Practice Schedule Changes (Week of July 4th) and Breaststroke Clinic Opportunity

Practice Schedule Changes - July 4th Week

In honor of Coach Philip's birthday on Wednesday (not to mention the Independence Day holiday) we will hold a modified practice schedule next week. Please see below for those changes.

Monday, July 2nd

• Normal morning practice schedule
• Meet (away @ Three Chopt)

Tuesday, July 3rd

• MORNING 9:30-10:30 am Team fun practice - ribbons, treats, and games!
• No afternoon practices

Wednesday, July 4th

• NO PRACTICES

Thursday, July 5th

• No morning practice
• Normal afternoon practice schedule

Friday, July 6th

• Normal morning practice schedule
• No afternoon practice (this is normal)

Breaststroke Clinic Opportunity

Our 9-year-old to 12-year-old swimmers are invited to join NOVA Head Coach Geoff Brown on Monday, July 9th from 10:00-11:00am (during their normal morning practice time). 

This is a great opportunity to brush up on breaststroke just in time for our meet Monday night! 

(Normal practice will be held for our 13&Up swimmers during this time.)

Meet #4 Stroke-of-the-Week: Backstroke

Backstroke! 

It's a fan and swimmer favorite! Here are some tips!

We're taking it easy today and letting the videos speak for themselves.  Enjoy!

The Stroke

The Start

The turn

The Hurricane Herald (June 26, 2018)

June 26, 2018

Meet Scores

Hermitage: 1225
Richmond: 790

Champs Qualifiers (new qualifiers in bold)

Clavio Ascari, Francesca Ascari, Charlie Bixler, Sam Bixler, Anderson Bolyard, Wyatt Bradshaw, Anderson Broughton, Anna Grace Broughton, Isabelle Broughton, Cora Campbell, Riley Campbell, Amelia Chen, Gabby Chen, JD Chen, Alex Deal, Grace Deal, Traylor DuVal, 
Andrew Eastep, George Faraci, Adam Fisher, Will Fisher, Caroline Frank, Drew Frank, Mary Cooper Frank, Isabella Glenn, Owen Gray, 
Pierson Gray, Charlie Harrington, Grayson Heskett, Lily Grace Heskett, Taylor Hoffer, Tommy Hoffer, Jack Hoffler, 
William Hoffler, Addison Holsten, Avery Holsten, Jackson Holsten, Mercer Hutcheson, Nicole Makris, Evan Mangin, Rose Mangin, 
Katherine Martin, Sallie Martin, Ellie McComb, Jack McComb, Maddie McComb, Samantha Meadows, Rylee Miller, Ford Reams, Sawyer Reams, Avery Robbins, Jackson Robbins, Wynn Robbins, Claire Starke, Annie Toole, Tucker Washburn, Lynley Whitby, and Sophie Yablonski

Quad Winners 

Amelia Chen
JD Chen
Caroline Frank
Charlie Harrington
Tommy Hoffer
Ford Reams
Avery Robbins
Wynn Robbins

Triple Winners

Sam Bixler
Gabby Chen
Traylor DuVal
Adam Fisher
Mary Cooper Frank
Isabelle Glen

Record-Breaking Swims

 *The following swimmers broke Hermitage Swim Team Records.

Amelia Chen, 11-12 100 IM, 1:12.59

JD Chen, 9-10 50 Fly, 35.75
(this record ties Anderson Broughton's 2013 record; Anderson also holds a faster Converted Yards Time that is also held as a record)

JD Chen, 9-10 100 IM, 1:19.19 

Sam Bixler, 15-18 50 Free, 29.77
(this record breaks William Hoffler's record from last week. Sam's new record will be held jointly with Traylor DuVal, who swam a converted yards time that also broke the record two week's ago at Glen Allen)

Coach's Corner

What a win!! I just want to start off by bragging on every single one of my Hurricanes. You all came to this meet with your game faces on ready to swim your events to the best of your ability. I was so proud to be a Hurricane last night! Being a coach for the past 3 years and a former Hurricane swimmer of 11 years, it makes my heart grow to see what this team has shaped itself to be through the years. None of that would be possible without every single swimmer bringing their best swims and attitude to both meets and practices.

