THE MARSIAN MONTHLY
October 2015
Upcoming Events
· Registration now through November 1st
· METRO L1
Oct 23, 2015 - Oct 25, 2015
· Trunk or Treat
Oct 30th 2015 at the GCISD Swim Center
· MAC L2 Meet
Nov. 7- 8, 2015
· ATAC L3 Meet
Nov. 7-8, 2015
· MAC BB and Under
Dec 4, 2015 - Dec 6, 2015
· 2015 COR Classic
Dec 4, 2015 - Dec 6, 2015
Mid-Cities Arlington Swimming
Email: officemanager@marswim.org
Website: marswim.org
Phone: 817-271-1537
Facebook: facebook.com/Mid-CitiesArlingtonSwimming
Coaches Corner
All swimmers should follow the CHAMPION way of eating, drinking and staying warm here are a few tips:
All athletes need water during the day, and young athletes need more to maintain their hydration status in preparation for, and during, exercise. Always have water with you throughout the day, stop by the water fountain at school as you change classes. Bring a water bottle to practice everyday. DRINK IT!
At meets Athletes should have the following: Dry Towels, shoes and socks, clothes to put on between races, parka, hat. Staying warm in between races is a MUST. Your body loses heat from your feet to the top of your head. Athletes must stay warm to perform at their best.
Below are great tips on eating and recovery:
A teen swimmer recently asked about fatigue, and if her diet could be contributing to poor recovery. She swims about nine practices a week. She eats 20 grams of protein after each practice, but is having a hard time recovering for the next swim practice.
Protein is important after workouts, but carbohydrate is equally, if not more, important. I hear too many swimmers say they are shunning carbs after reading a story in a magazine or on the Internet that carbs are bad. I think this misinformation flows from a poor understanding of how active muscles use fuel and how they recover after a hard workout. (Plus, the articles on carbs are usually targeted to overweight, inactive people who want to lose weight.)
Muscles use carbohydrate for fuel. The carbohydrate can come from food or drink (“exogenous”) or stored in the muscle as glycogen (“endogenous”). Body stores of carbs are limited so developing an eating plan to have enough carbohydrate in the body to meet the demands of the workout is important. Researchers call that “carbohydrate availability.” To make sure you have enough carbs to promote optimal training and recovery, try these strategies:
1. Eat carbs at every meal and with recovery snacks. “Good” carbs include those found in fruit, vegetables (including starchy veggies like potatoes, beans, and corn), grains (cereals, breads, pastas), and some dairy and non-dairy foods (milk, soy milk, yogurt). Who doesn’t like melon in the summer, or grilled corn-on-the-cob or potato or pasta salad? All of those foods are good carb choices for active swimmers.
2. Pair your protein. Recovery protein is good but is even better when consumed with carbs. Yogurt and granola, peanut butter and crackers, beans and rice, turkey or chicken sandwiches provide quality protein with good carbs for recovery.
3. Don’t train hungry. One hour before practice, eat about 1 gram of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight. For a 115 pound swimmer (52.3 kilograms), that means about 50 grams of carbohydrate or the amount found in a cup of cran-apple juice, a cup of vanilla soy milk and cup of cereal or 2 carbohydrate gels with water.
4. Keep snacks pool-side. When you have to swim a couple of times a day, start to replenish glycogen immediately after your first swim. Quick-acting carbs are best in this situation: try sports drinks, fruit juice, gummy bears, or hard candy. Sugar is the quickest-acting carb for refueling tired muscles, especially when you will be training or competing in a few hours.
Food is fuel. Premium fuel is the food swimmers eat. The recipe for success includes healthy, wholesome foods and beverages. Fried foods, sweets, and sugary beverages, although tasty, aren’t the ideal food components of a champion.
Carbs count…a lot. The good carbs found in whole grains, fruit, vegetables and dairy are prime sources of fuel for exercising muscles. Refined carbs, such as those found in sweets, sugary beverages, and snack foods may add too much sugar and fat to the diet and work against performance and health. Champions know to maximize the good fuel, and trim down unhealthy foods.
Protein is essential but can be abused. Too much protein can contribute to dehydration as well as other problems for the young athlete. Eating large amounts of protein at the end of the day, or not eating enough protein at breakfast isn’t the most efficient way to fuel muscles. Ideally, wholesome protein sources like meat, eggs or beans evenly spaced throughout the day is optimal for the young athlete.
Dehydrated muscles don’t work well. Drinking plenty of fluids is a constant effort, as thirst isn’t always easy to identify among young swimmers. If dehydration occurs, it may impair performance, contribute to muscle cramping, and slow down performance.
Recovery is a key to progress. The harder you train the more important nutrition is to your recovery and development as an athlete. For example, eating a snack that contains protein and carbohydrate after an extended training session helps the body heal afterward. When swimmers add recovery nutrition to their training they are able to repair muscle damage, promote muscle gain, and re-load muscles with fuel for training and competition.
You can’t out-exercise a bad diet. No matter how hard you work, the habits of overeating, skipping meals, or under-eating, as well as unhealthy food itself, work against optimal performance. Just like a racing car relies on premium fuel, your body performs its best when it’s given premium fuel (healthy food). In the same vein, when a racing car uses low octane fuel, its performance may fall off.
Eating habits are key to lifelong health. Swimmers may not swim forever, but their eating habits can last a lifetime. Making healthy choices now means a better chance at being healthy later in life.
