Swimmers Thoughts

A few thoughts from Dec 24th practice!

THE FIRST 50 YARDS

Denial: The water isn’t as cold as yesterday!

Anger: If I violently spin my arms as fast as I can, it won’t be as cold as yesterday!

Bargaining: Maybe the jets are pumping warm water. I’ll go check.

Depression: If I lay motionless, maybe I’ll get out of practice.

Acceptance: It’s just as cold.


YOUR COACH'S GOOD MOOD

Denial: He’s going to give us an easy practice! He’s happy!

Anger: He’s happier when we’re sadder. Another hard practice today. He’s a masochist. I hate him.

Bargaining: What if I go a best time off the blocks? Right now? Best time ever? Can we get out?

Depression: If I lay motionless, he won’t be happy anymore.

Acceptance: He’s just naturally happy. The jerk.


30 x 1000's FREESTYLE

Denial: Ha! What a joker! Such a sense of humor my coach has!

Anger: (Expletive.)

Bargaining: Please, someone, please, let there be a blizzard, an earthquake, a UFO (unidentified floating object). Anything. Please.

Depression: What’s wrong with me? Why did I choose this sport?

Acceptance: Vendt did it.


CHRISTMAS EVE MORNING PRACTICE

Denial: Toughness comes with sacrifice. This will make me better.

Anger: Seriously? Christmas morning? Is there any justice in the world? Aren’t there laws against this? Is this a felony?

Bargaining: $500. I’ll pay you. Let me go home.

Depression: “How was your Christmas?” “I threw up. How was yours?”

Acceptance: I’ll just TP my coach’s house tomorrow.

Fun Article for old timers

This article is from Swimnetwork.com and Mike Gustafson

When I was 11, I wanted Swedish goggles. Looking back, I wasn’t prepared for the heavily-discounted $3.50 cheek-bone-altering I’d endure - a back-alley operation to modify my face to perfectly conform to a piece of plastic. As a young, impressionable swimmer, Swedish goggles represented the good things in life. Speed. Manhood. Masculinity. Power. The slightly older (post-prepubescent-but-not-quite-there-yet?) kids on my club team wore them, with the exception of one guy who wore a big mask-like thing, but he was odd and strange and aloof. Even at 11, I knew not to follow in the footsteps of The Masked Kid.

I bought Swedes.

First time I put them on? PAIN. Like Mr. T staring at you and knocking his gloves against your gloves, ice in his eyes, coldly stating: “PAIN.” Pain and confusion: “Wait. Are these goggles? How do these work? You just press them to your face?” Yes indeed, unfortunate little kid. You press them to your face until they gouge Grand Canyonesque grooves deep within your eye sockets. (The plastic package forgot to mention that small detail - “For ideal fit, redistribute your cheek bones!”)

You know the scene in Kill Bill when Uma Thurman trains inside a coffin to practice “one-inch-punches” and slams her fist against the top of the coffin until her knuckles deteriorate into a bloody mess of Bone Goo? Slightly worse than wearing Swedish goggles.

I had to sand my goggles down just so they wouldn’t cut up my face. Did anyone else do this? At big meets, without a file or sandpaper, I’d take them and rub them on the pavement to get the inside contours smooth. “What a great discount!” I’d say, sanding down my goggles. “And I look really cool!”

The kids these days have options. I see them wear big rubbery puff goggles. And I watch them happily tickle-n-slap up and down the pool, big smiles, perfect bone structure, and it makes me sick. Where’s the dedication to faster swimming? Where’s the Rocky-style “I’ll do anything to get faster - even if it means weeks of bone readjustment.” These days, kids have zany “eye-friendly” models like “Socket Rockets.” These offer similar drag-reducing results versus conventional goggles (read: goggles your mom would wear - no offense, Dara Torres) minus the hard-plastic bone-altering consequences. Please. What does that teach you? The 1.618 ratio?

Walk around any crowded shopping mall, store, or urban area. It’s easy to pick out the Swimmers Who Wore Swedes. We stand out. We’re the ones with the faint hint of “goggle mark” around our eyes. We’re the ones with the strange raccoon eyes whenever even the slightest bit of UV Rays hit our face. We’re the ones spending $600 on swimsuits with all the money we’ve saved on goggles. In high school, I had my “lucky reds” that lasted four years. That’s roughly $.0002 per practice (I retired them only due to respect).

Maybe it’s all a conspiracy. Maybe Swedish people want all Americans to restructure our cheek bones and don uneven facial tans. Maybe they’re waiting for the opportune moment to level to us that it was all a hoax, that the hours of painful torture endured under the guise of “faster swimming” actually caused severe brain trauma and we only have a few weeks left. I don’t care. At the bottom of my swim bag rests a pair of blue Swedes - my “Big Blues.” It cost a bagel sandwich. Had them since 2004. They’re as much a piece of me as anything, and that’s fitting, since they had to be, to fit.