Thank you to all of our swimmers who cheered on their buddies in some or all of their events last night! It is so important to have a support behind you, cheering you on in your events and picking you up after a tough race. Being the first meet that we introduced the swim buddies, I know it was a little hectic, but come next meet I want to see even more swimmers on the sidelines cheering on their buddies and other fellow teammates in their events. You never know how much it might mean to someone to see a whole crew of their teammates standing at the other end cheering them on to the finish line. If you have yet to meet your buddy, then the coaches are happy to introduce you all at any practice or meet! Let's keep up this Hurricane pride through the rest of the season!

Last night the Hermitage Hurricanes said goodbye to longtime Hurricane Drew Frank as he swam in his last home meet. Drew has been swimming for Hermitage since he was five years old… wow! While juggling a busy summer schedule, Drew always found his way to the pool to jump in, swim his events, and score some points for his team. Drew graduated this year from Douglas Freeman High School where he played baseball all four years. If he wasn’t on the field or in the pool, you would often find him on the golf course. Next year he plans to attend Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas to study business. Best of luck to you Drew! Thank you for your dedication to being a Hurricane for so many years!

- Coach Lillian

Hurricanes of the Week

Female - Sawyer Reams

Sawyer has been working very hard in practice, and it definitely showed in the water last night. She dropped over 6 seconds in her 25 Backstroke, earning herself a Champs Qualifying time! Sawyer also made cheering for her buddy a major priority during this meet. Every time her buddy swam, Sawyer was at the side of the pool cheering and met her buddy for congratulations after. There are great things still to come for this young swimmer! Way to go Sawyer!

Male - Jack Hoffler

Jack has shown us incredible focus and dedication during this week's practices. Jack brought some power and speed to the pool as he raced the 50 Butterfly, dropping just over 5 seconds from his previous time and finishing just 0.10 seconds away from a Champs Qualifying time in the Butterfly! We have an incredibly strong group of Boys 15-18 swimmers this year, and Jack is certainly making a place for himself in that group. Well done Jack!

Where are we swimming next?

@ Three Chopt 

Monday, July 2, 2018

Arrival: 5:30pm

Warmups: 6:00-6:15pm

Meet Start: 6:30pm

Stroke-of-the-Week

Backstroke

Check back on the blog tomorrow for "Weekly Wednesday" tips and tricks for Backstroke!

Meet #3 Stroke-of-the-Week: Butterfly

Butterfly! (dun dun dunnn....)

Many people are terrified of the butterfly. It seems so hard. But, honestly, it comes down to a few small elements...

The Kick

The most important aspect of the butterfly stroke is the kick. Think about a shark or a dolphin... their fin does so much to generate speed and power. You should be pressing with your chest and letting the kick travel like a wave all the way down to your toes. Keep your knees and ankles together and your toes pointed straight back behind you.

The butterfly kick, or often called the dolphin kick, is also used underwater in backstroke and freestyle, and even can be used as a component of the breaststroke pullout.

The Stroke

This stroke is called butterfly because the swimmer's arms look like giant butterfly wings! So think about having long, strong arms coming over the water.

The thing people complain about the most with butterfly is how tired they get when swimming it.  There are a few reasons for this...

1. The swimmer is keeping the head up and eyes facing forwards instead of straight down to the bottom of the pool. Relax the head and look straight down, even when breathing, to relax your shoulders and get your arms over the water easier.
2. Swimmers tend to breathe too much! Unlike in breaststroke where we have to breathe every stroke, there is no reason why we breathe after every stroke in the butterfly. Keep your head down and try breathing every other stroke or every three strokes. Again, it relaxes your shoulders and makes bringing the arms around over the water even easier.
3. Lastly, swimmers who don't get the timing for butterfly have a hard time getting their arms around. Be sure to start your breath as your arms pull back and finish as your arms are ready to move over the water. The butterfly also has a steady, rhythmic kick (one kick when the hands are in front and one when the hands are exiting the water behind you).

