Meet Wrap Up: RODS Winter Solstice (Nov 29-30)

Hello TEAM,

This past weekend 47 LASER athletes, and family, headed south to Regina to compete at the Winter Solstice invitational hosted by the RODS. It was a lot of swimming packed into only 3 sessions but the athletes did a great job getting up to race and cheering on their TEAM. Lots of new qualifying swims for 'A' (Junior Provincials) and a couple new 'AA' (Man/Sask) times were achieved - way to go everyone!!!

A quick note on pools: I heard a few athletes and even some parents talk about how Regina wasn't a great racing pool. In my opinion I would have to disagree. I've seen, coached and swam in many worse pools and seen GREAT swims achieved. Regina short course offers a full time warm up/cool down pool, lots of deck space, regulation blocks and the temp on deck is pretty neutral - these are all great things setting one up for a solid race. If you have a bad attitude about a pool because you've had one bad experience or heard someone say it isn't a FAST pool - then you need to change your mindset - which is great, because you are in control of your attitude. Every pool offers the opportunity to race, and with every race we either win or learn. There are many factors that go into a great race, some are in your control, and some are out of your control. Things in your control that you should focus on are; being on time for warm up, doing your TEAM activation on deck (before warm up and before racing), getting a solid pool warm up in, staying warm with a sweater or parka after warm up, staying hydrated and fueled with healthy snacks, showing up behind the blocks on time, visualizing your race 10-20min before it happens, talking to your coach pre and post race and the list goes on. We are in control of creating a positive or negative racing environment and we often underestimate the power of mindset. Often people hear or say this isn't a FAST pool and then neglect all the things in their control to set themselves up for FAST swimming. Let's make sure we are setting ourselves up for FAST racing. With 157 best times from LASER athletes, it seems to me that the Regina pool was pretty darn FAST;) 

Regina by the Numbers:

Regina Podiums:

A great showing once again from our TEAM. For some athletes this is the last racing opportunity until January or we are gearing up for one more BIG SHOW, JP Fiset (priority meet for qualifiers), but either way this is a great time and opportunity to revisit your goals and check in on where we are at, maybe set some new goals or re-connect with the original plan and lock-in on what we set out to achieve 13 weeks ago. Stay focused on the daily wins, sleep and recover like a champion and lets GO LASERS!!!

#OutTrainThem