News

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE A SWIMMER????

                 You Might Be A Swimmer If..........

*   Your hair has a greenish tint and looks like straw

*   Whenever you hear an electronic beep, you have a natural urge to leap out
     and up

*   You have rings around your eyes that cause you to resemble a raccoon

*   You have been wearing the same "comfortable practice outfit" for 2 weeks

*   Spaghetti and meat balls for lunch makes you groan because you're used to
     having it practically every night at pasta dinners

*   Waking up at 5 a.m. to exercise seems the natural thing to do

*   Jamming a piece of Styrofoam between your legs after tying your feet
     together with a rubber object is not a kinky activity

*   Your skin is constantly flaky, wrinkled, and reeks of chlorine

*   You've tried at least a million moisturizers, body sprays, and
     "swimmer's shampoos" and still nothing works

*   You sport long, curling hair on your legs and don't find it the least
     bit abnormal

*   The phrase "This set with fins" is better than hearing "You just won
     $1000"

*   You respond to the question: "When was the last time you took a shower?"
     with "I swim, I don't need to take showers"

*   You know how to squirt water between your teeth 15 different ways

*   You wake up for early morning practice just to get donuts or bagels

*   You go through so many caps in one season you could wallpaper your room

*   A friend asks how a certain guy dresses and you reply, "I don't know, I
     only see him without his clothes on"

*   Your friends automatically know you can never do anything on Friday
     nights

*   You go from store to store desperately trying to find your favorite
     sports drink, power bar, or goggles- and think it's the end of the world
    when you can't

*   Own at least 50 different shirts, water bottles, key chains, or other
     souvenirs from meets you've gone to

*   The first place you go when you're stressed out is a swimming pool

*   You think Edward Moses is one of THE hottest guys on the planet

*   You think the "hottest trends" right now are those little swimming
     shorts with Nike swishes on the butt or Adidas stripes down the side and thin
     strapped suits

*   You have a swim suit so torn up that it looks like it has been fed to a
     school of sharks

*   You have an inhaler in every color of the rainbow

*   The word, "25's" makes you happier than anything

*   You are determined, strong, smart and tough

*   The pool is now called your second home and are in the pool more than
     you have time to yourself

*   Seeing guys in speedos doesn't seem that big of a deal to you

*   You're in your bathing suit more than you are in regular clothes

*   You are tall, skinny, buff or have a small chest

*   You have permanent bruises on your shins

*   You own more than 10 bathing suits and the rack behind your door is
     filled with suits of all kinds

*   You have severe shoulder pain from too much butterfly, too much kicking,
     or just too much swimming!

*   Icing every single body part each night seems completely normal to you

*   You have a flat, washboard-tummy

*   You own waterproof mascara

*   Your friends don't even call you anymore because they know that you have
     no time to do anything

*   You'd feel better wearing a bathing suit to school rather than clothes

*   Your nightmares are of your coach and that smile that you know means
     trouble

*   Your Saturday schedule looks like this:
     -wake up
     -eat
     -swim
     -swim
     -swim
     -sleep
     -eat
     -eat
     -sleep

*   You consider your coaches and teammates part of the family

*   The sound of water soothes you

*   You have severe suit hickey's from your bathing suit and are often
     questioned by "non-swimmers" about your late night activities

*   Eating everything in sight is natural for you

*   Deck sandals are your most comfortable pair of shoes

*   You have bulging biceps and large quadriceps

*   A calf or foot cramp sounds worse to you than getting run over by a bus

*   Running away from, begging, or annoying your coach is one of your
     favorite activities

*   You sweat in gym class and people start asking why it reeks of chlorine

*   You DREAD days off from school because you'll have doubles

*   The most exciting thing to happen to you in months is shaving your legs

*   Seeing girls in swimsuits does nothing for you (if you're a guy swimmer)

*   Getting smacked on the butt doesn't bother you at all

*   Your screen name has something to do with the pool

*   Adding big numbers has become amazingly easy for you

*   You accidentally call your coach Mom or Dad

*   Your bathroom looks like a swim shop has taken it over

*   You feel naked without some tight, skull crushing piece or rubber on
     your head

*   You suffer from severe blood loss every time you shave because you only
     do it 3 times a year and are out of practice

*   Your funniest memories, most embarrassing moments, saddest times,
     scariest adventures, and best friends all have some connection to swimming!

If you qualify for any of the above . . . Then you are in the right place.
________________________________________________________________________

These Quotes are from ones who have made it big
in the sport of swimming, they all started out just like you, perhaps your quote will be posted here someday!!

Tom Jager:" I love the sport of swimming, it is the core of my being. I have always loved swimming. Any person who wants to excel should love what they are doing and be persistent. The single greatest factor to my success in swimming was the ability to work as hard as I could dream!"

Erik Vendt:" Before swim meets I just tell myself over and over again that I know I put in the work. And when you truly know that you have put in the work to succeed it's such a relaxing feeling because you know you will swim as fast as you want. During swim meets I just sit back and relax and socialize.

I don't get too worked up or nervous for my races because I love to go out there and race. I do some visualization before my races. I usually listen to some music and visualize my race. After meets I don't think about anything except wanting to get back in the water and start training again. Usually after meets is when I'm most motivated to go back and start training again."

Nicole Haislett: "As far as motivation goes, if you're not motivated,
it's not going to come from anywhere else but yourself. If you're not
enjoying what you're doing, then you shouldn't be doing it. It's one thing to not be real excited about practice one day or to be tired, but if you're going day in and day out thinking, "why am I doing this?" then you're not doing it for the right reasons."

Jeff Rouse: "Yes, I was very nervous. I believe that being nervous is
good because that means that you care about what you are about to do. Expect to be nervous before anything you do that you care about -- you'll never overcome that feeling. Being nervous and scared is a natural part of race preparation. Do you notice that when you're nervous your heart beats a little faster?
That's good because your blood is flowing stronger and faster, getting you ready to race. Rather than focusing on your nervous feelings, imagine what you're going to do on the first lap of your race. Accept you nervousness as just another part of getting ready to race and use it to your advantage."

Jenny Thompson:" When I have a disappointing swim, I immediately try to figure out what was wrong and try to learn from that. I also try to stay unemotional about the swim -- you're not going to win every time you race and you're not going to get your best time every time you swim. That's just the way it goes. This can be difficult at really important meets, but I try to use disappointment as motivation to be better the next time I swim."

Janet Evans: "I look back fondly on my entire swimming career, so it's tough to pinpoint one particular moment. I think that it is automatically assumed that the best moments in swimming are when an athlete breaks a world record or wins a gold medal. Of course, I loved winning medals and breaking records, but the things that I'll remember most are the fun that I had and the friends
I made along the way. As far as accomplishments, I think I did
everything that I ever dreamed of in the sport of swimming. I swam in college and high school, traveled all over, went to three Olympiads, and had fun along the way. As a youngster, I never could have dreamed that swimming would give me so much."

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