Day 2 & 3 - Zhejiang University

The last couple days has been kind of a whirlwind, so I've condensed both days into one post. We were pretty much in the same place, doing stuff all related to the same thing, so it makes sense.

Morning in Shanghai, China

The morning after our arrival, and because of severe jetlag, we work up ungodly early at 5 AM to a beautiful sunrise from out 19th floor hotel room onto the largest city in the world. It was still asleep, so it was very peaceful. Over the next few hours it slowly woke up (as did we) and we set out on the day after a traditional breakfast. Today, in the morning hours, we were setting out to the southwest, down towards the City of Hangzhou. The city itself it is about 2-2.5 hours (180 km) south of Shanghai. We were actually headed to the University Center, which is a large section of town that contains 7 full and separate universities all in one area. We arrived in time for lunch. After the traditional 1.5 hour lunch, we set out for the University of Zhejiang University of Economics and Finance to work with the swim team.

The system of swimming in China at the University level is MUCH different then in the United States. It's pretty complicated and to be quite honest, I'm not sure I understand it fully. However, this much I do know. Every fall, just at the start of the school year, they have something called the University Games of China. This is an Olympic games-style competition that is held for 10-days near Beijing. The team are organized not by college, but by provinces. So all of the best athletes in a particular province will train together for the summer, then travel to this competition and compete as one team. So the team that we got to work with was the team from the Zhejiang Province that is training at the university we worked stayed at. We spend several hours observing and actually working with them as they did dryland and swam a workout. Some spoke fairly good English and could possibly make fine additions to our college team someday :). It should be mentioned that some of these swimmers are QUITE good and could easily swim at the highest University levels in the United states.

Zhejiang Provincial University Team.

That night, we had a very traditional Chinese dinner that went on well into the night. Our hosts were managers and administers within the college athletic program. After what seemed like a very short night sleep, we were up early again and off for the day. In the morning, we spend the day with several high level college administrators discussing our two colleges (Monroe Community College and their school) and the possibility of future opportunities that could involve brining our swimmers to train in China for a "training trip" or vice versa. We are all VERY optimistic about the making this happen. We then were taken to a very fancy restaurant and treat to a great traditional Chinese lunch with the same folks we met with. If you are getting the feeling that everything revolves out food and the good times that go along with it, you are quite correct. There is nothing to cement a good friendship and talk of future cooperation then a good meal, right?

Us with the Athletic Director and her deputy at Lunch.

Sticking with the theme of mixing business and pleasure, we then spend the afternoon about 1 hour north of Hangzhou in a historical Chinese village called Wuzhen. It's an actual small village that maintains the traditional ways of life from the Song Dynasty (200 years ago). It was very beautiful. Everything revolves around this small river (Dongshi River) and it was really an interesting learning experience. Also, the signs were written in both Chinese and English so that made things really helpful for us. I'll attach a few pictures, but they cannot capture the pure beauty of this place.

Bridge over the Dongshi River (Wuzhen, China)

Some Traditional houses along the River.  (Wuzhen, China)

By the time we got back to town, it was getting late for dinner (it was 7:30 PM), so our Chinese hosts wanted us to taste China's version of western food, so they took us to a Pizza Hut (they are very popular here). It was different for sure, but it was not bad at all and we were very surprised. They have a much more expanded menu and they put some weird stuff on pizza, but we stuck with the classics and it was a good meal. We were done early and because we we have a few full days ahead, we went back to the hotel and turned in early. Sleep is something our bodies have to figure out here in China.

Coach Tim

Day 1 - Flight and arrival.

I had forgotten just how long that flight is. We took off from Rochester, as scheduled and after connections, we boarded a Delta 777-200ES (a big plane) for our 7300 mile Detroit to Shanghai flight. As expected, it was brutally long, and we couldn't have been happier to touchdown at the Shanghai-Pudong airport.

