By Torrey Hart on SwimSwam

Alaska’s Anchorage School District is investigating the disqualification of 17-year-old female swimmer Breckynn Willis from a race she won Friday night over the fit of her suit, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

After winning the 100 free for Dimond High School, an official told Willis she was disqualified because her “swimsuit was exposing too much of her buttocks,” according to the Post. Willis, a multi-time state champion, was wearing a suit issued to her by the school, and her coach filed a protest with the official that was denied.

The call has drawn allegation of sexism, and some of racism, among the community. Lauren Langford, a coach at another local high school, told the Post that she believed that Willis being a minority race played a role in the DQ — all the girls on her team were wearing the suit, but only one swimmer was called for it. Last year, the same official had approached Willis’ younger sister about the fit of her suit as well, according to NBC affiliate KTUU.

“All of these girls are all wearing suits that are cut the same way,” Langford said. “And the only girl who gets disqualified is a mixed-race girl with rounder, curvier features.” The official who made the call has not been identified, but Annette Rohde, another official working the meet, told the Anchorage Daily News that she was shocked by her colleague’s decision: “I told her, ‘I need to know how you’re defining this, because this is going to blow up,'” Rohde said.

This wasn’t the first time Breckynn had been singled-out, either. Last year, a parent “took a photo of her backside” and shared it with other parents to point out the way female athletes were wearing their suits. The swimmer had been accused of intentional hiking her suit up.

Langford also penned a now-viral blog post on Medium.com about the situation.

The district expects the coach to appeal and released a statement Monday on the situation:

“We intend to gather all the facts surrounding the disqualification so we can accurately address the matter with officials and take appropriate action to ensure fair, equitable competition and consistent application of the rules for this athlete and her peers.

Because swimming and diving suit coverage rules and regulations have been an ongoing national discussion, the Dimond High School Swim Program has made deliberate efforts over the last year to ensure athletes’ uniforms meet the regulations prescribed by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) to avoid any confusion or misinterpretation.  This year, the Dimond swim team has purchased approved, team suits for every swimmer that meet the requirements put forth by the NFHS. The disqualified athlete was wearing the approved, school-issued suit during the race.  In the first three meets this year, the Dimond swim team has had no disqualifications related to the wear of the swim uniform.

The NFHS provides the rules and regulations by which our athletic competitions are conducted.  ASD contracts with local swim clubs to conduct swim meets across the District under the rules stipulated by the NFHS.  Officials’ decisions are independent, guided by those rules.  However, we expect all referees and officials to conduct themselves in a manner that respects the dignity and rights of every student athlete regardless of the young person’s gender, body shape, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, or disability.”

The National Federation of State High School Associations, the governing body for high school athletics, has standards for swimwear, recently updated for the 2019-2020 season. It states that “females shall wear suits which cover the buttocks and breasts. In August, the organization released a memo about suit coverage and circulated an illustrated example of appropriate attire.

“What we’re attempting to do is try to define the parameters of the problem that quite frankly has been brought to us by adults who are uncomfortable being on deck with young men and young ladies who are not appropriately covered,” Sandy Searcy, director of sports for the NFHS, told KTUU.

“The goal is not to have officials focus on the backsides of male or female swimmers, but provide guidance for compliance,” KTUU said she added.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Alaska School District Investigating DQ of Female Swimmer Over Suit Fit

By Jared Anderson on SwimSwam

Regan Smith and Emma Weyant both received perfect scores for 4.0 GPAs and U.S. National titles, heading the 2018-2019 USA Swimming Scholastic All America team.

The scholastic All America program is for high school freshmen through seniors who meet a certain GPA requirement (3.5 or higher) while hitting an individual Winter Juniors qualifying time. Athletes must apply for team team.

• Full girls Scholastic All America list
• Full boys Scholastic All America list
• 2018-2019 Requirements
• 2018-2019 Qualifying Times

1634 high school swimmers made the cut this time around. That’s another new record: USA Swimming first opened up eligibility to 9th-graders last year and hit a record 1622 scholastic All-Americans. Even just comparing 10th-12th graders to previous years, the past two years have been a serious uptick: last year saw 1383 scholastic All-Americans between grades 10 and 12, an increase of about 200 from the previous year. This year, that group increased again, to 1410.

Below is USA Swimming’s press release, which breaks down the lists by zone, grade and LSC:

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Following the conclusion of the 2018-2019 swim season, USA Swimming today announced the names of 1,634 high school swimmers who have been selected to the 2018-2019 Scholastic All America Team.

To earn the title of Scholastic All American, athletes must be in 9^th-12th grade and maintain a minimum 3.5 grade point average during the application year, while meeting the 2018 Winter Junior time standards in the pool. For the complete selection criteria, visit usaswimming.org.

Two athletes received perfect scores – earning a 4.0 GPA and a Phillips 66 National Championships title – in the 2018-2019 season. Regan Smith (Lakeville, Minn./Riptide Swim Team) claims the prestigious title by way of her national title in the 200-meter backstroke, while Emma Weyant (Sarasota, Fla./Sarasota Sharks) earns the perfect score with her 400m individual medley national title. Both athletes were recently named to the 2019-2020 U.S. National Team.

Southern California leads all LSCs with 106 honorees, while Swim MAC Carolina (N.C.) leads all clubs with 41 athlete selections. The 1,634 applicants is an increase from last year’s total, which has risen by nearly 500 athletes since 2016.

Athlete Numbers:

USA Swimming is proud to recognize these scholar-athletes and congratulates the swimmers on their achievement, as well as their coaches and parents for their outstanding support.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: R. Smith & E. Weyant Receive Perfect Scores, Head Scholastic All America Team

By Jared Anderson on SwimSwam

The NCAA has launched a championships bid portal for prospective host sites to bid for future NCAA Championship events, including swimming & diving championships.

The bid portal opens just about a week before the 2019 NCAA Host Bid Symposium, which will take place on September 18 in Indianapolis. You can see the bid specifications and find links to the symposium and the portal here. The site also lists host bid specifics for swimming & diving:

• Division I men’s specifications
• Division I women’s specifications
• Division II men/women specifications
• Division III men/women specifications

Per those specifications, the NCAA is accepting bids for swimming & diving championships in the following years:

• Division I men: 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
• Division I women: 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
• Division II men/women: 2023, 2024, 2026
• Division III men/women: 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026

As of now, Division I hosts are as follows for the next three seasons:

• 2020 Women’s NCAAs: University of Georgia, Athens, GA
• 2020 Men’s NCAAs: IUPUI, Indianapolis, IN
• 2021 Women’s NCAAs: Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, NC
• 2021 Men’s NCAAs: University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
• 2022 Women’s NCAAs: Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA
• 2022 Men’s NCAAs: Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA

Currently, only a handful of schools have hosted the Division I NCAA Championships more than five times. The table below is up to date through 2019, but does not yet include the scheduled hosts for the next three years.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: NCAA Opens Bid Portal For Championship Hosts; Swimming Up For 2023-2026

By Jared Anderson on SwimSwam

The defending NCAA champion Stanford Cardinal women will return to the Art Adamson Invite at Texas A&M rather than the Ohio State Invite.

