There were two Badger Gold medalists on Day 1 of USA Swimming Phillips 66 National Championships in San Antonio, TX.
Congratulations to Badger Swimmers Zane Grothe and Lindsay Vrooman. They are both 2015 National Champions in the 400M freestyle. Zane won the men’s 400M with a time of 3:45.98, and Lindsay won the women’s 400M with a time of 4:07.88.
Congratulations to Ryan Feeley for winning the consolation final of the 400M with a time of 3:50.80.
Five more meets – dozens more Badger swims:
On the home front, don’t forget we have 7 swimmers headed to Zone Senior Champs, 7 more to Futures, 5 more to Nationals and 11 to Nationals.
The psych sheets came out for Juniors today, and we are seeded well (View psych sheets)…
Olympic Trials – (Alumni News)
Also, on the alumni front, Alex Gianino qualified for Olympic Trials yesterday. He went 1:02.78 in the 100BR.. not yards – LCM – yes. Holy Cow. Hopefully, another trial cut of many this summer. Best luck to all over the rest of the summer.
POST GRADS:
Some asked how to get notes of congratulations to Ryan and Lindsay or notes of good luck to Cody… Email them to me, and I will forward them: badgerswimclub@gmail.com
Lindsay Vrooman Wins Gold at the 2015 World University Games in Korea
Lindsay just returned from Gwangju, South Korea where she competed for the USA at the World University Games: (View Here.) Lindsay won the women’s 800M freestyle against some of the best competition in the world. She also took home silver in the 400M and 1500M freestyle. Next stop for Lindsay is US National Championships where she hopes to continue her winning streak.
Ryan Feeley takes home Silver at the 2015 PAN AMERICAN Games in Toronto
Ryan took home two silvers at the PAN AM games. Ryan placed second in the men’s 400M freestyle with a time of 3:49.60 (View here.) Ryan was also a member of the men’s 4x200M freestyle relay that placed second. Ryan is headed to San Antonio to the 2015 Phillips 66 National Championships as well.
Cody Miller is Headed to FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia
Cody is headed to Russia to compete for the USA at the 16th FINA World Championships: (View here.) The event begins on August 2, 2015, and Cody is going up against the best in the world in the 100M breaststroke. Cody is currently #3 in world rankings in the 100breast, and he hopes to go :58 at World Championships.
The Badger Men’s team just completed an impressive victory at the LCM Senior Metropolitan Championship. Scoring 749.5 points on the way to an impressive victory.
Richard Mannix took home gold medals in the 200 and 400 freestyle and a silver in the 1500. Richard is headed to Future Championships in North Carolina with the hopes of qualifying for Olympic Trials.
Brian Hogan won gold in the 400IM and the 1500M freestyle. Brian qualified for Olympic Trials earlier this month, and he is headed to San Antonio to compete at National Championships in August.
Patrick Conaton won the 200IM and the 200 backstroke. Patrick is headed to San Antonio for Nationals as well, and after winning Junior Nationals last summer, he looks to make a significant impact at Nationals next month.
The men also swept the relay events. They won the 4x200M, 4×100 medley, and the 4x100M relay events.
On the women’s side, the team was led by Anina Lund and Maria Oceguera.
Anina Lund won gold in the 200M free and the 800M free. Anina hopes to improve upon her 8th place finish in the 1500M at the 2014 National Championships.
Maria Oceguera placed won the 200M butterfly with a personal best of 2:16.74. Maria is headed to Junior National Championships in San Antonio next week with the hopes of qualifying for Olympic Trials.
The Summer isn’t over yet:
Seven Badgers are headed to Senior Zone Championships: http://www.easternzoneswimming.org/meet_info/2015_Senior_Zones_MeetAnnouncement.pdf
Seven more are headed to Future Championships: http://www.usaswimming.org/_Rainbow/Documents/ecbeda3f-5346-42ee-858a-eb093f04e761/Legends%20Meet%20Info%20v13.pdf
Five are headed to Junior National Championships: Anina Lund and Maria Oceguera will be joined by Jack Collins, Spencer Lafata and Oliver Patrouch at Juniors – http://www.usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=2146&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en
Eleven are headed to National Championships: http://www.usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=1418&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en
Stay tuned for more results…
A note from Badger Parent Advocate, Mike Conaton:
I was at a swim meet last spring and one morning after a particularly fast finals, the parents were all visiting with each other in the hotel lobby, enjoying their coffee and marveling at the American record they all witnessed the night before. Not to mention, by the way, that record breaking these days is so much more impressive after all the new standards were set during “the suit-era”. A very simple question was asked by one of the mothers – “how do these kids keep getting faster”? The conversations went on, acknowledging the “fast pool”, the very deep competition and the high stakes of the championship meet. “Yes but how??” she persisted, as the banter moved on to the next topic…and I moved on to the next cheese Danish.
