2013 march april newsletter 2

his thigh and the

ability to develop

those that were left.

As he has grown, the disability

has proven it more difficult to

chase the ever illusive time

standards of USA swimming.

Today, the camp selection has

provided a new boost of enthu-

siasm and confidence in his

ability to compete. He sees this

opportunity as a chance to

swim against peers of compa-

rable disability in a pool where

everyone is equally challenged.

He will face competitors across

the United States and if he can

reach the top he will eventually

compete against others from

around the world.

We know Mitch and Coach

Chris will represent FLEET well

in San Antonio and give the

club exposure to the realm of

Paralympic swimming.

Go Mitch, Go FLEET, Go Team

FLEET has a tradition of being

the home of many successful

swimmers; Olympic competi-

tors, Olympic Trial hopefuls,

State Champions, Sectional

and TAGS swimmers. All are

great individuals in their own

right. Today we have another

FLEET first and potential future

Paralympic Swimmer.

The U.S. Paralympic Swim Com-

mittee has selected Mitch Mar-

tin from our Junior team under

Alex Rayner for participation in

a camp next month in San An-

tonio. The USOC is looking for

new athletes to compete in the

U.S. Paralympic Swimming

realm and they want to see if

Mitch has the right stuff to

compete against the best in the

United States and the World

during International competi-

tion.

Many of you know Mitch as he

has competed in the Texas Gulf

LSC for eight years. You’ve

seen him at practice with one

fin or around the pool at swim

meets, but few of you know

what motivates him. Mitch

found early success in the

swimming pool as a means of

recovering from a bout with

Cancer in 2001. As a result of

the Cancer treatment, Mitch

developed bone growth issues

on his lower right side, lost a

significant amount of muscle in

Cy Fair Swim Club “Home of the Fleet”

Upcoming Events:

• Open Meet (hosted by TWST)

April 19—21

• Aggie Swim Meet

April 20—21

• Fireside Chat

April 24

• Swim-a-thon

April 27

• Awards Banquet

April 28

• Open Meet (hosted by CFSC)

May 3—5

• Senior Circuit (hosted by TWST)

May 18—20

• Shreveport

June 7—9

Fleet Swimming and Fleet FIRST Swim School March/April 2013 Cy Fair Swim Club

Inside this issue:

Senior Season

Conclusion

2

Senior Season

Highlights

2

Coach Jack 3

Coach Matt 4

FLEET FIRST 4

Coach Alex 5

Coach Dustin 5

Coach Maryanne 6

Awards Banquet 6

Coach Andy 7

Ge�ng M.A.D 9

Swim-a-thon

update

8

www.FleetSwimming.com www.FleetFirstSwimSchool.com

Fleet would like to give a big congratulations to Mitch Martin for being select-

ed to participate in the US Paralympics Swimming Community Camp. Mitch

will represent Fleet in San Antonio the weekend of April 12-13th. Mitch will be

attending the camp with Coach Chris Woolsey.

Congratulations to Mitch Martin!

Fleet Coaches

Coach Chris

Page 2 Cy Fair Swim Club “Home of the Fleet”

“The most “The most “The most “The most

important thing important thing important thing important thing

for all of these for all of these for all of these for all of these

athletes is to athletes is to athletes is to athletes is to

have a purpose have a purpose have a purpose have a purpose

when they when they when they when they

arrive at arrive at arrive at arrive at

practice practice practice practice

everyday. “everyday. “everyday. “everyday. “


The short course season has

come to a conclusion for our

senior swimmers as they left

the deck on Sunday night in

College Station. Fleet had a

strong showing as they had

numerous second swims and

established many new time

standards. Having this meet a

travel trip for these athletes

also created a great team at-

mosphere on deck. Fleet was

led by Stuart Sharp who won

the 200 Free and led the

charge by scoring over 60 indi-

vidual points for CFSC. The

Boys squad tied for 6th with

Alamo Area Aquatic Association

and Fleet finished 12th place as

a team. Ashley Johnson led the

girls by scoring in the 100 Free

and setting two new team rec-

ords for the 15-16 girls age

group. Ashley broke Camille

Adams record in the 100 Fly

with a time 55.32 and broke

Ashley Richter’s 100 Free rec-

ord with a time of 51.38.

As a season comes to an end,

athletes start mapping out their

goals for the upcoming long

course season. Some athletes

start to dream bigger, while

others have a cathartic mo-

ment and reevaluate how they

might produce a different out-

come in July.

