Time Trials 2023 Welcomes Trinity School at Meadow View

Each year we kick off our season with a Time Trial Meet at the Fitch Warrenton Aquatic and Recreation Facility (WARF) with a few goals in mind:

• Ensure that we have good baseline times on every swimmer against which we can measure improvement and with which we can prepare our meet and relay entries.
• Ensure that everyone clearly understands how Seton Swimming operates at a Meet, particularly arriving on time, warming up efficiently, showing great respect for the national anthem, getting to the blocks in time for your events, and starting a race with the whistle rather than voice commands.
• Gather data with which to make updates to practice lane and coaching assignments for each swimmer.
• Ensure that we have all the parent volunteers and supplies that we need to run our meets.

If those were the goals for our Time Trial meet on Friday, November 17^th, then I would have to say that we were highly successful.  Not only did we accomplish those goals, but several swimmers made their presence known, especially several swimmers who are new to the team.  Watching the swimmers on Friday gave me a lot of faith in the future of Seton Swimming.

So Proud of Our Captains and Parent Volunteers

After I got home and quietly pondered the results of the Time Trial Meet down in my office, I found myself smiling broadly while thinking about how smoothly things went.   It is no small feat running a smooth event that involves 106 kids and more than 30 parent volunteers.

What made me smile was one of the biggest reasons the event went so smoothly – the performance of our Captains.  Led by Captain-of-Captains, Maggie Gibbons, I watched as Madelyn Zadnik, Clara Condon, Haley Fifield, Connor Koehr, Liam Halisky, Michael Brox, and Luke Mantooth each took charge of their own sub-teams with a great balance of discipline and fun.

The process of teaching 106 kids all the things involved in Seton Swimming’s pre-meet routine normally results in us starting the actual meet late – this year (for the 2^nd year in a row), we actually started the first event early.

I really couldn’t believe how smoothly our two brief warm-up sessions went.  Everyone was exactly where they were supposed to be, and for the most part, each heat simultaneously hit the water with the military precision that I expect during our public warm-up sessions.

The highlight of the training session on our pre-meet routine for me is always our lesson on why and how we respect the National Colors before each meet.  Those of you who were there probably figured out what returning swimmers have known for a while – how we show gratitude for our country is very important to me.  I’ve re-posted my blog on “Why and How Seton Swimming Respects our National Anthem and Colors”.   Please read it.

And please pray for my boys who are deployed, one of whom is an Army Engineer in Kuwait/Iraq/Afghanistan/Syria and the other who is flying P-8s in the South China Sea out of Okinawa.  A third son, Fr. Sean Koehr, will be deploying on the USS Roosevelt in January as a Navy Chaplain.

And what a blessing it is to have Col. Matt Schroer and Lt Col. Patrick Heiny on our coaching staff.  Their example of the excellence that we have all come to expect from the US Marines is evident in their work with our older boys during dryland and their coaching with our Group 4 swimmers during practice.  I was very proud to have Col. Schroer on deck (joined by Maj. Partridge) demonstrating to all of you how to properly stand at attention during the National Anthem.

And finally, I was so pleased with how quickly our large group of parent volunteers gelled to ensure our ability to host eleven (11) meets this season.  Without that ability, we could never give 123 kids (plus another 13 from Trinity Meadow View) the opportunity to swim at Seton because no other school would ever allow us to bring that many kids to one of their swim meets.

It is impossible to highlight every parent involved, but I will say how grateful I was to have so many parents step into significant leadership positions:  Hank Konstanty, Bill Dealey, Mike Judge, Melissa Sokban, and Hume Nguyen with the dry-deck officials, Richard Borneman heading up the wet-deck officials, Chris Condon heading up the timers, Anne Judge and Kimberly Dalrymple leading meet set-up, and Katie Condon with the Clerk of the Course plus nearly everything else that was left undone.

And, of course, our head Referee, the Godfather of Seton Swimming, Charles Seltman.  This is Mr. Seltman’s 30^th season with Seton Swimming!

Welcome Tempest Swimming!

The meet also gave us a chance to welcome the newest VISAA swim team from Trinity School at Meadow View.  They looked great in their new team suits and caps with their very-cool Lightning-T logo representing their mascot – the Tempest, which I assume is a Shakespearian storm of some sort.   They certainly swam like lightning on Friday night!

Earlier this fall, a young Trinity Meadow View sophomore named Lauren Kelley cold-called me to ask if I could help them start a swim team.  It turns out that Lauren learned about Seton Swimming from her summer team where she has swum with the Kenna, Judge, and Borneman families.  How do you say “no” to a girl with enough courage and initiative to make that call.

