Stroke and Turn/ Starter Training Info is Here!

Good evening, everyone!

First of all, it has been a great week for us. We have been so excited to see everyone at the pool. We keep growing, and everyone seems to be having fun while working hard!

The main point of this blog post is to get you all information regarding the stroke and turn/ starter training.  In the past I have served as the lone starter at home meets, and I would love to be able to pass the whistle off to some others to free me up to spend more time on deck away from meet management.

Stroke and turn officials need to do three things for us to be "certified."

Number 1: Watch the USA Swimming videos available online here: https://www.usaswimming.org/officials/officials-training-videos. Stroke and turn officials have several shorter (6 minutes or less) videos to watch. Starters have one thirty minute video to watch.

Number 2: Take the 25 question assessment based on commonly seen things at our meets and the videos. You only need to get 18 correct to pass, and you can take it multiple times (Starters don't need to take this). https://goo.gl/forms/VF4F0RDw9J9n6WEu1

Number 3: Shadow an already established official at a meet on deck to get the hang of what it is like  officiate. Potential starters need to spend about 5-10 minutes on deck with me prior to working a meet.

Neither of  these are difficult! Go ahead and give it a try. Not only will filling these roles help the team, it will help you understand what is expected of you swimmer when they step to the block. It's a great way to learn about the sport while helping out, and we can't be at our best without YOUR help (Yes, I'm talking to you!).

Finally, anyone interested in Hy-Tek or timing system operation, please contact me or speak to me at the kick-off on June 12th.

Thank you all for making this a fun and exciting job!

The Most Important Person at Our Meets: YOU!

The Most Important Person at Our Meets: YOU!

Volunteers are crucial. Without them, we have no timers, no scorers, no officials, and we can’t hold a meet. I urge each and every one of you to find something YOU can do to help out at the meets. Timing and starting takes very little time to learn, while officiating, scoring, and running the timing system may take about an hour plus some hands on time seeing things at a meet to get started comfortable with. We’d love to have at least one member of every family volunteer for at least one job a meet.

What are those folks with the clipboards doing?

This question refers to two groups of volunteers. The first group of volunteers is timers. They are the ones using stopwatches or timing system components to time our swimmers (The time decides the order of finish, as we do not employ a referee to track order of finish for each race). It is very easy and often a lot of fun to time for our meets, and you get an excellent view of the action in the water, as well as a chance to meet folks from other teams timing alongside you.

The second group of volunteers you’ll see are stroke and turn officials. Don’t let the name fool you. They are parents of swimmers, too, and they aren’t scary! They want the kids to do their best, just like the rest of us. Many have chosen to help the team in this capacity because they wanted to learn more about the sport, and the training they undergo helps them do that. Their job isn’t to play gotcha when a swimmer does something incorrect, but rather to help the swimmers improve by pointing out errors or deficiencies and to ensure a level playing field/pool.

To train as a stroke and turn official, we ask that you view the videos from USA Swimming (https://www.usaswimming.org/officials/officials-training-videos), spend some time at a meet shadowing an experienced official, and taking a 25 question quiz. It’s a simple three-step process that can be done quick and easy in a little more than an hour. We always need more officials, so don’t be shy and get in touch with Coach Andersen to work out a training.

Something we always tell officials, though, is that ugly, non-Phelpsian or non-Ledeckian swimming isn’t illegal (we often refer to it as UBL- Ugly But Legal), and that the swimmer should always get the benefit of a doubt. Should your child be disqualified, come talk to a coach if you have a question. We should get information in the form of a disqualification (DQ) slip from the official. PLEASE do not approach the officials if you have a question about a call. Should your child get DQ’ed in an event, please don’t take it personally. The official saw something they thought was incorrect, and they made the call they thought necessary. They don’t derive some sick joy out of disqualifying kids.

A fun, often overlooked job, is the heat-winner ribbon distributor (sometimes quickly referred to as the “giver-outer”). This person has the pleasure of seeing a young swimmer or relay light up when they get a heat winner ribbon. For many, this may be the first ribbon they ever receive, and they will be absolutely thrilled when you give it to them.

A crucial part of running our meets is scoring and keeping track of results. We use Hy-Tek Meet Manager, the industry standard software program, to compile results we get from timer sheets or from the timing system. It takes some time to get used to the software, and the best way to learn is to work with a more experienced Hy-Tek operator. We have several on the team, but it is always good to have more who know what to do. This is also a skill needed for high school swim meets. Usually after working on the program for a meet or two, operators feel pretty confident.

