The Offseason

Well, now that state is done and we closed with our annual swim banquet, it seems like all there is to do is wait around until mid-November and go through the routine again (one last time for us seniors).

Unless you're Steve Lillie, this can't be your mindset if you have any desires that our team to live up to its potential (which our coaches might have touched upon once or twice).

While I don't know how accurate the prediction of "one person in every event" at state is, I do know that we can pack much more than 1 relay and 1 individual event into the vans next year. If you were close to state, or alternate for state this year, don't rely on luck or anything else to get you there the next time. Do something about it.

Jack Ladd, Steven Grambow, Bill Wong, and I will begin training at Schroeder pretty soon. Yea, I know it's associated with Douggie's arch-enemy Dave and another anonymous person who would a make great advertisements for a certain female organ body-care hygiene product, but it's a blast. The sets still suck, but they keep you in great shape. I'll be the first one to say coming into this season I was ready to be one of the top swimmers. You might say "wow short, you're one hell of a cock for saying that" but it's true. After time trials Jack, Billy, Grambow, and I (and of course Steve Lillie, but that's a given) all had the fastest 50 freestyle times. We didn't kill everybody else, but we started out ahead. Granted I stayed at a 25-26 and a 57-58 mid the entire year (mainly because I lost a ton of strength in exchange for conditioning), but it's more than that.

Off-season training gets you comfortable with the pain and work before the season. That way you aren't dying the first couple weeks on sets that you will probably end up doing for tapers come January. This is nice because with the emotions of the new season, you don't have as much to deal with. Plus you have an enormous amount of confidence, and it's really nice to kick every1 else's @$$ in the 2000 T.T. because you have the endurance that they missed out on.

I encourage those of you who aren't training in the off-season, be it because you play a different sport, because you're a fat-@$$, or any other reason to consider it (if it's a financial issue, talk to Dave about it. He's really a great guy no matter what Coach says). You'd be doing all of your teammates one hell of a favor, and you'd be one step closer to making your dreams of being part of the state team come true. Is it a guarantee? No. Case and point, myself. But you're range of possibilities opens up dramatically if you do.

I hate to agree with Coach here, but, seniors, what kind of legacy do you want to leave? Do you want to be known as the swimmer who stepped it up, put in the extra effort to better his team, and tasted sweet success at the state meet or the swimmer who felt he didn't need to change anything and at the end of the season saw others achieve what he couldn't. All I can say is that if you put all your cards on the table (which includes training in the off-season), your regrets will be minimal. Trust me: regrets...suck. You don't want to be in the position of "I was this close." It's depressing beyond belief.

Hope you guys have a good rest of the school year, maybe see you at Mrs. Potter's in June when Wisconsin still decides it wants to snow.

Gotta go take an SAT,

Shorty

This week:

Hello boyz,

For the two of you who don't know, this week, Friday, our boy's swim team will be sending a handful of people up to Madison to compete with the best of the best (mainly Chuckie and Lennertz cuz they're freakin huge) to make a statement that we've come back and we aren't going anywhere soon.

Here's a shout-out to our competitors Jim "JJ" Jens, Billy "tsunami sushi shrimp fried rice" Wong, Steve "kick-your-ass (and he knows it)" Lillie, and Stephen "Man-Child" Gramb(issim)ow.

Represent boys. If there's one thing I want all them at Madison to remember, it's that we have some of the best looking torso's in the friggin state. Douglass might tell you that the time and the effort are what's important...no... okay swimming is and always has been about how you look. I mean why else would you oil down and wear a skimpy piece of synthetic material that does nothing but emphasize your--anyway, I want us to look damn good. I mean I want it to be so that if I were blind-folded, I could caress your entire body and mistake every inch of it for a baby's bottom

^^And, uh, swim hard I s'pose.

Another shout-out to those alternates who get the experience without the nerves: Jack "text-my-girl" Ladd, Rob "steal-Michael's-date" Davis, Matt "I fight'cha" Daniels, and Geoff "Sex Panther" Gilles.

Basically the alternates are supposed to be ones bold enough to step in if any of the main swimmers gets hurt in like a freak accident or if Tanya Harding happens to be competing in their event. But, really, it's all about the hotel, the breakfast, the day off of school, and the view of 200+ glistening, nicely-chiseled bodies who can all swim faster than you can talk.

But seriously, have fun, kick some @$$ (I gotta check just how profane I can be on here) and enjoy yourselves. Cuz you never know who's gonna kick your ass next year---> I mean because this is a great experience that you will remember for the rest of your life.

Shorty

This'll be fun...

Hey guys, this is going to be a hit or miss thing. I figured if coach can write his own blog about our meets, practices, etc and try to better connect with us through the internet, the least we can do is playfully mock him and vent about practices. This can so work, if you guys want it to.

Give me a little time. I know you might be thinking "Wow shorty, you're pretty lame, why are u bloggin', you could be gaming." Yea, ok, I've considered that, but give me a little while. Best case scenario, you guys read this ocassionally and comment on it to give it some life. I will do my best with the satire and backlashing comments towards coach. Hopefully he'll read this.

All I ask is that you try it out. Unfortunately, as of now, I think only the head blogger can post this kind of text, as opposed to us all being able to chip in. We'll see if this works.

Meanwhile, I'm chillin', some of you guys are taperin', and some of you guys (Dan Becker...) are spending a little too much time at the computer with Jill.

This thing will be running full speed once next season comes around. I might commentate a little about the team here and then, but I'll leave most of that to Douggie.

Laterz,

Shorty