Sudbury Laurentian Swim Club

SLSC Swimmers take show on the Road

    This past weekend saw 10 swimmers from SLSC attend the Harvest Invitational in  Etobicoke.  The swimmers were competing against some of the best swimmers in Southern Ontario and performed at a very high level.  Top 8 performances were done by Justin Burton-McCarthy,  Brenna Eastick,  and Spencer Hirschfeld.   Top 3 finishers included Kelly Hotta, Justin LeClair and Jacob Toner.   Other siwmmers going to the competition and attaining best times in quite a few events include Colin Hirschfeld, Tori Jewell, Tessa Jewell and Sarah Tkachuk.  Some great personal breakthroughs were attained this weekend and the whole group is off to Sault St Marie this coming weekend to  attend the Joey Calzones meet  with a number of other  SLSC swimmers.   See the link below for complet team results from the Harvest Invite.

Download Harvest results

Great Start to the 2009-10 Racing Season

The Sudbury Laurentian Swim Club started the Year with a bang this past weekend.  SLSC hosted the first NEOR Development meet of the season and made a stamp early.  The club swam to 77% best ever times, which is a great start to the year.  We also had numerous swimmers finish with top 8 placings.  Congratulations to all of the swimmers and coaches for a great start to the season and lets keep on getting even better!  Look on this website for a complete set of results for SLSC.

Download Neor 1 results

Coach and Parent meetings

Hello every one.  One  of the goals this season is to keep the parents in the loop and informed on a group to group level as much as possible. To get the ball started we will be running individual group parent meetings next week.  Please see the meeting dates below so you can adjust your schedules to be at the appropriate meetings. We are scheduling the meetings after practices and they should not run longer than 20 minutes or so. The meetings will give you a chance to hear from the coaches what the short term plans are, a brief rundown of competition schedules and a question/answer period if you have any.   All meetings will be in the Banuk Lounge at

• Group 1 - Monday October 19 6:00 pm
• Group 2 - Monday October 19 6:30 pm
• Group 3 - Tuesday October 20 6:30 pm
• Group 4 - Thursday October 22 6:30 pm
• Novice - Wednesday Oct 21 7:30 pm

Thanks every one.  See you next week Dean Henze Head Coach Sudbury Laurentian Swim Club

Announcing new Head Coach Dean Henze

It is a pleasure for the Executive of SLSC to announce the hiring of Dean Henze for the position of Head Coach of the Sudbury Laurentian Swim Club.

Dean has twenty years of swim coaching experience, most recently with the Barrie Trojans’ 150 swimmers. His successes have included coaching multiple swimmers to Provincial tour teams, Canada Games, and International tours. Dean’s commitment to professional development and coaching is strong. His involvement in Swim Ontario has included the Ontario Swim Coaches Association (OSCA) Board of Directors, Ethics Chair, and the development of the LTAD (Long Term Athlete Development) model.

Dean is originally from Atikokan, Ontario where he swam for a number of years before attending the University of Manitoba. While in Manitoba Dean worked with the Manitoba Marlins, University of Manitoba and the Selkirk Dolphin swim club. Dean’s goal in coaching is try and get the most out of each athlete that they can give and show them that they can achieve great and wonderful things in the process

Dean will be intimately involved in the coaching plans for the 2009-2010 swim season and beyond. Dean will work closely with Coach Phil Parker and the SLSC Executive to develop short-term and long-term plans to meet the goals and objectives of SLSC and our swimmers.

Dean will be starting as Head Coach on September 1st, 2009.

Sincerely,
Mark Kivinen
SLSC President

Pre-Meet Training for Senior level swimmers

[Coach Phil blogs...]

Senior level swimmers need to get into the habit of swimming in the morning and afternoon of a meet. When we swim in the morning before a meet on the weekend (i.e. when we swim from 8-9 AM before a meet that starts later in the afternoon), it is to get the swimmers used to this type of swimming pattern. When swimmers are at a championship meet (provincials, nationals, Ontario cup, etc), they swim a warm up from before prelims and then race in their preliminary session. They also have a warm up for finals and a final session which runs later in the evening.