We arrived in Shanghai, China around 6:50 PM (China time) on Tuesday, August 29, 2012 and by the time we had made it through customs, it was almost 8 PM. The only snafu was that one of Coach Phil's bags did not make the flight over. A little hassle, but they assured us that the bags would reach us within a day. Sure enough, as expected, Jiang and Wei (our 2 friends and hosts), and Sandy (our interpreter) were waiting for us on the other side of customs. After a 20-hour day, we were pretty beat but we certainly were hungry too. They whisked us away in our Mercedes caravan and we were off to Shanghai City Center (Pudong) for some dinner and a few night time sites. We dined at a very famous (did not catch the name) Shanghai restaurant with our group (Jiang, Wei, Sandy, Coach Tim, Coach Phil and my brother Coach Dan - who is the head coach at Monroe Community College and who took the trip with us).

Dinner was great. We spent about 2 hours catching up with our friends and meeting new ones. One of Jiang's friends in Shanghai hosted us and his name is Claude (Chinese typically will offer American names to themselves to make it easy for us). Turns out that Claude is an executive at a wine company here in Shanghai and along with dinner, we shared several VERY expensive bottles of wine (one was a tasty Red from 1997 that costs about 6000 RMP - or $500 USD). It was quite a special time to reconnect with our old friends. I forgot just how Welcoming the Chinese People are.

Coach Dan, Jiang, Coaches Tim, Wei, Phil and Claude

After dinner, Claude had arranged for a couple drivers for us and we drove around to a few cool locations in the city and took some pictures. Shanghai is HUGE. With a population in the city proper at 23 Million people, it is considered the LARGEST CITY in the world. We spent our night in the Pudong section of the town, which is right alongside the Huangpu River. Pudong is the heart of Shanghai's Finance District. We drove to the Oriental Pearl Tower (a Shanghai landmark) and took pictures for about an hour before calling it a night.

During dinner, Jiang gave us a little bit of what we'd be doing for the week, and who we'd be seeing. I won't ruin any surprises here, but suffice it to say........... This trip is going to be SPECTACULAR. More to come later......

Downtown Pudong, Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China

Thats all for now. More to come later......

Coach Tim

Headed Out

Just a quick note as we head out to the airport. It's a dreadfully long flight to get to China and depending on connections can take anywhere from 20-24 hours. Our flight today will take us from Rochester, to NY (LaGuardia), and then from NY to Shanghai (with a stop in Detroit to get on a larger plane for the final leg). It's about an 8000 mile trip and the Detroit to Shanghai flight alone is scheduled at 14:55.

Our anticipated arrival in China is 6:40 PM Tuesday. The time difference between Rochester and Shanghai is 13 hours (they are ahead of us). Hopefully I will get an opportunity to blog every day to keep you all informed on how the trip is going. I hope that the next entry will be sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Coach Tim & Coach Phil

China Trip Itinerary

We received our Trip Itinerary in the last few days and will add here.

08/28 Reception (we arrive at Shanghai-Pudong airport at 6 PM local time).

08/29 Shanghai touring in the morning and drive back to Hangzhou, CoachZuo’s site; (Zhejiang University of Finance, Hangzhou)

08/30 Visiting Coach Zuo’s college, Zhejiang province university selected
swimming team practice;

08/31- 09/01  Touring Hangzhou in the morning and visit DaGuan Swimming
Center (This is the club that Olympic Gold Medalist and world record holder Ye Shiwen is from. Her Coach - Coach Wei Wei is one of our hosts).

9/02 Touring Hangzhou in the morning and visit ChenJinglun Sports School, (this is where Olympic Gold Medalist and  world record holder Sun Yang is from, Vice Pricipal is Mr. Bai who Coach Tim had a dinner with last time her was here).

9/03 Visiting Zhejiang Swimming Team (This is the Provincial Team that is putting out China's best swimmers)

09/05 Leave for USA in the morning.

09/04 Wuxi (Where I went last year. Will be Visiting the Wuxi Sports School again).

Junior Nationals - Day 4 & Wrap-up

Day 4 - 

Today was the final day of events for Jeff (there is 1 day left in the meet though), and Jeff was scheduled to swim the 200 Freestyle in the prelims and then going to do a time trial in the 200 Back, which he has not swum in awhile.

