It Takes a Team

Eagles,

 

Congratulations.  Last night, you showed up.  You swam the meet of a lifetime—all sixty-two of you.  At the beginning of the year, at our kick off brunch, I said there is no way we could win a meet with fifteen or twenty-three people in the water alone.  I believe to swim a perfect meet in the water alone is an impossibility.  It takes a team—guys screaming their heads off on the sidelines, making posters, wearing their school colors and feeling exhausted at the meet’s end having spent their last ounce of energy in support of the guys in the pool, the guys they swim alongside with every day at practice and every week at duel meets.  And while we didn’t win the banner, we did swim the perfect meet at finals last night.  Records broke, times dropped, and seeds were beaten over and over again.  As Joe Viola said, “You guys swam out your minds”.  It was perfect.  I was thrilled.

 

Winning the banner is clearly something every team wants, especially for our seniors every year.  I’ve been on teams that have won it and teams that have not, and so will all of you.  But the banner doesn’t define a team or its greatness.  We won second, and yet I can say confidently that this 2009 team is a team that will be remembered as one of Gonzaga’s greatest— All Americans, record holders, consistent personal bests, constant hard work in practice from lanes one to six and a sense of brotherhood that clearly other teams just don’t have. 

 

You left it all in the pool last night. That’s all you can ask from any athlete and any team.

 

We have Metros in two weeks, one more shot to swim “out of our minds” and prove our greatness again, two more weeks to support each other and get it done.  And we can.  And we will. 

 

You guys should be proud of yourselves.  You’ve accomplished something big.  And you’ll continue to accomplish even bigger things.  You’re Eagles.  That’s what you do.

 

 

Coach Dave

 

Gonzaga Wins 1st Place at Relays

Great job to our swimmers! We had an incredible meet with tons of best splits and several relays withing record breaking territory. Best of all, everyone stood up to the plate in and out of the water; Gonzaga was definitely the loudest and most supportive team there, and that spurred on our performance. We won every event but one, and some were close. Having 50 5th men on the sidelines is invaluable.

This should be a nice feather in our caps, and hopefully incentive to only work harder. The season hardly ends with this week’s victory. We still have two crucial meets to look forward to plus championships. And the format won’t be relays, which plays to our depth. We need to practice and work hard, so I’ll be expecting each and every one of you at practice over the break or working hard wherever you travel to. No exams means more time to condition.

Well done! On to the next meet in less than a month: DeMatha on January 8th.

Holiday Workouts Revisited

Exam Week

We will NOT have practice during the Monday-Wednesday of Exam week (Dec 15-17). However, we WILL have practice Thursday and Friday of Exam week (Dec. 18, 19). You will be excused if you have an exam. Otherwise, expect to be at practice at 2:30 pm on Thursday and 9am on Friday.

Christmas:

-We will have practice during Christmas Week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (Dec. 22, 23, 24) at 9 a.m.

-Will will NOT have practice Dec 25-28

-Practice RESUMES on Dec-29, 30, 31.

-No Practice on New Years and until classes resume on Jan. 5

-DeMatha vs. Gonzaga is on January 8!

WINTER WORKOUTS & THE IMPORTANCE OF PRACTICE

We’re at the midseason mark, and I’m seeing lots of great progress in many of our swimmers, but some have some catch up to do. Since this is a non-Hawaii year, I want to reiterate a few things. Below is a synopsis of winter workout information and a revisiting of the team’s attendance policy.

First, practice is the only way times can drop and our team can win. We’ve had record attendance at dryland, and water practices have been happily full; however as Christmas break approaches, I want to reiterate the importance of working out over the break.

Hawaii Years Vs. Non Hawaii Years

Last year, at the start of the season, one of our principle rival coaches asked us if last year was a Hawaii year. It was. Their reply: “Uh oh.” Hawaii years are usually successful because we throw 40 or 50 members of the team on an island and make them swim twice a day for two full two hour practices and do dryland. On non Hawaii years, we have practice once a day in the morning at Gallaudet and nary a palm tree to be seen.

A couple of observations about this. During Hawaii years, family obligations like going to the aunt’s cookie party seem to be able to missed; during Gallaudet years, they are command family performances. Of course, family and family vacations are going to take precedence during the holidays, but the rate of guys going to practice on non-Hawaii years drops. Let’s reverse that trend this year. If you are in the area, be committed; make your vacation count.

