Oswego State Swimming

HourofPower2010

2010-11-26T22:01:00.005-05:00

Always my favorite practice of the year!
5th annual Ted Mullin "Leave It In the Pool" Hour Of Power Relay for Sarcoma Cancer Research

snapshot...9/20-11/20

2010-11-26T21:48:00.002-05:00

2 months in...quick review
did a lot of house cleaning, always trash to take out, nothing better than a clean, tidy home.
alumni- always fun, some pretty impressive swims on both sides.
green and gold - impressed with how evenly i put the teams together,came down to last relay.
rit- good swims, women won, men lost
oneonta - not our best meet, lost both...shouldn't have - we will learn a lot from that
clarkson- first home meet, great swims, both won
brockport - both won, swam well, making nice improvements

how i spent my summer vacation

2010-07-18T22:33:00.002-04:00

work...work...house projects...work...swim camp...work...swim camp...work...swim camp...work...vacation...work
nothing better than being busy.
I hope everyone else is working hard to make our team great. It is going to be a fantastic year!

Academic priority

2010-07-06T12:04:00.002-04:00

Congratulations to the following members who qualified for the commissioners list and the SUNYAC All-Academic Team. Let's keep it up and add to the list next year!

Commissioners list: Nicholas Dupree, Patrick Quast,Nicole Dean, Leah Matthews, Marianne Munson, Delia Reed, Kelly Williams

SUNYAC All-Academic Team:Andrew Ayers, Calvin Cheung, Joseph Ciuffo, Nicholas Dupree, Joshua Galusha, Craig Mazuchowski, Nicholas Pike, Patrick Quast, Chelsea Colton, Nicole Dean, Keriann Earl, Eileen McMahon, Leah Matthews, Jacqueline Michalski, Marianne Munson, Delia Reed, Spencer Saraf, Kellie Schieber, Jennifer VanEtten, Kelly Williams

CONGRATULATIONS to the Women's team for again being an NCAA Academic All American squad!!!!!!

CONGRATS to Eileen McMahon for being an individual NCAA Academic All-American!!!

how the quiet days go by

2010-06-15T14:04:00.002-04:00

Now that school is over, it is so peacefully quiet around here, not that I do not enjoy the "noise" during the school year.
I have had the opportunity to study...reading, videos, podcasts, conferences... trying to utilize all of the opportunities out there. I am going to have to work on my biggest problem of knowing where to draw the line and stop. The brain needs the opportunity to relax I guess.
Anyway, we are ever preparing for next season and are excited for the experiences to come.
"we can never step into the same river twice" ~Heracllitus

Congrats!

2010-05-07T18:02:00.001-04:00

Congratulations to Jenny VanEtten and Eileen McMahon for being named Oswego State Co-Outstanding Female Athletes!

Hour of Power 2009

2009-11-11T11:44:00.003-05:00

This was our second Ted Mullin "Leave it in the Pool" Hour of Power Relay for Cancer Research. We had a lot of fun and this was by far our best day of the year! I am already looking forward to next year.

Clarkson Meet

2009-11-11T11:41:00.002-05:00

Our meet with Clarkson on November 7th was cancelled due to uncontrollable circumstances. We had practice instead! And believe it or not the kids were actually happy to be having practice.

Oneonta Meet and Halloween Practice

2009-11-11T11:36:00.004-05:00

Since we had a meet on Halloween, we held our annual Halloween practice on Friday. The pumpkin carving contest was a close call and there were plenty of creative creations. I hoped that they did not eat too much candy since we had Oneonta the next day.
Oneonta came into our pool and swam very well, I think we were a little flat, but we managed wins on both sides. It was basically our 3rd meet in about a week. I am glad we do not have any other weeks like that!

RIT meet

2009-11-11T11:33:00.002-05:00

Our next meet was on Wednesday October 28th against RIT. We had some good swims but we were definitely hurting a bit from the AM. The women were victorious as the men were defeated.

Leaf Raking

2009-11-11T11:19:00.002-05:00

On Sunday October 27th we participated in Leaf Raking (community service helping out the elderly). We had a few groups out there working hard. We also happened to help out at the house of former Women's swim coach Grace (Mowatt) which was a lot of fun. She shared some good stories! Thanks to everyone for helping out it is well appreciated.

