Week #4

Hope you are enjoying your Labor Day weekend!

We had a fantastic Week #3, both in practices and at our Thursday night meet! On Thursday, we hosted Andover, and the girls had the opportunity to swim some different events, even some diver relays! Our divers rocked it as well! It was exciting to see the versatility of our team and how ready they were to compete. We came away with the “W” and, after the 500 free, were able to go exhibition.

For those new to high school swimming and diving, “going exhibition” means that after we had secured enough points to win the meet, the remaining events were swum without adding to the team score. This is a common practice to avoid running up the score against an opponent. All swims and dives still count, and athletes continue to earn points toward lettering. Anyone who swam at a level that would have scored Varsity points will still receive those toward their lettering totals.

In practice, we’ve started asking more of the athletes—both in yardage and in intensity. Saturday’s workout was a perfect example: it packed a big punch without a ton of yards. The focus was on learning to maintain race pace while fatigued. We combined a 3,000-yard swim with dryland exercises like planks, push-ups, squats, Russian twists, vertical blastoffs, and vertical flip turns—all mixed into race pace swims. It was a tough challenge, and the girls rose to the occasion, doing an amazing job!

With all schools back in session starting Tuesday, we’ll once again balance academics with athletics. Because we have late practices, it’s important for athletes to complete as much homework as possible right after school, so they can get home, eat, and get to bed at a reasonable time. We’ve reminded the team about the importance of rest, staying hydrated, fueling their bodies with healthy foods, and continuing to practice strong time management skills. This week we have a dual meet against Rogers and Edina Invite on Saturday! Rogers always brings strong competition, so we’ll need to be at our best to secure another win. Athletes should focus on recovery and following the habits above to be ready to compete on Thursday. We will not be able to travel with all athletes to the Edina Invite. I will post the Edina roster/line-up on Tuesday.

Please check the master schedule for our schedule this week. We do have a (swim) practice tomorrow from 3pm-4:30pm.  If you are in town, please come!  I will be locking the outside doors at 3pm sharp as there is no one else in the building so we cannot keep that door open. You must be on time :). If you come after 3pm, you will not be able to get in.  Do not leave your athlete at the door after 3pm. 

Have a wonderful rest of your 3 day weekend!

Coach Odegard