It's all about timing. When swimmers eat is just as important as what and how much they eat. If a swimmer skips out on breakfast and lunch, how will her body have the stamina and strength to train hard after school? Or, if he eats large amounts of food at the end of the day, staying at an optimal weight for performance may be harder.
If swimmers want to take swimming to the next level, they need to eat like a champion.
Coach Shannon
Ask MARSian Mom:
Q: I wanted to know if we have ever thought about posting suits for sale or donate once your child out grows them? Team suits are expensive so if there's a way to post it that would be great!
A: Families have been successful with selling and/or purchasing suits via the Facebook page, Mid-Cities Arlington Swimming. At other times families have given a suit that may not have much more "pool time" to a coach for a swimmer to borrow due to forgetting their suit.
Q: What does a “B” time or “BB” time mean.
A: Within each age group there are different nationally recognized levels of achievement based on times. All swimmers begin as “C” swimmers. As they improve, they advance from “C”, to “B”, “BB”, “A”, “AA”, ‘AAA”, and ultimately “AAAA”. The times required for each ability level are published each quadrennium (four-year cycles based on Olympic years) by USA Swimming. This permits fair, yet challenging, competition on all levels. See the MARS Team Manual and look for the section called: "Levels of Achievement" for more information on time standards.
This link contains the actually time standards for each age group and pool size. National Motivation Time Standards.
Q What is the difference between L3, L2 and L1 swim meets?
A: L3 meets will only allow swimmers to swim in events which they HAVE NOT achieved a "BB" or faster time.
L2 meets will only allow swimmers to swim in events which they HAVE achieved "BB" or faster times.
L1 meets will only allow swimmers to swim in events which are faster then the 15-O "AA" time.
See the MARS Team Manual and look for the section called: "Meet Information and Scheduling" for more information.
Q: Which swim meet should my swimmer go to?
A: Each season’s meet schedule and individual meet information can be found on the North Texas website. Whenever there is a swim meet which our swim team is eligible to complete in, you will receive an email from Brian Dangelmaier with a link to sign up on-line for that swim meet. These meets can also be found on the home tab at the MAR's web site Always read the individual meet information to determine if your swimmer is eligible to complete in the swim meet. If you still have questions on your swimmer's eligibility to complete or which events to sign up for, talk with your swimmer's coach.
Q: My kids swim suites are fading and thinning after only a few months, what am I doing wrong?
A: A couple of possibilities that are making this occur. Nonetheless, the best way to keep your suit in the best condition for the longest is...
As soon you get home from a meet always rinse your suit out in the sink with cool water and hang to dry. Never place in washing machine! Always rinse your suit when you get home. This will help get as much of the chlorine out of the suit.
Do you have a question for the MARSian Mom? Email her at askmarsparent@gmail.com
Celebrating October Birthdays
Solomon Pierce, Grant Tinker, Madison Woolley, Brynlee Sweet, Christian Hambrock Azimi, Arriannah Cross, Rachel Jones, Sophia Lee, Elize Valdez, Kaden Nguyen, Kayla Brattin, Alexander Tompkins, Sarah Adejokun, Jacob Neesen, Ruth Atkinson, Emma Huckabee, Dean Frohm, Jose Garcia Bonilla, Jonathan Lamas, Paola Luzuriaga, Alice Dalebroux, Ishika Bindal, Sarah Habib, Kason Johnson, Jillian Rich, Ethan Zhou, Katriana Beard, Casey Mitchell, Veronica Romero, Beshoy Awad, Larissa Pena, Abbigayle Cross, David Campbell, Jeffrey Liu, Lin Xiao, Bryan Gamboa, Olivia Anderson
Renewing for 2016
Dear MARS Parents,
All renewals must be completed by November 1st for your child to be registered by January 1st. There are 2 parts to renewing. You must register online on our website and turn in a 2016 USAS form at your pool. We need a completed and signed USA Swimming Registration form and Policies and Procedures Agreement. Renewal registration is $144 ($75 MARS & $69 for USA Swimming) per swimmer. If you have more than 2 swimmers then you will receive a discount on your third child.
We will NOT be charging accounts for renewing registration. If your swimmer is not registered by November 1st deadline we cannot guarantee your child will be registered by January 1st. Below are instructions for renewing. You must select "Renewing Families" as your child's registation group to not get charged tuition.
1. Click on the start registration link on the left hand side of the website under system drop down menu.
2. Click “Register Now” button.
3. Renewing Families select “I am currently signed in” or “I am not signed in but have an account”.
4. Review your log-in email and account information. Please update phone numbers and addresses. Click “Continue”.
5. Select the swimmers that you would like to renew.
6. Register to this Group: Select “Renewing Families” as your registering group. Do not select your child’s group they currently swim in.You will be charged tuition as if you were a new family!
7. Please read and sign off on our Policies and Procedures.
8. You can add another child or click “Continue”.
9. Select your payment option. Either select “Pay by Credit Card” or “Pay by Check”.
Attached is the 2016 USAS registration form. It is in pdf form. Just print it out and bring the form and your receipt to the pool after you have renewed online.
Another Meet Operations Training Opportunity
Saturday, Oct. 31st , from 8-9am we will be offering a Meet Operations training class at the GCISD pool. This training is for anyone interested in helping out at our swim meets. No experience is necessary. You will receive volunteer points for attending the class. *** Please note: You will receive the points once you up that training into action at our hosted meets, in addition to the points you will receive for your volunteer work at the meet.
Hope to see you there!
Saturday, Oct 31, 2015, 08:00 AM
2305 Pool Rd, Grapevine, TX, United States
RSVPs are enabled for this event.