Jim's Swimming Blog

My Swimming Background and History I started swimming in 1973 after my family moved "over the hill" from Silicon Valley (then nothing but orchards) to Aptos, California. My 3rd grade classmate friends all swam for the local team - the Cabrillo Threshers - and they convinced me to try it. Although I didn't know it at the time, this is the year I met my future wife, who was then a talented, irritating 6 year old swimmer. She would go on to swim for Santa Clara Swim Club, qualify for the USA Junior team that swam against the USSR, and earn a scholarship to UCLA. I swam for the Threshers until age 14, when I belatedly joined the exodus of swimmers to the larger team in the area, the Santa Cruz Aquatic Team (or SCAT). In the late 70s and early 80s, SCAT was a team that definitely "punched above its weight", sending many swimmers to US Junior and Senior Nationals and Olympic Trials. Throughout my junior and senior high school years I tried to balance swimming, other sports (water polo, surfing and junior lifeguard training) and schoolwork, but I basically dedicated myself to swimming as a high school senior. I broke the 1:00 barrier for the 100 SCY *** as a junior in high school, and as a senior I was second to my SCAT teammate in the CCS high school sectional championships. The summer before my freshman year at Cal I won the 100 LCM *** at the Western Junior Nationals in San Jose with a 1:08.55. As a freshman at Cal I had the good fortune to swim with some of the best breastrokers in the world, including Adrian Moorhouse, Robert Lager, Marco Veilleux and Rickie Gill. I also benefitted greatly from the tremendous coaching staff in Berkeley, and from the innovative training approach - especially the infamous "speed circuit". The Cal team was stocked with foreign swimmers (Swedes, Italians, Brits, etc) and a few of them - who were aware of my US/Dutch dual citizenship - convinced me to spend the summer in Holland and try to qualify for that summer's European Championships. That nudge led me to spend the next three summers swimming in Holland with the Dutch national team. I was Dutch national champion in 1983 and swam at the EC's in Rome. The Dutch swimming federation insisted I spend more time in Holland if I wanted to make the 1984 Olympic team, and so I took the spring semester of my sophomore year off to live and train in Holland. To my chagrin, the federation changed its policy of team selection that year, so that only a single men's relay was sent to LA. Despite my better judgement, I went back to Holland in the summer of 1985 and qualified for the EC's in Sofia. Finally, in 1986 I decided I'd had enough of the politics and (then) poor national team coaching and swam at the US World Championships Trials in Orlando. I was sixth in the 100m *** and thought I made the US second team to attend the Goodwill Games - until the Dutch federation refused to release me to swim for another country! Bitter and frustrated, and knowing that I could still swim faster, that was my last meet until 2007. Highlights 1981 Junior National Qualfier SCY and LCM 1982 Junior National Qualifier SCY and LCM winner 100m *** 1983 Dutch National Champion and swam European Champ's in Rome 1984 Dutch Olympic Trials 1985 NCAA Qualifier and swam European Champ's in Sofia 1986 NCAA Qualified and swam WC Trials in Orlando Lowlights - missing the 1984 Olympics - not being able to convert my success at Cal into international success (due I think to non-existent tapers with Dutch national coaches) - quitting "too soon" in 1986 Post-College and Masters Swimming I stayed in decent shape for a few years after graduating, but after I moved to Europe for work in 1992 I basically got fat and lazy (too many European business lunches and dinners). In 1998 I forced myself to join a local health club, where after a few months of boredom the ex-commando club owner challenged me to run the NY Marathon with him the next year. Naturally (and stupidly) I took up the challenge. I dropped about 35-40 lbs, got into decent running shape, and ran a 3:18 in New York. We moved back to the US in the summer of 2000. I ran a few more half and full marathons in 2000, 2001 and 2002, until the strain/injuries from training made it impossible. Living in hilly Santa Cruz (CA) county, I decided I'd try cycling. I bought a road bike, and began riding centuries in and around the Bay Area. In 2004 I dedicated myself to preparing for the "Death Ride" (http://www.deathride.com/). To my amazement, I completed all 5 passes. In 2005 we made a "quality of life" decision and moved our growing family to the bucolic state of Oregon. In the spring of 2007, I learned from a former teammate that my freshman year roommate at Cal had died unexpectedly during a routine surgery. That news really shocked me, and shortly thereafter I got back in the pool. I swam my first masters meet that summer, fat and out of shape. I decided that I still loved the rush from competing, and decided to take it more seriously. I had a decent SCM season in the fall of 2007, but over the holidays I was diagnosed with AC joint arthritis and was out of the water for nearly 4 months. I started training hard again in March 2008. I have decided to focus on swimming a fast 50 and 100 ***, with the occasional 200 *** thrown in for pain, and to swim the 50 and 100 free if my shoulders permit. I have set some audacious goals for 2009 (when I age up to 45-49), though I will need to find some suitable meets to taper for - I am really not excited about Clovis or Indy (as locations). My quest begins on September 1st 2008. Go Bears! Hup Holland!

