MVP wins the Sportsmanship Award... two years in a row!
With the conclusion of the final "A" meet of the season last week, I mentioned that the "team" aspect of the season had ended. And it ended famously with an amazing win capped by several come-from-behind victories in the relays which gave the Gators a winning record on the season and moved us into 2nd place in the division (read about it here). Now we move on from the regular season into the "post-season" meets. The Individual Divisional Championship and the Individual All-Stars are both (as the name implies) focused on the individual. There is no team score. The outcomes are individual times. The Divisional Championships pit the top two swimmers in each stroke against each other for Divisional glory (and as we've covered here quite a few times, Division 3 is absolutely stacked). The top performing swimmers at Divisional then have the chance to advance on to All-Stars if their times fall within the top-18 in all of the NVSL (which quite a few Gators did... more on that later).
New MVP Record. Awesome Fly Photo. 2 for 1.
As a team, we don't really have any explicit goals for Divisionals or All-Stars. We just want all of our swimmers to do the very best they can. Of course, we like it when our team earns those coveted 1st place medals at Divisionals or berths into the All-Star meet. We keep track of that stuff (and, of course, I'm going to talk about it in this blog), but as a team, we don't set specific goals for team performance. That said, lots of people hope that we'll have more champions than in previous years and get more swimmers into All-Stars than before. Similarly, we don't have explicit team goals for the regular season, but everybody prefers winning more than losing (and finishing 3-2 is pretty nice in that regard). I'm sure some folks want to see a 5-0, but I also know others who think 3-2 is the sweet spot, since it normally keeps us put in D3, with a lesser chance of moving up next season (but, not a zero chance).
Pardon me sir, is that a 1st Place Jetton?
So, while the team goals are limited and generally not a driving force during the season, the individual goals of the swimmers are another thing altogether. Success doesn't just happen. Success is something that comes from hard work, focused in the right areas. There is a lot of research on goal-setting and it all tends to point at the same thing: setting very specific and challenging goals has a greater effect on performance improvement than easy or vague goals. That's right. If you set specific goals, you will improve more than if you set general goals.
There is a good acronym for goal-setting know as "SMART" goals. The mnemonic helps guide goal-setters in how to craft a goal so that it will be valuable in making those performance improvements. SMART stands for: Specific: A general thought of "I want to do better" is not a goal. Specific targets that are actionable are what we need to improve performance. Measureable: Finding a measure to track progress helps evaluate progress. Achievable: It's got to be something realistic. That doesn't mean you can't have a goal of going to the Olympics from a young age... but there need to be intermediate goals that help get you there for the short and mid-term. Relevant: This is where the "why" part comes in. The goal must be something you buy into. It must means something to you. Time-Bound: Goals have dates on them. Weekly? Seasonal? Annual? Olympic cycle? Set a date.
Pearls published a comic about goals on the day I blogged about goals...
the universe is connected. And, mmmm.... donuts.
Many of our swimmers dream of success. Setting SMART goals and developing an action-plan for achieving them is the recipe for fulfilling those dreams. Here's the confusing part... saying "just go do your best" is a common refrain around the swim pool, and it is a wonderful concept but that is most-definitely NOT a good goal-setting strategy. That "just do your best" is good advice on game day. But when we are trying to get better, we need those specific goals and targets to work towards. Once we have those goals, then we set up action plans to get us there. When swimmers are waking up before 4am all winter long, "just do your best" isn't going to keep getting them out of bed (or get them to go to sleep early the night before). But having that goal to cut 4 seconds off their time in Fly by next summer in order to make All-Stars will help. (Can you identify all the components of a SMART goal in there?) Once that goal is set, then the action plan helps define the steps necessary to get there: (1) Enroll in winter swim, (2) establish a set bedtime routine, (3) get up early and get to swim practice consistently, (4) do your best every day at those practices (see, that's where the "do your best" part comes in... in the action, not the goal), (5) measure progress, and (6) reflect.
That reflection part is an important and often overlooked piece of goal-setting. Did we achieve the goal? If so, awesome! If not, did we come close? One of the great benefits of setting high, challenging goals is that even if we miss them, we generally move pretty far along the continuum towards greater performance. Maybe that swimmer who wanted to cut four seconds to make All-Stars only cut three. That three-second cut is still pretty good... it probably moved the swimmer up the ladder both at MVP and got them a higher place at Divisionals. The reflective part of goal setting lets us evaluate if the goal is still valid and if the action-plan did the things needed to get there. Do we need to make modifications or changes?
In the "identifying the swimmer" category... Breast
photos definitely win the contest, even above Fly.
One thing for sure, is that many of our Gator swimmers had goals involving Divisionals and All-Stars. Many of those goals were probably achieved, and they should be celebrated. But some may not have been. Now is the time to reflect on those goals and start setting new goals for next year (and then putting in place the action plans to achieve them).
One of my goals is to be able to blog about all the awesome stuff the Gators do all summer long, and these swimmers make that easy. It's ten weeks from Memorial Day when practices begin until All-Stars and the conclusion of the summer season... and what an enjoyable ride it has been this year! That aforementioned 3-2 record with some super exciting meets was a big part, especially that final Hollywood Ending last week. The Relay Carnival and All-Star Relays were both amazing. And now that we find our Gators competing in the Divisional Championships, the performances did not disappoint.
The inspirational pose for the new Gator team trophies...
At Divisionals, there are five events across all of the age groups: Free, Back, Breast, Fly, and IM. (Note: there is no specific IM for 8 & unders, but they can compete as 10 & under if they qualify.) Each team sends two swimmers for each of the 48 events. MVP swimmers brought home eight of the championship medals. Event winners were:
Donovan Kovalsky (2): 13-14 Free and Breast
Elizabeth Kellogg: 8 & under Back
Alexander North: 11-12 Back
Lincoln Jetton: 8 & under Breast
Natalie Crowther: 8 & under Fly
Sam Bruce: 9-10 Fly
Matthew Makin: 11-12 Fly
Interestingly, the breakdown of champions was pretty even... as has been the case with everything else in D3. Donaldson Run, the D3 champs, also took home the most individual crowns with 11. Hunter Mill had 9, MVP and Crosspointe 8, Vienna Woods 7 and High Point 6. If you are doing the math, you'll notice that adds up to 49, not 48. There was one tie for 1st place.