LeMoyne Meet

2009-11-11T11:14:00.000-05:00

Our first meet of the year was against LeMoyne on October 24th. It turned out to be a great meet on both sides. The Men's meet cam down to the last relay, which we ended up winning by .07 seconds to win the meet by 1 point! The Women also won to get our year started off on a good note.

5K fundraiser walk for the United Way

2009-11-11T11:09:00.002-05:00

On Saturday October 17th a large portion of our team participated in a fundraiser, which was a 5K walk for the United Way. It was tough but I managed to finish. It was a beautiful Fall day to take a walk around campus and it was for a good cause. Shame on Brandon for winning a basket full of candy and not sharing any with his coach! He will likely pay for it later.

Alumni

2009-11-11T10:10:00.002-05:00

We had our alumni meet on October 10th, it is always good to see the slightly older people fit into their suits and throw down some impressive swims. I certainly enjoyed seeing old teammate Rob Hathaway hold his own against the kids. Most notable swim was what must be a new American Record in the 50 breast at 10.63 (well, there may have been some timing system manipulation there....who knows!) Anyway it was a good time on both ends of the event. It was also a good time to learn that I needed a new starter. Good to see everyone and we look forward to next year!

Have I got nothing left to say?...Now I remember all the words

2009-10-07T08:00:00.002-04:00

Long hiatus.
We're back in business.
A week and a half in - we stand at 24 women, 34 men.
We finished off a little stroke camp and moving into the good stuff.
Last weekend girls did a team builder - rock climbing!, the guys did paintball.
Alumni this weekend- 1pm!!!
We are busy, busy, busy, lots of great stuff coming up

2009 Hour of Power

2009-08-19T15:14:00.000-04:00

Hour of Power flyer
We had a great time taking part in the 2008 Hour of Power and will be participating this year on November 10th!

Getting back into the swing of things

2009-07-11T14:25:00.002-04:00

One week of working Hamilton College swim camp down, two more to go! Being back in the pool coaching has obviously gotten me energized to start our season. It has also reminded me that I should remind you to make sure you are staying in shape. Start setting some goals for yourself, we are going to need everyone to be excited and motivated next season. It's always good to be an underdog, as long as you have a little fight in you. When I think about what you accomplished last season, I get goosebumps thinking about the possibilities ahead of us. Keep in touch!

Why reinvent the wheel

2009-06-04T15:42:00.004-04:00

Instead of getting into writing on the whole suit disaster, check out some of these links.

http://www.fina.org/project/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2389&Itemid=9

http://scaq.blogspot.com/2009/05/usa-today-fina-to-announce-approved.html

http://swimviking.blogspot.com/2009/05/finas-list-is-on-my-list-if-you-know.html

http://www.blueseventy.com/news/story/blueseventy_addresses_finas_suit_approvals

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/athletesfirst/

http://www.collegeswimming.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3972

and she says it's natural

2009-06-03T13:34:00.003-04:00

Good job with grades!
Women - 3.31 gpa
Men - 2.99 gpa
Women will be an academic All-American team, and the guys missed by .01 (next time...)
Marianne Munson and Paul MacMahon both got 4.0! congrats!

Video from Nationals

2009-04-13T18:13:00.001-04:00

Video from Nationals

Thanks John!