After talking to their Athletic Director and then their Interim School Director, Tim Maloney, things were set in motion.  Seton has done this sort of thing for Wakefield Country Day, Chelsea Academy, Renaissance Montessori, and even Highland School before, so I pretty much had the playbook already.

After agreeing on a path forward, step one was to have an organizational meeting.  I ventured to their pretty little campus in Falls Church where I was welcomed with open arms – and a huge banner on the side of one building touting their 2008 State Lacrosse championship.

It turns out that I have personally experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows while competing with Trinity Meadow View in the past, and all the memories came rushing back when I saw that banner.

In 2007, Seton had a tremendous Lacrosse team made up of Seton family names that many of you know – like Koehr, Kenna, Petrisek, Rafter, and DuFrain.  Fr. Sean Koehr was the face-off Middie as a junior and his younger brother Daniel Koehr (the Army Captain in the Middle East right now) was our leading scorer at attack.  Anna Kenna’s older brothers – Patrick and Nick Kenna – were the other starting mid-fielders.  Trinity Meadow View had a tremendous team too, and we met in the semi-finals of the State Tournament with everyone knowing that the winner would almost certainly beat the team out of the other bracket for the State Championship.

Justin Petrisek (now at the DeNicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame) was on fire that day, and Seton won comfortably.  The 2007 Lacrosse State Championship banner you see in the gym today was won relatively easily after that against Roanoke Catholic.

In 2008, everything moved toward a rematch between the two best teams in VISAA Division II, and once again, the de facto State Championship game occurred between Seton and Trinity Meadow View in the semi-finals.  With just a few minutes left, Seton was up by three (3) goals, but Trinity Meadow View caught fire, scoring two (2) goals quickly.

From there, the details are just too painful for me to recount in detail, but suffice it to say, Trinity tied it up with just seconds remaining, and won it in overtime.  That game still comes up in my house 15-years later.

Well, I’m very happy to say that my experience with Trinity Meadow View since Lauren’s call has been much more joyful 😉  What a great group of kids and parents!  Most of the kids swim with a USA Club at least part-time, so we have just one team practice per week.  I wouldn’t have believed that I’d enjoy a weekly trip into the craziness inside the Beltway, but I’m having a blast coaching practice with them every Tuesday afternoon.

On Friday night, I certainly felt rewarded while watching new friendships blossom between the kids on our two (2) teams.  Our junior boys seemed to become fast friends with their small boys’ team, and the girls likewise seemed to bond quickly.

What pleased me the most, however, was the way our two (2) teams competed in a way that made everyone better – you might recall, that is what I mean by our team value of Meekness.

Generally, I don’t have our top swimmers swim everything at Time Trials since I already have times on them, but I really wanted to see what the Trinity kids could do when pushed by the likes of Lionel Martinez (FR), Michael Brox (JR), Drew Nguyen (SO), Connor Koehr (JR), Liam Halisky (JR), Joe Borneman (JR), Ariana Aldeguer (FR), Clara Condon (JR), Stella Paradise (SR), Elodie Brox (JR), Anastasia Garvey (SO), and several others – and some of the performances I saw were remarkable.

• Elijah Soto (SO) started the night with three (3) life-time bests (including his USA swimming times) in 100 Free, 100 Back and 100 Breaststroke, going :50.50, :57.99, and 1:17.29, respectively. He also smoked 50 Fly in :25.16 and 50 Free in :23.36.
• Shane Monroe (JR) went 13.44 seconds faster than any previous time I could find (from 2019). Shane also had a fast fast 50 Free at 24.35.
• Eamon Schrock (FR) swam some incredibly fast times for a freshman including L56.75 in 100 Free, 1:10.42 in 100 Back, and 1:19.72 in 100 Breast. His 50 Free time was 2.33 seconds faster than his best USA swimming from February 2022.
• Joseph Thiede (7) has already improved so much in freestyle in just two (2) practices that I’m bummed I didn’t time him on the very day I saw him. He had great swims in 100 Free and his other events also, particularly 100 Breaststroke where he went 1:20.99.  I can’t wait to get to Breaststroke in our weekly practices with him.
• Lauren Kelley (SO), the girl who started it all, swam four (4) lifetime best times, even compared to our best USA Swimming times (which I can’t consider in high school), and those times put her right with our top girls all night long. I was particularly impressed with her 1:00.69 in 100 Free and 1:08.52 in 100 Back.
• Charlotte Mazanec (SO) pushed herself to her limit, and in the process, dropped 5.29 seconds from her lifetime best in 100 Free, 2.32 seconds in 100 Breast, and .38 seconds in 50 Free.
• Reagan Mazanec (FR) competed with a big smile on her face all night, and a quick look at her times explains why. How about a lifetime best in 100 Free, 100 Back, 100 Breast, and 200 Free, by 6.63 seconds, 4.88 seconds, 1.93 seconds, and 19.59 seconds respectively!

