Clarion University Swim Camp - Day 2

This is part of a continuing series as we will follow five older swimmers (Maddi Thompson, Addison Crawley, Jamie Mason, Lindsay Dudek, and Tyler Sheets) plus one of our coaches (Leland Thompson) to see how they fare at Clarion University's Swim camp.

This is some of the Stroke and Combination group being instructed from Coach Tilly. Coach Tilly was talking to campers about backstroke and how to reach and roll

Leland:
Today we completed the second day of camp here at Clarion University and WOW what a day. The campers started the day off with breakfast at 7am and then went to the ELITE practice by 8am. The swimmers swam a rigorous practice and were "pooped" by the end. The athletes then attended their second class with Coach Miller about Backstroke, after the class the athletes participated in a core workout. The campers ate lunch around 11:00 and were right back in the pool for Backstroke Drills by 1:00. They learned about rolling, their backstroke start, and much more. After the drills the students went and completed a dry land workout out in the sun. After that we ate dinner and went to the movies with all the swim camp to see either "Toy Story 3" or "Grown Ups". As a coach I learned many things about the backstroke and different drills that you can have your swimmer complete to straighten out their body, turns, and much more.

Madalyn:
I learned a lot today through the camp in backstroke. We learned about how your suppose to assume a relaxed position on the blocks and feet shoulder width apart for a strong, powerful, and fast start. Todays workout was super hard, I am going to sleep like a baby tonight. They taught me as you roll in backstroke you are suppose to feel your arm pit 'drying' out of the water with your recovery arm. This tid bit of information was very helpful and will help me down the road.

Jamie:
I learned a lot about my backstroke today. The coaches pointed out my strong points (which were my underwaters) and also my areas which need improvement (which were my rolling and head positioning). The morning workout was really hard, we did over 700 yards butterfly, but it is definitely making me a lot stronger. Coach Miller said "You are the best coach that you will ever be"; at first I found this to be an odd statement, but now I see what he means. He means that only you can feel how your body is maneuvering in the water, and when you realize what you are doing wrong, it is that much easier to fix

Lindsay:
I learned how to improve my backstroke start, by having a balanced position on the wall and not crunching to tightly towards the wall. The coach made an awesome example: he said when a basketball player jumps to dunk in a basketball game, you do not see him bending at all knees all the way to the ground, this is because it is unused power and would take much longer. The core workout we completed this morning really helped with the evening practice, stretching out all my muscles.

Addison:
Practice this morning was a real killer, but it was a lot of fun. We had our first core workout which was very interesting and helped us learned how to stretch. We ate pizza for lunch and the pizza was delicious. We went back to the pool for some backstroke drills and the drills helped me greatly improve my overall backstroke. The movie "Grown Ups" was really funny, I love all the actors in the movie. HA HA!

Tyler:
The day did not start off well. The other Jersey Shore swimmers left me behind in the dorm and I had to scarf some food down before our first practice. I then went into the pool and did a tough workout, but I know that in the end that it will be well worth it. The weather cooled off today and it will make for a much more enjoyable nights rest.