At away meets, most teams use stopwatches only to record times. We are different in that we use an automated Colorado Timing System 5 system. We can configure it to work with plunger buttons, or with a button and a touchpad. Using pads is one of the best ways to get times, but we often face some difficulties with younger swimmers triggering them. For most meets we will use only the buttons with a stopwatch for an additional back up. The timing system communicates directly with the Hy-Tek software, making the Hy-Tek operator job easier.  We are in the process of expanding our equipment so we can place pads at both ends of the pool, allowing us to use the system for 25 yard races, too. It is not difficult to use, and, like the Hy-Tek, the easiest way to learn how to use the system is hands on experience. Talk to Coach Andersen about learning how to use the system.

WHAT ARE THEY DOING?!: A GUIDE FOR THE NEW SWIM PARENT

What ARE they doing?!

A Few Key Things for the New Swim Parent

Valdese has experienced a lot of growth over the past few years, and here a few common things I get asked from our new parents. I really enjoy speaking with parents and getting to know them, but my hope is that this will help our incoming folks feel a little more confident when they get on the pool deck with their swimmer.

Communication is KEY…

I like to think of myself as open and available to all of our member families. I encourage you to reach out to me if there is something you would like to discuss. Trying to have a serious discussion with parents before practice is often difficult as my focus is elsewhere, and I want to be sure to give you my undivided attention. The easiest thing is to email me a number where you can be reached, or try to speak to me after all practices are concluded.

As for mass communication with team members, it is important to sign up for our text service, and, if you use twitter, to follow us (@valdesetorpedo) there, as well. Whenever a new blog post is posted, I will send out a link through Remind and twitter. If we have to cancel a practice due to weather, I will send out messages through Remind first.

First, a little about the pool…

The pool is 25 yards in length, and one length is the same as a lap. It isn’t uncommon to hear people describe a lap as a “down and back,” which is actually two laps (a 50). The gutter is the little track running along the outside of the pool, which serves to minimize disruptive waves by collecting water as a swimmer comes storming into the wall for a finish or turn (When the water is still, it is clean, when disrupted or choppy, we call it dirty). At either end of the pool, there are flags positioned to alert backstrokers to the wall. We will work with your swimmers to perfect their stroke count so they will know just how many strokes (single arm motions, in this instance) it takes them to get from the flags to the wall so they can come in fast without bumping their head.

For racing, we start from the blocks on the deep end of the pool. All backstroke events and the medley relay start with the swimmers in the water instead of diving in from the block. Some swimmers less confident from the blocks can start from the wall or from in the water, and all shallow-end starts (such even-number swimmers in 100 yard relays) start in the water. We will work with your swimmers throughout the season on starts using the wall and the blocks, so if they don’t know how to dive, that’s OK, we will teach them!

What’s my Age Again?...

We divide our swimmers up into several age groups for competition, and these translate into our practice schedule breakdown, as well. Your swimmer is able to compete at the age they are on June 1 of the current year. The age groups are 8 and Under (we do use 6 and Under for 25 free only, as well), 9-10 year olds, 11-12 year olds, 13-14 year olds, and 15-18 year olds.

Swimmers may “swim up” to any age group above them, but they may not “swim down.” This happens most often for relay events when we may have three swimmers of an age group and need to bring a fourth swimmer up to field the relay. We typically try not to swim anyone up more than one age group, but a shift may impact relay composition for younger age groups. For example, if the 13-14 boys only have three swimmers, we will likely bring up a faster 11-12. If there are only four 11-12 swimmers, we will need to bring up a 9-10 for that relay. Relays are a lot of points, so we don’t want to leave them open without an entry if we can help it.

For the Gear-heads…

Swimming really doesn’t require a lot of gear to compete in. Give someone a suit and goggles and they are good to go. Many of our older swimmers will use fins for practices, but there is no need to run out to get a pair. Generally, if your swimmer is in high school or about to be in high school, you may want fins. Talk to a coach to figure out a good pair of fins. Speedo, TYR, and Finis make some good fins for a variety of training purposes.

We don’t have a team suit to speak of, but we do ask swimmers who compete for us to use our team cap if using a cap (our caps are currently latex). The easiest and least expensive suits are often just plain, black suits. Locally, CBS Sports in Morganton, Dick’s, or Academy typically have suits available during summer months. Online, swimoutlet.com is the place to go. TYR, Speedo, and Dolfin are the market leaders, and most suits from them are great. Girls need to have a one piece, and boys need either briefs or jammers. Trunks are not advised as they create large amounts of drag, and two-piece suits may come off when diving.