After the typical 6 AM wake-up and trip over to the pool, Jeff got in for warm-up. After 3 already grueling days, mentally and physically, Jeff wasn't really feeling it in warm up. Arms and legs were very fatigued and it was pretty clear that Jeff was pretty ready to be done. Coach Phil made him warm-up MUCH longer then Jeff would have liked, but it was crucial to get his body ready to race. 4 days is a lot of racing a good warm-up/warm down is crucial to keep the body ready. The 200 Free was the first event today so there wasn't a lot of time to mull the race over, which was probably a good thing. If you followed the blog all along, it's pretty clear that this was a physically and mentally draining week for a first time National Championship swimmer like Jeff (and others). Between knowing that the stands are full of college recruiters looking for the best talent for their programs and trying to impress them, to just plain being humbled by the sheer talent level assembled here, it's pretty exhausting.

The 200 was going to be what we coaches call a "character swim". Not feeling his best, mentally or physically, it was gonna be a challenge to summon up the moxy to get out there and swim a lifetime best (1:56.47). As coaches, we did what we do..... we got up into his grill a little bit and told him that he  really wants to be considered an elite swimmer, he was gonna have to find a way to rise above the fatigue and find a way. It's not how you do when you are at your best that defines your true championship spirit, it's how you do when you're not. It sounds cliche, but it's the absolute truth. We didn't have much else to say really. It really was up to him at this point.

Jeff was in heat 6 and got out to a nice comfortable start. He was pretty much right with the pack in his heat (all swimmers that went about 1:56.50). He was out pretty conservatively at a 56.97. It was an okay first 100, but not quite as fast as we hoped. More importantly, his stroke looked a little heavy and he did not look comfortable at all. The 3rd 50 was going to be crucial. It didn't look good. He was right in the pack at about 4th or 5th at the 100 wall, and both swimmers on either side of him took off at the 3rd 50. They kind of started leaving Jeff behind. As any swimmer can attest, that is the defining moment in a race............ It's decision time - You either go with them, or you let them go. By 130-135 yds, it looked every bit like Jeff was making the decision to let em' go. As a coach for 25 years, you can almost here the conversation taking place in his head from the side of the pool. "I'm tired", "these guys are too good".... blaa, blaa, blaa. Jeff hit the 150 at 1:27.32, almost a body length behind the leaders. A lifetime best looked to be slipping away and he was 8th, out of 8 at the 150 wall. Generally, we knew that even at his best, coming home much under 30 was asking a lot. Not what we were hoping to see.

Sometime between going into the wall and coming out....... Jeff must have made another decision. It was clear in 1-2 strokes that Jeff wasn't gonna just give this race away. His tempo picked up and his kick went into overdrive. He was going to get the kid next to him........ Plain and simple. He almost did too. Jeff came back in his last 50 meters in 28.87 (which is very fast for him) and managed to go a 1:56.19. It was a lifetime best for him and more then 2.5 seconds faster then he has been all season. He was second in his heat and moved up to 53rd place from his 74th place seeding.

It was great to watch. It's something that as a coach, is part of the pure joy of our sport. Don't get me wrong, it you would have asked Jeff, or even Phil or I at the beginning of the meet, if we would have happy with a 1/2 second best time in this race, we woulda said no. But it was really the way this race was swum that makes it so satisfying. He coulda quit, we all knew he wasn't feeling his best, but he didn't. That's the lesson to take from all of this for you swimmers. Your not always gonna hit the water feeling like a million bucks, and your probably always find yourself up against bigger, stronger swimmers........ But if you never quit.... good things will happen. Whether you are swimming at this level, or just in a local competition back home. It's just racing, and its the best part of what we do.

Jeff was pretty much toast after this race, but we had the night before signed him up for a time trial in the 200 Backstroke (not the easiest of events when you are tired). He begged us to let him get out of it (it is, after all, a totally voluntary thing). Like good coaches, we refused and made him swim it. He hadn't done one in over a year and his time was a fairly slow (for him) 2:17.something. He needed to set a respectable mark for himself. Well, a few hours later, he got back in a swum the trial and went a very respectable 2:10.98, which is currently the second fastest Niagara 15-over time this year.