Still, despite the pain, anguish, and hardships, there is love. Most professional swimmers love their Swedish goggles, probably because most professional swimmers are like me - broke and broken-in. You don’t see this kind of love in other sports. You don’t see Jeter playing baseball with a $5 mit. You don’t see Tiger Woods playing golf with $15 clubs - well, actually you don't see Tiger Woods playing golf these days, but that's neither here nor there. Swedish goggles have the formula. The painful, hard-plastic, this-works-for-you-or-you’ll-make-it-work-eventually formula.

And now, years later, I’ve found one last scary revelation: I don’t even need straps. Fifteen years of Swedish goggle facial vice clamps have allowed for a perfect fit. So what if my one eye now hangs mysteriously lower than the other?

So go ahead Swedes. Begin your uprising. But before you do, I have one modest suggestion for a follow-up invention: “The Swedish Jammer.” Plastic. Indestructible. Five bucks. Just no bleeding this time - the consequences would probably outweigh the benefits.

Seniors Holiday Training

Senior 1 and 2- Reminder that a break from school doesn't mean a break from the pool. Senior 1 and 2 will have a normal practice schedule through Wednesday night of next week. Thursday AM will be 7:00 - 9:00 am at RICE. Practice the 28th - 31st will be held at the UT Med Center pool. If you are heading out of town and need work outs please talk to me at practice.

Between the cold mornings and evenings of the winter and the hot humid days of summer and fall the pool deck is not the most comfortable place to spend time. As many of you know next to our coaches office we have a conference room for the swimming team. It is heated and cooled to very comfortable temperatures. At the moment it is four concrete walls, tile floor and several chairs and tables. Our goal is to furnish this room into a comfortable lounge.

Since parents and swimmers will be able to take advantage of this space we are asking members of the club to make a tax deductible donation to Rice University H2O Owls fund (the swim team sports interest account). You could write a check, put it in an envelope labeled H2O Fund and turn it in to a coach or go to the Rice Athletics website at http://riceowls.cstv.com/owlclub/index.html. Our goal is to design and furnish this room before classes begin in January. We will need your help to make this happen. Any questions can be directed to Seth Huston ( shuston@rice.edu)

Thanks for your Support,

Seth Huston and the RICE Aquatics Coaching Staff

Masters Schedule

The Rice Aquatics Masters Christmas Holiday schedule has some changes from the regular schedule. Please acquaint yourselves with the changes and the actions you need to take if you want to swim on certain dates.

The Rice University recreation center will be open through December 24^th. It does not reopen till January 4^th. Here is our schedule as follows:

-Through December 23^rd we are on the normal schedule unless otherwise notified.

-December 24 we will practice 7-9am at Rice.

-December 28-31 we will have 8-9am practices at the UTHSC recreation center. You must respond to shuston@rice.edu by Wednesday, December 16^th, if you plan to attend any of the post Christmas/pre New Year practices. The UTHSC recreation center will not be allowing access with key tags. You must be on our holiday roster. If you are not on the roster and you show up they will charge you a $5 guest fee.

-January 4^th we resume our normal schedule.

RICE Aquatics Coaching Staff

RICE making the news.

Courtesy of FOX 26 News

Rice U. Swimmers Hit Pool in Snow

Updated: Friday, 04 Dec 2009, 6:49 PM CST
Published : Friday, 04 Dec 2009, 6:49 PM CST

HOUSTON - You've heard of singing in the rain, right? Well, what about swimming in the snow?

Probably not, but that was certainly the case Friday at the Rice University outdoor swimming facility on the school's campus.

The Owls have a meet Saturday in College Station against Texas A & M and the coach and his athletes were not about to allow the inclement weather disrupt their plans.

"It might be freezing out here on the pool deck, but that water is 81 degrees and it's not going to stop us from getting our swim in (Friday)," said Seth Huston, Rice's swim coach.

"We have a swim meet (Saturday) and we definitely don't want to take a day off a day prior to the meet. It's important to keep our training and stay in our rhythm."

However, one swimmer who knows a thing or two about cold weather, appeared caught off guard by having to practice Friday.

"The funny thing is is our Canadian, she's the one who called me and asked me if were canceling practice," Huston said. "I'm like you're from Canada. What are you worried about?

Rice's Canadian swimmer is Nicole Delaloye. She is from Calgary.

Rice does not have a men's swim team

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Parkas

If you ordered a parka stop by the pool to pick it up this week. They will be in the "lounge" adjacent to the pool area.