Swimmer's Corner

ERSC Code of Conduct

ERSC Swimmers Code of Conduct

The undersigned athlete participating with/for the Elite Rays Swim Club (ERSC) agrees to abide by the guidelines outlined below in addition to those established by the staff.

Swim for the fun of it, not just to please your parents or coach.
Make every team practice, meet participation and activity an opportunity to learn.
Swimmers are expected to remember that at practice, during swim meets, team activities and in public they are representing ERSC. They should represent ERSC with excellence, respect, team spirit, good sportsmanship, and politeness.
Swimmers are expected at all times to follow the directions of any member of the coaching staff , respect any instructions by officials and any person who is a chaperone. Disrespect or failure to obey instructions will not be tolerated from any athlete.
Swimmers are expected to show respect, common courtesies and good sportsmanship at all times to the team members, coaches, competitors, officials, parents and for all facilities and other property used during practices, competitions and team activities.
Swimmers should be punctual and arrive on time for all practices and meets and team events. Pool time is very valuable.
Swimmers are required to attend all team meetings, practice sessions and swim meets (if registered for meets), unless excused by staff or have made special arrangements with their coach..
Swimmers must notify the coach in advance if they are planning to leave practice or swim meets early.
Swimmers are expected to wear ERSC team caps at all practices and team swim suits and team caps at all swim meets. This displays team pride and also makes it easier to identify swimmers on the blocks and in the water.
Swimmers will come to all team sponsored events in the appropriate attire.
Swimmers should be an active participant in all team practices, competitions, fundraising events and other team
activities.
Focus on every drill and every set. Be committed to putting forth your best effort everyday. An honest effort
does not include cutting laps, pulling on lane lines or missing send offs/sets.
Disruption of practice by an athlete will be grounds for removal. Continual cheating in a practice will be
considered a disruption of practice.
The coaches are there to help the swimmers. Swimmers are expected to pay attention and follow all of the coach’s instructions
completely and exactly. If any clarification is needed, they are to ask questions politely.
Swimmers are expected to use appropriate language. Use of profane or abusive language or obscene gestures will not be tolerated.

Dishonestly, theft, and/or vandalism will not be tolerated.
Indiscreet or destructive behavior will not be tolerated
Every effort should be made to avoid guilt by association with such activities as those listed above.

There shall be no drinking of alcohol or use of tobacco products or illegal drugs or any substances banned by USA Swimming
Swimmers are expected to respect each other. Fighting, intentional touching or striking another athlete will subject the swimmer to the most severe discipline.

Swimmers are expected to follow the spirit of the rules as well as the specific rules. The coach must adapt this philosophy to an infinite number of situations. Swimmers are asked to respect the coach’s directions and give their full cooperation. Cooperation with teammates and staff will produce a productive practice environment and competitive environment for all.

PART IV – VIOLATION OF THE CODE - SWIMMERS

The coaches have the authority to impose the following penalties for violation of the Elite Rays Swim Club Code of Conduct. The penalties include, but are not limited to, the following:

The swimmer will be given a verbal warning.
The swimmer will be pulled out of practice in addition to a verbal warning and the coach will contact the parent.
The swimmer will need to be accompanied by a parent at practice for four (4) consecutive days.
If the swimmer continues his/her bad behavior, he/she will be suspended for one (1) week. (There will be NO prorated fee for monthly dues.)
If the swimmers disciplinary problem continues, the swimmer and parent will meet with the coach to discuss the problem further.

I agree that if I violate any of these rules, I will be subject to disciplinary action determined by the coaches, which may include expulsion from the team.

ERSC Team Goals

Adopted By: Tonya Nascimento

1. Know your times.
First, you need to know your times. I have seen countless swimmers consult the heat sheet to find out their time just before swimming a race. They then, on the spot, make a goal to beat that time during the race. There are three problems with this method.

One problem is that sometimes the heat sheet is wrong. The swimmers then find out they were upset about swimming slower when their coach entered them in a made-up faster time for more competition, or they find out they were ecstatic about a best time when they were entered weeks ago and have actually already since swum faster. Heat sheets are not a reliable source for finding out your best times.

A second problem with this method is that consistently beating the time in the heat sheet during mid-season races is not realistic. Even if the heat sheet shows their best time, the older and faster a swimmer is, the less often best times will occur during the season. There needs to be a recovery and taper period to get the body and mind into peak condition.

A third problem is they have not prepared themselves to beat the time. Picking a time to beat just before racing is like walking through a maze (or from the light switch to your bed) for the first time in the dark. Once you know the maze, your body seems to "know" where to go. Similarly, your body and your mind need to communicate what it feels like to swim certain times. This work takes place in practice first. If you pay attention to your times as you swim sets, you can get a feel for a 30 second 50 freestyle or a 100 backstroke in 1:10. If you need to take out your first 50 of a 100 freestyle in a race in 28, you need to have developed an idea of what that speed feels like.

2. Set progress goal times for practice meets.
In order to reach your goal times, there needs to be a process of preparation. In addition to end-of-the-season goal times, you also need goal times for the meets leading up to the target meet. Some coaches call these "practice meets" to emphasize their role in preparing swimmers for the target meet.

For instance, say a female swimmer's best time in the 100 backstroke is 1:00. She would like to break a minute at the target meet. During the practice meets she typically swims 1:02. A good practice meet goal would then be low 1:01 so that it is easier to drop below 1:00 at the end of the season.

