Sunday,  July 4th, 2010

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY, SWIM DOGS!

We're now at the height of the practice season, and things are going...uh..swimmingly!  We're up to about 60 swimmers (up from 40 last year).

The mornings at GW have been great with about a dozen swimmers per practice and reaching about 4,000 to 4,500 yards per 90-minute practice.  The evening sessions at Lowry have been more crowded and diverse.  The weather this summer has been WAY better than 2009 as we have not been rained out yet.

We also had our second "social event" on Thursday evening with a post-practice dinner at La Fogata.

Saturday,  June 19th, 2010

I need to start taking more pictures!

We've moved outside and had a couple of great weeks, and I keep forgetting to take pictures even though I have a camera with me most of the time.

There were several highlights this last week:

#1:  Erica fell into the pool at GW while putting in lane lines.

#2:  We had our first BBQ practice out at Lowry on Thursday.  This year, our outdoor practices at Lowry are AWESOME.  Last year, it seemed like we got rained out every evening.  This last Thursday, we had a great BBQ.  Ed grilled burgers for everyone and most of our families brought side-dishes, drinks, or chips.  I'm really enjoying out team this summer.

#3:  Swim Dog, Teri Moen (left), won the USMS 6K Open Water National Championship at Water Valley Lake in Windsor.  Coach Mark finished fourth is his age group.  There were swimmers from all over the country (Idaho, California, Texas, Florida, and more).  It was a great day for a 90-minuteish swim.

Wednesday,  June 9th, 2010

Exciting news!  We installed the new scoreboard at GW.  In addition to the six-lane timing modules, we also have:

• Home-Away Scoring

• Event-Heat Line

• Sponsorship Panel

• Dive Scoring Capability

We ran a couple of test races on Tuesday, and everything worked remarkably well.  Our pads, buttons, wiring, computer, and timing console make this an awesome system!

Look for more meets in the future!

Thursday,  May 27th, 2010

This month has been wonderful at Swim Dogs!  The crowd has thinned out and we've been able to focus on every individual swimmer.  It's fun having a lane to yourself!

This is our last week in the evenings at GW as we'll be moving to the mornings (at GW) and the evenings at the 50M outdoor pool at Lowry.  I can hardly wait to walk the deck outside.

The high school season was a success as the Patriot Boy's team won the DPS League Championship and they took fifth at Colorado 5A State...with only five point scorers.  I must say, however, that I am happy that the season is over.  It's pretty hard going from the girls season directly into the boys season.

I've also been working with a couple of accomplished Masters swimmers lately: Rich Abrahams and Chris O'Sullivan, who competed in Atlanta last week at the Master Nationals.  Rich, 65 years old, won five individual events, setting national records in each and his lead off time in the 200 Medley relay also established a new master's record.  Chris won two individual events and teamed up with three other Coloradoans to set a national relay record.  It's been very fun working with those guys.  If you ever get a change to see them swim, you will be amazed!

Lastly, during the month I was also selected as one of four coach representatives for USMS at the World Masters Championships in Sweden.  Not only will I be swimming, but I'll be coaching, too, and setting up some social activities.

Sunday,  May 2nd, 2010

On May 1st, yesterday, we held our FAMILY CLASSIC swim meet as a fundraiser to purchase and install an electronic scoreboard at the GW pool.  What a fun meet and we earned over $1,500 in the process!  Click here to see more pictures and read about the event: FAMILY CLASSIC.

The day before the meet, we had our last practice of the "winter" season followed by a pizza party!  I think everyone was a bit surprised by the difficulty of the workout, but everyone was rewarded with some great pizza and cake.

We also handed out the 2010 Coaches Trophy to the Gaul Family.

Mary, James, Kelsie, and Natalie exemplify what Swim Dogs is all about.  All four of them came to most of the practices together and even completed in meets (see Evergreen Season Finale).  They have a great spirit about them, and we are proud to have them on our team.

Monday,  April 19th, 2010

Our "winter" season is slowly winding down...practices are not quite as crowded as several swimmers have dropped off the team to start various spring sports.

