We Will Be Back - Week 6 Shutdown - Message from Dan - Winsford T Shirt Design + Three little birds!
It has now been 5 weeks since Winsford Swim Team shut its doors for the Coronavirus pandemic, 5 weeks since we trained, 5 weeks since we have competed, 5 weeks since we have had some fun together and probably 5 weeks since most of us all have had a hair cut! As we begin week 6 of Winsford Swim Team shutdown I hope everyone is first and foremost healthy, as that is the most important thing? Secondly I hope everyone is keeping busy, active and positive, trying their very best to make the most of the extra time we find ourselves with during the lockdown? Thirdly and very importantly I hope everyone's hair is not looking too long and shabby or too grey in the roots (if you dye your hair?!). Swimmers please note, your parents will probably try and offer to cut your hair during these times, please politely decline! We don't want anyone to return to Winsford with a hair style like Boris Johnson or Donald Trump or even worse Kin Jong-Un! During this crazy time lets take care of ourselves, each other and look forward to the future together. I think we also need to take care of Michael Secker, my Goodness he needs help, My Little Pony Socks! This is where I put my head into my hands in despair!
On a slightly more serious note it can be a tough time being on lockdown, so much has changed for us all, from a health, social or economic perspective. Also for sports people and swimmers like us being away from the pool, being away from that team environment and being away from your friends can be hard. Yes we have lots of different ways to stay in touch due to the technology we have at our disposal in today's world, but for me and for us all it is still not the same having that face to face contact.
Sports people like to be challenged, they like to work hard, they like to work towards goals and they love the frill of competing and pitting themselves up against others. Sport is a buzz like no other, in a way it is like a drug, we need sport and we look forward to playing and watching sport. I know sport is pretty irrelevant at this time but for us all sport and swimming in particular is a massive part of our lives and when that is taken away it can be tough. There can be that void of where sport and swimming used to be, but don't despair because WE WILL BE BACK and when we do come back it will be better than ever!
I hope all home training is going well? Even though we can't meet and train at the pool we can train in the home, train in the garden and train outdoors, so we can train and it is crucial for us to do this. The difficult thing is that we won't have someone barking instructions at us (the coach) and we won't have all our team mates around us to push us on and to support us. We will of course have siblings and Mother and Father or other household family members who can help us with our training. I would strongly recommend utilising family members for all keep fit exercises whilst on lockdown, it is so much easier and more beneficial to train with others than training alone, it is also more fun. One positive of lockdown is that families may come closer together, having more quality time with each other, on the flip side maybe it could go the other way with everyone killing each other due to being in each others pockets 24/7! I always have the vision of the Simpsons family, it makes me laugh seeing Homer strangling Bart all the time. It was so funny when Homer one time was sitting down talking about family life to his children Bart and Lisa. Homer said "Marriage is like a coffin and each kid is another nail", of course Homer was joking but I found this funny, I dread to think how the Simpsons would cope on lockdown. On a serious note, family is everything, family makes everything worthwhile, cherish everyday with them.
Anyway back onto training. Whilst on lockdown it is very difficult to keep track on all our swimmers fitness and exercise activities, with a coach and team mates absent it is very easy to lose motivation or maybe not train as hard, or as consistent or with as much enthusiasm. It is imperative for all our swimmers to keep training interesting and keep in sight their future goals, what do you want to achieve in the future? If you can keep your goals in sight it should help you with your motivation, desire and discipline during our time away from the pool. From a coaches perspective there has to be that trust that all our swimmers are working on the programmes set out and are keeping good routine and eating as healthy as possible, except for the odd Easter egg or two! As mentioned on a number of previous occasions if we can keep fit aerobically and improve our strength, power and flexibility it will give our club and our swimmers a huge head start from other clubs when we do return to the pool. Please remember 'the only session you regret, is the session you don't do', it is amazing how good you feel when you get off the couch and go for a run, cycle, walk, do some gardening and/or painting, there is a sense of achievement. Keep active everyone!
