in some events...." result. Yesterday SG got trained in how to do it, today she dropped ANOTHER 15 seconds, and almost got a state cut.
As coach said, "this is not her event, she will never swim it at States, but it's awesome to know that she could"
And during the boring diving, I found out that she's swimming the fly, not the breast (as she though) at MISCAS on Saturday. it's cool, she already has a State Cut in Breast, coach has insisted all along that she's not a fly swimmer.. I think this is an admissio of guilt ;)
ick
Miscas (= practice States)
added time to both events (fly and IM) but.... didn't swim in "magic suit" because coach declared it dead during warm-up. OK, so we kinda knew it was dead-ish, but on Monday she took it in for coach to check out and the verdict was -borderline, use it at Miscas and see how it goes. If you dump it during warm-up, you shoulda been able to dump it on Monday -it hasn't been anywhere since... and we coulda got her a new one in time. None available in her size for a loaner or to buy, apparently, and she was in early events, so not a lot of time available.... trying to get her fixed up fucked up her warm-up and her happy-place. Not a happy swim-mom tonight. (She swam OK, but we could have fixed this -a "magic suit" typically drops 3 seconds per 100 -she could have got 2 state cuts. Maybe. Now we'll never know
Just came home with another letter from nother college
That's pretty exciting!! I wish her the best!
It was personalized to her stroke, fom a liberal arts college in PA. Div3
The last one was in MI.
She's still a sophomore, so we're not going to flap for at least another year unless there's a D1 or maybe D2 letter
Water Polo Olympic Development Program: Just got the news she made the Midwest Zone A-team for Regional Championships. Go Polo Girl!
Congratulations! Wow! Go Polo Girl!
(Nice job, Mom :))
Wooohooooo! Awesome Girl strikes again! :)
Wow! So is she still trying to balance polo and swimming, or is it full-on polo all the time now?
So we'll be seeing underwater pics of her naughty bits, on the internet, while the opposition tries to wrench her suit off. :haha:
Wow! So is she still trying to balance polo and swimming, or is it full-on polo all the time now?
Kind of, but Polo has won.
Ok, I'm ignorant about such things. Will she be able to try out for the Olympics?? Didn't she go to the Nationals earlier?
I know you must be very proud of her.
We will be in Chicago next weekend doing eff all while she trains if anyone wants to meet up... the kids want to do Shedd
Kind of, but Polo has won.
I can see how it would. Awesome sport!
We're here in Geneva OH (near Cleveland) for the regional championships.
Spire Institute
btw, I drove :) 250ish miles Friday rushhour :D
GOAL! She didn't start and they lost their first game, but Polo Girl won her sprint and scored (one of four goals). Next game in an hour.
Excellent, maybe they'll listen to you next time. :thumb:
TWO GOALS. She's being considered for national training camp, but says when they put her in so the evaluator could watch her, she messed up :( She drove and scored, but she should've passed to set, apparently. ah well. we'll see. not ready to get her fixed yet anyway ;)
Surprise Tournament GOAL! (The tournament was the surprise, not the goal) An an elbow to the oesophagus. :( Thankfully the headbutt we all thought we saw didn't happen. her game from last night will be on the local tv on Sunday at noon. They do televise a lot of HS sports, especially the cross-town rivalries (which this was), but usually on;y thr boyd.
Played the same cross town team tonight. Kick-out (ejection) in the 12th second.... A penalty (they failed to convert) and a goal. and a couple of assists. getting close to that "gordie Howe"... She rocks. BTW she's been on the starting line-up for varsity all season.
She is icing a cut and duck-egg on her forehead tonight. [COLOR="PaleTurquoise"]But she did that by opening the door into her face when we got home[/COLOR] :lol:
Unfortunately, Gordie Howe = target, also. But she comes from tough stock. ;)
Unfortunately, Gordie Howe = target, also. But she comes from tough stock. ;)
already there. three ejections = game ejection, so after two last night, the oppo were gunning for her and she sat out until needed for a set play :lol: flattering, but not much fun
It's a good sign when the opposition is desperate to get her out of the game. Tough bird, like her mom.
eagles are not good eatin' ;)
This morning, district Semi-finals, Eagles down one in the second period of overtime with seconds left........