a good part time gig

2009-04-02T12:57:00.001-04:00

click here if you dare

Nationals

2009-03-23T17:04:00.004-04:00

We just got back from Nationals in Minneapolis! It was an awesome week for us!
Congratulations to Jenny VanEtten, Shawn Merlin, and Eric Messina - they represented us well with great performances and brought home 6 All-American Awards.
Jenny started things off for us with a school record performance in the 200 IM with a 2:08.77.
Things only got better from there.
In the 100 breast, Jenny came in with a best individual time of 1:07.17, and was seeded somewhere around 32nd. We were hoping for at least a best time, she shocked us all with a 3 second drop, clocking in at 1:04.16 and grabbing a spot in (top 8) Finals and her first All-American award! The swim was also a new conference record by almost 2 seconds.
In the 200 breast, the event that she qualified in for the National meet, she was seeded 10th. Jenny swam to a new school and conference record in the prelims, qualifying 8th to make Finals. In Finals she again lowered the school and conference record with a 2:20.29, finishing in 7th place for her second All-American performance.
For the Men, both Shawn and Eric qualified for the meet in Diving.
The first Diving event was 1 meter. Shawn finished in 7th place to earn his first All-American award of the meet. Eric just missed out on the top 8 and finished in 9th for an Honorable Mention All American award. Not that I know a lot about diving but they both looked great, and I am pretty good at guessing scores now.
The second diving event was 3 meter. Shawn finished this event in 5th place for his second All American honor, while Eric once again narrowly missed out on top 8 (by less than 2 points) and finished in 9th and picked up his second Honorable Mention All American award. On a sidenote after the first dive on both boards Eric was in first place, that will be his claim to fame until next year, when he moves up the ranks.

Highest Achievement - 2 years in a row

2009-03-13T15:19:00.003-04:00

For the second year in a row Oswego State Swimming has a team member selected as a Chancellor's Award winner. Congratulations to Paul MacMahon for being recognized this year. The Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence is the highest honor bestowed upon a student by the State University of New York. Last year Joe Turk was a recipient of the award.
The Women's team was once again recognized as an Academic All-American Team for the Fall 2008 semester. The College Swim Coaches Association now recognizes this each semester for team's with over a 3.0 gpa. Last year both the Men and Women were Academic All-American teams for the year.

Congrats!

2009-03-04T14:30:00.002-05:00

So like I said earlier, we had a very good championship meet! 13 new school records! A bunch of National B cuts. Congrats to Jenny VanEtten for making it to the National Meet. Jenny attended the last chance meet at NYU where she broke 3 records with one swim - in the 200 breast she broke her own 100 breast record (106.81) and her own 200 breast record (221.28) as well as the conference record. We are still waiting to find out if our divers will make it in.

SUNYAC's

2009-02-25T19:22:00.002-05:00

Oswego State Swimming and Diving had an AWESOME championship meet. I am amazed at how we can pull it together sometimes. I will write some more later on some specifics - but results can be found here
Write up on us here

Team Awesome

2009-02-09T10:21:00.002-05:00

Congratulations Team Awesome! You guys did a great job on Saturday! That was a lot to do in two hours and I think you handled the situation...well...awesomely. I am proud of how you banded together to make your day a special one. It meant a lot.

THANK YOU PARENTS!!!!

2009-02-06T09:31:00.003-05:00

I want to thank the Oswego State Swimming and Diving Parents for the goody bags that were put together for the swimmers and divers. It was such a nice thing for them and it is all greatly appreciated. I gave them out this morning as part of our xmas time theme. We decorated the pool with a tree and some lights. They were just like kids at xmas, sitting on the floor tearing through their bags! Anyway, they were thankful and I wanted to put our gratitude out there. We tried to videotape, but with the lights out it was hard to see anything. Thank you again and we look forward to seeing everyone soon!

well, whats attached to a leash that it made itself...let me know when you figure it out.

2009-01-28T09:14:00.002-05:00

I find myself apologizing again for not putting anything up in quite awhile. So we have been to Florida and back. We had a great training trip- perfect weather, great hotel. We have had 3 very good meets against Cortland, Potsdam, and Buffalo State. The Women are undefeated so far. we will finish our dual meet season this weekend against Geneseo (of course). In 2 weeks we leave for SUNYAC's

being part of a team

2008-12-17T18:30:00.001-05:00

WATCH

just some stuff to check out

2008-12-17T17:17:00.001-05:00

This still cracks me up everytime
just seems like a tuesday for craigles

Need a little help with technique - Some good stuff to view

Need wall work (Alycia) - seems simple enough

trying to get in?

2008-12-17T17:04:00.002-05:00

It is only going to keep getting harder.
have a look

Remember...Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape!

