CVST Throw Back Thursday - #TBT   Do you remember these "Cowgirls"?  Shopping at the western wear store on an Ocala Meet Team Trip a few years ago?      

Mike's Mailbag: Negativity on the Deck By Mike Gustafson//Correspondent   Dear Mike, I am an age group swimmer who has been having issues with a difficult coach recently. I love swimming, I’ve been doing it as long as I can remember and it’s always been a part of who I am. Unfortunately, this coach has turned swimming into a negative experience the past few years. He brings a negative atmosphere to our team, and has been the cause of many of our best swimmers leaving the sport. He does not...

6 Things You Can Learn From An Age Group Swimmer   Maturing as a swimmer is great. As you get older, you figure out your best events, make your best friends in the sport, develop your race strategies, and discover which type of coaching style works best for you. But that doesn’t mean you won’t ever feel wistful for your days as an age group swimmer. Yes, those kids can swim 25s in meets, which is awesome and jealousy inducing. Plus age groupers seem to be genuinely excited about swimming. ...

Support CVST through AmazonSmile this Mother's Day! https://smile.amazon.com/ch/59-1620925   With Mother's Day just over five weeks away, now's a great time to start thinking about Mother's Day Gifts and with CVST and AmazonSmile you can get all that shopping done early and help support CVST all at the same time!  Shoppers turn to Amazon every year for great Mother's Day gifts like jewelry, flowers, and electronics. Support CVST with your AmazonSmile donation this Mother's Day and all year long when using AmazonSmile. Just save and use the link above whenever...

Ten Tips to Raising Resilient Kids (From a Former Navy Seal) By Calvin Hennick, Yahoo Parenting, ‎March‎ ‎25‎, ‎2015   Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life, the new book by Eric Greitens, Rhodes Scholar and former Navy SEAL, is hardly a parenting guide. But, Greitens tells Yahoo Parenting, “As I shared the book with parents, including my own, they said, ‘This has a lot to do with how to raise a resilient child.’” Resilience, Greitens says, is an essential quality for living a good life, and one that...

CVST Blue/Green Meet Draft Held, Teams Selected   The CVST Draft was held earlier this week and here are the results and the team members for bot Randy's Blue Team and Maria's Green Team!  The meet will be held on Friday, April 17th and each team will have a team practice  the two days before the meet.  For more information on the meet, Click Here   to go the Meet Web Page.     Randy’s Blue Team Bishop, Mabry Byrne-Garcia, Julia Cassels, Taylor Forman, Abby Forman, Sam John, Gleason Gonzalez,...

Jolyn Swimwear Signs On as CVST Sponsor   Jolyn Swimwear, a leading supplier of "Fun Swimwear".  Not that long ago, in a land way out California west, a band of misfits got together with a pod of ripping dolphins and started having fun with swimwear.  Others saw this epicness happening and joined in with these marauders and now we have a group of outlaws nicknamed “Jolyn.” We made this brand for women who inspire us…   "Jolyn is excited to be on deck at the Boys & Girls Club Nationals,...

Aquatic Competition Dates for 2016 Rio Olympics   The organizers of the 2016 Olympics posted the competition dates for each discipline at the Games, as well as the schedule for the test-events prior to the Olympics. Aquatics competition days for the Games are: -Swimming - August 6-13; -Open Water - August 15+16; -Diving - August 7-10 and 12-20; -Water Polo - August 6, 8-20; -Synchro - August 14-16 and 18+19. An announcement of the competition dates can be found online here:    

  It’s Never Too Late To Improve Your Start By Russell Mark, USA Swimming National Team High Performance Consultant It’s never not too late to improve your start. Here are a few easy things to keep in mind. On the block, your “take-your-mark” position primes you for action. Four things to be mindful of: 1. High Hips 2. Eyes Looking Down 3. Arms Loaded 4. Rear Foot Behind Your Hips The hips are the central point of your weight, and gravity will help you create the most speed upon entry...

Top Reasons Swimmers Should Forego a Ketogenic Diet By Chris Rosenbloom, PhD, RDN, CSSD Early this month, Jill Castle wrote a thoughtful article on the ketogenic diet for swimmers. This high fat diet has been popularized by bloggers in the swim community and even in the New York Times. (See Jill’s article at, High Fat/Ketogenic Diet: Love it or Lose It?) Jill explained a ketogenic diet and the biology and chemistry of what happens when we cut out all carbohydrates and eat a very high fat diet (usually defined as...