Inspiration

A note from Badger Parent Advocate, Mike Conaton:

Swimming from inspiration can be very different from swimming “for” someone else. When the kids are mature enough to understand the nuance, experts believe it’s important for them to swim for themselves, for their own reasons and goals: putting in the hard work for themselves and enjoying their own challenges and rewards. We have all read the warnings about parents being careful not to put the burden and pressure on the kids to try to please US and appease OUR hopes and dreams for them. It should be THEIR hopes and dreams…and inspirations…that motivate their dedication and hard work.

It is certainly natural and can be very beneficial for a swimmer to be INSPIRED by another person, coaches, parents, swimming heroes, events…using other people’s experiences, characteristics, accomplishments and stories as motivation and stimulus.

This story about Glenn Mills will help me explain my thoughts on this subject better. Many vintage Badgers and swimming world types know Glenn – a 1980 Olympian, NCAA breaststroke champion, and today the founder and owner of GoSwim Productions, the leading producer of swimming technique videos. Above all, we all know Glenn as an outstanding human being, tireless swimming advocate and loyal friend.

Glenn was recently named one of The Top Ten Most Impactful People of 2015 by Swimming World Magazine for launching his new GoSwim online teaching platforms and coaching aids and being picked as the official video training partner of USA Swimming.

My favorite story about Glenn involves his inspiration – his older brother Kyle. During Glenn’s middle school days, Kyle lost his leg to a rare cancer. Kyle’s struggle with his illness and his courageous recovery from that bout made a huge impression on Glenn as he describes it. “If I had a tough practice one day, I would just think of Kyle getting along with his one leg and somehow practice wasn’t so tough anymore”, he once told me. Glenn loved and admired his brother even more from the experience. Which is all the more reason why Glenn was so devastated when Kyle passed away from his recurring cancer when Glenn started high school. Swimming took on a new dimension for Glenn. The article linked here  from 1981 about Glenn and his family includes the following quote:

“I’m probably always thinking of Kyle. A lot of times I’m swimming for him and myself. I’m always thinking about Kyle because I like to have some extra incentive. He helps me out a lot.”
Glenn dedicated his training to Kyle and made the 1980 Olympic Team. It was even more impressive as Glenn was just an 18 year old on his way to the University of Alabama.

Of course Glenn had to be a great swimmer and dedicated athlete to achieve such a feat. I also know of the sacrifices he and his family made which contributed to his training and success, including moving to another city and switching high schools to attend an elite swimming program 250 miles from home. But there also can be no doubt that Kyle was Glenn’s greatest motivation and inspiration contributing to this story book ending.

 

Michael Conaton, Badger Swim Club Inc. and Badger Swimming Inc. accept no liability for the content of this article, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided.

Lindsay Vrooman, Zane Grothe Have Big Swims At Oklahoma Elite Pro-Am

The Oklahoma Elite Pro-Am is under way, with Badger swimmers Lindsay Vrooman and Zane Grothe placing first in the 1000 yd Freestyles. Lindsay won the Women’s 1000 yd. Freestyle with a time of 9:30.19 while Zane took the Men’s 1000 title with a time of 8:48.01.

SWIMMING WORLD MAGAZINE ARTICLE

Follow the results of all the Badger swimmers 9 Zane Grothe, Cody Miller, Derek Toomey Lindsay Vrooman and James Wells as they compete at the Oklahoma Elite Pro-Am on Meet Mobile.

 

Badger at the Duel in the Pool

Congratulations to Badger Swimmers Zane Grothe and Cody Miller for their performances in the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool this weekend.  The boys joined Team USA against the European All Stars at the IUPUI Natatorium.  Zane swam the 200 and 400 freestyle, and he placed 4th in both with SCM times of 1:44.48 in the 200 and 3:39.70 in the 400.

Cody, however, not only won his two events, he broke the American Record in both.  Cody’s time of 2:02.33 was good enough for Gold and the American Record.  The previous record was set by Kevin Cordes in 2013.