Stanford had traditionally attended the Art Adamson Invite, but switched its mid-season meet to Ohio State last year when a home football game forced Texas A&M to move its meet to a Wednesday-through-Friday schedule instead of the traditional Thursday-through-Saturday. Stanford coach Greg Meehan said at the time it allowed the team to miss less class days. This year, the Ohio State Invite and the Art Adamson Invite will take place on the same dates (Thursday, November 21 through Saturday, November 23), so Stanford will switch back to the College Station meet.

Ohio State provided SwimSwam a list of expected teams for its 2019 home invite last week, with the Stanford women included. But Meehan confirmed to SwimSwam that the Cardinal would be heading back to College Station for the Art Adamson Invite instead. SwimSwam has reached out to hosts of every major mid-season invite we could find for lists of expected teams, but so far we have not heard back yet from Texas A&M.

So far, we have prospective team lists from the following invites:

• Minnesota Invite (Dec 4-7 – Cal, Texas, Minnesota, Michigan, Arizona & more)
• NC State’s Wolfpack Invite (Nov 21-23 – NC State, Auburn, Arizona State, Wisconsin & more)
• Ohio State Invite (Nov 21-23 – Ohio State, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, UNC & more)

It appears the mid-season lineup should also feature the Missouri Invite (Nov 15-17), Tennessee Invite (Nov 21-23), Georgia Tech Invite (Nov 22-24) along with the U.S. Open (Dec 4-7, long course meters). It’s unclear at this point whether we’ll see the IU Invite, Hawkeye Invite, Texas Invite or Georgia Invite returning from last year, as the hosts of those meets are already expected at other mid-season invites.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Update: Stanford Women To Compete at Art Adamson Invite, Not Ohio State

By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam

Lincoln, Nebraska-native Dannie Dilsaver is back in the Midwest following a two-year stint at Cal. The breast/IM specialist has landed in Lawrence, Kansas on the roster of the University of Kansas women’s swimming and diving team.

Dilsaver entered the NCAA transfers database in May 2019, two years after her graduation from Lincoln Southwest High School where she was a four-time state record-holder, an 11-time state champion and a two-time USA Swimming Scholastic All-American. In her first year with the Golden Bears, Dilsaver went lifetime bests in the 100/200 breast and 200/400 IM and wound up ranked among Cal’s top five swimmers in all four events. At the 2018 Pac-12 Championships, she placed 13th in the 200 IM (1:59.97), 14th in the 400 IM (4:14.84) and 16th in the 200 breast (2:15.96) and was named a 2018 CSCAA Scholar All-American. As a sophomore at the 2019 Pac-12 conference meet, she finished 12th in the 400 IM (4:15.64), 22nd in the 200 breast (2:15.04), and 24th in the 200 IM (2:00.65).

Dilsaver’s lifetime bests would have put her in the A finals of the 200 IM (with Jayhawks Elizabeth Amato-Hanner, Kate Steward, and Paige Riekhof), 400 IM (with Riekhof), 100 breast (with Haley Downeyand Steward), and 200 breast (with conference champion Steward and Kaitlyn Witt) at 2019 Big 12 Championships. Kansas were runners-up with 754.5 points, 319 points behind Texas and 221.5 ahead of West Virginia. She will overlap one year with seniors Amato-Hanner and Downey and two years with sophomores Steward, Witt and Riekhof.

Most of Dilsaver’s top SCY performances date from the mid-season invite of her freshman season but her 100 breast time comes from an exhibition swim at 2019 Pac-12 Championships. She scored in the 200 breast (22nd with 2:15.04), 200 IM (24th with 2:00.65), and 400 IM (12th with 4:15.64).

Best SCY times:

• 200 IM – 1:58.59 (11/30/2017)
• 400 IM – 4:12.46 (12/1/2017)
• 100 breast – 1:01.71 (2/28/2019)
• 200 breast – 2:14.02 (12/2/2017)
• 200 free – 1:47.91 (11/4/2016)

If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to Recruits@swimswam.com.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Dannie Dilsaver (2017) Transfers to Kansas After 2 Years at Cal

By Torrey Hart on SwimSwam

University of Toledo head coach Jonas Persson is returning to the University of Utah as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, the school announced Tuesday.

“I am honored to be back at the University of Utah,” Persson said in the announcement. “My wife and I loved our time in Salt Lake City and we cannot wait to go back. It is an exciting time for the University of Utah and the athletic department as it keeps growing and improving at a very impressive rate, something I am looking forward to be a part of. I am still impressed with Head Coach Joe Dykstra and his staff. They are certainly taking the right steps to be a top program in the country. I would like to thank Joe and all the administrators who were a part of the hiring process. I am excited to start working with all the student-athletes at Utah.”

Persson, a 2008 Olympian for Sweden, was with Toledo’s women-only program for three seasons. In his second year, the team finished sixth at the MAC Championships, the school’s highest finish in five years. Last year, they finished seventh.

Prior to Toledo, Persson spent five years as head sprint coach at Utah. Under his watch, athletes broke every men’s team record and 17 women’s team records. He coached seven swimmers who made NCAA Championship appearances and 11 swimmers who ranked in the top-50 nationally.

Persson swam collegiately for the University of Tennessee, where he set seven school records and was a 13-time All-American and team captain.

Also currently listed on the Utah staff is head distance coach Michele Lowry and assistant coach Jos Smith.

In 2018, the Utes men posted their first All-American relay since 1975 in the men’s 200 medley relay, and Paul Unger became Utah’s third-ever medalist at the Pac-12 Championships when he got in a three-way tie for first in the 100 back. On the women’s side, the team send Jordan Anderson to NCAAs in the 400 IM, where she finished 28th in prelims (also competed in the 200 IM and 200 fly).

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Toledo Head Coach Jonas Persson to Return to Utah as Assistant

By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam

Fitter and Faster Swim Clinics is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.

Mateja (“Matt”) Milovanovic, an Arizonan of Serbian heritage, has announced his verbal commitment to the in-state Wildcats for 2020-21.

“Very humbled and excited to commit to the University of Arizona! The team culture, the coaching caliber and the school support provide an environment to accomplish amazing things both athletically and academically. Thank you to my family, my friends and my coaches. Proud to be part of the Wildcat family! #beardown”

Milovanovic is a two-time USA Swimming Scholastic All-American and NISCA All-American from Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix. He swims year-round with Phoenix Swim Club under head coach Garrett McCaffrey and Mike Maczuga. The 6’5” senior is the reigning Arizona High School Division 1 champion in the 100 back (50.93) and 400 free relay (46.36 split), and runner-up in the 200 IM (1:53.33) and 200 medley relay (23.90 leadoff backstroke). He is one of the team captains this year as Brophy seeks its 32nd consecutive state title.

In club swimming, Milovanovic is a two-time U.S. Open qualifier. He first achieved the standard in the 200y back at Phoenix Sectionals in March with his sixth-place 1:48.26. That meet produced several more PBs: 100/200/1000 free, 50/100/200 back, and 200 IM. The next instance was in the 100m back this summer at Speedo Junior Nationals. There, he finished 39th in prelims with a PB of 58.27. He also scored a PB in the 200m back with 2:08.29. Two weeks prior, he’d swum best times in the 50/100/200/400m free and 200m IM at Mt. Hood Sectionals.

