Hi All,
Sunday was my first meet with you all and I am happy to report the following.
Thank you to Brandon our awesome coach who attended the meet even though he had literally just returned from his break. We are super lucky to have someone who knows the kids as well as he does. He was a fantastic sounding board and gave me great insight to most of the kids racing styles. He is spot on and I am stoked with his passion, knowledge and skills as a coach. We are going to make a great team.
The positives:
· 72% pb rate. To be honest this included 33 pb’s and 20 first time swims. This to me is great as I love it when swimmers race an event for the first time. The only way is up from this moment on!
· Great to see the team warming up together and in the awesome Abbotsleigh club cap. This is something I want you all to proud of. When you see an Abbotsleigh cap you instantly know you are not alone.
· The swimming part of your races were quite sound. Most of you stuck to your race plans and were gutsy and brave. Your technique held up under pressure most of the race.
· Great to see the Abbotsleigh parents helping out. This is very important and a great thing to do as a club. Thank you to all. (Thank you to Liz for organising my split sheets)
Things to work on;
· Racing skills. Turns, Dives, finishes and under waters.
· Team cheering and team support. Although we were in our team gear – there was a lot of individualism going on. Unless you are racing – please yell and cheer to your team mates when behind the blocks. It really lifts you and makes you swim harder for your team.
· Try to fit food in as best you can. The meet moved fairly fast so was hard but in future aim to refuel as best you can after each race. Have a small snack and water if not much time between races. Try Trail mix, cut up fruit, rice crackers, etc.
Remember racing is the fun part. Its why we train and its where we get to express ourselves, swim for our team and learn new and improved ways to race the race next time around. As coaches it guides us to knowing what you need to work on in training. Racing is the key to success and making your dreams come true. I love the racing – it’s a big part of why I coach!!
REMEMBER ; “READY – RACE – RECOVER”
Cheers
Coach Leanne