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2011 NCSA SHORT COURSE JUNIOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPSfrom Coach Matt "CECE SIMPSON AND CHRIS WEBB SHOW" I love the beach........I love the water.......I love competition....I love the SILVER FINS!!!! It is an interesting transition as a coach to go from spending a week with our future WSF NATIONAL TEAM to our current NATIONAL TEAM. LAST WEEK, I could see the promising future in our athletes as I watch their swims and I see them in the "BIG SHOW" (Juniors-Seniors-Olympic Trials)......Angel and Brenna getting the job done at Sectionals for their very first time. The attitude and work ethic that is required to compete at the highest level in its early stages is so rewarding to witness. Amy, Courtney, Brad and Ryan are on the verge of greatness and on their way to figuring out their path. Hooking up with CeCe and Chris on the other side of the country, knowing their hopes and dreams of validating their hard work and dedication at a meet they call JUNIORS.....host to the fastest 18 and Under swimmers in the United States. Juniors, is a high-pressure-cooker of a meet that demands respect and best efforts. All athletes are the best of the best. CeCe and Chris arrived Sunday, a day ahead of me. Thank you, Michelle Webb, for getting our athletes here with no issues. I have our swimmers here well in advance when traveling to the east coast. (Every hour of time difference = one day. The meet started for them on Wednesday and acclimating is the key).
DAY ONE, TUESDAY
DAY TWO, WEDNESDAY
PRELIMS (200 FLY) CHRIS 1:50.00 TIED FOR 16TH *(SWIM-OFF REQUIRED) PREVIOUS BEST, 1:51.28
SWIM-OFF 1:49.82 ADVANCES TO "B" FINAL His first reaction was that he wished that he could just swim in the "C" final and let the other kid have the 16th slot......but further discussion brought out a story from the past. Turns out, the swim-off was against an athlete from a club called "OLY" a coach and a team that I have a history with. The last time I was at this meet with Julia Craddock and Alex Hier, this "OLY" team kicked our butts all meet long and had athletes that beat Alex....so it was time for revenge when Chris got matched up against him in this swim-off. Chris whooped this guy, and advanced to the "B" final. Well, that guy ended up scratching the event that evening, which I thought was strange, so today, I asked the OLY coach what made him scratch.....his reply, "the kid has 8 more swims this week and since only the A-B finalists score points, the kid saw no reason to swim?? That will never be the Silver Fin Attitude. I DONT LIKE THIS GUY BECAUSE HE HAS A HUGE TEAM AT JUNIORS AND I WANT THAT FOR OUR TEAM....ANY CHANCE I CAN GET TO BEAT HIM....I WANT IT His comment about 8 more swims for the week brings up a good point.....I figure Chris swam 10,000 yards today in covering his warm-up/warm down needs, his races 200 free, 400 IM twice, yesterdays 200 fly (three best times).........why do we keep our yardage up during taper......if we were to taper down to very little yardage we would not be able to handle the intensity of multiple swims in one day coupled with the need to have long effective warm downs and warm ups.
FINALS CHRIS 1:49.52 4TH PLACE "B" FINAL DAY THREE, THURSDAY 50 fly, 50 breast, 200 free, 400 IM, 400 free relay
PRELIMS
CECE 50 FLY - 26.79 - 130TH PLACE
CHRIS 200 FREE - 1:43.62 - (TOOK A 1:41.3 TO MAKE "D" FINAL) PREVIOUS BEST 1:42+
FINALS
SPLITS CHRIS SPENT 20 MINUTES IN THE WARM DOWN POOL AFTER PRELIM 400 IM AND AFTER FINAL 400 IM. THIS IS SO SMART, AND IT GIVES HIM THE BEST CHANCE OF PERFORMING AT OPTIMAL LEVELS TOMORROW AND SATURDAY. CECE WAS QUOTED TODAY "I WISH WE HAD A RELAY TEAM HERE".....ANGEL, TESS, AMY COURTNEY, MICHELLE, BRENNA....WHERE ARE YOU? DORSEY, TYLER, BRYCE, GRAYSON, SMOK, OCONNELL......I NEED YOUR HELP! THE ENERGY ON DECK DURING FINALS IS AMAZING....THE LOUDEST MEET I HAVE ATTENDED THIS YEAR...AND TEAMS ARE BEHIND THE LANES CHEERING ON THEIR TEAMMATES, IT IS VERY COOL, ESPECIALLY RELAYS. IF WE CAN GET 4 GUYS TO GO 45+ THEN WE CAN WIN A JUNIOR RELAY. IF WE HAVE 4 GIRLS THAT CAN SWIM 1:50-1:52 IN THE 200 FREE WE CAN WIN THE 800 FREE RELAY CHRIS DID NOT HAVE A GREAT 200 FREE BECAUSE HE MADE A COUPLE OF MISTAKES. THE NIGHT BEORE, HE DID NOT SWIM OUT ENOUGH AND HIS MENTAL APPROACH IN THE MORNING LACKED CONVICTION AND PREPARATION. HE WAS NOT FOCUSED AND LOOKED PAST THE 200 FREE AND WAS ONLY CONCERNED WITH THE 400 IM, NOT ACCEPTABLE. OH YEAH...DID I TELL YOU THIS IS A REALY FAST MEET? CHRIS AND CECE ARE BY FAR TWO OF OUR HARDEST WORKERS ON THE TEAM AND THIS MEET IS FILLED WITH CHRIS AND CECE'S......TYLER WOULD HAVE FAIRED WELL AT THIS MEET IF HE HAD JUST PREPARED ALL SEASON LONG. IF YOU ARE NOT IN THE PRACTICE POOL THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS AND YOU DO NOT SEE THE VALUE IN STAYING IN SHAPE DURING THE MONTH OF MARCH BY DOING SOME CROSS-TRAINING AND STAYING WET...........THE CHANCES OF YOU BEING AT A MEET LIKE THIS IN THE NEAR FUTURE IS SLIM TO NONE.....DO YOU WANT IT??????