We will sit down as a group and

talk about these goals individu-

ally and collectively. The most

important thing for all of these

athletes is to have a purpose

when they arrive at practice

everyday. This comes in the

form of setting goals, which are

realistic and attainable, based

on the work each athlete is

willing to do. The bottom line is

that goals are not attainable if

the proper action is not taken

to achieve them.

So enjoy the break, and let’s

get ready to climb the next

mountain.

GO FLEET!

Senior Short Season Conclusion

New Team RecordsNew Team RecordsNew Team RecordsNew Team Records

Ashley Johnson broke the 15-

16 Girls 100 Fly and 100 Free

Team Record!

New NCSA Junior CutsNew NCSA Junior CutsNew NCSA Junior CutsNew NCSA Junior Cuts

Kieren Tuff-1000/1650 Free

Andrew Ellison-1000/1650

Free

Ashley Johnson-100 Back

Stuart Sharp-100 Back

Ben Hardisty-200 Breast

Hunter Gildart-500 Free

Drew Riebel-50/100 Free and

200IM

Alex Layne-100 Fly

Austin Van Overdam-100 Fly

New Summer Junior National New Summer Junior National New Summer Junior National New Summer Junior National

CutsCutsCutsCuts

Austin Van Overdam-200 Back

Stuart Sharp-50/200 Free

Individual Athlete Top 32 Individual Athlete Top 32 Individual Athlete Top 32 Individual Athlete Top 32

finishesfinishesfinishesfinishes

Stuart Sharp- 1st-200 Free, 3rd-

50/100 Free, 6th-500 Free

Ashley Johsnson-11th Place-

100 Free, 20th-50 Free 25th-

100 Fly, 27th-100 Back

Austin VanOverdam-9th-400

IM,11th-200IM, 15th-100 Back

and 17th-200 Back

Kieren Tuff-20th-1650 Free and

22nd-1000 Free

Andrew Ellison-21st-1650 Free

and 25th-1000 Free

Tori Karker-=30th-1000 Free

Hunter Gildart-500 Free

Evan Schmitzberger-15th-100

Breast

Ben Hardisty-25th-100 Breast

Drew Riebel-15th-100 Free,

22nd-50 Free and 26th-100

Breast

Scoring RelaysScoring RelaysScoring RelaysScoring Relays

Girls

400 Free Relay-15th-Karoline

Eckhart, Courtney Connelly,

Ashley Johnson and Tori Karker

Boys

400 Free Relay-7th-Stuart

Sharp, Drew Riebel, Alex Layne

and Austin Van Overdam

800 Free Relay-5th-Stuart

Sharp, Drew Riebel, Hunter

Gildart and Austin Van

Overdam

400 Medley Relay-5th-Austin

Van Overdam, Evan Schmitz-

berger, Alex Layne and Stuart

Sharp

Senior Season Highlights

My reflection from this short course season is one of opti-mism for the future. As I ex-plained at the parent meeting, it’s an exciting time to be a part of Cypress Fair-banks Swim Club. The coaching staff has brought forth a lot of new ideas that will be imple-mented over the next six months. With a club over 450 swimmers, sometimes that can be a precari-

ous situation.

It’s our goal as a staff to communi-cate our vision weekly in our announcements, monthly in our newsletter, three times a year in our swimmer evaluations, and Bi-annually with our parent meetings. We will be 100 per-cent transparent with our pro-cess, but as coaches we are driving the bus with this vision and we need you to be our sup-

port mechanisms.

Everything we do is based on what is best for each athlete and how it works in the con-fines of being the best team possible. The reason I came to Fleet was not to have a couple great individual performances, but to create a new legacy of

comprehensive greatness.

There is one area, especially at the senior level part of our pro-gram, where we can improve greatly. I believe that we can be tougher mentally at champi-

onship meets when it came to second swim opportunities. This was even more ap-parent when it came to people being on relays at Gulf Champs, 13-Over Champs and Section-

als.

When we go to a championship meet it is the expectation of the Fleet staff that every swimmer will

be available to swim finals and be on relays at night. It is a privilege to swim at a champi-onship meet; and it is an honor to get a second swim and op-portunity to be picked for a relay. Remember when it’s a championship meet; we are here to win and every swim counts and RELAYS ARE DOU-

BLE THE POINTS!

When you have this opportunity it’s imperative that you take care of yourself so that you can come back at night and swim faster, whether it’s for an indi-vidual event or a relay. Taking care of yourself means warming down properly after your last event (this should take 10-15 minutes of straight swimming),

getting a good healthy meal at lunch and lying down to take a

nap.

