Category: Head Coach

Whilst most of the swimmers managed to be either on or near there personal bests and some crashing through their personal bests there is still room for improvement.

I noticed that our dives were much better although some are still going far too deep and still managing to post some decent times. The training is now into phase 11 which means there will be a lot of sets which will consist of swim and rest on specific times which makes training that wee bit harder. This has now been introduced and whilst the vast majority of swimmers are coping with the new regime some are still to find their feet.

I do not insist on much to be honest however can I just remind everyone without exception to make sure if we are represented at a competition that you remember to bring all your kit. In particular your club t shirts as it gives a professional look to the team when poolside.

After the summer period a full review of who will be training in which lane will be carried out and reviewed every month thereafter. This will be based on on a number of issues but the main one will be the swimmer/s ability to manage the training sets which will be progressively harder moving forward.

I will over the next few months be introducing target times built in to your swim and rests which is the hardest of all training plans . Do not worry though as both Susan and myself will never ask you to do something in training which we think you are incapable of doing.

The starts and turns are needing attention and this will also be looked at over the coming months. Bearing in mind the summer break it is imperative that you have a great holiday however as we will be entering several competitions after the summer it is also crucial that you keep your fitness levels up. Those of you who adhere to this over the break will find life a lot easier coping with the harder sets. Coupled with this benefit is the fact that if you maintain your fitness the chances of crashing through your personal bests greatly increases.

As you know the training has focused on all of you getting your head round long strokes as one of the key elements to maintaining speed however you also have to marry this with the speed of rotation in your arms and that will come with practice and increased ability to deal with lactic sets. Anyway keep training hard and everything will be fine.

As always proud of all of you who give maximum effort when competing

Colin Galbraith

Head coach scorpion swim team

I was very impressed at the times posted in this round of the leagues by all who swam.

200 FREE

Kirsty 3.22 .28 Katy 3.22.44 Amie 2.44.14. Jasper 2.45.18 Thomas 2.41.50

200 IM Elise 3.46.73 Elliot 2.56.73

100 FLY Elliot 1.28.52

100 BREAST Thomas 1.36.28

50 BREAST Rachel 51.32 KATY 53.00 Cambelle 52.41

100 BACK Elise 1.49.97

50BACK Cambelle 53.26 Emma 54.00

100 IM Vilara 1.58.09

50 BACK Rachel 42.99 Vilara 53.40

50 FREE Darcey 43.91 Emma 46.49

50 FLY Darcey 57.69 Kirsty 57.95

A special mention goes to Katy for doing a very creditable time in her 200 free bearing in mind she has not been with as long and this was her first swim at a competition. I have not included times for the relays but how Darcy managed to do the first and anchor leg of the relay posting a faster time in the second 50 with very little rest shows how fit she is so great effort. Whilst there were some cracking swims we still need to make sure we do not get disqualified for moving off the blocks too quickly no names mentioned here but I think the person will know themselves and are gutted as they produced a 4second personal best. As if not to make matters worse the same person mentioned that they should have been disqualified for an illegal kick anyway. You have to admire honesty though but at times it best to be quiet about infractions where possible lol.

The one aspect we need to work on is our turns and that is where we can improve and this is something both Susan and myself will be working on in the coming weeks. There were many barriers broken at long last in the swims which shows the great progress we are making but that means the sessions will get harder as we progress through the season. The swimmers present in the morning managed to amuse themselves including showing off how they could bend parts of there body into totally unnatural shapes. Needless to say I was worried that they would remain in these weird shapes and would be no longer streamlined in the pool . On looking at some of the swims their were certain swimmers who actually were not swimming straight lines so perhaps not the best idea to twist your limbs in an unusual manner before swimming.

I have a lot of admiration also for the parents in withstanding the heat and that is why I arrived on a camel and brought my own Bedouin tent. The pool was in fact an oasis gleaming in the distance as I dismounted in the car park after a four day trip through the Kalahari desert. Very dissapointed that on entry to the tent nobody asked for my autograph given I was making a good impression of Lawrence of Arabia. Any way the last paragraph was written whilst I was suffering from heat exhaustion so as usual I am away for a lie down and will definitely have a strong word with myself lol.

Colin Galbraith ( aka Ohmar Sherrife) not sure about the spelling lol.

Headcoach Scorpion in the Desert Swim Team