Weekly Update: Week of November 10th

Jackson Leonard

Week of November 10th

 

Congratulations: PPA Finals competitors

A special shout-out goes to the families and athletes who attended the PPA Finals meet in Colorado Springs this past weekend. Many volunteer FAST Officials were in attendance and helped run the meet. Family members were quick to help on deck with timing and other jobs. The combination of volunteer support ensured timely starts to each session. We thank you for your time and effort to help the athletes. 

 

High performance highlights from the meet include:

  • New Futures Championship qualifier: Marcus Eiben, 200 Breaststroke SCY

  • New Futures Championship qualifying times: Raleigh Dollarhide 200 BR SCY), Brennen O’Neil (100 BR SCY)

  • New Sectionals qualifying times: Ella Gaca Thiele (100 Backstroke SCY), Marcus Eiben, (50 Free, 100 Back, 100 Breaststroke)

 

While it was incredibly fun to watch swimmers race to new lifetime best times and season bests, coaches were not surprised to see swimmers racing well. Consistency and focus at practice led us all to believe FAST athletes would be prepared to race. What does always pleasantly surprise us is when swimmers show enormous mental growth and with regards to their mindset. 

 

Some of the best situations from the weekend included:

  • Some swimmers were proud of themselves for qualifying for their first Finals event in many seasons, or for the first time ever!

  • Swimmers who overcame feeling ill; those athletes found ways to continue to race at their greatest ability without complaint or making excuses. Those who were too ill to compete had the self-awareness to value rest and recovery.

  • Some swimmers did not race to a lifetime best in Finals, but came over to coaches smiling and saying, “Coach, I didn’t go a best time but I’m proud of that swim. I rarely come back and swim fast in Finals and tonight I did! I proved to myself that I am capable of going faster at night.”

    • Side note: Any athlete competing in their first Prelims/Finals format should be proud! Racing fast multiple times a day is already challenging; to do so in the morning and evening prepares them for racing done at the Zone, National, and international levels. Building the confidence to race at an extremely high level multiple times per day over the course of multiple days takes years to master. The exercise of putting yourself through manageable discomfort repeatedly makes it easier to be more resilient in future situations. 

  • Swimmers who have not raced a lifetime best time in several seasons raced with heart, energy, and focus. Several went their fastest times in recent years and can still identify areas where they can continue to improve!

  • 10&Under swimmers raced events with very little to no break between events! I watched some 10&Under swimmers compete in multiple events (some of which were brand new events to them) within the span of an hour. 

  • Swimmers who were first or second alternates (not guaranteed a place in Finals) showed up to warm up at Finals and were prepared to race, if given the opportunity. 

  • A few swimmers struggled in specific areas, were challenged all weekend, and continued to race with conviction- eventually racing to lifetime bests in their final events of the weekend. What incredible resilience!

 

While racing lifetime bests is always a goal, the number of ways swimmers grow and develop isn’t always linked to the scoreboard or stopwatch. We hope all our competitors are proud of their efforts!

 

Character Value of the Week:

Resilience - Bouncing back from setbacks and maintaining focus

 

This summer, Carlos Alcaraz battled back in the French Open for a come-from-behind win. Following the match, Alcaraz said: “It’s time to keep fighting, trying to find your moment, your good place again and just go for it. I think the real champions are made in those situations when you deal with that pressure, with (those) situations in the best way possible. That’s what the real champions have done in their whole careers.”

 

What’s true in tennis (and swimming) is true in life. It’s easy when everything is clicking. But things will go wrong. You’ll make a great effort and still fall behind, back against the wall. You’ll face moments where your emotions flare and your plans fall apart. What matters most is how you respond, again and again and again. 

 

What does this look like for families?

Teaching resilience is hard, emotionally. Parents- if you were asked when you grew the most at work or personally - and you answered honestly- you’d most likely point to a time when you were challenged and had to suffer, at some level. 

 

There will come a time when you have to watch your child race and not go best times. They’ll be frustrated. They’ll be upset. You’ll want to step in and fix the situation for them…because that’s the natural instinct for a parent. Developing the skills to feel frustration, anger, or disappointment, and keep moving will require your child to deal with those emotions autonomously. That doesn’t mean coaches won’t support them; in fact, we’ll help guide them through the mental steps to self-regulate. Your job, as family members, is to love your child without hesitation and without regard to performances. With love and support, they’ll better handle adversity and grow more resilient to challenging situations. 
 

Practice Adjustments:

Practice Times: November 11th, 2025 ⇒ Mid-May 2026

As Colorado high school swimming begins, our practice times at EPIC will undergo slight shifts.

On select Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, high school dual meets will move our practice times around a bit. Sarah, our Business Manager, has directly emailed everyone and posted the PDF calendars to the website. Please make sure to double check for the changes!

 

*Arete swimmers and families: be on the lookout for an additional update to our practice plan. A separate email will be sent outlining those adjustments.

 

Upcoming Events:

 

 

  • Yoga for FAST Families & Masters Swimmers!

    • Join professional yoga instructor, Maddie Sumkin, for free yoga in the EPIC meeting room on Saturday, 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. All FAST family members and Masters swimmers are welcome to join.

  • FAST Private Lessons: monthly availability

  • FAST Age Group & Senior Clinic: Racing Starts

    • November 30th, EPIC, 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. 

    • Limited registration spaces remaining!

  • Swimming in College: Information for High School Aged Families

    • In-Person: Coach Woody, CSU

    • Virtual Panel: Olivia Asay (Div. I Swimmer at University of Iowa)

                     Katie Rogers (former Sectional level swimmer, UVA grad. & college club swimmer)

 Who should attend: high school aged swimmers and interested family members.

 Submit questions for the panel ahead of our meeting: QUESTION SUBMISSION

  • FAST Advanced Stroke Clinic: Breaststroke with Lucy Bell

         Partnering with: Nuun for goodie bag giveaways

  • December 21st, EPIC, 9:00 -11:30 a.m. 

  • Limited registration spaces remaining!

 

Administrative Reminders:

Communication methods:

With changes to practice schedules, upcoming meets, and more… it can be challenging to keep track of adjustments! Make sure you’re receiving all available information in a timely manner by:

 

Be a Changemaker for FAST! 

Direct your support to one, or any combination, of our funds (Athlete Travel, Scholarships, Facilities&Equipment, Athletic Performance).

 

Apparel:

Apparel gear & Personalized cap stores are OPEN FOR ONE WEEK ONLY. 

Stores close on Wednesday, 11/19

Personalized Cap store: CLICK HERE

Apparel: CLICK HERE  

 

Apparel will be ready before the 2025 Bill Spahn meet; we hope to have the caps back in time, as well. This is the last time to order from either of these stores in 2025. Please email Sarah at [email protected] with any questions.