Now that I have some real high school times, I’ve deleted the old USA times from my database, and established our first set of Team records for Tempest Swimming.  Check them out under Team Records on the About menu of www.setonswimming.org.  Scroll down from the Seton team records to see the Trinity records.

I am very excited about the rest of the season for Tempest Swimming.  We all owe Lauren Kelly a debt of gratitude for getting this ball rolling!

“E” is For Excellence – We focus on better.  Good takes care of itself.

His Master said to him, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.  Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities.  Come, share your master’s joy.” – Matthew 25:23

This is my favorite quote in the bible – I have it hanging prominently in my house, and I’ve given a framed copy to every one of my children.  It is from the Parable of the Talents, which every third year just happens to be the Gospel reading at Mass on the weekend of Time Trials.

For those of you who have been on the team for a while, you probably recognize it immediately as a frequent reference in my talks and interactions with you.

For those of you who are new to the team or for those of you from Trinity Meadow View, do you remember the story?

The Master went on a journey and called in his three (3) servants.  To one he gave five (5) Talents, to one he gave two (2) Talents, and to one he gave one (1) Talent – “to each according to his ability”.  Then the servants with five (5) and two (2) doubled what they had, but the servant with only one (1) Talent buried his.

When the Master returned home, he settled accounts.  To the ones with five (5) and two (2) Talents, he was well pleased: “Well done my good and faithful servant.  Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities.  Come, share your Master’s joy.”

But to the servant who buried his Talent out of fear that he might fail, he was not pleased at all: “You wicked, lazy servant!  Throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

Whoa!

I have spent a lot of time pondering that parable.  Jesus only had 1,000 days, so I don’t think he was saying anything superfluous.  So, why did Jesus choose to tell that story?

Is there more to our path to heaven than just being a “good” person?  Surely, you can be a “good” person without working really hard, or without continually improving yourself, or without taking any risks.

Can’t you?

So, there must be more to being a “good” person that just being pious, loving, and kind.  More to the point we are discussing here though: is there a reason why, in Jesus’ story, the Master gave a different number of Talents to each servant?

In my 60 years in this world, I’ve noticed that it is quite normal to see that the people around me start with different levels of ability in various things.  Doesn’t the fact that Jesus told this story sort of imply that that is part of God‘s plan?

If God wanted us all to be great swimmers in the objective sense, wouldn’t he have made us all 6’5” tall with big muscles, long arms, and tiny hips?  And isn’t it interesting that the Master seemed equally pleased with the servant who returned five (5) Talents and the servant who returned two (2)?

In pondering this Parable, I have come to these inescapable conclusions:

• There IS more to being a “good” person than just being pious, loving, and kind.
• It doesn’t matter how many Talents we have been given as long as we use them to the best of our ability.
• If we have a Talent and are afraid to use it, we are wasting a gift from God.

This is the biblical foundation for my definition of Excellence in our GEMS – It’s not about good – it’s about better.  Now let’s take this one more step and try to apply to all your lives.

On the continuum from massive failure to massive success, what is the middle called?  “Average”?  Or less charitably, “mediocre”?  Lord, may my name and the word “mediocre” never be used in the same sentence!

Do you want to know the formula to guarantee mediocrity in your life?  It’s simple.  Only do the things that you like to do.

And what are the things we tend to like to do?  The things that we are naturally good at – the things that come naturally to us.  In other words, the things for which we were given a lot of Talents.

So, what about the things for which we were given only one (1) talent – say breaststroke?  Are we not responsible for doubling that Talent too.

If you’ve read this far, I’m sure you know the answer.  This is why I try to get as many of you as possible to swim in all eight (8) individual events during the season.  I want to know the events where you are the weakest so that I can use them to push you out of your mediocre mindset.

Breaststroke is more than a swimming stroke.  It is also a metaphor for anything in your life where you lack confidence.  So, let’s double our Talents in breaststroke and then go crush the 200 IM, both literally and figuratively!