Top SCY times:

• 200 back – 1:48.26
• 100 back – 50.27
• 50 back – 23.73
• 200 IM – 1:51.61
• 200 free – 1:40.05
• 100 free – 46.20

Milovanovic would have scored in the C finals of the 100/200 back at 2019 Pac-12 Championships. The Wildcats’ top backstrokers in 2019 (ChathamDobbs, Thomas Anderson, and Matt Lujan) will have graduated when Milovanovic begins, but he’ll overlap with Jack Anderson, Isaac Stump, Jack Murphy, and Ty Coen.

Had to take it to Twitter. Honored and humbled to commit to the University of Arizona Swimming. Huge thanks to family, friends, and coaches that helped me through this journey. Couldn’t be more excited to join the Wildcat Family. #beardown

By Giusy Cisale on SwimSwam

CAMPIONATI DEL MONDO NUOTO PARALIMPICO 2019

• 9-15 Settembre 2019
• London Aquatics Centre
• Vasca Lunga 50 Metri
• Federazione Italiana Nuoto Paralimpico
• Diretta Streaming
• Risultati

Sono bastati due giorni di gare per vedere il tricolore sventolare in cima alla classifica dei Campionati del Mondo di Nuoto Paralimpico.

A Londra c’è un’Italia che sta dando un esempio alle attuali e future generazioni. Un Italia che negli ultimi due anni ha vissuto la sua ascesa con umiltà, abnegazione e totale dedizione ad un progetto che va oltre lo sport.

Il messaggio è chiaro. Il nuoto è uno solo. Non esistono barriere in acqua.

Uscite di casa e tuffatevi in piscina a rincorrere il vostro sogno.

Sono 17 le medaglie conquistate in due giorni di campionato.

Ieri sera, al London Aquatics Center, altre quattro volte un italiano è salito sul gradino più alto del podio.

Simone Barlaam dopo il Record del Mondo stabilito nel primo giorno nei 100 metri stile libero, offre il bis.

Vince la finale dei 100m dorso cat. S9 ed il tempo nuotato di 1:01.22 è il nuovo World Record.

MEDAGLIE 10/09

• Francesco Bocciardo oro 200m stile libero S5, 2’24”11
• Simone Barlaam oro 100 metri dorso S9 1:01.22 Record Del Mondo
• Arjola Trimi oro 100 metri stile libero S4, 1:29.56
• Carlotta Gilli oro 100 metri dorso S13 1:06.48 Record dei Campionati
• Arianna Talamona argento 200m stile libero S5, 2:51.43
• Antonio Fantin argento 100m stile libero cat. S5 1:05.54 Record Italiano
• Stefano Raimondi argento 200 metri misti cat S10 2:08.20
• Monica Boggioni bronzo 200m stile libero S5, 2:57.96
• Staffetta mixed mista argento 2:40.92

PROGRAMMA GARE

Le batterie del mattino inizieranno alle ore 10:00 (ora locale), mentre le finali alle ore 18:00 (ora locale).

Al seguente link è disponibile il programma giornaliero:

• programma gare 

DIRETTA STREAMING MONDIALI NUOTO PARALIMPICO

Sarà possibile seguire tutte le sessioni di gara attraverso la diretta streaming al seguente link:

• Diretta Streaming Londra 2019

NAZIONALE ITALIANA NUOTO PARALIMPICO

UOMINI

1. BARLAAM Simone, Polha Varese
2. BICELLI Federico, Polisportiva bresciana no Frontiere
3. BOCCIARDO Francesco, G.S. FF.OO/Nuotatori Genovesi
4. BONI Vincenzo, G.S. FF.OO/Caravaggio Sporting Village
5. CIULLI Simone, Circolo Canottieri Aniene
6. FANTIN Antonio, G.S. FF.OO/ Aspea Padova
7. MENCIOTTI Riccardo, Circolo Canottieri Aniene
8. MORELLI Efrem,  G.S. FF.OO/ Asd Sea Sub Modena
9. MORLACCHI Federico, Polha Varese
10. RAIMONDI Stefano, Verona Swimming Team
11. SOTTILE Fabrizio, Polha Varese
12. URSO Salvatore, Noived Napoli

DONNE

1. BERRA Alessia, Polha Varese
2. BOGGIONI Monica, AICS Pavia Nuoto
3. GHIRETTI Giulia, G.S. FF.OO/ Ego Nuoto
4. GILLI Carlotta, G.S. FF.OO/Rari Nantes Torino
5. PALAZZO Xenia Francesca, Verona Swimming Team
6. PROCIDA Angela, Nuotatori Campani
7. SCORTECHINI Alessia, Circolo Canottieri Aniene
8. TALAMONA Arianna, Polha Varese
9. TERZI Giulia, Polha Varese
10. TRIMI Arjola, Polha Varese

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Mondiali Nuoto Paralimpico: Italia Prima Nel Medagliere, Barlaam Ancora WR

By SwimSwam Partner Content on SwimSwam

The dominant player in the $20 billion swim school industry is backed by private equity firm L5 Capital Partners, putting investors in an optimum position to see high performance and ROI.

Since its founding in 2009 by competitive swimmer and near-Olympics-qualifier Chris DeJong—who finished behind Michael Phelps and missed qualifying for the 2008 Olympics by just three-tenths of a second—leading swim school franchise Big Blue Swim School has come off the block with a laser focus. Today, Big Blue Swim School has emerged as the dominant player in the $20 billion swim school industry thanks to a superior curriculum premised on distance-based methodology, innovative lesson planning technology, data-based real estate sourcing and an Amazon-proof model, just to name a few differentiators.

Given these competitive qualities, Big Blue Swim School has already enjoyed explosive franchise growth—recently selling out its home market of Chicagoland with a 10-unit deal and expanding to key development markets across the U.S.—all in pursuit of its goal to hit 150 units by 2021. Finally, Big Blue is backed by the franchising experts of L5 Capital Partners, a private equity firm that grew to become the third-largest national yoga studio operator, with 27 locations in four states, all in less than a decade.

Suffice to say: the time has never been better to buy into the Big Blue Swim School franchise system.

So just what defines a qualified franchise candidate in terms of Big Blue ownership? Because of the strong financials needed to open a Big Blue Swim School, semi-absentee inventors with sizeable equity capital who are looking to add a recession-resistant business to their portfolios align impressively with Big Blue.

“Our model is highly efficient and semi-absentee-investor in structure, so investors can maximize their time and capital with us,” said Big Blue Swim School’s Chief Development Officer,Scott Thompson. “We look for someone with the business acumen to leverage the data provided and to help scale the business.”

Thompson also emphasized that Big Blue Swim School embodies the type of high-performing returns and longevity that semi-absentee investors look for in a business opportunity.

“A lot of people looking for great returns on investment want to park their capital for a long period and time and see high returns over time,” said Thompson. And, because parents will always invest in their kids, “that’s Big Blue Swim School.”

Because many investors may not personally have experience in the swim school industry, Thompson and the other members of Big Blue’s leadership team take care to provide unparalleled support and training.

“We are data-driven and we are nimble,” said Thompson. “We have the experience to scale quickly and we optimize a data-driven real estate assessment that identifies prime real estate in trade areas. Next, we deploy operational team members for both pre- and post-opening support as part of our proven marketing strategy.”

