The sport of competitive swimming is fitness-based and highly
competitive. How do you get ahead of the competition when elite
swimmers on most teams are training as hard and fast as they can,
sometimes for more than 20 hours a week?
By Mark Scott
Special to the Times
The sport of competitive swimming is fitness-based and highly competitive. How do you get ahead of the competition when elite swimmers on most teams are training as hard and fast as they can, sometimes for more than 20 hours a week?
The answer is surprisingly simple. Competitive swimming is a team sport. When you put together a great team, the swimmers on that team start swimming like great swimmers.
It’s a stretch of the imagination to call the Morgan Hill Makos a great team at this point in time, but the writing’s on the wall, er, ripples are in the pool.
This team has a great future. At the Summer’s End Swim Classic meet held Labor Day weekend at Hartnell College in Salinas, 38 Makos improved their way to an eighth place overall finish.
With more than 600 swimmers competing from 45 teams, this was a respectable performance from a very young, quite inexperienced team. More importantly, in addition to good times, everyone enjoyed themselves.
The highlight of the meet was the ’49’er relays. The aggregate age of the swimmers in the relays could not add up to over 49. Mako Novice Coach Laura Dobbs put a Senior Group member in with younger age group swimmers and novices, and the results were some of the most fun and strongest team building I have witnessed since beginning coaching in 1978.
What a blast! We had swimmers dropped five and 10 seconds in 50-yard events, dove off the blocks for the first time, and raced with older, far more experienced swimmers on those relays.
The Senior Swimmers conducted themselves like champions. This is the sort of thing that will help define team performance, spirit and loyalty for years to come.
Missy Miller distinguished herself and the team, winning High Point for her age group. Coming off her best Long Course season ever, this was a good solid start to the Short Course season, which continues through March/April.
Mark Scott is the coach of the Morgan Hill Makos. Contact the sports department at sp****@*************es.com.
