Author: Coach Marion (Page 1 of 3)

Trust the process and have confidence in the training you have done this season!

Championship Practice Habits:

• Show Up
  • Keep attending practice
  • Attend practice mentally
• Honor your teammates with your effort
  • Encourage each other with words and effort
  • Go fast on the fast and correct on the easy
• Do Things Correctly
  • Remember what you have learned and do it in practice
  • Correct is better than fast at practice!

Championship pillars:

• Sleep
  • Maintain good sleep habits
  • Get homework done, clean your room and plan for great sleep
• Fuel
  • No new foods or drinks on meet week
  • Stay hydrated- water is best!
  • Protein, Vegetables and good carbs
    • Carbs: brown rice, oats, apples, quinoa, bananas, sweet potatoes
• Exercise
  • Extra rest
  • Not the time to start a new sport/exercise
  • Stretching!
• Attitude
  • Trust the process
  • Visualize your races
  • Positive attitude about

Championship Meet descriptions can be found in the NLAC February Newsletter!

Meet Registrations:

• NLAC Chilly Challenge–
  • See email from Kate Woodruff for volunteer, concessions and donation links.
• Hershey Developmental Meet registration deadline is Feb 2nd
• Start reviewing Champs qualifying times and making plans for your champs meet!

Core Values to focus in on this week at practice:

• Show Up – Ready!
• Honor your teammates with your effort – Don’t distract others from being ready for practice!
• Do things Correctly – Flip turns and landing in athletic stance on the wall

Focus: Exercise and Stress: Did you know that feeling stressed makes you a slower swimmer? We will talk this week about how to relax and be our best at practice and at meets!

See you at the pool! 

Great swimming at the WSY meet! January is a tough time for a meet coming off the holiday, but we are super proud of our swimmers for continuing to display the changes that we are making at practice at meets! The swimmers should be building the confidence that they can do their best (which might not always be a drop in time!) because they are working hard at practice! Trust the process! Big things ahead for the Junior group! Let’s Go!!

Congratulations to teammate, BJ  for two new NLAC team records in the girls 9/10 age group: 200 Fly – 2:43.26 and 200 Back – 2:42.80!! Way to go BJ! 

Meet Registrations:

• NLAC Chilly Challenge Sign-up –
  • Registration Deadline is Monday, Jan 12^th for our home meet.
  • See email from Elizabeth Edmondson for volunteer links.
• Check out the February meets and start making your plan!
• Start reviewing Champs qualifying times and making plans for your champs meet!

Core Values to focus in on this week at practice:

• Show Up – Ready!
• Honor your teammates with your effort – Be encouraging to others
• Do things Correctly – Depth of streamline

Focus: Exercise and Sleep: This week we will talk about some habits to help have better sleep and yes, they have to do with food and late evening digital time habits!!

See you at the pool! 

Coach Marion, Coach Melinda and Coach Kirsten

Happy New Year! We are excited about the progress our swimmers have made in 2025 and are looking forward to great things in 2026!

December Attendance:

            Junior Blue: Congratulations to Evelyn, BJ, and Bella for having the highest attendance rates in December!!

            Junior White: Congratulations to Fiona, Sascha, TJ and Amy R. for having the highest attendance rates in December!!

Upcoming Registration deadlines:

• January Meets! Look over your registrations for the upcoming meets!
  • LAC IM Extreme deadline is Tuesday, Jan 6^th
  • NLAC Chilly Challenge deadline is Monday, Jan 12^th
  • HAC Sweetheart developmental Meet deadline is Monday, Feb 2^nd
• Champs season will be upon us soon! Now is a great time to look ahead and plan for those meets!
  • 10 & Under Champs
  • Silver Champs

WSY Mid-Winter Classic (Jan 9-11th)

See meet details in email from Elizabeth Edmondson

What to bring:

• Cap, goggles and swimsuit (and any backups)! 
• Extra towels
• Warm clothes—Warm swimmers are fast swimmers! That’s YOU!
• Water bottles
• Small snacks—apples, bananas, pretzels, trail mix
• Flip flops/slides for during the meet— Warm feet are fast feet!
• NLAC Team gear! 
• Card Games! Uno can be a great way to pass the time at a swim meet, have fun with friends and keep you from over thinking your races!! Remember we think at practice, at meets we go to have fun and race!  What card game will you bring?