Consistent with Big Blue’s utilization of technology for real estate and marketing purposes, the industry leader also optimizes for lesson capacity thanks to proprietary lesson management software and customer self-service mobile app, LessonBuddy.

“LessonBuddy allows our franchise partners to really manage their business through dashboards and KPIs all the way down to the shift level—they can track their costs and efficiencies so that they have total transparency in terms of ROI and health of the business,” explained Thompson. “LessonBuddy also allows families to reschedule lessons at the touch of a button, solving availability problems and maximizing reach.”

Because of Big Blue’s proven systems, the swim school brand lends itself to quick scaling and serves as a lucrative opportunity for those investors looking to maximize their earnings through multi-unit ownership.

Several recent franchise partners who joined the Big Blue system as area developers include former Orangetheory franchisees Wendy and Erik Skaalerud, who will bring five locations to the Denver area; Sun Stop Sunglasses franchisees Zack and Brittany Groesbeck who will bring three Big Blue Swim Schools to Salt Lake City; and Orangetheory and Amazing Lash Studio brother-and-sister franchisees Adryenne and Derek Hearne, who will bring five new locations to Florida and South Carolina.

“We have incredible franchise partners and because of L5 Capital’s experience as owner of Level 4 Yoga, LLC, the largest franchisee of CorePower Yoga, we know what it means to be a franchisee and the importance of a good franchisor relationship,” said Thompson. “We know what services and systems we would expect and how to optimize a capable semi-absentee business model.”

With the differentiators, infrastructure, and expertise to position semi-absentee franchise partners for success, Big Blue Swim School is the high-performing investment opportunity ready to be added to portfolios across the U.S.

ABOUT BIG BLUE SWIM SCHOOL

Big Blue Swim School was founded in 2009 by competitive swimmer Chris DeJong. The first location opened in Wilmette, Illinois, followed by Niles, Buffalo Grove and Hoffman Estates. In 2017, Level 5 Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in the brand, and is rolling out an aggressive strategy to grow through franchising to 150 locations by 2020. Big Blue Swim School’s real estate footprint, proprietary technology Lesson Buddy, coupled with its practice of employing full-time child engagement specialists that teach based on a proprietary distance-based swimming methodology sets Big Blue up for long-term success. To learn more about franchise opportunities with Big Blue Swim School, visit http://YourBigMomentStartsHere.com.

Big Blue Swim School is a SwimSwam Partner. 

Read the full story on SwimSwam: How Big Blue Swim School’s Investor Model Allows Partners to Maximize Capital

By Olivier Poirier-Leroy on SwimSwam

You know what I love talking about?

Self-talk.

All kinds.

The external kind. The motivational kind. The instructional kind, too.

One might say that muttering to one’s self is something I am passionate about. Because I know first-hand how hilariously critical it is to slicing through the water like a nuclear-powered submarine.

Fundamentally, self-talk dictates your actions:

• If your self-talk reminds you to keep pushing, to not give up, well, it’s pretty easy to guess what is going to happen.
• And if your self-talk is full of stuff like, I can’t do this set, well, that’s basically a money-back guarantee that you are super not going to do this set.

But let’s say that you know this already.

And you’re making a conscious effort each day at the pool to make your self-talk free-range and excellent.

Is there anything else you can do to make your self-talk better? A way to spice it up this essential mental training skill even further?

You bet your moldy swim cap there is!

And it starts with something as simple as nodding your head.

Powering up your self-talk…by nodding your head?

Think back to the last time you were standing behind the blocks, truly pumped to race.

Everything was lined up for a great performance: you had trained like a beast in practice, absolutely demolished your race pace efforts during warm-up, and that fancy new tech suit wasn’t completely choking your limbs off.

Let’s do this.

Let’s bring the noise.

Let’s Hulk smashy.

Along with the positive self-talk, you also subtly nod your head, physically demonstrating that you agree with what you are telling yourself.

The body language and slight head nodding align with what you are trying to do.

Now imagine, for a moment, that instead of nodding your head, you had shaken your head.

Or worse…

Used a piece of negative self-talk (“I don’t think I can do this”) while also nodding your head in agreement.

Do you think that something this simple, this innocent would have an impact on how you perform?

The 1-2 punch of positive self-talk and positive body language

If you were wondering if this was even a thing, wonder no further.

A study with 150 CrossFit athletes looked to see what kind of effect nodding and shaking your head would have when combined with positive and negative self-talk.

The researchers started out by having our participants write out a series of positive and negative statements regarding their physical preparedness (“I’ve been working really hard lately” or “I have been slacking off”).

Now here comes the sneaky part: the researchers had the athletes wear headphones and listen to their statements. Half the group were told to move their head up and down (to simulate nodding), while the other half shifted their head side to side to approximate shaking their head.

Finally, the athletes were tested on a max vertical jump, a squat test (30 reps in :45), and 1RM deadlifts.

Here’s how things went down:

On the vertical jump test, the combination of a positive self-statement and nodding led the way, averaging over 33cm in height. When shaking their heads, both positive and negative self-statements performed around the same, at 28-29cm. But it was nodding in agreement with negative self-talk that fared worst, at just 26cm.

The difference here is staggering. If you tell yourself good stuff and nod your head, you are going to jump 7cm higher than if telling yourself bad stuff while nodding your head.

Same athlete, same exercise—just different self-talk.

The squat test and the deadlift tests were similar.

The deadlift test had the nodding, positive self-talk group top out at around 175kg, while nodding and agreeing with bad self-talk produced lifts of 122kg. Woof.

But while these findings show that straight-up power movements benefit from nodding and positive self-talk, what about something that is a little more endurance based? Like the thirty squats in 45 seconds test?

Welp, good news here too—nodding paired with positive self-talk significantly led the way here again, with the negative self-talk and nodding continuing its streak of being the worst.

TL;DR

• Use positive self-talk, and nod your head in agreement to perform better.
• Use negative self-talk, and nod your head in agreement to perform like hot garbage.

Whether your self-talk is positive or negative, nodding will solidify those thoughts and cause your performance to soar or crumble.

Nod your head for faster swimming

That is one of the most surreal headlines I’ve ever written.

Just by nodding I can swim faster? You’re crazy, man.

I know. Seems way too simple and basic.

But the reason I think it works so well is because it is backing up your self-talk. And it doesn’t matter if it’s positive or negative—if you nod your head in agreement, the self-talk becomes more “true.”

If you’ve experimented with self-talk before, you *should* know that it works best when it is realistic and believable. Nodding your head seems to be a way to tell your brain (and by extension, your body), that what you are telling yourself is legitimate.

The results of this fun little study are a good reminder that your body and brain don’t run independently of one another. They are a package deal.

Which means you can use physical actions to reinforce the things you are saying, and say things to help reinforce what you want your body to do. A fun little circle of life that you can use to promote better performances in the water.

Want more help throwing down with better self-talk?

I’ve written a few other resources that can help you sharpen this mental training skill.

>> Learn how Caeleb Dressel uses external self-talk before his races to lock in his focus.

>> Motivational self-talk is one of the go-to types of self-talk that swimmers use (“Don’t give up!”).

