The USA National journal, part II

(East Meadow, NY) - We had another easy day today. We had the athletes up at 6:45AM and off to the pool for a short warm-up and to continue adjusting to the pool. The athletes look great and the excitement is building. After warm-up, we met with our NIKE rep, Roque and he gave all of the athletes brand new NIKE dome caps and racing suits. These suits can only be worn if you make Nationals, so the kids all put them on and look like would-be superheroes.

After getting the athletes to breakfast and back to the hotel, most of the coaches head over to the National Coaches Meeting, where everything about the meet will be gone over in detail. Part of the presentation was a talk given by former Olympic Head Coach Richard Quick. Two things stood out in his talk:

"If you haven't started thinking about Olympic Trials NOW, you have already missed the boat." It reminded me how short of a time we have left for any athletes who may have the desire to reach that level.

"Athletes seldom exceed the expectations of their coaches - be careful where you set the bar and don't be afraid to dream." That reminded me of a few things, but primarily that one of the great things here at SMSC is our constant chatter about acheivement and pushing ahead of where you are now. We have made it our daily mission to constantly raise the bar and its starting to pay off for our athletes.

After the meeting, we spent the rest of the day doing homework, relaxing, getting lunch, warming up again and going to dinner. The first full day of competition begins tomorrow morning so we are getting an early night.

Fast swimming to all.