Another reason why we swim in the morning is physiologically based. At this stage of the season, the level 1 swimmers need to keep their muscle physiology at a high training level until we prepare for the meets in July. During the year, the swimmers train and race under stress (until the week leading up to SCM provincials/nationals in the spring and the same for LCM provincials/nationals in the summer). What we mean by stress is they train without being able to recover their muscles. We as coaches are constantly trying to deplete the athletes muscle glycogen stores (the energy the muscles use for swimming) and have them perform under these conditions. When we start to decrease the volume of training leading up to the “big” meets, their muscles get to replenish their glycogen stores and they have more energy to perform. What throws a wrench into this preparation is when kids miss lots of training. Their muscle get to recover too much, too often not giving them the best possible training effects.

The training sessions the morning before meets are not grueling workouts by any means. They are set up to give the athletes a proper morning swim before a meet. Especially meets here in Sudbury. When the kids get a morning swim in, they do not have to accomplish as much during the afternoon warm up as their muscles have already had a swim. The pool gets very crowded for warm ups and our swimmers can get in right away, get their work done early and get out before it fills up. Instead of swimming 1800-2000 meters before the meet, the can just do 1400-1700 meters as they have prepared in the AM.

We coaches have no intent to set these kids up for failure. We are trying to constantly do what is best for the kids and swimming in the morning before a meet is what is best. I hope the parents understand this and consider what is best for their kid’s performances at these types of meets.

Coach Phil Parker

NEOR #2 Summary

Hello Members,

Congratulations to all the swimmers for their great swims at the NEOR#2 held in North Bay! It was great to see how enthused the swimmers were about their races.

The following is a summary of the results:

• 73 Personal Best Times

• 15 First Time Swims

• 30 – 1st Place Finishes

• 25 – 2nd Place Finishes

• 17 – 3rd Place Finishes

• Total of 72 Top 3 Finishes

Regards Alain

Q&A with the Coaches - swim meet events

[Another Q&A provided by Coach Alain.... /Doug]

Why is my child participating in only 6 events, when the maximum number of events is 9? Why not the maximum number of events? Will this not reduce their chances of winning the high point trophy, etc.?

This can be a complex question to answer. It touches upon many facets relating to sport and child development. I will do my best to get my point across.

As coaches of youth and age group swimmers we are dedicated to your child’s physical and psychological well-being. As such, we follow the long term athlete development (LTAD) guidelines put forth by Swimming Canada, emphasizing multi-stroke development, exposure to multiple competitive situations and environments, etc. (www.LTAD.ca). From a competitive standpoint, the focus is on race execution (technique, breathing patterns, stroke rate, race strategy, etc.) predetermined between coach and athlete and not on the final results which are the time (best time) and placing (gold medal, high point trophy, winning the meet). The former are things in which the athlete has control over and upon success results in intrinsic* rewards and motivation. The definitions of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are defined below. Intrinsic rewards render more long term fulfillment, confidence, self-pride and commitment. The latter are extrinsic* rewards. These include factors that may be out of the athlete’s control. The athlete may have executed the perfect race, doing everything that was expected, but failed to finish first or achieve a personal best time. It is impossible to predict the outcome of another’s performance. Focusing primarily on extrinsic rewards may lead to athlete frustrations and in the long term the eventual abandonment from the sport.

Winning is the end result of the process put in place which has been followed by coach and athlete. Athletes committed to learning to swim technically sound, executing races as planned and training to the best of their abilities will render success. It must be remembered that success comes in many forms and that winning is not the only form of success. Only a small handful of swimmers ever make it to the Olympics, even a smaller percentage win a medal. Coaches want athletes reach their maximal potential, whatever that may be. Following the guidelines from the LTAD outline, the Training to Win stage begins at approximately 19 years old for males and 18 years of age for females. I strongly insist you encourage your child to perform to the best of their abilities in training and competition and to remove any pressures associated with performing best times and winning!

Going back to the initial questions that prompted this reflection of what events and how many events are chosen for your child to compete in, they are chosen by their coach by what is deemed appropriate at that give time according to their fitness and skill level. 

Below are definitions of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. These definitions were taken from various sources and can be found at the following websites:

• http://www.naturalchild.com/jan_hunt/rewards.html

• http://giftedkids.about.com/od/glossary/g/intrinsic.htm

• http://giftedkids.about.com/od/glossary/g/extrinsic.htm

* Definition: Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that comes from inside an individual rather than from any external or outside rewards, such as money or grades.

