WST Summer

Night out with Woodlands!

2011-07-21T11:56:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was a special day for the swim team; we got to go to Night out with Woodlands! Each year, an older swimmer gets paired with a smaller swimmer and each person provides food and drinks. Then, we eat dinner together, socialize, and dance! This year was an '80s theme, and everyone participated and went all out with their costumes! The room was filled with neon colors and leg-warmers! The coaches, however, took their costumes in a slightly different direction. They dressed up as if they were IN their 80's! It made for a very amusing night!

Then, Monday, the 13 and ups got to go out to dinner in San Francisco! We went to Buca de Bepo, and had a delicious meal of pasta, chicken, bread, and for dessert, a giant cookie! We also got to take some time and shop around at a mall, which all of the girls seemed to thoroughly enjoy. All in all, it was a really fun dinner and it was awesome to spend some quality time with some of the team!

This weekend we have the Woodland's Invatiational! A two day meet, the Invatational is held at our very own pool and is especially fun for the lucky 15-18's who get to spend the night at the pool! Sadly, a lot of us will have to wait to participate in the sleep-over, but we can always ask the 15-18's how it was! Let's all do our best at the meet and have fun!

The End of Heck Week and City Meet Weekend!

2011-07-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

So we finally came to the end of Heck Week, and what a week it was. Full of hard sets and sore muscles, this year's Heck Week was one to remember! As we all know, by attending all five (in this case, 4) days of Heck Week, you will receive the traditional Heck Week t-shirt! It was so impressive to not only see all of the 13 and ups showing up for practice all days, but also to see all of the 6 and under kids at practice too! Everybody worked so hard during the week, everyone deserved to be rewarded by getting their shirt delivered to them by Kermit!

Saturday morning we all woke up early to drive over to Heather Farms pool to warm up for the 25th annual City Meet! City Meet is always a fun meet, because it's our first two day meet of the year! It's also a time when we as a team can all come together and hang out under our Easy-Ups and run from blanket to blanket, anxiously waiting for the time to rush over to the Clerk of the Course and swim our races. I want to congratulate everyone for making their races on time; we did awesome in all of the events!

As Saturday came to a close, we all went home and rested up, got a good nights sleep, and woke up Sunday morning to do the same thing all over again! Although it was slightly warmer today than yesterday, we all still did a great job staying hydrated and rested between events!

After an exciting round of Free-Relays, we got to be thoroughly amused as we watched the Parent and Coach relays. Both sets of relays were awesome to watch and were cheered on during every minute of it! Sitting in the bleachers today, I realized that almost one whole set of bleachers was filled with Woodlands parents and swimmers! It still amazes me to see that many people cheering for every swimmer that steps up on the block! And, it must have helped, because many swimmers got their best times at this meet!

Though we did not win City Meet, we did however get 2nd place, which is EXTREMELY good! I'm so proud of our amazing team, and as our reward we get to go to Raging Waters tomorrow! A whole day spent riding rafts, going on slides, and floating down the Lazy River sounds pretty good to me right now!

The Season's Picking Up!

2011-07-05T22:12:00.000-07:00

Last week was when we saw the first sign that the season was picking up the pace! After doing a short set of sprints, we played greasy watermelon and needless to say, covered the pool in vasalene as well. That night we had a meet at Acalanes High School that was filled with both 'A' and 'B' swimmers! Seeing our team together was an amazing thing and it was also fun to see everyone cheering each other on!

On Thursday was the 13-14 outing to the drive-in, which was super fun! After carpooling there and settling in, the moms brought out cookies, drinks, and other snacks and kindly passed them out during the movie, Cars 2!

Finally, we come to today. Tuesday, the first day of the infamous Heck Week. Some of us have been dreading it, others have been looking forward to it all season. Either way, it came at us full force! Practices began fifteen minutes earlier for the 13 and ups today, and we certainly filled every minute of it with sets. I have to admire the swimmers who challenged themselves by going in the faster intervales; they must be working extra hard!

Even though we didn't have practice Monday, we still have another three days of Heck Week in front of us, ready to be attacked and accomplished. And remember, if you go all four days, you get the annual Woodlands t-shirt! I don't know about you, but I'm dying to know what it looks like! Last year's was really creative; I wouldn't have thought of backwards lettering!

We also have City Meet coming up this weekend, and the anticipation is too much to bear! Personally, this is one of my favorite meets of the year because it's really the first meet of the season that really makes me feel like I'm with my whole swim family! I love the teamwork and all of the effort we put into this meet and it's amazing how excited we all get, including the little kids! So let's ignore the heat and get out there to do our best!

