2010-11 SSS

Sprit Week

Austin Grand Prix

What a great trip in many ways for this posting I ask the swimmers to write about the trip themselfs in their words. For me the intordudcing Casey to my former coach Jon Urbank and could see how special he made Casey feel a man in his 70's can still relate to young swimmers better than anyone I have ever seen.

The following are writing form the Sandsharks that attended the meet.

Alex Zhang

Texas is an interesting state. It has a lot of intriguing

historybehind it as well as interesting facts. One fact about Texas is that it hosts the fastest pool in the world at the University of Texas at Austin. In this place, there has been a lot of fast swimming and many records set. I have never expected myself to go somewhere like Austin. However, expectations are different from reality, and the reality was that I did go to Austin. And let me tell you, I had such a great time traveling with my coach and my teammates.
My adventure started on the cold morning of March 3, 2010. I arrived at Taylor Cooper’s house at 6:15 a.m. Then I waited for my other teammates to show up. Once we were all there, the nine of us left in the team bus for the Raleigh airport. When we got to the airport, we already had a mishap as “Coop” (Coach Taylor Cooper) forgot to turn off the lights of the bus. He ran really fast to get there before the bus taking us to the terminal left. Once we got to the terminal, it took awhile to get our boarding passes and get to our gate. We finally got there at around 9:30. As Ana Fish, Alyssa Fish, Allison Di Tomasso, Casey Cooper, Kurt Wohlrab, Bennett Westling, Mark Carey, Coop, and I waited for our flight to arrive, I began to wonder whether or not this trip would be any fun for me. I was proven wrong. Even though both flights we had to take (one from Raleigh to Dallas and the other from Dallas to Austin) had both been running late, we still made it to Austin safely and on time. Coop rented a passenger van, and my teammates were already making fun of each other and doing other funny things when we got on the van. Their antics were a good stress reliever for me. We took the van to the Embassy Suite, the hotel that we stayed at. It was a nice place, I must admit. However, the real treat was actually going to the Texas Swimming Center at the University of Texas at Austin for some warming up. As soon as I stepped into the facility, I saw the greatness that emanated from the place. The pools were filled with people warming up; there was not a single lane in which I could not see a whole bunch of arms moving. The facility had a huge grandstand for the spectators; even though it was empty on that first day, I could feel that it would be an awesome sight the next few days when people would come and watch. The Texas facility also had a huge Texas flag at one end, and a huge American flag at the other end. I thought it was a good symbol of Texan history and American pride. I was still filled with awe even after we left the pool to go eat dinner.
The next morning, we got up at 6:45 a.m. I had a good breakfast. The hotel served hot breakfast like eggs and bacon. Then we went to the Texas Swimming Center. I was not expecting the facility to have so many people there, but once again, expectations are different from reality. There were about 1,000 swimmers at this Grand Prix Meet, and about just as many spectators and fans. The stands were packed with spectators and some swimmers; the pool deck was crowded with coaches, swimmers, and officials. I admit, it was intimidating at first. Warm-up was almost a nightmare because there were so many people in every lane; finding a chance to jump in and start swimming was a challenge. However, I was able to get in a good warm-up despite the crowded conditions. After general warm-ups were over, the meet started with the 200 free relay. Kurt, Bennett, Mark, and I swam our relay quite well. I was done for the day at that point; I had not qualified for any individual events at the meet, only relays. However, I still found it a treat to watch others swim and see just how fast and intense the meet was. It was also a treat to see actual Olympians there at the meet. I walked past Aaron Peirsol and swam in the same warm-down lane as Natalie Coughlin. I also took pictures of them from the stands. I did not lose my cool, though. I was filled with awe but refrained from acting like a child when I saw them. It was awesome. The morning session on Thursday was really, really long, mostly because there were a lot of heats of the 500 free. After Bennett finished his 50 free, we left the pool and ate lunch at T.G.I. Friday’s. The food was decent. Then we walked back to the Embassy Suite across a bridge because Coop had only dropped us off at the restaurant instead of eating with us. Then we rested at the hotel for awhile. At around 5:30, we went back to the pool to watch the timed finals during the evening session. It was then that I saw just how awesomely fast and intense swimming really could be. There were a whole bunch of Olympians swimming in finals, and they all swam really fast. I thoroughly enjoyed watching them swim; watching Olympians swim when you’re on the pool deck is not something you can do every day. No one on our team had qualified for finals on Thursday, but we still got to enjoy watching Olympians and other fast athletes from other teams swim against each other. After the Olympians were done swimming, we left and returned to the hotel since no one was swimming in the next set of finals. The second day was not as long as the first. We got up at 8:15 a.m. instead of 6:45 a.m because no one was swimming the first event of the day, the 400 IM. We arrived at the pool with just enough time for Kurt, Mark, and Bennett to warm-up enough for the next event, the 100 breast. It was then I realized that I had lost my card. The card that I’m talking about was a pass that the meet officials gave to you so that you could enter the pool deck. Since I had lost mine, I could not enter the pool deck. Ana had lost hers too, so my teammates and I had to be very sneaky about letting each other borrow passes to get past the officials. Just remember one thing: don’t lose your pass, or else you will have a hard time getting on the pool deck to warm-up, swim, or watch. Once I had snuck onto the deck with Mark’s pass, I gave it back to him and told him that I would just stay on the deck. I felt really lonely, being separated from my teammates since they were staying in the stands, and I was staying on the deck. However, despite a lot of waiting, I still managed to keep myself entertained by watching these diverse athletes swim and by listening to music on my iPod. After waiting a long time (but not as long as the first day), I helped Kurt, Mark, and Bennett swim a great 200 medley relay. Then we were done with the morning session and left for the hotel. Kurt had made it back to finals in his 100 breast, so a few hours later we returned to the pool so that he could swim. We also got to see Olympians swim against each other again, and it was very exciting, again. Even though I was not swimming in finals, I still felt the excitement of being there, watching the best swimmers in the world compete against each other at the best swimming facility in the world. The third day of the meet was our last. We got up at 6:45 again because Casey, Alyssa, and Allison had to swim the first event, the 200 back. I felt very tired that day, mostly from being excited and filled with awe for the past 3 days. The morning session was long, but I managed to go a best time in the 100 free in the 400 relay that Kurt, Bennett, and Mark swam with me. That was exciting. After we were done with the relay, we left the Texas Swimming Center. No one qualified for finals, so we were done with the meet. We went back to the hotel and rested until 5:30. Then we went to 6th street, walked around for a bit, then ate at a nice restaurant. We had a good time, experiencing the Austin night life. Now this is where my story ends, as I sit here typing this on a Saturday night, reflecting on what has happened for the past few days. I must say, I had a very good time. I had expected my teammates to be too annoying for me to deal with, and I had expected the meet to be too intimidating and high-level for me to fathom anything from it. But, like always, expectations are different from reality, and the reality was that I was able to understand and enjoy my trip to Austin, Texas. I am really glad to have joined my coach and my teammates on this excursion to the lone star state, and I thank them and everyone
at the meet for making my trip not only something worth experiencing but also worth remembering.

