Random Thoughts On Talent As coaches, we hear a lot about why people are successful. I usually hear some form of: “He/she is blessed with talent.” Or some form of that. As if it was just bestowed on some individuals and not others. Perhaps talent is only given to a select few? We’ve seen some of the most untalented 8-under, 10-under, 11 & 12 year olds finally have the light bulb go on and become “talented.” Random Observer: “That Susie is so talented.” Susie’s Coach: [Under breath], “She couldn’t swim...

(Colorado Springs, CO) - SMSC was awarded Bronze Medal status for 2021 by USA Swimming. This is the 2nd year in a row and the 9th time that SMSC has received the award. On an annual basis, the Club Excellence program recognizes USA Swimming's highest-performing clubs in the development of athletes ages 18 years and younger. This recognition does not account for team size, meaning that SMSC often competes against teams that are considerably larger. SMSC finished 110th out of 3500 USA Swimming teams for 2021. While the award itself...

SMSC hosted our annual General Membership Meeting on Tuesday, September 29, 2020. The meeting took place via ZOOM. Here are the greatest hits of what happened: Welcome and Thank You from Coach Mike Welcome and Thank You from President John Edds Presentation of Proposed Budget for 2020-2021: While the Club has survived the COVID closure and return to swim, we are unable to host swim meets (major income source) or pursue most fundraising (major income source). Presenting a "5-month" budget - as that's the length of time we can stay...

(Santa Maria, CA) - Parker Reynolds and Blake Simpson were named to the USA Swimming 18-under World 100 List. Newcomer Claire Tuggle was also named to the list, giving SMSC 3 present athletes on the prestigious ranking. Tuggle ranked 6th for her efforts in the 400 Freestyle this past summer. Reynolds and Simpson both secured the list through their 1500 Freestyle's last summer. Reynolds ranked 150th while Simpson ranked 230th. All 3 athletes continue to be on-track for great performances at the USA Olympic Team Trials in June. Full article...

(Santa Maria, CA) - USA Swimming released its annual Club Excellence program this morning. The program recognizes USA Swimming's highest performing club's each year in the development of athletes 18 and younger. This program happens regardless of team size - and SMSC would fall into the category of smallest teams on this prestigious list. The program recognizes the Top 200 teams in the USA. The Top 20 are recognized as GOLD medal teams; 21-100 receive SILVER recognition and 101-200 receive BRONZE medal recognition. SMSC finished 136th on the list, our...

Let's file this under thoughts to help parents and athletes. I'll paraphrase a conversation that happens many times over and typically goes something like this: Athlete: "Hey coach, I am going to be gone at Caligraphy camp this weekend. But I'll only miss two days." Coach: "I see. So you'll miss all of Friday and all of Saturday practices?" Athlete: "Yes." Coach: "So your last practice is Thursday afternoon. So you'll be out of the water for 4 days." Athlete: "Wait, what?!" Coach: "Let's do the math. Last practice is...

(Santa Maria, CA) - SMSC was recently awarded $2500 to be used for program improvment by America's Farmers Grow Communties donation from the Bayer Fund. A local farmer nominated SMSC for the award and the team was notified in early June. The coaching staff is discussing the best ways to utliize the money for program improvement. Huge thanks to the local farmer (who wishes to remain anonymous) and the Bayer Fund for recognizaing SMSC.

 (Rio de Janiero, Brazil) - former Santa Maria Swim Club athlete Josh Prenot moved from 10th to 3rd in the Semi-finals of the Men's 200 Breaststroke at the Olympics in Rio tonight. Prenot came from behind in his heat. Prenot will swim for the Gold on Wednesday night. SMSC will host a LIVE viewing of the event at 6:00PM at the Abel Maldonado Youth Center. His race is expected to start at 6:03PM.

(Mission Viejo, CA) - Backed by some stellar swims by representaives from our Gold, Presenior and Senior groups, SMSC swam to our highest ever TEAM finish on Sunday at the Southern California Swimming Junior Olympics, finishing 13th in the team standings. SMSC Team Records were broken by Cole Aguirre (100 Fly); Austin Aguirre (100 Breast, 100 Back) and the 11-12 Boys 400 Free Relay. In addition, Parker Reynolds, Dylan Adams and Noemi-Bravo Guzman all swam in multiple finals, assisting with the point scoring. As a breakdown: 2014: 4 athletes -...

 (Omaha, NB) - Josh Prenot, who trained with SMSC from the age of 9 years old and has been swimming for the UNiversity of California, Berkeley for the past 4 years, qualifed for the 2016 USA Olympic Team. Prenot qualified in the 200 Breaststroke, in a new, American Record time of 2:07.17, winning the event and qualifying for Rio. This is a long time dream come true for the first-time Olympian who holds many Santa Maria Swim Club age group records, Southern California Swimming records and won several National titles while...