A Coming Out Party for Some New Swimmers

One thing that invariably happens at Time Trials is that several new swimmers make their presence known with outstanding early season performances.  This year was no different:

• Thiago Martinez (8) probably doesn’t qualify as an up-and-comer because it looks to me like he’s already come. How about a 56.76 in 100 Free for an 8^th grader?  You don’t see that very often.  It was a 3.31 second PR over last year’s best time.  He also dropped over 3 seconds in 100 Back and 100 Breaststroke, 1.01 seconds in 50 Fly and .49 seconds in 50 Free.
• Luke Partridge (FR) was a very pleasant surprise on the first day of practice, and his times on Friday night would put a smile on any coach’s face. I am particularly pleased with how coachable Luke is – you should have seen how long he was able to get his freestyle stroke this morning.  He really wants to do well and is willing to do what is required to get there.  Watch out for this outstanding new athlete on the team.
• Gigi Hill (SO) is new to the team and new to the school (I assume). Her times are already pretty good, and they are going to get much better as she learns the improved stroke technique of which I can see she is clearly capable.
• Jack Herwick (8) can be a really good one for Seton. Even with his raw strokes, his times are very fast for an 8^th  Once he refines his strokes with the work we are now doing at practice, I can see him being a contributor nearly right away at the Varsity level.
• Michael Brand (SO) is both new to the school and new to the team, but I can already see a great deal of potential in him. I can’t wait to see what he can do as he learns to swim the strokes with better technique.  And congratulations to Michael for being recognized as 1^st Team All-State in Cross Country!
• Dominic Judge (FR) finished last season in impressive fashion, and it already off to a great start this season with a 1.13 second PR in 50 Fly and a .21 second PR in 50 Free.
• Michael Zahorchak (FR) leveraged his commitment to a fall high-school prep swim program to drop 3.91 seconds in 100 Free, .21 seconds in 100 Back, and 1.86 seconds in 50 Fly. I’d expect Michael to start scoring some points for Seton this season, especially if he keeps improving like he has already.
• Kyleigh Fifield (FR) was on the team last year, but I’ll put her in this category because the vast improvement that I’m already seeing. Her commitment to a high-school prep program in the fall is clearly paying dividends.  She dropped 7.64 seconds in 100 Free, 5.35 seconds in 100 Breast, 3.71 seconds in 50 Fly, and .56 seconds in 50 Free.  If she keeps improving like that, we might be taking Kyleigh on some road trips with us when she gets older.
• Gabby Russo (FR) is another swimmer, who like Kyleigh, made the commitment to a high school prep program and is seeing great results. How about a 2.74 second PR in 100 Free, a 6.61 second PR in 100 Breaststroke, and a 3.34 second PR in 50 Fly!
• Sophia Halisky (8) can score this year, and looking at her 13.01 second PR in 50 Fly and her .38 second PR in 50 Free, she just might.
• Patrick Kay (8) looks like he’s going to be a good one for Seton. His 50 Fly was particularly impressive with a 4.90 second drop.
• Maggie Schroer (8) probably could have been a scoring swimmer last year, but she was only in 7^th grade, so it is great to see her continuing to improve her strokes and get faster as a result. A great example was her .99 second PR in 50 Fly on Friday night.
• Elizabeth Hurley (8) rocked her 50 Fly, dropping 5.16 seconds. With her long underwaters, I suspect that time is going to drop a bunch more.
• JJ Garvey (7) is looking pretty fast in the pool already, and work on improving stroke technique could turn him into a real player for Seton down the road.
• Katie Cooley (6) really caught my eye a couple times when I saw her in the water. She’s only in 6^th grade on our homeschool team, but her strokes are quickly getting better, and her times show me a lot of great potential for when she comes to Seton next year.
• Claire Kay (6) was right there with Katie in catching my eye on Friday night. I’ve also seen Claire in the Diving Dryland Facility at Renaissance Montessori, and she is already very impressive.
• Caroline Schroer (6) is the third in a trio of 6^th grade homeschool girls that really stood out on Friday. My crystal ball sees some pretty good girls relays in about 4 years or so.
• James Nguyen (6) swam all six (6) events, finishing 12^th in 200 Free and dropping 1.09 seconds from his 50 Free. His times are already pretty good for a 6^th  I can’t wait to get him on the Seton team.
• Paul Partridge (6) is another homeschooler who is already pretty fast. 1:10.58 in a 100 Free is not a time you see from a 6^th grader very often.  I can’t wait to see what he will do once he starts to swim the strokes in a more refined manner.

Returning Swimmers Who Looked Strong

Normally I would have every swimmer swim every event at Time Trials, but with the exceptionally large number of swimmers on the team this year, I had to cut scope a bit.  That doesn’t mean that some of our experienced swimmers didn’t get a chance to shine through.