The Master's season culminated last weekend with the COMSA State Championship at DU where six Swim Dogs participated and broke several TOP DOGS records.  Click for the Meet Recap.

We've also added a few new Swim Dogs lately which will really help out our summer membership.

I am really excited about the upcoming FAMILY CLASSIC swim meet on May 1st.  If there is any way you and your family can swim in this meet, we would really appreciate it as 100% of the profits go toward the purchase and installation of an electronic scoreboard at the pool.

Friday, April 30th will be our season-ending practice and party, so put that on your calendar too!

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

The weather outside it cold and snowy giving me the chance to catch up on the Swim Dog Blog!  Things have been very busy over the last week with four unique meets in five days!  Dana and I coached three high school meets and the Evergreen Season Finale' this last weekend.  Click on the link to read more and see some great pictures from Coach Dana.

The Evergreen meet was really displayed what Swim Dogs is all about:  Family Fun.  We had five adult swimmers compete against their children, and it was a blast seeing everyone cheer each other on.  We had a great showing.

The other three meets were GW high school meets including the Coaches Invite in Ft. Collins.  The GW team has several very fast guys and with only four point-scorers, the team took fifth place.  The other two meets were a dual meet against Legacy HS and the DPS Relay meet.

This last week, I also bit the bullet and signed up for the World Masters Championship in Goteborg, Sweden in August of this coming summer.  For those of you who don't know, I spent about 3 years in Sweden when I was in high school and college so this trip will be a bit of a homecoming.  I still have many friends in Sweden and I hope to see several of them.  Soon, I will start a separate blog tracking my progress similar to what I did for the English Channel last year.

Our indoor season is also winding down, so well be losing a few people to spring sports, and I'll soon have all the details of our summer program.  This year, we expect to have morning practices at GW and evening practices in the 50-meter pool at Lowry (near Big Bear Ice Arena).

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

Wouldn't it be nice to finish a race and immediately know your time and place?  Today starts the  SCOREBOARD CHALLENGE (click for more info).

We've accumulated many of the parts and pieces for an electronic timing system, and the only relay component left is a scoreboard.  How cool would that be at our pool!

This last week, we tested what we have at the pool (touch pads, starter, wiring, console, etc.), and everything worked great!  But, it would be nice to have a display showing the final times and finish places.

Would Michael Phelps want to leave his races up to a person's hand-eye coordination...I don't think so!

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Wow, it's been a long and intense couple of weeks at Swim Dogs with all the meets and great swimming performances!

The North Jeffco (click for recap) meet was awesome as we had the biggest turnout of Swim Dogs ever in a regular meet.  It was pretty hectic trying to put together our relays, but they all did great without any disqualifications.  We even had a couple of first place relays for the 8 & Under Girls!

Out of the North Jeffco meet, we had eleven qualifiers for the Colorado Silver State (click for recap) meet at DU which is also a new record for the Swim Dogs.

Practices have been good to with lots of work on starts and turns.  That's really paid off at our meets.  Many of you have heard me say that 40% of the race is starting and turn yet so many teams don't really work on that aspect of the sport.

In the last two weeks over 50 TOP DOGS records have been set, and I'm giving out tons of Dog Tags.  It's great to see the overall improvement in our team.

You may see a few less swimmers at the pool starting this month as several families drop out for Spring sports.  We'll see how it goes before adding new swimmers.

Our next meet is in Evergreen in three weeks.  That has been a fun meet for us as both age-group and masters swimmers have competed there for us in the past.  It's pretty fun.

There's only two months left in our Short Course Yards season as we'll start transitioning over to our summer program.  If you really want to see improvement in your swimming, join us at Lowry this summer in the evenings.  The 50M pool really makes you focus on your swimming.

Sunday, February 14th, 2010

This weekend is both Valentines and the President's Holiday Weekend, so we won't be swimming on Monday.

The indoor short course season is winding down and we have our last meet before Silver State this coming weekend at North Jeffco.  The meet is exciting for us as we have more swimmers in this meet than any other...ever...with 44 total Swim Dogs participating.  Our team is taking shape nicely, and I expect us to have some good swims.