MVP giving 'em the old 1-2 in Breast.
Silver medal winners were:
Margaret Driscoll: 8 & under Free
Sam Bruce: 9-10 Free
Alex North: 11-12 Free
Clark Bayer: 15-18 Free
Abigail Litonjua: 11-12 Breast
Jack Klopson: 13-14 Breast
James Piland: 13-14 Fly
And Gators finishing third:
Kate Barber: 8 & under Free
Sheridan Phalen: 15-18 Free
Lincoln Jetton: 8 & under Back
Natalie Crowther: 8 & under Breast
Jack Alzona: 11-12 Breast
Cole Miller: 15-18 Fly
Sheridan Phalen: 15-18 Fly
Anthony Sarro: 9-10 IM
Matthew Makin: 11-12 IM
James Piland: 13-14 IM
There were some other major accomplishments, too. Record breaking? Of course.
Strong finish for the record.
Donovan Kovalsky swam in two events and broke two MVP records (what is this 2018 again?). Donovan lowered his own 13-14 Boys 50 Free mark to 25.50. He also set a new mark in the Breast with a time of 34.51, shaving about 0.2 seconds off Charlie Ruppe's record from last year.
Sheridan Phalen broke Cassidy Bayer's 2015 MVP record in the 15-18 Freestyle by swimming a blistering 26.58. Despite that record breaking time, which was faster than her first place time last year at All-Stars... she finished 3rd. Have I mentioned how strong D3 is lately?
Sam Bruce lowered his own record in the 9-10 25m Fly finishing in an amazing first place tie in a time of 16.59.
Wheaties? More like Special K.
And while not a record, Elizabeth Kellogg's personal best in the 8 & under Back is noteworthy as she dropped 2 seconds off of her seed time for the upset win in 22.51. I would say she must have ate her Wheaties, but we all know those are from General Mills, not Kellogg's (Ba-dum-tss).
And, let's not forget about the All-Stars. As I mentioned, one of the other major functions of the Divisional Championships is to serve as the qualifying meet for All-Stars. We had 10 Gators initially make the cut for All-Stars in 16 events, and those All-Stars are:
Alex North (Free and Back)
Donovan Kovalsky (Free and Breast)
Elizabeth Kellogg (Back)
Jack Klopson (Breast)
Lincoln Jetton (Back and Breast)
Margaret Driscoll (Free)
Matt Makin (Fly and IM)
Natalie Crowther (Breast and Fly)
Sam Bruce (Free and Fly)
Sheridan Phalen (Free)
Definitely didn't "Back" into that victory.
And that's not the end of the story. Several other Gator swimmers who originally made the alternate list have been moved up to the firm swim list in the past 24 hours. Clark Bayer has been added to Freestyle and Sheridan Phalen has made the cut for second event in Fly (putting her in both Free and Fly now). That brings the MVP firm entry total up to 11 swimmers in 18 events... which (if they all actually swim Saturday, as expected) would tie the MOST EVER actual swims by MVP Gators at All-Stars. We also had swimmers in 18 events back in 2013.
But wait... there is more. Adding a final element of drama to the 2019 season, both Cole Miller and Gabby Greszler are currently first alternates for their respective 15-18 Freestyle events... check back later this week to see if any other scratches get them in. If either of them gets into the meet, it will set an MVP all-time high by having swimmers in 19 events!
Something tells me lots of these Gators are good at goal setting. I can't wait too see what goals they set for next year. But first... let's wait and see how this All-Star thing turns out. We'll keep you updated this week with any more movement on the qualifying list and then send out a meet summary over the weekend after the meet. Be sure to come back and read about how it all turns out.
Interested in attending All-Stars? The info is here. Interesting in watching from home on your couch? Well you can do that, too... you just have to cheer extra loud if you want them to hear you. The meet is scheduled to be live streamed on Swim Ninja.
Want to see more pictures? Look here. Want to see the end of year videos from the campout? Here.
Go Gators!
That's some high quality H2O. And a high quality Fly pic.
All joy, no Sarro. (Ok, maybe not my best pun ever there.)
You can read my thought in the title of this blog post. Technically, the IMI is an acronym for the Individual Medley Invitational meet. But if we want to be honest, we can just start making it an acronym for "Is MVP Invincible?" Another gaggle of speedy IM swims by your Gators makes this 10 years in a row on top of this meet.
If you haven't read last year's blog on the topic, you should. Just click the link and review it. There is some background on the event and how it is scored as well as some situational set-up to understand the history of the event, and MVP's place (and dominance) within that history. Last year we officially pulled even with Waynewood for the all-time lead in IMI victories. And if you are even remotely good at math, you can see that this year's win puts us atop the heap alone as the all-time winningest IMI pool. Damn it feels good to be a gangster.
We had three swimmers win the overall title for their events:
Natalie Crowther, Girls 8 & Under Fly: 19.93 (8 & unders swim Fly instead of IM at this meet)
Helen Milito, Girls 9-10: 1:35.56
Alex North, Boys 11-12: 1:14.71
Sometimes the Fly photo isn't last...
We also had a bunch of seconds, thirds, etc. Check out the full results from the meet here. But, to be honest, with all of the age groups and different division breakdowns in the results sheet, it's a little bit too much information (did I just say that?) So, if you just want the simplified Gator-only results, you can see those here. All the IMI photos are here.
Final scores of all the teams (broken down by division) are here.