Here are some of our returning swimmers who showed serious scoring potential for Seton on Friday night:

• For the Girls:
  • Ariana Aldeguer (FR) is back as our top female swimmer, and she just continues to get better. I only had her swim a few things, but she hit a PR in two (2) out of three of them, including a 1.41 second PR in 50 Fly to go 28.33.  Figuring out the best place to use her in our “A” medley relay is going to be an interesting challenge since she could swim in so many places.
  • Stella Paradise (SR) is another returning star whose versatility is incredibly powerful for a coach looking for a winning relay line-up. Her breaststroke really stood out to me after an .83 second PR, and, of course, we already know how good she is in sprint freestyle and 50 Fly.  Her versatility is another reason we will have so many options for this year’s girls’ medley relay.
  • Clara Condon (JR) started off Friday’s meet with a very encouraging swim in 100 Free. She was close to her PR time despite the fact that she’s only been in the water for 4 practices after forgoing another run at USA swimming this season.  I’m looking forward to seeing what a refreshed and energized Clara can do this season.
  • Lucia Bingham (JR) has worked her way to up to Group 1 for practice through her superior work ethic. That’s why I was so pleased to see her drop 3.26 seconds in 50 Fly and .84 seconds in 50 Free.
  • Maggie Gibbons (SR) has long been a stalwart of our relays, and with more time in the water over the next month or so, I know she’ll be back to her old form on the back-end of some relays.
  • Elodie Brox (JR) has been fighting a rib injury from lacrosse, but that didn’t keep her from swimming a 1.92 second PR in 50 Fly. I’m looking forward to seeing what a healthy Elodie can do this year.
  • Lucy Cunningham (JR) moved up to Group 1 this season on the strength of performances in the 500 Free during the later part of last season. I’m looking for some great things from Lucy whose strokes are beautiful.  She cut 2.01 seconds from her 50 Fly PR too.
  • Haley Fifield (JR) brought her long strokes to the pool with her on Friday night. I can see her being a key player for our girls’ team this season.
  • Anastasia Garvey (SO) has four (4) good strokes which is going to make her very valuable to our team this season. I expect her to score in many more places than backstroke this season.
  • Philomena Kay (FR) was one of the rare 8^th graders capable of scoring last year, and he 2.85 second drop in 50 Fly tells me she’s going to be even more capable as a freshman.
  • Rosie Waldron (JR) was just named All-State in Cross Country today! Way to go Rosie!  Now it’s time for Rosie to hit both the pool and the Diving board for another season as a dual-threat athlete for Seton.
  • Madelyn Zadnik (SR) is back for her senior campaign. I have seen so much maturity from this young woman.  Her example of service to the team as a Group 5 coach has been inspiring to all of us.
• For the Boys:
  • Lionel Martinez (FR) firmly cemented himself in the position as Seton’s top male swimmer, even though he is only a freshman. Not only did he place first in all six (6) events in which he swam, he dropped time in five (5) of them.  His biggest drop was 5.05 seconds in the 200 Free where he went a blazing 1:53.51
  • Michael Brox (JR) hit a huge early season PR in 100 Free – by 1.89 seconds. It didn’t surprise after watching his breakout performance in the relays at States last season.  He also dropped a remarkable 4.07 seconds in 50 Fly.  Watch out for Michael this season!
  • Connor Koehr (JR) is one of the most versatile athletes we have on the team. Our high-point winner the last two seasons, Connor projects to score a ton of points in Diving, potentially competing for All-State honors this year.  I also expect Connor to repeat as a formidable presence in our relays and in backstroke or the 500 Free.
  • Joseph Borneman (JR) finished last year with some very strong splits at States, and he looks to continue that positive trend this season. He started with an early-season PR in 100 Free, which is very hard to do given that it is still the beginning of his conditioning cycle.  Joe also cut .98 seconds in 50 Fly.
  • Liam Halisky (JR) rocked his 100 Breaststroke, cutting 8.19 seconds from his PR. I definitely wasn’t expecting that.  There’s more to high school swimming than sprint freestyle, and I’m looking forward to seeing Liam add to his already significant ability contribute by scoring in other events too.
  • Drew Nguyen (SO) looked very strong in the water on Friday, particularly during a 1.49 second PR in his much improved 50 Fly. I’m expecting big things from Drew this season with his powerful strokes.
  • Max Wilson (JR) is a the four (4)-stroke swimmer that coaches love to have on their teams – especially when they continue to improve the way Max is. On Friday, he cut 3.94 seconds from his 50 Fly PR and 1.17 seconds from his 50 Free PR.
  • Greg Bauer (SO) really looked good in the two events he swam, dropping 6.44 seconds in 50 Fly and 1.48 seconds in 50 Free. I’m looking forward to see Greg be a key contributor to our scoring this season.
  • Peter Konstanty (SR) just came off of a successful cross-country season, and that training should help him kick-start his performances in the December meets.
  • William Sokban (JR) is going to be a key contributor to our team once again this year. I loved seeing his 1.07 second PR in 50 Fly that left him just .08 seconds away from breaking the :30 second barrier.
  • Daniel Sokban (FR) broke his ankle in a JV soccer game about 6 weeks ago, yet he dropped time in both of his events. In 50 Fly he cut 3.87 seconds, and in 50 Free he cut .34 seconds.

