Swim Suit Policy

I am posting this as a reminder as I know questions come up and we see a lot of things at swim meets. This is an excerpt sent out last year to all families:



___________________________________________________

The Dynamo coaches are very sensitive to any and all additional costs for this sport, and look for ways to eliminate rather than add them. Our policy as such is to limit the suits for our 14 and Under swimmers. Senior swimmers (15 and over), and those younger swimmers who compete in Senior Level meets are not restricted, except to be guided by their coaches. In all:
For all meets but championship meets, our swimmers are to wear their traditional black suit with the Dynamo logo. The only requirements Dynamo asks of its athletes is the black suit and yellow cap. Other Dynamo gear you purchase is encouraged, but not required.


For Championship meets:
10 and Unders are to stick with their normal cut of suit they have been wearing all year. The ‘tech’ suits are not at all made for these body types.


11-12 year olds have the option of wearing their traditional suit, or a Speedo Aquablade. The Aquablade is an excellent suit, and costs well under $100.00 versus a LZR that can cost $350.00. Again, these suits are not designed for this body type.


13-14 year olds are also encouraged to wear their traditional suit or the Aquablade at their championship meet. 13-14 year olds who compete at Senior Level meets (SR. State or SR Sectionals) may be encouraged to wear a tech suit (LZR or Faststkin Pro) by their coaches. We are serious about eliminating monetary roadblocks to athletes competing in our sport. The advantage we are interested in exploiting is the one that states you belong to Dynamo, and are surrounded by a great group of coaches and teammates, and we will out technique and out-work our opponents. For ordering the team suit, you use the Kastaway order form. While we won’t be too hard on those who don’t have their suit their first meet, we do expect our athletes to be in the Team suit at meets after that.

_____________________________________________



The reason why I bring this up is so that not only you are aware of the policy, but know that I will enforce it. At States last summer I asked a 10 yr old girl in our group to change suits because she was in an aquablade. I have asked swimmers to change suits this year in the short course season. I have been asked a couple of times why not 10 & Unders, but lets look at what we are building your swimmer up for without the suit vs with.



With the "tech suit" - there is a lot of hype as well as the mental mid set. I heard one swimmer refer to it once as their Super Suit. They think they can only swim fast if they are wearing that suit. When they don't swim fast the next time they where- it will be they need a newer suit or a better one - this means more $$ from the parent and not a good mindset for the swimmer especially at a young age.

Swimming without a "tech suit" - swimmers learn how to swim well and fast through technique and hard work. At the 12 & Under age (esp. those who have not hit puberty) any suit that is a tight/snug fit is appropriate and what it is made of makes very little difference. Introducing them to the suit as they get older will help financially as they are more likely to be committed to swimming more as well as an understanding that the suit alone does not make you faster - there are other things at play in that moment (hard work, technique, mental mindset, and sometimes pure luck!).

Save your money for every meet you will attend this summer for a drink of water for you and your swimmer, snacks during the meet, as well as a treat for your swimmer post meet. That will be money better spent on them for their performance at this age!

Hope this helps!

Dixie Classic and Gwinnett Aquatics Meet Recaps

Lifetime Best Swims:

M Johnson, C Tappero, R Cetron, A Cook, L Sun, C Staley, M Swett, B Lonial, F Bettin, T Piper, R Cetron, A Cook, C Gantt, J Von Biberstein, B Curry, Y Smith, N Singh, I Ariail, K Yao, B Fadjariza-Dumais, I Velarde, N Gonzalez, J Hansen, N Bent, K Chen, S Humphrey, N Shields, L Cardot, P Johnson

USA Swimming "B" Times:

C Staley, R Cetron, I Ariail, B Fadjariza-Dumais, S Humphrey, L Cardot, P Johnson

USA Swimming "BB" Times:

M Johnson, R Cetron, A Cook, L Sun, M Swett, B Lonial, F Bettin, R Cetron, A Cook, C Staley, B Curry, C Tappero, Y Smith, T Piper, N Singh, B Fadjariza-Dumais, K Yao, N Gonzalez, N Bent, K Chen, L Cardot, N Shields

Georgia Age Group State Cuts:

Carmen Tappero: 100 Breast
Ben Lonial: 200 Free, 200 IM
Foster Bettin: 200 Free, 100 Back, 100 Fly, 200 IM
Alissa Cook: 50 Breast, 100 Back, 200 IM, 50 Back
Courtney Gantt: 50 Breast, 50 Fly
Julia Von Biberstein: 50 Breast, 100 Back, 50 Fly, 100 Breast, 100 Free
Chris Staley: 50 Breast
Brooks Curry: 100 Back, 50 Free, 200 IM, 50 Fly, 50 Back, 100 Free
Leesan Sun: 100 fly
Mark Rotolo: 100 Back, 200 IM, 50 Back
Yannick Smith: 50 Free, 200 IM, 50 Fly
Nora Singh: 200 IM, 50 Fly, 100 Free
Teo Piper: 200 IM, 50 Fly, 100 Free
Jackson Hansen: 50 Fly, 50 Back
Nicholas Gonzalez: 100 Breast

USA Swimming "A" Times:

J Von Biberstein, B Curry, T Piper, M Swett, J Hansen, N Gonzalez, T Piper, B Curry, C Gantt,

USA Swimming "AA" Times:

J Von Biberstein

Age Group Sectional Cut:

Julia Von Biberstein: 50 Fly

Meet Anxiety

I got this from the USA Swimming parent section. It is a Q&A on Meet Anxiety. I thought this would be an appropriate topic as a few of the swimmers in all 3 of my groups have shown signs of meet anxiety. Most of the parents have approached me about this, and I try to help that swimmer leading up to the meet and at the meet - but for those parents that still want to help their swimmer or may be feeling like they do not know what to do to help here are some tips:

Q: My child gets so nervous before a competition. Is this natural? What can I do to help her to reduce this competitive pressure/stress?