As you get prepared to head to the pool for finals make sure you wake-up two hours before warm-up so you are physically and mentally ready to get in the

water when you get to the pool.

Whether you are in an individu-al event or on a relay, when you put on the red Fleet cap at night, you are swimming for something bigger than yourself. You are swimming for a tradi-tion that goes back nearly 40 years. We need to embrace that tradition, and have it really mean something in the Gulf, the Southeast and the rest of

USA Swimming.

We recently finished 13th at Senior Sectionals and 16th at TAGS; those are respectable finishes if you have never fin-ished in the top 10 before at those meets before. For a club of 450 swimmers and with our facilities, we need to have big-ger goals for our program. Mov-ing forward, we need to make excellence the norm, and that norm should be that we are competiting for the podium on the last day of every champion-ship meet. It’s when we take this step forward that we will embrace the greatness of the past, set a dynasty for the fu-

ture.

GO FLEET!

Coach Jack


““““The reason I The reason I The reason I The reason I

came to Fleet came to Fleet came to Fleet came to Fleet

was not to have was not to have was not to have was not to have

a couple great a couple great a couple great a couple great

individual individual individual individual

performances, performances, performances, performances,

but to create a but to create a but to create a but to create a

new legacy of new legacy of new legacy of new legacy of

comprehensive comprehensive comprehensive comprehensive

greatness.”greatness.”greatness.”greatness.”

Page 3


One of my biggest goals for our program is for us to communicate our philosophy and

vision as much as possible. So on Wednesday, April 24th I will host my first Fireside

Chat with the families of Fleet in the conference room.

This Fireside Chat will run from 6:30-7:30pm.

The focus of this chat will be long term development of the age group athlete, why we

do what we do as a program.

I will be there to answer any questions, or just have some healthy dialogue about the

future of Fleet. I hope to see you there.

Families of Fleet:

Coach Jack

As I reflect on this past season,

the most common word that

comes to mind is change. With

all of the changes that have

happened over the course of

the year, our team has been

challenged probably more than

ever in its entire history, at

least in the past decade. Being

the coach on staff who’s been

here the longest, I can certainly

attest to the fact that things are

different around here.

But change isn’t necessarily a

negative thing. In fact, I can

honestly say that this is the

most motivated, reliable, and

organized coaching staff that I

have ever worked with. Don’t

get me wrong, some of the

great coaches that have come

and gone over the years have

been absolutely instrumental in

the amount of success that

Fleet has had and helped us

become one of the best teams

in the United States, as well as

helped me become the coach

that I am today. But the current

staff that we have in place is

exactly what we need to contin-

ue on to even high-

er successes.

As coaches, we are

constantly trying to

get swimmers to

make changes

that will ultimately

make them better

swimmers. For

some swimmers,

this is difficult

because they’ve been doing the

same thing for such a long time

and have difficulty trusting in

the new way of doing things.

But those who commit to mak-

ing those changes and adjust-

ments will soon see positive

results. Those who refuse to

make these changes will make

much slower progress, if any.

Looking back on our season of

changes, it is very clear to see

those who embraced the

changes on our team and those

who refused to go along with

them. Those who were

willing to move forward

were VERY successful

this season. All of

those who have been

slow to accept our

newly renovated pro-

gram have suffered for

the most part.

Fortunately, I feel that

the majority of us have

stuck together and are ready to

take on new paths and achieve

greater success. I’m very excit-

ed about the future of our pro-

gram that has definitely be-

come my second family over

the years. Let’s continue press-

ing forward achieving new

heights, and have some fun

along the way!

much of the operating expens-

es, maintenance and improve-

ments are made through the

revenue generated by FLEET

FIRST. In short, without FLEET

FIRST, the swim team would

look very different. We can’t

take them for granted.

Every member at FLEET is valu-

able and important, but our

FLEET FIRST Members are

unique and our actions need to

reflect it. Remember that the

parents, who are arriving at

FLEET to take their small chil-

dren to swim lessons, need to

be given easy access. Please

leave all of the parking spaces

on the asphalt, especially along

the fence line facing the pool,

open for FLEET FIRST. This is

especially important in the

Many of you may not even be

aware that located in the build-

ing right behind the office is our

FLEET FIRST swim school. This

school is by far the most im-

portant part of the Cypress

Fairbanks Swim Club. CFSC is

actually composed of three

distinct businesses. FLEET FLEET FLEET FLEET

FIRSTFIRSTFIRSTFIRST---- the swim school, FLEETFLEETFLEETFLEET-

the swim team and often re-

ferred to as the “competitive”