With the rainout of the Gator Romp in the Swamp on Wednesday, that makes the IMI the final regular team meet of the season. The team is now moving into the post-season playoffs. Next up is the Individual Divisional Championships, in which the top two swimmers in every stroke from each D3 team vie for superiority and berths into next week's individual All-Star Championship.
... especially if there is a trophy photo! Champions!
Hollywood has perfected its formula. Most stories are told in three acts: (1) Start with some set-up of the characters and situation, (2) Make some progress towards an objective, then have some complications arise, and then (3) Following a major set-back, make a heroic push and get to the climax, with our heroes normally emerging victorious. That's pretty much the whole enchilada. For all the stories out there. We become emotionally connected to the characters in Act 1, we follow their trials through Act 2, and then we celebrate their victory in Act 3.
Gator Relays Rule! (Foreshadowing...)
Take the classic movie "Rocky" for example. We learn about this hard luck boxer from Philly who works for the mob to get by, then he gets an opportunity! An injury to Apollo Creed's opponent creates the chance for Rocky to fight for the heavyweight title. In Act 2, he trains, has a few minor setbacks, and then the major set-back when he has a crisis of confidence. Then, in Act 3, he is rejuvenated in his training and ultimately goes the distance with Apollo, something no one had ever done before.
It is a proven successful formula for storytelling. Now, I'm going to tell you about the final "A" Meet of the season: matching the MVP Gators versus the High Point Pool Hippos. You're going to think someone wrote this story following the standard Hollywood 3-act script. But, not true! Everything you read here is part of an actual true story, but I submit no writer in Hollywood could have done any better to create such a terrific tale.
Where do we begin? Well, Act 1, I suppose. Our heroes are the Gators of MVP. We find them having a strong swim season, coming off a stellar performance at the All-Star relays and sitting upon a win-loss record of 2-2 in the NVSL's 3rd Division. With a win, MVP would finish above .500 and in second place, but a loss would drop down to fourth place in the standings and give them a losing record. The antagonists of this story are the High Point Pool Hippos. They sit above the Gators in the standings at 3-1, and come to the MVP pool for the second year in a row, having stunned the Gators last year in the opening meet of the season, 235-185. (You can read about that here.) Last year, we learned the hard way about the deadly nature of Hippos... the most lethal animal in Africa, in fact.
So, with last year's 50-point whooping in the back of everyone's mind... and the knowledge of the threat of those Hippos, the stage was set for this year's meet- the final one of the 2019 season. The Gators had a battle on their hands seeking both redemption from last year, and a higher level of success for this year. To add to the tension, it was Senior Day to boot. And of course everyone wants to send the Seniors off with a final victory. However, the simulations and forecast showed that the Gators were likely to come up short again this year... in an extremely tight battle.... but short, nonetheless. Act 1 has begun.
The first Clean Sweep of the day begins...
As the meet begins, our heroes seize on the some early opportunities in the Freestyle heats. First, Margaret Driscoll puts up a personal best in the 8 & under event to win the race and get two unexpected points in the second event of the day. Then, Gavin Fore outraced his opponent in the 11-12 race, coming away with an unexpected third place. Cassidy Crowther also found a personal best to earn another upset win for the 11-12 Girls. And then Jack Klopson hit a personal best in the 13-14 race to steal third place and give the Gators a clean-sweep in that event.
As Act 1 draws to a close, we have new opportunity. After Freestyle, the score was expected to be even, but thanks to those clutch performances, the Gators led 50-40. Momentum had shifted strongly towards the Gators side... victory seemed achievable.
The Gators initially kept pace through the Backstroke events, but then an unexpected DQ robbed the Gators of critical points- taking away a second place finish. But while that DQ gave the Hippos 2nd place, interestingly, it created a tie for third place. When there is a tie, the swimmers split the points. Ella Pribble moved up into 3rd place in the event and earned a half point, along with her Hippo counterpart. Remember this half point for later in the story (that's called foreshadowing in movie lingo).
Following that DQ, more trouble arose for our heroes as the complications mounted. The Gators were upset by the Hippos in a couple of Back and Breast events. Then in the 9-10 Fly, Sam Bruce and Liam Fore each swam great races only to be edged out by 0.03 and 0.02 for 1st and 3rd respectively. I mention those results because races that are that close fall within the margin of error for manually timed events... so, in reality, it was just unlucky for the Gators to come up short in both of those finishes which were basically statistical ties. (i.e. manual timers aren't good enough to clearly determine the result within 0.02 or 0.03)
"And you, young ones. We will watch your careers with
great interest." -Senator Palpatine
The Hippos fully stole the momentum through both the Back (38-52) and Breast (41-49), to not only even things up, but take over a commanding lead. Finally, the Gators were able to stop the bleeding by winning Fly 46-44, led by a clean sweep in the 8 & under Girls event. Thanks and congrats to Natalie Crowther, Tess McCall and Evelyn Milito for that accomplishment.
That said, the damage was done. The strong Hippo Back and Breast performances had wounded the Gators chances. Like Rocky Balboa, the team was staggered and bruised... trailing 175.5 to 184.5 heading into the Relays. The major set-back had happened. The teams were very evenly matched in Relays, and seeing any upsets at this point seemed unlikely. Act 2 drew to a close with the foreboding of a probable losing season, despite such valiant efforts by the team.
Look closely at those fingers... Evan is 0.05 seconds ahead.
As Act 3 begins, the tension was high, but no one had surrendered the day. There was still fight left in our heroes. In the first two relays, the results were split as expected. Then a new hope emerged as the 9-10 Boys dug down deep and pulled off an amazing upset victory, anchored by a HUGE final come-from-behind leg by Evan Pribble. They cut over THREE seconds off their time from only 10 days prior at the Divisional Relays, and leapt over the High Point team who themselves went nearly two seconds faster than their own winning time from Divisionals. The final result- 1:15.15 to 1:15.20. That's right, they beat the Division Champion relay team by 0.05 to steal a crucial 5-points. A final Gator victory was still distant, but this was the upset we needed to get moving in that direction.