>> Positive self-talk has been shown over in over again in research as a way to boost performance in the water. Here’s how to make better self-talk a fixture of your preparation in the water.

ABOUT OLIVIER POIRIER-LEROY

Olivier Poirier-Leroy is a former national level swimmer. He’s the publisher of YourSwimBook, a ten-month log book for competitive swimmers.

He’s also the author of the recently published mental training workbook for competitive swimmers, Conquer the Pool: The Swimmer’s Ultimate Guide to a High Performance Mindset.

It combines sport psychology research, worksheets, and anecdotes and examples of Olympians past and present to give swimmers everything they need to conquer the mental side of the sport.

Ready to take your mindset to the next level?

Click here to learn more about Conquer the Pool.

COACHES: Yuppers–we do team orders of “Conquer the Pool” which include a team discount as well as complimentary branding (your club logo on the cover of the book) at no additional charge.

Want more details? Click here for a free estimate on a team order of CTP.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Pro Tip: How to Power Up Your Self-Talk This Season

By SwimSwam Partner Content on SwimSwam

courtesy:RITTER Sports Performance, a SwimSwam partner. 

Most coaches start off in a similar way. They are young and hungry to go out and conquer the world – believing they have discovered the “secret” that others haven’t. But inevitably something happens that trips them up and they start to come back down to earth.

So, the question is how can a swim coach actually become better? Some fool themselves thinking that scrolling through social media counts as “continuing education” but if you look at the time spent versus what solid ideas actually come out of it the return investment is pretty poor.

But that’s the interesting part. Coaches can actually learn best from others and many times it’s what NOT to do. Those are the types of posts you typically don’t see, as most people use their social channels for their highlights, not their biggest mistakes and how to learn from them.

If learning from other coaches is the best way to improve then how can this be accomplished in a convenient and consistent way?

You could just rely on trying to chat with other coaches between sessions at a meet or between heats of watching your swimmer. And there have been plenty of great conversations that happen on the pool deck. The problem is that that type of environment rarely allows space and time for coaches to be vulnerable with each other and really get into the weeds of coaching.

RITTER Sports Performance believes that the best way for coaches to constantly improve and learn is through other coaches, especially in a mentorship type of setting. This is one of the main reasons that Paul Yetter is now part of the RITTER Team.

Paul is a prime case for how mentoring can help accelerate your skills and career as a coach. He’s had multiple coaching mentors in his life, most famously Bob Bowman, famed coach of Michael Phelps.

“I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from many coaches over the course of my coaching career, and I’m not only thankful but I’m keenly aware that without those opportunities I wouldn’t be as capable as I am today as a coach.” Paul explains.

Paul’s experience is what drives his passion for leading the new Mentorship Program, a part of The Hive powered by RITTER. This is a unique opportunity to allow coaches to connect with other coaches that are driven to become better and to both learn and teach through shared experiences.

One of Paul’s strengths is allowing other coaches to learn through his successes and failures, in addition to all of the lessons he’s received from his mentors over the years. Here are a few specifics he’s learned from being mentored:

1)      Great coaches keep instructions simple when speaking with athletes or members of the coaching staff. 

The use of cue words, and the repetition of those words during training is an excellent way to teach skills, instruct on team culture, and inspire athletes during training. Coaches should be able to take short (rather than long) breaks between sets, give concise instructions, and keep the athletes moving through the practice.

2)      Great coaches consider the way people learn when instructing or coaching. 

Find alternative ways to teach an athlete when the basic lesson proves ineffective. Use cues that find their way to an athlete’s different learning styles; it may be more effective to use visual cues for one athlete, while another may have to repeat the movements to learn the skill. Only the rare athlete will be able to simply hear the instructions and then perform the concept.

3)      Great coaches tend to take look inward at themselves to find the solution to any given problem. 

Oftentimes, there is more than one way to approach the solution.

“Over time I’ve discovered that the quickest way to get our squads better is to work within our own coaching staffs and seek to help other coaches improve, for the betterment of the athletes within the squad. It’s been amazing to see what’s come of working with coaches online and on my own pool deck.” Paul said describing the experience of the Mentorship Program as well as the continual development he does with his own staff.

“I’ve been able to assist these coaches while simultaneously gaining knowledge myself through the give and take of our conversations. I’ve applied this new knowledge and these new skill sets to my own squad of up-and-coming athletes at NBAC.”

The learning isn’t a one-way street in the mentorship either, for either the coaches in the program or even Paul himself. Here are some reflections from Paul after the first Mentorship Program in The Hive:

1)      As much as I’ve put my own ideas out there, I’ve learned many concepts and strategies through speaking formally with dozens of coaches over the last few years, and I’ve applied them to my program at NBAC. I call this the “mentorship learning cycle” because what goes around does come back around to mentors who are open to it.

2)      Recently within the Mentorship Program in The Hive, I’ve noticed that the coaches who take a single piece of advice from another coach tend to have two more ideas that support it come forward during the next week. The synergy created during the discussions has seemed to fuel future discoveries within our mentorship group.

3)      Coaches have a lot of fun when bouncing ideas off one another.  It’s fun and engaging to talk with other coaches about this unique job we have. I’ve had a lot of great practices with my athletes after spending an hour talking with 5-10 coaches, and I suspect I’m not alone.

“We want to help create a community of coaches who’s #1 desire is to learn and grow throughout their coaching career. By leveraging technology and great coaching leaders, I’m confident we can create an atmosphere where coaches worldwide can come to improve themselves as well as help others.”Chris Ritter, CEO of RITTER Sports Performance, said of the Mentorship Program.

As a coach, don’t get caught in the trap of trying to become a carbon copy of other successful coaches. Rather in a mentorship relationship you’ll be able to learn the principles that you can then apply in your specific situation and in your own personality.

Be sure to listen to the latest Swim Coaches Base Podcast (Apple, Spotify, Google, SoundCloud or Stitcher) in which Paul and Chris discuss the Mentorship Program more in depth. You’ll also be kept up to date with this new program through RITTER’s social channels, specifically Instagram and Facebook.

You can join The Hive at any time but the deadline to be included in this coming Mentorship Program is Friday, September 13. After that you’ll be waiting until the next group starts. Don’t put off a great opportunity to learn and grow with other coaches this upcoming season.

For just $1 you can join The Hive powered by RITTER.

About RITTER Sports Performance

RITTER Sports Performance helps swimmers go faster and coaches get better, worldwide. Through our online resources on strength training, stroke technique, swim-training, race analysis or nutritional coaching–RITTER is ready to help you take your swimming to the next level. Are you?

CONNECT WITH RITTER SPORTS PERFORMANCE:

WEBSITE

INSTAGRAM

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

APPLE PODCAST

^{Ritter Sports Performance is a SwimSwam partner.} 

Read the full story on SwimSwam: How Swim Coaches Get Better

By Aglaia Pezzato on SwimSwam

I NEW YORK BREAKERS

Anche se ad oggi il primo risultato offerto da Google per la ricerca “New York Breakers” recita la storia di una celebre crew di break dance degli anni ’80 da pochi mesi lo stesso nome è legato al simbolo di un rinoceronte che frantuma il suo stesso scudo.