portion of the business and the

MastersMastersMastersMasters ProgramProgramProgramProgram. What is most

important to understand is that

the revenue generated from

FLEET FIRST is critical to the

overall success of our club and

in fact makes it possible for us

to have a competitive swim

club. While we do generate

revenue from swim meets, the

swim-a-thon and monthly dues,

evening! Often these parents

are struggling with several chil-

dren as they make their way

back to the school. We should

keep the walkways as clear as

possible. It can be overwhelm-

ing for a small child to walk

through a bunch of energetic

teenagers waiting to start prac-

tice. Swimmers should use the

new expanded walkway to

leave bags or stand and chat

before practice. We want FLEET

FIRST customers to tell their

friends that they had a good

experience with us, so encour-

age your friends to give our

swim school a try. Your swim-

mer will directly benefit as more

customers utilize FLEET FIRST.

If we work together, we can all

reap the benefit.

Coach Matt: Changes

FLEET FIRST – Why It’s So Important


“The current “The current “The current “The current

staff that we staff that we staff that we staff that we

have in place is have in place is have in place is have in place is

exactly what we exactly what we exactly what we exactly what we

need to need to need to need to

continue on to continue on to continue on to continue on to

even higher even higher even higher even higher

successes.”successes.”successes.”successes.”


The short course season can be

one of the most hectic periods

of time in a swimmers

already busy schedule,

and this past short

course season was no

different. Representing

Fleet in over 10 meets

within the last 4

months has taken its

toll on the swimmers,

parents, and coaches

alike, and as a team we

have all enjoyed a well

deserved break. Now that we

have had a week off to unwind

and relax, there are several key

points that I as a coach would

like to reflect upon. One of

those points is being able to

understand the relationship

between attendance and work

ethic as they per-

tain to success at

meets. It’s easy

to motivate your-

self to come to

practice as a

season winds

down. The

workouts get

easier, the mood

lightens, and it’s

during this time

that you get to experience the

fun side of the sport. However,

as we enter what promises to

be a demanding long course

season, it is important to re-

member that your meet suc-

cess largely depends on what

you as an athlete are willing to

put into the workouts each and

every day. This is a sport with a

multitude of variables and an-

gles, but across the board, over

the short course championship

season, we saw a correlation

between high attendance and

work ethic with end of season

success. Set yourself up for

success! There are no easy

routes in this sport, and nothing

will come easy. If you are will-

ing to bring your best, however,

you will reap what you sow at

the end of the long course sea-

son. Congrats on a great short

course, Fleet! Let’s get ready

for what’s ahead!

Coach Alex: End of Season Success

Coach Dustin: Reflection of 2012-2013 Short Course Season

things that needed to be done,

but you didn’t do a good job at?

How can you make those posi-

tive changes next season?

These are all

questions that as

coaches, we ask

ourselves, and it

should be ques-

tions that as

swimmers you

ask yourself as

well. Don’t be

afraid to talk to

your primary

coach about how

your season

went. They can help guide you

through the reflection process,

and set goals leading into the

next season.

Looking back at this short

course season, a quote comes

to mind: “Adversity does not

build character, it reveals it.” I

think it’s safe to say that for

many people on Fleet, this sea-

son has been a roller coaster of

sorts, full of changes, surprises,

and more changes. Most swim-

mers – and coaches too – like

and need consistency with

training, so with all the changes

that happened, it definitely

wasn’t easy to stay focused and

motivated. But, like the quote

above says, it is when we are

faced with adversity that we are

able to show what we are really

made of. Despite everything

that Fleet has gone through

over the past six months, I be-

lieve we persevered, and came

out on top. We had a ton of

great swims at our champion-

ship meets this short course

season. Going through what

we’ve gone through, and still

swimming the way we did,

shows a lot about who we are

and what we’re made of. The

coaches are proud of everyone

for that, and you should be

proud of yourselves.

At the conclusion of a season,

you always look back and re-

flect on how it went. Did you

achieve what you set out to do?

If you did, what were

some of the important

things you did, that got

you where you wanted

to go? How can you

improve upon that to

ensure you have suc-

cess again next sea-

son? If you didn’t

reach your goals this

season, did you still

make improvements?

Not reaching your goal

doesn’t mean you didn’t have

success, as long as you made

positive steps in the right direc-

tion. And failing to reach your

goal isn’t always a bad thing. A

lot of times it intensifies our

hunger, and makes us “want it”

even more. But if you didn’t

achieve what you set out to do,

why not? What were some


“We saw a “We saw a “We saw a “We saw a

correlation correlation correlation correlation

between high between high between high between high

attendance and attendance and attendance and attendance and

work ethic with work ethic with work ethic with work ethic with

end of season end of season end of season end of season

success.” success.” success.” success.”