Go Woodlands!

Picture Day, Swim Meets, Accidents, and More

2011-06-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

Friday we had our official picture day at the pool! Our team gathered on bleachers and smiled wide while the camera people encouraged us to shout silly things to make us laugh. It was quite a cool experience to see our whole team gather around together!

Then it was time for the coach's picture. A few days earlier, Coach Colin was riding his bike home from the pool and his front tire fell off, causing him to fall! Thankfully he was okay but his face was a little beat up. He had to wear gauze and an eye-patch on half his face, but still he showed up smiling and ready for pictures! To lighten the mood, the coaches hung caution tape, laid Colin on the ground and put on shocked faces as cameras flashed, resulting in many giggles from all the age-groups!

On Saturday morning, we had a home 'A' meet against Pinole, and after an exciting "Cookie Monster" cheer we had a lot of fun racing! Many of the 13 and ups cheered hard for their buddies and the general group of 6 and under kids. By the end of the day, everyone was proud to have swum so hard and had so much fun!

In two days, a Wednesday, we have an 'A/B' meet against LMYA! The awesome part about this meet is that the pool we're at has 10 lanes! 10 lanes! Now, each team can have 5 swimmers in each heat! It will also be exciting because our whole team will be there!

Hopefully we'll do well at the meet on Wednesday and have fun in the process!

Morning Practices Here We Come!

2011-06-07T20:04:00.000-07:00

As the school year comes to a close, so do the days of afternoon practices. In three days, we will begin our morning practices. Personally, this always marks the real beginning of the swim season. It's when we begin to work our hardest and have the most fun! We also have a meet tomorrow night against Brentwood, and even though I won't be there to see everyone swim, I'm sure we'll do really well! We've all worked so hard for the past few weeks; every age group has been preparing for upcoming meets!

Coach Eric has also asked the 13 and ups to sign up for buddies, so it would be much appreciated if everyone signed up! It's always fun to have a buddy to root for in the summer! They can also cheer you on during your races!

I'll see everybody in the water on Friday!

First Swim Meet of the Season and Rain Making Another Appearance

2011-06-03T19:39:00.000-07:00

Well, although I'm about two days late, we've had our first swim meet! Wednesday night we went head to head with our opponents, Valley Vista. Okay, it might not have been that intense, but we sure did race hard! Because this was an 'A' meet, things seemed to go by much quicker than usual, and sometimes it was hard to keep up! Our relay teams were really good that night and so were the rest of our swimmers! Thankfully the weather also stayed nice for most of the night, except at the very end. And, even though we lost by about 25 points, we still had a ton of fun right? And that's all that matters! And, there's nowhere to go but up from there, and by the end of the season, I'm sure we'll be really good!

Today's practice was fairly short because of the Welcome Back to Woodlands Potluck! The coaches, parents, and swimmers all stayed around to eat pizza and enjoy the official marking of the new swim season. Kids swam in the pool, ate on the bleachers, and sat at the tables to talk, laugh, and catch up on everything that's happened between last August and now.

The next meet we have is scheduled for tomorrow, but sadly, it might be canceled because of all the rain! So let's all cross our fingers and hope for the best that we get to continue with our 'B' meet against Valley Vista tomorrow!

Swimming in the pool...and the rain.

2011-05-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

So, as of this Monday, we are officially beginning the regular swim season! A surprising amount of people showed up, even though it was steadily raining as we stepped into the pool. Coach Eric also made an appearance, which always means we're in for a hard-working practice. But that's a good thing, because we all have to prepare for Time Trials! Yes, the infamous Time Trials are coming upon us (this Sunday!) and we all have to be prepared to show what we've got.

Now, while some of us won't be able to make it to Time Trials, those of us who are should be getting excited! Soon after Time Trials will be our regular swim meets, which are personally one of my favorite parts of swim team! Sure, the practices are fun, but racing is where I really get into it!

And, even though it's been raining an awful lot, and we've had our fair share of rainy practices, that shouldn't discourage us for Sunday! We should embrace the cold and remember to bring a parka! Also, we should give some props to the 11-12's, who have been so loyal and show up for so many practices!

So, as this blog comes to an end, I hope all of you do well in Time Trials, have a little fun in the rain, and get pumped up for what's going to be an awesome season!

Happy Mother's Day and a belated welcome back!

2011-05-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

It's a little late, I know, but welcome back to swim practice! After spring break it was a little hard to get back in the water, but after a couple days, I got back into the routine. We started diving this week, which is a big favorite for a lot of swimmers. The only problem with that is getting out of the pool and having to stand in the cold spring air.

