Liveblogging from China.

Coach Tim will be liveblogging during his upcoming historic trip to China.

Being that this is such a unique experience, not only for me but for the program as a whole, both the board and I thought that it would be a great idea to use modern technology to keep the program up to date on everything that I'll be doing while in China. This is one of the first trips of it's kind for a USA Swimming coach to travel to the People's Republic of China for the express purpose of cooperation between coaches from the two countries.

China, like it is in so many other sports, has really started to emerge from a somewhat dark past recently in the world swim community. They have cleaned up their act and started to excel to new heights. That was never more evident than at the 2010 FINA World Championships last summer when 19 y/o Chinese phenom Sun Yang broke the oldest existing world record in international swimming (in the 1500 M Freestyle). Now back on the world stage, there is so much that we can learn from each other by breaking down old barriers and forming new friendships as we look forward.

Just like swimmers, us coaches must do everything they can to get better. Getting better (as swimmers and coaches) means getting out of your comfort zone, and really challenging yourself take advantage of new opportunities to learn and grow. This trip represents just such an opportunity for me.

I will be posting some background information on the my trip, and the area in which I will be going over the next few days. I will be arriving (after a 24-hour flight) in Shanghai late on December 9th and will be diving right in (so to speak) the next morning for AM workout with the Wuxi Sports School Team's morning workout.

Coach Tim