Newest Podcast Episode

 

Madison (r) learns from Garrett Weber-Gale (l)

Latest episode of Swim Talk A2B features Madison Yelle.

Listen here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0:20 – MAC Gold Group

1:45 – Heard of the Eddie Reese book?

2:30 – Welcome Madison Yelle

3:00 – Age Group to High School to D-II

8:10 – Coaching with Swim Ft. Lauderdale

9:10 – TAGS, FLAGS, & JO’s

11:00 – Outdoor swimming issues

11:45 – HOF facility & 27m platform

13:00 – Was that a cement truck?

14:27 – Florida high school swimming

15:39 – That dreaded “P” word

17:48 – More on high school swimming

19:45 – Group criteria & LCM vs. SCY

23:13 – Veterans setting examples

26:01 – ASCA World Clinic

26:55 – More on the “P” word

30:30 – How many per week?

Quote of the Day

 

People fall forward to success.

Mary Kay Ash

 

 

Quote of the Day

 

The whole point of getting things done

is knowing what to leave undone.

Oswald Chambers

Quote of the Day

Most managers were trained to be the

thing they most despise - bureaucrats.

Alvin Eugene Toffler

Quote of the Day

 

You've got to think about big things while

you're doing small things, so that all the

small things go in the right direction.

Alvin Eugene Toffler

Quote of the Day

 

One of the definitions of sanity is the ability to tell

real from unreal.  Soon we'll need a new definition.

Alvin Eugene Toffler

Teaching & Modeling Consistency

When it comes to the behavior of people in this "modern" world, there seems to be no semblance of logic involved.

We all know that showing up consistently (and on time), and putting in the work, are required for success in any given endeavor.

Yet, we have adults teaching (and modeling) the opposite to young people.

The gap between high-flyers and also-rans is growing.

It will continue to expand until adults behave as mentors, rather than buddies, to the next generation.

Quote of the Day

 

The illiterate of the future will not be the

person who cannot read.  It will be the

person who does not know how to learn.

Alvin Eugene Toffler

Finally!

 

The world's second most exciting podcast has returned!  Listen here

00:57 - Shameless Eddie Reese book plug

01:24 - Welcome Bonnie Adams

02:22 - Recap of 2023 OZ Mile/Michele Weber

06:36 - Preview of 2024 OZ Mile

09:55 - Bikes, or Bikes?

11:35 - What to expect at OZ

15:01 - Prepping athletes for open water

20:34 - Making memories in our sport

22:31 - Why September?

25:10 - Pool "Open Water"

28:05 - Alcatraz

29:27 - Canandaigua

30:45 - Germany

32:11 - More on the 2023 OZ Mile/Michele Weber

37:04 - Event feedback

41:10 - Wrapping it up/Podcast rankings

Quote of the Day

 

No man can get rich in politics unless he's a crook.

 

Harry S. Truman

Quote of the Day

 

The joy of leadership comes from seeing others achieve

more than they thought they were capable of.

Simon Oliver Sinek

 

Marley & Bobby

 

Here's a little preview of the wedding pictures.  Marley & Bobby were wed on November 18th, then went on a two-week honeymoon to Italy.

Quote of the Day

 

It is the classic fallacy of our time that a moron

run through a university and decorated with

a Ph.D. will thereby cease to be a moron.

Henry Louis "H.L." Mencken

Leffingwell Nat

 

I like it when I search "Leffingwell" in Google Maps, this place pops up as the first choice:

Quote of the Day

 

I am in politics because of the conflict between

good and evil, and I believe that in

the end that good will triumph.

Margaret Hilda Thatcher

Bobby Petrino to...Arkansas?

 

Remember this quote?

He's baaaaaaaaaaaack!

Bobby Petrino will return to Arkansas as the program's offensive coordinator, the school announced. Petrino coached the Razorbacks from 2008-11 and spent the 2023 season as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M after a few years at Missouri State. 

Petrino went 34-17 in his career with the Razorbacks, finishing the 2011 season No. 5 in the final AP Top 25 poll, with two BCS bowl bids. His career at Arkansas came to a screeching halt in April 2012 when he was let go amid accusations of an inappropriate relationship with a female staffer.

Full article here

Quote of the Day

 

One of the most dangerous trends of our times is

making the truth socially unacceptable, or

even illegal, with "hate speech" laws.

via The Catholic Universities of America

Thomas Sowell

Quote of the Day

 

Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable.