Swimmers Who are Brand New to the Sport Showed Courage

Every year on the team, we have kids that come out for the sport who have never really swum at all.  It takes a lot of courage to try something so far out of your comfort zone, but I have enormous respect for the kids willing to do it.

Here are a few that really impressed me with their courage on Friday night:

• Audrey Mayer (6) came out as part of our homeschool team, and after just a few practices, fought her fear, jumped in for 50 Free – and swam it 65.76 seconds faster than she did on the first day of practice. Wow!  She also completed 100 Free, 100 Back, and 100 Breast for the first time – in public.  Great work.
• Evie Mayer (7) showed the way for her younger sister with great first-time swims in 100 Free, 100 Back, and 100 Breast.
• Patrick Judge (FR) is showing amazingly rapid improvement after only a few practices. I wish I would have had a starting time on some of the events he swam on Friday night because I know he’s already dropped a lot of time.
• Angela Andreu (FR) is new to the team and saw her first Personal Record, a 4.16 second drop in 50 Free. She broke 2:00 in 100 Free which I bet would have been a big PR for her had we had a time from the beginning of the season.
• Brian Orellana (8) is following in the footsteps of his big brother Kevin who started with little or no prior experience in swimming and became one of the biggest success stories in Seton history. Brian’s big 10.08 second improvement in 50 Free is the first of many big drops.  At practice last week, he tried the 200 Free for the first time.  I predict some unprecedented PRs in that event for Brian before the year is out.

86 Personal Records Already!

Our team’s core values, or GEMs, are Gratitude, Excellence, Meekness and Sacrifice.   The second GEM is Excellence, which has nothing to do with how good you are – it has everything to do with how much better you are.  Over the years, I have noticed that, if we all get better, the winning seems to take care of itself.

From our first practice until Christmas, we will use large chunks of our practice time to build every stroke and every wall from scratch.  This is the result of another truism that I learned long ago – the fastest way for a high school swimmer to get faster is to do the strokes right.  Dramatic improvements will never come by just swimming inefficiently incrementally better.

As you will see throughout the season, I will meticulously track Personal Records or “PRs” (i.e., Best Times) for each swimmer.  That is why seeing new swimmers at Time Trials is so important – to get a PR, you must have a time from which to improve.

It is nearly impossible to write a blog each week that mentions all 136 athletes on the Seton and Trinity Meadow View teams, but one thing I will commit to – if you swim a PR, you are going to get highlighted.  So, here are the swimmers not previously mentioned who swam at least one PR:

