15 Signs You're a Tapering Swimmer   Ah, the mystifying, terrible and ultimately this is the best ever phase of training, taper. For some swimmers it provides a respite from the never-ending intervals into that quick and effortless speed, and for others it is an awful two weeks of neurosis and self-doubt. Wherever you may fall in the mental landscape of tapering athletes, here are 15 signs that you are hitting your taper— Continue

Origins of Modern Swimming Goggles   Prior to the late 1960’s almost no swimmer wore goggles in either practice or competition. Those that did use them wore the large, triangular-shaped rubber goggles that we can often see in old photos of swimmers crossing the English Channel. The challenges with those big rubber goggles were that they made swimmers see double, so the swimmer would have to close one eye to avoid confusion. They were also bulky, often leaked and caused more drag for the swimmer. Swimmers from that era will recall...

     Reminder: Laps For Lights Ends Tonight & McAlister's Deli is Tomorrow   Laps for Lanes & Lights This is the final daywrap up for this year's Swim-A-Thon.  It's not over yet, so if you haven't reached your goal for fundraising yet there is still time to do it.  We still have until tonight, February 5th, to get any late or additional donations in!  Your personal Swim-A-Thon webpages will be live until Midnight tonight, Monday, February 5, 2018.  So if you haven't reached your goals yet or haven't raised the money...

USADA Update   The information below should be shared with your athletes and their parents. Please distribute it via email, a club newsletter, or link to the articles on your team webpage.   Information:   CBD products aren't regulated before reaching consumers, so they could contain prohibited THC. Get informed about the risk of using CBD products.   Even medications can be prohibited. Talk to your physician about #antidoping responsibilities when deciding on a treatment plan. #tuesdaytip #cleansport   

Oversnacked: Fixing the Snacking Epidemic in Youth Sports By TrueSport   Pre-game snacks, sports drinks at halftime, and cupcakes after a 45-minute game... Young athletes are inundated with food, and it's not helping them.    Here’s what you can do about it  

3 Ways To Grate On Others: COMPLAIN! COMPLAIN! COMPLAIN! By John G. Miller, Author of QBQ, January 2018   My hands are to full to carry a complaint…said a wise person.   Continue  

Michael Phelps: 'I am extremely thankful that I did not take my life' By Susan Scutti, CNN, January 20, 2018   Far from the familiar waters of an Olympic pool, swimmer Michael Phelps shared the story of his personal encounter with depression at a mental health conference in Chicago this week.   "You do contemplate suicide," the winner of 28 Olympic medals told a hushed audience at the fourth annual conference of the Kennedy Forum, a behavioral health advocacy group.   More with Video  

6 Ways Youth Athletes Can Keep Each Other Accountable to the Team   Like the power of setting goals and the importance of teamwork, accountability is another important value coaches help youth athletes develop.   Teams that lack accountability rarely reach their potential and more often resemble a collection of individuals than an actual team. A group climate of unaccountability can be demotivating and provide little reason for athletes to put forth their best efforts or work cooperatively with one another.   While cultivating accountability may start with the coach, it doesn’t...

What You Need to Know About Calcium and Bone Health By Chris Rosenbloom, PhD, RDN     Olivia is a 13-year old swimmer. Her mom told me that Olivia wants to be vegan and she is concerned about getting enough protein on a plant-based eating plan. We talked about protein, but the conversation soon turned to bone health. When I asked Olivia about calcium-rich foods, she said, “I eat broccoli.” True, broccoli contains some calcium, but she would need to eat 62 cups of broccoli to get the needed 1300...

7 Weird Things Only Swimmers Say By Mike Gustafson   When you’re a swimmer, you hear weird things. You know you’re a swimmer when you hear these weird things, and you don’t think of them as weird at all. You think of them as normal. Every day musings heard from the gutter, pool deck, or during warm-ups. They are comments said almost every day.   “This pool is slow.” “Sorry I breathed into the wall.” “Don’t one-arm.” “Fly and die, last one fast one!”   They are secret code —...