Video Contest: Safety During Warm-Ups   We already know that swimming makes you smarter. Now it’s time to put your smarts and creativity to the test with USA Swimming’s #WarmUpSafety video contest. Submit your video before July 31 and you could win a $250 gift certificate for swim gear! Here’s how it works… Using the hashtag #WarmUpSafety, create a fun and educational video on Instagram showing the importance of safety during warm-ups. The more creative, the better! The 10 finalists will be voted on at the 2014 United States Aquatic...

Webinar: “Give Your Child Emotional Intelligence for Sports and Life” Register Now! Dear CVST Parent, Wouldn’t it reassuring to know the best strategies for helping kids handle their emotional ups and downs?  Check out the “Parents” section of our web site (Growing Champions for Life) where you’ll find the registration link to this month’s Life-Skills Webinar, “Give Your Child Emotional Intelligence for Sports and School” scheduled for Thursday, June 19th.    You’ll also enjoy this month’s article, “Family Traditions Create Great Memories.” There are some great tips for starting traditions...

CVST Raises Over $4000 At Swim-A-Thon                                                                 Ava Edwards & Madison Ratchford   Congratulations to all of our CVST swimmers who participated by swimming all those laps in this year's Swim-A-Thon.  The team was able to raise over $4000.00 towards the new lights for the pool.  We are not quite there yet, but the upcoming CVST Days at Anthony's  will also help to raise funds for the lights.   Congratulations, especially to our top two fundraisers,...

Rude Named CVST May SOM   The CVST coaching staff has named Savannah Rude (10) as the May Swimmer of the Month.  For the month, the ten year old Silver/Gold practice group member swam in three meets, showed consistent improvement, and conquered two new challenges.  Savannah started off the month in the Dick Smith Invitational at the Carlouel Yacht Club, by swimming to best times in two out of her three events, the 50 yard Butterfly and 50 yard Freestyle.  Five anxious days later at home in the Carrollwood Country...

Sun Safety Tips From The Skin Cancer Foundation and the U.S. U-19 Women's Soccer National Team By the age of 18, most people have received 50%-80% of their lifetime sun exposure. Sun Safety's Starting XI - •Avoid the sun from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (when the rays are most harmful) •Seek the shade •Wear protective clothing •Wear sunglasses that block at least 99% of UV rays. •Wear broad-brimmed hats •Wear lots of sunscreen, with an SPF of 15 or greater •Apply sunscreen at least a half an hour before...

New Research on Chocolate Milk as Recovery Routine   According to new research, grabbing chocolate milk after a hard swim could give swimmers a performance edge. Researchers at Indiana University found that when trained swimmers recovered with lowfat chocolate milk after an exhaustive swim, they swam faster in time trials later that same day. • On average, swimmers shaved off 2.1 seconds per 200 yard swim, and 0.5 seconds per 75 yard sprint after drinking chocolate milk, compared to when they recovered with a traditional carbohydrate sports drink or calorie-free...

CVST In The News   Below is a link to an article in today's Carrollwood Section of the Tampa Tribune:   http://tbo.com/carrollwood/carrollwood-country-club-swim-team-eyeing-return-of-glory-days-20140528/  

Become A TrueSport Athlete Today   What is TrueSport? TrueSport is a movement powered by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that seeks to ensure a positive youth sport experience by imparting the lessons of clean competition, sportsmanship, and peak performance.   Why is TrueSport Important? A positive youth sport experience equips young athletes with the tools to be successful in life. Watch our latest video of Travis T. Tygart's reflections on his personal youth sports experiences.   How can I take action? Be a part of the movement! Sign up...

Back to Breast Crossover Turn: Video and Drill By Russell Mark, USA Swimming National Team High Performance Consultant The crossover turn is the fastest back-to-breast transition, used by mostly all U.S. Olympians, such as 200 IM World Record Holder Ariana Kukors. At minimum, it is 0.3 seconds faster than a traditional open turn. On the middle turn of a 200 free race, would you do an open turn when everyone else does a flip turn? For the same reason, you should strongly consider incorporating a crossover turn into your arsenal...

USADA and USA Swimming Partner to Set up Young Swimmers for Success   The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and USA Swimming today announced a revolutionary partnership designed to inspire young swimmers, their parents and coaches to foster health, character and integrity, in a fun and engaging way, through a collaboration between the TrueSport and Deck Pass programs. Together, USADA and USA Swimming seek to influence and encourage TrueSport behavior — including clean competition, sportsmanship, teamwork and respect — to thousands of young participants at youth sporting events nationwide by motivating and...