My Swimming Background and History I started swimming in 1973 after my family moved "over the hill" from Silicon Valley (then nothing but orchards) to Aptos, California. My 3rd grade classmate friends all swam for the local team - the Cabrillo Threshers - and they convinced me to try it. Although I didn't know it at the time, this is the year I met my future wife, who was then a talented, irritating 6 year old swimmer. She would go on to swim for Santa Clara Swim Club, qualify for the USA Junior team that swam against the USSR, and earn a scholarship to UCLA. I swam for the Threshers until age 14, when I belatedly joined the exodus of swimmers to the larger team in the area, the Santa Cruz Aquatic Team (or SCAT). In the late 70s and early 80s, SCAT was a team that definitely "punched above its weight", sending many swimmers to US Junior and Senior Nationals and Olympic Trials. Throughout my junior and senior high school years I tried to balance swimming, other sports (water polo, surfing and junior lifeguard training) and schoolwork, but I basically dedicated myself to swimming as a high school senior. I broke the 1:00 barrier for the 100 SCY *** as a junior in high school, and as a senior I was second to my SCAT teammate in the CCS high school sectional championships. The summer before my freshman year at Cal I won the 100 LCM *** at the Western Junior Nationals in San Jose with a 1:08.55. As a freshman at Cal I had the good fortune to swim with some of the best breastrokers in the world, including Adrian Moorhouse, Robert Lager, Marco Veilleux and Rickie Gill. I also benefitted greatly from the tremendous coaching staff in Berkeley, and from the innovative training approach - especially the infamous "speed circuit". The Cal team was stocked with foreign swimmers (Swedes, Italians, Brits, etc) and a few of them - who were aware of my US/Dutch dual citizenship - convinced me to spend the summer in Holland and try to qualify for that summer's European Championships. That nudge led me to spend the next three summers swimming in Holland with the Dutch national team. I was Dutch national champion in 1983 and swam at the EC's in Rome. The Dutch swimming federation insisted I spend more time in Holland if I wanted to make the 1984 Olympic team, and so I took the spring semester of my sophomore year off to live and train in Holland. To my chagrin, the federation changed its policy of team selection that year, so that only a single men's relay was sent to LA. Despite my better judgement, I went back to Holland in the summer of 1985 and qualified for the EC's in Sofia. Finally, in 1986 I decided I'd had enough of the politics and (then) poor national team coaching and swam at the US World Championships Trials in Orlando. I was sixth in the 100m *** and thought I made the US second team to attend the Goodwill Games - until the Dutch federation refused to release me to swim for another country! Bitter and frustrated, and knowing that I could still swim faster, that was my last meet until 2007. Highlights 1981 Junior National Qualfier SCY and LCM 1982 Junior National Qualifier SCY and LCM winner 100m *** 1983 Dutch National Champion and swam European Champ's in Rome 1984 Dutch Olympic Trials 1985 NCAA Qualifier and swam European Champ's in Sofia 1986 NCAA Qualified and swam WC Trials in Orlando Lowlights - missing the 1984 Olympics - not being able to convert my success at Cal into international success (due I think to non-existent tapers with Dutch national coaches) - quitting "too soon" in 1986 Post-College and Masters Swimming I stayed in decent shape for a few years after graduating, but after I moved to Europe for work in 1992 I basically got fat and lazy (too many European business lunches and dinners). In 1998 I forced myself to join a local health club, where after a few months of boredom the ex-commando club owner challenged me to run the NY Marathon with him the next year. Naturally (and stupidly) I took up the challenge. I dropped about 35-40 lbs, got into decent running shape, and ran a 3:18 in New York. We moved back to the US in the summer of 2000. I ran a few more half and full marathons in 2000, 2001 and 2002, until the strain/injuries from training made it impossible. Living in hilly Santa Cruz (CA) county, I decided I'd try cycling. I bought a road bike, and began riding centuries in and around the Bay Area. In 2004 I dedicated myself to preparing for the "Death Ride" (http://www.deathride.com/). To my amazement, I completed all 5 passes. In 2005 we made a "quality of life" decision and moved our growing family to the bucolic state of Oregon. In the spring of 2007, I learned from a former teammate that my freshman year roommate at Cal had died unexpectedly during a routine surgery. That news really shocked me, and shortly thereafter I got back in the pool. I swam my first masters meet that summer, fat and out of shape. I decided that I still loved the rush from competing, and decided to take it more seriously. I had a decent SCM season in the fall of 2007, but over the holidays I was diagnosed with AC joint arthritis and was out of the water for nearly 4 months. I started training hard again in March 2008. I have decided to focus on swimming a fast 50 and 100 ***, with the occasional 200 *** thrown in for pain, and to swim the 50 and 100 free if my shoulders permit. I have set some audacious goals for 2009 (when I age up to 45-49), though I will need to find some suitable meets to taper for - I am really not excited about Clovis or Indy (as locations). My quest begins on September 1st 2008. Go Bears! Hup Holland!