The Calm Before the Storm

The two school meets that we competed in last week officially kicked off our championship season. For most of our swimmers, this weekend is the final down week before we shift into full gear (other than the middle school swimmers going to HVAC). So for many of our swimmers, this means it's time for "Taper". 

If you're new to the sport, taper simply means championship preparation time. However, it also means a potential for increased anxiety in swimmers and parents alike. All of us have made sacrifices and the stakes are pretty high. To help our swimmers through the process, there are a few key points that all families should know.

• Taper is not as important as the season leading up to it
  While we tend to place heightened importance on "getting taper right", the truth is that the months of training preceding taper are a far better indicator of ultimate success. If your swimmer has had shaky attendance, taper will not be a magic pill to suddenly fix the season. By the same token, if a swimmer has put in an solid 8 months of work, taper will work out just fine. 

• Taper does not mean "Easy"
  Despite what almost every swimmer believes (or perhaps hopes), taper doesn't mean 30 minutes of social kick and cannonballs. In fact, a large part of championship preparation is swimming faster in practice than we have all season. That doesn't stop a chorus of "This doesn't feel like taper!" whenever we continue to push.

• Taper is not the same for all swimmers
  There are many factors that go into planning a taper for each group. Age, gender and events are some of the variables that we need to consider. Younger swimmers need less rest (some need none) while older swimmers need more. Distance swimmers need less while sprinters need more. So resist to the temptation to compare tapers as they aren't meant to be the same.

• Taper practices may be shortened
  Keep an eye on schedules in the next few weeks as we many of the practices will begin to end early. Coaches will be communicating any changes so be aware that they may be coming.

• Your swimmer's behavior/mood may change
  The two main factors that may affect both behavior and mood are rest and excitement. You may notice in sharp increase in energy at home as we back off a little with the volume in the pool. Don't be alarmed if there is a little more "bouncing off the walls" at home. However, it is still important to keep the same sleep routines, even with that increased energy. You may also notice and increase in excitement either positively (jittery) or negatively (anxiety). This too is completely expected but sometimes, not much fun. 

Other than that, taper is pretty much like the rest of the season but please reach out to your individual coaches if you have any further questions. Buckle up, this is going to be fun!

 Championship Meet Season Explained

• Today (February 3rd) is the deadline for Region 1 and 8 & Under Champs

• Keep an eye out for upcoming deadlines

IM Tough (8 and Under): Successfully complete the 50 Fly, 50 Back, 50 Breast, 200 Free and 200 IM in a meet before the end of the short course season or their 9th birthday (whichever comes first) to win an "IM TOUGH" T-shirt.
IM Tough (9-10): Successfully complete the 100 Fly, 100 Back, 100 Breast, 200 Free, 500 Free and 200 IM in a meet before the end of the short course season or their 11th birthday (whichever comes first) to win an "IM TOUGH" T-shirt.
Heat Winner: Place in the top three swimmers in your age group for number of races won throughout the year. This award to favor  those athletes that are attending meets, swimming  lots of events, racing hard but most importantly, improving throughout the year.  Winners will receive a "Heat Winner" bag tag.
IM Hall of Fame Level 1- Attain a Southeastern Championship Qualifying time standard in every event available for your age group.
IM Hall of Fame Level 2- Attain an Age Group Sectionals Championship Qualifying time standard in every event available for your age group.
IM Hall of Fame Level 3- Attain an NCSA Junior National Championship Qualifying time standard in every event available for your age group.  

Our Weekly Update for 2-3-23 has been released so check it out! You may have noticed that we are receiving intros from a wide variety of sources. Olympians, SEC Champions, officials, swim moms and vendors are just some of the folks who have made an appearance. If you are traveling and want to send us an intro from a unique location, we'll be sure to include it. Interested in seeing where they all come from so far? Check out Excel Aquatics from around the world below!