The Nature of Stroke Work As we begin to look at the Championship part of the season it is important for everyone to understand what technique improvement works, and how it fits developmentally in the long term planning for each athlete and in coordination with skill development from group to group as youngs athlete progresses through BSC program.   Coach Guy Edson was and still is one of my most respected mentors in swimming. He is an ASCA Level 5 Coach—the highest level attainable. Coach Guy is also the Technical...

Over the past 3 decades of coaching I have had the honor of working with a wide variety of athletes from beginners to Olympians and everything in between Laurel Liberty was a swimmer of mine from the time she was 11 until she graduated from college. Laurel was an NCAA All-American and since has followed up as a Masters National Champion. Currently she is a coach with the Lake Forest Swim Club. This fall Laurel was selected to be on staff with the USA Swimming National Team traveling to Istanbul,...

GRINCH-MAS WEEK 2013 This Year Grinch Week will be Dec. 31, 2012 to Jan. 5 2013 Any Teammate with 100% Practice Attendance will receive a Special Grinch Week T-Shirt Great Job This week! Here are the Teammates that Earned a Shirt with 100% Attendance This Week! This year there were 13 More Teammates that attended every session this week than last year. Keep working hard to translate great attendance into great meet performance at the Winter Classic! Colts Judd Baron, Caileigh Edstron, Jake Lee, Clayton Windon, Kinga Zimloag Ponies Lily...

GRINCH-MAS WEEK 2013 This Year Grinch Week will be Dec. 31, 2012 to Jan. 5 2013 Any Teammate with 100% Practice Attendance will receive a Special Grinch Week T-Shirt   BSC Top 10 List for 2013 As we begin 2013 I want to take a moment to look back at some of the highlights for BSC in the Past Year. 171 The Number of Teammates with BSC The highest in the Past 5 Years! 73—The Number of New Team Records Set in 2012 Great Job! 5th Place Age Group Team...

12/11/2012 By Jill Castle,  MS, RD, Child Nutrition & Feeding Expert I get questions from parents, coaches and swimmers – from near and far (New Zealand and Phuket, Thailand). Queried topics range from gaining weight and losing weight, to advice about supplements and protein. As we close out 2012, and ready ourselves to ring in the New Year, I thought I’d highlight some of the questions I’ve received over the year, and share my answers:  Will adding more protein to our young son’s diet help with weight gain or muscle development? ...

Six Ways to Kickstart Your Motivation Helpful tips for getting through tough holiday training season Published:December 13, 2012 Guest editorial by Olivier Poirier-Leroy PHOENIX, Arizona, December 13. THIS time of year can be difficult for swimmers. The days are getting shorter, the weather brisker and for many, the lure of outdoor swimming is months and months away. Not only all that, but for us Canadians, there is no hockey. In this nearly unbearable set of conditions, it's imperative to find ways to stay motivated when that alarm clock goes off at...

Great Job at the Elmhurst and Nike Meets 88 BSC Teammates traveled to the Nike and Elmhurst meets this past weekend. The team swam to 60% Best Times at the Elmhurst meet and 70% at the Nike Meet. There were 145 New Regional and Championship Qualifying Times, and 11 New Team Records. Barrington Swim Club improved last year's 7th place finish by Swimming to Second place Overall at the Nike Challenge! Great Job—way to close out 2012 Strong.   The Following Teammates Achieved 100% Best Times: Bridgette Caulfield, Aumkar Girap,...

7 Things Successful Swimmers Do Differently Published:December 4, 2012, Swimming World Guest editorial by Olivier Poirier-Leroy PHOENIX, Arizona, December 5. WHY do some swimmers have a hard time achieving success while other swimmers seem to effortlessly enjoy wild and never-ending success? Generally the first two answers tabled are talent and genetics. However, possessing these two attributes alone will not constitute an elite swimmer. Sure, they will always get by for a few years on these two characteristics, but it isn't long before that isn't enough. And before long, these promising young...

Simplifying Tapering For Age Group Swimmers By Guy Edson   Simple, We don't.   We don't taper age group swimmers because there is nothing to taper from.   Taper is effective when there is a constant but manageable significant overload of both anaerobic and aerobic work.  When we reduce the stress by tapering the amount of and intensity of the work then the body super compensates with greater strength, speed, and endurance.  (That's our hope!)   Age group swimmers are not little seniors.  They have far different needs and different...

Cultivating a Growth Mindset The following is a excerpt from a book called “Mindset” by Dr. Carol Dwek, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. This portion specifically applies to youth sports and teaching children developmental mental tools they can build a healthy success mindset with. Does some of this sound Familiar? These are the same tools that we are committed to teaching BSC swimmers. Enjoy!--Coach Rob Messages About Success Listen for the messages in the following examples: “You learned that so quickly! You’re so smart!” “Look at that drawing. Martha,...