Cody’ hot streak continued in the 100 breaststroke where he once again broke a 2013 record of Kevin Cordes.  Cody’s time of 56.43 gave him his second Gold medal and American Record of the meet.

Badger at East Speedo Winter Jr. National Championships

Badger Swim Club Logo

Three Badgers traveled to Georgia Tech’s McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, GA this weekend to compete in the East Speedo Winter Jr National Championships.BAdger AT GT Jr EAst 2015

Ian Bidwell, Nathalie Eid and Spencer Lafata competed against the best of the east.  Nathalie started the meet with a strong swim in the 500FR where she went 4:54.31 and placed 26th.  Spencer Lafata followed suit with a time of 4:29.36 in trials, and he placed 16th in the event.  Spencer finished the meet with a fifth place finish in the 1650 with a time of 15:21.94.

The video of Spencer’s fifth place finish can be found here:

https://youtu.be/ziwwiyxzyIg

Winter Nationals 2015

Badger Swim Club headed to Federal Way, WA this past weekend to compete at AT&T LCM Winter Nationals.  The team of Eric Culver, Ryan Feeley, Anina Lund, Emily  McClellan, Derek Toomey, Lindsay Vrooman, and James Wells placed 6th in combined team scoring.

results

There were several Badgers that contributed to the 6th place honors. Ryan Feeley’s trials swim of 3:51.80 was good enough for third going into finals where he placed 8th. Ryan also placed 12th in the 1500. Emily McClellan also scored for Badger. She placed 11th in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:09.65. Lindsay Vrooman had a strong performance as well. She placed 9th in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:59.45 and 5th in the 400 freestyle with a time of 4:09.00, and she placed 2nd in the 800 freestyle with a time of 8:27.70. James Wells also scored for the team, placing 11th in the 200 backstroke 2:02.81 and 24th in the 100 backstroke 56.84.

One of our newest Badgers, Carly Cummings, swam the 200IM, 400IM, 100 breaststroke, and the 200 Fly. Her 4:53.77 was good enough to make it back to finals where she went 4:49.63 and placed 17th.

Eric Culver placed 29th in the 200 Fly with a time of 2:04.49. Anina Lund swam the 200, 400, and 800. She placed 25th in the 800 with a time of 8:59.63. Derek Toomey placed 34th in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.22.

The team was without Cody Miller and Zane Grothe who are competing at the Duel in the Pool in Indianapolis this weekend. The team was also missing Spencer Lafata who will be competing at Junior National Championships next week as well. Spencer will be joined by Ian Bidwell and Nathalie Eid.

 

Badger Medals in Montreal

In keeping up with the fast swimming taking place in Federal Way WA by our National Qualifiers, the swimmers who attended the Montreal meet returned home with a total of 128 Medals.

The meet held at the Olympic Park the home of the 1976 Olympics was attended by 21 clubs and 709 swimmers.

Badger Swimmers,  were all making numerous appearances at finals each night with the swimmers all looking to medal  each night.

The energy of the team was extremely high fueled by fast swimming.

We look forward to this meet next season and continued success in the upcoming meets.

 

 

 

 