Page 5


I am so proud of the success

that the Bronze 2 and Silver 1

group had this season. I was

able to get the kids out of their

comfort zone and swim new

events, we had first time TAGS

qualifiers, an incredible amount

of new “A” times and we had

fun doing it all!

I set a goal at the beginning of

the season for every swimmer

to have a time in every event.

We didn’t quite make that goal,

but we came very close! My

favorite way of accomplishing

this goal was swimming an

event as a group. We train

together, so why not race to-

gether as well? As we move

forward into the next season I

would like to encourage every-

one to continue pushing their

kids to swim new and different

events. Don’t confine them to

only being good at one stroke!

Promote the other strokes and

praise the swimmer when they

try new things.

Another area that the Arnold

group was amazingly success-

ful in was attendance. The

perfect attendance award was

a much anticipated presenta-

tion each

month and the

swimmers really

responded to

the challenge of

making at least

one month of

perfect attend-

ance. I even

had two Bronze

2 swimmers

achieve 6

months straight

of perfect attendance! That’s

an entire season without miss-

ing one practice! Congratula-

tions Andrew Meadows and

Andrew Wang!!

High attendance comes with

benefits. Those that came to

practice every day for an entire

month were able to see the

results at their next meet. Time

drops are always the best posi-

tive reinforcement for working

hard and attending practice.

But it did go the other way, too.

I was able to teach those that

missed often that they cannot

expect to swim fast without

practicing. It is important to

keep expectations in

line with commitment

in anything that you

do, and this is a great

way to learn such an

important life lesson.

I have had an amaz-

ing time coaching

this year and I have

learned so much

from my swimmers. I

want to say a huge

THANK YOU to my

swim parents that bring their

children to my pool every day

and trust me with their child’s

swimming. You are the most

important cheerleader in their

swimming career and without

you they could not accomplish

the things they have this sea-

son. And I think next year I will

start handing out an award to

the parents of a perfect attend-

ance swimmer as well.

See you at the pool!!

All swimmers that have partici-All swimmers that have partici-All swimmers that have partici-All swimmers that have partici-

pated in either Long Course pated in either Long Course pated in either Long Course pated in either Long Course

2012 or Short Course 20122012 or Short Course 20122012 or Short Course 20122012 or Short Course 2012----

2013 Championship meets will 2013 Championship meets will 2013 Championship meets will 2013 Championship meets will

be awarded and recognized.be awarded and recognized.be awarded and recognized.be awarded and recognized. All All All All

Fleet or Gulf Age groupFleet or Gulf Age groupFleet or Gulf Age groupFleet or Gulf Age group record record record record

breakers will also be recog-breakers will also be recog-breakers will also be recog-breakers will also be recog-

nized. Special recognitionnized. Special recognitionnized. Special recognitionnized. Special recognition will will will will

be given to thebe given to thebe given to thebe given to the graduating class graduating class graduating class graduating class

for their many years of service

to the sport. Their individual

memory posters will be on dis-

play and these are always in-

spiring and fun to view. This is

a wonderful time for our coach-

es to reflect over the season

Cypress Fairbanks Swim Club

will host its annual Awards Ban-

quet on April 28th, at the Ster-

ling Country Club located at

16500 Houston National Blvd,

Houston, Texas 77095. Our

annual Awards Banquet has

been a tradition at FLEET for

over 15 years. It’s a day on

which we can stop to

acknowledge our athletes and

our graduating High School

seniors to give recognition for

the hard work and dedication

that they have put into their

sport.

and congratulate the swimmers

for their accomplishments.

A lunch will be served at the

banquet and there will be a

silent auction of baskets pre-

pared by the Swim-a-thon Com-

mittee available for bidding.

We hope that you can attend

this event and take a moment

to give back and reflect on the

athletes that give so much to

be the best they can be in their

sport. We look forward to see-

ing you there. Watch your

email and our website for sig-

nup information!

Coach Maryanne: High Attendance comes with Benefits

Awards Banquet – Save the Date!


“Continue “Continue “Continue “Continue

pushing your pushing your pushing your pushing your

kids to swim kids to swim kids to swim kids to swim

new and new and new and new and

different different different different

events.”events.”events.”events.”