I know its been 5 weeks now of no swimming, it can feel like an eternity since we have dived into the cool, clear, crystal clean water at Winsford, but don't despair we will all get through this lockdown, and we will all return to the pool more appreciative, and more determined than ever before to succeed. To give us all the best possible chance it is vital to keep our home exercise routine going and keep pushing and developing our fitness levels. We the coaches are putting our trust in all our swimmers to be doing this on a daily basis. I know with the support and help from family members our swimmers will be grabbing every opportunity this lockdown brings by improving their dry land aerobic and strength levels. All we can do during this time is try our very best in our exercise everyday, it will make a huge difference when we all return to the pool very shortly.
GOOD LUCK to all Swimmers in their home training, keep up the great work.
Everyday surround yourselves with positive people and keep one great big smile on your face!
And if you do ever get down, have a little listen to 'Three Little Birds' By Bob Marley, it is sure to lift your spirits!
Race Day - Team Manager
As you will all now know over the last few weeks we have provided a light hearted and honest account on what race day looks like from a coaches and swimmers perspective. This week it is the turn of the Team Managers, Claire Brown has kindly agreed to write her account.
Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances the race day account is not available at this present time, computer glitch!
I think we have all had problems with computers at times, but don't be disappointed everyone, it will be with you on Tuesday. The Team Managers race day account is not to be missed, like Gery Cinnamon would sing, its going to be a 'Belter'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdOwd5RqKLk
Tune in next Thursday for the final installment of RACE DAY! Next week it is the turn of a parent, it surely can't be missed, it will be a cracker.
Weekly FUN challenge/activity
Thank you to everyone who wrote some wonderful poems about Winsford and/or swimming. Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words, I have to say all the poems were fantastic and it really was lovely reading them all and see all the rainbows. Thanks again to everyone who has taken the time and effort to complete the fun activities we are setting on a weekly basis. It made my day yesterday when I read the poems and saw the rainbows on our website.
This weeks FUN activity is: Design your own Winsford T Shirt!
Yes we would like all our swimmers to design their own Winsford T Shirt for poolside.
You can be as imaginative and creative as you want, the only 4 items we would like to see on your T Shirt design are:
- The words 'Winsford Swim Team'
- A Winsford Swim Team logo, a new designed logo please
- The initials of you the designer
- It needs to have our club colours, lots of Orange, Black and White is also fine.
(Items 1-3 can be anywhere on the T Shirt and can be on multiple times if you wish)
Everything else the world is your oyster! But yes, lots of orange would be fantastic!
All swimmers can either complete the Winsford T Shirt Design on paper or on the computer, both is fine.
As always please send your designs to all our Facebook pages and to Sue for the website with your name so we know who has produced the design. Children and young people have the most wonderful imaginations and ideas, especially if they swim for Winsford, so please take up this fun challenge, it would be great for all the coaching team to see what all our swimmers come up with.
Winsford Swim Team have the best children and young people and I have no doubt our swimmers are also the best designers, Good Luck everyone!
One Final Message for 'We Will Be Back' - Week 6
I am really getting into poetry at the moment, seriously, its true! I came across this poem from William Ernest Henley, Invictus. Invictus is 'Unconquerable' or 'undefeated' in Latin, this poem has a very strong message of the will to survive in the face of a severe test. I think a fitting poem for what is going on in the world today but also a poem which epitomises everything what our club is about.
Please take a minute or two to have a listen, its beautiful. I have listened to this poem 4 times!
Well that is it for another week of 'WE WILL BE BACK', I hope I am not waffling on too much and that everyone is finding these messages helpful even if in a little way. All the coaching team miss everyone at Winsford Swim Team so very much, and we all wish you the very best of health and happiness, it won't be long now until we are back swimming. We are definitely going to come back with a bang and work our socks off (I was going to say another word instead of 'socks' but I should keep this message a PG rating, or I may get into trouble), and make Winsford Swim Team into a monster of a club. But no seriously, we can't wait to get back to the pool, and get back to business, the business of helping ALL our swimmers be the best they can be.
Take the very best of care everybody, and remember 'Don't worry, about a thing, because every little thing is going to be alright'!
See you at the pool.
Thanks
Dan.