3. Set progress goal times for practice sets.
In order to get to 1:01 at the meets, times in practice need to drop as well. Perhaps this hypothetical swimmer usually paces 100 backstrokes in practice at 1:06. With a little more rest, she drops to 1:04. Goal times for practice might then be 1:04-1:05, and low 1:03 with more rest. By consistently paying attention to times in practice, your body starts to "know" what it feels like to swim a certain pace.

In order to make these drops in practice, progress goals in areas other than time need to be met. Changes in technique might be necessary. More rest or more carbs might be needed. Positive self-talk or a willingness to challenge oneself might need work.

4. Progress is not all about times.
The emphasis thus far has been to show how times can be used to improve during practice and mid-season meets in pursuit of the desired best time. However, it is important to keep in mind that times are only one marker for improvement, and there will be days when the goal times just will not happen. It in no way means the drop to a best time will not happen either; swimmers often perform much better than expected in the right conditions. In other words, you might not reach your practice goals times or your meet goal times, but with a little more rest, or with other responsibilities set aside for the "big meet," or with the excitement of the championship, you might still reach your end of the season goal. Never count yourself out; just use goals to help motivate you on your way.

Also keep in mind that improvement is not always indicated by time. Other markers for improvement can be measured with your progress goals apart from times. When there are changes in race strategy or technique, it is expected to swim slower at first because of the thought involved in making the changes. Once the changes become automatic, then the times will start to drop again. Therefore, slower times, but better technique, also indicates improvement toward a drop at the end of the season. Define for yourself (with the help of your coach) what indicates improvement in a specific race.

Sometimes you might need to take the pressure off dropping time. When it comes down to it, swimming is about putting 100 percent of your effort into a race so that when it is over, you know you could not have done one thing more, regardless of what the clock says. If you can do that, you will experience success.

5. Refocus on improvement and adjust goals when needed.
"There are no failures - just experiences and your reactions to them." ~ Tom Krause

Failure and success are perceptions based on whether we fell short or exceeded our expectations. This is one reason to have realistic expectations; it ensures success is possible. But we can fail to reach even realistic expectations. Your work all season long is to increase the likelihood of success at the end, but even with the best preparation, there is no guarantee.

After the target meet focus on what you did well and where you can improve. Maybe you reached all your goals. Congratulations. You still need to figure out what you did well, and where you can improve. Maybe you were disappointed with your times. Refocus on what you did well and where you can improve. You might have actually swum faster, but had a few little mistakes that meant the faster speed did not show in your time. You might have improved in most or all of your progress goals, but did not have enough time in one season for it to come together at the championships; maybe one more season will allow that happen.

As swimmers, we want to get faster, and it is only with perspective that I can say this: a tough and positive attitude and outlook developed in pursuit of reaching your full potential is a truer marker of success as a swimmer than the final best time in your personal record book. Remember goals give direction. They are meant to motivate. They are not the marker of success or failure as a swimmer, only markers of improvement and what to do next. There is so much more to swimming than the time on the clock. Use your goals as a tool to improve daily, and you will leave this sport with the perception of having succeeded.

ARTICLES FOR SWIMMERS (see attachments)

Nutrition Center

Nutritional Cheat Sheet PART ii
BY MIKE MEJIA, M.S., C.S.C.S//Special Correspondent

Eat Breakfast

Start out with a proper breakfast. This does not entail grabbing a bagel with cream cheese and eating it in the car with a large orange juice on the way there. The bagel, especially if it's made with white flour can really jack up your blood sugar levels. Granted, the fat in the cream cheese will blunt this affect somewhat, but add in the OJ and you'll be all fired up for warm-ups and likely crash shortly thereafter.

The best-case scenario is to sit down and eat some slow cooked oatmeal (prepared the night before) with fruit, or some eggs and whole grain toast, or whole grain cereal with skim, or low fat milk. If it's an early meet and you must eat on the run, at least make it a whole grain bagel with peanut butter, as the these two foods together make up what is known as a complete protein by providing your body with all the essential amino acids it needs. Trade in the OJ for a lower sugar sports drink and you're good to go. Some more foods to stay away from include bacon, sausage, croissants, doughnuts and sugary breakfast cereals.

As far as what you should have in your bag for snacking, I think the best way to address this is with a list of what you should bring, vs. what you should not bring.

What to Bring:

1. At least 32 oz. of water to drink during and after the meet.

2. No more than 16-20 oz. of sports drinks that meet the above criteria.

3. Energy bars: Try to stick with bars that have less than 10 grams of fat, and less than 35% of their calories from sugar (the lower the better). To calculate this: multiply the number of grams of sugar by 4 and then divide that number into the total calories. Some recommended brands include: Kashi TLC Bars, and Odwalla Bars.

4. Whole grain pretzels, crackers and cereals.

5. Nuts, seeds and dried fruit (in limited quantity due to the relatively high sugar content).

6. Lower Sugar Fruits: Strawberries, Apples, Cantaloupe, Blueberries, Raspberries and peaches.

What not to bring, or bring less of:

1. Chips of any type. Most are loaded with fat and calories.

2. Goldfish, Cheese Nips, or any other types of crackers made with white, enriched flower.

3. White Bagels and Breads.

4. High Sugar Fruits: Banans, Raisins, Pineapple and Grapes.

5. High Sugar Energy Bars: Many types of Power Bars fall into this category.

6. Fruit Juices of any type: Too high in sugar and don't clear the gut as rapidly as sports drinks, possibly leading to stomach cramping.

7. Soda. This one's an absolute no-no!

8. Cookies, candy, gummy bears, or anything else along those lines.