• Jed Albin (SR) cut 1.32 seconds from his 50 Fly PR from last years’ Time Trials. I’m enjoying the renewed determination I see from Jed for his final season.
• Betsy Arnold (8) cut 2.17 seconds from her 50 Fly PR.
• Katie Bauer (8) swam very well in 50 Fly and 50 Free, dropping 1.39 seconds and .88 seconds, respectively.
• Molly Bauer (JR) looked strong during her 4.75 second PR swim in 50 Fly. She also cut .75 seconds in 50 Free.
• Meg Blanchette (JR) is back to represent the Blanchette family, and she’s off to a great start with a 4.77 second PR in 50 Fly.
• John Cooley (8) continues his improvement trend from last season with another 1.13 second PR in 50 Free.
• Ben Ellis (FR) is back and showing improvement, this time with a .51 second PR in 50 Fly.
• Aoife Haggerty (7) had a great swim in 50 Fly, lowering her PR by 7.10 seconds.
• Eamon Haggerty (7) has been listening in practice. I can tell because he already dropped 3.49 seconds in 50 Free, a stroke on which we’ve been working since he last swam it on the first day.
• Claire Heiny (8) had a great swim in 50 Fly, swimming it 7.52 seconds faster than ever before.
• Mary Catherine Hurley (JR) had a strong swim in 50 Fly, dropping 1.92 seconds. She’s also diving for the first time this year which should increase the number of ways she can contribute to our team.
• Clare Judge (7) is clearly a natural athlete who has ventured into swimming for the first time. Not surprisingly, she is already showing rapid improvement.  How about a 5.97 second drop in 50 Free after just two (2) weeks!?
• Jane Judge (8) looked great in 50 Fly as she lowered her PR by another 4.80 seconds.
• Daniel Kohlhaas (7) had a huge 9.39 second drop in 200 Free and a 3.06 second drop in 50 Free. Keep it up Daniel!
• Colette Kramer (SO) is back and swimming better than ever with a 1.47 second PR in 50 Free.
• Cora Kramer (FR) dropped another 1.47 seconds in 50 Free.
• Penny Kramer (FR) is back after a year hiatus, and is already showing massive improvement. How about a 9.60 second PR in 50 Free!?
• Joey Lynch (8) had two PRs on Friday night. He cut 1.19 seconds in 50 Fly and .33 seconds in 50 Free.
• Julia Maranian (8) is new to the team and has already cut 7.06 seconds in 50 Free.
• Aidan McCardell (SO) managed to drop 64.18 seconds in 200 Free on Friday night!
• Mary Catherine Munsell (SO) is back on the team after a multi-year hiatus. On Friday, she cut another .19 seconds in 50 Free after a big PR at practice previously.
• Camilla Quispe (7) swam last year as a homeschooler and is now on the Seton team. It was great to see her drop .72 seconds in 50 Free.
• Evan Rodriguez (JR) is back after taking a break from swimming, so it was great to see him drop 7.48 seconds in 100 Free and 1.91 seconds in 100 Back.
• Noemi Rodriguez (FR) continues the dramatic improvement she’s made since she first joined the team as a new swimmer a couple of years ago. In 50 Fly, she dropped 3.70 seconds.
• Walter Saffian (JR) is such a joy to have on the team as a new swimmer. I love giving him some good-natured grief, but it’s not because he’s earned it.  I’m loving what I’m seeing in the water from Walter, including his 1.02 second PR in 50 Free.

Other Great Swims

The Meet on Friday night was very unusual in that new swimmer on the team was asked to swim five (5) different events in a single two (2)-hour period.  That’s not easy.

Here are some other swimmers who showed how much heart they had at Time Trials:

• Sage Armstrong (FR)
• Jenny Baughman (7)
• Joel Bookwalter (7)
• Caroline Brand (FR)
• Malia Buser (SO)
• Grace Catabui (6)
• Luke Fifield (7)
• Gigi Gibaldi (FR)
• Lucy Herwick (7)
• Thomas Keapproth (7)
• Matthew Maranian (6)
• Annabelle Mikkelson (7)
• Maggie Mikkelson (6)

And here are some other swimmers who came back to the team this year ready to improve their strokes and maybe work their way toward the Varsity team one day:

• Mariana Bingham (FR)
• Veronica Bingham (7)
• Jack Gregory (SR)
• Monica Irving (8)
• Avila Mantooth (8)
• Bella Nguyen (8)
• Allison Quispe (SO)
• Lily Waldron (8)
• Jonas Wilson (8)

“S” is for Sacrifice – We Love Our Teammates

I received this note with two (2) stories of Seton Swimmers living our GEMS from Coach Jerry Zadnik.  I just love stories like these:

In practice, we have covered freestyle drills and have yet to introduce backstroke and breaststroke.  At time trials, Clara Condon noticed that one of our newest swimmers was nervous about 100 backstroke and Clara took the time to review the entire race with her.  Clara described how backstrokers start in the water, what backstroke looks like, how to turn on your back and how to touch the wall at the end of the race.  Clara was very encouraging to a younger, less experienced swimmer to help her understand the race and have the courage to try it out.  Although I’m sure this happens often on the Seton Swim Team, Clara effortlessly Sacrificed some of her time before her own race to help out another swimmer because “we love our teammates”.   

Jed Albin was noticed making friends and chatting it up with one of his “rival” swimmers at Trinity Meadow View.  This is exactly what Coach Koehr mentioned when he encouraged our older swimmers to welcome the Trinity Meadow View swimmers. This is part of Meekness, to treat them with respect, get to know them as friends and fellow competitors then try to make them better by swimming our best against them.  