Try fixing these three things and your butterfly will begin to feel more relaxed.

P.S. Did I mention rhythm... It's important!!

The Turn/Finish

The breaststroke requires a two-hand touch on every wall, both for turns and for finishes. The breaststroke and the butterfly both utilize an open turn (not a flip turn!). Remember the phrase "elbow your brother, phone your mother" as you think about the open turn.

Putting it all together...

One of the coolest butterfly races from recent history is from Rio 2016.  Joseph Schooling (who idolized Michael Phelps as a younger swimmer) wins Singapore's first gold medal in swimming. Michael Phelps, Chad Guy Bertrand Le Clos and Laszlo Cseh (three of the greatest butterfliers in recent history) all tie to win silver!! (A three-way tie with touchpads... not stopwatches... is incredible!) This is one of my favorite butterfly races to watch.

The Hurricane Herald (June 19, 2018)

June 19, 2018

Meet Scores

Lakeside: 981.5
Hermitage: 969.5

Champs Qualifiers (new qualifiers in bold)

Clavio Ascari, Francesca Ascari, Anderson Bolyard, Wyatt Bradshaw, Anderson Broughton, Anna Grace Broughton, Isabelle Broughton, 
Cora Campbell, Riley Campbell, Amelia Chen, Gabby Chen, Alex Deal, Grace Deal, Traylor DuVal, Andrew Eastep, George Faraci, Adam Fisher, Will Fisher, Caroline Frank, Isabella Glenn, Pierson Gray, Grayson Heskett, Lily Grace Heskett, Taylor Hoffer, Tommy Hoffer, Jack Hoffler, 
William Hoffler, Addison Holsten, Avery Holsten, Jackson Holsten, Mercer Hutcheson, Nicole Makris, Evan Mangin, Rose Mangin, 
Katherine Martin, Sallie Martin, Ellie McComb, Jack McComb, Maddie McComb, Samantha Meadows, Rylee Miller, Ford Reams, Avery Robbins, Jackson Robbins, Wynn Robbins, Claire Starke, Annie Toole, Tucker Washburn, and Sophie Yablonski

Quad Winners 

Cora Campbell
Riley Campbell
Adam Fisher
Ford Reams

Triple Winners

Wyatt Bradshaw
Anderson Broughton
Isabelle Broughton
Andrew Eastep
Isabella Glenn
Taylor Hoffer
Tommy Hoffer
Katherine Martin

Record-Breaking Swims

 *The following swimmers broke Hermitage Swim Team Records.

Anderson Broughton, 15-18 50 Breast, 34.56

Anderson Broughton, 15-18 100 IM, 1:04.21 
(the previous record was held by Alex Lutterbein since 2008!)

Jack Hoffler, 15-18 50 Free, 30.69
(this record will be held jointly with Traylor DuVal, who swam a converted yards time that also broke the record last week at Glen Allen)

Coach's Corner

Wow, Hurricanes! What a meet! This meet was such an improvement from last week since the meet was so close. We lost by less than 15 points and that goes to show just how important every swim and every swimmer is. Whether you're an experienced swimmer swimming your tenth 100 IM or you're brand new to the team swimming a new event, every swimmer is so important to the team.

In addition to some amazing swims last night and some new champs qualifiers, I was so happy to see so much Hurricane spirit! I loved seeing our swimmers line up along the side of the pool and crowd around people's lanes to cheer for their teammates. I know when I swim I love it when people cheer for me because it gives me more confidence and I'm sure all our swimmers feel the same! I hope to see even more of our swimmers cheering each other on at our first home meet next week.

