Swimmers of the Week (Week 3):
Alex Hernandez and Morgan Starkey each had multiple best times in their swims on Wednesday, and each completed their first legal breastroke swims of the year as well. Of course, Alex and Morgan were also regulars at morning and afternoon practices, and showed their spirit at the Pep Rally.
A New MCT Team record were set by:
Megan Waters: 15-18 Girls 100 free (1:00.21),
New MCT Pool records were set by:
Megan Waters: 15-18 Girls 100 back (1:09.09), 100 IM (1:09.65), 50 fly (30.68)
New MCSL All-Star nominating times were recorded byGrace Collins, Tyler Davis, and Zach Moeller, bringing MCT's All-Star count to 26!
MCSL Coaches Longcourse
MCT will be very well represented at this year's Longcourse meet, which features the top 8 swimmers in the County in each event. We have 10 swimmers qualified, plus 3 alternates. Congratulations to Caroline Clark, Rachel Clark, Evan Garfield, Kelly Hendershot, Anna Kovalcik, Chris Kovalcik, Catherine Mulquin, Matthew Neff, Zach Ralli, Adam Spencer, Katie Sweeney, John Waters and Megan Waters. The meet is Tuesday, July 11 at Rockville.
Our top two swimmers in each event (only A meet times eligible) will swim in Divisionals, which will be at Hallowell on Saturday, July 22. The Divisionals lineup will be posted by Monday, July 17. If you are an A meet swimmer and you cannot attend Divisionals, you must inform Coach Dave (in writing) by the A meet on Saturday, July 15.
Coach's Corner:
Much like at A Relay Carnival last week, our spirit was very high at the Rockville meet. People were excited to swim, and people were racing their hardest for the team. It would have been nice to see our hard work rewarded with the win at that meet, but we can't let it get us down. I know that some people had high expectations for the season, and that we have a few more losses than we'd like at this point. But I'd like to think that we can get our spirits up for every meet and really give it our best, whether we are projected to win, lose, or draw. I have mentioned many times that I really believe that spirit won us the Bethesda meet, and I'm sure that spirit was behind our success at the two Relay Carnivals. We have two meets coming up at Flower Valley (both Wednesday and Saturday) that could both be very, very close, and we need to be at our spirited best to get the job done.
I'd like to acknowledge all of our "Super Marlin" spirit on Saturday, led by Brad "Spiderman" Buckley, Jeff "the Hulk" Deshayes, Scott "Capt. Marlin" Spencer, and Andrew "Batman" Wingert. These four guys are MCT graduates that still know what it means to show that Marlin spirit. We also had some great costumes from some of our younger swimmers, so bring them out again on Wednesday!
I'd also like to salute Kyle Jones and Rachel Kitchen, who both were unable to swim at B Relay Carnival due to injuries, but still came to support their Marlin Teammates. That's Marlin spirit!
We had a lot of swimming this week, so please acknowledge the hard work of Rosie Kitchen, Annette Newell, Kathy Spencer, Dawn Trahern, and Cheryl Triau, our Team Reps. Having A Relay Carnival, a home B meet, a home A meet with Graduating Seniors, and then B Relay Carnival is enough to drive anyone crazy, but these five made sure everything went smoothly. I also want to thank Janice Kimball for getting everyone signed up early, and Linda Kuserk, who has been excellent with the very difficult Clerk-of-Course position at B meets.
Only two weeks until the Gala! Let's finish the year with some great swimming and spirit!
-Coach Dave
(updated 7/03/06)
Congratulations to MCT for our third place finish at Relay Carnival on Sunday!
Swimmers of the Week (Week 2):
Griffin Queen and Hallie Whalen regularly attended both morning and afternoon practices. Each swam in both the A meet and the B meet last week, had great sprit at the meets and the Pep Rally, and recorded best times in their events!
New MCT Team Records were set on Saturday and Sunday by:
Evan Garfield - 11-12 50 breast (37.56)
Katie Sweeney, Matthew Neff, John Waters, Caroline Clark
9-10 Mixed Free Relay (2:16.70)
Catherine Mulquin, Rachel Clark, Anna Kovalcik, Jordan Martinko:
11-12 Girls Medley Relay (2:19.46)
Amanda Wallace, Catherine Mulquin, Megan Waters, Stacey Baxter, Caroline Clark:
Girls Crescendo (2:37.22)
The updated list of MCT Relay records will be posted on the bulletin board.
Coaches Longcourse Info - Look for information on the bulletin board within the next few days about Coaches Longcourse. Swimmers qualify by being in the top 8 in the MCSL in their events after Week 3. If you qualify, you will be treated to a pizza lunch with Coaches Dave, Allison, and Andrew on the day of the meet, Tuesday, July 11.
