SAIL - Craig Report - Week One

Cars PARKED EVERYWHERE!
Arrived around 5:40, there was a large crown already around the pool. Mr. Metcalf was at the meet sitting right next to the starter's area. Warm ups were going on, I got wet!
Mark Gettys invited me to sit with all the coaches for a little while before the meet started.
We had an issue with one of the PF swimmers and an injury the swimmer had months ago. The young man was run over buy a SUV and his right ankle was crushed. The young man wanted to still swim regardless of any handicap he may have due to the accident. I saw the swimmer swim the Butterfly leg of the relay, that young man swam a VERY good Butterfly leg! You could not even tell he had such a serious injury, SAIL had discussed the possible DQ of the swimmer if he could not keep his legs together. I saw the young man's ankle, it not a pretty sight, but that young man made no excuses for it, he swam his heats as if nothing had ever happened. Kudos to his parents and the Coaching staff at PF. SAIL is full of special stories like this; I got to see one in person yesterday!
PCHM, Head Coach Jennifer Jones is a busy woman! I want to thank Jennifer for one thing she mentioned during the finish of one of the heats, she was saying to herself that the kids need to stay in the water until ALL the swimmers finish the heat. SHE IS RIGHT! It's a small thing, but sportsmanship is free! Good point Jennifer!!

Second Meet, Woody Creek at Dove Tree/Weather Stone

One note to all!!!!
Do not go down Hwy 14 towards Roper Mountain Road from Pelham any time from 5:00 to 7:00!!! And I thought Woodruff Road was bad!
Cars parked EVERYWHERE. They had a lot of people at this meet!
I was welcomed by J.R. Christy, I went to the Coach area and talked with David Hall. This was Weatherstones first swim meet EVER! David was smiling from ear to ear, he is now infected with the SAIL bug! Welcome David, Ain't it great!
I sat by one of the top swimmers to ever come out of SAIL and the area's year round swimming programs, Justin Dankovich. Justin and I talked about many different subjects as the meet progressed. I asked how the meet was being run and he had nothing but positive remarks.

Third meet, Spaulding Farms at Forester Woods

Cars parked EVERYWHERE. Do you see a trend here?
I have many friends at this pool, I help Mauldin High swim team every year and we used to practice here. Met with Steven Epps, I asked how the meet was running and he replied in a very positive way. The new head coach for Spaulding Farms is Robert Nitto, this guy can really holler! Erin Kennedy was also adding her voice the din of the crowd. Again, all the remarks were positive on the Official's and the meet as a whole.
They win the FOOD Award this week. They had fresh BBQ!!!

Fourth Meet, SPAR. OF, at KB

This was the last meet I went to, because it's my home pool and I live only ¼ mile from the pool!
CARS EVERWHERE! AGAIN!
This meet was PERFECT!
It's my home pool, do you think I would say anything negative????
Orchard Farms, Adams Run, and Sparrows Point have teams full of 9/10 and 8/U's swimmers, I applaud the Coaches of these two teams, and they are working with the future of SAIL. This was also the first SAIL meet for Adams Run, Welcome folks!

Wrap Up

One thing I would like to mention to all the Coaches, if your swimmer comes to you after their swim and tells you that they were DQ'd, please ask them for the reason for the DQ. We had some at the meet at KB and the reason for the DQ that the coach told me seemed a bit strange. The Coach said the swimmer was DQ'd with the reason, "Swimmer entered the water on the Breast Stroke with their feet apart on entry". HUH?
I pulled the card for the heat from records and the REAL reason was alternating kick. Coaches, if you have a question on a DQ, please, please, seek out the Ref.! Ask the ref what the DQ was if you get a strange answer from your swimmer. Part of the Ref's job is to answer your questions. The Ref usually doesn't talk to SAIL reps, or parents, they only talk to the Coaches. Pick a time to go ask the Ref to explain a strange call, they may go to records and pull the card to see what was actually written on the back. You should be getting all the cards back after the meet, by the way. The Ref is there for you and to facilitate the running of the meet in a fair and efficient way.

Well that's it till next week!
Remember; give me a call or an e-mail anytime if you have questions.

Craig