The Importance of Practice Wherever You Are

Could you take Christmas vacation off from swimming? No. It’s non negotiable. Wherever you are, you need to find a pool or a suitable alternative. Could you miss Gonzaga practices? Yes, but you have to have a valid reason, and going to a CYO basketball game is not one. A fun fact to think about is that for every week you take off, it takes almost two to get back the gains you lost from when you were training. With nearly three weeks of Christmas break, you’ll be three weeks in the hole when we swim our two biggest meets one week into our return from school. You don’t want to put our team in that situation. You’re solution:  come to practice.

What if you’re in Idaho visiting Grandma? If there’s a pool available, USE IT. I’ll have workouts posted that you can use to swim on your own. No pool? Go to a sporting goods store, buy some stretch chords, and get out there working the dryland: push ups, sit ups, running, sprints, weight lifting or any other kind of resistance training. You might have three weeks gone from the water, but you’ll be in shape and ready to work hard when you come back.

One of The Best Gonzaga Teams in Years

We have one of the best Gonzaga teams we’ve seen in years. Our seniors are unbelievable, our freshman are prodigies, and our sophomores and juniors worked so hard in the off season last year that their strokes and times from last year are unrecognizable today. We have a good thing. All it takes is a winter of xBox and no pool to take it away. Make the right choice. Work over break. Let’s go for the banner!

Off to a Great Start: Eagles Beat Calvert Hall And Place First at St. John’s Invitational

Congrats to the Eagles for a stellar start to the season.  The Varsity defeated Calvert Hall 96-74 on Friday, and seniors Nick Adagio, Brian Murphy, Pat Sullivan and Brendan Whipkey set a pool record in the 200 Free Relay.

There were some really great swims, lots of time dropped from last year, and some surprise standout swims.  There were also some kinks, and while it’s great to know that we can win, it’s good to know that there’s room to do even better.  One swimmer commented, accurately, that we have some really fast times, but there’s still a lot of fundamentals that need to be developed-no breathing into turns, tighter streamlines, jerky starts.  That said, we’re flying high and can even fly higher.

On Saturday, the team had a blast at the St. John’s Invitational.  The top 16 spots scored in each event, and while we were looking first and foremost just to get some times, we still won that meet handily 104-38.  Granted, the meet also had some major kinks (most technical relating from glitches in names with the HyTek software and hand entered times), but it was awesome having the students swim so many events and trying out new strokes and for many getting fast times.

And of course, our parents prove to be another point of pride, providing the most officials and timers for the meet.  Thanks to them.

We’re off to a great start.

Our next meet is December 2 against Landon at Holton Arms (4:30pm).  Success in that meet begins now.  Every practice matters.  Every swim and every swimmer counts.

Reminder that we have practice at 9:00am on Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  The bus leaves from Gonzaga at 8:45 a.m.  I’ll be there in the parking lot to see it off.

Great job, Team.  See you Monday.

Meet Posting

Meets will be posted at the morning practice before the meet.  So Friday’s meet sheet will be posted on Thursday at morning practice (as will Saturday’s).

Kick off Brunch, USS Log Sheets, Holiday Schedules, First Meets

Thanks for a Great Kick Off Mass and Breakfast!

Dear Friends and families of Gonzaga Swimming,

Thanks to everyone who helped stage an incredible kick off to the season with our Mass and brunch Sunday. Special thanks to Fr. Rokusek for celebrating Mass and to our captains’ moms for getting there early to set up. It was truly awesome to see the throngs of people that came together as a team and to support the team. As I said, this is a team operation. Every person freshman or senior, swimmer or parent is vital to our success. That said, it was a great to see such numbers.

A few new announcements include that Mr. Brian Larkin will be assisting the team on trips and meets this year. As a faculty member in the building, he will be a great asset alongside assistant coach Emily Michard and Head Dive Coach Anita O’Quinn.

As we prepare for our season, a few items of business:

MORNING WORKOUTS and TEAM SUITS

Morning workouts have begun. They are held Tuesdays and Thursday at 6:50 a.m in the gym. These are important because they offer conditioning we can’t get in the water, offer us extra practice to give us an edge, and serve as a time and place we can all meet to discuss important team issues.

As far as the first practice, EVERYONE WAS ON TIME, which is a HUGE way to start the season! Great job! We had a record turnout today and distributed our team warm ups, suits and caps.

-Warm ups are on loan and have a number attachted to them. They must be returned at the end of the year with the correct number. Otherwise they will be purchased for $80.

-Everyone MUST have a team suit to be worn in competition only. No practice wear.

