Garrett talked about his swimming career, training, and nutrition with swim coach Mike Thompson here.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
GWG Interview
Garrett talked about his swimming career, training, and nutrition with swim coach Mike Thompson here.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Splash-n-Dash
Results of this morning's Splash-n-Dash:
Boys
Taylor W.
Pedro S.
Henry I.
Jerome D.
Chandler R.
Forres M.
Cameron N.
Dallis D.
Girls
Kirsten B.
Naa B.
Boys
Taylor W.
Pedro S.
Henry I.
Jerome D.
Chandler R.
Forres M.
Cameron N.
Dallis D.
Girls
Kirsten B.
Naa B.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
...they should get the silver medal...
2008 Beijing Olympics Swimming Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay Final from Meazza on Vimeo.
Who: Garrett Weber-Gale
What: Swim Clinic
When: Saturday, September 24, 2:00 p.m.
Where: Mansfield ISD Natatorium
Info and registration link are here
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Training Suits
If you'd like to purchase a custom training suit (purple w/paw prints), they're $25 each. I know it sounds like a lot, but trust me - they last a loooooooooooong time!
If you email me a size, I'll try to have it ready for you.
If you email me a size, I'll try to have it ready for you.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Dry-land, Log Books, & More!
We'll have an iPod docking station to use during dry-land. If y'all have some good, clean workout music on your iPod you'd like to share with the group, feel free to give it a shot tomorrow.Reminder: Please have log books ready to turn in before morning workout tomorrow.
We'll try to get our underwater fly video shot in the morning. Please be ready to splash at 6:00 a.m. so we can get in the entire workout along with the video.
Was able to catch Saturday morning's UT men's and women's workouts. We'll try a few of their sets and drills out soon.
Finally, if you're interested in attending the Garrett Weber-Gale clinic on the 24th, you should sign up right away. Swimmers from outside Mansfield will begin signing up and we don't want any of our kids left out if/when the clinic becomes full.
Friday, September 9, 2011
College Meets
Mark your calendars!
The MISD Natatorium will host several college swim meets this school year.
Many of the top swimmers and divers in the country will compete right here in Mansfield.
October 28 & 29, 2011 (Men) - Southwest Collegiate Plunge Invite (Missouri, Southern Methodist, Texas, Texas A&M)
October 29, 2011 (Women) - Missouri vs. Texas A&M (dual)
March 14 - 17, 2012 (Men & Women) - NCAA Division II National Swimming & Diving Championships (click on pic for meet info):
The MISD Natatorium will host several college swim meets this school year.
Many of the top swimmers and divers in the country will compete right here in Mansfield.
October 28 & 29, 2011 (Men) - Southwest Collegiate Plunge Invite (Missouri, Southern Methodist, Texas, Texas A&M)
October 29, 2011 (Women) - Missouri vs. Texas A&M (dual)
March 14 - 17, 2012 (Men & Women) - NCAA Division II National Swimming & Diving Championships (click on pic for meet info):
Updates
As of this morning, the GWG clinic already has two dozen swimmers registered. If you'd like to participate in the clinic, try to get signed up this weekend, as it may fill up next week.
The past couple of mornings we've lacked focus. We need to be prepared to splash on time (6:00 a.m.) next week. Please have all your suits, caps, goggles, and gear ready so we can start on time, train for two hours, and get out on time each morning!
Please turn in your log books before practice Monday.
I plan to order fan shirts next week. If you've not already done so, please email me sizes ASAP.
Have a great weekend and remember:
S: "Thank you, Coach Button, for conditioning my mind and body."
C: "You're welcome!"
The past couple of mornings we've lacked focus. We need to be prepared to splash on time (6:00 a.m.) next week. Please have all your suits, caps, goggles, and gear ready so we can start on time, train for two hours, and get out on time each morning!
Please turn in your log books before practice Monday.
I plan to order fan shirts next week. If you've not already done so, please email me sizes ASAP.
Have a great weekend and remember:
S: "Thank you, Coach Button, for conditioning my mind and body."
C: "You're welcome!"
