Signing up for swim meets ... digitally

I admit that a part of me miss the good old time of paper entries. A team would advertise their meet, I would post it at the pool, talk to kids and parent about it and then fill-out the entry forms and mail them with a check. I'm not saying it was not a lot of work, but there was a sens of order, a comfortable time line that would give all parties involved a chance to think it through.

In the year 2010, entering a meet is a very different process. First, you need to be connected .... I mean internet connected, second, you actually need to know how to navigate the web, and last but not least, you must check your e-mail daily. For best of for worst we live in the digital age.

Going digital is speeding everything up. From the time a meet gets "posted" on line, to the time the meet is closed could be just a few days. With Swim Connection alerting the parents directly (if you have an account) of the availability of a meet, the system is now so efficient that it effectively bypasses coaches altogether. Yes, there are ways for me to help you chose events for your kids, but with so little time to register to a meet, it is not easy do do my job.

Most parents like to plan early, which is why I post the meet schedule on the marlins website as early as possible. Unfortunately, most parents are confused by the time line relating to different type of meets. For example, I advertise our home meet early (all the home meets until July are posted on the website), but I usually do not open the meet for registration until 2 weeks before, and I will close the meet 3 days before the event date. But away meets are different, although the schedule is advertise early, it seems that the meet open for registration almost randomly. Some open 2 to 3 month in advance, some 2 to 3 weeks.

If you are serious about taking your kids to away meets, please be pro-active and talk to Jeff or me about your options, we can recommend a meet based on your child's level. Once you know what meet you want to attend, then you must stay alert for the e-mail announcement I send as soon as a meet opens-up for registration. In the e-mail, I usually describe the meet in more specific terms. As always, if you are new to this or want to take it slower, enter just one day - no need to be there 2 or 3 days unless you and your kids are ready for it!

Junior Olympics Championships In San Ramon

Jeff and I had the pleasure to spend the weekend with 4 qualified Marlins swimmers and their families. JO's (as we call it) is no small affair. 90 teams participated with over 1350 swimmers competing over 3 days. Swimmers must qualify to compete and James Beard 10, Monica Sears 11, Jared Sears 14 and Alicia Vogelaar 12 managed to qualify in a total of 21 events. Just a year ago, the Marlins were represented by just one swimmer in 6 events.

Our athletes put on a great show: 17 best times (81% improvement) and one new team record for Monica in the 400 IM. Monica manage to qualify in the ultimate age group meet (the Far Western Championships held in Morgan Hills in April) in the 400 IM, Jared qualified in the 200 back, and both will be joining James who will be swimming the 50 and 100 back. I have posted the results for our swimmers here. For an overall meet result, go here.

This meet confirms that we are on track with our training and that we did a much better job with preparing the kids to race. Now, we need to build on that success and shift our focus on the month of July when we will be competing in the Redwood Empire Swim League Championships (RESL). We hope that the growing success of these swimmers will get their teammates to work hard to join them at the top. We have a bunch of talented swimmers in group 3 and 4 that are ready for the next step.