Overall I'm so proud of how our team did last night. Many swimmers swam breaststroke for the first time and were very successful. I'm looking forward to seeing even more great swims at our next meet!

~Coach Ashley

Hurricanes of the Week

Female - Addison Holsten

Addison is a new Hurricane this season, transferring over to our team from Kanawha. She dropped another second in her 25 Free and squeezed into a 6th place finish, earned a 2nd place in her 25 Breast, and helped her relay swim to a 3rd place finish as the freestyle leg of her team's relay. Addison added to her list of Champs qualifying swims last night and has qualified in three of the four strokes in her division. Quite an impressive second meet of the season! Addison brings hard work and dedication to practice, but also a joy and excitement to the meets. Congratulations Addison!

Male - Tucker Washburn

Tucker is another new Hurricane, having switched to Hermitage from Richmond Country Club. He works incredibly hard in practice and is really working to raise the bar each week. Tucker earned two 1st places, in the 50 Free and 50 Breast, continuing to drop time in his events. He is qualified for Champs in three events. Tucker is showing what great Hurricanes look like. Way to go Tucker!

Where are we swimming next?

HOME vs. Richmond Country Club 

Monday, June 25, 2018

Arrival: TBA

Warmups: 5:45-6:00pm

Meet Start: 6:30pm

Stroke-of-the-Week

Butterfly

Check back tomorrow for "Weekly Wednesday" tips and tricks for Butterfly!

* * * * *

Happy (Belated) Birthday Coach Lillian! 
It was FUN celebrating with you at practice 
and our meet last night!

Meet #2 Stroke-of-the-Week: Breaststroke

Breaststroke! 

This upcoming week we will work on breaststroke. Each week the JRAC league focuses on a stroke of the week that is the open stroke for the meet. This week's meet at Lakeside Swim and Racquet Club will feature the breaststroke.

The breaststroke has quite a number of things which can be problematic and earn swimmers a DQ slip (DQ = disqualified, not Dairy Queen). The following videos will hopefully help swimmers see some of the parts of the stroke that are most important to watch and which can prevent a DQ slip from being written. Many people like breaststroke because it is "easy" but strong breaststroke is anything but easy. Breaststroke is an incredibly powerful stroke that requires great technique and handling of the water. The following are some tips and tricks to be an excellent breaststroke swimmer.

The Underwater Pullout

The underwater pullout transitions the swimmer from the dive to the swimming of the stroke. Unlike in the other three swimming strokes where a swimmer may simply kick themselves to the surface, the breaststroke requires a very specific sequence. The following video explains and demonstrates the proper technique for an underwater pullout. (Note: feel free to stop at 2:25 when they begin promo for their sponsors)

The Stroke

The most common mistakes in the breaststroke are hands past the hipline and/or alternating or scissor kicks. The following video shows each component of good breaststroke swimming. (Added benefit: the transitions in the video are the swimmer doing an excellent breaststroke turn!)

The Turn/Finish

The breaststroke requires a two-hand touch on every wall, both for turns and for finishes. The breaststroke and the butterfly both utilize an open turn (not a flip turn!). Remember the phrase "elbow your brother, phone your mother" as you think about the open turn.

Putting it all together...

If you want to feel really inadequate and to be really impressed, watch Adam Peaty's race from Rio 2016 where the swimmer from Great Britain earns a new world record and demonstrates the power that is necessary to have a winning breaststroke.

The Hurricane Herald (June 11, 2018)

June 11, 2018

Meet Scores

Glen Allen: 1245
Hermitage: 803

Champs Qualifiers (an incredible list for a first meet!)