This last week focused on breaststroke and IM (all four strokes), and I was pleasantly surprised by how everyone did.  The breaststroke kick can be especially troubling for our younger Swim Dogs, and the new style can be a problem for the older dogs.  I enjoyed getting in the water to work on stroke drills a couple of times this week.

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

This continues to be a very busy time of year as this last weekend, Dana and I coached our high school team in their A-League meet.  Unfortunately, we lost to East HS, but the girls did great with 24 PRs out of 30 events.  I am really looking forward to the Swim Dog's meet at North Jeffco in two weeks.

Coach Andy's team also had its league meet, so Coach Lindsay was in charge on Friday.

Thanks to Teri Moen and Kristin Babson for filling in for us at Friday night's practice.  I heard that their practice was pretty crowed and it went well.  The late practice on Friday only had four people in it, so if you're looking for some individual attention, make sure you come on Friday nights to the late group.

On Monday and Tuesday, we had a round of test sets (15 minute continuous swim followed by a 50 free for time).  We do these test sets three or four times per year.  The purpose of the test set is to give us a non-meet related way of seeing how our team is progressing.  Once I log everything in, I will post the results.

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

In case you hadn't noticed, Dana and I also coach the George Washington High School Girl's and Boy's Swim Teams.  Yesterday, our girl's team competed in the DPS B-League Championship, and the took home the Overall Team Title by winning 9 out of 12 events!

A few "Swim Dogs" also compete for GW:  Chloe Briney and "Part-Time" Paige Witter.  Both Chloe and Paige will be swimming next weekend at A-League.

The GW Girl's Team is not unlike our Swim Dogs:  Lots of great kids, a few good swimmers, and several beginners or new swimmers to the sport.  It has been really fun watching them improve of the season, and I look to have more of them on the team in the future.

These girls have also helped out at our inner-squad meets, so I am sure you've seen many of them.  Congratulate them on their B-League Championship next time you see them!

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

Practices are really starting to settle into a groove.  The Swim Dogs are looking good, and I think we're still having lots of fun.

This week, we worked specifically on open turns:

• Power Position

• Elbow Your Brother

• Call your mother

• Roll toward stomach as you push off

By the end of the week, most of you were getting it!  I am all for trying to improve technique over swimming endless laps incorrectly.  In short course swimming (25-yard pools), over 40% of the time is spent on the walls through starting or turning.  It's very important to practice this stuff.

This week, the Swim Dogs officially joined the Suburban League of USA-Swimming.  The teams in the league include:

The Suburban League meets tend to be "lower-keyed" and are run in one day instead of typical three-day USA-S meets.

Meets are already scheduled for April, May, June, and July!  Click here to see the Meet Schedule.

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

Some bad news this week as several cars got broken into at the pool while we were practicing.  Coach Andy got hit the worst as he had his wallet, Ipod, and key stolen.  Please take precautions when you park at GW by not leaving any valuables in your car and especially within sight.

There was a video tape of the crime, and we are working with DPS  Security and the Denver Police to apprehend the criminal.  If there is a bright spot, the lighting has been repaired and upgraded in the parking, so it should be much brighter at night now.

Practices have gone very well lately, and our team is really taking shape.  We are going to continue working on technique, and we will also break into stations for open turn, flip turns, starts, and finishes.  These are very important aspects of competitive swimming.

Friday, January 1st, 2010

Welcome to the 2010 and the new decade!

Our new home at GW has been great, and Dana and I are looking forward to the rest of the indoor season.  Look for continued focus on technique with some conditioning and a new angle on distance training.

We are going to be opening up the team to some new swimmers off of the waiting list (we have over thirty!), so welcome some of the new faces.

Practices with Coach Andy went great over the holidays, and I thing we got some pretty good turnout.  The later group (9-10) had 25 to 30 swimmers each day.

Dana and I had a great time in Mexico, but we missed the Swim Dogs, and we're glad to be back.

Click here to download some Sample Workouts to do on your own.