B Relay Carnival Info - The lineup for B Relay Carnival will be posted by morning practice on Friday 7/7. Every eligible swimmer who signed up will swim at least one event. The number of events you swim depends on the number of swimmers in your age group who sign up. 12&Under swimmers who swam at A Relay Carnival, and 13-18 year olds who swam two or more events at A Relay Carnival, are not eligible for B Relay Carnival.
The B Relay Carnival is this Sunday 7/9. Warm-up time is still TBA (It is in the AM, check the bulletin board this week) and the meet is at Upper County. PLEASE BE EARLY! We only have 15 minutes of warm-up, so being late will seriously limit your time in the water. There will be postings around the team area, which will let you know when you are swimming.
Coach's Corner:
We are having a very good season so far. We need to keep up the practice attendance so that we can finish strong. With all of the rain-outs we've had lately, you need to get in all of the practices you can. If you wait for the next one to come around, it may get rained out!
As we move through the summer, the grind is starting to wear on some of us, especially if we have other activities going on. I wanted to remind everybody that we are in this to have fun, first and foremost. Swimmers tend to plateau a little in the middle of the season. I know it's happening because I hear a little more negativity at practices and meets; everything from swimmers crying, to parents yelling at their kids for not doing a best time or not winning a close race. I realize that we have a competitive team in a competitive league. We all want that next level of trophy or that elusive A meet spot. But everybody needs to remember the fact that kids are not going to do their best times every week. This doesn't mean that they're doing anything wrong. There is only so much you can improve over a week, and that is assuming that the kids remember everything they learned in practice, which is a bold assumption to say the least. Remember that they are just kids, and they need to be supported unconditionally at the proper time and place.
On that note, I want to discourage parents from accompanying their kids to the starting area. I know that you want to give that last bit of encouragement, advice, or stroke correction, but trust me, doing it at that time really makes the kids nervous, and doesn't help them go faster. Please, let the coaches be the ones to give the kids last-minute encouragement at the clerk-of-course or behind the blocks, because that's what we're there for.
As I discussed at the parent meeting, I also want parents to avoid any communication with the kids during practices. If kids are communicating with parents, then they are not focusing on what the coaches are telling them. Young kids cannot process complex instructions and apply them to their swims instantly. The bottom line is, they're going to do what they have done repetitively in practice. Give them time to practice, repeat, and learn. We want your kids to succeed, and we want them to enjoy what they're doing while they're succeeding. When the kids swim without any pressure, good things will happen! Let them learn, work hard, and achieve whatever they can, and be there to congratulate them no matter what they do.
Let's have fun and swim fast! Only three weeks until the Gala!
-Coach Dave
Congratulations to MCT for our 393-387 win over Bethesda on Saturday!
Congratulations to MCT for our 454-296 win over Hallowell on Wednesday night!
Olivia Collins regularly attended both morning and afternoon practices daily. In the meet against Hallowell, she recorded 4 best times, including a 20 second drop in IM!
Bryan Boehlert also attended practices regularly, and at the Hallowell meet, he recorded best times in both of his events, and bumped up into the A meet lineup in backstroke.
6/24/06 - New MCT Team Records were set by:
Evan Garfield - 12&U IM (1:13.23), 11-12 breast (37.58)
Catherine Mulquin - 11-12 fly (32.71)
Megan Waters, Maura Garfield, Kelly Hendershot, Allison Lapp: Girls Open Medley Relay (2:09.77)
Caroline Clark: 9-10 back (18.12), 9-10 breast (19.38)
Catherine Mulquin - 11-12 fly (32.71)
Matthew Neff, Evan Garfield, Matt Larson, Zach Ralli: Boys Graduated Free Relay (1:52.21)
-The lineup for A Relay Carnival will be read at the post-meet lunch, Saturday 7/1, and posted immediately thereafter. If you cannot be at A Relay Carnival (Sunday 7/2 morning @Rockville), please fill out the "missing meets" form and place it in Coach Dave's folder immediately!
-Please plan on signing up for B Relay Carnival (Sunday 7/9 morning @ Upper County) this Friday 6/30 or Monday 7/3, when you sign up for the B Meet with Janice Kimball. Creating a winning lineup for this meet takes a lot of time, so the earlier you can sign up, the better! Everyone who signs up will swim at least one event. The number of events you swim depends on the number of swimmers in your age group who sign up.
Relay Carnival Eligibility:
-Swimmers are expected to swim in A Relay Carnival if they are selected to do so.
-If you are 8&U, 9-10, or 11-12, you may swim in B Relay Carnival if you did not swim any events in A Relay Carnival.
-If you are 13-14, or 15-18, you may swim in B Relay Carnival if you did not swim any events, or swam only one event in A Relay Carnival.
-Swimmers unsure of which Relay Carnival they qualify for should sign up for B Relay Carnival if they are available to swim. Should they be selected to swim the requisite number of events at A Relay Carnival, they will be removed from the B Relay Carnival lineup.