Then, another twist of the plot came as High Point responded in the next race to upset MVP in similar fashion and take back those five points, winning by only 0.2 seconds in the 9-10 Girls relay. Could there be any more drama? Yes. Yes, there could.
Flying high.
The next four relays continued to alternate between Gator wins and Hippo wins. The deadlock in the relays continued, and it didn't look like the Gators were going to be able to find another needed victory to put them over the top. Despite the strong final push, it seemed as if they would fall just a bit short.
But this is where the climax of our story begins. With four events remaining, the Gators trailed 195.5-204.5. Two of the remaining Gator relay teams were amongst the very best in all of the NVSL: the Girls 15-18 Medley and Boys Mixed-Age Freestyle teams were virtually unbeatable. But those two races would not be enough... the Gators had to find one more win and were running out of opportunities. In fact, the Hippos were strong favorites in the final heat, which was basically out of reach.
That's one heck of an anchor leg in those frothy bubbles.
So, it all came down to the Boys 15-18 Medley as the decisive event. The team that won this one was likely going to win the meet. Back at those Divisional Relays on July 10th, the HPP team finished ahead of the Gators even though the Gators had set a team record in that race! You read that right. Despite the Gators giving the all-time best 15-18 Gator Medley Relay performance, their best just wasn't good enough to beat the Hippos. Could they flip the story in this final dramatic meet of the year? The Gator Boys jumped out to an early lead, but the top High Point swimmers charged back in the middle legs and pulled ahead prior to the final Freestyle leg. The Gator anchor, Clark Bayer, was about a full body length behind when he left the wall. He then showed us some Gator magic for the ages and gave his best 50 yards of the season... coming all the way back to win the race in a new MVP record time of 1:55.34. This time the team's best got even better, and earned the victory... for their relay and the entire Gator Nation.
What a climax! The Gator cheering section erupted with the amazing victory. High fives were abundant. There may have even been some hugging amongst the celebrating Gator dads up top. Following the upset victory and record-breaking performance by the Boys, the 15-18 Girls and Mixed-Age Boys "held serve" as expected and cruised to victory in their respective events.
The final score? Gators 210.5, Hippos 209.5.
Closest meet of the year.
Closest meet in forever.
Victory achieved. 3-2 in the standings, tied for 2nd place in D3.
The third winning season in a row for the Gators, and seventh out of the past eight years.
(Note: remember that 0.5 points earned for the 3rd place tie I mentioned in the foreshadowing earlier? That sure mattered. As did every single point by every single swimmer in every single race.)
Seniors leading their final Gator cheers... to victory!
And remember when I mentioned a couple weeks ago that it would feel much better going 3-2 by rattling off three straight wins at the end as compared to losing a few down the stretch... how do you like me now? The Gators were able to get those three wins, and I know I'm pretty pumped after this one. What a finish to the meet. What a finish to the season. What a great movie. I'm already looking forward to the sequel.
And how about those weekly honors? This week's Race of the Week has got to be a tie. The 9-10 Boys (Sam Bruce, Anthony Sarro, Liam Fore, and Evan Pribble) and 15-18 Boys (John French, TJ Heck, Cole Miller, and Clark Bayer) Medley relay upsets earned us the key 10 points we needed to snatch this victory from the jaws of the Hippos. Those races were awesome.
I'm just going to say it... some of these NVSL Officials
are real nit-pickers.
Age Group of the Week? Well, that's a tough one, as usual. The 13-14 Boys once again put on a clinic and earned the most points (33) with one clean sweep and a victory in every race. The 8 & under Girls were right on their heels. The 11-12 Boys also won each of their races. One of the things about this blog is I tend to focus on the close races, upsets and interesting matchups. Doing that often results in glazing over some of the "Rock of Gibraltar" performances by some of our swimmers and age-groups who just keep winning all the time: the 8 & under Girls, 9-10 Boys, 11-12 Boys, 13-14 Boys, and 15-18 Girls have been consistently excellent all season. Any of those groups really could have been the AGOTW just about any week. But this week... I'm giving the title to the 15-18 Boys. The order of events put them in that crucial spot at the end, and I just can't unsee that awesome relay victory and amazing final leg by Clark.
And for Swimmers of the Week? I'm going off script for this one. Normally I pick an individual, but this meet was ultimately decided by the relays... and so it is with the relays we will stay for this honor. I know I already gave the ROTW to the relays, but they deserve even more this time around. Instead of an individual, I'm giving Swimmer of the Week to the Boys Relay teams en masse. They earned 25 out of a possible 30 relay points...including those two crucial upsets. That's some relay power and rightfully earned this week's SOTW.
Hold on a second.... I almost forgot something. The main attraction (the "A" meet season) may be over, but there is another critical element that has become a staple for movies these days: the mid-credits scene and the after-credits scene. Coming up next week is the Individual Divisional Championships (mid-credits) and then the Individual All-Stars follows that on August 3rd. Don't get out of your seats. Be sure to keep watching and see what happens in these awesome additions to our movie (or rather... season).
Go Gators!
Awesome Senior banners are equal to the best Fly pics!
Congrats Seniors!
The worst part about the rain delay is
that the after-party had to be shortened...
but still fun, of course.
Mmmm. District Taco.
If you've read this blog for any length of time, then you'll know that the series of relay meets (Divisional Relay Carnival and All-Star Relays) are highly valued. I'm pretty sure that sentiment is shared by many of the swimmers, parents, and coaches, too. There is just something special about four swimmers working together as a team in a high level challenge against many others from around the NVSL. The mutual support and encouragement, as well as the team competitiveness, are palpable.
It's not an overstatement to say this is my favorite meet of the year.... normally. But I am human. And circumstances can change things. There was a 2-hour rain delay. That did put a little damper on things. I was wet, and not in that fun "getting splashed by the 15-18 Boys while timing" kind of wet. And I was muddy. With all the foot traffic, some big mud puddles developed around the viewing areas... so, maybe, just maybe, this particular iteration of the All-Star relays wasn't my favorite meet this year. But its still up there near the top, muddy shoes and all.