[YOUTUBE]1udbkT2iu-U[/YOUTUBE]
The video was taken by the parents of the reserve goalie, who didn't play. that's her dad you can hear, not beest. And that isn't me who screams.....
spoiler
[COLOR="Wheat"]and so it went to sudden death overtime....and they won. but then lost the final this afternoon to their nemesis (and the team Hebe is zoned for) we'll get you next time, Rats ;)[/COLOR]
(Skyline white caps)
umm... so State Championships.... not going great after a surprise loss Friday night to put us in the loser's bracket playing for 5-8th place (out of maybe 30? teams in the state)
First game this morning to decide whether we play for 5/6 or 7/8 this afternoon...
It's tied in second overtime..... sudden death OT to follow.....
[YOUTUBE]W8FxKmMA7qs[/YOUTUBE]
You may not be able to see that the clock read 0:00...... although you can hear the crowd countdown and not the horn to signal the official end of period....
Thor also features in this video ...can you find him? (I do not feature in this video, I don't think....) ....ok wait, no you can see me. and the othe parents beating the crap out of me. again.
Verry coolz !!
But you guys need a betterer camera
not mine. Reserve goalie parents again. appreciate all they send/share. I'm too busy watching. Probably won't be anything next year -reserve goalie will be main goalie.)
RECORD BREAKER!!!!!
The breaststroke relay won and smashed the previous record (from 2005) by 3 seconds!!!
It's the crazy relays meet time again. her Breaststroke relay won (no heat sheets this year, though, so we don't know what the record was and didn't get to see her name in print as the record holder :() .....and so did her fly relay (also the A relay) ....and her IM relay was second. Back up in division 1, so the state cuts are faster, but holding our own -second only to Saline -the rats and pioneers had no chance.
*snort* She just got a MISCA cut ......in the 500free, her least favorite event, at an intersquad meet we had to test the new timing system. She didn't yet get that cut in the IM, one of her two events we expect her to get a state cut in. Coach is threatening to switch her. (MISCAs are like practice State Championships). She's a little pissed to say the least.
Well earlier this week she got a MISCA in the fly -too late to enter plus you can only enter 2 events, but nice to have (she did get the IM cut at some point). Today was MISCAS and she finally got that fricking breaststroke state cut. Shaved a couple of seconds off the IM but that state cut is still being elusive..... it's ridiculously fast this year.
last week she knocked three seconds off her 200free time. Because she wanted to give up on the IM for this year and swim that at regionals instead. (That was another Misca cut). And today, regional championships prelims (SECs to us), she took off another 2 seconds. she actually has a chance of getting a state cut in that tomorrow! Oh and she slaughtered all but her teammate in the breaststroke to take second, and she isn't even tapered yet. Woohoo!
Remember the weird and wonderful mystery of the state sign that appeared in the yard when she made the state team the first time? Sunday I am making them. It's like when you have to play tooth fairy for the first time .....:( :lol:
[COLOR="White"][SIZE="1"]please don't be all predictable about me ruining the magic of the tf for you[/SIZE][/COLOR]
She's doing very well, good on her.
And you continue to be amazing. :yesnod:
Isn't it about time for colleges to start recruiting her for her athletic prowess? How are things looking on that front?
2nd place! in the stupidly fast time of 1:07.something. Her teammate took first. Yes, colleges are recruiting, but she doesn't want to swim in college :( (she wants to play polo) She also hit the podium as part of the third placed 400free relay team. And sliced another couple of seconds off her 200free time.
teammate is signing national letter of intent today to swim for ?Vermont
This weekend polo girl has been in Salt lake City representing the Midwest Zone in the Water Polo Regional Championships. The zones are split into two regions: California and Everywhere Else.
They won all 4 round robin games yesterday.
Then the Semi this morning....
Then the Final was tied 10-10 with 90 seconds to go.....
:)
(yes, she scored) :D
Still not selected for the national team training camp, but their loss. She has a medal and one of the U of Mich coaches has said she has Division 1 potential
Good on her. :thumb:
Is the national team thing politics, connections, coming from a prestigious school or coach?
coming from California is about it ;) other than that it's talent, but you have to do the ODP program, and that's money/committed parents/involved coaches etc.... (her school coach is an ODP coach, but not her ODP coach this year).
Ah, I see. Like every other sport, when you get to the national level the dynamics change considerably. At Olympic team level the costs, both socially and monetarily must be insane.