I found myself thinking about answers to her question. I have written in the past about the mental aspect of swimming, which I truly believe in and try to read up on when I can. But it occurred to me there also has to be a more literal answer to the question. Clearly at the college level anyway, there has to be a physical aspect to the answer. I can’t believe how big and strong some of these guys are these days. But even that doesn’t explain it all as there are plenty of examples of fast swimmers with different gift sets.
So I’m sitting in the stands at this same meet, and I’m talking to one of the dads. Turns out, by total unbelievable coincidence, he has written a book entitled The Parents’ Guide to Swimming. Dr. Alan Arata wrote his book in 2003 while a Professor of Biology and Physical Education, at the University of Colorado. He was also a former Division I coach in both swimming and the modern pentathlon and earned his PhD in Biomechanics. Needless to say we had a lot to talk about.
I later enjoyed reading Dr. Arata’s book which, no surprise, has a very scientific and literal view of swimming. And while he covers a lot of topics, including the mental aspects (even using the same four minute mile story I’ve used!), Dr. Arata does a great job explaining the mechanics and kinetics of all four strokes, starts and turns. One of his messages resonated with me the most –
“Drag is the enemy of all swimmers in all strokes”.
The literal answer to the mother’s question at the meet is in the book, demonstrated in a derived mathematical equation:
(Swimming Speed)squared= Drag
I will spare you the details, but this simple equation was derived from a more complicated formula taking into consideration other variables including water density and the body’s surface area in the water.
Dr. Arata writes, “If swimming speed is one unit, drag is one unit. But when swimming speed is two units, then per the equation above, drag becomes not two, but four units! (Light bulb moment for me). If swimming speed goes to four units, drag increases to 16 units. The only way a swimmer can combat this exponential increase in drag is to lower their coefficient of drag (another variable of the longer equation).”
According to Dr. Arata, the only way a swimmer can reduce drag is to focus fanatically on stream lining and efficient stroke technique. By the way, with this formulaic explanation, you can also start to understand the profound effect “the suit-era” had on the record books as the new aged materials and body suits reduced said drag dramatically.
Dr. Arata concludes, “The next time you’re at a swim meet and think that a certain swimmer won a race because he or she was bigger and stronger than the rest of the field, think again. Someone who couldn’t produce as much force, but who produced less drag could easily have beaten that swimmer.”
We parents should know that the Badger coaches reinforce this message of stream lining and stroke efficiency all the time in practice. Understanding the reason and science behind the coaches’ messages may help us appreciate how the finer points can actually have a huge effect on our kids’ performance.
Lindsay Vrooman Wins Gold at the 2015 World University Games in Korea
Badger swimmer, Lindsay Vrooman, just returned from Gwangju, South Korea where she competed for the USA at the World University Games: http://www.gwangju2015.com/info/
Lindsay won the women’s 800M freestyle against some of the best competition in the world. She also took home silver in the 400M and 1500M freestyle.
Next stop for Lindsay is US National Championships where she hopes to continue her winning streak.
WATCH THE VIDEO!
Ryan Feeley takes home Silver at the 2015 PAN AMERICAN Games in Toronto
Badger’s Ryan Feeley took home two silvers at the PAN AM games. Ryan placed second in the men’s 400M freestyle with a time of 3:49.60 View results here.
Ryan was also a member of the men’s 4x200M freestyle relay that placed second.
Ryan is headed to San Antonio to the 2015 Phillips 66 National Championships as well.
Cody Miller is Headed to FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia
Badger’s Cody Miller is headed to Russia to compete for the USA at the 16th FINA World Championships: http://kazan2015.com/en
The event begins on August 2, 2015, and Cody is going up against the best in the world in the 100M breaststroke.
Cody is currently #3 in world rankings in the 100breast, and he hopes to go :58 at World Championships.
A note from Badger Parent Advocate, Mike Conaton:
I’m a sucker for nostalgia. I couldn’t help but get excited when I walked into the Montreal Olympic Pool last week. Many Badger parents made the trek north to watch the kids swim fast and win the team title at the 40th annual Coupe Quebec.