The storm did more than just make things muddy and wet. There were also internet problems. Adding to the negative karma from the rain delay was the temporary outage sustained by the livestream team at SwimNinja. A large segment of the events after the restart were not captured on the livestream, so quite a few grandparents, friends, and parents who couldn't make it to the Lincolnia pool weren't able to watch the live feed on SwimNinja for over half of the meet because of technical/operational issues. Bummer.
Goggles? Check. Fingers? Check.
On a side note, I find it awkward that I feel so entitled to the SwimNinja livestream even though it is a completely free service and I have contributed nothing to its success or operation. I suppose that is just the state of things in today's connected world that we come to expect things probably a bit too much. We do need to appreciate the awesomeness of the the live video feed for swim events like this, as it is a wondrous technical marvel. I catch myself feeling upset that even though we are getting something for nothing, it still is disappointing when it is taken away. But things do happen. I understand it intellectually. But I still get a little emotionally disturbed. Thank goodness for the lessons I've learned through my years of watching Seinfeld... I can use my little mantra to get my emotions back in check, "SERENITY NOW."
On another side note... my house lost power during the storm, and then when it came back up, the internet was still gone! Ugh. As the blogger, it is a pretty catastrophic blow to lose the internet. I enjoy the blogging... but not enough to try to do it on my phone. I'm definitely a full size keyboard kind of blogger. So, the no power/no internet thing put some delays in the blog schedule, which never makes me happy. So that's why you are probably reading this on Saturday instead of Thursday. "SERENITY NOW!"
Anyway, I wouldn't say the cards weren't necessarily stacked against us on Wednesday, but once the "game" began, it sure seemed like someone was dealing from the bottom of the deck: thunder, lightning, rain, mud, darkness... But we're Gators and we'll overcome. And overcome all the troubles is precisely what our swimmers did.
That's a record-breaking transition right there.
In fact, when the team was in the pool, this year's All-Star Relay meet was pretty glorious and started out with a bang for the Gators. In event #2, the boys mixed-age relay team (Alexander North, Sam Bruce, Donovan Kovalsky, and Clark Bayer) broke their own MVP record and placed 4th in the race, finishing with a blistering time of 1:52.98. Hot start? Check.
Then, following that lead, the rest of the teams rattled off a nice string of races, which included seven top-10 finishes, and five top-6s:
Girls 8u Medley, 6th place: Elizabeth Kellogg, Hayden Ward, Natalie Crowther, & Margaret Driscoll
Boys 11-12 Medley, 5th place: George Schulte, Alexander North, Matthew Makin, & Gavin Fore
Boys 13-14 Medley 4th. Joe Humphreys, Jack Klopson, James Piland, and Donovan Kovalsky
Girls 15-18 Medley, 15th: Emily Makin, Taylor Makin, Gabby Greszler, and Sheridan Phalen
Boys 11-12 Free, 4th: Matthew Makin, Gavin Fore, Jack Alzona, and Alexander North
Girls 8u Free, 9th: Margaret Driscoll, Kate Barber, Andrea Morales, and Natalie Crowther
Boys 13-14 Free, 8th: James Piland, Jack Klopson, Jack Dupuis, and Donovan Kovalsky
Boys 15-18 Free, 15th: Cole Miller, Andrew Baker, John French, and Clark Bayer
That's pretty good suit coordination there...
Girls 15-18 Free, DQ: What? Yeah, you read that right- DQ. Apparently our final heat qualifying, record-holding team of super swimmers got DQ'ed. Admittedly, it happens to everyone, but I'm going to chalk this one up to another casualty of the storm. The fact is that by the time the Girls 15-18 Free event (the last one of the day) rolled around after the storm delay, it was basically total darkness at the pool. There were lights around the pool, but I was there on deck watching and couldn't tell who the swimmers were at that point because of the darkness. But, even through that darkness, one of the officials found enough wrong to DQ our girls for an inappropriate take-off? Really? I'm not normally one to question the officials (I don't want any fines coming down NFL-style from the management...) but this one does seem a little fishy. I mean Juliana Skopp-Cardillo, Emily Makin, Gabby Greszler, and Sheridan Phalen are pretty accomplished. They are stalwart performers on their HS swims teams, NCAP, and for the Gators. But somehow they DQ'ed in this one? Things happen, of course, but it seems a little fishy to me. (Don't get me wrong... not questioning the official, don't want any fines... but... fishy. Very fishy.)
IDK who that guy in the back is, but A+ on the photobomb.
Anyway, in summary, the lightning and thunder brought about a delay to the meet and the rain brought some mud to the fields. A four-hour meet turned into six. Darkness became an issue, but eventually, we were able to finish all the events. And the Gators did great. How great, well, if you take all those race results and add up the points, the Gators finished in 8th place overall. EIGHTH! That's a pretty big deal. It ties for the highest position we've ever finished at All-Star Relays. (Note: we also finished eighth in 2013, but we sent 12 teams that year. This year's accomplishment was done with only 10 teams, meaning each team had to earn more points with relatively higher finishes per team.)
And for just a little comparative analysis, and to toot our horn a little, if you will:
The Gators finished ahead of two D1 teams.
And the Gators finished ahead of every D2 team, except one.
And how about the other local teams in the Fort Hunt area? Little Hunting Park came away with 68 points (which is a pretty impressive result from D11), Hollin Meadows finished with 20 points, Mansion House had 14, and Waynewood 12. The three remaining local pools didn't have any teams in the event this year... just showing how hard it is and what an honor just to make it!
And totaling up those scores in the "Tiger Woods versus the Field" category, you'll note that's 114 points for the Field (all the rest of Fort Hunt combined), and 230 for the Gators. That's full-on double up territory this year. Bragging rights sustained. Check.