Well it's been a tough water polo season for the Eagles, no Seniors on the Varsity team, three complete newb freshmen on Varsity, entire JV team complete newbs -most of them not even swimmers- 16 girls in total ........and they just qualified to be one of the eight teams in the state championships! WTG ladies.
Last week a couple of people commented independently that Polo Girl was probably one of the best defensive players in the State :D (she had to be switched to a more defensive role this year because it's easier for newbs to go in as attackers and all our strong defenders graduated) One of those people was her coach addressing the team. the other was .....wait for it..... the swim coach (who is also a polo mom) :lol:
I think they were 5th in States. I forgot already.
Swim season is gear again. My last one. She's a senior. It was the crazy relays meet tonight to kick off the season. Swimmer Girls was on the fly relay ....and they won! better still, I think the broke the record. So not only does swimmer girl now feature in two records at the meet, but she also beat an Olympian! The fly record was previously held y a team including kara Lynn Joyce. :D
I just need confirmation on that because the scoreboard wasn't working properly so we looked up the time using the meet mobile app. waiting confirmation it's a real time
(her team tonight has at least one future olympian on it, I'll wager)
Well duh, it has her on it. :)
ha. She was the slowest of the 4 -the others are all "Studs" as they are known to the team
And Swimmer Girl got her state cut at the first meet of the year in her Final year. 4/4 :)
I put the Polo Boy being rostered for Varsity for the first time in the brag thread but I'mm'a repeat it here because..... eventually I will share the fiasco that was his first varsity game (and almost not)...... :rolleyes: but for now, just the positive that he drew a penalty in the dying seconds of the game, took it and scored. he's rostered for the varsity tournament tomorrow
Polo Boy was just named to the post-season team. That's the official final Varsity team, so unless he screws up behaviorally, he'll letter. He might not play much in the districts (and regionals and states, if they get that far) .... but he's turning into a pretty solid defensive player despite being itsy bitsy. If they make it to states, Swimmer Girl's sign will have to move over to make way for a second one.... but there's a long road to travel before that happens...
Flashy players make coaches nervous because, although they have to play them, but they tend to get hurt. Having a solid reliable back-up is a coaches godsend.
Tough on the back-up because they get thrown into the middle of a hot game, cold. No chance to warm up physically or mentally, just go flat out... right now. Good for him. :thumb:
Them polo boys just became District Champions! ..... next weekend, Regionals.... if they win the first game against the lowest seed from the other district, Swim Girl's State Sign will have to make room for another! :D
I happy for you guys as long as you can assure me that no ponies will be harmed.
Bam! Second State Team member in the family..... worth missing Halloween for (especially given the crappy weather)
Oh dear, more S signs to make. :D
Oh dear, more S signs to make. :D
Nope.
#1 not me in charge
#2 only the girls swim and dive do personalized hand-made signs. Wapo of both genders get them printed -the girls get all the names put on (and always misspell one) not sure if the names are always on the boys. I think last year it was an eagle in a speedo, but that could've been swim&dive
Well that's a relief, I had visions of you out in the cold painting signs, up to your keister in snow.
ooh I never posted a pic of his sign. Anyway, just stopped in to say here endeth my high school swim mom career. probably. States are over, Hebe finally got to swim on the medley relay team and they came second. She didn't do as well as she hoped in the breaststroke but still came in 11th, and she didn't return after prelims for the 200free, but it was the first time she went for that at States (gave up on the IM). Team came second overall and -the drama- were outtouched into second place in the final relay -had they come first, they would have been state champions
State signs. apparently we still haven't gotten around to taking one of Hec with his sign. must remedy that before the snow gets deeper and we take them down!
Congrats to the swim team, well done.
Hectors sign is fantastic.
Anyway, just stopped in to say here endeth my high school swim mom career. probably.
There's no swimming in the spring at all?
Missed that bit. Shifting to hockey?
there are three high school sports seasons. Very few sports exist in more than one season. Women's Swim is Fall, Men's is Winter. Women's WP is Spring, Men's is Fall. There is always club swimming, but not High School. But Hebe is done with competitive swimming
Hockey is Winter, that's why Hector doesn't swim. You can only do one sport per season in the main.
OK I lied. Now I'm done. I did post this in the brag thread, but dammit I'mm'a post it twice..... The End Of Season banquet was tonight and we learned Hebe made All American. That means the top 100 in the country in each event. Her medley relay team at states made it. (They were 2nd at States) So she will have her name on a plaque on the wall at the school :)
Aw yeah! Nicely done!