Bennett Westling

On the deck of the cavernous building that is the Texas Swimming Center, a crowd of a thousand swimmers from all over the country milled about, each with his or her own purposes and goals. But in this crowd, a small handful of athletes stood out from the rest. Olympians such as Aaron Peirsol, Natalie Caughlin and Cesar Cielo captured the attention of every person that attended the Grand Prix Meet
Watching these Olympians compete brought many of my goals for the next few years into sharp perspective. As I watched Peter Vanderkaay swim the 200 freestyle, I realized that I had to perfect the rhythm of my stroke, and as I watched Natalie Caughlin stretch before one of her races, I realized that I desperately needed to work on my flexibility. As I thought about these two goals of mine, I realized that at one point, these champions of swimming, these Olympians, had to approach the same issues as every single person that was on the pool deck that day, and that the only difference between me and them was that they had managed to be committed enough to reach their goals, such as rhythm and flexibility, and get them out of the way, so that they could reach even more ambitious goals, such as making it to the Olympics.
This epiphany brought me to see one of the most beautiful things about swimming. That the first time any person, regardless of their origin or circumstances, gets into a pool, he or she is swimming at the same level that Aaron Peirsol, Natalie Caughlin and Cesar Cielo were when they first got into a pool, and from that point, with practice and determination, they can rise to any level of the sport that they want to.

Allison Di Tomasso

Walking on to one of the world’s fastest pools was a life changing experience. Most swimmers hold all of the Olympians on such a high pedestal that they make their own dreams seem out of reach. But when you actually see them face to face you realize that it is accomplishable. They are all there to better their own swimming, just like everyone else. Although they are very much different on how they approach swimming. Every turn, stroke, and kick is held to the highest precision. Just by watching them you find yourself critiquing your own swimming. Coming to a meet such as this is definitely a reality check.
One of the most striking experiences for me was when I was stretching and I looked up Ana was waving her arms and making faces at me. At first I thought she was just trying to be funny and embarrass me, but then I looked to her left. Next to Ana was Katie Hoff. The same Katie Hoff that was in all the magazines and posters I have looked at since the beginning of my swimming career. It is the weirdest feeling in the world to see someone you have idolized for so long…swimming next to your best friend. Both of us continued to freak out for the remainder of the meet. Seeing all these Olympians so closely has a different effect on everyone. The best advice I have to give to anyone going to a meet such as this one would be don’t stare. Several times myself as well as other team mates were caught trying to take pictures and it was extremely embarrassing. Overall this experience will very much enhance my expectations for myself and the intensity I put forth in practice.

On the way to Austin TX.

8 Sandshark swimmers will attend the USA Swimming, Austun TX Grand Prix Mar. 3rd - 7th. The USA National Team will be in attending the meet with such swimmers Gold Mendels Micheal Phelps, Arron Peirsol and Natalie Coughlin

Sandsharks Attending

Bottom row

Mark Carey , Bennett Westling , Kurt Wolhrab , Alex Zhang

Top row

Casey Cooper, Alyssa Fish , Allison DiTomasso , Ana Fish

Lookout !!

The first thing I taught Clay in surfing is lookout for the wave behind you

Ryan may be missing his calling

Blue vs Green Day

The winners of the Sandshark blue vs green meet, pieing the captains of the other team

Interview with Senior Casey Cooper. My interview skills are a little better got some good answers this time. Qurstion 1'' how dose it feel to sign early".

Question 2 'What are your expectation for the SC meet'.

Question 3 " What coming up".