Friday was a fun day for practice. We had five lanes instead of six (one was made larger) because it gave us more room to play jump or dive! Though most of us did the opposite of what was yelled out by the coaches, it was fun to have a break from the regular sets.

And, it's almost time for real practices to start, which means we get to see the rest of our friends who haven't been at pre-season practices. It's always fun to see the rest of our swim team, and it makes for a very full pool! But that's okay, because it also means that we get to see all of our coaches!

So, on that note, I will end this blog, but I hope to see everyone at practice on Monday!

If I Die in the Butterfly........Who Are We Kidding, There's No If About It!

2011-04-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome back everyone to our second week of swim practice! For those of you who have stuck it out for the last 6 practices, congratulations! Those of you who haven't, we'd love to see you!

Today we jumped right into the hardest stroke known to man....butterfly. Although we only did eighteen 25's, I think it's safe to say that we all put in a pretty intense effort. Of course the kick and the drill sets weren't as terrible as when we had to actually swim the stroke. But I suppose that's just all part of the process of getting in shape. Things will be easier once summer comes....right?

Anyway, though most of the practice focused on butterfly, we also got to do turns, and who doesn't love a good fifteen minutes of turns? There's just something about being in the middle of the pool and knowing that you only have to swim to the wall and back.

We should also say a big thanks to the swimmers who have stayed after practice to help with the tarps! The coaches are strong, but those tarps are pretty large and heavy, so it's nice that those people stay after and help!

So, as a final farewell for this blog, gooooooooooooo..........................woodlands!

Friday Fun-day!

2011-04-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love Friday's? Today's practice was probably the best of pre-season so far, in my opinion, and to make things even better, we've completed our first full week of the swim season! Hopefully we'll all be in the beginnings of getting back into shape and preparing for Time Trials, which even though it's still a ways away, is our first official meet of the season! All of these firsts are so exciting! It was also a very sunny day which made hopping out of the pool almost bearable!

To top it all off, however, we got red vines! There's just something about the taste of chlorine and red vines.... Anyway, wrapping up the Fun-Day was also nice, because we got to help out with the tarps, which while they are a lot of work, they are also a lot of fun. It really makes you work out your floating skills and tests your speed if you get caught in front of a tarp that's getting dragged towards you!

Now we get to enjoy our weekend, rest our arms and legs, and prepare for Monday's practice! Have a nice weekend everyone!

Fun in the sun....or the freezing cold

2011-04-13T21:06:00.000-07:00

So here we are, in our third day of practice. We've all been working hard to get back in shape and have been trying to work off that lactic acid. But, between our grueling sets I can tell that everyone's been trying to catch up with each other and socialize! Which, though we may say otherwise to our coaches, is probably one of the best parts of swim team!

Kermit must be watching over us because of course the weather suddenly became warmer and the sky sunnier after the long afternoon of rain/hail. Once morning practices come, along with summer, it will be a whole lot less torturous when everyone gets out of the pool. I also think this weather makes us very mellow. Even Coach Chloe commented on how quiet the 13-14s were today! As for the 11-12s, they were just very excited, which is great to get everyone pumped up!

But, even with the cold winds and the hard-working practices, we at least know that we're working towards something. All we can do now is dream of warm summer days spent by the pool, running around on the hot concrete and sitting on bleachers cheering for our teammates. Until then, we practice, practice, practice!

First Practice of the Season!

2011-04-11T20:55:00.000-07:00

So, after many months of waiting, the first practice of the season finally arrived! I don't know about you, but I've been counting down the days with my friends since February!

Anyway, it's always an awesome feeling when you first put on your cap and goggles and first jump in the water. And, to make things better, the water was a perfect temperature! The 11-12's looked like they were having an awesome time, which just made me more excited! Most of them were jumping up and down and splashing each other with water in between laps. All of this made me think of the wonderful times that were up ahead: Time Trials, morning practices, age group outings, and all of the other meets up ahead!

Of course there's always a bad side to the first practice.....being sore the next day. But, that just means we're all getting in shape! In a few weeks, we'll all be in shape and ready to prove ourselves at Time Trials. And, most importantly, we should all give a big thanks to our coaches for pre-season: Erin, Chloe, and Lindsay! They are all really nice to be spending their time with us!

Anyway, I think we can all come to the conclusion that this was an awesome start to the season! Let's all make a vow to make this an awesome year full of many achievements! See you guys around the pool!