Built in the mid 70’s as a part of the main venue for the 1976 Olympics, the Olympic pool was just reopened in May of this year after an extensive renovation. The pool structure sits at the base of the landmark tall tower that crowns the adjacent indoor stadium that served as the main venue for the opening and closing ceremonies as well as track and field events (and later was the home of the Montreal Expos). The futuristic looking campus has aged remarkably well serving as a popular tourist destination and home to local sports teams and programs.
I have vivid memories of the 1976 Montreal Olympics as our local hero, Gary Hall Sr. made his third Olympic team after training with my club in Cincinnati. As kids we would often stop and watch him train, and sometimes he would come over to our lanes and actually coach us a bit as well. Gary was in medical school at the University of Cincinnati at the time, had married local swimmer Mary Keating, and was training to try to make his third Olympic team.
Gary attended Indiana University and swam for the legendary Doc Counsilman. He was a prolific collegiate champion and first represented the United States in the 1968 Olympics held in Mexico City where he won a silver medal in the 400 IM. Two years later he broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly. At the 1972 Olympics in Munich, he earned a silver medal in the 200 fly. His final Olympic appearance was at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, capping his Olympic career with a bronze medal in the 100 fly. At the end of the Montreal Olympics, his fellow American athletes from all sports disciplines, chose him to be the U.S. flagbearer in the closing ceremony.
I’ve been able to stay in loose touch with Gary and decided to give him a call last week as I was walking around the Olympic pool. And of course true to the swimming world in general, once teammates always teammates. As many know, after retiring as a successful ophthalmologist, Gary founded and still runs The Racing Club – a unique swimming training camp based in Islamorada, FL that tailors programs to each swimmers’ individual needs (www.theraceclub.com).
Gary has not been back to Montreal since the Olympics but has many fond memories. He was the elder statesman on the swimming team at the ripe old age of 25 (close to the average age these days!). He was honored to be named the co-captain of the team and relished the close comradery he shared with his fellow swimmers. In fact, when I asked Gary to offer some advice to the Badger swimmers today, he focused on this team aspect. “Never lose sight of helping your team. I know it’s an individual sport, but it helps swimmers swim faster when they know they’re not alone”, he told me. Indeed, the US men’s team dominated the ’76 Olympics winning 25 of the possible 33 individual medals, and winning the two relays on the program at the time. By the way, this notion of strength in numbers also supports why the Badger coaches think it’s a good idea for the Badger 14 and unders to train together with Brian, who is notorious for his team building.
Gary went on to describe his greatest memory of the Montreal Olympics which was his selection as the flag bearer at the closing ceremonies. He said it was made “extra special” and was such “an incredible sense of pride” because he was “honored by his teammates”. Gary walked with the flag from the Olympic Village a couple blocks away all the way to the stadium. He “trembled” as he walked into the dark tunnel with the light of day at the other end. The cheering became louder and louder as the US friendly crowd anticipated his entry. “The flag actually appeared out of the tunnel before I did”, said Gary, “and as I stepped on the track there was this thunderous roar that was bone chilling”. And out of all of the thousands of spectators, Gary was actually able to pick out his wife Mary who was sitting with their two year old son, Gary Jr. Gary said he will never forget seeing Gary Jr. in Mary’s arms, waving a small American flag and watching his father march in the Olympics.
Gary and Mary went on to be great parents to six kids who were also swimmers with various talents (including three time Olympian, Gary Jr.). At the end of our conversation, Gary was kind enough to share his thoughts on parenting swimmers. Very fortunately, and very coincidentally, Gary has just written an editorial on the subject that will appear soon in a certain national online blog. Gary was generous enough to share this with Badger parents in this week’s article attached. Thank you Gary.
Badger Swim Club brought a strong team to the 40th Coupe Québec, and at the end of four days they returned with first place honors. The team led the medal count with 27 – fifteen of which were gold.
The team started off the meet with high expectations; Brian Hogan had had just qualified for Olympic Trials at the Pro Series at Santa Clara so the team left for Canada hoping another Badger would make the Road to Rio team. On day one of the Coupe Québec, 16 year old Spencer Lafata rose to the challenge placing second in the 1500 freestyle and qualifying for Olympic Trials with a time of 15:48.77. That swim, along with a strong showing on day two inspired John to say, “the stuff of legends…” The team began to realize they were part of something special.
