Swimmer's Daily

  • Former Huntley boys swimming and diving coach George Keenan and assistant coach Michelle Bradford resigned on Dec. 9 due to a disagreement with athletic director Chris Rozanski in which Keenan said Rozanski “accused us of trying to leave a kid at a swim meet.”

    Neither of the coaches nor Rozanski were initially willing to disclose the nature of the argument that prompted the coaches to abruptly resign. The team was then forced to withdraw from competitions on Dec. 10 and Dec. 11.

    But in the coaches’ letters of resignation received Thursday through the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, Keenan and Bradford indicated that the disagreement hinged upon events following the swim meet on Dec. 5 at the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora. Keenan initially provided his letter of resignation to the Northwest Herald on Dec. 13.

    The bus planned to leave Huntley High School at 3 p.m., but, according to Keenan, two freshmen took the 2:30 p.m. bus the team normally rides to practices at Centegra Health System. When the freshmen realized they took the wrong bus, a parent of one of the boys drove them from Centegra to the meet in Aurora. Keenan said he planned to let the boys swim, but they took too long in the locker room, so he held them out of the meet.

    After the meet, Keenan decided that, since a parent drove the two freshmen to the meet, the parent should drive them home. He said the parent who drove the boys to the meet did not have room in the parent’s car, so another parent took the second boy home.

    Keenan insists, though, that he secured rides for both boys, a point that is at the crux of the disagreement.

    Read Northwest Herald

    Photo by dhendrix73

  • Swim Smooth’s Coaching System – available now for your smart phone, tablet or computer!

  • Coaches will understand the importance of this week’s video, especially when working with younger swimmers.

    Courtesy of GoSwim on YouTube

  • If they had timed their escape just right, three prisoners who slipped out of Alcatraz more than 50 years ago on a raft made from raincoats would have had a chance of survival, new research shows.

    Scientists who were studying the San Francisco Bay’s strong tides reconstructed the possible routes of the audacious 1962 escape. The men might have been able to find shelter on an outcrop near the Golden Gate Bridge — that is, if they weren’t swept out to sea first, according to the study.

    See LiveScience

    Animation The Great Escape from pieter on Vimeo.

  • Swim for Tri coach Dan Bullock gives you open water and triathlon tips for body position in the water.

  • In this PSA, Bob Bowman, CEO/Head Coach of North Baltimore Aquatic Club, discusses the very serious topic of Shallow Water Blackout. Even experienced athletes can become a victim of this tragic phenomenon where oxygen is deprived from a swimmer’s system during practice which can lead to drowning. This PSA can help to prepare even highly experienced coaches to provide a safer environment for their swimmers.

  • Olympic gold medallist Brittany Elmslie has made the ultimate food sacrifice as she embarks on her journey to the Rio Games.

    Three months after learning she suffered from coeliac disease, the 20-year-old is flying towards her goal despite giving up her secret weapon, Vegemite.

    “I was devastated when I realised Vegemite wasn’t gluten free,” she said.

    Coeliac disease occurs when the immune system reacts to gluten, causing problems in the bowel, and Elmslie was diagnosed after she returned from the Commonwealth Games in August.

    She called her diagnosis “a blessing in disguise’’ after battling to explain feeling consistently flat in training.

    “We couldn’t figure out why some afternoons I’d be completely sapped of energy,” she said.

    “It’s just been a change of lifestyle. I”m completely gluten free now and I’ve got a lot more energy to go faster in training.”

    Read The Courier Mail

  • The World Anti-Doping agency will not appeal a three-month ban imposed against China’s controversial double Olympic swimming champion Sun Yang but will warn China over the case.

    WADA had considered action after Sun failed a doping test in May and was banned for three months by the Chinese federation but it was only announced in November after Sun had won more titles at the Asian Games.

    “WADA has reviewed the full case file for the Chinese swimmer Sun Yang and has decided not to appeal the decision by the Chinese Swimming Federation to impose a three-month sanction,” WADA spokesman Ben Nichols told AFP in a statement.

    “WADA has written to CHINADA however, raising its concern over the delayed public reporting of the case,” the spokesman added.

    Read 3News

  • Create half-ring vortices in a pool by sliding a plate through water and adding food coloring to the ends.