April 2016 Vol. 1 Issue 12
The AMS Athlete Newsletter
What is this?
The AMS Athletes Committee has begun distribution of a monthly newsletter! Each month will feature original articles written by AMS Athletes about training, competing, and enjoying our sport. Please share and enjoy! Editor: Eben Krigger, Junior Athlete Representative
Third Annual AHA Clinic By Eben Krigger, ANSC Every year before the long course seasons gets into full swing, the older AMS athletes hold the AHA Clinic (Athletes Helping Athletes) for the younger athletes. This year was the third annual AHA Clinic. The clinic had about twenty younger athletes who signed up to participate and around ten older athletes who volunteered to be instructors. The instructor to swimming ration was about 2:1, so the swimmers who participated received very individualized feedback. Everyone who participated in the clinic, whether a swimmer or instructor, received an AHA Clinic swim cap (If you would like to purchase one for $1 find me at the next Pitt meet). The instructors came from different teams throughout the AMS who specialized in different strokes. At the end, to reward the swimmers, we swam relay races and allowed the kids to race the instructors. Next year we are planning on improving a few things to help the clinic run smoother and make the swimmers enjoy it more. After the clinic the instructors heard nothing but positive feedback. The older athletes would recommend that more kids sign up for next year’s clinic.
It is a good experience for every party to try to improve themselves. For me, it was a learning experience; I really had to think of what I was about to say so it would make sense. Also, as I was teaching I realized that I made a few of the mistakes that I was correcting for the swimmers. I really enjoyed working with the younger swimmers. Everyone was so positive and willing to learn that it made the clinic very fun. I hope that it made a positive impact for the AMS and its swimmers. WE believe that we will win! By Maxwell Gonzalez, ANSC Cost of the Icelandic national soccer team: $22 million. Cost of the English national soccer team: $177 million. Iceland upsetting England: priceless. But how did the country with a population only slightly larger than the city of Pittsburgh and no professional soccer league of their own defeat one of the greatest soccer nations in the world? They certainly did not have the better players or the better training staff. In fact, Iceland’s coach is a part time dentist! The thing Iceland had that England did not was a belief in each other. A strong team bond is more important than just having a team full of superstar athletes, even in an individualistic sport like swimming. Don’t get me wrong, swimming is an individual sport; even relays are really just four individual events back to back. However, it does not mean that there is no place for the important qualities of a good team. I did not understand this as an age group swimmer, but after three seasons on a high school team the importance of strong team bonds could not be more apparent. A good team encourages and pushes each other. Once everyone stops competing against each other for stardom, they start helping each other. It is a lot harder to slack off when twenty other guys want you to get better so the team can get better. When everyone is believing and working towards the same goal instead of their own interests is when athletes can truly go beyond what they normally would achieve on their own. When you compete for your teammates, not for yourself or for your coach, you can even exceed your own goals. The motivation a united team gives to the individual athlete is why strong teams are so important, even in swimming. At the time I am writing this article Iceland is preparing for their next match of the European soccer championship against the host team of France, the favorites to win the whole tournament. Though all of France will come out to rally behind their team, Iceland’s players will have something even greater behind themeach other. Take a peek at PEAQ By Mia Beyerl, UNUSC
Have you heard the breaking news in Allegheny Mountain Swimming? The Upper Saint Clair and Chartiers Valley Swim Clubs are joining forces to form Pittsburgh Elite Aquatics (PEAQAM). Both teams are currently swimming unattached and will be attached to the new club starting in September. The trend of club consolidation is seen throughout the Eastern Zone, especially in Virginia. Among these “superclubs” are the Virginia Gators, Poseidon Swimming, and the booming Nation’s Capital Swim Club, which currently stands as the best team in the United States. PEAQ’s strategic alliance will allow swimmers to gain better competition when practicing, a higher level coaching staff, and access to multiple short and long course pools within the area. I sat down with one of our head coaches, Dave Schraven, to further discuss the logistics of combining teams: Mia: Approximately how many swimmers and coaches are involved with PEAQ currently? Dave: We currently have 225 swimmers and a coaching staff of 12, including 2 Head Coaches and 2 Head Age Group coaches who are fulltime professional swim coaches. Mia: What were some of the driving factors in combining teams? Dave: The Chartiers Valley and Upper St. Clair school districts are contiguous, so we’ve always been neighbors. Since Coach John Nemeth started at CV two years ago, we’ve always gotten along really well and we started training together on occasion a year and a half ago. As we trained together more often we realized there were a lot of great synergies between our clubs and we explored the possibility of joining forces. This is not something that has happened spur of the moment. We’ve been doing a lot of work behind the scenes for over a year and every step of the way we’ve been increasingly convinced that forming a new club is what’s best for our swimmers. The bottom line in all this is that we know that this unified club is what is best for our swimmers, and that has been validated by the great results our swimmers have achieved this past year and continue to achieve this long course season. Mia: Where do you envision PEAQ in ten years from now? Dave: It is our goal to be the premier swim club in Western Pennsylvania. This past year USC Swim Club was a USA Swimming Bronze Medal Club. Within 5 years we hope to be a Silver Medal Club, and within 10 Years we want to be a Gold Medal Club. That would make us one of the top 20 clubs in the country. The combination of USC and CV provides the ability to work together toward a
common vision and attain uncommon results through fun, friendships, and swimming. Personally, I am excited to be a member of an upandcoming successful team. I have always found my prior club, Upper Saint Clair, to have a family demeanor, and now our family has gotten just a little bit bigger.
Safe Sport Athlete Representative: Abby Matheny Come visit our Safe Sport Facebook Page, AMS Safe Sport, to see any updates about the AMS Safe Sport program or activities/events involving Safe Sport. Three posters were submitted to our Facebook Page for the poster contest, and the Athlete committee will soon vote the Logo contest that the AMS Safe Sport Committee is hosting to design a logo for the program. Entries are due to
[email protected] by March 13th. Help others become aware and create a fun and healthy relationship for all athletes, parents, and coaches involved in swimming!
What's coming up in AMS? • Senior Circuit TPIT: July 8th10th • Bronze Champs GPAC: July 9th10th • Silver Champs ANSC/SVSCNorth Park: July 15th17th • Junior Olympics TPIT: July 22nd24th • Last Splash MLAC: July 30th31st
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