The motivation comes from the pleasure one gets from the task itself or from the sense of satisfaction in completing or even working on a task.

An intrinsically motivated person will work on a math equation, for example, because it is enjoyable. Or an intrinsically motivated person will work on a solution to a problem because the challenge of finding a solution is provides a sense of pleasure. In neither case does the person work on the task because there is some reward involved, such as a prize, a payment, or in the case of students, a grade. 

Intrinsic motivation does not mean, however, that a person will not seek rewards. It just means that such external rewards are not enough to keep a person motivated. An intrinsically motivated student, for example, may want to get a good grade on an assignment, but if the assignment does not interest that student, the possibility of a good grade is not enough to maintain that student's motivation to put any effort into the project.

** Definition: Extrinsic motivation refers to motivation that comes from outside an individual. The motivating factors are external, or outside, rewards such as money or grades. These rewards provide satisfaction and pleasure that the task itself may not provide.

An extrinsically motivated person will work on a task even when they have little interest in it because of the anticipated satisfaction they will get from some reward. The rewards can be something as minor as a smiley face to something major like fame or fortune. For example, an extrinsically motivated person who dislikes math may work hard on a math equation because want the reward for completing it. In the case of a student, the reward would be a good grade on an assignment or in the class. 

Extrinsic motivation does not mean, however, that a person will not get any pleasure from working on or completing a task. It just means that the pleasure they anticipate from some external reward will continue to be a motivator even when the task to be done holds little or no interest. An extrinsically motivated student, for example, may dislike an assignment, may find it boring, or may have no interest in the subject, but the possibility of a good grade will be enough to keep the student motivated in order for him or her to put forth the effort to do well on a task.

/Coach Alain

Q&A with the Coaches - parental concerns

[Over the past few weeks, parents have been asking questions regarding coach decisions.  The coaches have assembled these into a Q&A format shown below --Doug]

What are the reasons for having athletes (i.e. Level 1) remain in Sudbury rather than attending a regional competition?

• Have them follow the program planning designed for them. This training plan does not permit for these athletes to attend such swim meets.
• Continuity of training
  • Loss of structured training; Friday PM, Saturday AM, Monday PM
    • Family decided Monday post-competition rest day
• Build athletes for success. Striving for goals at pre-planned competitions. These competitions are appropriately interspaced to permit athlete development.
• Leave “Developmental” swim meets for athletes at the developmental stages of swim learning
• Allow athletes to participate in out-of-region competitions
  • Greater importance for higher levels of swimming
    • Jr. Provincial, Sr. Provincial, Age Group National, Eastern Championship, Canada Cup, Senior National
    • Allows exposure to different environmental conditions - Pools & swimmers

Why do we as coaches choose to continue following the training schedule and training plan before a competition in Sudbury (Saturday AM)? Therefore, choosing to not rest swimmers prior to swim meets?

• Try to maintain consistency in training; avoid missing an entire swim practice
• Get athletes used to getting up early to swim; train & compete (i.e. Age Group Nationals)
• Teach swimmers to compete in a fatigued state

Why do we as coaches have athletes wear their training suit for swim meets?

• These competitions are used as training meets, getting the athletes ready for the peak competition, working on race strategies and other execution aspects. There is no need to be wearing a racing suit in order to practice this.
• Racing suits are permitted to be used at competitions where athletes are ready & “tapered” (physical readiness). It must be emphasized that personal best times can be attained wearing a training suit.
• Focus on the performance (technique, race strategy, etc) of the athlete, not the end result (final time)
  • Performance vs. Results - Learn to race (execution) and swim well (technique) fast.
• High-performance or high tech suits suitable for National Team or international caliber athletes

Why is my child in an event that they do not “like” or are not good at? What is the role of the coach with respect to choosing competitive event entries?

• Following the long term athlete development (LTAD) model we encourage a multi-task, multi-stroke/event approach. It has been observed that younger swimmers exposed to all 4 strokes and individual medley (IM) teaching & training experience increased spatial awareness, increased coordination and render greater long term success.
• We therefore expect our assistant coaches to have their swimmers compete in the full spectrum of events

With respect to stroke & event specialization, the following template is used as a reference:

• Stroke specialization (Butterfly stroke) occurs at approximately 16 years of age or older
• Event specialization (200m Butterfly event) occurs at approximately 18 years of age or older
• Early specialization is often associated with early burn out rates with an end result of athletes quitting the sport

Two senior coaches pay all of their attention to varsity and level one swimmers, who is in charge of levels 2, 3 and 4?