2008-12-13T17:33:00.001-05:00

Guidelines for Getting Along
1. Confirm for yourself that you want to get along
with others.
2. Be honest with yourself and others.
3. Keep promises and be loyal.
4. Be accountable for your behavior.
5. Be fair and care about yourself and others.
6. Be appreciative of others and let them know.
7. Remember the good in people and forget the bad.
8. Remember that you can’t change people. You can
only live a good example that they will see and
perhaps want to follow in their life.

xmas practice, the great swimsuit dilemma 2008 version

2008-12-13T16:46:00.006-05:00

Thanks to Jimmy, Marley, Allison, and Paul for doing a great job decorating the pool, I wish I got better pictures! I hope everyone enjoyed our Christmas practice (thanks Mark, Anne, and Meredith for running the show- I greatly appreciate it!). I thought it was fun to watch.
It is Finals time so normally things would be quiet, but I would like to thank the NCAA (and FINA) for screwing everything up. As it turns out, Fredonia was the last meet that we wear 2 suits at- it was a tradition and training aspect that I will miss...thank you to everyone who has to find ways to take greater advantage of something that is already ridiculous (yes, I understand, the tech suits are legal, blah, blah, blah- whatever). Anyway, I forgot to mention the Fredonia Invite. I think we swam well overall. We competed as best we could against rested and fast skinned teams.

a new school record and some pool records

2008-12-01T09:42:00.002-05:00

On November 15th we swam MCC. Both teams came away with victories, the men survived a tough test against a team with some top level talent and the women put up some good swims even though it was not a close meet. We were happy to see some lifetime bests at this meet! Results
On Friday November 21st we swam at Brockport and again both teams were victorious. The women improved to 6-0 and the men moved to 4-2. Even I was a little surprised at how well we swam. I always expect us to do our best, but this meet turned out to be a great one for us. Besides a number of individual in season bests, we set two Brockport pool records; Jenny VanEtten in the 100 Breaststroke (109.14), and Nicole Dean in the 200 Free (1:56.92) which was also a new school record!!! Not bad for wearing two suits to race and having a tough morning practice. Results
Next up is the Fredonia Invite December 5th-7th.

Clarkson meet and community service

2008-11-12T10:09:00.003-05:00

Thanks to everyone who volunteered this past sunday for either leaf raking or timing for the club meet. You all did a great job with your respective efforts and it is appreciated.
Both teams picked up victories against Clarkson this past weekend. Some solid swims all around. Congrats!! Results

Tailgate Parties, Thank You Parents!

2008-11-11T09:06:00.010-05:00

I just wanted to take a moment to thank all the parents for all of their efforts and all of the great food they make for our tailgate parties after our home meets. We all appreciate it greatly and it adds that much more to the atmosphere and community we desire to have.

"Leave it in the Pool"

2008-11-06T19:52:00.006-05:00

We just finished the 3rd annual Ted Mullin "Leave it in the Pool" Hour of Power Relay. It was a great experience for a great cause. I was very happy with how the team got into it, they put forth a great effort, great enthusiasm, and I believe everyone really enjoyed themselves. I think feeling the spirit of over 5600 other swimmers from around the country (and world) participating in the same event helped bring out the best in everyone. Cancer Sucks!!

Oswego is (still) beautiful

2008-11-05T09:56:00.003-05:00

I know this picture has appeared on this blog before. Being able to sit down by the lake and watch the sunset is one of the more relaxing things to have the opportunity to do, and it just never gets old.

Oneonta & the Dan Clark experience

2008-11-05T09:14:00.003-05:00

We swam at Oneonta last weekend. long trip. long meet. It went well though, the men and women both won easily and swam fairly well. Congratulations to Leah Matthews on setting a pool record in the 100 breast. The men have two tough meets coming up against Clarkson and MCC, the women should not have a tough go of it and it will give us a chance to mix up what we swim.
A few weeks ago we had the opportunity (along with the entire athletic department) to attend a motivational talk with Dan Clark. Honestly, I am often skeptical of going to these things, thinking they are going to be a little to hokey or cookie cutter type talks. From the first word I was captivated, and as I looked around the packed house, so was everyone else. He really is a pretty amazing individual and I couldn't even begin to document why. I left that night feeling great and feeling motivated. My only dissapointment was that not everyone on our team could make it. If you ever get the chance to see him speak, take it, you will not be disappointed.