Didn't you n Beest just make All American the other day?
Y'all are a bunch of Yankee Doodle Dandies!
Very cool. Congrats Hebe!
So she will have her name on a plaque on the wall at the school :)
They should have another plaque with your name on it. :notworthy
They should have another plaque with your name on it. :notworthy
They might do that if I donate like a bajillion dollars or something....
if we magically win the lottery, I think we should make a huge donation on the condition they name the pool the beestmonster pool :D that would be cool. Although I like The Bird Bath, as it's currently known (they are Eagles). The River Rats' pool across town is the Ratatorium and the pioneers have the Hill pool, after their amazingly long-serving coach
First morning practice of the last polo season for polo-girl today. I was amused that across the quiet of the house at 5am, I could hear the "dink dink dink" of her cutting her fingernails -mandatory in polo-. It inspired me to butcher the Song of Songs....
Rise up, my love, my aquatic one,
And come away, for behold, the winter is past,
The snow is over and gone.
Potholes appear in the roads,
The time of polo has come,
And the sound of the nail clippers
Is heard before dawn.
Was this composed before your morning coffee? :haha:
"composed" is a little generous. I changed a few words. And before tea ...kinda -the idea hatched then, but harvested just now, after a few beers :)
Alcohol, of course. :smack:
Videos of other people's kids playing sports have got to rank right up there in the "do not show me this" category, but for those who are interested in seeing Polo Girl in action, here's the local TV station's coverage of this week's cross-town away game at Huron River Rats.. Be warned -the commentary -when it finally starts- is by a rat alumnus who thinks he's watching hockey ;)
hebetacular moments start at
7:35
10:40
15:40
27:27
32:45
37:00
49:40
[YOUTUBE]pGa5RZmBhUU[/YOUTUBE]
I'm surprised at the green ball, I expected white or yellow.
This video has been removed by the user.
It can be watched
here until it goes back up on YouTube. Time references are about 10 seconds earlier in this venue.
thanks sexobon. It is available on Youtube from the original source, so my link must be to someone's repost, sorry about that
yes xob. Huron have colored their balls especially to look like booger and be hard to see from the bleachers. Balls are usually dark yellow, sometimes with a color stripe. some competition balls are yellow, pink and blue
Holy shit, that was close. they are going to States after winning with a tie-breaking goal in the very last second of regular time of the knock-out round of Regionals. PG wasn't in by then -she was first to score, first to get ejected, and first and only player to be rolled from the game. A Gordie Howe Hat Trick of Water Polo. And she's now at prom #2.
(rolled means you have three ejections (like penalties in hockey) and you are done for the game)
Congrats to her! And good luck.
:( lost the semi final so ended up playing for 3rd position. Won that. Next onslaught in 2 weeks at state championships. PG made second team for "all season regional team". :/
Look whose picture the news used in their poll for the most exciting spring sport in the county :D
http://highschoolsports.mlive.com/news/article/3673589555555351680/which-spring-sports-team-has-been-the-most-fun-to-watch-in-washtenaw-county-this-season/#incart_river_mobile
(of course, if you happen to be a Skyline girls' polo fan you could vote while you're there.....)
Heh heh, more than once. ;)
still winning! not sure what we win, but ....doesn't she look awesome :D
Of course she does, her mother's a triathlete, ferchristsakes. ;)
And a post-script: The team were recognized at half time at the Home Opener last night. The banner will hang in the Pool
The girls off to the left are the crew team who beat Canada or something
Congratulations to all of them... even the or something girls. :rolleyes:
If they wanted to be identified correctly they should have brought a sign.
exactly. And two of them gave up water polo for crew so phooey to them
Yeah, phooey. Those two are probably wetbacks, or muslims, or lesbians, or Wisconsinites, or something. :lol:
Watch what you say about Wisconsinites.
why? you gonna squeak him to death with cheese?
I ain’t scairt. You Wisconsinites can go to Dells.
Thumbing my nose from Harleyland to Duh-luth.
Cheese me. I say cheese me. Daring youse guys
to fetch your cheddar wheel and please me.
About 3 minutes in..... USA Water Polo weekly podcast (usually very Californicentric)mentions Skyline as potential state champions. This time the boys' team. PoloBoy1 is on the varsity team this year, although he's mostly a dryback. Poloboy2 is on the JV. We host States too, so hiome advantage.... fingers crossed I bred two state champions.... :lol: that would be crazy!