Saturday's meet at Bethesda was one of the best meets I've had in my 9 years at MCT. We started the day with more people in the parking lot to caravan than we have had in many years. We marched in together, cheering loudly. We cheered and clapped during warm-up. We kept up the intensity throughout the meet. We congratulated teammates on their hard racing. Everybody stayed for the whole meet, which also hasn't happened in years. And we waited together for the score, which was a great way to hear the great news of a Marlin victory. Make no mistake - we would not have won that meet if we hadn't made the commitment to be that spirited and to stick together until the end. Let's not forget that this Saturday, the rest of this year, or in the future. I would love to see that Marlin spirit each and every week. And as I said last Saturday, the only chance we have to beat Hallowell is if we bring that spirit back this Saturday.
A and B Relay Carnivals are my two favorite meets of the year, because the whole team really pulls together and swims hard for each other. A Relay Carnival, especially in A Division is a collection of some of the fastest swimming you'll ever see, and with automatic All-Star Relay births up for grabs, it gets very exiting. We have won the B Relay Carnival each year I have been at MCT, and I look forward to that meet every year because it shows our depth from top to bottom. Other teams may have a slight edge from 1-3 in each event that could beat us in a dual meet, but no team can match our depth when we bring our full roster to the meet, and that's what makes B Relay Carnival so great. Please be sure to sign up, so you can be a part of the fun.
-Coach Dave
A Meet result: MCT 356.5, Tilden Woods 430.5
New MCT Team Records were set by:
Evan Garfield - 12&U 100 IM (1:14.84), 11-12 50 breast (37.61)
Catherine Mulquin - 11-12 50 fly (32.92)
Evan's 100 IM broke the longest standing record on the board, previously held by Eric Branning since 1972!
New MCT Pool Records were set by:
Evan Garfield - 11-12 50 breast (37.61)
Megan Waters - 15-18 50 fly (30.72)
Congratulations to the 21 MCT swimmers who made All-Star nominating times on Saturday:
Caroline Clark, Rachel Clark, Evan Garfield, Maura Garfield, Kelly Hendershot, Anna Kovalcik, Chris Kovalcik, Allison Lapp, Mark Larson, Matt Larson, Mike Larson, Jordan Martinko, Catherine Mulquin, Matthew Neff, Zach Ralli, Adam Spencer, Katie Sweeney, Alyssa Wallace, Amanda Wallace, John Waters, and Megan Waters.
The Coaches bounced back to take our first Water Polo game of the season 7-5 over the Swimmers. Thanks to all of the 13&Over swimmers who played, and thanks to everyone who helped us set up for the meet before and after the game. We will play again on Friday, July 7, before our home meet against Rockville. We need some parents to get in there next time!
The Week 1 Swimmers of the Week will be revealed Friday night at the Pep Rally, so please plan to attend.
"Missing Meet" slips are available on the bulletin board. Please fill one out if you are missing an A or B meet this season.
If at all possible, please stay in town for the meets. We were missing 16 people from the A meet lineup this weekend. We probably wouldn't have won the meet even with those people on Saturday, but it will cost us at least one win at some point this year if we continue to field a lineup that is not at full strength.
Coach's Corner: Though the score of the meet wasn't as close as it was last year against Tilden Woods, I was more proud of our effort and our spirit this year than last. It made me very happy to see everyone up and cheering, and there's no doubt that it made our swims faster. We won more close touches than we did last year, whether it be for 1st , 3rd, or 5th place. This needs to continue for us to have a successful season. I'd like to recognize last year's President's cup winner, Matt Larson, who come from over 3 seconds back at the 50 to win the 13-14 boys 100 IM. It's that kind of racing enthusiasm and never-give-up attitude that exemplifies the MCT spirit.
On Wednesday night, we swim Hallowell, who has one of the biggest and fastest B lineups in the MCSL. We need to carry our spirit over from Saturday, so we cheer and race with just as much enthusiasm.
On Saturday, we travel to Bethesda, who like us, had a tough loss this Saturday. They are a very good team who has just moved up to A Division. But this is a winnable meet for us if and only if we bring the same energy to the meet as we had this Saturday. Last year, Tilden Woods taught us a lesson at our home pool - spirit wins you close meets, even in A Division. Let's make a commitment to do that to Bethesda this Saturday. Let's plan to caravan together, march in together, cheer for the whole meet, stay the whole meet, and wait together for the final score. We may not get back to MCT as fast, but it may just make the trip back a whole lot happier.
Another thing that is necessary for our success is better practice attendance. Some of our sessions have had as few people as I can remember. And I also have been seeing a whole lot of swim team people playing at the pool during their scheduled practice times. Even if you made it to morning practice, it's not a bad thing to double up and go in the afternoon as well. It's only 45 minutes or an hour, and it will help you swim faster at meets.
-Coach Dave