I showed up to my first day of swim with a pair of snorkel fins. I spent the majority of practice retrieving them when they fell off, all while trying to figure out what to do. I thought I knew what I was getting into, but then I entered my first meet. Oh. My. Gator. (haha puns!)
For the newer members of the gators, or those who haven’t known me as long, I’m actually an introvert. I know you’re thinking, “aren’t you the guy who dresses up in a onesie and does the Cotton-Eye Joe?” Well, yes, but I wasn’t always like that stylish devil. When I was young, I was the kid who stood in the back and just mouthed along to the cheers, and didn’t participate in spirit days because I always felt like I was going to embarrass myself (irony at its finest). I was a very introverted kid in an extroverted activity. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVED to swim, but I didn’t understand the importance of team spirit.
It took me a while to warm-up to the team (pun absolutely intended), and thankfully I had some great friends to bolster me up. I can remember almost every relay I did with Colin Sunstead, Nick Dupuis, and Sean Jansen--full of energy and intensity. Not to mention all the wicked themes we had for Divisionals and All-Stars. The three of them helped me see how important teamwork and being a part of a team was. I had all my individual swims, but I felt that the relays really helped me put myself out there and get excited to race in meets.
However, most memories of those first five or so years have all blended together in a general recollection of time on the pool deck and traveling to meets. Most of my clearest and best memories are from the past four years when I was a teen coach—watching the Little Gators enjoy swimming (yes, 8&Unders, they are a magical experience), the teen nights, and even some of the more mundane practices. The biggest influence on the swimmer you see today (and why I wear a onesie) is my career as a coach because it forced me to put myself out there and be a leader for the kids in my lanes. I was inspired by the determination and heart in the swimmers to be the coach (or mascot) the team needed. It can even say it has helped me grow, I feel like I can take on almost any swimming (or social) challenge that 7-year old me would have dreaded. I can even now confidently strut around in a gator onesie.
So, from my heart, thank you to my fellow coaches, the Little Gators, Paul, and Laurel for helping craft the person I am today.
I overheard a funny conversation on Monday night between a Riverside Gardens parent and coach that I'd like to share.
Coach: "Your son did really well tonight."
Parent: "He missed his backstroke event."
Coach: "I meant that he behaved well."
Parent: "Well, thanks. It's just so distracting when he comes here to swim. There is so much stuff around and so many friends."
Coach: "Oh, and he did good swimming the Fly, too."
I laughed about this one on a couple fronts.
First, the differing expectations of coach and parent: parent thinking about swim, coach thinking about behavior. (This reminds me a lot of school, too, where good behavior seems to be more highly regarded than good performance these days... not sure what that says about our kids behavior in general, but that's another blog post.)
The natural beauty of the park really can be distracting...
Second, just like that famous internet meme, I catch myself all the time peeking over my shoulder and checking out the other pools and the cool stuff that they have or do that I wish we had here. It's always nice to see that reverse side of that when the other pools come to the Swamp and comment on how different and enjoyable it is. Even to the level of distraction and missing events.
I think the lesson in this is that there are some solid behavior traits our kids are gaining by swimming here... and making sure they work through all the distractions to show up and swim their events.
Sometimes it's the little things.
Goggles? Goggles? We don't need no stinking goggles.
Anyway, the RSG "B" Meet went off without a hitch. No thunder, no rain, and done before dark. I think that may be a first in my time here. Kudos to the officials and meet management team for getting through this one so efficiently.
There was a lot of good swimming (for those who showed up to their races). Check out the results here. And pictures here.
As always seems to be the case, the selection of the SOTW is not easy this week. If SOTW stood for "Sisters of the Week," then I'm pretty sure the winners would be clear: Natalie and Cassidy Crowther demonstrated some super sister power loud and clear this week. Both girls won each of their events (11-12 Free/Back for Cassidy and 8u Breast/Fly for Natalie) and helped to win their respective relays. However, that's not the right acronym. As we know, it actually stands for "Swimmers of the Week" which makes the choice quite a bit tougher. We have a lot of stellar swimmers this week and every week. Donovan Kovalsky won the 13-14 Free and Back, as well as the contributing to the Medley Relay and Mixed Age Relay wins. And once again, Sheridan Phalen took the 15-18 Free and Fly, and anchored her Medley Relay win.
Do you see how tough this selection is? Every week it goes like this. Last week I had to use "largest margin of victory" as the determining factor in bestowing the honor upon Lincoln Jetton.
This week, instead of looking to the largest margin of victory, the criteria is shifting out of the pool. We've got another swimmer and leader who won both his races (Free and Fly) and the anchored the Mixed Age Relay, all while demonstrating exceptional team leadership throughout the meet. Cole Miller has led the team all season with the pre-game cheers, rallying the swimmers throughout the course of the meets. He really stepped up his game this week in true Superhero fashion and got everyone extremely pumped up for the races! It's that great Spirit Leadership that pushed Cole to the top of the SOTW category this week.
Week in and week out, we can count on Cole taking the role of team leader. We routinely see him patrolling the deck wearing the Gator costume, or this week, his Superhero costume. Cole's rally cries and cheer leadership help the team get the adrenaline flowing and keep performances high.
The MVP of MVP.
As a matter of fact, if you read the weekly summary yesterday, you'll note that Cole's first win of the day ended up being the Race of the Week (the 15-18 Free). It is certainly no coincidence that Cole was leading the team in the rally cheers prior to the start of the meet and then pulling off an upset victory a few minutes later. There is a saying in academics, "If you want to learn a subject well, teach it." I think that applies here similarly, "If you want to pump yourself up, pump up the team!"
Congrats Cole for pulling off the rare double honor of being in the ROTW and being the SOTW.
Avengers, who? This is the team we want on our side.
