Weekly Update - Sunday, April 14 (Tax filing deadline is tomorrow)

Hello MAST Families,                                                                                                            2024-0414

Welcome back to MAST swimming everybody.  We hope that your break between seasons was productive and rewarding.  Now it’s time to get back to the pool!

Group Assignments:  As we have done in past seasons we would like all swimmers to begin the spring season in the same training group that they ended winter season in.  Once we get underway, we will be looking to both adjust group assignments and possibly adjust or change the training emphasis on each group.  Coaches will talk with individual swimmers and contact parents if we feel it is time to change groups.  Please be patient as we work through the process.

Swimmer Improvement:  One of the most interesting aspects of the break between seasons is that we find swimmers often return after the previous season further ahead in their performance than one might expect.  This is a really exciting phenomenon which (I believe) is activated by the way the body adapts to stress, rest and subsequent adaptation cycles.

Science of Adaptation: Dr. Han Selye labeled this phenomenon the “General Adaptation Syndrome” and it is the same process that is behind the tapering of swimmers for big meets. While there is a lot of debate about what, exactly, is going on has not reached consensus level, but it sure is fun to witness when it happens. (Stress – recovery – super-compensation, just young swimmers bodies growing, a rebound in growth hormone after hard work, or many other things). 

Keep the Ball Rolling: One this is not in dispute: The rewards from a season of work a swimmer puts in, most often manifests the following season.  I cannot emphasize enough the importance of getting back to work and not missing out on the next season.  Improvement is cumulative so it is essential for those who want to have outstanding results to not miss the spring and summer (Long Course) season after all the work put in this past winter (short course) season.

Practice schedule in separate update.

See you at the pool,

Monty