In the end, it turned out to be a very good experience for Jeff (and for us coaches). He came (for really the first time), to the highest National Level meet for swimmers his age, and was right in the thick of it. He learned that your not always gonna be the best, and that there is always more you can do to get better.

**NOTE** A quick note of thanks to Jeff for being a good sport in all this. These are valuable experiences, and someday some of you will find yourself here and to be able to share his experiences with the rest of the team is good. You might feel some of the very same things someday.

Junior Nationals - Day 3

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Today was day 3 of 4 days of competition here in Indianapolis. Today's races included the 400 Free and the 100 Fly. Jeff was competing in the 100 Fly. It's one of Jeff's favorite events and he was pretty excited about it. Jeff, like many older swimmers in Niagara and USA Swimming in general, is a huge Finals swimmer. Often,  the preliminary rounds are used just to qualify for the evening session, where you can then come back and "earn the hardware" at night. After all, we've all seen the great ones like Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte ease off in their prelim or semi-final swims only to come back in the final set world or Olympic records in the finals. It's not that they "don't try" in prelims, they absolutely do, it's just that those prelim "opportunities" are not often viewed the same way as final "opportunities" are. After all, no places, or medals are won in prelims, right? Today was reminder that, as swimmers, you MUST treat every "opportunity" to swim as a finals swim, because you are never assured that that "next swim" will be there if you don't.

Jeff's best lifetime prelim swim time was a 57.20 heading into today's race and his best final time was a 56.50. He was seeded overall at 36th in the program (out of 104) going into the prelims session. Jeff felt pretty good and made a great run of it in the morning and went a 56.54 in the prelims session, right at his best finals lifetime best. It was a great swim, but he was just a little tentative in his first 15 meters (we thought). We had calculated that it would take roughly a 56.50 to make it back to the finals session......... and we were just about dead on. Jeff's prelim swim moved him up 10 spots to 26th overall, 2 places out of the the top-24 that they take back for the coveted finals session. To add insult to injury, 1 person scratched out of the finals session, leaving Jeff as the first alternate. First alternate is that dreaded spot at any meet, because you have to come back and be ready to swim, but if there are no medical scratches (very unlikely), you don't get that finals opportunity to improve. The difference between Jeff's 25th place and not getting to swim and 24th place with the opportunity of the nighttime do-over............ in this case was .02 seconds (56.52 to 56.54). That is all that separated 24th and 25th place.

All in all, it was a great race for Jeff and he certainly gave it his best shot and moved up the field pretty well, but to come so far and to just miss out by a fingernail is a tough thing for any swimmer to endure. If there is any lesson to take from this for any young swimmers out there, its to make sure that every opportunity to race must be taken advantage of. Sure, you don't win any medals in the prelims round, but when you reach this elite level of swimming, you MUST preform in the morning, or you will not get the opportunity to do it at night. If you can't make it out on to the dance floor, you'll never get to dance. It's that simple.

Tomorrow brings a new dawn and we're excited for what the day will bring. Jeff is swimming the 200 Freestyle, which is a very good event for him. He hasn't done many this summer, so it'll be interesting to see where he is at. His backstroke is actually looking really good too, so we decided to time trial him in the 200 Backstroke tomorrow afternoon. He hasn't done it in over a year, so we are really interested in seeing what kind of time he can turn in.

Jeff seemed to fare a little bit better then his other Niagara competitors on this day. This meet is so extraordinarily hard to get to, that most swimmers have already had to rest/shave just to get here that they are already past their physical peaks. Also, this level of competition is like NOTHING these swimmers are used to facing so it sometimes throws them off their game a bit. EVERY swimmer at this meet is an elite swimmer and when you are used to being the "best of the best", which all of these swimmers are back at home, it's a little humbling to say the least to come here and be surrounded by so many great swimmers. All the other Niagara swimmers that swam today (Dina Rommel, Summer Schmitt, PJ Ransford and Jack Boyd) were all a bit off their lifetime bests in today swims, but they certainly did Western NY proud just making it here and representing the other 5700 swimmers from Niagara that did not. All will have other swims in the next couple days to once again, showcase their talent against the best 18 & under swimmers in the country.