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
Previous Athletic Participation Form
Any student/athletes who participated for another high school must have an approved P.A.P. on file before he/she can compete for Timberview H.S. this season.
To begin the process, please use the online form on the UIL Athletics site (link below).
Parent/student will complete most of the first page and a small portion (top & section I) of the second page.
Then, please print the form and we'll take it from there.
To begin the process, please use the online form on the UIL Athletics site (link below).
Parent/student will complete most of the first page and a small portion (top & section I) of the second page.
Then, please print the form and we'll take it from there.
Dry-Land
Due to scheduling issues, we will only have one (1) official varsity dry-land session this week - Wednesday's.It would be great if our veterans could get a group together for a couple of unofficial sessions to supplement our schedule.
Be safe and have fun with it.
Our 4th/8th block athletes will begin dry-land soon. If you've not already done so, please purchase your shirts/shorts this week.
Friday Afternoon Group
Friday afternoon's group will stay on campus for a study hall.Report to room 2117.
Please be on time and make sure you bring school work.
No, you may not "rest your eyes"!
Parent Meeting II
We've added a few new athletes to our rosters.We also had a few parents who were unable to attend our first parent meeting back on August 25.
We'll have a second meeting to try to catch anyone that missed the original.
Let's shoot for this Thursday, the 7th at 7:00 p.m. in the MISD Natatorium classroom.
I understand this is short notice. If you can't make it then, we'll work out individual meetings.
Infinite Campus Printouts & Log Books
Looks like we'll have to postpone the printout idea. The menu that allows teachers to print reports doesn't seem to be available to individual students/parents. We'll have to formulate another plan to help us stay on top of grades.
Friday will mark the end of the first progress report grading period. Please take care of your business in the classroom so we can see A's and B's!
Log books are at the pool and ready for you to pick up tomorrow morning. We will have a swimming test set this week. In addition to your normal entries, please write down your test set times and calculate your average (where I can easily find it).
Log books will be due Friday after morning practice.
Friday will mark the end of the first progress report grading period. Please take care of your business in the classroom so we can see A's and B's!
Log books are at the pool and ready for you to pick up tomorrow morning. We will have a swimming test set this week. In addition to your normal entries, please write down your test set times and calculate your average (where I can easily find it).
Log books will be due Friday after morning practice.
It's Still Early
Remember last year's post on Deliberate Practice? I think it's worth a re-post. It's still early in the season. You should be doing all those "little" things right - each and every day.
I try to speak with you when I see something we need to address. I can't see it all. Be a good teammate by a) positively reminding others about those "little" things, and b) accepting those reminders without being offended.
From 12/3/10:
You may recall me mentioning something called "deliberate practice". Geoff Colvin, author of "Talent is Overrated" describes eight (8) characteristics of deliberate practice:
An Understanding of Deliberate Practice
A summarization of Colvin’s eight characteristics of deliberate practice follow below. Readers will find a more in-depth explanation as well as a number of examples in Colvin’s original article.
“Deliberate practice is designed specifically to improve performance with the key word being ‘designed.’ The essence of deliberate practice is continually stretching an individual just beyond his or her current abilities. By contrast, deliberate practice requires that one identify certain sharply defined elements of performance that need to be improved, and then work intently on them. The great performers isolate remarkably specific aspects of what they do and focus on just those things until they’re improved; then it’s on to the next aspect.”
“Deliberate practice can be repeated. High repetition is the most important difference between deliberate practice of a task and performing the task for real, when it counts. One is the choice of a properly demanding activity just beyond our current abilities. The other is the amount of repetition.”
“Feedback on results is continuously available.” Though this is obvious, it is “not nearly as simple as it might seem, especially when results require interpretation. In many important situations, a teacher, coach, or mentor is vital for providing crucial feedback.”
“It’s highly demanding mentally. Deliberate practice is above all an effort of focus and concentration. That is what makes it ‘deliberate.’ Continually seeking exactly those elements of performance that are unsatisfactory and then trying one’s hardest to make them better places enormous strains on anyone’s mental abilities. The work is so great that it seems no one can sustain it for very long.”
