Fort Lauderdale Sectionals
By David
When you’re an international coaching mercenary there are a dozen fresh things to learn in each new country. As you can imagine the registration procedures that apply in the US Virgin Islands have little in common with those used on the mainland. In the US I've made just about every mistake possible - athletes not registered, incorrect entry times used - but after two years and some considerable patience by administrators such as Jay Thomas and Dick Cavanah I've caught on to most of the new rules; but not them all it appears.
I'm about to be fined for entering one of our team’s better swimmers, Andrew Meeder, in a local Division Two Championship. I thought Andrew had not swum 100 meters Butterfly in the past two years which would have made his entry legitimate. It appears, however, that one year and fifty-one weeks ago, when he swam for another team, Andrew did swim 100 meters fly. I’m told a team up the road researched Andrew’s history and insisted the host team impose the $100 fine. Funny thing is, the 100 butterfly worked really well and was and is well worth the $100.
This week the Southern Sectional Meet was held at Fort Lauderdale. When I escaped from the Virgin Islands I thought a Sectional Meet sounded like a zone carnival for struggling new comers. I now know better.
Our three best swimmers had a good Sectional Meet. Rhi Jeffrey and John Foster had just got back to the States after swimming in the Darmstadt Invitational in Germany. Rhi won both the Darmstadt 50 and 100 Freestyle in 25.98 and 56.66. John was second in the 400 Freestyle in 4.05.
Given her hectic schedule I was pleased with Rhi's 25.93 and 56.66 in Fort Lauderdale. Two Atlantic flights and twelve top races in eight days is a testament to her class and application. In both Sectional races Dara Torres was too good for Rhi but with a year to go before Olympic trials, Rhi is certainly walking the right path. I had to agree with the Fort Lauderdale meet announcer who said before the start of the Women's 100 Freestyle final "You need a pretty good pedigree to be in this race," Dara Torres (eight Olympic medals four of them gold), Rhi Jeffrey (Olympic gold medalist), Leila Vaziri (Current World Champion 50 Backstroke), Natalie Pike (junior national champion) Megan Romano (national junior team member) and five very good others. It's fun to coach someone swimming in that company.
John swam 1.54 for the 200 Freestyle and placed 4th. He's a good swimmer and I'm picking will be well below 1.50 in time for next year's Olympic Trials. His stroke is an amazing copy of Ian Thorpe’s. As soon as Indianapolis is over, John will begin swimming 10 weeks of 100kms a week. That should take him a long way towards 1.40 something. I was talking to Ryan Lochte's coach and Dad at the Fort Lauderdale meet. He said he’s about to give his son several weeks of 100kms conditioning. No wonder Ryan's such a bloody good swimmer.
Andrew Meeder qualified for the Junior Nationals in both the 50 and 100 Freestyle in a most unusual weekend. He qualified last for both his finals and ended up winning one and coming fourth in the other. There was some discussion last winter about who was Palm Beach County's best male high school swimmer. I guess Andrew just answered that question. It will be interesting to see how much faster he swims in Indianapolis. Watching him I'd say there's a second or two before he too gets a dose of 100kms a week honesty. Rhi, who I must tell you, has just added an attractive and small nose stud to her already impressive adornments, insists Andrew will find those seconds by replacing his Speedos with a full body suit. She may be right.
The Sectional Meet hosts, Fort Lauderdale Aquatics, had a terrible task getting the results of this meet published due to their server going down just when it shouldn’t. FLA did a terrific job of making do, using the Florida Gold Coast website. While we were looking for results Swimwatch decided to subscribe to a Swimming World Magazine Premium Membership. We're pleased we did. The information they provide is original, current, interesting and factual. Have a look into it.
The Sectional Meet was fun. Good competition, good organization, and good preparation for the main meets of the season still to come in Indianapolis.
I'm about to be fined for entering one of our team’s better swimmers, Andrew Meeder, in a local Division Two Championship. I thought Andrew had not swum 100 meters Butterfly in the past two years which would have made his entry legitimate. It appears, however, that one year and fifty-one weeks ago, when he swam for another team, Andrew did swim 100 meters fly. I’m told a team up the road researched Andrew’s history and insisted the host team impose the $100 fine. Funny thing is, the 100 butterfly worked really well and was and is well worth the $100.
This week the Southern Sectional Meet was held at Fort Lauderdale. When I escaped from the Virgin Islands I thought a Sectional Meet sounded like a zone carnival for struggling new comers. I now know better.
Our three best swimmers had a good Sectional Meet. Rhi Jeffrey and John Foster had just got back to the States after swimming in the Darmstadt Invitational in Germany. Rhi won both the Darmstadt 50 and 100 Freestyle in 25.98 and 56.66. John was second in the 400 Freestyle in 4.05.
Given her hectic schedule I was pleased with Rhi's 25.93 and 56.66 in Fort Lauderdale. Two Atlantic flights and twelve top races in eight days is a testament to her class and application. In both Sectional races Dara Torres was too good for Rhi but with a year to go before Olympic trials, Rhi is certainly walking the right path. I had to agree with the Fort Lauderdale meet announcer who said before the start of the Women's 100 Freestyle final "You need a pretty good pedigree to be in this race," Dara Torres (eight Olympic medals four of them gold), Rhi Jeffrey (Olympic gold medalist), Leila Vaziri (Current World Champion 50 Backstroke), Natalie Pike (junior national champion) Megan Romano (national junior team member) and five very good others. It's fun to coach someone swimming in that company.
John swam 1.54 for the 200 Freestyle and placed 4th. He's a good swimmer and I'm picking will be well below 1.50 in time for next year's Olympic Trials. His stroke is an amazing copy of Ian Thorpe’s. As soon as Indianapolis is over, John will begin swimming 10 weeks of 100kms a week. That should take him a long way towards 1.40 something. I was talking to Ryan Lochte's coach and Dad at the Fort Lauderdale meet. He said he’s about to give his son several weeks of 100kms conditioning. No wonder Ryan's such a bloody good swimmer.
Andrew Meeder qualified for the Junior Nationals in both the 50 and 100 Freestyle in a most unusual weekend. He qualified last for both his finals and ended up winning one and coming fourth in the other. There was some discussion last winter about who was Palm Beach County's best male high school swimmer. I guess Andrew just answered that question. It will be interesting to see how much faster he swims in Indianapolis. Watching him I'd say there's a second or two before he too gets a dose of 100kms a week honesty. Rhi, who I must tell you, has just added an attractive and small nose stud to her already impressive adornments, insists Andrew will find those seconds by replacing his Speedos with a full body suit. She may be right.
The Sectional Meet hosts, Fort Lauderdale Aquatics, had a terrible task getting the results of this meet published due to their server going down just when it shouldn’t. FLA did a terrific job of making do, using the Florida Gold Coast website. While we were looking for results Swimwatch decided to subscribe to a Swimming World Magazine Premium Membership. We're pleased we did. The information they provide is original, current, interesting and factual. Have a look into it.
The Sectional Meet was fun. Good competition, good organization, and good preparation for the main meets of the season still to come in Indianapolis.
posted by Swimwatch at 6:22 PM
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