Lessons From The World Cup Meet

Coach Michael recently returned from a 10 day trip to Moscow and Berlin with the USA Swimming National Jr Team. The team competed in FINA World Cup competitions in the two cities.

Swimmers in the Yellow, Green and Bronze squads have been getting lessons from Coach Michael about how the best swimmers in the world practice and race. And they are getting a few lessons in world geography. Read the news using the links below

• Coach Michael Named To Lead US National Jr Team

• Hello From Chilly Moscow!

• It's Not All Swimming Here In Moscow

• Swimming In Berlin

• World Record Swim In Berlin!

•  It's Not All Swimming Here In Berlin

It's Not All Swimming Here In Berlin

In 2009 I was here during the 20 Year Remembrance of the falling of the Berlin Wall. The sights and the stories are chilling once again.

 

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Copyright, 2010, Michael Lawrence. All rights reserved. No republication permitted without the express prior consent of the owner.

World Record Swim In Berlin!

Team USA was ON FIRE!!! tonight in the finals. Allison Schmitt set an American and World Cup Record in the 200 free while grabbing the Gold Medal and Michael Phelps won both 400 and 100 IM. The highlight of the night however, was a new World Record for Missy Franklin in the 200 back. It was a great moment as she swam away from the field over the last 50, touching in 2:00.03. Check out the video.

Tomorrow looks very promising and we are all confident that more exciting results are coming. More video when I learn how You Tube channels work!

 

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Copyright, 2010, Michael Lawrence. All rights reserved. No republication permitted without the express prior consent of the owner.

Swimming In Berlin

Hello again, today from Berlin. This is the biggest meet on the World Cup tour and our team is off to a great start after the prelims. Coach Laurel and Coach Mo can probably help you find the results online if you are interested.

The pool in Berlin is one of the finest I have ever seen. When the Lake Bluff Park Board asked me what pool I really thought was nice, I thought of this pool! But I didn't suggest that they consider building something like this. That was probably a wise choice don't you think. The pool and sports complex was built for an Olympic bid, which Berlin did not get, and all of the facilities are first rate. The pool and velodrome are actually underground. When Berlin did not get the Olympic bid construction stopped and at street level there are stairs that go up to nothing! But underground it is spectacular.

The racing is much tougher here and our team has to really raise their game in order to swim in the finals. We prepared well for that and got some great surprise efforts in the heats. The lesson here is that names and numbers on a piece of paper don't matter . . . what matters is whether you are prepared and willing to give great effort when the race starts. Seeing out swimmers knock off some of the biggest "name" swimmers in the world is very satisfying. You've all heard me say "If this (the psyche sheet) meant anything we wouldn't be here today". It's true.

I'll try to get some video and pictures posted for you later, after finals. There are 2 videos posted on the LFSC Facebook page, I'm sure you know how to find that. I know you are all getting ready for the Monster Mash and I expect to see some wonderful results!

Watch the video if you get a chance and try to learn something special.

 

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Copyright, 2010, Michael Lawrence. All rights reserved. No republication permitted without the express prior consent of the owner.

It's Not All Swimming Here In Moscow

Today we left Moscow for the next World Cup stop in Berlin. The Russian Federation organized a short tour of Red Square for us this morning.

The Red Square is the central point of Moscow, the place where all streets radiate outward through the city. It has a long rich history which was highlighted by our guide. The Kremlin, St. Basil's cathedral, government buildings and other historic sites are in the Red Square. These tours are always very interesting and a lot of fun for the entire team. Over the years I've been fortunate to walk on the Great Wall of China, visit Hiroshima, the Parthenon, the Berlin Wall and now the Red Square.

I shot this video just outside the Red Square at the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier, a memorial to the soldiers and people of Russia who died in World War II. The guide told us that 30 million Russians died, touching every family in Russia. As the video ends you will see a series of red granite "boxes". These monuments to the "Hero Cities" of Russia, cities remembered for their heroism during the war. The first box is the monument to Leningrad, cut off from world for 900 days. The Changing of the Guard cermony takes place every 30 minutes just outside Red Square.

This afternoon we fly to Berlin. I'll send you an update after we get settled. For now here are a few pictures from the tour of the Red Square.