Now that the short course sea-

son in over and I have had a

chance to sit back and reflect,

I’m most drawn to the end of

the season and how well we did

in such a short time. Okay, okay

I know the season is long, but

we have to remember I started

mid season. At that point, we

were short staffed and I was

stretched thin trying to help

meet the needs of as many

groups as I could. Finally, in

December, our new staff was in

place, and I could really get

focused. As I said before, we

had a short season together,

mid-December – early March.

Ours swimmers should be high-

ly praised for being strong and

staying the course with FLEET

through all the changes. In a

very short time, most swimmers

adjusted to my coaching style/

system and got focused on

working on their strokes and

making positive adjustments.

The end reward was great re-

sults for many swimmers.

Again, they did all this in a short

amount of time.

The “Champs Season” was a lot

of fun to coach. Our Fleet host-

ed Spring Champs meet was

crazy good! Most heats had

several Fleet swimmers in

them. Our Fleet swimmers

stepped up to the plate and

crushed a home run. We won

the meet and had several swim-

mers achieved new TAGS times.

A few swimmers also made the

time standards to swim at the

13 and Over Spring Champs.

Here are some stats:

Coach Andy: A Season In Review

Cy Fair Swim Club “Home of the Fleet” Page 7


Entry InformationEntry InformationEntry InformationEntry Information New Time Standards AchievedNew Time Standards AchievedNew Time Standards AchievedNew Time Standards Achieved

Number of Swimmers: 157 B: 60

Number of swims: 940 BB: 73

Number of best times: 715 A: 47

Percent of best times: 76% AA: 43

Number of DQs: 24 AAA: 7

Number of No Shows: 10 AAAA: 0

TAGS: 9

Sectionals Bonus: 0

Sectionals: 0


Number of Swimmers: 33 B:

Number of swims: 193 BB:





TAGS: 3 relays qualified

Sectionals Bonus: 0

Sectionals: 0


Number of Swimmers: 33 B:

Number of swims: 193 BB:





TAGS: 3 relays qualified

Sectionals Bonus: 0

Sectionals: 0

At the 13 and Over Prelim/

Finals Spring Champs Meet,

Fleet swimmers once again did

an awesome job and finished in

5th place. Our swimmers did a

great job of getting up on the

blocks and racing their way into

finals and then showing up in

finals and finding a way to go

faster.


Finally, we had TAGS. Fleet

swimmers did a great job deal-

ing with the pressure of being

at a big meet and found ways to

out swim their competitors and

made it into finals. Our relays

were outstanding and scored a

lot of points carrying Fleet into

16th place.


I can’t wait to have a full season of training with our team. I know we did well, but I also know we can get better and score more point

at the big meets. We will do this by working hard at practice every day, improving technique and racing hard at meets. I am very proud

of our Fleet swimmers! Good job everyone and lets do even better next season. There are great rewards for those who stay the

course…GO FLEET!!!

April 2014. Lane sponsorship

forms are available on the

FLEET website under the Swim-

a-Thon tab. NOTE: Lane spon-

sorships count towards the

family fundraising requirement,

but do NOT count towards

Swim-a-Thon prizes.

* Mark your calendar for Swim

-a-Thon day on Saturday, April

27th and come enjoy the festiv-

ities while the kids swim laps,

eat with their teammates and

win some great raffle prizes. A

few volunteers will be needed

to help with Swim-a-Thon day

and the job sign-up will be post-

ed mid-April.

Congratulations to Coach Congratulations to Coach Congratulations to Coach Congratulations to Coach

Dustin Dustin Dustin Dustin of the Silver II group for

having the most percent of his

group at the Letter Writing Par-

ty. He wins a $50 AMEX gift

card. Way to Go and thanks for

encouraging your swimmers to

attend!

The waves are getting closer to

shore and the water is warming

up. We still need YOUR HELP.

Every Drop Counts!Every Drop Counts!Every Drop Counts!Every Drop Counts!

Come catch a wave! Our 2013

Swim-a-Thon is getting closer to

shore and the waves are get-

ting bigger. We have raised

over $19,000 of our goal since

the letter writing party (this

includes online and offline to-

tals). Don't be left out to sea!

There are many ways YOU can

participate.

* Bring in donations when you

have them to count towards

your swim group's total for the

March 31st group incentive

date - the group that brings in

the most donations by these

dates will receive a cupcake

party, donuts or ice cream

sandwiches. YUM! The Swim-a

-Thon donations box is on the

table in the main office.

* Follow up on outstanding

donation request letters or

emails. If you have not yet

tried out the super easy online

donation module through TU

Money, give it a try and setup

your swimmer's donation page

today. Just click on the green

Please Help button by the Swim

-a-Thon logo and then import

your email addresses through

the Promote tab. It is that

easy!