[YOUTUBE]a_9pLCyVH4Y[/YOUTUBE]
If only you'd bred to champion stock market pickers. ;)
Cool, you can support us all at your estate. :notworthy
PoloBoyTheFirst is a District Champion. Next Week, Regionals......
(he was in the water for about 60 seconds in the championship game, holding the ball to waste the clock in the last few minutes :lol:)
Must have accidently gotten something sticky on his hand, because he certainly wouldn't deny his fellow athletes the chance to play the sport they enjoy together. :headshake
well he had to pass when they came for it. Then catch and hold til they caught back up with it again.....
Doooooods! It happened! The Boys' team just WON THE FUCKING STATE CHAMPIONSHIP! We birthed two state champions. We have the right genetics! We have a third one in this series available to the highest bidder.... (Beest, I got our retirement plan sorted.....)
About 3 minutes in..... USA Water Polo weekly podcast (usually very Californicentric)mentions Skyline as potential state champions. This time the boys' team. PoloBoy1 is on the varsity team this year, although he's mostly a dryback. Poloboy2 is on the JV. We host States too, so hiome advantage.... fingers crossed I bred two state champions.... :lol: that would be crazy!
[YOUTUBE]a_9pLCyVH4Y[/YOUTUBE]
:celebrat::cheerldr:
Way to go Beestmonster family. Happy dance.
See, all those munching breakfast in the car, and afternoon Beest/monster coordinated handoffs paid off.
Nice going kids, ya done good. :notworthy
I guess those retirement plans include somewhere warm and wet, since one or both of you apparently have web feet.
Wow, that's really cool, monster!
That is really great! Congratulations to all.
You are the champions!
Ps I posted this to the tune of the song by Queen.
Guess Which One is PoloBoy ?
Second from the right.
:lol:
and...... PoloBoy is a Captain. Weird thing about high School teams here -girls' teams, the parents all pitch in and play to their strengths and get the jobs done. Boys' teams... the captains' parents do it all, regardless of availability or skill. Boys' teams also often have a bajillion captains. this year, a mid-bajillion -three. I do fear for my sanity if I have any left
Fuck your sanity, just make sure you have fun and it'll be worth it. :haha:
So The Girls' swim&Dive team just became state champioins too. no Pressure, boys' Swim&Dive, no pressure...... :lol: Did I tell you CamoBoy has decided to swim&orDive? First practice Monday. *sigh*
Home Opener for the Hockey Team tonight. GoalieBoy started. Should probably be in the hockey mom thread but I can't be arsed. swapped with Pretender half way through. They lost. Goalie boy let in 5, pretender, 3, but the defence upped it's game after a stern talking to.
More lost sanity for monster. It's ok, it becomes you. :D
How awesome are these kids?
Sadly the Swim/Dive championship was a year too late for PoloGirl, but she's still a state champion. You gotta wonder what's in the water at the Birdbath, tho'
dnip-- You gotta wonder what's in the water at the Birdbath, tho'
Champions.So... apparently I'm now a Dive mom? And Skyline Swim&Dive were ranked 2nd in the state without having yet attended a meet......
Well, at least you can ease into the job and get the hang of it with no pressure. :facepalm:
I'm confident you can do it but damn, just what you need. On the bright side you won't have any nightmares, because you have to sleep for that.
On the bright side you won't have any nightmares, because you have to sleep for that.
:lol:
# started work at 5, left at 2;30 to do school runs and stuff, went back at 5, left at 10. oops. still trying to unwind #
# started work at 5, left at 2;30 to do school runs and [strike]stuff[/strike] sneak over to Trader Joes, went back at 5, left at 10. oops. still trying to unwind #
We won't tell.
Polo Girl has no confidence in her abilities. Women's club polo season started Weds. She said after the first practice she was the only one who made the fastest intervals for the swim. Tonight she said this about yesterday's practice:
i dont know how much ill get to play btw but yesterday the coaches joked that i was the only one who made the a team and that everyone else was on the b team
proud mama suspects not so much joking :D
Man, it's so hard to counteract that "I'm no good" instinct of teens. Glad she's letting the evidence seep in. :thumbsup:
Between Dad's paintball wars, and Mom's cheerleading, she learned bravado. That's probably the best thing parents can do for their kids. Kudos, monster. :jig:
The a team. I love it when a plan comes together
Swimboy was set a challenge (by us) of going under 30s in the 50 free by the end of the season. Today we challenged him to go under 32. Personal best to this point 32.75. Swam a 30.57. and took 4 seconds of his 100 fly. Maybe he is a swimmer after all. It was a fresh/soph only meet, normally he never gets to swim anything other than the 50 free and whatever event the coach doesn't have enough swimmers for. Not really enjoying this team, but so proud of swimboy.
