Welcome to Thunderweek!

Does anyone else feel like we have blurred the meaning between the words thunder and lightning? Thunder is the sound we hear when lightning strikes, caused by the rapid heating and expansion of air. Lightning on the other hand is a super charged bolt of electricity streaming down from the sky. They are clearly two different things, but we seem to use them interchangeably. 

So, what are you the God of again?

Take Thor, for instance. You may know him as the God of Thunder from the Marvel comics and movies. In the recent movie Ragnarok, Thor gets into quite a few fights. In one, he's battling his long-lost sister, Hela. His sister mocks him as she is beating him and says,"I am the God of Death, what were you the God of again?" Then, his dad, Odin, comes to him in a vision and reminds him that he is the God of Thunder which energizes him to fight back (as Led Zepplin music starts thundering in the background). But, here is the confusing part... when Thor fights back, does he use thunder? Does he summon loud, booming claps that crush his enemies ear drums or punish them with powerful sound waves knocking them to the ground? No. He does not. He hits them with a flurry of lightning bolts. He even has a quote in the movie after that battle with Hela that goes, "I hit her with the biggest lightning bolt in the history of lightning bolts, and it still did nothing...." or something close to that. So, is he the God of Thunder, or the God of Lightning?

"Dude, have you been reading the Gator Blog? Its so
captivating and full of important information and analysis."

I know, I know. So what. We all get the point, right? But words do matter. Thunder isn't necessarily something to fear. Thunder is just the sound that accompanies the truly dangerous thing- lightning. Now, lightning is something to worry about, even fear. As old Doc Brown tells us, lightning produces 1.21 gigawatts of electrical power capable of destroying enemies (in Thor's case), or travelling through time (in Marty McFly's case). In addition, lightning also has the positive sports connotation of speed when used in the fashion of a "lightning fast swim." Thunder on the other hand is not quite as sports-appropriate in my humble opinion, especially not for swimming... "he dove into the water and landed with a thunderous flop" just doesn't evoke the right message. Know what I mean? So, while thunder is certainly a dangerous weapon, as sound can cause pain and damage, lightning would be my personal choice between the two, if I was a Marvel superhero or choosing a sports team name.

So, let's dance! ...

Interestingly, TeamSnap, a youth sports team management website, published some stats and says that Thunder is the #1 ranked team name on their website, ahead of Tigers, Warriors, Panthers, and Wildcats. I find that extremely vexing. Is that because people actually think Thunder itself is dangerous? Do they just like the way the word sounds? Or are they really naming the team for the loud parents who watch their children, cheering and shouting in booming voices from the sidelines and stands? I normally like to have answers in this blog, but I seem to just be creating more questions here.

-Yes! ...  -Yes! ...  -No. I SO am NOT dancing.

So, why is this Thunderweek? Well, three reasons. First, because we had a "B" Meet against Riverside Gardens. And if you've been with the pool for any amount of time, then you know that this particular Monday always comes with a guaranteed thunderstorm every year. Now we know it is lightning that causes us the real concern, but safety is paramount and any sound of thunder does portend the proximity of lightning and causes delays to swim meets (and soccer, and lacrosse, and baseball...and so on). So, since it was the Riverside Gardens meet, we did end up having our standard weather delay. Thankfully, this year, the storm came through early and quickly and once we got going after the slight delay, we were able to finish the whole meet.

Despite the threat of storms, we had a fun and energetic "B" Meet with our southern neighbors. And the Gators were able to lay down some terrific swims, dropping quality time.

These swimmers all were able to drop 3 seconds or more off of their best times:

-What are you swimming?
-I don't know. I'm really just here for the Chick-fil-a.

Free:
Spencer Keene
Rowen Bohaty
Emma Bucca
Evan Pribble
Christian Kurth
Julia Himes

Back:
Abigail Kangas
Lauren Lipkin
Hartley Weyrauch
Vera Stevenson
Elizabeth Whitson

Breast:
Sean Kovalsky
Juliana Skopp-Cardillo (A three second drop for a 15-18? That's practically unheard of. Nice swim Juliana!)

Fly:
Julia Himes (That's almost 9 seconds total shaved off her two times on Monday!)

The following swimmers cut between 1 and 3 seconds off their best times:

Ok, so one more time. First is the Y. Then the M.
Third is the C, and THEN we do the A last. Got it?

Free:
Owen Pribble
Stefen Boyd
William Nasir
Natalie Crowther
Kiersten Gordon
Evelyn Milito
Bianca Henderson
Anna Starr
Hartley Weyrauch
Lizzie Grubbs
Catie Hicks
Liliana Fore
Sam Starr
Sydney Himes

Back:
Ty Mills
Kiersten Gordon
Nora Hixson
Elaina Phalen (Another 15-18 cutting some big time!)

Practice makes perfect. 

Breast:
Ginny Grubbs
Helen Milito
Bianca Murphy
Catie Hicks
Liliana Fore
Emma Weyrauch
John French
Dylan Moore
Abby Adams
Grace McGee

Fly:
Natalie Crowther
George Schulte

Whew. That was a pretty long list of time improvements for the last "B" Meet of the year. Great swimming and season-long dedication, Gators!

You'll recall that I said there were three reasons for this being Thunderweek, and the RSG meet was only the first. The second reason is that we have nine teams going to All-Star Relays Wednesday night! The parents are going to be cheering like thunder and the kids are going to swim like lightning! (See the difference there?)  I've said it in the blog before, relays are my favorite part of summer swim, and the All-Star Relays are the pinnacle of that excitement! The more, the merrier, in the stands cheering on our MVP teams. We need a big cheering section to rival the crowds of those big (and thunderously loud) Division 1 teams. Come on out and lend some support! Go Gators!

The third and final reason that this is Thunderweek is that we are swimming against the Thunderbolts of Donaldson Run on Saturday in our final "A" Meet of the season. This is going to be a big one, as we come in with a 2-2 record. If we win, that means that 2018 is a winning season for the Gators, if we lose, then we're below .500 (still great, but you know, winning is better than losing). It's going to be another close one, but thankfully, its just the Thunderbolts. So, I'm not too worried. Now, if they were the Lightning.... then I might be more concerned.

The full results from the meet at RSG are on the Gator website.

Pictures are posted and there are a ton of super cute Little Gator shots, so be sure to check them out.

Go Gators!

Like this.

Not this.

This.