DAY 4, FRIDAY Cece swam the 500 free and 100 fly today......a tough double. She posted a best time in the event by 1/2 second. Her previous best was 5:01 and she went 5:01. It took a 4:55 to make the top=32 cut-off. Her 100 fly need to be under :56 if we were to have a shot at a second swim and she went a 56.9, which is slightly slower than her previous best of 56.32. CeCe has swum 4 best times and is done for the meet. NO, she has decided o re-swim the 100 fly in a time trial tomorrow in hopes of going 5 for 5. Chris swam the 500 free, as well, and posted a prelim time of 4:32, which was good enough to place him as top seed in the "C" final. Finals swim for Chris was AMAZING, as he won the "C" final in a great battle and posted a life-time-best 4:28.1. Over-all this time would have placed him 10th. Our athletes have done an incredible job this week representing the SILVER FINS and I am very proud of their performances. Both have had an off swim and they did not let it take hold. Chris will swim the 200 IM and the 1650 tomorrow, his toughest day, by far. The full moon will work to their advantage and I expect to be bragging about their efforts one more time. I will be back on deck this Monday and I expect to see everyone ready to go. I have a lot to share with the TEAM.
DAY 5, SATURDAY The toughest day of any meet.........athletes are fairly beat-up from the rigorous week of fast swimming and mentally, the ability to stay focused is very challenging. The first event of the morning was 200 IM and the projected time of 1:51 low would make the men's "D" final or the top-32 cutoff. Chris Webb swam a 1:53.61 (his best was 1:52.87) and qualified for the "D" final or 30th. It was obvious that athletes were struggling to swim fast......1:53.81 made it back and it should have been much faster. It was lucky to get second swim even though we added. CeCe swam a 100 fly time trial and went 56.80, slightly faster than her 56.96 the day before but not her best (56.32). She swam a much smarter race and came home in a 29.3 rather than the 30.03 in her individual swim. We worked on turns prior to her swim and this was a huge improvement in her swim. CeCe realizes that this coming season, lazy turns in practice will NOT allow her to compete at the National level. Coach made a huge mistake on Friday night....after Chris's amazing finals' 500 free (5:28) I was contacted by the meet ref and they wanted to know why I had NOT checked-in my athlete for the 1650? (to be swum on Sat.) I completely forgot! The penalty would have been NO SWIM, but thankfully, they placed Chris in heat one, rather than a faster heat designated by his entry time. I NEVER FELT LUCKIER and I believe it allowed Chris to have the great results that transpired. Best time for Chris in the mile was 15:42 and he posted a sweet 15:29, which was good enough to place him, 10th over-all. He swam the 200 IM finals a couple hours later and went a 1:51.61, 2nd place "D" final, but fast enough to have been tied for 16th place over-all if he had been in a later finals heat. Had I checked him in for the mile, he would have had to swim his mile very close to his 200 IM final. Because I failed to check him in, it actually gave him more appropriate rest between the two swims and he surely took advantage. This mistake could have gone the other way for Chris, mentally, but as tough as he is.......HE MADE THE BEST OF CRAPPY SITUATION. Chris and CeCe stayed in Orlando an extra day and went to Epcot or Universal Studios or Disney World.....a much deserved day of fun. The success story for these two is no surprise........by far, Chris and CeCe are two of our hardest and most consistent workout swimmers on this TEAM. They have both been willing to train at an INTENSITY level far greater than most and with that type of attitude and daily commitment, SUCCESS IS IMMINENT! These two athletes had a GREAT meet, our age group swimmers did an AMAZING JOB at State, the RIO Pentathlon was a success, our Senior athletes knocked it out of the park at State and our 8 & unders have their challenge this coming weekend in Anthem. THE SILVER FINS HAVE HAD AN INCREDIBLE MONTH OF MARCH. It has been MARCH MADNESS!!! |
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