Sunday, December 14th, 2009

It's been a couple of weeks since I last wrote in the blog as the swimming schedule is now in full swing.  The Lady Patriot swim team has had five meets in the last two weeks and the Swim Dogs had their R&R (Records and Relays) meet yesterday.  Needless to say, it's been very busy.

So far, the team has won all of it's dual meets, but finished second to the East Angels in the DPS Relay Meet.  East will be a formidable competitor throughout the season.

We had a great turnout for the R&R meet as 60 Swim Dogs participated including Coaches Andy, Lindsay, and Dana.  Several Top Dogs performances were turned in during the meet and several relays records were broken.  Meet results, info and pictures are at the MEET RECAP.

We have only one week before the holiday break.  Dana and I are headed to Mazatlan again this year, and Coach Andy will be taking over practices while we're gone.  Be nice to him...he's on his own.

The Patriot Swim Team was also highlighted on 9News on Sunday during their Preps feature.  Paige Witter (who's swum with the Swim Dogs a couple of times) was on TV with her amazing anchor leg in the DPS Relay meet.  It was cool to be on TV.

Sunday, November 29th, 2009

It was a great Thanksgiving weekend, and I missed most of you...ha, ha...some of you I saw at the 10 & Under Castle Rock meet today where we had 20 swimmers!

It was nice to have a few days off from practices to spend some time with our family.  Dana and I spent the entire weekend here with her family and they all came over for ROAST BEEF!  It was awesome.

But back to swimming...Today was the meet at Castle Rock, and I am very proud of the 20 Swim Dogs that showed up to swim.  I was especially excited to see Claire Brennan swim the 25 butterfly, and I think she placed in the Top 10!  And, Bailey Starkman swam the 200 Free!

Results will be posted soon.

I hope you all had a great vacation as well...See you Monday!

Sunday, November 22nd, 2009

Things have finally started to settle down at practice.  The returning "soccer players" from last year have made their way back to our team, and the coaching staff is getting a handle on the practice schedule.

This week included lots of work on staying tall in the water using a one paddle on the lead hand.  This trick worked pretty well in getting swimmers to keep their heads down when they turn to breath.  It's important to stay out of your own way...drag reduction.

We also worked a lot on streamlining...a VERY important aspect of swimming.  By the end of the week, I think everyone was getting it.

We have a short week of practice coming up as the pool is only open on Monday and Tuesday.  Next Sunday is the Thanksgiving at The Rock 10 & Under meet in Castle Rock.  We have nineteen athletes participating.

The highlight of the week was not about Swim Dogs but rather the GW Girl's Team.  They had an inner-squad meet themselves on Thursday.  Chloe B. (Swim Dog) looked great in the 200 Free and the final split on the 4*100 Free Relay.

Come by and see the Patriot Girls swim on Friday, December 4th at home against South HS.  If you really want to see a good meet, come watch them at TJ on December 1st.

Sunday, November 15th, 2009

As the snow started to fall this weekend, I was really glad that we didn't have to drive up to Loveland to compete.  And, I had such a great time at the Pentathlon Time Trial, that I didn't miss the "real meet" at all.

It was certainly the highlight of the week.  27 individual TOP DOGS RECORDS were broken.

Click here to read the Pentathlon Time Trail Recap.

Another highlight of the week was my birthday!  Thanks to everyone who brought cards, gifts, and cakes!  In January, I'll be "Long Course 50." (49 and turning 50 in 2010).

As is standard with swimming pools (and especially DPS), the pool was shut down for a day due to mechanical problems.  But with our text message and e-mail updates, nearly everyone got the word about the shutdown and I don't think there was much of a problem.

All-in-all, it was a great week.  We continue to grow despite the cap on the team!

SWIM DOGS' MASTERS MAKE NATIONAL TOP 10!

Ami Hui and Leah Maples were 9^th in the country for the Mixed 120-159 Age Group (cumulative ages) 400 Long Course Meter Medley Relay when they teamed with fellow Colorado swimmers Chris O’Sullivan and Michael Cox in the Swim Dogs meet at DU this last summer. 