Badger’s Zane Grothe led the way with four golds in the 200FR (1:53.13), 400FR (3:58.89), 800FR (8:15.42), and the 1500FR (15:42.95). Zane was named the male athlete of the meet for his overall performance. Additionally, he was the high point scorer of the meet. Other Badger gold medal performances include Emily McClellan’s sweep of the breaststroke events. She won the 50BR (31.69), 100BR (1:10.35), and 200BR (2:33.33). She was the runner up for the female athlete of the meet. Derek Toomey won the 50FR (23.03) and 100FR (50.09). His 100 time of 49.68 in trials was the male swim of the meet. James Wells returned to action and won the 50BK (26.64) and 100BK (56.93) events. Patrick Conaton won the 200BK (2:03.09). It was an event that Badger swept. James Wells finished second, and Charles Barry finished third.
Badger’s speed and depth was noticeable, especially in the relay events. Badger men won gold and silver in the 800 freestyle relay. The team of Patrick Conaton, Spencer Lafata, Brian Hogan, and Zane Grothe won the event with a time of 7:46.74. Eric Culver, Jack Collins, Richard Mannix and Charles Barry placed second with a time of 7:53.28.
Badger men also won the 400 freestyle relay. Derek Toomey, Patrick Conaton, Oliver Patrouch and Zane Grothe combined to win the event with a time of 3:24.90.
The men closed out the meet by finishing first and third in the 400 medley relay. The team of James Wells, Oliver Patrouch, Derek Toomey, and Zane Grothe won the relay event with a time of 3:53.21. Patrick Conaton, Brian Hogan, Eric Culver, and Spencer Lafata combined to finish third with a time of 3:55.63.
Other notable performances include:
Zane’s silver in the 100FR (50.48) and bronze in the 50FLY (25.07)
Spencer’s bronze in the 400FR (4:02.37)
Brian’s bronze in the 800FR (8:22.02)
Patrick’s silver in the 100BK (57.26)
Eric’s silver in the 200FLY (2:03.55)
Charles’s silver in the 400IM (4:31.64) and bronze in the 200BK (2:06.88)
James’s silver in the 200BK (2:04.14)
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If there’s one American swimmer who has been absolutely on fire for the past nine months, it’s breaststroker Cody Miller.
The Indiana grad and Badger Swim Club pro has been USA Swimming’s most unbeatable breaststroker since his first national title win last August.
In that race, the underdog Miller got under a minute for the first time in his career, using a stellar back half to move from 4th to 1st, overcoming 50 breast American record-breaker Brendan McHugh and short course American record-holder Kevin Cordes.
A small but talented group of Badger swimmers headed to the Arena Pro Swim Series at Santa Clara this weekend. Ryan Feeley, Zane Grothe, Brian Hogan, Cody Miller and Lindsay Vrooman traveled to California to race the best in the world.
Cody had one of the head-turning swims of the meet. After qualifying first in the 100BR with 1:00.02, his gold medal and third best in the world swim of 59.51 was hailed as a needed swim for American breaststroke. While Cody was hoping to go 59.4, he was very happy with the swim. Though is was a personal best, Cody believes that he must go 58 soon to be relevant in the realm of breaststrokers today.
Video: “You really have to be 58 to be relevant…”
Cody’s 59.51 in the final of the men’s 100M BR can be seen here:
Badger’s Brian Hogan had another breakout swim at the meet. His 16th place swim of 15:48.06 in the 1500 freestyle was an Olympic Trial qualifying swim. He joins quite an elite group at Badger with that swim, and it sets the tone for a successful summer for us all.
Lindsay placed 5th in the 400, and new Badger, Zane Grothe placed 6th in the 800, 8th in the 400, and 9th in the 1500.
The team is headed to Montreal this week, where we expect to see more great swimming!
John Collins, and the Badger Swim Club Inc.’s Board of Directors, is pleased to announce the appointment of Brian Hansbury as the new coach of the Badger Age Group/ Junior team.
“He will energize our program”, says head coach Collins. “Brian has big time swimming in his background and 15 years of coaching experience at all levels. He has a genuine passion for the sport.”
Hansbury joins a Badger competitive staff led by John Collins, Metro Senior Coach of the Year 2014/15, Aaron Montgomery, Dominic Galimi, Alice Hansbury, and Claire O’Reilly.
He has been the head coach of Gael Aquatic Club in New Rochelle, since 2007, and is currently a member of Metropolitan Swimming’s Board of Directors.
Brian is a longtime Westchester resident who resides in White Plains with his wife Alice and son Jack.