Having been someone who swam the 50/100 freestyle throughout the entirety of my swimming career, I would have never guessed that I willingly would put myself through the longest day in endurance sports: An Ironman Triathlon. The event requires one to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run a full marathon of 26.2 miles in under 17 hours. As a novice to the sport, I did what I normally do when I indulge into a new hobby or activity: I fully submerge myself into it. I watch any videos...

Coach Tommy wrote a great piece on growth during difficult times. Buy on the Dip When reading Ray Dalio’s “Principles” one of the better sections was talking about turning adversity into an opportunity. It’s the idea of going against the grain in terms of traditional thought. In stock market terms, it’s called buying on the dip. This isn’t meant to be any sort of economical lesson and I’m in no way shape or form qualified to give money advice. What I do like is the metaphor that we can take...

Over the weekend of December 3-5, 2021, SMAC’s 12 and under championship team returned to KCAC for a full LSC championship meet for the first time since December of 2019. Competing against the best 12 and under swimmers from all over the LSC, SMAC swam to a second-place position heading into the next two legs of the PNS December 2021 championship triplet. Charlie Cancelmo led with way with both record breaking swims, setting new team best marks in the 11-12 boys 100 and 200 yard butterfly (57.77 and 2:07.53) while...

What is Right vs. What Is Easy I have never been the biggest Harry Potter fan, but like most, I found myself going through a phase where I was heavily invested. I had my phase when the final three movies came out, but my fiance is having her phase right now. We have been sitting down and watching a different movie whenever we have the extra 2 and a half hours to do so. We recently watched the fourth movie, The Goblet Of Fire, and there was something at the...

Coach Derek of View Ridge was recently selected to be part of the USA Swimming Girls’ National Select Camp in Chula Vista, California. He has written an awesome piece about some stuff he took away from the experience. The Triple Impact Competitor In October, USA Swimming invited me to participate as an assistant coach for the Girls’ National Select Camp in Chula Vista, California. Every year, USA Swimming hosts 48 young women and 48 young men from all over the country for two and a half days of in water...

MOUNTAIN TOPS ARE SMALL AND THE AIR IS THIN. It’s so difficult to stay the best. Even the most legendary companies spend years at a time reinventing themselves. As do dynastic sports teams. One of the most recent sports dynasties has been the women’s US National Soccer team. Jill Ellis, one of the greatest coaches at any level in any sport, was the head coach of the team during their most dominating years until her retirement in 2019. “The top of the mountain is a rented space, not one to...

On Tuesday September 21, 2021, USA Swimming announced the swimmers selected for the 2020 – 2021 Scholastic All-American Team. SMAC is represented on the team by four athletes. The number of times selected is noted by the number inside the parenthesis. Catherine Andrews (1) Ryan Pak (1) Gillian Tu (2) Hannah Weissman (2) To be considered for this year’s team, swimmers must have completed grades 9 to 12, achieved a grade point average of 3.5 for the 2020-21 school year, and swum a 2019 Winter Junior qualifying time in any...

Seattle Metropolitan Aquatic Club Gives Advice on How to Conquer a Swim-a-Thon by Devonie Pitre//USA Swimming Swim-a-Thons are a great way for USA Swimming member clubs to earn additional funds for their upcoming swim seasons. Take it from the Seattle Metropolitan Aquatic Club (SMAC), who exceeded their fundraising goal earlier this year. In a total of 17 pools with around 500 swimmers, SMAC was able to use multiple resources to help implement a successful Swim-a-Thon. Erika Jackman, Fundraising Director at SMAC, gave her advice on how to implement a successful...

Hip Rotation Part 2: External External rotation of the hip is when the top of the femur or thigh rotates towards the outside, or away from the midline of the body. As this motion is made your knees will turn outwards. To illustrate this further, if you’re sitting down on a chair with your leg bent at 90 degrees, move the inside of your foot toward the midline of your body. Do not get this confused with hip internal rotation.As you guessed, hip internal rotation is the opposite of external...

Hip Rotation Part 1: Internal I recently had a swimmer in my group have problems with his groin. After talking with a Physical Therapist, he found out it was not his groin that was the problem, but the strength and flexibility of his hip. It does not matter if you consider yourself a breastroker or not, having a good range of motion in your hips can lead to being a better all around kicker, having reduced lower back pain, and improved posture. Healthy hips become even more important when an...