Badger Swim Club INC.
Gold 42. Men, 50m Freestyle 15 years and older HUBER, Christian P 15 24.16
108. Boys, 50m Freestyle 8 years and younger LOVELESS, Ryan 8 41.63
122. Boys, 100m Freestyle 8 years and younger LOVELESS, Ryan 8 01:37.4
46. Men, 50m Backstroke 13 – 14 years SEIBOLD, Finn J 14 29.41
6. Men, 100m Backstroke 13 – 14 years RAMJOHN, Jalen K 14 01:03.1
30. Men, 200m Backstroke 13 – 14 years RAMJOHN, Jalen K 14 02:16.7
28. Men, 50m Breaststroke 13 – 14 years LOVELESS, Liam J 13 31.38
28. Men, 50m Breaststroke 11 – 12 years SPERES, Nicholas C 11 37.21
44. Men, 100m Breaststroke 13 – 14 years LOVELESS, Liam J 13 01:11.8
118. Boys, 100m Breaststroke 9 years LEE, Cooper C 9 01:58.9
10. Men, 200m Breaststroke 13 – 14 years LOVELESS, Liam J 13 02:34.5
10. Men, 200m Breaststroke 11 – 12 years HARDART, Max 12 02:59.2
120. Boys, 50m Butterfly 8 years and younger LOVELESS, Ryan 8 51.75
24. Men, 100m Butterfly 13 – 14 years RAMJOHN, Jalen K 14 01:01.7
4. Men, 400m Medley 13 – 14 years RAMJOHN, Jalen K 14 05:00.2
36. Men, 4 x 100m Freestyle 13 – 14 years Badger Swim Club INC. 2 04:13.8
20. Men, 4 x 50m Medley 13 – 14 years Badger Swim Club INC. 2 02:04.4
20. Men, 4 x 50m Medley 11 – 12 years Badger Swim Club INC. 1 01:51.2
18. Men, 4 x 100m Medley 13 – 14 years Badger Swim Club INC. 2 12 04:49.8
41. Women, 50m Freestyle 11 – 12 years ARNOLD, Lauren R 29.59
107. Girls, 50m Freestyle 8 years and younger KLEIN, Neala J 8 36.98
11. Women, 100m Freestyle 11 – 12 years PABBY, Anya 12 01:02.9
121. Girls, 100m Freestyle 8 years and younger KLEIN, Neala J 8 01:22.3
21. Women, 200m Freestyle 15 years and older LANTIN, Alexa 16 02:09.1
21. Women, 200m Freestyle 13 – 14 years SHERIDAN, Kerry 14 02:13.4
21. Women, 200m Freestyle 11 – 12 years PENNINGTON, Caroline 12 02:17.3
101. Girls, 200m Freestyle 8 years and younger KLEIN, Neala J 8 02:56.3
13. Women, 800m Freestyle 15 years and older LANTIN, Alexa 16 09:22.0
13. Women, 800m Freestyle 13 – 14 years SHERIDAN, Kerry 14 09:50.0
13. Women, 800m Freestyle 11 – 12 years PENNINGTON, Caroline 12 09:53.8
31. Women, 1500m Freestyle 13 – 14 years SHERIDAN, Kerry 14 18:34.1
31. Women, 1500m Freestyle 11 – 12 years PENNINGTON, Caroline 12 18:44.7
45. Women, 50m Backstroke 11 – 12 years ARNOLD, Lauren R 12 34.3
115. Girls, 50m Backstroke 10 years LEE, Kaitlyn H 10 39.71
115. Girls, 50m Backstroke 8 years and younger KLEIN, Neala J 8 46.42
5. Women, 100m Backstroke 11 – 12 years PABBY, Anya 12 01:09.1
105. Girls, 100m Backstroke 8 years and younger KLEIN, Neala J 8 01:38.7
29. Women, 200m Backstroke 11 – 12 years PABBY, Anya 12 02:27.9
27. Women, 50m Breaststroke 11 – 12 years OTT, Elke J 12 38.43
103. Girls, 50m Breaststroke 10 years LEE, Kaitlyn H 10 41.79
103. Girls, 50m Breaststroke 8 years and younger BARR, Fiona P 8 52.96
43. Women, 100m Breaststroke 11 – 12 years OTT, Elke J 12 01:23.3