Invest in some good goggles, and buy several pairs (I have about 4 pairs of the same type that I have used since I was in middle school, and I will likely never go to another goggle!). Since we are swimming in the summer, your swimmer will need some reflective goggles to fight off direct sun. However, getting at least one clear pair will be good for meets when the sun goes down. Find a pair that fits well by trying them on to see if they seal around the eyes BEFORE putting the strap over the swimmer’s head.

In practice, our younger swimmers often use kickboards to help build leg strength. A good kicking base is KEY, and so you will see us kick quite a lot. Older swimmers will use pull-buoys, shaped foam meant to immobilize the legs, to build shoulder, core, and catch strength. You may see us use buoys with 9-10 year olds towards the end of the summer, but generally we won’t use them with the younger swimmers. Similarly, we don’t use kickboards with our older swimmers.

Now, the events...

When we swim, we compete in multiples of 25. I often describe this to folks as thinking of counting money. Four quarters makes a dollar, just as four laps makes a 100. For our purposes, we will swim 25s, 50s, 100s, and a 200 IM (more on that in a sec), and a 200 freestyle. We do have longer events at the Sprint/Distance meet every year, but in our standard meets, the 200 is the longest distance we swim. All pools we compete in will be yards with the exception of McDowell, which is a 25 meter pool, and slightly longer than the other pools we use.

There are four strokes used in competition. The two that kids often catch on to the quickest are freestyle and backstroke. These are not overly difficult to master, and they are often taught in swim lessons. Butterfly and breaststroke are more complicated with regards to timing, and often take more time to master. The individual medley, or IM, or the medley relay, or MR, are composed of equal distances of all four strokes. So in a 100 IM, a swimmer will swim a lap of butterfly, a lap of backstroke, a lap of breaststroke, and a lap of freestyle, in that order. In a 200 MR, a swimmer will swim a 50 of backstroke, the second swimmer will swim a 50 of breaststroke, the third swimmer will swim a 50 of butterfly, and the final swimmer will swim a 50 of freestyle, in that order.

The event order for our regular meets is as follows:

• 200 Open (Free)- All ages may swim 200
• Medley Relay (8 and unders swim 100, everyone else swims 200)
• Sprint Free (8 and unders swim 25, everyone else swims 50)
• IM (8 and unders, 9-10, 11-12 all swim 100; 13-14 and 15-18 swim 200)
• Back (8 and unders swim 25, 9-10, 11-12 all swim 50; 13-14 and 15-18 swim 100)
• Longer Free (8 and unders swim 50, everyone else swims 100)
• Fly (8 and unders swim 25, 9-10, 11-12 all swim 50; 13-14 and 15-18 swim 100)
• Breast (8 and unders swim 25, 9-10, 11-12 all swim 50; 13-14 and 15-18 swim 100)
• Free Relay (8 and unders swim 100, everyone else swims 200)

To see examples of correct versions of the stroke and what officials and coaches want to see, I encourage everyone to visit https://www.usaswimming.org/officials/officials-training-videos and view the videos. This will arm you with some more knowledge about correct procedure for swims. Over the course of the summer, your swimmers will become more knowledgeable regarding these rules themselves. Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect! Ugly strokes aren’t necessarily illegal, and officials are trained to give the benefit of the doubt to the swimmer!

Wrapping up…

This is the first of several posts I'll be putting up over the next week. I am really excited for this season, and I hope you all are, too!

Practice Schuedule Updates

Good afternoon, everyone!

This Tuesday starts practice. I wanted to go ahead and be sure I had published our schedule.

Tuesday, June 30-Thursday, June 8:
11 and Overs practice from 3:30-4:30pm
10 and Unders practice from 4:30-5:15pm

There will be no practice on Friday, June 9th.

Monday, June 12th, we start our split practice schedule.

7:30-8:30am: 11-12, beginning 13-14
8:30am-9:30am: experienced 13-14, 15-18
5:00-5:45pm: 8 and Unders
5:45-6:30pm: 9-10

Please make every attempt to be at the correct practice. If you can't make it for some reason, please discuss it with Coach Andersen. Please check the previous blog post for some insight into why we have practices the way we do: http://vtst.blogspot.com/2016/07/from-coach.html