“It’s hard. This follows inescapably from the other characteristics of deliberate practice, which could be described as a recipe for not having fun. Doing things we know how to do well is enjoyable, and that’s exactly the opposite of what deliberate practice demands. Instead of doing what we’re good at, we insistently seek out what we’re not good at.”
There is a definitive ‘before the work’ component. “Self-regulation begins with setting goals – not big, life-directing goals, but more immediate goals for what you’re going to be doing today. In the research, the poorest performers don’t set goals at all; they just slog through their work. Mediocre performers set goals that are general and are often focused on simply achieving a good outcome. The best performers set goals that are not about the outcome but rather about the process of reaching the outcome.”
There is a ‘during the work’ phase. “The most important self-regulatory skill that top performers in every field use during their work is self-observation. Even in purely mental work, the best performers observe themselves closely. They are able to monitor what is happening in their own minds and ask how it’s going. Researchers call this metacognition – knowledge about your own knowledge, thinking about your own thinking. Top performers do this much more systematically than others do; it’s an established part of their routine.”
There is an ‘after the work’ component as well. “Practice activities are worthless without useful feedback about the results. These must be self-evaluations” and “the best performers judge themselves against a standard that’s relevant for what they’re trying to achieve. Sometimes they compare their performance with their own personal best; sometimes they compare it with the performance of competitors they’re facing or expect to face; sometimes they compare it with the best known performance by anyone in the field.”
I try to speak with you when I see something we need to address. I can't see it all. Be a good teammate by a) positively reminding others about those "little" things, and b) accepting those reminders without being offended.
From 12/3/10:
You may recall me mentioning something called "deliberate practice". Geoff Colvin, author of "Talent is Overrated" describes eight (8) characteristics of deliberate practice:
An Understanding of Deliberate Practice
A summarization of Colvin’s eight characteristics of deliberate practice follow below. Readers will find a more in-depth explanation as well as a number of examples in Colvin’s original article.
“Deliberate practice is designed specifically to improve performance with the key word being ‘designed.’ The essence of deliberate practice is continually stretching an individual just beyond his or her current abilities. By contrast, deliberate practice requires that one identify certain sharply defined elements of performance that need to be improved, and then work intently on them. The great performers isolate remarkably specific aspects of what they do and focus on just those things until they’re improved; then it’s on to the next aspect.”
“Deliberate practice can be repeated. High repetition is the most important difference between deliberate practice of a task and performing the task for real, when it counts. One is the choice of a properly demanding activity just beyond our current abilities. The other is the amount of repetition.”
“Feedback on results is continuously available.” Though this is obvious, it is “not nearly as simple as it might seem, especially when results require interpretation. In many important situations, a teacher, coach, or mentor is vital for providing crucial feedback.”
“It’s highly demanding mentally. Deliberate practice is above all an effort of focus and concentration. That is what makes it ‘deliberate.’ Continually seeking exactly those elements of performance that are unsatisfactory and then trying one’s hardest to make them better places enormous strains on anyone’s mental abilities. The work is so great that it seems no one can sustain it for very long.”
“It’s hard. This follows inescapably from the other characteristics of deliberate practice, which could be described as a recipe for not having fun. Doing things we know how to do well is enjoyable, and that’s exactly the opposite of what deliberate practice demands. Instead of doing what we’re good at, we insistently seek out what we’re not good at.”
There is a definitive ‘before the work’ component. “Self-regulation begins with setting goals – not big, life-directing goals, but more immediate goals for what you’re going to be doing today. In the research, the poorest performers don’t set goals at all; they just slog through their work. Mediocre performers set goals that are general and are often focused on simply achieving a good outcome. The best performers set goals that are not about the outcome but rather about the process of reaching the outcome.”
There is a ‘during the work’ phase. “The most important self-regulatory skill that top performers in every field use during their work is self-observation. Even in purely mental work, the best performers observe themselves closely. They are able to monitor what is happening in their own minds and ask how it’s going. Researchers call this metacognition – knowledge about your own knowledge, thinking about your own thinking. Top performers do this much more systematically than others do; it’s an established part of their routine.”