* Donate an item or gift card

for the silent auction. Gift

cards still needed are: $25

Barnes and Noble, $20 Sil-

verado or Cinemark Movie The-

ater, $25 Charming Charlies,

$25 manicure/pedicure, $25

massage service, $25 PF

Changs, $25 Cheesecake Fac-

tory, $25 Best Buy, $25 Olive

Garden, $15 Orange Leaf, $15

Smoothie King, $25 Panera

Bread and $25 Texas Road-

house. YOUR donation is great-

ly appreciated. Email Gretta

Karker at [email protected]

if you are able to donate a gift

card towards our auction.

THANKS to all who have al-

ready donated. :o) If you have

an item to donate towards our

auction, please email Gretta

Karker to coordinate delivery of

the item. Thank you to Patrick

Leung and Jill Bennett for their

auction donations. :o)

* Be or find a lane sponsor.

Lane sponsorships are availa-

ble for $250 and entitle the

lane sponsor with signage un-

der one of the blocks on Swim-

a-Thon Day, inclusion on the

Thank You banner to all our

lane sponsors that hangs at the

FAC all year, and inclusion on

the Thank You page to all our

lane sponsors in the heat

sheets of all FLEET-sponsored

meets from May 2013 through

Swim-a-Thon Update - The Water is Heating up!

NOTE: Current top donors listed on the online donation page ONLY include

online donations. We have been trying to get this deleted to no avail. All

checks and cash donations dropped off at the FLEET pool have been count-

ed through Feb. 24th and recorded. We have all donations accounted for

so please be patient as we work through this new system, too. :o) We WILL

start posting an updated donation list by swimmer and group on the 15th


“We have “We have “We have “We have

raised over raised over raised over raised over

$18,000 of our $18,000 of our $18,000 of our $18,000 of our

goal since the goal since the goal since the goal since the

letter writing letter writing letter writing letter writing

party“party“party“party“

Page 8


By Dr. Aimee Kimball

I read a research article once

that suggested when people

diet, if they set a goal like “I

want to lose 10 pounds in 3

months,” that today’s choices

don’t matter as much to them.

That is, when dessert comes

they tend to think, “I still have

three months to work off this

cake,” as opposed to, “this

cake isn’t part of my weight loss

plan.”

What does this have to do with

swimming, you ask? A lot.

What you do today does matter,

because every day gets you one

step closer to your ultimate

goal, keeps you in the same

place, or knocks you back a

step.

Daily decisions like attending

practice, food choices, or even

your diet, add up to create the

competitor you will become.

Looking ahead to the end of the

season, to next season, or even

to four years from now, you

have to know where you want

to be and what it’s going to take

each day to get there.

Athletes don’t just train for the

short-term. They don’t train just

to be their fastest this week-

end. They train to reach their

potential and to develop them-

selves for the future. Training

for the future is just as much

about your mental toughness

as it is your physical training.

Athletes who are in it for the

long-term need to set goals and

to pursue effectively those

goals they need to get M.A.D.

(motivation, attitude, dedica-

tion) day in and day out.

MOTIVATIONMOTIVATIONMOTIVATIONMOTIVATION

This season you may be moti-

vated by state championships,

pool records or personal bests.

However, when you’re looking

at succeeding in your sport long

-term, you need a different type

of motivation. You need to do it

because you love it. You need

to work hard simply because

you want to see how good you

can be. You should want to

compete and train because it’s

a part of who you are. Medals

and records can be one source

of motivation but ultimately you

have to enjoy the pursuit of

excellence. If you don’t love

competition, you won’t last.

ATTITUDEATTITUDEATTITUDEATTITUDE

Those who last longest in their

sport and who see the most

success also have a winning

attitude. “Lazy” has never been

used to describe them.

“Competitive” and “driven” are

words you will often hear in

conjunction with swimmers who

have long-term success. To be

competitive and driven means

you approach each day as an

opportunity to get better, faster,

stronger, and look forward to

working to become your best,

no matter how hard that work

is.

DEDICATIONDEDICATIONDEDICATIONDEDICATION

Long term success comes from

saying to yourself, “I have what

it takes to be successful, and I

am going to do what it takes to

achieve my goals.” You don’t

cut corners. You live a lifestyle

that helps you succeed rather

than holds you back. You get up

at 5:30 a.m. You see soreness

as a signal of hard work. It’ s

like playing poker. When you

make the commitment to go

“all in,” there’s some risk in-

volved, but you know the re-

ward is going to be pretty fan-

tastic. You give your sport all

you have because, in the end,

you want to see what you’re

made of.

