Hi Everyone!! 

We did it! After only 8 total practices we had our first meet and everyone did very well!! The first meet is always a hard one as everyone gets back into the groove of high school racing, longer events (especially compared to summer league), and adjusts to all the "back to school" life. Several swimmers had some AMAZING lifetime best swims to start the season-CONGRATS!! I also want to say Thank You to all the parents that came out and volunteered and cheered on our swimmers. We can't do it without you all!! I am attaching the meet results to this email (as well as some great pictures from today). I am excited to see where we go from here! 

Looking at next week - we have another busy week! There is a lot of info here so please take the time to read. :-) 

• PARENT MEETING for Homecoming Float - MONDAY, Sept. 12th. 6pm-8pm @ the Nelson home. 1808 Buffalo Speedway, Leander, TX. We need ideas and people willing to be "crafty". Notice - I said willing! Anyone can help out. Swimmers can also attend the meeting as well. The more the merrier - and the easier it is to construct. This is a big part of the LHS community and the swimmers always have a great time. 
• Swim Meet - Thursday, Sept. 15th, after school at Block House Creek Pool. Meet start is 5:45 pm. We will need volunteers again. Since this is a PM meet, hopefully that makes it easier on everyone as well. Please sign up in Swimtopia. Swimmers will be released from school a few minutes early to beat traffic and get to the pool. Please coordinate carpooling! Meet info is also attached. 
• HERE is the schedule for the next month. This coming week is at the top. Please note the time changes for this Thursday and Friday to accommodate the meet. 

Here are a couple of other important things to note: 

1. Flex for club practice starts this week. We have A LOT of swimmers flexing this year, and several swimmers who are new to club and high school swimming at the same time. We are beginning to get into the hard part of the season. September and October are notorious for what we call the "Fall Wall" in education. Students are tired, overwhelmed, and feel overscheduled. Many swimmers who have added club this year are already feeling that. Please monitor your swimmers and make sure they are attending their club practices. If they are only coming to Leander practice 3x a week and club 2x a week - that is not reason to flex. The idea is that swimmers are flexing because they are swimming 6-9 times a week, with 6 being the bare minimum. If a swimmer is also not in a Senior group (or higher) at their club, we will need to discuss whether flexing is right for that swimmer this year, or at least until they are in a higher group. My goal is not to run your swimmer into ground with practices; it is to help them achieve the goals they have set for themselves, and help them grow physically and emotionally. It is assumed that a swimmer choosing to swim high school as well as an upper level club team has a desire to be competitive and to swim beyond high school, and I want to support that in any way I can. As the season progresses, we will continue to evaluate this and make it work out the best it can for each of your swimmers. :-) 

2. Your swimmers are SORE! There have been lots of complaints about sore arms, shoulders, etc. This is normal, and again, especially for a swimmer that has just added club in addition to high school. Overtraining can happen if a swimmer is not stretching and taking advantage of dryland and muscle building opportunities. I don't train for a marathon in 2 weeks; it takes several months of running and cross training to get into that kind of shape and swimming is no different. We are incorporating stretching, band work, and dryland exercise into our daily practices this year to support long term training and to help prevent overuse injuries. I don't worry about a random pain here or there, especially if it is after a long set or at the end of a hard week. Sharp, sudden pains (especially when they are not exercising) or pain that doesn't go away at all with rest, ice, and ibuprofen are a cause for concern. Please encourage your swimmers to rest when they can, ice their sore muscles, and take a low dose of ibuprofen to help them relax. :-) 

That is all for this week!! I am looking forward to the meet on Thursday and then some "down time" to just train and get into the groove after that. I hope you all have a great weekend and as always, please let me know what you need from me. Thanks for sharing your swimmers with me every day - they truly bring me joy!! 

~Coach Weeks