Franz Kafka

Quote of the Day

 

In brief, Western democracy, as other  political models,

is not exportable to all regions of the world.

Omar Bongo

 

My biggest strength is the ability to separate skills

from talent...I don't let the lack of talent hold me

back from learning whatever I need to learn.

Dharmesh Shah

Quote of the Day

 

Train up a child in the way that he should go;

and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

King Solomon

Quote of the Day

 

Habits will form whether you want them or not.

Whatever you repeat, you reinforce.

 

James Clear

 

 

Quote of the Day

 

The saddest aspect of life right now is

that science gathers knowledge faster

than society gathers wisdom.

Isaac Asimov

Quote of the Day

 

What has been will be again, what has been

done will be done again;  there is

nothing new under the sun.

King Solomon

Quote of the Day

 

I swear to hold my tongue about it till the end

of your worship's days, and God grant I

may be able to let it out tomorrow.

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Imprimis

 

via Trip

Michigan's Hillsdale College is a private independent liberal arts school that accepts zero federal or state funding.

You can get a FREE lifetime subscription to their publication, Imprimis.

Sign up here

Quote of the Day

 

The fault lies not with the mob, who demands

nonsense, but with those who do not

know how to produce anything else.

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Quote of the Day

 

The truth may be stretched thin, but it

never breaks , and it always surfaces

above lies, as oil floats on water.

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Quote of the Week

 

Greatness is a road leading towards the unknown.

 

Charles de Gaulle

Quote of the Week

 

A champion is someone who gets up when he can't.

 

William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey

Quote of the Week

 

Our streets are the new asylums.

 

 Jonathan Choe

Enjoy:

Quote of the Week

Good questions outrank easy answers.

Paul Anthony Samuelson

Quote of the Week

We must dare to be great;  and we must

realize that greatness is the fruit of toil

and sacrifice and high courage.

 

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt Jr.

 

Coaching Freshmen?

 

Quote of the Week

 

It is amazing how complete is the

delusion that beauty is goodness.

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, a.k.a. Leo Tolstoy

New TISCA Site

 

I've just updated the link under "High School" for TISCA.

 

Visit the new site here

Quote of the Week

 

May the forces of evil become confused

on the way to your house.

 

George Denis Patrick Carlin

 

Success usually comes to those who

are too busy to be looking for it.

 

Henry David Thoreau

 

Quote of the Week

 

When you find yourself on the side of the

majority, it's time to pause and reflect.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain

How'd We Do?

 

 

The final 4A swim poll of the 2022-23 season was sent out in January.

 

Here's how our committee's rankings compared to the team standings in the 2023 UIL 4A championships:

 

Girls Poll

 

1. Great Hearts Monte Vista

2. Decatur

3. Panther Creek

4T. Andrews

4T. Davenport

6T. El Campo

6T. Gateway

8. Burnet

9. Monahans

10T. Boerne

10T. Hudson

 

Also receiving votes:  Calallen & Tuloso-Midway

 

2023 Girls UIL 4A State Meet*

1. Great Hearts Monte Vista

2. Panther Creek

3. El Campo

4. Davenport

5. Gateway

6. Andrews

7. Decatur

8. Burnet

9. Boerne

10. Hudson 

 

Boys Poll

 

1. Andrews

2. Tuloso-Midway

3. Decatur

4. Alice

5. Davenport

6. Great Hearts Monte Vista

7. El Campo

8. Burnet

9. Wichita Falls

10. Gateway

 

Also receiving votes:  Boerne, Hudson, Monahans, Pecos, Ranchview, & Stafford

2023 Boys UIL 4A State Meet*

1. Andrews

2. Tuloso-Midway

3. Decatur

4. Wichita Falls

5. Alice

6. Great Hearts Monte Vista

7. Boerne

8. Davenport

9. El Campo

10. Ranchview

*Bullseye!

 

Quote of the Week

 

The possibilities are numerous once

we decide to act and not react.

 

 George Bernard Shaw

 

Quote of the Week

 

Fortune knocks but once, but misfortune

has much more patience.

 

Laurence Johnston Peter

 

 

Fantasy Foosball? Again?

 

The Texas Swimming Fantasy Foosball draft is once again scheduled for Labor Day.

Our fourteen-team league has three (3) openings for the 2023 season!