• The programs of Novice, Levels 1 through 4 are dictated by the Provincial Head Coach. There is much coach mentoring & communications that are done behind the scenes and cannot be observed from the pool stands.
• All level coaches communicate throughout the week
• There are also weekly coaches’ meetings between the coaching staff to discuss a multitude of points.
  • Program planning
  • Technique
  • Competitions
  • Etc.

I get the impression that SLSC is second to the Varsity program in every respect.

• The programs for each level are in development by the Provincial Head Coach
• The ratio to coach-athlete is much greater with the lower levels
  • Varsity & Level 1: 2 coaches to 40 athletes (8 Level 1 athletes)
  • Level 2: 2 (mainly 3) coaches to 14 athletes
  • Level 3: (mainly 3) coaches to 25 athletes
  • Level 4: (mainly 3) coaches to 20 athletes
  • Novice: 2 coaches to 7 athletes
• It is expected that higher end athletes require more attention and time from the coaches as they practice at a much greater frequency than the younger, less experienced swimmers.

No Level 2's will be elevated to Level 1 for the next few years. Why?

• We expect higher levels of swimming skills and abilities from all the levels.
• This is not to say that we will not be promoting certain athletes from one level to the next (i.e. Level 2 to Level 1)

Documentation is needed that clearly defines how swimmers were placed in their respective levels and how younger swimmers understand what is required of them to progress through the levels.

• This document is in the process of being developed.  A competency based approach will be the basis of criteria in level advancement

There is a lack of communication between all level coaches and parents (one on one):

• Parents are free to communicate with coaches
• If parents desire a one-on-one meeting with a coach, they simply need to determine a moment that is suitable for both

Using communication flow through kids of all levels – errors and mistakes being made

• Future communications will go through the Board in order to have messages sent to parents via email or posted on the SLSC website
• It is however expected that Level 1 swimmers are mature enough to relay certain information on to parents

Meet communication and expectations

• Future communications will go through the Board in order to have messages sent to parents via email or posted on the SLSC website.
• All registered competitive swimmers are expected to be participating in swim meets set by the level program planning
• It is expected that once a swimmer has attained Provincial, especially Senior, and National levels of competitiveness, they will partake in a greater number of out-of-region competitions. Therefore while out-of-town regional developmental swim meets take place, these swimmers will remain in Sudbury to train or will be competing elsewhere at an out-of-region competition.
  • Out-of-region competitions are important to expose the swimmers to different competitive environments and athletes

Varsity interaction with Club swimmers – verbal abuse

•  There has never been any observed verbal abuse or inappropriate behaviors towards club swimmers
• It has often been voiced to varsity athletes that varsity-club swimming is the new direction and that they are expected to interact respectfully with the younger athletes.

Regards, the coaches

Please welcome Coach Stephanie

Coach Phil is pleased to announce Coach Stephanie!

Stephanie Kuhn was a former Timmins Marlins national level age group swimmers who came to LU to continue her swim career and pursuit her studies in Physical and Health Education.  She attended 3 Olympic Trials (200 in Montreal, 2004 in Etobicoke and this past April in Montreal for the 2008 trials where she swam personal best times on her final meet of her career. 

Stephanie is currently finishing off her Teachers College Degree here in Sudbury and starting her coaching career part time with SLSC.  She is helping out this year with Levels 1 and 2.
/Phil

A thorough bio has been posted in the Coaches area of the website.

SLSC - Parents and Coach's meeting - presentation

The presentation which the coaching staff presented to member parents on Tuesday night is now available online.  You can download slsc_parents_coaches_meeting.pdf in colour, or if you want to save that valuable colour ink, you can download slsc_parents_coaches_meetingbw.pdf in greyscale.

If you have any questions, please contact the coaches after practice.  Phil and Alain are often available in Phil's office ("Voyageur Swimming" main gallery hallway) weeknights after 6:30pm.