Clavio Ascari, Francesca Ascari, Wyatt Bradshaw, Anderson Broughton, Anna Grace Broughton, Isabelle Broughton, Cora Campbell,
Riley Campbell, Amelia Chen, Gabby Chen, Alex Deal, Grace Deal, Traylor DuVal, Andrew Eastep, Will Fisher, Caroline Frank, Isabella Glenn,
Pierson Gray, Grayson Heskett, Lily Grace Heskett, Taylor Hoffer, Tommy Hoffer, William Hoffler, Addison Holsten, Nicole Makris, Evan Mangin,
Rose Mangin, Ellie McComb, Jack McComb, Maddie McComb, Samantha Meadows, Rylee Miller, Ford Reams, Avery Robbins, Jackson Robbins,
Wynn Robbins, Claire Starke, Annie Toole, Tucker Washburn, and Sophie Yablonski

Quad Winners 

Ford Reams 

*There would have been many more if we had had relays for 9&up!

Triple Winners

Anderson Broughton, Riley Campbell, Amelia Chen, Gabby Chen, Traylor DuVal, Caroline Frank, Taylor Hoffer, Tommy Hoffer, and Wynn Robbins

Record-Breaking Swims

 *The following swimmers broke Hermitage Swim Team Records.

**All Hermitage records are meters records. CYT = converted yards time.

Gabby Chen, 13-14 50 Free, 30.01 CYT 

Traylor DuVal, 15-18 50 Free, 27.79 CYT

Anderson Broughton, 15-18 100 Free, 55.74 CYT

Anderson Broughton, 15-18 50 Breast, 35.47 CYT

Anderson Broughton, 15-18 50 Fly, 27.18 CYT

Coach's Corner

Hurricanes, you all did not disappoint yesterday! That was a fantastic way to open a season!

We had some really incredible swims from the newest and youngest swimmers to our oldest and most experienced. 

It's incredible to see a list with so many Champs meet qualifiers, triple winners, and record-breaking swims in our first meet. Great things are ahead of us for the 2018 season and I am proud to be the coach of such a strong group of athletes.

Thank you, Coach Lillian and Coach Ashley, for being such fantastic coaches. You both make my job as a head coach so much easier! A special shout-out to Coach Ashley for surviving your first meet as a Hurricane coach!

If you wanted a Champs qualifying time or were bummed that your time wasn't faster, I've got good news - it's only Week One. We have five more fantastic opportunities to get out there and do our best. Practices continue on the normal schedule this week, and then morning practices begin June 18. Let's get the list of qualifiers to grow!

Great job, Hurricanes!

~Coach Philip

Hurricanes of the Week

Female - Elle Burgess

Elle is new to the Hurricane squad this year, but that isn't holding her back from some great swims! She has jumped right in and is making great waves.

Elle had a strong freestyle race, earning points for the team as she swam up* in the Regular division.

In her backstroke, Elle definitely looked like a seasoned veteran, earning a second place as she swam up* in the Regular division (the third fastest time in the event overall). 

The coaches have a strong feeling that this is only the beginning of a very strong season for Elle! She works hard in practice and it definitely showed yesterday at Glen Allen.

Way to go, Elle!

Male - Alex Deal

Alex had a fantastic meet yesterday. He has moved up this year and is now competing in the 9-10 age group, taking his first crack at the 50s!

First, Alex swam a strong 50 Freestyle. It was picture perfect swimming and really showed how capable he is. He earned himself a Champs qualifying time for this race.

Then, Alex had a great, albeit interesting, 50 Backstroke. Alex did a backstroke flip-turn (see link), but without turning over onto his stomach. Despite this unorthodox maneuver, Alex still managed a fast enough swim to earn himself another QUA time for the backstroke! Judging from the looks of surrounding parents and Glen Allen coaches, it was a pretty impressive feat!

Congratulations Alex!

Where are we swimming next?

Lakeside Swim & Racquet Club

Monday, June 18, 2018

Arrival: TBA

Warmups: 6:00-6:15pm

Meet Start: 6:30pm

Welcome

Welcome to the new blog for the Hermitage Hurricanes Swim Team! We are excited to use this site to share information. We are excited to share the Hurricane Herald online following our first meet! We hope you enjoy this new page.