It's free to join and play.  League champion gets a trophy.

Hard to find a better way to waste your time than in a fantasy foosball league, right?

Sign up to manage a team here

Championships

2005 - Keith (dirtybuttcrackheads)
2006 - Keith (dirtybuttcrackheads)
2007 - Montoya (The Slum Lords)
2008 - Bobby (YouAllSuck-JustQuit)
2009 - Bobby (YouAllSuck-JustQuit)
2010 - Tonya S. (sugar hiccups)
2011 - Button (Mansfield Maulers)
2012 - Katie (Smack&Cheese)
2013 - Katie (Smack&Cheese)
2014 - Button (Bait Campers)

2015 - Pa-Check-OH (Shock-taws)

2016 - Tin Cup (Crossfire 'Canes)

2017 - Mike (Afterdeath)

2018 - Blake (Snipe Hunter)

2019 - Keith (Touchdown Monkeys)

2020 - Tim (Tim's Great Team)

2021 - Mista Mann (Noble Criminal)

2022 - Pa-Check-OH (Shock-taws)

2023 - ??? 

 

Quote of the Day

 

Mountains are like the great equalizer.   It doesn't

matter who anyone is or what they do.

via Jimmy Chin

Jimmy Chin

Quote of the Day

 

Fear urged him to go back,

but growth drove him on.

John Griffith "Jack" London

Quote of the Day

 

Intelligent men are cruel.  Stupid

men are monstrously cruel.

John Griffith "Jack" London

Quote of the Day

 

To be able to forget means sanity.

John Griffith "Jack" London

Swimming Against the Tide

 

In case y'all haven't gotten the memo, our fall TISCA clinic is no more.

 

The reason we've been given?

 

Weekends in September are inconvenient for water polo coaches*.

 

How did this happen?

 

It's possible (probable?) that polo coaches filled out the Google Form and chose the April option, while non-polo coaches didn't give a hoot.

Why does it matter?  What is so important about a fall clinic?

• Coaches are eager for ideas to train swimmers & divers for the upcoming season.
• New coaches may be desperate for help in planning their practices & season.
  
• TM & MM issues are often discussed, helping us smooth out the tech side of our sport.
• In-person votes for district & region reps are held.
• New NFHS & UIL rules are discussed.
• Coaches with gaps in their schedules are often able to fill in those open dates.
• Quality speakers are offered in swimming, diving, and water polo tracks.
• Vendors demonstrate & take orders for equipment, suits, warm-ups, parkas, etc.
  

Those are just a few reasons a fall clinic is critical for swim & dive coaches.

 

There's little doubt in my mind that TISCA founders put our clinic in September for good reason.  Moving it to April is going to hurt our organization and our athletes.

 

In the short-term, I suggest swim coaches take advantage of the ASCA World Clinic in Dallas this September.

 

Long-term?  If our membership doesn't come to its senses and bring back a fall clinic, it might be time to change our acronym to TIPCA...

*There's also a move to force our coaches into a THSCA-run clinic.  In recent years, THSCA has begun to form a monopoly** of sorts, bringing "minor" sports into their "fold".  We're their next "victim".  No fall clinic for you swim/dive coaches?  Come to our mega-all-sports clinic in the summer!

 

**Remember what you learned back in school, kiddos:

 

MONOPOLY = BAD

 

Episode XXXVI

 

 

 

Time for another episode of SwimTalk A2B.  Another former swimmer of ours, Andy Korda, chatted it up with us.

 

Andy wasn't like most swimmers...those who wonder:  "What's wrong with those guys?  Who would ever want to be a swim coach?"

Episode XXXVI:  Andy Korda

 

 

Quote of the Day

 

The Wild still lingered in him and

the wolf in him merely slept.

John Griffith "Jack" London

Episode XXXV

 

 

 

In the latest episode of SwimTalk A2B, we reconnected with a former Katy age-group swimmer of ours, Lawrence "LD" Romine.

 

Lawrence dropped out of our sport at a young age, but is now showing off his swimming skills on the triathlon circuit.

Episode XXXV:  Lawrence Romine

 

 

Quote of the Day

 

When a subject becomes totally obsolete,

we make it a required course.

Peter Ferdinand Drucker

Quote of the Day

 

I was court-martialed in my absence, and

sentenced to death in my absence.  So I

said they could shoot me in my absence.

Brendan Francis Aidan Behan