It's a little weird that beest's doc is a co-swim-mom.... but we seem to just kind of pretend like it isn't so and we've all been friends forever :lol:
So swimboy has web feet too. Congrats of getting near that 30.0. :thumb:
Are you sure those kids aren't part salamander?:eyebrow:
Faster though, maybe salmon.
Polo Girl has no confidence in her abilities. Women's club polo season started Weds. She said after the first practice she was the only one who made the fastest intervals for the swim. Tonight she said this about yesterday's practice:
proud mama suspects not so much joking :D
First Tournament next weekend. They can only take one team -26 players. 22 are named and numbered on the roster, 4 are named as alternates, no numbers. she is #3 (her old #12 was taken). One of two numbered newbs, the only freshman. She probably won't start, but fingers crossed she gets to play.
We'll be at Indiana U if anyone is close by...
first game. They put her in in the second. She scored. Twice. She trailed the sprint in the third ...and beat the sprinter to the ball. She sprinted in the 4th and won.
If you want to watch the next game at 7:30pm Eastern, she's #3 should be white caps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YGlCZX_gnkshe made the highlight reel!
buzzer-beater at 2:40
apologies for Super Mario music, I didn't put it there!
[YOUTUBE]GBeKR09A8Hg[/YOUTUBE]
So... apparently I'm now a Dive mom?
Diver boy just dove in his second meet and I was there to see it! (first one was the same night as a hockey game for goalieboy ...divide and conquer) He's been practicing all season but didn't have enough dives to compete until now -he finally has a parents'-nightmare -a Reverse. All dives legal (though low-scored in the main)
I have canonized one of the team captains (even though he's not dead yet and I'm not the pope):
St Zeke, Patron Saint of kitten-herders and octopus -ranglers. As a senior, also decided to dive for the first time this year (we needed divers) and has kept an eye out for ADD-crazyboy who decided to hang from/climb the wall and flip over from the chin up bars during the other divers' turns tonight. He has also been driving diverboy to the extra off-site dive practices.Bless his little Nylon Speedo.
Polo Girl just helped Michigan Women's club WP clinch the B1G championships! Off to California for nationals!
In the first game this morning, she scored the tiebreaker than assisted on the winner, and in the second game (the final), she saved their tiebreaker when it had gone past our goalie. she did a few other things too ;) she's a freshman, she's a freshman....... :D
Sounds like you and Beest are raising a school if fishies. :lol:
Aparently you're doing it well.
busy trying to make it work for beest and I to go to cali and leave boys home alone during a school week... :eek:
yes. we are. stop judging. ;)
You're not the boss of we.
busy trying to make it work for beest and I to go to cali and leave boys home alone during a school week... :eek:
yes. we are. stop judging. ;)
Make sure the house insurance is paid up.:D
Well done is better than well said.
Well done.
And they're in the championship game!
Is there going to be a Polo Girls calendar?
I'm sure the boys at home are happy this is dragging on.
Do you think we ought to start cleaning up this mess.
Nah, Sis is good, they'll be there till the end.
I hope you're right, I'll take a full day just to take the trash and empties out.
And they're in the championship game!
Awesome!
I'm sure the boys at home are happy this is dragging on.
Do you think we ought to start cleaning up this mess.
Nah, Sis is good, they'll be there till the end.
I hope you're right, I'll take a full day just to take the trash and empties out.
Now, help me get this dead hooker in the trash can.
Awesome!
yup, fell at the last hurdle to UC Santa Barbara but second in the nation to a team from California is none too shabby. And being a contributing player in the championship game as a freshman is particularly great -didn't notice that in too many of the higher-placing teams. #proudmama
She done good, congratulations! No shame, disappointment, but no shame for Pologirl. :cheerldr:
yup, fell at the last hurdle to UC Santa Barbara but second in the nation to a team from California is none too shabby. And being a contributing player in the championship game as a freshman is particularly great -didn't notice that in too many of the higher-placing teams. #proudmama
You and hebe are awesome! Pretty cool stuff, pretty cool family. :)
He used to be such a nice boy......