117. Girls, 100m Breaststroke 10 years LEE, Kaitlyn H 10 01:32.2
117. Girls, 100m Breaststroke 8 years and younger BARR, Fiona P 8 01:52.9
9. Women, 200m Breaststroke 11 – 12 years OTT, Elke J 12 03:00.9
7. Women, 50m Butterfly 11 – 12 years PABBY, Anya 12 31.62
119. Girls, 50m Butterfly 8 years and younger KLEIN, Neala J 8 42.62
23. Women, 100m Butterfly 11 – 12 years PABBY, Anya 12 01:08.4
25. Women, 100m Medley 11 – 12 years PABBY, Anya 12 01:12.5
109. Girls, 100m Medley 8 years and younger KLEIN, Neala J 8 01:40.0
47. Women, 200m Medley 11 – 12 years PENNINGTON, Caroline 12 02:39.1
113. Girls, 200m Medley 10 years LEE, Kaitlyn H 10 03:00.6
113. Girls, 200m Medley 8 years and younger KLEIN, Neala J 8 03:32.7
Silver 1. Women, 4 x 50m Freestyle 11 – 12 years Badger Swim Club INC. 3 01:58.7
35. Women, 4 x 100m Freestyle 11 – 12 years Badger Swim Club INC. 2 04:27.8
19. Women, 4 x 50m Medley 11 – 12 years Badger Swim Club INC. 2 02:17.6
17. Women, 4 x 100m Medley 11 – 12 years Badger Swim Club INC. 3 05:04.1
42. Men, 50m Freestyle 13 – 14 years SEIBOLD, Finn J 14 26.6
12. Men, 100m Freestyle 13 – 14 years RAMJOHN, Jalen K 14 57.66
22. Men, 200m Freestyle 13 – 14 years RAMJOHN, Jalen K 14 02:02.0
14. Men, 800m Freestyle 15 years and older LOVELESS, John J 15 08:37.1
14. Men, 800m Freestyle 11 – 12 years HARDART, Max 12 10:51.8
32. Men, 1500m Freestyle 15 years and older LOVELESS, John J 15 16:26.1
46. Men, 50m Backstroke 15 years and older TOWNE, Garrett B 15 27.51
116. Boys, 50m Backstroke 8 years and younger LOVELESS, Ryan 8 51.26
6. Men, 100m Backstroke 15 years and older TOWNE, Garrett B 15 01:00.4
6. Men, 100m Backstroke 11 – 12 years HARDART, Max 12 01:18.0
28. Men, 50m Breaststroke 11 – 12 years HARDART, Max 12 38.74
44. Men, 100m Breaststroke 11 – 12 years HARDART, Max 12 01:22.2
120. Boys, 50m Butterfly 9 years LEE, Cooper C 9 51.67
40. Men, 200m Butterfly 15 years and older LOVELESS, John J 15 02:10.4
26. Men, 100m Medley 13 – 14 years LOVELESS, Liam J 13 01:04.6
110. Boys, 100m Medley 9 years LEE, Cooper C 9 01:56.1
110. Boys, 100m Medley 8 years and younger LOVELESS, Ryan 8 01:47.5
4. Men, 400m Medley 15 years and older LOVELESS, John J 15 04:42.0
4. Men, 400m Medley 13 – 14 years LOVELESS, Liam J 13 05:01.5
36. Men, 4 x 100m Freestyle 15 years and older Badger Swim Club INC. 1 03:43.8
18. Men, 4 x 100m Medley 15 years and older Badger Swim Club INC. 1 04:00.1
107. Girls, 50m Freestyle 8 years and younger BARR, Fiona P 8 38.96
11. Women, 100m Freestyle 11 – 12 years ARNOLD, Lauren R 12 01:04.0
121. Girls, 100m Freestyle 8 years and younger BARR, Fiona P 8 01:24.4
21. Women, 200m Freestyle 11 – 12 years OTT, Elke J 12 02:17.5
101. Girls, 200m Freestyle 10 years ANDERSON, Kate E 10 02:46.1
115. Girls, 50m Backstroke 8 years and younger BARR, Fiona P 8 47.36
5. Women, 100m Backstroke 11 – 12 years PENNINGTON, Caroline 12 01:13.7