This week's Gator theme for the "A" Meet was Superheroes. For the meet, we travelled out to Hunter Mill in the western part of the county on territory that used to be lots of farm land... not anymore really, but the old barn and silo still stand as the club house and storage areas for the Hunter Mill Swim Club. The old barn and silo certainly add a unique character to the swim club, making it a little more interesting than the average clubhouse in the NVSL. Why do I mention the theme and the old farm together here? Well, the combination made me think of Superman and some of the things we may take for granted that helped shape his character.
When Superman landed on Earth as a baby, he landed on farmland in Kansas. The Kents were a hard-working farming couple who had no children of their own, so having the "superbaby" fall into their lives was literally a gift from the heavens. A big part of Superbaby/boy/man's life was shaped by that life on the farm. His adoptive father instilled a strong work ethic in him: get up early, do your chores, meet all your obligations, help where needed, be kind, repeat. Would Superman be any different if he hadn't landed with the Kents? If that rocket crashed in Beverly Hills, would Clark Kardashian have been the same hero that we all know and love? Probably not. An overly-entitled superhero just would't have the same selfless commitment. That country upbringing is a pretty strong foundation of success. I recall one of my old football coaches who had voiced an opinion that he would generally prefer a "country boy" to a "city slicker" when it came to getting players for his teams. The good work ethic was part and parcel to the life of those "country boys." He wasn't denouncing the "city slickers" en masse, but rather just saying that the odds of getting a kid who was going to work hard in sports (and life) was high with the country kids (I'm a city boy myself, so I definitely don't think that the characterization was meant to be exclusive). The bottom line was that they understood the value of work, and he felt that would translate well to the sports field.
Wonder-ful.
I see a lot of similarities in that farm-raised work ethic to that of our dedicated swimmers in Gator nation. They are tired, busy, and often over-committed, but continue down the path of doing the things that need to be done, putting in work... many waking up at 3:30am daily and hitting the pool all year long. The resulting habits have broad impact as they learn that hard work pays off: in school, activities, as well as sports... they find success.
That hard work paid off on the farm this week as the Gators swam to a dominating win over the Sharks. Seven out of 10 age groups won their match-ups and the Gators won three out of four strokes, and tied the fourth. In the relays, the Gator teams were able to win eight out of 12, sealing the most substantial victory of the season for the team.
The Gators were able to earn "clean sweeps" on six races: two by the 8 & under girls (Free and Breast), one by the 15-19 Girls (Free), and THREE by the 13-14 Boys (Free, Breast, and Fly).
8U Girls Free: Kate Barber 1st, Margaret Driscoll 2nd, Andrea Morales 3rd
8U Girls Breast: Natalie Crowther, Hayden Ward, Evelyn Milito
15-18 Girls Free: Sheridan Phalen, Gabby Greszler, Juliana Skopp-Cardillo
13-14 Boys Free: Donovan Kovalsky, James Piland, Jack Dupuis
13-14 Boys Breast: Jack Klopson, Jack Dupuis, Dylan Moore
13-14 Boys Fly: James Piland, Jack Klopson, Joe Humphreys
Our heroes. Powerful.
If it isn't clear, those 13-14 Boys turned it up a notch this week. First, they had a great Relay Carnival performance (read about that here) and then this meet... three clean sweeps is amazing. In the other race, they still won 1st and 2nd to take eight points in that race, too. And they won the relay. In "A" meet math, that adds up to 40 out of 41 points... that's unprecedented in my time with the team. We've had a couple 37's and 38's, and even one 39... but this is the first 40. That's 1st and 2nd in everything, plus 3rd in three out of the four races. That's the result of putting in work. Needless to say, these guys earned the Age Group of the Week trophy (again) as they continue their strong season. Congrats to the 13-14 Boys!
Super Princesses.
In other notable results, the 8 & under Girls also won every race. In addition to the two sweeps mentioned above, Margaret Driscoll earned the blue ribbon in Back and Nat Crowther took the Fly. And their relay team of Margaret, Andrea, Kate, and Natalie completed their stellar day with a win in that race.
This week's Race of the Week was an amazing one to watch. All six boys in the 15-18 Boys Freestyle race finished within 1.7 seconds of each other, first to last. That's what I call a tight grouping. On top of that, the top three finishers all touched the wall within 0.17 seconds of each other! Can you say photo finish? As I stood there on the deck watching the swimmers come in towards the wall it was amazing to see six boys all in a near dead heat approaching simultaneously. Ultimately, the race was won by Cole Miller in 26.27 as he came on strong from Lane 2 to defeat Hunter Mill's top swimmer in a minor upset. I think the Superhero theme must have helped in that final finish.
A well-deserved moment of relaxation after the ROTW.
Delayed gratification is a learned behavior. It is clear that lots of these superheroes on the MVP team have learned to work hard, and now we are all seeing the results. When it was all said and done, the Gators found themselves on top of this one with a final score of 248-172.
Pretty sure it would be criminal to not include a photo
with this much cuteness.
With this week's win, our team record moves to 2-2. That's a two-week winning streak, with one more "A" meet to go. The standings have tightened up in the past few weeks, and while the championship is all but locked up by Donaldson Run, the other places are still in play. Our opponent next week is High Point Pool at home, and we'll be battling with a lot on the line. Twice this season the Hippos have had meets decided in the final races of the day... and this week may be another as we match up very evenly. A Gator victory would have us finish at 3-2 and in 2nd place in the division. Be sure to come out to the Swamp on Saturday and root the Gators on in what is sure to be very close and exciting final meet of the season.
This is Part Two of the annual two-part Divisional Relay Blog... the meet that is SO AWESOME it takes two blog entries to capture it all. If you haven't read Part One yet, you should do that first. Here it is.
Look at that blue sky. What... no thunderstorms?
We've all heard the age-old question of whether it is better to be a Big Fish in a Small Pond or a Small Fish in a Big Pond. Both have advantages and disadvantages. The situation matters. The fish matter. In academics, there is a study that shows student self-confidence is higher when they are Big Fish in a Small Pond (which makes sense). There is a lot of value in that self-confidence in both academics and athletics (and life). One difference to that situation is when participants in the system (i.e. the fish in the pond) get to watch other fish grow from small fish to big fish. There is a very valuable lesson to be learned when you see others rise from the same levels as you and then achieve higher levels. Simply, it lets you see that you can do that too.