Expectations:

• Be on time
• Cheer for your teammates
• Be respectful and encouraging with your words and actions
• Keep our team area clean
• Stay hydrated
• Warm up for and warm down from your races! This is so important in a multi-day meet!
• Breathe behind the block! 
• Have fun because you’re good at this stuff!!

Core Values to focus in on this week at practice:

• Show Up – Ready to build on prior knowledge
• Honor your teammates with your effort – Keeping negative comments out of the pool and out of our heads!
• Do things Correctly – Streamline!

Focus: Exercise and Sleep: This week we will talk about the importance of getting a good night of sleep is not only good for the upcoming practice but also aids in recovery from the last one!

See you at the pool! 

Hope everyone had a great weekend and is looking forward to the holiday ahead! Enjoy the time with family and friends and we will see you at the pool when you can be there!  

This Weekly Update will cover the next two weeks! Keep an eye on the calendar for any updates to the schedule! Text reminders will still come out each day!

NLAC Holiday party Sunday Dec 28th! See email for details!

Upcoming Registration deadlines:

• January Meets!
  • LAC IM Extreme – Register by Tuesday, Jan 6th
  • NLAC Chilly Challenge – Register by Monday, Jan 12^th

Core Values to focus in on this week at practice:

• Show Up –
  • In town? Be at practice!
  • Traveling? Enjoy the time with family!
• Honor your teammates with your effort – A simple “see ya tomorrow at practice” can go a long way!
• Do things Correctly – Stay away from Lalaland!

Focus: Attitude – Mental Toughness

            Hope you have had a change to think about what we have been learning this month with our mental toughness! Here are some key points to help you review:

• You can’t be a champion without training your mind as well as your body!
• Daily Choices between Lalaland and the Championship Zone!
• Know your BIG WHY!
• If it is to be it is up to me!
• Get Comfortable being uncomfortable!
• Take time to “Sharpen your Axe”!

Let’s finish 2025 well and kick off 2026 with a great start!! Let’s Go NLAC!

See you at the pool! 

Marion, Melinda and Kirsten

Check out the new Meet Qualifying Times Info found in drop down(for phone) and side bar menu(for desktop)

Mental Toughness Tuesday (double attendance points again!):

• Who: Swimmers and Parents!
• What: “Swimming with the Competitive Edge” Chapter 1 and 2
  • Chapter 3:Hard Work – The Stuff of Champions (25 min listening)
  • Chapter 4: Rest is an important part of training (14 min listening)
• When: Tuesday, December 16^th, 7:00-8:00pm
• Where: Delta Cafeteria
• Why: Mental training is as important as physical training!
• Bring a set of colored pencils or crayons, no markers! We will have an activity for you while we are listening!

Upcoming Registration deadlines:

• January Meets!
  • LAC IM Extreme – Register by Tuesday, Jan 6th
  • NLAC Chilly Challenge – Register by Monday, Jan 12^th
  • These dates might sneak up on you with the holidays! Make your January plan now and get those signups done! Thank you!
• It’s important that you declare or decline the meet before the registration deadline listed on the meet info page.

Core Values to focus in on this week at practice:

• Show Up –  How can I be more present?
• Honor your teammates with your effort – How can I help my teammates?
• Do things Correctly – How can I do things correctly when I am tired?

Let’s have a great week!

See you at the pool! 

Another great week ahead! Pitt meet this weekend! Let’s be ready, not attending, think of ways to encourage your teammates that are!

Mental Toughness Tuesday (double attendance points!): I have had the opportunity to hear Dr. Alan Goldberg speak at many Swimming Clinics over the years. He is engaging, well-spoken and very knowledgeable! We will be starting his series “Swimming with the Competitive Edge” on Tuesday! Mental toughness is critical in swimming, and we hope to see everyone at practice on Tuesday!

• Who: Swimmers and Parents!
• What: “Swimming with the Competitive Edge” Chapter 1 and 2
  • Chapter 1: Importance of the Mental Side (14 min listening)
  • Chapter 2: The Motivation of a Champion (25 min listening)
• When: Tuesday, December 9^th, 7:00-8:00pm
• Where: Delta Cafeteria
• Why: Mental training is as important as physical training!
• Bring a set of colored pencils or crayons, no markers! We will have an activity for you while we are listening!

Upcoming Registration deadlines:

• January Meets!
  • WSY Mid Winter Classic – Register by Friday, Dec 12^th
  • LAC IM Extreme – Register by Tuesday, Jan 6th
  • NLAC Chilly Challenge – Register by Monday, Jan 12^th
  • These dates might sneak up on you with the holidays! Make your January plan now and get those signups done! Thank you!
• It’s important that you declare or decline the meet before the registration deadline listed on the meet info page.

Core Values to focus in on this week at practice:

• Show Up –  How can I be more present?
• Honor your teammates with your effort – How can I help my teammates?
• Do things Correctly – How can I do things correctly when I am tired?

Let’s have a great week!

See you at the pool! 

No practice today, December 2, 2025

Here’s some things to fill your time! Don’t waste your day!

• Meet Sign Up – Consider signing up for the meets in January!
• Postcards – Write your team postcards to hand in at practice on Thursday!
• Vertical Jump – Work on your vertical jump!
• Team Newsletters
  • See September’s Newsletter for Basic Streamline Video!
  • See October’s Newsletter for Yoga for Swimmers!
  • See November’s Newsletter to review fueling for practice and meet day!

Bonus! Think of a ways to improve your:

• Sleep: Clean your room and make it a great place to rest!
• Diet: Get extra hydration today! Water!
• Exercise: Yoga for Swimmers from October’s Team Newsletter! 😀
• Stress Management(Attitude): Finish your meet papers! Think of a way to organize your room better so that getting ready for school or swim practice is faster and easier!

What ideas did you come up with to improve your Sleep, Diet, Exercise and Attitude? Can’t wait to hear about it on Thursday!

Make it a great day!

We welcome in December this week! Big meets and hard work ahead! Let’s Go!

November Attendance- Great Work Swimmers!

• Junior Blue – BJ, Bella and Amy M. with 100% attendance for November!
• Junior White – TJ, Ryan, and Olivia with over 90% attendance for November!

Chocolate Splash Weekend December 5^th-7^th

• See Email from Elizabeth Edmondson for complete details!
• Friday Arrival 4:20, Warm-ups 4:40, Meet starts at 5:15PM
• Sat/Sun Arrival 7:20, Warm-ups 7:40, Meet starts at 8:15AM
• Meet papers will come home Tuesday this week!

What to Bring and Meet Expectations

What to bring:

• Cap, goggles and swimsuit (and any backups)! 
• Extra towels
• Warm clothes—Warm swimmers are fast swimmers! That’s YOU!
• Water bottles
• Small snacks—apples, bananas, pretzels, trail mix
• Flip flops/slides for during the meet— Warm feet are fast feet!
• NLAC Team gear! 

Meet expectations:

• Be on time
• Cheer for your teammates
• Be respectful and encouraging with your words and actions
• Keep our team area clean
• Stay hydrated
• Breathe behind the block! 
• Have fun because you’re good at this stuff!!

Upcoming Registration deadlines:

• January Meets! There are three opportunities to race in January! Coach Melinda and I highly recommend attending WSY meet and the NLAC Chilly Challenge. At minimum, please attend one of those meets in January!

Core Values to focus in on this week at practice:

• Show Up – Be on time for practice this week, ready to get in the water!
• Honor your teammates with your effort – Do your best and see the good in those around you!
• Do things Correctly – Streamline, every wall every time!

New focus: Attitude – Our mental focus while we swim makes a huge impact on our performance! Here are a few points to focus on this week:

1. Have confidence that you are working hard at practice, and it will pay off
2. Get your weekend homework done early so you don’t have to worry about it during the meet
3. Visualize yourself swimming fast

Looking ahead: Tuesday December 9^th and 16^th State High has home swim meets so our practices will be on land! We will be doing some mental toughness training! Stay Tuned!!

Let’s have a great week!

See you at the pool! 

Marion, Melinda and Kirsten

Hello Junior Group,

Happy Thanksgiving Week! We are thankful for you!

Super Vertical Jumps at practice on Saturday! Keep up the great work! Don’t forget these exercises that can help you improve! Make your vertical jump higher and you’ll be ahead from the start and get more distance off each wall! Let’ Go!

Core Values to focus in on this week at practice:

• Show Up – Be at practice ready to work!
• Honor your teammates with your effort – Be thankful!
• Do things Correctly – Know what you need to work on and challenge yourself to stay focused on it!

Fuel:  We talked about hidden *added* sugar at practice on Saturday! Peanut butter is good but the kind with lots of sugar is not good for you! Granola bars are good, but the ones that have more sugar than a candy bar are not! Read your labels, know what you are eating!

Let’s have a great week!

See you at the pool! 

Coach Marion and Coach Melinda