Last day in Phoenix

April is here and it's officially the last day of the Phoenix training camp.

Our swimmers were up early once again for their last swim.  They were all expecting to do a 200 and 50 race from the blocks to finish off the camp.  But Ian thought it would be a funny April Fools' Day joke to tell them all that they still have 5,000 metres to do this morning.  They weren't amused and we almost had a few more tears.  Thankfully, Ian didn't keep the joke going for too long!

So everyone finished off the camp in great form by racing to great times in a 200 and 50 (even best times for some!).  We also concluded the morning with a few games in the pool and even the coaches participated.

We head off in about an hour to the Phoenix Zoo and then to the Phoenix Coyotes game later on.  It should be a great evening.

Congratulations to the Seals swimmers that attended the camp on all their great swimming and great attitudes.  As coaches, we were very impressed with how well the swimmers came together as a team and how well behaved everyone was.

Also, thank you to the parents who did so much work in organizing the camp.  You all did an amazing job and made things very easy for the coaching staff.  We are very lucky to have such a great group of parents and swimmers!

Finally, thanks as well for our coaches gifts.  The swimmers presented them to us yesterday and we are very appreciative of your generosity.

Enjoy some more photos from this morning.

Sad looks in the girls faces while Ian tricks the team.

The boys don't look to happy either.

Grant showing off his dives.

Team Photo

Underwater Team Photo

Last full day in the pool!

After a full week of tough training, the Phoenix swim camp is almost over and today's tough practices were a sure sign of that.
The swimmers started off the morning with a 7,000 metre practice, their longest of the camp followed by a 5,000 metre practice this evening, along with a game of ultimate. And the extremely hot sun didn't make things much easier. But, everyone did a great job and survived the day with just a few sore shoulders and a couple tears.

We finished off the day with a birthday cake for Nick Assuras, Josh and our special guest Emily and the entire dining room joined in on the singing of "Happy Birthday".  It was a nice moment for the team.

We have our last practice tomorrow morning and then off to the zoo and to the hockey game tomorrow night.  A great way to finish off the camp!

Scuba swimmers

Some Ultimate Frisbee

Run and scream!

Getting ready for evening practice in the hot sun

Throwing Ian in

Black and Red!

Happy Birthday Emily, Josh and Nick!

Enjoying some cake

Talent in the pool and talent on the stage.

The fifth day of training camp started out as usual with the early morning breakfast and 7am in the water.  All the Seals, including the coaches were looking a little "worse for wear" this morning heading in to the pool and the 6,000 metre practice didn't help with their tired bodies and minds.  But after a great session of dryland, some lunch and a short sleep, the swimmers were ready to head back to the pool for the afternoon swim.  And despite how tired they may have looked and felt they all pushed their limits in the 4,000 high intensity afternoon session.

Maybe it was because they were all excited to show off their talents outside the water at the Seals swim camp talent show this evening...

After a quick dinner the teams had about an hour to practice and prepare their entry in to the competition.  Everyone was very private about what their performance would be based on and were eager to see what everyone planned to perform.

Grant was a fantastic host of the evening's competition and we also had a guest judge travel all the way from North Carolina to attend the event.

After a number of great performances, team JAJ, (Josh, Andrew and Jonah) won the golden rabbit trophies based on the Seals rap they wrote and performed for the audience.

We have one more day of tough training tomorrow and then Friday is our last day at the pool.  We are all looking forward to heading to the zoo and hockey game that day.

Enjoy the photos.

Camp Coaches

Finishing off a tough set

Team JAJ - The Seals talent show winners

Ready, Go!

Busy Day

Just a quick update tonight...

We had a busy day today and the swimmers keep adding up their metre tally.  6,000 this morning and and 4,000 tonight with a lot of butterfly mixed in.  The weather seems to be getting hotter as the days go by and there is a forecast of 98 degrees on Friday. (Just in time for the Zoo and Hockey Game)
We finished off our day today with a few games of Laser Tag where Zac was by far the best player of the group. Must of been his new hairdo - I'll post some photos tomorrow, but we'll keep everyone in suspense for now.

As it's quite late I'll have more photos tomorrow for everyone to see.