Part of being a Small Fish in a Big Pond is that you get exposed to lots of other fish. And lots of those fish become idols, or role models, or even mentors. I threw up a hash tag in Thursday's blog "#Gators4Life" to make light of the two pictures of our 13-14 Boys showing their growth over the past four years. But that whole #Gators4Life thing is real. The MVP swim team (and the NVSL) is most definitely a Big Pond. And being in the Big Pond only amplifies the number of connections all these Gators have in their summer swim experience... and in life. Most swimmers start out as small fish, but can watch the team leaders and learn their habits, and follow along in their footsteps. Thankfully, the MVP Gators have lots of great footsteps to follow in. We have had All-Star Champions, NVSL Record Holders, and even US National Team members within our ranks.
Gator Grads. #Gators4Life
To borrow a phrase from West Point, the Gators have a "Long Green Line" of leaders who have helped shape the program. Take, for example the graduated Gators who came to watch their friends and family in the relays on Wednesday. Sitting up on the hill at Donaldson Run, those Gators watched their records get broken by their friends/family/former teammates. But they know, as we all do too, that the reason the younger Gators are where they are now... capable of breaking those records, is because of the Gators who came before them. Who inspired them. Coached them. Mentored them. It's because leaders like Elaina and Parker that we have younger Gators today able to break their records. There are many reasons that we keep seeing so many records getting broken week after week, season after season. One of those reasons is that we swim in a Big Pond and have deep talent. Another reason is that we have Big Footprints to follow and our swimmers do a great job following in them. When you learn from the best, you become the best.
Growing Gators. #Gators4Life
So how did things turn out on Wednesday? Pretty darn good for the Gators. Ten relay teams qualified for All-Stars (as noted by the asterisks below). Six Gator records were broken (as indicated below). Here's the list: First Place Relay Teams (Every 1st place team made All-Stars)
*Boys Mixed Age Free: Alexander North, Sam Bruce, Donovan Kovalsky, Clark Bayer (Record)
*Boys 11-12 Medley: George Schulte, Alexander North, Matthew Makin, Gavin Fore
*Boys 11-12 Free: Matthew Makin, Gavin Fore, Jack Alzona, Alexander North
*Boys 13-14 Medley: Joe Humphreys, Jack Klopson, James Piland, Donovan Kovalsky (Record)
*Girls 15-18 Free: Juliana Skopp-Cardillo, Emily Makin, Gabby Greszler, Sheridan Phalen (Record)
Another day, another record.
Second Place Teams
*Girls 8&U Medley: Elizabeth Kellogg, Hayden Ward, Natalie Crowther, Margaret Driscoll
*Girls 8&U Free: Margaret Driscoll, Kate Barber, Andrea Morales, Natalie Crowther
*Boys 13-14 Free: James Piland, Jack Klopson, Jack Dupuis, Donovan Kovalsky
Boys 9-10 Free: Liam Fore, Noah Litonjua, Anthony Sarro, Samuel Bruce
Third Place Teams
*Girls 15-18 Medley: Emily Makin, Taylor Makin, Gabby Greszler, Sheridan Phalen (Record)
Boys 9-10 Medley: Samuel Bruce, Anthony Sarro, Liam Fore, Noah Litonjua
The OMG Category
How deep is Division 3? The 15-18 Boys set MVP records in BOTH of their swims on Wednesday, yet still placed 4th and 5th in those two races.
*4th Place... 15-18 Free: Cole Miller, Andrew Baker, John French, Clark Bayer (Record)
5th Place... 15-18 Medley: John French, T.J. Heck, Cole Miller, Clark Bayer (Record)
Boom Boys.
There were five races at the D3 Carnival that produced All-Star teams from 4th place (including our own 15-18 Boys Free). That's 4 out of 6 teams making the All-Star cut... in five different events. D3 is deep.
Your Mixed-Age Free Champions.
In other Division 3 round-up notes, there were 22 total races: Donaldson Run won the Carnival and had the most 1st place finishes with six. MVP finished second and had five wins. High Point and Crosspointe each won four races, while Vienna Woods took two and Hunter Mill won one.
Of special note, all four 15-18 races broke records: Boys and Girls, Free and Medley. That's some special stuff going on at the top level of the team. Nice work big Gators! I think we may need a new cheer, "Big Hands, Big Feet, Our Biggest Gators Can't Be Beat! Catchy.
Another interesting note, last year's 13-14 Boys broke a 27 year old record, then this group upped the ante this year and broke it again. It's a little crazy when that stuff happens, but again... it's a sign of those footsteps, when little Gators grow up watching big Gators do great things, they want to do those things too. And then when they successfully adopt those habits and training regimens, it increases the overall team performance and you see those records fall.
Wondertwin powers, activate!
Getting 10 teams into All-Stars is among the all-time highs for the Gators, and something to be proud of. But even more remarkable is that of those 10 relay teams, SEVEN of them are going to be in the final heats at All-Stars (meaning top six). That is an all-time high for the Gators. We have had 10-12 teams in All-Stars before, but never have we put so many in the elite final heats. Seven teams of Big Fish swimming with those other Big Fish from around the NVSL. It's going to be fun to watch.
Cheering makes 'em swim faster! Go G...ators!
If you haven't been to All-Stars, EVERYONE is invited. The D1 teams ALWAYS have the biggest crowds because members come cheer even when they aren't swimming in the races. We could use some of that cheering support, too! (Those D1 pools are pretty loud, but we could challenge with our cheers if enough people show up!) It all starts at 4pm on Wednesday- details at the link. Hope to see everyone there.
Congratulations, Gators, on another terrific Relay Carnival.