 

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Copyright, 2010, Michael Lawrence. All rights reserved. No republication permitted without the express prior consent of the owner.

Hello From Chilly Moscow!

Hi to all of my LFSC teammates! I'm writing from Moscow where I am managing the US National Youth Team at one ot the FINA World Cup meets. These meets are designed to bring the top swimmers from throughout the world together for some pretty serious racing. Our team includes Michael Phelps and Missy Franklin, two names you might know. There are a total of 10 swimmers and 7 support staff, including a doctor.

You're probably wondering what I do. It's really a lot of the same stuff I do with LFSC but the pressure and intensity of everything is much greater. Before the team travels I help make all of the travel, meal and hotel plans, I have to call foreign governments and the US Embassy to let them know an American sports team is in town, and plan all of the activities and movements of the team. I wake up very early each day and pack all of the team equipment for the day and get to bed very late each night after finals.

During the meet I have to know where every swimmer is at all times so they don't miss an event or their award. That may sound easy but there are 3 warm-up pools here in Moscow! I also have to know all of the doping control (drug testing) rules and be sure that our swimmers are notified and protected if they are picked to do a drug test. I wear a backpack with suit/cap/goggles for every swimmer, in case their equipment breaks right before they race and carry Power Bars and water to aid recovery after a race. The stakes are pretty high at the top of all international sports and making a mistake like missing an event or a drug test has an equally severe penalty.

The man in the photo with me is Alexander Popov, the great Russian sprinter. Alex is considered by many to have been the greatest frestyle swimmer of all time. He won the 50 and 100 free at the Barcelona (1992) and Atlanta (1996) Olympics. At the Sydney (2000) games he was 2nd in the 100 free. He set a world record in the 50 free in the same pool we are using for this meet, the 1980 Moscow Olympic pool. If you want to watch his world record swim click here.

Tomorrow we head to Berlin for another meet then back to the states. I hope you are all training hard and working to perfect all of the little things that make a good swimmer great. Every champion, even the great Michael Phelps and Alexander Popov, started as a little kid who didn't know how to swim. It takes a long time to develop the skills, fitness and toughness of a champion and maybe you can one day make an Olympic dream come true.

The most important thing I have learned from my many trips to competitions like this is that athletes who believe in their dreams and work to make them really never lose. They don't always win Gold, but they never lose.

Think about that for a while then Dream A Big Dream. I'd love to see you here one day.

 

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Copyright, 2010, Michael Lawrence. All rights reserved. No republication permitted without the express prior consent of the owner.

Coach Michael Selected To Lead National Youth Team

Coach Michael will lead the National Youth Team in their tour of the European World Cup series this October. This marks Coach Michael's 10th tour with the US National Team in international competition.

The team will head to Moscow for the first stop of the trip then head to Berlin for a second competion. Coach Michael also led the Youth Team (accompanied by Michael Phelps!) in 2009 to World Cup competition in Stockholm and Berlin. Through the past decade he has also accompanied teams to Japan, Beijing, Sydney, Athens, Melbourne, Monterrey, Yokohama and Fukuoka. Coach Michael lists his visits to The Great Wall, the Hiroshima Peace Museum and the Berlin Wall as highlights of his life.

The FINA World Cup series provides elite competition for the world's top swimmers. They are especially important competitions for these swimmers in the run-up to the 2012 Olympic Games. Many of the swimmers competing in the FINA World Cup series will be representing their homelands in London next year.

Each World Cup compeition has a prize purse of $102,000 with $3,000 at stake in each of the 34 races! With an additional $100,000 going to the "High Point" winner on the circuit, fast swimming is always guaranteed.

Keeping Goals In Sight . . .

Sleep, The Natural Performance Enhancer

The most important recovery method is what? Sleep. That’s right, your parents aren’t kidding you, sleep is the best thing for helping you maximize your abilities in anything.

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Listening, Learning and Swimmer Evaluations

Most swimmers start their career learning to swim then demonstrating their skills for a coach hoping to be the newest member of the swim team. Throughout the season I watch many swimmers and their parents begin the journey with an evaluation, usually with Coach Laurel. Here’s an inside look at how we evaluate swimmers and place them in a squad.

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