I Breakers sono una delle 8 squadre che daranno il via alla prima stagione della International Swimming League. Si può dire che la squadra statunitense sia un affare di famiglia per gli Andrew. Sono infatti Tina Andrew, Peter Andrew e Michael Andrew i 3 proprietari e fondatori del team. Mamma Tina, che vanta un passato da Gladiator nell’omonimo show tv in cui atleti e aspiranti tali si affrontano in sfide su velocità, forza e destrezza è stata scelta come volto e voce della franchigia nei panni di General Manager. La squadra di NY è fiera di legare il suo nome alla PAMS Foundation, ONG impegnata per uno sviluppo sostenibile della Tanzania che ne preservi le peculiarità naturalistiche.

LA STELLA

Nessun dubbio a riguardo. Micheal Andrew sarà la stella della sua squadra. Nuotatore eclettico, versatile, è il primo uomo nella storia del nuoto a partecipare nella stessa edizione alla finale mondiale di tutte le specialità dei 50 metri. Michael è allenato dal padre Peter nella piscina dietro casa con un metodo alternativo detto USRPT (Ultra Short Race Pace Training) basato su ripetizioni di serie di lavoro che simulano costantemente l’andatura di gara. Considerato un atleta professionista da quando all’età di 14 anni firmò un contratto di sponsorizzazione con un’azienda di prodotti di integrazione è uno dei pochi atleti americani ad aver bybassato il periodo dedicato al college. Il format dell’ ISL sembra rispecchiare le sue caratteristiche di velocista e amante della vasca corta. La sua poliedricità sarà fondamentale nel momento della scelta della formazione da schierare in vasca.

LA STORIA

Non tutti i componenti del roster di NY sono nomi altisonanti e famosi tra le corsie. Pedro Spajari è nato in Brasile 10 anni dopo il detentore del record del mondo dei 100 stile, César Cielo. Pedro ottiene buoni risultati a livello giovanile portando avanti la tradizione dei velocisti del suo paese fino al quinto posto ai Campionati Mondiali Juniores disputati a Singapore nel 2015. Con l’obiettivo olimpico a pochi centimetri dal naso Pedro inizia la stagione successiva carico di aspettative.

Quello però si rivelerà essere un anno difficile, caratterizzato da dubbi, preoccupazione e solo in fine dalla speranza. Pedro Spajari scopre infatti di essere affetto dalla sindrome di Klinefelter che causa una riduzione drastica del livello di testosterone nell’uomo e altre problematiche del sistema immunitario. La patologia ha reso il suo corpo totalmente inadatto a qualunque tipo di competizione sportiva inibendone la capacità di sviluppare una muscolatura adeguata e altre caratteristiche ormonali tipiche di un maschio adolescente.

A diagnosi confermata Pedro ha iniziato un trattamento medico a base ormonale approvato dalle autorità antidoping che gli ha permesso di ristabilire valori e di prendere parte già l’anno successivo alle Universiadi di Taipei dove si è classificato sesto nei 100 stile libero. La sua voglia di riscatto per preparare al meglio una stagione olimpica sarà sicuramente carburante utile alla macchina dei Breakers.

LA SORPRESA

Ali De Loof. Classe ’94 è la maggiore delle tre sorelle De Loof, tutte assoldate tra le fila dei NY Breakers . Specialista del dorso e ancor più specialista della vasca da 25 metri, nell’edizione dei Mondiali invernali canadesi di vasca corta Ali ha collezionato ben 4 medaglie (3 di staffetta e il bronzo nei 50 dorso) e un Record Americano. Considerata una seconda linea nel panorama statunitense dove brilla la nuova regina della specialità Regan Smith, Ali può trovare la sua giusta dimensione nel circuito ISL affiancando Madison Wilson nelle gare del dorso per il team newyorchese.

IL ROSTER

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Aspettando ISL Parte 1 : I New York Breakers, Un Affare Di Famiglia

By Giusy Cisale on SwimSwam

Ilaria Cusinato sta spingendo oltre i suoi limiti.

Gli ultimi episodi della serie “Olympic Darkhorse” di Shane Tusup su YouTube sono stati caricati la scorsa settimana.

La serie sta seguendo l’allenamento e la preparazione atletica che Tusup sta svolgendo qui in Italia.

Protagonista la vice campionessa europea Ilaria Cusinato e l’adolescente ungherese Zsombor Bujdoso.

L’obiettivo è condurre la Cusinato verso la conquista della medaglia alla sua prima Olimpiade, l’anno prossimo.

EPISODIO 5

Nell’episodio 5, Tusup introduce il “Darkhorse confessional“, un segmento di questa serie.

Spiega che lui ed i suoi atleti risponderanno alle domande dei loro tifosi. Parleranno anche dei commenti sulle loro pagine social e della loro esperienza.

L’Episodio 5 è, quindi, il confessionale di Tusup.

Il tono è pacato e confidenziale, e Shane esprime tutte le sue sensazioni nell’essere tornato nel mondo del nuoto.

Un mondo che trova profondamente cambiato anche se è trascorso solo un anno.

EPISODIO 6

Nell’episodio 6, siamo tornati alle riprese dell’ allenamento.

Dopo aver visto Ilaria Cusinato spingere oltre i suoi limiti in acqua, la ritroviamo in palestra.

Qui Ilaria inizia a sentire i primi dolori muscolari legati all’allenamento. Nonostante il dolore, non si ferma, volendo oltrepassare i propri limiti di resistenza.

ALTRI EPISODI

EPISODIO 2

L’episodio due è un rapido riassunto della prima giornata di allenamento del trio a Cittadella, della durata di sette minuti.

Ilaria Cusinatoè una nuotatrice d’élite che ha dato prova della sua versatilità affrontando tante tipologie di gare.

Tusup menziona più volte i 400 metri misti, suggerendo che quella gara sarà l’obiettivo principale dei prossimi mesi.

“Sto cercando di imparare dove si trova il tuo punto di rottura”.

Queste le parole di Tusup alla Cusinato, che continua:

“Non voglio romperti, ma voglio anche che tu vada al di là di dove sei abituata”.

I 400 metri misti sono una delle gare più estenuanti di questo sport. Non sorprende che, per essere un campione in quella distanza, bisogna anche affrontare un allenamento estenuante per prepararsi al grande momento.

Tusup poi continua:

“Quando si conquista la medaglia d’oro olimpica….. che posso quasi garantirvi, ne varrà ogni secondo”.

“Insegnerai al tuo corpo a uccidersi durante la finale olimpica”

• leggi qui l’intervista ad Ilaria Cusinato
• clicca qui per l’articolo sull’ingaggio di Tusup

EPISODIO 3

L’episodio 3 è un altro riassunto della sessione di allenamento, con Cusinato, Bujdoso e Tusup di nuovo in piscina a Cittadella.

Bujdoso dice alla telecamera (in ungherese) che è felice di tornare ad allenarsi con Tusup dopo aver lavorato con lui in precedenza.

Dichiara inoltre di essere contento di avere una compagna come Ilaria Cusinato con la quale si motivano molto a vicenda.

Bujdoso spiega poi che i metodi di allenamento di Tusup, gli consentono di sapere sempre su cosa concentrarsi. Questo tipo di insegnamenti, continua, lo aiutano non solo nelle gare, ma anche nella vita.