Junior Nationals - Day 1 and Day 2

Phil and Jeff arrived in Indianapolis on Sunday, August 12.... 1 day prior to the start of this 4-day long meet. Since this meet requires either a long drive, or flight to get here, it's always nice to get here a day or two early and acclimate. After a pre-meet warm up in the IUPUI Natatorium (where this meet is being held) on Sunday afternoon, they were ready to go.

Historic IUPUI Natatorium, Indianapolis, IN

Jeff's first event of the meet on day 1 was the 200 M Fly. The 200 Fly was a late event addition for Jeff when he reached a qualifying cut in the 100 Fly several weeks ago (which added another bonus event for him). Jeff's best time entering the meet was a 2:08.23 from earlier this summer. Jeff was in the first heat and got out to a great start in his first 100 with a 59.23 split. He payed the price for the fast start a bit in the last 50, but was able turn in a phenomenal 2:05.60 prelim time. This time was fast enough to not only make it back to the finals session in the Bonus heat (the top-24 make it back), but it also set a new Niagara LSC record for the 17-18 y/o Mens 200 Fly. Quite an impressive feat since this year is really the first year Jeff has begun to concentrate on the 200 fly, and Jeff only turned 17 a few weeks ago.

At finals later that night, Jeff tried to swim the race a little differently by going out a bit more conservatively and having a little more left coming home..... He did exactly that: out 1 second slower, back 1 second faster. End result...... basically the same time as the prelim swim 2:05.80. This was good enough to maintain 23rd place, which was his overall final place. Considering 1 year ago at this time, his best time in the 200 M Fly was a 2:17, all of us were very pleased with his swims today.

Day 2's race was the grueling 400 M IM. Jeff had turned in a remarkable 4:34 earlier this year out of nowhere at the Columbus Grand Prix meet. That swim was out of the blue, but is a pretty lofty bar to set for yourself. As this event rolled around today, Jeff was admittedly a little too amped up and nervious. Already a pretty tough event, the big stage (a National Championship meet) and a very competitive field both combined to fray Jeff's nerves a bit. Not usually prone to nerves, he swam a little tighter then usual and went 4:36.97. This was a seasonal best swim by almost 2 seconds, but just off from his lifetime best from Columbus. Jeff was a little disappointed, but it really ended up being a great lesson for him (as it should be for all swimmers). Sometimes, even as an elite level swimmer, you can let the moment overtake you and your training by over thinking a race. It's always best to stay as relaxed and focused when going into any race (big or small). There is such a thing a putting too much pressure on yourself to perform. All swimmers do it at every level, but teaching yourself to relax and just swim for the pure joy of it, will help you to overcome nerves, even in the biggest moments.

It was by no means a bad race and in fact was the 2nd fastest time he has every swum that race, but the lessons that he (and all athletes) can take from it in the long run are probably more valuable then the time itself. Adversity itself never defines the athlete, it's their response to it that ultimately will. We all feel really good about the day at this point and Jeff's time still ended him up in 30th place (out of 60 competitors), which is basically where he was seeded at so that is something really be proud of. After the race, we stopped up in big foyer area where 1992 Olympic Gold medalist Melvin Stewart happened to be and after some good, inspiring words, we were able to get a shot with him, Jeff and Phil.

Jeff, Phil and Mel Stewart.

The next two days, we go on to really fun and enjoyable events for Jeff. The 100 Fly tomorrow and the 200 Free on Thursday. He can really just go out there and have some fun which is the plan. That is, after all, exactly what this sport is for, no matter what level you are swimming at. Tonight, Phil and I will go to the coaches & officials social in downtown Indianapolis for some food, beverages and something called duck bowling (??).

So far, so good..... More tomorrow.

Where in the world in China, Part deux....

Last Winter, I traveled and blogged extensively about my last cultural exchange trip to the Peoples Republic of China. Well, here we are about nine months later and I am set to return to China in a few days for another exchange. This time, I will be traveling with my good friend and Senior Coach for the Comets Phil Baretela and my brother Dan (a swim coach for Monroe Community College). We will catalog our travels and what we encounter here on this blog.