105. Girls, 100m Backstroke 10 years LEE, Kaitlyn H 10 01:24.6
105. Girls, 100m Backstroke 8 years and younger BARR, Fiona P 8 01:41.8
29. Women, 200m Backstroke 11 – 12 years PENNINGTON, Caroline 12 02:37.1
9. Women, 200m Breaststroke 13 – 14 years VICTORY, Margaret M 14 02:57.1
23. Women, 100m Butterfly 11 – 12 years OTT, Elke J 12 01:11.7
25. Women, 100m Medley 15 years and older NEUBAUER, Marie 15 01:08.3
25. Women, 100m Medley 11 – 12 years ARNOLD, Lauren R 12 01:14.6
109. Girls, 100m Medley 8 years and younger BARR, Fiona P 8 01:40.5
3. Women, 400m Medley 15 years and older NEUBAUER, Marie 15 05:04.3
35. Women, 4 x 100m Freestyle 15 years and older Badger Swim Club INC. 1 04:09.7
123. All, 4 x 50m Medley 12 years and younger Badger Swim Club INC. 1 02:46.1
111. All, 4 x 50m Freestyle 12 years and younger Badger Swim Club INC. 1 02:27.0
Bronze 108. Boys, 50m Freestyle 10 years BREEDEN, Cayden J 10 34
122. Boys, 100m Freestyle 9 years LEE, Cooper C 9 01:37.0
22. Men, 200m Freestyle 11 – 12 years HARDART, Max 12 02:26.5
102. Boys, 200m Freestyle 9 years LEE, Cooper C 9 03:26.5
6. Men, 100m Backstroke 13 – 14 years SEIBOLD, Finn J 14 01:07.3
6. Men, 100m Backstroke 11 – 12 years KLEIN, Evan M 11 01:19.5
30. Men, 200m Backstroke 15 years and older TOWNE, Garrett B 15 02:10.8
30. Men, 200m Backstroke 13 – 14 years SEIBOLD, Finn J 14 02:27.3
104. Boys, 50m Breaststroke 9 years LEE, Cooper C 9 56.96
8. Men, 50m Butterfly 11 – 12 years KLEIN, Evan M 11 34.68
120. Boys, 50m Butterfly 9 years KORVYAKOV, Michael 9 54.19
24. Men, 100m Butterfly 11 – 12 years KLEIN, Evan M 11 01:16.9
40. Men, 200m Butterfly 15 years and older TOWNE, Garrett B 15 02:13.6
110. Boys, 100m Medley 9 years KORVYAKOV, Michael 9 02:01.2
48. Men, 200m Medley 13 – 14 years LOVELESS, Liam J Badger Swim Club INC. 1 13 02:24.5
2. Men, 4 x 50m Freestyle 15 years and older Badger Swim Club INC. 2 01:41.9
2. Men, 4 x 50m Freestyle 13 – 14 years OTT, Elke J 12 01:56.0
41. Women, 50m Freestyle 11 – 12 years OTT, Elke J 12 30.67
11. Women, 100m Freestyle 11 – 12 years OTT, Elke J 12 01:05.7
45. Women, 50m Backstroke 11 – 12 years PENNINGTON, Caroline 12 34.67
115. Girls, 50m Backstroke 9 years HARDART, Annabel M 9 47.52
105. Girls, 100m Backstroke 9 years HARDART, Annabel M 9 01:41.8
43. Women, 100m Breaststroke 13 – 14 years VICTORY, Margaret M 14 01:23.8
117. Girls, 100m Breaststroke 9 years HARDART, Annabel M 9 01:51.1
9. Women, 200m Breaststroke 15 years and older LANTIN, Alexa 16 02:42.1
119. Girls, 50m Butterfly 8 years and younger BARR, Fiona P 8 48.35
23. Women, 100m Butterfly 11 – 12 years ARNOLD, Lauren R 12 01:12.6
109. Girls, 100m Medley 9 years HARDART, Annabel M 9 01:42.3
47. Women, 200m Medley 11 – 12 years ARNOLD, Lauren R 12 02:41.9
1. Women, 4 x 50m Freestyle 13 – 14 years Badger Swim Club INC. 4 02:07.2