A quick chat before practice

The walk to the pool

Before the haircut.

After!!

Sunscreen time for the two Nicks

Getting ready for practice

Having fun!

Afternoon practice start

Official Laser Quest photo

Goofy Official Laser Quest Photo

Our Laser Quest Photo

Days flying by.

The 7am swim start felt extra early this morning but the great hospitality at the hotel helped ease the swimmer's tired bodies.  We were pleasantly surprised with the great "bag breakfast" the hotel set up for us. The hotel staff are definitely going out of their way for our team.  So thumbs-up on the hotel selection!

It was a little chilly for the swimmers when they jumped into the pool but seeing the sun rise over the pool was quite beautiful and by the time swimming was over and dryland was starting it was very warm once again.

Everyone did a great job in the pool and in dryland this morning and we swam 5,000 metres with lots of solid kicking.  We worked on our 100 metre racing speed this afternoon and despite a lot of tired legs and arms, everyone pushed themselves to their limits in the 4,000 metre practice.

On a trip to a nearby mall this evening, we realized that the swimmers maybe all look a little warn-out when one of the cashiers said, "Whoa! What have you guys been doing?  You all look really red and tired!"

So we have been passing around the aloe and everyone seems to have a new body part every day that's a little red but overall we all seem to be slowly losing our Winnipeg winter white hue.  All except for Nick Assuras who seems to be a professional sunscreen applier as he is still white as a ghost.  (As I'm sure Nancy and George will be happy to hear)

Another early morning practice tomorrow, followed by an early afternoon session and finally a trip to laser tag tomorrow night where the swimmers can take out their aggression on the coaches.

Enjoy the photos!

Great "Bag Breakfast"

Think you have enough sunscreen on?

Some personal coaching for Robin.

Kicking as the sun rises over the pool.

Good perch for coaching.

A great day in paradise!

Another beautiful, sunny day in Phoenix and our swimmers made the most of it with a four hour practice in the heat of the day.  On hour of dryland with Grant followed by a 3-hour swim.  Despite the tough 7,000 meter practice all the swimmers swam fantastic and showed all the coaches that they were here to train hard.
The tough work was rewarded with a trip to the Scotsdale mall where the work was a little less strenuous.  Finally, to finish off the day we had a group BBQ at the hotel.  Thanks to Grant for his great BBQ skills but sorry to the hotel for almost burning down the BBQ area.  We'll see how Grant's eyebrows look in the morning.
We have our first early morning practice tomorrow at 7am and it will continue that way for the rest of the week.
Enjoy the photos!

The fun has begun!

The Seals Spring Break training camp has officially commenced!

After a great night sleep and a delicious breakfast at the hotel the swimmers were off to the pool for the first practice of the week.  Grant was ready to kick start things with a tough dryland.  But the swimmers were up to the challenge and everyone worked hard and seemed excited to be training out in the hot midday sun.  (With lots of sunscreen on of course)  After applying a little more sunscreen and fishing out their mirrored goggles the swimmers dove into the pool for a great aerobic 5,500 meter workout.  Actually, Ian told them it would be 5,000 but somehow tricked them into 5,500 - but with the excitement of swimming outside with the fantastic view of the mountains not many of the swimmers even noticed.

Once we got back to the hotel at about 2:30 there wasn't much of a break before a quick dinner and then back to the pool for another two-hour practice at 6pm. We noticed it was a little chilly at that time and that many of us missed some parts of our body when we applied sunscreen in the midday swim.  The funny tan-line award definitely goes to Jonah as his back has a slight zebra look to it.

The second practice of the day was a lot more intense but with less metres and everyone swam well and pushed their limits even after swimming a total of 9000 metres today.  It must have been the Justin Bieber tunes that Jenny made the group listen to!!

The swimmers have their first three hour swim practice tomorrow and then we will head off to the mall for the afternoon and finally finish the day with a group BBQ at the hotel. It should be fun!

Enjoy some of today's photos.

DRYLAND SESSION

First Jump Into the Pool

Ian Hard at Work

Great Surroundings

Plenty of Space For the Team

On the Walk back From the Pool

A Little Rest Between Sets

Training Camp Rule #5 - Have Fun!

Happy to be Outside