MENTAL TOUGHNESS FOR THE MENTAL TOUGHNESS FOR THE MENTAL TOUGHNESS FOR THE MENTAL TOUGHNESS FOR THE

LONG TERMLONG TERMLONG TERMLONG TERM

Mentally, it’s often easier to

train for short-term because it’s

a limited amount of time and

effort required for success.

When you’re looking ahead to

the end of the season or to four

years from now, thoughts like,

“Am I going through all this for

nothing?” or “What if I fail?”

may run through your head. If

Olympic athletes stood on the

blocks thinking, “I better not

screw this up. I’ve trained for

years for this moment,” they

are bound to have more anxiety

than swimmers who mentally

and physically trained. Whatev-

er your goals for the future,

make sure you are also training

your mind to deal with the pres-

sure that comes from having

expectations. Challenge your-

self each meet by focusing on

swimming specific times, and

train to focus on your own race.

This helps to prevent over-

whelming anxiety. Work on re-

laxation techniques. Use visuali-

zation on a daily basis. Master

the art of positive self-talk.

When you combine proper men-

tal and physical training with

the right Motivation, Attitude

and Dedication, the path to

long-term success is easier to

find.

Getting M.A.D.


“You need to

work hard

simply

because you

want to see

how good you

can be.”

Page 9


Aimee C. Kimball, PhD, CC-AASP

is the Director of Mental Train-

ing for the UPMC Center for

Sports Medicine. She is an

Associate of Applied Sport Psy-

chology Certified Consultant,

and is a member of the Ameri-

can Psychological Association,

the United States Olympic Com-

mittee’s Sport Psychology Regis-

try, the USA Swimming Sports

Medicine Network, and the

NCAA Speakers Bureau. She

works with athletes, coaches,

and parents to help them

achieve success in sport and

life. For more information con-

tact: [email protected], 412-

432-3777, tinyurl.com/

UPMCMentalTraining

This article was reprinted from

the January/February 2013

issue of USA Swimming’s Splash

magazine.

Street Address 14654 Spring Cypress Rd.

Cypress, TX 77429

Mailing Address 11659 Jones Rd., PMB #351

Phone: 281-376-2372 Fax: 281-251-6160

Cy Fair Swim Club

“Home of the Fleet”

Mission Statement

To provide members and residents of the NW Houston area with the best quality swim

programs that develop the physical, athle c and personal poten al for all ages and levels.

This is accomplished through the following principles:

•••• Provide an environment where swimmers of all ages can reach their desired poten al

based on a philosophy of “longer range development”.

•••• To teach all of our members the value, rewards and poten al that aqua c a vi es provide.

•••• To provide a safe aqua c environment for members of the team and the community.

•••• Provide coaches who are good role models for the purpose of goal se&ng, mo va on,

a&tude, enthusiasm, morals and maturity.

•••• Provide an environment where coaches and athletes may establish realis c goals and ob-

jec ves and measure their progress against established standards as benchmarks for im-

provement.

•••• Provide a link to the local community that improves the value of both to their members.

•••• Con nued growth of the membership and as well as facili es for training and develop-

ment.

www.FleetSwimming.com

www.FleetFirstSwimSchool.com

Submit ar cles and photos by the 25th of the month to

Fleet Communica ons Coordinator [email protected]

for considera on in the next month’s newsle0er.

Jack Maddan, Head Coach & Elite Team Coach [email protected] Andrew Korda, Head Age Group, Senior & Gold Coach [email protected] Matt Hone, Lead Developmental Coach [email protected] Dustin Myers, Elite Team Asst. Coach, Silver II Coach [email protected] Maryanne Svoboda, Bronze II and Silver Teams Coach [email protected] Camilo Orellana, Bronze I & Competitive Prep Coach [email protected] Alex Rayner, Junior Team & Competitive Prep Team [email protected] Ambar Fernandez, Bronze Team Coach [email protected] Jeff Carder, Copper Team & Pre-Competitive Team [email protected] Chris Woolsey, High School Prep Coach [email protected]

Coaching Staff

The sectionals meet group had a carb load pasta party ca-

tered by Olive Garden on Monday, Feb. 25th in the dry land

facility to get pumped up before leaving on the team travel

meet to the Senior Sectionals meet at Texas A&M Thurs-

day, Feb. 28 through

Sunday, March 2nd.

Good luck to all of the

swimmers and here's

to fast swimming and

best times! Go FLEET

Go!!!

Send Off to Sectionals

2013 march april newsletter 2

Documents

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mitch martin

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