Senior Champs Day One

Congrats to our T2 athletes who kicked off the FGC Senior Champs with an awesome Day One!  We had a number of great performances, led by Matt Limbacher's win & "Area" record in the 15-16 50 Breast (25.8), Jack Scanlon's Summer Junior National cut enroute to winning the 500 Free (4:27.8), and Cole Gutknecht's wire to wire win in the 15-16 200 Fly (1:53.3).  Jack also picked up a win in the 200 Backstroke, dropping from a 2:03 to a 1:56.0 to do it.  In addition to these guys, qualifying for and competing in this evening's finals session were the following athletes: Karen Liu, Davis Olmsted, Gustavo Castro, Paolo Sunyak, Wyatt Kellett, Bean Faunce, Emma Feehery, Kayla Tennant, Abby Garner, Jacob Buckheit, Shawn Lemarie, Ashley Tureskis, Allie Moore, Keiran Rowan, Myranda Valeiras, Ross Maksymetz, and Alex Bradfield.  Our athletes showed tremendous heart and grit, as many of them raced in 6-7 events total on the first of this 3 day competition.  Let's get some sleep and come back for more great racing tomorrow!!

I was particularly impressed with some of the resilience we showed today.  If there is one part of my job as a coach that I really love….it's watching athletes overcome their own self-doubt and negative self-talk to finally overcome and be victorious in their "battle".  Winning events and getting cuts is exciting to me -- but not nearly as exciting as the "personal wins" we get, invariably, in the process.

If you are having a tough meet or you have a tough event, it's your job at that point to TURN IT AROUND.  Turning things around for yourself is your job, your right, and your goal if it's needed.  For those on a ROLL, KEEP ROLLING!  Be like a snowball.  Gather energy as you go.  Pick up some teammates on the way.

Always stay positive.  Always be ready for the next thing that's coming at you.  Learn from past performances, good & bad.  You will be ultimately successful because only YOU say when your quest is over.  You are in charge of your life and you can do great things -- things you've never thought you can do.  Act in a way that says: I AM IN CHARGE OF MY LIFE!