The Swim Dog’s team of Rachael Bennett, Jon Sarche, Dana Johnston, and Mark Johnston are also ranked 9^th in the country in the 160-199 Age Group for the same event (Mixed 400 LCM Medley Relay).

For those of you who attended that meet, the relay team of Craig Petersen, Mel Dyck, Rich Abrahams, and Carl Selles set a National Age Group record in the Men’s 400 LCM Medley Relay and are listed, of course, as the top team in the country.

Coaches Mark and Dana also had a few Relay Top 10s from last Spring’s National Championship meet in Fresno:

• Dana:  4^th in the Womens 45+ 200-yard Medley Relay
• Mark:  1^st in the Mixed 45+ 200-yard Free Relay, 3^rd in the Mens 45+ 200-yard Medley Relay, and 4^th in the Mens 45+ 200-yard Free Relay
• Mark & Dana together:  6^th in the Mixed 45+ 200-yard Medley Relay

Congratulations Swim Dogs for USMS Top 10 recognition!  Top 10s are listed at http://www.usms.org/comp/tt/toptenrelaylmsc.php.

Sunday, November 8th, 2009

We had a nice little fall break last week, and I took advantage of it by heading to Mazatlan, Mexico to spend some time with my parents.  It's a great place, Mazatlan, and some day, I'd like to take you all there for some open water swim training!

Again this year, I got to release some black turtles into the ocean.  They're very cute.  I also got to go deep sea fishing.  We didn't catch anything big, but I did catch a mahi-mahi that we cooked up for dinner, which was excellent.

I missed the Swim Dogs, though, so I was glad to come back to practice on Tuesday.  Thanks for filling in so well, Coaches Dana, Andy, and Lindsay.

Yesterday, Saturday, Rachael and Jon particpated in the Nash Memorial Masters meet.  I don't have their final times in yet, but I think Rachael set a couple of Swim Dogs' records.  Dog tags to come!

Sunday, October 25th, 2009

Things have really been busy this last week with meets, officiating, and our regular practices.

Sorry for not updating the blog more often!

We keep trying to make things workout for our little team, but it doesn't always happen the way Dana and I planned.  The unfortunate thing this week was that we got closed out of the Loveland meet.  I usually plan ahead and try to beat the meet entry deadline by about 10 days.  In this case, it wasn't enough as our meet entry was greeted with, "Sorry, our meet is already full."

We are working on a back-up plan that I think will be more fun anyway.  Stay tuned and keep the morning of November 14th open for something at GW.

In addition to the bad news about the Loveland meet, we also found out that we would not be able to get into GW for practice during DPS fall break.  Last year, they were only closed on Halloween Friday.  So it goes with DPS sometimes.

We're looking forward to this coming week, however, as we'll have Halloween-themed practices on Monday and Tuesday!

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

Thanks to everyone who showed up at the USA-Swimming Stroke & Turn Clinic on Sunday morning at DU.  Out of the twenty people in attendance, half of them were Swim Dogs!

The clinic is the first step in becoming a certified deck official.  While I know many of you will not want to volunteer, this is an important component of our team, and we really appreciate your help!

We don't ask for many volunteer hours (like most teams in the Denver area), so if you're interested in becoming an official please talk to Coach Mark.

Saturday, October 10th, 2009

Dana and I took the Light Rail downtown to watch Cami and Evan Shigaya participate in a judo tournament.  Let me tell you...you don't want to mess with either of them.

Dana and I always appreciate well-rounded swimmers, so it was pretty cool to see them compete in a totally unrelated sport.  Evan is a Blue Belt, and Cami's a Green Belt.  Steve, their father and coach, is a BLACK BELT.  If you're ever in trouble in the parking lot, yell for the Shigayas!

Friday, October 9th, 2009

After a good week of practice, we had our first special event of the season as the Colorado Waterpolo team came to our practice on Friday to expose us to another water sport.

To see more photos and read more, click here:  WATERPOLO NIGHT.

After practice on Friday, several of us went out to dinner at Chipotle.  What a fun night!