What is... I don't even... did he backhand that boy, and then spit a mouthful of water on him? That's the best interpretation I can come up with.
He's trying to drown him and steal the ball . While spitting water
He's trying to drown him and steal the ball . While spitting water
:redcard:
One hand is out of the water, it's legal. Sorta
My guess, white cap is doing a big flop to try and draw a foul, creeping under his opponent's arm and then dunking himself loudly and dramatically.
But ref, he just swam right over me! No fair!
So.... Polo Boy's senior year is almost over. The post-season goes District Championships. Then Regionals. Then States.
At districts last week we took a surprise(-ish) loss in the final so went into regionals this weekend as second seed from our district. Which meant that we'd face the top seed in the region at the semi-final stage rather than final so probably end up with a lower seeding for States and thus draw a harder opponent from the other region in our first game. but that's still ok
It couldn't have gone worse. An easy victory on Friday night over the 3rd seed from the other district in our region ensured our place at the State Championship tournament....... but in the dying seconds our most excellent goalie took a ball to the face and is out. Probably for good. It's unclear if he has a concussion, but he's had a few (not all from Water polo) and he was really unsteady for a long time after the game.
Our back-up goalie is seriously sick and was scratched from the post season roster. We went without a back-up. Asking for trouble. Coach called back-up to see if he was available for semis and final or 3/4 game today. He said no to first game maybe to second. Didn't make it.
Long and short .........PoloBoy stepped up and played Goalie. He was great -made some really good saves. But not good enough, especially when one of our main defenders -him- was missing from the field :( So we're going to States in two weeks to defend our title, but we're going ats the bottom seed from the region so will play the top seed from the other region in our first game and will likely end up in the losers bracket playing for 5th-8th. Not too shabby but still a disappointing end to the highschool years.
The current thought is to find a B or C-line player we can train up in two weeks so we can get poloboy back in the field where he belongs. (They have to be on the post-season roster already).
But back to poloboy -he was AWESOME.
.....and in unrelated to the goalie thing news... got an honorable mention in the All season all region team selections (they pick a first and second "dream team" out of all16 teams, then add a couple of honorable mentions.
/proud mama
Poloboy did his best is a bad situation and did well. He has plenty to be proud of.
Sometimes a little disappointment is a good life lesson, makes them stronger, and more determined.
Very difficult end to Polo Boy's Water Polo career. Another player was trained up to move into goal so polo boy was free to defend again. But it just wasn't enough. Expected defeat in the first game on Friday (by the eventual champions -the team who have held the title for years except for last year's upset by us) sent us to the 5th-8th place bracket. It was a closer game than they expected, though -15-11! Then next morning a heart-breaking loss as the opposition broke a tied game with 4 seconds on the clock .....only to be topped by the game for 7th place in the afternoon where the opposition broke the tie with only 1 second on the clock.
(New Sub Goalie was awesome, BTW)
Disappointing end to the season.
Yes, but a good lesson in even when you do your best, a plan doesn't always come together because it's out of your control. He can still be proud of his effort and accomplishments. Yay, Poloboy.
What Bruce said.
Go Poloboy!:cheerldr:
And back to pologirl ......
Now a sophomore on the U of M club team. Moved up to starting line ....picked as one of ten (out of 40ish this year*) to go to a tournament in California this weekend (where polo is real badass), paid for by the club because the team keeps coming 2nd or 3rd at Nationals (to Californian teams) and this time wants to be the bride......
They lost the first two games but won the third against Cali Berkeley (in which Pologirl scored a hattrick) 7-6 on the buzzer.
* the U of M club team is so big this year, they have become the first in the Big Ten to have two official teams (A & B) -something common on the west coast where everyone plays, but not so much in the Midwest
more games coming?
They won with a shut out fourth and final game. Back home already (couple hours ago) she got a couple of goals, one off a penalty shot
and.... that season is over. pipped at the post for the B1G championship, they won't be going to nationals this year. But they just voted on the captains for next year and Pologirl made it! So Proud.
She won't let me buy her a captain's hat, though -not even a pirate one.....
Just occasionally work Aye Aye Captain into your conversations with her and try to do it in front of other people.
You don't have to salute.