• Suits (Mandatory) $27 dollars
• Drag suits (Optional) $25 dollars
• Capst (Reccommended) $4 dollars
• **If you have a suit from last year, you do not need to purchase a new one. Team suits must be worn in competition as part of the uniform. Warm ups must be worn to meets.
  

USS Practice Logs:

All swimmers are expected to participate in five water practices a week. If a swimmer chooses to swim with a club team instead of Gonzaga, he needs to fill out a USS Practice Log and submit that log to Mr. Norton at the end of each week signed by his coach. A link to that practice log is here and on the main page.

Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday Practices

Practices are mandatory. If we are going to stay a championship team, it is vital that we practice as one. That includes sacrificing our days of school and coming to practice. Of course, the holidays are a time for family and travel ensues. That’s understandable. If you have a conflict, please drop me an email and let me know. Otherwise, we expect you to be at practice over the breaks. Keep in mind that one of our biggest meets is only 3 days after we get back from Christmas break! You know they’ll be practicing.

Thanksgiving Week:

We will have practice the Monday, Tuesday and WEDNESDAY before Thanksgiving. Thursday and Friday are off. Wednesday practice will be at 9 a.m. at Gallaudet.

Exam Week

We will NOT have practice during the Monday-Wednesday of Exam week (Dec 15-17). However, we WILL have practice Thursday and Friday of Exam week (Dec. 18, 19). You will be excused if you have an exam. Otherwise, expect to be at practice at 2:30 pm on Thursday and 9am on Friday.

Christmas:

-We will have practice during Christmas Week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (Dec. 22, 23, 24) at 9 a.m.

-Will will NOT have practice Dec 25-28

-Practice RESUMES on Dec-29, 30, 31.

-No Practice on New Years and until classes resume on Jan. 5

-DeMatha vs. Gonzaga is on January 8!

Calvert Hall and St. John’s Invitational (Time Trials)

We have two meets back to back this week. Calvart Hall is a competitive meet and will draw from the Varsity squad, but JV swimmers are expected to attened and will swim. St. John’s Invitational will draw more from the JV and new swimmers; our intent is not to win but to get as many times on new swimmers as possible and give old swimmers a chance to swim events they don’t normally swim.

That’s all of now. Keep a look out for emails from Mrs. Lisa Murphy and check the website to stay abreast of team news and results.

Welcome to the 2008-2009 Season!

Welcome to Gonzaga’s 2008-2009 Swim and Dive Season!

This year, we’ve set up a blog to better inform you of updates to our season.  Continue to use the web page for static information like the schedule, coaches contact and biographical information, and meet results.  But for the latest news, check this blog, which will be used for variety of purposes including:

• Inclement Weather Changes
• Immediate meet results
• Latest Swimming Community News
• Information about College Scholarships for Swimmers
• Much, Much, More

This proves to be one of our strongest and most powerful seasons yet.  So get ready.  The Eagles are going to fly high!

Sincerely,

Coach Norton

Gonzaga Swim and Dive Team

Relay Carnival Info, Meet Recaps and Winter Practice

***RELAY CARNIVAL WARMUPS START AT 8:30 at GEORGETOWN PREP***THERE IS NO BUS FROM GONZAGA; IT HAS BEEN CANCELED DUE TO LACK OF INTEREST***CICI’s PIZZA LUNCH AFTER THE MEET

Relay Carnival and Christmas Break mark midseason.  Hard to believe we are already here.  I’ve been incredibly pleased with the progress of the team and am expecting great things as we head into the main part of our season in January.

First, I want to extend a huge thank you to all the parents who scurried and scrambled during the St. Alban’s meet time situation.  The Visitation coach and I were both a little irked not to have been directly informed about sudden time change, but Gonzaga’s parents and swimmers didn’t ask a single question (though I’m sure you had plenty at 6:45 a.m when the phone rang) and just stepped up to the plate.  That kind of dedication on the part of the swimmers and support on the part of the parents is really what makes this the best team in the area.  Needless to say, I’ll be checking in quite frequently with the host facilities to make double sure we don’t have to scramble again.  Again, a thousand thanks.

Also, I need to mention the guys on our team during St. Alban’s who offered up their spots in events to let other swimmers swim when we had pulled ahead.  Again, the team aspect of this team is unparalleled and our swimmers are as generous as our parents.

Landon and Mount St. Joe’s earlier in the week were also successful; we beat Landon with some great times, and while Varsity lost a close one to MSJ, our JV won convincingly and a lot of our non varsity swimmers stepped up to the plate while many of our Varsity squad was away for Tom Dolan.