I nuotatori concludono poi la sessione con un po’ di sano divertimento in piscina con alcuni gonfiabili.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Ilaria Cusinato Oltre I Suoi Limiti Nella Serie Olympic Dark Horse

By Torrey Hart on SwimSwam

The Alaska School Activities Association has overturned the now-infamous disqualification call from last Friday over the fit of 17-year-old female student’s school-issued swimsuit, Anchorage Schoool District announced Tuesday.

• Click here to read the case’s background.

The district was reviewing the call in light of allegations of sexism and racism.

“Following our review of the September 6 disqualification of a Dimond High School swimmer, to include interviews of multiple witnesses, the Anchorage School District has concluded that our swimmer was targeted based solely on how a standard, school-issued uniform happened to fit the shape of her body.  We cannot tolerate discrimination of any kind, and certainly not based on body shape.  This disqualification was heavy-handed and unnecessary,” the district wrote.

The district says with will reverse the DQ and return the voided points to the Dimond High School team. Additionally, the district seeks to revoke the certification of the official who made the call, Jill Blackstone, according to NBC affiliate KTUU. The ASAA executive director said the district “believes Blackstone has targeted Willis and her sister, a fellow teammate, in a pattern of unfair enforcement over the past year.”

Additionally, the district wants to suspend and later revise the National Federation of State High School Associations’ suit coverage rule. The district says the rule “is ambiguous and allows the potential for bias to influence officials’ decisions.”

The NFHS, the governing body for high school athletics, has standards for swimwear, recently updated for the 2019-2020 season. It states that “females shall wear suits which cover the buttocks and breasts. In August, the organization released a memo about suit coverage and circulated an illustrated example of appropriate attire.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Suit Fit DQ Overturned; District Seeks to Decertify Official Who Made Call

By Jared Anderson on SwimSwam

We’ll be previewing the top 12 men’s and women’s programs for the 2019-2020 season – stay tuned to our College Swimming Previews channel to catch all 24. Can’t get enough college swimming news? Check out the College Preview issue of SwimSwam Magazine for more in-depth college swimming coverage, including a bird’s-eye view of the flood of coaching changes and our ever-popular rankings of the top 50 individual swimmers in college swimming.

#8 Minnesota Golden Gophers

Key Losses: Chantal Nack (21.5 NCAA points, 1 NCAA relay), Rachel Munson (5 NCAA points), Zoe Avestruz (3 NCAA relays)

Key Additions: Grace Bennin(WI – breast/free), Emma Lezer (MN – breast), Maggie Summit (MA – free), Jordan McGinty (MN – free), Lillianna Brooks (CO – back/free), Rachel Butler (UT – free/back), MaggieErwin (ID – distance),  GraceWollschlager (MN – fly), Jiaming Zhu (China – diving), Jae Sarkis (Buffalo transfer – diving), Jaclynn Fowler (CA – diving), YasminNasimova (MN – diving), HannahCraley (CT – diving),

GRADING CRITERIA

We’re unveiling a new, more data-based grading criteria in this year’s series. Our grades this year are based on ‘projected returning points’, a stat of our own making. We started with our already-compiled “no senior returning points” (see here and here), which is effectively a rescoring of 2019 NCAAs with seniors removed and underclassmen moved up to fill those gaps. In addition, we manually filtered out points from known redshirts and swimmers turning pro early, while manually adjusting points for outgoing and incoming transfers and adding in projected points for incoming freshmen with NCAA scoring times, as well as athletes returning from injury or redshirts who are very likely NCAA scorers.

Since we only profile the top 12 teams in this format, our grades are designed with that range in mind. In the grand scheme of college swimming and compared to all other college programs, top 12 NCAA programs would pretty much all grade well across the board. But in the interest of making these previews informative, our grading scale is tough – designed to show the tiers between the good stroke groups, the great ones, and the 2015 Texas men’s fly group types.

• 5 star (★★★★★) – a rare, elite NCAA group projected to score 25+ points per event
• 4 star (★★★★) – a very, very good NCAA group projected to score 15-24 points per event
• 3 star (★★★) – a good NCAA group projected to score 5-14 points per event
• 2 star (★★) – a solid NCAA group projected to score 1-4 points per event
• 1 star (★) –  an NCAA group that is projected to score no points per event, though that doesn’t mean it’s without potential scorers – they’ll just need to leapfrog some swimmers ahead of them to do it

We’ll grade each event discipline: sprint free (which we define to include all the relay-distance freestyle events, so 50, 100 and 200), distance free, IM, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and diving. Bear in mind that our grades and painstaking scoring formula attempts to take into account all factors, but is still unable to perfectly predict the future. Use these grades as a jumping-off point for discussion, rather than a reason to be angry.

2018-2019 LOOKBACK

Since 2006, the Golden Gopher women have hovered between 10th and 13th, with only a 2011 9th place and a 2016 16th place as outliers. Minnesota stayed as rock solid consistent as any program in the nation with an 11th-place finish last year.

That came with one of the best performances relative to seed of any team at 2019 NCAAs. Minnesota came in with 68 points on the psych sheet and ultimately scored 118.5 swimming points, a +50.5 jump. Add in the nation’s third-best diving total (40 points) and Minnesota wound up just a half-point out of the top 10 and well within the top 12.

Diver Sarah Bacon was the highest individual scorer, winning on 1-meter and taking 5th on 3-meter for 34 points. Sophomore Mackenzie Padington was third in the 500 and the mile, breaststroker Lindsey Kozelsky 4th in the 100 breast and senior Chantal Nack fifth in the 500 free to represent Minnesota in A finals.

Sprint Free: ★

An underrated loss for the Gophers will be Zoe Avestruz, who was their top sprinter last year and anchor on both scoring medley relays. The 22.5/49.1 Avestruz was really the key piece in a thin sprint group. The good news is that the Gophers are now extremely young in the sprints, though they’ll need some development to make an NCAA impact.

Terry Ganley gets an influx of sprint free talent. Photo courtesy: Jack Spitser.

Three freshmen come in with faster 50 times than any returner. Top recruit Grace Bennin is 22.8 – she’s a major get, coming out of rival state Wisconsin. Meanwhile Maggie Summit from Massachussetts is 22.9 and in-state talent Jordan McGinty 23.1.

Last year, freshman Olivia Bloomer went from 23.7 to 23.2. Her improvement curve bodes well for the incoming freshmen, but also for her chances to step up again this season.

The 100 will need more help to get swims under 50 seconds. Padington was 48.8 last year, and that helps relays, but she’s probably swimming the 200, 500 and 1650 individually. McGinty (49.9) might be the team’s top swimmer from the get-go, with Summit (50.0) not far behind. Colorado’s Lillianna Brooks has been 50.9, and Bloomer returns at 50.8 after dropping a full second last year.

The outstanding Terry Ganley heads up Minnesota’s sprint group, and she’s going to have lots of raw talent to work with – if this group can have improvements like Bloomer did last year, Minnesota’s free relays could rebuild significantly.

The 200 free has the more established Mackenzie Padington in the mix. She was 1:44.2 last year at Big Tens, and that would have scored big points at NCAAs. But Padington fell off two and a half seconds in that event. She’ll have to adjust this year to maximize her point output – she’s projected at 33 “no senior” points.

