Anyone know how swimmers were chosen/ applied for the High Performance Camp? I remember seeing something about this several years ago and if I remember right there were a very limited amount of spaces and the selection was based on your times/ top 10 places.
Just curious. From the article it sounded like a great opportunity and a lot of fun.
I attended the camp and yes all meals, hotel, transportation to and from the hotel and to and from the pool was included.
The coaches were top notch! Kerry O'brien has been coaching Masters since 1980 and is a level 5 ASCA coach. He is very knowledgeable and very good. Craig Keller is young but also very knowledgeable (he was an assistant coach with Kerry and with Stu Kahn). He chairs the USMS coaches committee. Stu Kahn has been coaching for 40 years at the club level, junior college, college, age group and the last three years Masters. He also is very very good. BTW, he coached Matt Biondi as an age grouper! Frank Marcinowski has also many years of experience (since 1977 I believe). Except for Frank, all the other coaches are FULL TIME Masters coaches. I believe the coaches had to apply to that camp to be selected as well.
Dr. Genadijus Sokolovas was there for three days. For eight years he was at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs working with swimmers. You can't get better than that! His approach is very scientific. I don't think you can get a lactate clearance test just anywhere. And his Swim Power Test shows you very clearly where you are getting the most and least power in your stroke. He also writes a summary of your weak points and what to do to improve.
Others brought in were also experts in their field. Jennifer Brunelli was a seven time All-American swimmer at South Carolina and is now a nutritionist. Nice to have a nutritionist who is a swimmer! The sport psychologist was a professor at UNC and works with many athletes.
Lefty, Olympians are great to listen to and many of them are good coaches, but this group I felt was really very good.
Yes, it is expensive, but I felt it was very much worth it.
Anyone know how swimmers were chosen/ applied for the High Performance Camp? I remember seeing something about this several years ago and if I remember right there were a very limited amount of spaces and the selection was based on your times/ top 10 places.
Just curious. From the article it sounded like a great opportunity and a lot of fun.
Anyone interested had to fille out an application. Swimmers were chosen from based on information in the application.
I filled one out for the event and was selected to attend. I decided against attending because of the responses that I recieved from the hosting group.
In early June, I ask for a list of coaches and a daily schedule for the week. I was told that they were finishing-up the coaches list and schedule. The next day, I had email from the hosting group asking me to confirm my attendance by the end of that day. I thought that was a little pushy to ask for a response on the sameday as the email was sent out for an event in late august.
By the middle of june, I still hadn't seen a copy of the schedule or the coaches list. Yes, the head coaches was Kerry O'Brian and Craig Keller from Asphalt Green. Both of them are great but I wanted to see the list of supporting coaches because the they really make the difference in how successful a camp is for a swimmer.
Around that time, I also had an email from the hosting group reminding me that half the deposit was due by June 30th. I responded to the email asking for the coaches list and daily schedule again. This time I got no response.
At the end of june, they sent out another email to the selected group reminding them of when the money was due. Since they hadn't provided any more information about how the weeks events were going to be broken down, I decided against attneding the camp.
IMO, the event hosts were pushy about wanting their money but not responsive in supplying information.
If USMS wants to do this event yearly, having information ready before asking for $1800 or half of it would be greatly appreciated.
Yes, I did send my thoughts to the event host about why I wasn't going to attend but go no response from them.
If USMS wants to do this event yearly, having information ready before asking for $1800 or half of it would be greatly appreciated.
Are you kidding me? My tri team is putting on a three day event with a former Olympian and his personal coaches for only $200. I suppose hotel was included in the price? Wow.
Are you kidding me? My tri team is putting on a three day event with a former Olympian and his personal coaches for only $200. I suppose hotel was included in the price? Wow.
I believe the hotel was included in the price, the doubletree.
It was four full days, (full meaning 6AM to 9:30PM which also included two workouts with a total of 7,000 yards) not counting the arrival day which we saw the facility and had dinner with the Synchro Team and Katie Hoff and the departure day which included breakfast and a ride to the airport. So we were in Greensboro for a total of 6 days.
Lefty, Olympians are great to listen to and many of them are good coaches, but this group I felt was really very good.
I agree, the Olympian is the sizzle, the steak are the coaches.
How many days was the evnet?
This camp is expensive, It's true... But my experience, and from what I gathered from everyone around me, at the camp, was excellent. There were swimmes of varying backgrounds, and different levels of experience, and all came away with something to work on as well as an amazing education. After the camp, even more material was sent to each swimmer, results of testing and video of swimming with a velocity scale along the bottom were also sent.
We made amazing friends, have coaches, doctors, and swimmers with whom we can write to or call for infomation at any time! I had to suck it up pretty hard to come up with the cash, as we had just moved earlier this year, but I wouldnt change a thing...except my stroke! :)
Since returning, I've been working on some key elements, helping my team mates and team members with their strokes, and considering new ways of becoming a full time masters coach. Everyone from the fastest swimmer to the newest swimmer to the longest experienced, least experienced swimmer, has something to learn, and to share with others...at this camp, these merge. I would happily swim with/ and or for these coaches or swimmers any time.