Where in the world in China, Part duex

If you may -recall-, last year, my trip to China was primarily centered in Wuxi, in the Jiangsu Province, with side trips to both Hangzhou (hang-joe) and Shanghai. It was during this side trip to Hangzhou, that I struck up a friendship with 3 people that would ultimately lead to this return trip. It was there that I met up with Coach's Wei Wei, Zuo and Jiang. In March of this year, we were able to bring the three of them to the Rochester, NY area to visit several local swim programs (including the Comets). This led to our return trip invitation this August.

For this trip, me, Phil and Dan will be staying primarily in the picturesque city of Hangzhou, China. Hangzhou is the capital of the Zhejiang province and is a city of 8.7 million people. It is located on the Yangtze River Delta about 180 kilometers (110 miles) southwest of Shanghai. It is primarily known for it's historical beauty and is considered one of the most beautiful cities in all of China.

You can learn more about Hangzhou from -wikipedia-

Chen Jing Lun Sports School and Hangzhou Sport Development Program

During my last visit to Hangzhou, I was invited to the Chen Jing Lun Sports school in Hangzhou by the Aquatics director Jiang Lian and Coach Wei Wei. After spending a day or so there, I forged a lasting friendship with the both of them and we were able to learn a great deal of information from each other. This relationship was cemented in March 2012 when Coach Wei Wei and Jiang were brought to the United States to participate in a cultural exchange here.

Coach Zuo, Tim and Wei Wei in Hangzhou in Dec. 2011 

As it turns out, Hangzhou is currently the hotbed of competitive swimming in China and two of the world's best swimmers have been discovered and got their start in Hangzhou. Current world record holder in the 1500 M Free and 2-time olympic Gold medalist Sun Yang was a member of a competing sports club in Hangzhou and current 16 year old Chinese swimming sensation Ye Shiwen. Ye took the world be storm in 2012 by winning both the 200 and 400 IM and setting new world record in the 400 Fr. Ye Shiwen started her swim career with Coach Wei Wei and he was her developmental coach until she was 13 years old.

We will be spending the week as guests of the  Chen Jing Lun Sports school and the Hangzhou Sport Development Program. We will be working with Coach Wei Wei, and Jiang with their swimmers in learning the latest techniques and developmental skills that are taught to young Chinese swimmers.

Ye Shiwen, 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist (200 & 400 IM)

Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics

Also while we are there, we will be guest of the the Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics. The university swim team, which is one of the most respected in all of China, will be working with Coach Zuo as he and his swimmers prepare for the University Games in Tiajin, China. We will assist him in final preparation and meet with University officials during our stay.

We will be traveling in China from August 27, 2012 through September 5, 2012. We will primarily be staying in the Hangzhou area, but will hopefully get to spend a little time in both Shanghai and Wuxi during our stay. We will be blogging out entire experience while we are there and traveling.

Summer Junior Nationals

This weekend Coach's Phil and Tim will be traveling to Indianapolis, Indiana for the USA Swimming Speedo Junior National Meet with Comet swimmer Jeff Williamson. Jeff will be swimming 4 events over the next week. We will be blogging the swim meet, reporting on not only Jeff's swims, but also the results of the other Niagara Swimmers at the meet.

The meet will be held at the historic IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis, home of several past US Olympic Trial Events. Jeff will be swimming the 200 Fly, 400 IM, 200 Free and the 100 Fly and is looking to improve on an otherwise great summer season this year. This meet will culminate the 2012 Summer Season for the Comets and we will be taking a little break before the opening of the 2012-2013 season. During which time, both Coach Tim and Coach Phil, will be traveling to Hangzhou, China to work with several of China's most prominent swim coaches, including Chinese Swimming phenom Ye Shiwen's developmental coach.

More to come from Indiana on Monday.

Until then, here is some good background information on the Junior National Meet.

• REAL TIME RESULTS PAGE
• MEET INFORMATION
• PYSCH SHEETS
• TIME STANDARDS - To qualify for the meet.

Good Luck Jeff.