Whatever is good to know is difficult to learn.

2008-10-31T14:44:00.002-04:00

I wanted to congratulate everyone on last years team for our academic accomplishments. Both the Women's and the Men's teams were named Academic All-American teams last season. Great Job! Additionally both Kevin Morgan and Chris Dotson were named individual Academic All-Americans! The women were one of four SUNYAC schools to make the list and the men were the only SUNYAC school to make the list. This was one of our major goals, keep up the great work in the classroom.

The Hour of Power and a little donation of our precious time

2008-10-31T14:32:00.002-04:00

November 6th at 5 pm we will be participating with over 87 other swim teams from around the country in the 3rd annual Ted Mullin "Leave it in the Pool" Hour of Power Relay for Sarcoma Cancer Research. We are excited to be a part of this event and it will be a great chance for us to be together, work hard, and raise team spirit. For more info on this event click here.
On November 9th part of our team will be taking part in the Leaf Raking Project, we will be going around town and cleaning up the yards of those people in need of some help (i.e. the elderly). The rest of our team will be volunteering as timers for the Oswego Laker Swim Club's Fall meet. Busy, busy, busy- doing good of course (and working hard)!

First two meets are in the books (plus the old relay meet)

2008-10-30T20:09:00.003-04:00

Our first two real meets have come and gone. They both went really well and I am happy with how things are looking. We have put a lot of work into making changes and we have been working hard.
Our first meet was against LeMoyne, last year their women beat up on us pretty bad, so I was surprised when we came out and beat them this year. The men lost to a talented LeMoyne team, but swam very well. We definitely had some impressive swim for a first meet.
Our next meet was at the Cortland relays, but that was really just a practice, so enough said.
This past Tuesday we swam at RIT and both teams again swam really well, with the women defeating RIT and the men losing another hard fought battle.
Regardless of the outcomes, this team is looking good, and swimming well. You can get the full results and highlights from our teams webpage. This weekend we travel to Oneonta!

The Great Coupon Incident of 2008!

2008-10-30T19:33:00.005-04:00

Soooo... on a warm summer's eve, Little Tessie Greenfield finds herself working at a decrepit old Friendly's restaurant in the black heart of Syracuse, NY. Now I am going to be honest, the details from here on out may or may not be accurate (I mean honestly, it is all a little hazy). We all know how Tessie loves to hoard Friendly's coupons, and then deal them in the back alleys late at night. For many weeks she was living large off the windfall. A good thing can only last so long and as it goes, all criminals will eventually make a mistake (i.e. leave a fingerprint, a strand of hair, leave behind their Friendly's fanny pack stuffed full of illegal Friendly's coupons). Little Tessie was no different. On that fateful night, when she finally did slip up and left her bounty of coupons behind, she rushed back to Friendly's to retrieve them. Tessie then rushed back home laughing to herself, thinking she had just gotten away with her perfect little crime. The next day as she strolled into work, thinking nothing of her past indiscretions, as she walked past the cooler full of watermelon and orange creme rolls - security whisked her away to the managers office. Apparently someone had looked inside her fanny pack and noticed her stash of coupons. In the cutthroat world of waitressing, her coworker did not hesitate to turn her in for their own gain. Her boss, Mr. Fribble, was not happy and immediately fired Tessie and black balled her from every Friendly's restaurant this side of the Mississippi. As Tessie cried herself to sleep that night she was determined to not go out like that. First thing in the morning, Tessie called her defense lawyer (her mother- and as all of Fredonia knows, you do NOT mess with her). Mrs. Greenfield esq. was quick to call Mr. Fribble and give him a piece of her mind, he never knew what hit him. The next day, Friendly's called Tessie and begged her to come back to the restaurant, the Happy Endings (sundaes) were just not the same without her there, the restaurant could not survive without her waitressing skills. Well, 'ol Hoss was having none of that. She still had a little dignity left, so she stuffed it in her fanny pack and moved on to greener pastures, and by greener pastures I mean you can now find her at IHOP. I love ya Tessie!!!