More Things That Worked Quite Well

I started this blog by highlighting several things that pleased me about the way we performed as a team on Friday night.  Among those were the way the Captains led, the way we handled the National Anthem, and the way our parent volunteers jumped in to run an excellent meet.

Let me highlight just a couple of others:

• Almost No Events Missed
  • Unlike most of our upcoming meets, we used a modified Clerk of the Course at this meet, but starting with our meets in December, we will not provide you with that level of supervision. You are swimming on a high school swim team now, so we make the assumptions that you can get yourself to where you are supposed to be.  Overall, I was pretty impressed with how well our young team was able to get themselves to where they were supposed to be, on time.
• Very Few Swimmers Skipped an Event
  • We had very few people skip their events without talking to me first. Usually that is a problem at this first Time Trial meet, but I’m happy to say that, for the most part, it wasn’t a problem this year.
  • I want to be clear on one thing going forward though – you are never allowed to skip an event without permission from me personally. Don’t go talk to Mom because you don’t want to talk to Dad.
  • I was a swimmer once too, so I know how nervous you can get before a race. Being nervous is never a reason to skip an event.
• Notification by Swimmers Who Must Miss the Meet – Normally at this point in the season, we have kids who fail to show up to the meet without notifying me in advance. Amazingly, that only happened one time this past weekend!  Thank you!
  • Please keep it up. If you must miss a meet at any point for the rest of the season, please just send me an e-mail now.

Opportunities to Improve

There were only three (3) areas I saw on Friday night where we must improve:

• Hot Tub Use
  • I almost couldn’t believe it. A few kids were missing while we were lining up for the 200 Freestyle, and you know where I found them?  In the hot tub in an area of the facility that they were not supposed to be in the first place.
  • At our meets, we stay in the team area unless we are going to blocks to swim or unless we are standing by a lane cheering one of our teammates.
• Arriving On-Time
  • Did you ever wonder why I publish such odd times for the start of our various events? It’s because that is exactly what time I want to start.  When I say that you should be stretching on 6:39 p.m., I do not mean “about 6:39 p.m.”.  I mean for you to be there before 6:39 p.m. so that you can be ready to go exactly at 6:39 p.m.
• Leaving Early
  • High School Swimming is not an individual sport – we are a team. We don’t leave to go home when we are done individually.  We stay and cheer for our teammates until the very end.  Then we leave when we are done as a team.  Can you imagine a football player going to the locker room before the game is over because he is done playing?
  • In our regular season meets, the final event is the 400 Freestyle relay. We try to make it a tradition at Seton to have the entire team in the team area by the side of the pool cheering for the swimmers in this final relay.  No one should be in the locker room or the bathroom during this final event.

The First GEM, “Grateful”

With Thanksgiving approaching, I thought it might be appropriate to share some words from Deacon Don Libera of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Warrenton:

This week offers us our first opportunity to put this into practice as we prepare for our Thanksgiving celebration on Thursday. In light of Thursday’s theme, maybe our focus, our theme during the coming weeks should be to have an attitude of gratitude. For indeed, when we are truly thankful, we are humbled because of the many blessings the Lord has bestowed on us.

When the spirit of gratitude is rooted in humility, it produces in us the fruit of authentic love, and becomes contagious. When we think about how gratitude works in our own lives, we know that when someone is sincerely grateful toward us for something that we did for them or gave to them, we are much more open to doing more for them.

When we see a spirit of generosity in our children, even when it is not directed toward us, we are more inclined to be more generous toward them. A spirit of gratitude and generosity in one person often causes the recipient to respond with gratitude and generosity. We bear God’s image in this. We imitate His unbounded generosity, His unbounded love for us. So how better to prepare?

I really like how Deacon Libera talks about the chain reaction that occurs when we show gratitude.  Gratitude is contagious.  Let’s start an epidemic!

Final Notes

• For this coming week, we’ll finish our work on freestyle and maybe start backstroke – so don’t miss practice!
• Don’t forget to set your goals for the season.  See Col. Schroer’s guest blog for details.
• On Saturday, December 30^th, we’ll have our annual Cystic-Fibrosis swim-a-thon. Normally it is on New Year’s Eve, but that is a Sunday this year, so we are doing it the day before.  Thanks again to the Given family for helping us run it once more.  I’ll pass on more information shortly, but I can tell you now that I’m looking forward to repeating the successful team effort of last season to raise money for this great cause.

I have been so pleased to see so many of you on deck with me and the other coaches for morning practice.  Your smiles, your laughter, and your desire to get better make it fun for me also.

See you tomorrow morning,

Coach Jim Koehr