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

NEW TEAM GEAR IS READY TO ORDER!!!

While not obligatory, we'd really appreciate it if everyone would step up and show some pride by purchasing the 2009-2010 Swim Dog's Team Gear!  Head to the TEAM GEAR page to see what's available.

E-Mail, call, or talk to Coach Dana about sizes, colors, and styles...or if you want something special.  Team gear is supplied by Out of Breath Sports on Arapahoe near Broadway.

Yesterday, Dana and I completed the Red Cross Lifeguard Instructor Course.  Look for lifeguarding classes to be available soon for those 15-years and older.  We may also offer CPR, First Aid, and Red Cross swimming classes.  Let us know if you're interested.

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Another week has gone by at GW, and it already feels like home!

We had a great week of practice, and I want to thank our assistant coaches, Andy Levine and Lindsay Holtz for helping out so much (and Sam Perry), pictured below.

Andy brings a long Denver swimming history to the team as he's been around this area since swimming as an age-grouper several years ago.  Andy will be focusing on our advanced groups but will have interaction with everyone.

Lindsay helped us out last year.  She's currently studying for her Master's Degree in Sports Psycology at the University of Denver.  Lindsay will be helping primarily with our beginner groups, but will take over the older groups occasionallly.

We're glad to have them both!

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

We're now fully into GW, and I must say, WHAT A GREAT PLACE!  With the exception of a few swimmers who decided not to make the trek six miles north, we do not miss TJ at all!  The facilty at GW and the staff there have been awesome.  WE'VE EVEN BEEN ABLE TO CONTROL THE WATER TEMPERATURE!  And, we have keys to get into the building without any hassle.

Special thanks to Chris & Terry Eyser who helped us repair one of the lane lines.  I wish I was "handier" myself, but it's nice to have capable people on the team.  Thanks guys!

We've had some good practices over the last couple of weeks, and I am very happy with everyone's progress already.  I was especially pleased with this week's test set.  The Beginner Group on Tuesday was awesome!  For those of you who don't know, the test set includes a 15-minute swim followed by a 50-free for time.  In addition to the beginners group, Rachael B. had a great swim and broke Seth Perry's record with 45 lengths.

Coach Andy's been working everyone out pretty hard so if you think it's too difficult for you, feel free to drop down one level or sit out certain sections of his practice.  I love watching you all huff and puff!

Last week, some of you may have noticed that I was not at practice?  I had the good fortune to be invited to the US Aquatic Sports (USAS) convention in Chicago as the Colorado Master's coach representative.  This convention determines the direction of master's swimming and the rules and procedures that the group will follow.  Pictured below is the delegation from COMSA.

Sunday, September 13th, 2009

It was the last day at Crestmoor before the drained the pool, so they allowed Swim Dogs into the pool and our Jessie was a superstar!

She couldn't get enough, and when we finally put her into the car after an hour of leaping and swimming she snored herself to sleep within seconds.

She even had a blast going off the diving board.

What a great end to the summer season at Crestmoor!

Saturday, September 12th, 2009

What an amazing and interesting week!

The Mini-Camp was a huge success as we had over 40 prospective Swim Dogs.  I must admit that I was a little scared on the first day, but everything went well.  We continued the week with work on long axis strokes (Free and Back) on Wednesday, short axis strokes (Breaststroke and Butterfly) on Thursday, with Fun Friday at the end of the week where we broke into relays.

On Tuesday, just before the start of our first practice, we were notified by DPS that we had to move Swim Dogs from or two-year home at TJ to George Washington High School, six miles north.  There wasn't much of a choice in the situation.  While this definitely sets back our growth plan (of two pools), we're confident that we will have an even better team.

The new pool at GW is a much better fit for us, and we have access to some of the best training equipment in the state.  There are resistance training machines, underwater video equipment, lots of storage space, and BLEACHER SEATING for visitors.

While the move may be a inconvenience for many, our new home is well worth it!

Labor Day Monday, September 7th, 2009

A new season starts tomorrow.  It promises to be very interesting with lots of change.  To read about our prior seasons, click on the links below: