P.O Box 280 Stittsville, ON K2S 1A4

SPLASH

Volume 5; Edition 24 Thursday, May 6, 2006

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand."
Vince Lombardi

UPCOMING EVENTS

Cornwall Spring Meet – Cornwall Aquatic Centre – May 7 – Bronze and Gold 2

Festival of Spring – Nepean Sportsplex - May 12-14– Platinum/Gold1/Silver.

Go Kingfish Long Course Invitational – Monpetit Hall University of Ottawa – May 27-28 - Qualifiers.

KSSC Distance Novice Meet – Kingston Military Community Sport Center – June 4^th – Silver/Bronze/Gold 2

PRACTICE CHANGES/CANCELLATIONS

As per regular schedule.

========================================================================
Fall Pre-Registration for all Bronze, Gold 2, Silver, Gold 1 and Platinum swimmers

Your swimmer's Fall Pre-Registration Package will be available for pick up during the week of May 22nd at the pool.
Fall Pre-Registration will take place the week of May 29. More information to follow.

=========================================================================

COACHES REPORT

Coach Liliana

Just a reminder for the Silver group: 10^th of May it is the deadline for the Go Kingfish swim meet ballots to be returned to their coaches.

Directions to the Cornwall Aquatic Centre can be useful for all the Bronze and Gold 2 groups’ swimmers who are participating to the swim meet.

Tip of the Week: Have Patience in Developing Athletes

This week’s Speedo Tip is about the process clubs take in developing elite athletes. Here, Kansas City Blazers coach Pete Malone and Alex Braunfeld, formerly of Dynamo Swim Club in Atlanta, weigh in.

The Tip: Have Patience
Elite swimmers are not going to develop overnight. The best thing for coaches to do is to stick to their philosophy and never rush a swimmer’s long-term development in favor of short-term success at the age group level.

“Coaches need to avoid their personal ego and wait until the kids are developed,” Malone said. “I’ve coached this way since I began, and maybe that’s why I’ve had this success.

“I’ve always stuck to my philosophy, and I believe our success has come from the philosophy we’ve practiced over the years. That’s how we’ve made a name for ourselves.”

And try to keep it in perspective.

“Not everybody’s in it for the same reason,” Braunsfeld said. “Some people just want to be good high school swimmers, some people want to be elite swimmers, and some people just want to be an “A” swimmer – it’s all relative. I feel that everybody needs to work hard and be equally committed, whether they want to make their first “A” time or their first Olympic team.

“We try to create an environment, an atmosphere that anybody can be successful in and go as far as they can in swimming. That might just mean preparing them for college or something like that, but we try to develop them and get them as ready as anybody for the next step, whatever that may be.”

Well-Meaning Parents Often Provoke Youngster Burnout!

Participation in an organized sports program can certainly have multiple benefits for the young athlete, including boosting self-esteem and motivation. Indeed, several research studies have shown that happy young athletes earn better grades, have fewer problems outside the classroom than their non-athlete classmates, drop out significantly less and have fewer absences. In addition, they tend to learn life skills, such as how to communicate, develop commitment and collaborate with coaches and peers.

What has become a distressing phenomenon among young athletes is burnout, which leads to psychologically, physically and emotionally dropping out of their sport due to stress. Essentially, burnout develops the moment that "the costs" of participating in the sport outweighs the perceived rewards. "Costs" include perfectionist needs, travel and practice pressures, feeling cut off from classmates because of the time demands of the sport and injuries. But the most consistent cause of burnout for the young athlete is parental pressure!

Specifically, young athletes describe parental pressure as the feeling that unless they continue to succeed in their sport, they won't be able to maintain a satisfactory relationship with their parent or parents. "For my folks, everything revolves around my sport" is a statement I hear too often in my sport psychology consultation with young athletes.

I certainly believe that most parents are well-intended with their young athletes. Becoming aware of the warning signs of burnout and preventive skills can go a long way toward eliminating the problem.

Warning Signs:
• high expectations and demands placed on the athlete;
• the athlete perceives these as excessive;
• the athlete becomes tense, anxious, and/or has difficulty sleeping;
• performance declines and the athlete seems withdrawn and fatigued;

Burnout Prevention Skills for the Parent
• recognize the warning signs and learn stress management skills you can teach your youngster;
• allow your young athlete to have some input into his/her training;
• help him/her set realistic goals for swimming performance and other life interests;
• communicate with and listen to your youngster frequently;
• minimize criticism...even innocuous parental remarks are frequently perceived by the youngster as critical.

Obviously, in sports, the athlete has enough challenges to overcome, including maintaining concentration and confidence while minimizing nervousness and fear. As parents, you can play a major part in your youngsters' success. Having your "radar" tuned into their needs and behavior is the best way to ensure that they will live up to their potential!

Article written by: BY JACK SINGER, PH.D.

Update from the Board of Directors

Dear Parents of the GAC,

As requested, please find below the descriptions of all positions to the Board of Directors of the Goulbourn Aquatic Club, for election at a General Meeting of all members to be announced ASAP (to be held late May or early June).

We would request that you submit a name, position requested (where applicable), and if possible, a brief bio to the President – Kathy White (gac@bellnet.ca) for posting in the SPLASH (csca.org/gac). All bios of candidates will be posted in the SPLASH and distributed by e-mail, May 10, 2006. We would request that the membership consider the candidates and nominate choices.

Nominations will be accepted by e-mail to the attention of Kathy White at gac@bellnet.ca or phone 726-7901.

N.B. **

Nominations must be made in advance and will not be accepted at the General Meeting.

Present members of the Board of Directors, Mary Raphael (treasurer) and Carole Houde (secretary) will be nominated. Bios will be posted along with the other candidates.

Board of Directors Positions (5) for election & descriptions:

President:

The President presides as Chairperson over all Annual General, Special and General meetings, and all Board of Directors meetings. The President also attends to those matters requiring the attention of the chief spokesperson of the Corporation and carries such powers and duties as from time to time be delegated to the President by the Board of Directors.

The President oversees and coordinates the general management and supervision of the affairs of the GAC.

The President sees that all orders and resolutions of the Board are carried into effect.

Vice-President:

The Vice-President shall be a member of the Board of Directors and perform all of the duties and responsibilities of the President in the absence or disability of the President, and shall have other such powers and duties as may from time to time be delegated to the Vice-President by the President or the Board of Directors.

Secretary:

The Secretary shall prepare and keep the minutes of the meetings of the Corporation; Shall notify all members of meetings as directed by the President, Vice-President or membership as provided by the By-Laws, shall send out proper notices; Shall perform and carry out such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors or the President; Shall keep a copy of the By-Laws in the minute book.

Treasurer:

The Treasurer shall collect and disburse all funds and be responsible for maintaining all accounting functions of the Corporation; Shall provide the Board of Directors with both the financial objectives required to sustain the Corporation and procedures to be used to ensure adequate control over revenues and expenditures.

Director:

A Director shall be a member of the Board of Directors and perform all of the duties and responsibilities of a voting member and any other duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors or the President.

**N.B. It should be noted that all elected positions to the Board of Directors are voting Director positions.

Kathy White

President

Goulbourn Aquatic Club - 2006 Long Course Schedule

Spring Invitational P1&P2 & Developmental - April 1^st & 2^nd

Olympic 50m pool – Montreal - Silver/Gold 1/Platinum

OYO Invitational Long Course Sprints – April 2^nd

Nepean Sportsplex- All Silver/Gold 1/Platinum not attending Montreal meet

Cornwall Spring Meet - May 7^th

Cornwall Aquatic Centre – Gold2/Bronze

NKB Festival of Spring - May 12^th & 14^th

Nepean Sportsplex- Silver/Gold 1/Platinum Qualifiers

Go Kingfish Long Course Invitational – May 27^th & 28^th

Monpetit Hall University of Ottawa - Qualifiers

KSSC – Developmental Meet – June 4^th

Kingston- Entry Level (Bronze/Gold 2)

EOSA – Long Course Regional Championships - June 9^th – 11^th

Nepean Sportsplex- Silver/Gold 1/Platinum Qualifiers

Ontario Junior Provincial Championships – July 6^th – 9^th

Nepean Sportsplex- Silver/Gold 1/Platinum Qualifiers

TEAM EQUIPMENT

In stock team equipment can be purchased by contacting Sheri by phone, e-mail, or at the pool on Saturday mornings from 7:30-8:30am. We currently have polyester suits and custom team bags in stock as well as two second had team jackets size 10-12 and 14-16. Please contact Sheri at 836-8235 or e-mail at s_coughlan@sympatico.ca

Parents may have noticed that the GAC caps and Team Suits are fading quickly, this is due to high chlorine levels as well as daily use. The caps are latex and will eventually break down, therefore it is suggested that swimmers keep their Team Caps and Suits solely for swim meet use and purchase training suits and caps for daily use. It is also a good idea to have an extra GAC cap on hand at meets in case of rips and tears.

Goulbourn Recreation Complex

Lifesaving and Leadership Courses for Spring 2006