It's been way too long - I've never been that good with words anyway

2008-10-14T09:37:00.002-04:00

I apologize for not getting on here sooner, it has been a busy and hectic beginning to the year. Things are going well though. We are starting to look good in the water and recruiting is going well. I certainly look forward to this season and to the future!
Since I last really wrote on here I have been to 3 great shows and my wife and I just bought our first house. I got to see the Old 97's in NYC, Lucero in Providence, and a special live tv taping concert of the Hold Steady in NYC. All ridiculously awesome shows. Now though its all swimming, all the time.
Last weekend was both our Black/Green intersquad meet and our alumni meet. Thank you to all the alumni and parents who made it this year, and especially to the parents for all the great food! It was also great to have some of my old teammates there this year!
I am going to make my best attempts at keeping this up to date with meet highlights, etc. throughout the season.
Best Regards.

One week!

2008-09-15T12:50:00.004-04:00

Our season will be kicking off in one week. I want to remind you of some things we should be doing, and of some things that we will need to get done early this season.

When it comes to the voluntary training you are doing, keep it to the basics. General aerobic conditioning is great, work on getting to know your heart rates, etc.. Strength training is fine as long as you are focusing on core strength, and general endurance strength (i.e. we are not bodybuilders, we are athletes, we need functional strength, not bulky tight muscles). Take care of your tendons and joints, they are an important part of early season strength training. Flexibility is extremely important - do not take this for granted!

We have a lot of things we need to do early on. Most importantly, while we focus on all of the little things and technique, you need to grasp the concepts and make them habits. We want to maximize your potential which starts with great fundamental abilities. We want to take advantage of videotaping underwater, we can learn a lot from this, especially early on to correct any glaring deficiencies; to do this we are going to need to be on the ball and focused, you will need to be able to use this info to make yourself better.

We all need to be on the same page, our goal is to be the best we possibly can be, to work as hard as we can to that end. Everyone must be better than they have been. It is exciting to have that opportunity and I hope you are looking forward to it as much as I am. See you all in a week. Good Luck!

Finish Strong

2008-08-25T13:42:00.001-04:00

Check out the latest inspirational clip from Simple Truths

These clever kids are killing me...

2008-08-19T13:55:00.002-04:00

with their slick innuendos and their not so slick pics. So if you understand the inference, and you understand the big picture, then it will all be taken care of, and we will be off to a great start shortly!
I know I am probably overdoing the reminders, but I want to make sure everyone is aware of what is going on, The first few weeks can get overwhelming.

August 30th - according to captains, will be a team gathering, a get to know if you will - if you are unsure of the specifics contact one of them.
September 3rd - tentatively the date for our first team meeting, place TBA
September 15th - physicals for last names A-L
September 16th - physicals for last names M-Z
September 16th - compliance meeting (mandatory) 6:30 pm @ campus center 237
September 20th - 10Kan run (see my previous post)
September 22nd - 1st official practice
September 27th - tentative date for team trip
October 11th - Black & Green Meet & Alumni Meet

That is as far as I will go for now.

Before You Know It!

2008-08-18T15:34:00.003-04:00

It is about that time of year again, school starts in just over a week. I know...hard to believe the summer is almost over. I hope everyone has had an enjoyable break, and will get the opportunity to take advantage of the remaining days!
For anyone interested, on September 20th, the 10kan run will be taking place in Oswego, the entry fee is 200 recyclable cans. I think this is something you should participate in if able - if only to give you a little motivation to work out and also help out the community.
We have a lot going on right out of the gate, so make sure you are informed. I look forward to seeing everyone soon!

First (official) day of practice and words of wisdom from Mike Ness

2008-07-29T16:38:00.003-04:00

So...the big day is...September 22nd! Some friendly advice- be prepared!!! A few more reminders; Physicals will be September 15th (last names A-L) and September 16th (M-Z), and we are tentatively planning our first team meeting for September 3rd at 830 pm (site TBD).

I have got two fun weekends coming up (yeah for me!): This weekend I will be (hopefully) seeing the Old 97's at Webster Hall in the city, and next weekend I will be in Providence and get to see Lucero. I am pretty psyched, two of my favorite bands, in a few years I will probably be too old for that stuff.

For those of you who are not prepared, our friends from (another great band) Social Distortion would like to leave you with these words:
"So I'm pulling out the weeds, i'm taking stock
you can talk the talk, but cant walk the walk
Your narcissistic ways have gotten the best of you.
So I'm leaving you to sink, in all your glory
For you and me it's the end of the story.
Get out of my way, I've got better things to do...
I'm leaving you far behind.
I'm leaving you far behind.
Stop wasting all of my time.
I'm leaving you far behind."

Enter the Bubble

2008-07-22T18:05:00.004-04:00

I guess it is time for me to start worrying about everyones health, as in a span of a few hours I find out Jimmy split his head open and Kendrick broke his leg. I of course wish a speedy recovery to both. The rest of you...put yourself in a bubble or something!

Trials and Tribulations

2008-07-07T12:14:00.002-04:00

I hope you all had time from your busy lives to watch some Olympic Trials. I guess impressive may be an understatement. I could obviously go on and on about it, but I will just touch on a few things. Everyone has great technique and everyone has a great kick...hint hint. I was happy to see Matt Grevers make it in the 100 back (I used to see him swim as a high school kid in Illinois) and I was equally disappointed for Randall Bal not making it (I just like him as a swimmer). What can you say about Dara Torres, kind of ridiculous. Hopefully the Trials and upcoming Olympics will give you inspiration and motivation going into the 2008-2009 season.
I am currently at Hamilton College working swim camp (2 weeks to go)! The past 8 years I have had to run early morning masters swimming, early morning club practice, early morning swim camp practice, be aquatics director, run night club practice, prepare and run our two big club summer meets, and work swim camp all at the same time. This year it is just swim camp, and I can not even explain how nice that is.
Not to beat a dead horse, but I hope everyone is working hard to help us be a great team in the future. It is easy to get caught up in life, make time to work out and swimming would be great! We have to be blue collar, we have to develop and earn our talents and success. It will never be handed to us. Do your part!

Nutrition

2008-06-19T15:03:00.002-04:00

While I was at the CSCAA conference last month, I had the opportunity to listen to a talk given by Dr. Barry Sears, who established the Zone lifestyle solution. As nutrition and lifestyle are obviously important to everybody and plays a big part in athletic success, I have always read and researched on the subject. I think anyone who is serious about their present and future health and those interested in allowing their bodies to be able to achieve peak performance athletically should take some time to read up on the Zone and anti-inflammatory lifestyle. I have not come across anything that really makes more sense than this. But you should look into it and make your own judgements.

Life goes by

2008-06-09T15:36:00.002-04:00

Because I have been getting a lot of questions about this, here it goes.
As many of you know (and apparently some of you did not), I got married Saturday. We had a small, simple wedding. We got married in Hamilton, NY, off of a nature trail in a small field (no we are not dirty hippies). It was nice and just what we wanted.
Erica and I have known each other for 18 years. We first dated for a few years when we were 16. Although we went our seperate ways for quite a long time, we always remained in contact in some form or another. Now we are married, and that about covers it. It just goes to show that you never know...

The Art of War

2008-06-03T13:46:00.004-04:00

“The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.”

~Sun Tzu

I am feeling millitaristic today. Athletics has always been an easy association with war- victory, defeat, strategy, discipline, training, etc. (although holistically I do not think that is what the core of participation is all about, it is a part of the competitive environment).
So, are we ready to receive the enemy? What are you doing to prepare yourself for what awaits us?
If today's preparation determines tomorrow's achievements, and each of our achievements is directly linked to the efforts of the person right in front of and right behind us in the ranks; are we going to experience success? Are our failures going to be from a lack of trying?

Hour of Power, Good Will, Patches' Dilemma, and the Lawrence Arms

2008-05-29T17:31:00.005-04:00

Next season on November 6th, we are going to take part in the 3rd Annual Ted Mullin Hour of Power Relay. Take a look at the information and note that we will do this as a fundraiser for Sarcoma Cancer Research. This reminds me that we also were going to take part in the Realy For Life- which I put Leah, Marianne, and the PP4 in charge of (Let me know what is going on with that). I know, you have been barraged with things that involve money recently. We will do what we can. I certainly do not want to force the philanthropy on you, I understand without thought, creativity and effort we are limited to going to the same well repeatedly for finances. Thankfully, you are a bright, talented, and creative group of kids who will come up with some good ideas.
That brings me to our friend Patches, who has so much time to be on the computer complaining about finances, that he could have another job or two! Just kidding Pat, but seriously...get another job.
I leave you with this line from the Lawrence Arms which is resonating with me, if you don't get it now, someday you probably will.
There's a park in this city where I used to go,
but now it's covered with fences and cops and lightposts.
And I'd never go back if anything was the same,
but it kills me to know that it's changed.

My weekend in Tucson, Arizona

2008-05-27T12:03:00.006-04:00

I have done quite a bit of traveling, up and down, across and around this country. Although, I have been through Tucson before, this past weekend was the first time I have spent a few days there. Tucson is really cool (and really hot). I spent the weekend there for the College Swimming Coaches conference.
As far as swimming goes, I picked up some things we will definitely be using in the future, and I am excited for that.
Outside of the conference, I managed to pack a lot of things into the few days I was there.
Thursday night I drove through the desert mountains on Gates Pass road which is a nice scenic drive. From there I saw stadium lights, so I drove toward them, and ended up at an Arizona-Arizona State baseball game, which was a lot of fun.
Friday I spent some time looking around Tucson, it is nice- no tall buildings, no big lights, very friendly, and it has a much laid back feel to it. I also went to the Tucson Museum of Art, being an Art major, I of course enjoyed that.
Saturday was a little dicey. I decided to go hiking in Rabino Canyon. It was absolutely beautiful, but what I meant to be a short, hour or two hike, turned into a five hour adventure. I saw plenty of lizards, snakes, and great views (no mountain lions though- when I got to the park, they gave a sheet of paper warning of mountain lion attacks and how to protect yourself if being attacked- that was a little scary). To make a long story short; do not go hiking by yourself; when you are in the middle of the Arizona desert- make sure you have plenty of water; and if you have a map- it is probably a good idea to look at it once in a while. Anyway, my legs and feet have never hurt so much in my life, it still hurts to walk, but I survived.

Oswego is beautiful...

2008-05-20T13:22:00.001-04:00

At times, it is hard to appreciate what is simple and right in front of you, when you spend all your time thinking about the complexities of where you've been and the unknown of where you will end up.

OSS&D on that Facebook thing

2008-05-15T19:41:00.003-04:00

We have created a Facebook page for Oswego State Swimming and Diving. Check it out; be friends with us...you know you want to.
My first year here is just about over. I survived. You all survived. I enjoyed it; I guess that makes it a good first year. Thanks!
I get to be an usher Saturday at graduation (both of them). That will be the first college graduation I have been to, and I graduated from here, and my brother graduated from here. I missed my grad school graduation also. Where was I? Coaching at club swim meets...of course. I will be honest, I loved coaching club, but I am not going to miss getting up at 4:30 every morning this summer for practice. You, on the other hand, should. It is good for you.

130 days to first practice of 2008-2009 season

2008-05-13T15:38:00.001-04:00

That is really just an estimate since I have not set an exact date for our first practice yet. But it is never too early to start getting in shape for next season. We are going to need everyone to commit to improving themselves this off season. I hope we are all on the same page with our expectations, hopes and goals for Oswego State Swimming in the future.
Congratulations to our 7 seniors. We are of course going to miss you all greatly and we are thankful for your years of commitment to the Laker swimming and diving program. Good luck as you continue on with your education or as you jump into the "real" world.
As many of you know, we have a fairly large class of first year athletes joining us next year (last count- 14 women and 13 men). I am looking forward to next season and to seeing what this class will bring to our program and to how our current team will improve.
This is my first post, and as I figure this all out, there will hopefully be more to come...
I hope everyone will keep in touch and stay safe this summer. Enjoy!