A: To a degree, nervousness is part of the competitive experience and can be used as an opportunity to teach the young athlete specific strategies or skills to help her manage this arousal or nervousness. A simple skill that young athletes can learn to help manage the “butterflies in their stomachs” is belly breathing. The athlete is taught to take slow, deep breaths into her belly, hold it briefly, and then exhale slowly. Words can be included to help the athlete focus her thoughts on something besides worry. This is a quick strategy that helps calm the body and mind and only takes a few seconds to do. Another skill to help the athlete deal with muscular tightness brought on by nervousness is progressive muscle relaxation. In this procedure, the athlete goes through the major muscles in her body and first tenses and then relaxes each muscle. This teaches athletes to learn the difference between a tense and relaxed muscle, to learn where different muscles are located, and to eventually be able to relax specific muscles as necessary. Remember that these skills must be taught and practiced before the athlete will be able to use them effectively.

We also know that excessive anxiety can be damaging to both performance and to the athlete's desire to enter such situations in the future. Two factors which have been found to play a role in the level of anxiety experienced are the importance of the event and the uncertainly of the outcome. Greater importance and greater uncertainty lead to increased anxiety. Parents, this suggests that you can play an active role in reducing competition anxiety by de-valuing the outcome of the event and by focusing on the individual performance over which the swimmers have control.

Symptoms of anxiety: increased heart rate,rapid breathing, sweating, negativity, jittery, frequent ‘pit stops’, excessive worry, doubts, talk of failure, low confidence.
Strategies to Manage: Deep belly breathing, positive self-talk, relaxation exercises, think of successes, stretching, visualize race, listen to music, focus on goals, light massage, distract by talking with friends, family.

Meet Recaps -Spring Splash & Dynamo Derby

A little behind, but here are the meet recaps for our 1st two long course meets!


Spring Splash

Lifetime Best Swims: C Gantt, C Tappero, R Cetron, M Johnson, A Cook, K Yao, N Gonzalez, J Hansen, B Lonial, Y Smith, M Young, L Sun, H Burdette-Sapp, M Speece, S Humphrey, M Rotolo, F Bettin, N Shields, N Singh, E Harrison, I Ariail, N Bent, C Horlock, T Piper, P Johnson, L Hutson, B Fadjariza-Dumais

USA Swimming "B" Times: M Young, M Johnson, R Cetron, H Burdette-Sapp, N Shields, B Lonial, L Sun, M Rotolo, Y Smith, M Speece, K Yao, N Bent, S Humphrey, I Ariail, L Hutson, B Fadjariza-Dumais, C Tappero

USA Swimming "BB" Times: C Tappero, R Cetron, M Johnson, A Cook, K Yao, J Hansen, B Lonial, Y Smith, L Sun, M Rotolo, F Bettin, N Shields N Singh, E Harrison, T Piper

Georgia Age Group State Cuts
Nicholas Gonzalez – 200 IM, 50 Fly, 50 Back, 100 Free
Jackson Hansen – 200 IM, 100 Breast, 100 Free, 200 Free, 50 Free, 100 Fly
Leesan Sun – 50 Fly
Mark Rotolo – 50 Fly, 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Fly
Foster Bettin – 50 Fly, 50 Back
Alissa Cook – 100 Breast
Courtney Gantt – 100 Breast, 50 Back
Nora Singh – 200 Free, 50 Free, 100 Fly
Teo Piper – 200 Free, 100 Fly
Lauren Hutson – 50 Breast
Carmen Tappero – 50 Breast
Yannick Smith – 100 Fly

USA Swimming "A" Times: N Gonzalez, F Bettin, L Hutson, C Gantt

Age Group Sectional Time Cuts: (as a reminder there is no Sectional meet for 10 & Unders over the summer, but if they are 10 through the March sectionals next spring this cut counts!)
Foster Bettin – 100 Breast

USA Swimming "AA" Times: F Bettin

Dynamo Derby

Lifetime Best Swims: C Gantt, J Shuford, A Cook, R Cetron, C Tappero, L Sun, M Lee, S Humphrey, H Burdette-Sapp, N Gonzalez, M Rotolo, D Hall, L Cardot, C Staley, P Johnson, C Langer, A Reid-Martin, C O’Kelley, C Hughes, A Cartwright, B Reynolds, A Brawley, L Pencea, J Grobety, M Sketel, J Hull, J McGuire, N Reynolds, G Wheeler, W Wright, R Jatar, W Dillard, N Rotolo, K Cheng, A Tirrell

USA Swimming "B" Times: C Tappero, L Sun, M Lee, D Hall, L Cardot, C Staley, C Langer, A Reid-Martin, C O’Kelley, C Hughes, J Grobety, N Rotolo, K Cheng

USA Swimming "BB" Times: A Cook, R Cetron, M Rotolo

Georgia Age Group State Cuts:
Courtney Gantt – 400 Free
Julia Shuford – 400 Free
Nicholas Gonzalez – 400 Free

USA Swimming "A" Times: N Gonzalez