Badger Crossing The Border

badger-swim-logo11143410_357108044500524_5048065091193255921_n

This weekend 50 Swimmers from the Junior and Senior Teams of Badger will be traveling to Montreal to participate in the Invitation Provinciale hosted by Neptune Natation at the Olympic Park Sports Centre.

 

 

11540911_376026372608691_6729850693918160176_nThe team will be competing internationally, a first for many of our swimmers attending the meet in Montreal which traditionally is a Badger stop.  Expectations are high for a strong team showing by all competing this weekend, follow our swimmers  at www.neptunenatation.com

The Car Ride Home

A note from Badger Parent Advocate, Mike Conaton:

I recently attended a presentation by Dr. Alex Diaz, a local sports psychology consultant. Dr. Diaz began by explaining the biological development of the human brain which establishes certain innate tendencies. For example, the section of the brain that controls our motor skills, adrenaline and “fight or flight” instincts actually develops before the cognitive section of our brain which enables our ability to think. This was an “A-Ha” moment for me as I could now better understand the origin of the basic concept of “not overthinking things” and just letting your body perform.

We all know many athletes rely on repetition and muscle memory to help achieve optimal performance (think endless practice of attempting free throws, fielding ground balls, swimming stroke technique).  Derek Jeter has said he used to try not to think about it, “let the moment come to him”, then rely on his instincts and reaction to take over. NFL quarterbacks can “see” the entire field and check off the various passing routes. We hear of their ability to seemingly “slow the play down” enabling then their athletic talent to execute. Emotion is kept out of the equation. The better players don’t seem to over think or overreact. As Yogi Berra used to ask, “How can you think and hit at the same time?” We can see what happens when this notion is tested – when football coaches try to “ice the kicker” by calling timeouts before a big field goal attempt to make the kicker have to think too much about the magnitude of the moment.

Dr. Diaz spoke to us the same night that Serena Williams was defeated in the semifinals of the US Open by Roberta Vinci. The number one seated and heavily favored Williams had a chance to win the elusive Calendar Grand Slam but was defeated by Vinci in what some called the greatest upset in women’s tennis history. Dr. Diaz described the progression of Williams’ body language and growing emotion that manifested itself in more and more unforced errors as the match went on. She began to talk to herself after points as the pressure of the moment mounted and the magnitude of the Grand Slam prospects seemed to be too much. Dr. Diaz concluded that Williams clearly beat herself, allowing emotion and self-doubt to outweigh and overtake far superior innate athletic abilities.

Dr. Diaz also offered up some great advice for parents of athletes, some of which is included in an article he has written on the subject which can be viewed here.

Earlier in the kids’ athletic careers, it is important to have fun with the sport. To enjoy it as a physical outlet with a social component. Yes it’s not always about winning. When the focus of the activity begins to be based on performance, things can become more complicated…and parents run the risk of exerting too much influence. Imposing their own dreams and experiences on the kids instead of allowing the kid to have their own – making their own mistakes, learning their own lessons, and taking responsibility for themselves and their performance. Dr. Diaz also cautions parents to act as parents, providing support and unconditional love NOT based on this performance.

Above all, parents should acknowledge that they are not the coach.  This confuses the kids and potentially causes distraction and poor performance. Dr. Diaz noted the squash players he works with who look back at their parents after every shot.   It is dis-functional.   He said this is one reason why parents are often asked not to attend practices so that the kids are not distracted or made unnecessarily self-conscious. Let the kids develop their own relationships with their own coaches.

Finally Dr. Diaz spoke about the dreaded “car ride home”. He said studies show that the car ride home from a game/meet or practice is the number one time of stress and anxiety for an athlete with their parents. Just as you or I would not like to talk about our bad day at the dinner table, so too would our kids rather not rehash and relive the errant play or bad swim – especially with their parents who are not their coaches and are supposed to be the kids’ biggest fans and advocates no matter how they performed.

The recurring theme: UNCONDITIONAL love and support…
 

Michael Conaton, Badger Swim Club Inc. and Badger Swimming Inc. accept no liability for the content of this article, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided.