August 2013 RADNOR AQUATIC CLUB NN Welcome Back!! We hope everyone has enjoyed a wonderful and relaxing summer. It is hard to believe, but school and fall activities are just a week or so away. RAC s Board of Directors and Coaches have been hard at work to prepare for tryouts and the fall season. We also have a few additions to the coaching staff to report: Welcome to USA Swimming Head Coach Jeremy Byrne. Jeremy comes to us after two years as the Head Age Group Coach for the Baldwin Swim Club. Previously, he was the Head Coach for the Baldwin Middle School Team, Assistant Coach of the Baldwin High School Team, and Head Age Group Coach and Head Masters Coach for Friends Central Aquatics. He also works as the Head Coach for the Stony Lane Swim Cub since 2009. Jeremy swam for the University of South Dakota Men s Swim team. We also welcome Assistant Dive Coach Margaret Fisher. Margaret works as the Head Dive Coach for Strath Haven High School during the winter, and is the Dive Coach for the Hidden Hollow Hammerheads and the Assistant Dive Coach for the Knowlton Swim Club during the summer. She was also the Dive Coach for Springfield High School and the Primos-Secane Swim Club. Please make sure to say hello to the new coaches before or after practice! Jeremy Byrne and Margaret Fisher Radnor Aquatic Club Radnor, PA www.radnoraquatic.org
Summer Long Course Congratulations to all of the swimmers who participated in summer long course! It was a terrific season. Here are a few highlights: RAC Swimmers at Junior Olympics RAC Swimmers at Sectionals Congrats to Hanna Blewett who made her first LC Super Sectionals cuts in the 50 (28.5) and 100 free (1:00.77). Laura Packer had first time swims in LC with the 100 free (1:02.9), 200 free (2:16.4) and 400 free (4:53.5). Congrats to Andrew Davis, Sarah Goncher, and Madison Ledwith for qualifying for Junior Olympics, and to Tommy Boerger, Antonio Octaviano, Sasha Smolyansky, and Lauren Spillane for being finalists! RAC displayed tremendous teamwork throughout the meet. Special congratulations to Lauren Spillane for her first JO championships win in the 50 Backstroke! In Super Sectionals Hanna Blewett dropped 4.5 s in the 100 FL and 2.5 s in the 100 BK. Tatyana Smolyansky dropped 1.5 s and.5 s in the 100 and 200 BK. Brendan Ryan dropped 2.1 and 2.5 s in the 100 and 200 BK. These great swims made Tatyana and Brendan first time long course qualifiers for NSCA Junior Nationals! Special thanks to Marybeth Ryan and former RAC swimmer Shane Ryan (now at Penn State) for bringing such positive energy and help make the weekend great!! Congrats to Thomas Boerger, Antonio Octaviano, & Lauren Spillane for qualifying to swim in Zones Championships! RAC Swimmers at Long Course at Franklin and Marshall
Registration and New Swimmer Evaluations All returning Varsity swimmers and divers are assured a place on the 2013-14 team, as long as you register and pay prior to Aug 31st. There are over 95 new swimmers signed up to try out, and that number is sure to grow. Please make sure to register on time! Swimmers and divers who competed on Varsity (White, Red, Maroon, Black, HS) last season do not need to attend tryouts. Swimmers who participated in the Barracuda, Piranha, or Spring Clinic programs during the 2012-2013 season must attend tryouts. Swimmers who participated in Long Course this summer also do not need to attend try outs. Tuesday, September 3 5:00-6:30pm Wednesday, September 4 5:00-6:30 Friday, September 6 4:30-6:30pm 8 & under swimmers 9-10 year old swimmers Fall Practice Schedule 11 & overs and Make-ups for those unable to make prior nights The practice schedule is posted on the website. Please check the website frequently for updates and changes to the schedule. The first week of practice, please note the following changes: Wednesday, September 11: Black: 3:30-5:00 at RHS; Maroon: 5:00-6:00 at RHS; White: 6:30-7:30 at The Dixon Center Pool, Cabrini College; Red: 7:30-8:30 at The Dixon Center Pool, Cabrini College Thursday, September 12: Maroon: 4:00-5:00 at RHS; Barracuda: 5:00-6:00 at RHS; Black: 6:30-8:30 at The Haverford School REMINDER: YOU MUST REGISTER BY AUG 31 ST TO GUARANTEE YOUR SPOT ON THE TEAM. DON T DELAY, REGISTER TODAY!
Coaches Corner Thank you to all the summer participants in RAC. Not a single rain day!! We had excellent attendance and performance from our summer groups! I am excited to start the Fall season!! This year we will be adding a greater racing element to practice. There has been a great ground swell in exercise science about high intensity training in short bursts. To the general public the benefits have been better oxygen uptake (VO2Max) and metabolizing glucose (using the energy your body produces). There are other swim specific benefits of racing more. Swimming many yards at 70% of your max speed all the time only gets you ready for racing at 70%. To prepare for racing at 100% your need to race as close to that as possible. To paraphrase Dave Salo (probably USA swimmings most successful coach) you don't practice the Tuba to play the violin. So practice will be more diving from the blocks and less yards at moderate speed. More drills to create stroke efficiency than repeats. RAC started this type of training at the Spring clinic and has been refining it through the summer. The results have been outstanding and we will continue to refine the program as we move forward. I am very excited!! See you all soon!! Coach Clark Fall season starts September 9 th. See you then!
Diving Diving looks forward to another great year! New diver evaluations are September 8th. 10 and under beginners (novice) evaluations are 4-5 PM. 11 and older divers (advanced) will be held 5:30-7 PM. There will be a parent meeting 5-5:30 PM. Please attend this meeting, as this is a great opportunity for parents to get acquainted with the coaches and the program. Divers will practice on Wednesdays in the fall: (Novice 6:15-7:15; Advanced 7-8:30) and winter (Novice 6:45-7:30 Advanced 7:15-8:30). Sunday practices for the whole season will be as follows: (Novice: 4-5 PM and Advanced 5-7 PM). New RAC policies Please review the RAC policies on the website. A few changes have been made, including: Each family with a varsity swimmer at RAC must volunteer a minimum of 3 times at a swim meet. This policy is not in place to cause undue burden to anyone, however, the success of the RAC season hinges upon parental participation. If you do not meet this requirement, a fine of $100 will be charged to your account. Sign up early to make sure you get the job you want! A new Parent Code of Conduct was added. Please read it and uphold the tenets presented in it. Swimming is a competitive sport by nature, please encourage your children to find the FUN in swimming and make it their own. New policies were added for harassment and bullying. Please consider reading these with your children and make sure they understand infractions from these policies will be taken seriously and remediated. Have an idea for the next newsletter? Email communications@radnoraquatic.org!