There is an ‘after the work’ component as well. “Practice activities are worthless without useful feedback about the results. These must be self-evaluations” and “the best performers judge themselves against a standard that’s relevant for what they’re trying to achieve. Sometimes they compare their performance with their own personal best; sometimes they compare it with the performance of competitors they’re facing or expect to face; sometimes they compare it with the best known performance by anyone in the field.”
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Log Books & I.C. Printouts
Hope everyone enjoys the long weekend. If you're starting to miss swimming already, join the club!
Here's a video of the 100 free from this summer's national championships. Several current and former Longhorns were in the final.
Pretty good swim for GWG, right? Check out the replays of the start, turn, and finish.
p.s. Log books were due Friday.
p.p.s. Infinite Campus grade printouts are due Tuesday.
Here's a video of the 100 free from this summer's national championships. Several current and former Longhorns were in the final.
Pretty good swim for GWG, right? Check out the replays of the start, turn, and finish.
p.s. Log books were due Friday.
p.p.s. Infinite Campus grade printouts are due Tuesday.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Notes
Everyone,
BURIED right now! Only time for some quick notes:
- I've been getting your fan shirt orders! I hope to tally them and place the order next week. Money won't be due until they're ready. If you've not done so, please get me sizes and numbers as soon as possible.
- I'll get together with parents that missed last week's meeting soon. We're still adding a few more athletes to our rosters, so once that's done we'll reschedule for those that didn't make it last Thursday.
- Morning group gear is a must. Please check the official website for morning group requirements. The afternoon group should have similar items, but we're not requiring the snorkel and hand paddles.
- Our morning group put in a great effort on a very tough kick set! Way to go, team!!
- We're working on our morning bus shuttle timing. Kids have gotten to 2nd block a few minutes late this week, but we are adjusting the schedule.
- We have some move-ins that will need to complete previous athletic participation forms. I'll print them out and we'll get those rolling in the next couple of days.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
This Week
Swimmers,
If you've not taken care of your paperwork, you need to wrap that up this weekend!!!
The morning group will splash Monday at 6:45 a.m. Please be early so we can issue lockers and you'll have time to stretch.
The afternoon group will ride the bus to the natatorium and we'll try to splash at 1:45 p.m. We'll try to get lockers assigned and do some stretching before we hit the water.
Afternoon dry-land will begin at 3:00 p.m. on Monday. That should give y'all plenty of time to get from campus to the pool, get into your shirts/shorts/shoes, and stretch before we begin.
I think we're all excited about getting started on the 2011-12 season.
Have a great weekend and we'll kick things off Monday!
Button
If you've not taken care of your paperwork, you need to wrap that up this weekend!!!
The morning group will splash Monday at 6:45 a.m. Please be early so we can issue lockers and you'll have time to stretch.
The afternoon group will ride the bus to the natatorium and we'll try to splash at 1:45 p.m. We'll try to get lockers assigned and do some stretching before we hit the water.
Afternoon dry-land will begin at 3:00 p.m. on Monday. That should give y'all plenty of time to get from campus to the pool, get into your shirts/shorts/shoes, and stretch before we begin.
I think we're all excited about getting started on the 2011-12 season.
Have a great weekend and we'll kick things off Monday!
Button
Winter's Just Around the Corner?
Swim Parents,
If you have a fireplace at your house/apartment, please drive over to our Lake Ridge property and pick up some firewood!
Most of it:
- is oak (with some hedge apple and ash as well)
- came from smaller trees that needed to be thinned
- was cut in May of 2010 (hot summers dried it out quite well)
- has been cut short, so it'll also fit in a smaller fireplace/chiminea
All firewood is right in front, so feel free to just pull in and load up.
There are a few larger pieces of hedge apple that y'all are also welcome to load up and split. That will be the longest/hottest burning wood we've got.
Also, we rented a chipper/shredder last year to chew up all the brush. There are several piles all around the property. Feel free to shovel some into the back of your vehicle if you want it.
Finally, snakes are a possibility when picking through the wood pile. Keep an eye out so you don't get a surprise.
Thanks,
Button
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