In the Gym with Coach Dave
Favorite thing to do?
- Play fortnite
What is something Coach Kamil always says?
- "Go faster!"
If you were President for a week, what would you do?
-No gun violence, drugs, smoking, or any of the
bad things people do in the world.
What kind of magical powers would you like to have?
- To have super strength
Which food could you eat everyday?
- A soup from Romania that my mom makes. She calls it the Olive Garden soup and I love it.
February 17th & 24th
February 8th, 15th, 16th,
Hello everyone!
During the taper phase of our season, we will try not to dismiss how certain foods can also reduce some
of the soreness everyone’s been feeling as they recover from a long period of training. If you want to truly
reduce soreness and accelerate recovery, you can’t just stick to certain stretches and the foam roller; that
will just keep you out of the water longer. Our workouts are getting a little less intense as we prep for the
last few meets, but we want you in your best form as coaches.
Snacking on berries will get your strength back up and prevent you from waking up sore. As you sleep, the
melatonin found in cherries for example will get you better rest. Nutrients found in berries also remove extra waste in your system that may make you feel sluggish and sore.
Getting rid of soreness is a long process. But getting in plenty of greens into your diet such as broccoli, Brussel sprouts, and spinach will promote healing. You are also getting a source of carbohydrates and vitamins in that elevates mood and power; feeling good means healing faster. Vegetables provide a form of hydration, another way to keep your body from falling short of its recovery.
Combine fruits and starches to back up the first groups of foods I mentioned. My favorite combination some days includes sweet potatoes and a snack later with plenty of pineapple. Increasing your insulin levels will prevent you from “crashing” in concentration and energy. Oxygen can also get delivered through your system efficiently when you introduce these groups of foods into your body.
Hopefully this shines a little light on why food is as important as your season comes to an end, and not just when you are training hard in the beginning. Looking forward to seeing everyone’s results!
Coach Dave
Meet Entries Due:
Poolside with Coach Kamil
If you were a vegetable which would you be?
- A carrot because I like being really long
How old are you? Birthday?
- 11 years old (Oct. 23rd, 2007)
What do you want to be when you grow up?
- Police Officer or Green Bay Packer player
Why do you like swimming?
- I like it as a sport. Swimming is easier than playing soccer because you don't get injured.
Favorite thing about Sharks Swim Club?
- My friends that I met here.
Favorite Candy?
- Ring pop or pop rocks
February 5th
- According to the latest U.S. Census report: Swimming ranks No. 3 in popularity of sports activities. Swimming ranks 4th most-popular sport in U.S. According to the Fit-bit Activity Index, swimming is the No. 3 fitness activity for all ages in Great Britain, No. 4 in Australia, and No. 7 in the United States
- tones muscles and builds strength
- provides an all-over body workout, as nearly all of your muscles are used during swimming.
- improves coordination, balance and posture
Starting February 25th
Happy Birthday!
Swim Facts
Upcoming Swim Meets
Sharks Events: February
Swimmer Spotlight: Annabelle Yanora
SWIM
St. Patrick HS Home Swim Meet:
ALTERNATE SCHEDULE:
SHARKS CAM
VIDEO RECORDING!:
CLUB
(312) 800-3014
Swimmer Spotlight: Stefan Baban
PRACTICE TIME CHANGE:
REMINDER:
NO Austin Ave. Parking Lot
February 7th
February 19th
S H A R K S
-MICHAEL ZEGARSKI - February 3th, 2008
-ANDREZEJ UZAREWICZ - February 6th, 2010
-JULIA SZWAJNOS - February 14th, 2007
-IVA BITAS - February 19th, 2009
-OLAF KIELLER - February 21st, 2009
-ROBERT PAWLAK-DARACZ - February 23rd, 2009
-PATRYK LOWISZ - February 24th, 2008
If you were a vegetable which would you be?
- Broccoli
How old are you? Birthday?
- 11 years old (Sep. 1st, 2007)
What do you want to be when you grow up?
- Become a swim coach
Why do you like swimming?
- I like doing the laps and having fun with people and making new friends.
Favorite thing about Sharks Swim Club?
- The coaches
Favorite Candy?
- Starburst
Favorite thing to do?
- Softball or Ice skating
What is something Coach Kamil always says?
- "Work Harder!"
If you were President for a week, what would you do?
- Put a crosswalk everywhere! I live across a park and there are no crosswalks!
What kind of magical powers would you like to have?
- Make all schools disappear
Which food could you eat everyday?
- Steak, medium!
Hello everyone!
We have two swim meets remaining for those that have yet to qualify for Regionals and there are
several swimmer that are within two seconds of their individual event(s). Do not give up! This is
your time to push even harder and why February is so important. As Coach Dave discussed,
swimmers will be tapering prior to their “Last Chance” swim meet Feb 8-10th. A taper cuts yardage
several days prior to the last swim meet and enables swimmers to reach their max potential and best times. As coaches, we will be focusing heavily on starts, turns and technique. Don't worry, swimmers; we'll still swim our normal amount of yardage!
I found these points from SwimSwam News to be incredibly helpful and what we should all keep in mind while tapering:
1. Remember that your body is in flux.
For some swimmers, there will be a variety of mysterious aches and pains that spring up during the taper. Some of them imagined, some real, but in the end, does it really matter which? Over the course of coming down in intensity and volume we become much more sensitive to what is happening with our body. We scrutinize and Google every little sting, ache or pain.
Things that would have gone otherwise neglected in the midst of hard training are thrown under a microscope and analyzed ad nauseam. Some soreness would be typical during regular training, but during a taper we expect our bodies to feel perfect all of the time.
2. Avoid the desire to inject some last minute training.
The taper inflicts a little dose of reality on athletes – there is no more training ahead, no more opportunities to make last moment improvements. This can be a sobering realization for some athletes, who begin to fret that they haven’t done enough, and thus the urge to go throw down some more mileage hits them hard.
It’s natural to fear cutting back on the workload in the pool, but at this point it’s about recovery and rehearsal for the big meet. If you’re finding that the call back to hard training is becoming excruciatingly difficult to ignore, go to your log book and tally up all of the meters/yards that you have done over the past couple months. Seeing how much work you have put in will reassure that you’ve done the hard work.
3. Your confidence will yo-yo.
When the work cycle is done, and all that remains is tapering, we suddenly begin to doubt that we worked hard enough, that we invested enough effort into swimming to our expectations, and even that our competition goals were way too ambitious.
One day we second-doubt the way we feel in the water, our preparation outside of the pool, and wonder why we aren’t swimming like a boss yet. The next, our stroke feels glorious, our swimming is effortless, and our confidence explodes through the roof.
For many swimmers the battle isn’t so much within the pool, but keeping their head on straight long enough to get through the icky days where their self-confidence plummets to get to the effortless moments in the days and hours before the meet begins.
4. Stick to the plan.
Trust the hard work you have put in, and trust the path that has been laid out for you. If you are having second doubts about the taper, sit down with your coach and go over the plan so that you can remember that there is a very specific purpose to what you are doing.
When you’re feeling excessively grumpy and frustrated, or you are tired and sore and cannot figure out why, the first instinct is to look for a different path. We look elsewhere for solutions, doubt the process, and begin to wonder why our body isn’t reacting the way we’d like.
This situation tends to get exacerbated when swimmers in the next lane are boasting about how fantastic they feel in the water, and you are swimming through quicksand. Remember that tapering is an individual process; what works well for others won’t necessarily work for others.
You’ve been down this road before. Trust the process.
Yours in swimming,
Coach Kamil