Another of last year’s freshmen returns well: Kate Sullivan went 1:47.5, dropping about a half-second. She returns in a mix with Summit (1:47.7) and McGinty (1:48.6) with outside NCAA invite possibilities.

Distance Free: ★★★★

Mackenzie Padington (photo: Jack Spitser)

The inverse of Michigan, who we profiled earlier this week, Minnesota’s grade sheet is about peaks and valleys. They’ve got some holes, but the things they do well, they do very well. Distance is firmly in the latter category.

Mackenzie Padington was third in the NCAA in the 500 and 1650 last year, and returns #2 in the mile. She’s coming off an outstanding summer, too, in which she cut two seconds off her 1500 free and represented Canada at the World Championships in the 400 and 800 frees. Padington should be in line to score huge points – perhaps 40+ if she can be at her best in all three events.

Chantal Nack was an outstanding 200/500 freestyler, and had an incredible improvement curve over her four years. Her graduation hurts the 500 here, but there are a few underclassmen returning with a shot at invite times. Abbey Erwin is the top candidate. She went 4:45.8 last year and was 16:17 out of high school in the mile, though she added time last year.

Abigail Kilgallon was a revelation as a freshman, dropping from 16:35 to 16:22. She’s got a real shot to hit invite status (16:14 last year) in the mile.

Backstroke: ★

Tevyn Waddell (photo: Jack Spitser)

This is a spot where Minnesota should probably well outperform its star rating. Tevyn Waddell went 1:52.4 midseason in the 200, which would have scored, but she went just 1:53-high at both Big Tens and NCAAs. Waddell was a season-best in the 100 in the postseason (52.2 at Big Tens), so the dropoff in the 200 is hard to explain.

Meanwhile Washington State transfer Emily Cook just kept getting better. She was 53.9 at midseason, then 52.5 at Big Tens. When they got her on a relay at NCAAs, Cook blasted a 52.0. She’ll be a junior this year, and both she and the senior Waddell are right at NCAA scoring level (51.9 last year).

Waddell should score in the 200 if she can find the same speed she had at midseason. She’s also been 51.7 before in her career in the 100. Cook, meanwhile, dropped from 1:57.5 to 1:56.2 in the 200 back last year, so while she’s a long way from scoring, she’s moving in the right direction.

Breaststroke: ★★★

Lindsey Kozelsky (photo: Jack Spitser)

Breaststroke has been and continues to be a standout event at Minnesota. Lindsey Kozelsky has been in the top 4 at NCAAs in the 100 breast all three of her collegiate seasons, and that shouldn’t have reason to change in 2020. In fact, with Lilly King and Delaney Duncan graduated, Kozelsky returns as the #2 breaststroker nationwide.

Kozelsky was also a B finalist in the 200 breast (2:07.7) and should score again there.

Rachel Munson was great breaststroke depth, and scored last year in the 100. She graduates, but two incoming freshmen have great potential. Grace Bennin out of Wisconsin dropped from 1:02.1 to 1:00.6 as a senior, and joins one of the nation’s elite breaststroke coaches in Kelly Kremer. Meanwhile Emma Lezer is one of the top in-state prospects at 1:01.4.

Both Bennin (2:15.9) and Lezer (2:16.2) need work in the 200, but could see early postseason action in the sprints. Minnesota also returns senior Madison Preiss (2:15.2) in the 200.

Butterfly: ★

Waddell has continued t

By Nick Pecoraro on SwimSwam

The 2019 NCAA men’s team champions, the Cal Golden Bears, have released their 2019-20 schedule. Among the schedule revelations, the Cal Bears will not be competing against Utah this season, in spite of their female Cal colleagues having the Utes on the schedule.

• Click here to view the Cal women’s 2019-20 meet schedule.

The Golden Bears’ mid-season campaign will take place at the Minnesota Invitational, which is to also feature Texas, Michigan, Arizona, and Iowa on the men’s side. Among that representation are 4 of the 5 teams that have won men’s NCAA Division I team titles in the last 20 years (with Auburn being the exception). Below is the full 2019-20 meet schedule for the Cal men.

2019-20 Meet Schedule

This season, the Cal men will place more emphasis on training in the first half of the season, with only three dual meets and the Minnesota Invitational to contest in the 2019 half. To open the 2020 calendar year, the Bears will host the ‘Cal Invitational’ (which is actually a club meet/fundraiser) followed by back-to-back dual meets against Arizona and Arizona State.

After their 2020 openers, the Golden Bears will split in early February and travel to San Diego and USC for invites, much as they did last year. The Bears are scheduled to close regular season with a dual against their arch-rivals the Stanford men before traveling to Federal Way to defend their Pac-12 title and IUPUI to defend their NCAA title.

A big loss for the Bears in 2019-2020 is 3-time 2019 NCAA champion and Worlds team member Andrew Seliskar, who scored big in middle-distance stroke events as a senior last year. However, returning this season will be elite sprinters Ryan Hoffer, Michael Jensen, and Pawel Sendyk, along with distance swimmers Sean Grieshopand Trenton Julian, backstrokers Bryce Mefford and Daniel Carr, and breaststroke stud Reece Whitley. The team also adds former SEC champion Hugo Gonzalez, who is transferring in after sitting out last year to train at home in Spain.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: NCAA Champion Cal Men Have 3 Home Meets in Title Defense Season.

By SwimSwam Partner Content on SwimSwam

This week’s BSN Sports Swim Team of the Week, the Long Island Aquatic Club, is a USA Swimming Gold Medal club that serves the Long Island, NY, area by providing everything from learn-to-swim programs to high-level training for some of the top swimmers in the nation.

For over 20 years, the Long Island Aquatic Club has consistently been one of the top teams in the New York Metropolitan Area, as well as one of the top teams in the nation as a whole, boasting a number of team titles from the Metropolitan to the Junior National level. Just last month, the girls team tied for the team title at the 2019 Speedo Junior National Championships.

Three Long Island Aquatic Club swimmers were just named to the 2019-2020 USA Swimming Junior National Team.  Sophia Karras qualified for the team with her gold medal-winning 16:39.97 in the 1500m at Junior Nationals. At that same meet, Tess Howley cracked the top ten all-time in the 13-14 age group with a 2:11.41 in the 200 fly, also putting her on the Junior National team. Finally, Jason Louser, who’s part of the Cal Golden Bears freshman class, made the team with his 4:16.66 in the 400 IM at the FINA Junior World Championships last month.

Head coaches Dave Ferris and Ginny Nussbaum lead the team, and both were recognized for their efforts in coaching the aforementioned swimmers.

However, while the club has had success at the highest levels, it’s also a team that keeps swimming fun, as evidenced by its parent swim association sponsoring events like an end of the season bbq and cardboard boat regatta.

ABOUT BSN SPORTS 

Founded in 1972 as a factory-direct equipment company, today BSN SPORTS is the largest distributor of team sports apparel and equipment in the United States, with over 3,000 employees across 80 regional offices. At BSN SPORTS we believe that sports have the power to change lives. At the heart of what makes sports happen are the coaches, teachers and mentors who work with young and old alike to build meaningful lifelong experiences. That’s why our mission is simple. The more time we save coaches with everything they do off the deck, the more time they can spend changing lives. And that’s the real final score.

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