I knew it would be cold in NY but I always forgot what real cold feels like. But thankfully the sun was out and the snow from a few days earlier made the hour drive from Albany to Johnstown a pleasant one. I’m glad the kids were going to get to meet Gold Medalist Misty Hyman. She is such a great role model of balancing excellence in school and swimming. Soon we arrived at a beautiful huge new Fulton County YMCA home of the Flying Fish. Some of the kids had been to our clinic last year and coach Mark and the parents wanted to host their own. And boy did they do a good job. The pool was perfect and the hospitality top notch. After I set a pool record in the 100y free with a :49.2 and Misty and I raced all 70 kids we had a wonderful homemade Italian dinner. After some more teaching we concluded with ice cream at nearby restaurant. I hadn’t had a double scoop of mint chocolate chip and cookies and cream in a waffle cone in a long time. I was very happy! It was really a perfect day!

Streamline Awards – Nick and James and for the girls went to Kenzie and Mary Kate. Spirit/Smile Award – Mike, Emily, and Victoria. (We are very proud of Victoria for coming to the clinic even though she couldn’t get wet because she is recovering from an injury. But she smiled and listened the whole time. We pray for her speedy recovery.)

The Flying Fish team is a great group of kids and parents and coaches. A very special thanks to Coach Mark, Coach Kevin and Coach Joe for having us and doing a great job encouraging and equipping the swimmers!

11.21.09 Wilmington, NC

Another awesome clinic, but this one was extra special for a few reasons. First, the town of Wilmington is beautiful! Right on the intercoastal and the Atlantic Ocean it is a quaint paradise with good weather and a great place to raise a family! Second reason…Lacey Nymeyer was the Olympian joining me and she was recently voted to Female Collegiate Athlete of the year. Out of some 100,000 college athletes Lacy was picked as the All-Around Best. Her swimming accomplishments, academics and character and community service made her stand out from the rest. Very cool!! Also, Scott Hammun and his family who hosted us were amazing! Really enjoyed getting to know their kids, Zach, Meghan, Jake and Ellie and many of their friends on the team. Zach and his buddies and I enjoyed “cereal club” for a midnight snack the first night. And the next day after the clinic Zach and the dudes, and Meghan and her buddies, and I went to see ‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon’. We had a blast! Another thing that was special about this weekend is that Scott, who’s president of the board, and Head Coach Brian, put together a special banquet called A Night with Olympians, to raise awareness and support for a new 50-meter pool to be built in Wilmington. The dinner and and setting on the beach was wonderful as was the chance to get to know better the coaches, parents and swimmers of the great Waves of Wilmington! I have no doubt with the combination of their leadership, the town support, and the continued growth of the team that W.O.W. will get that pool!

Streamline award winners: Sean and Hannah (and Hannah and Hannah Elks). Christian and Cari were very awesome as well.

Spirit/Smile winners for a great attitude of gratitude: Cari, Kelsey, Zach, Ben(both of them), Meghan, Jake and Ellie.

My 100 “warm-up” time was a season best 48.0! Lacey beat me on the streamline glide contest and the distance per stroke golf challenge but then we tied in our 50 yd “duel in the pool” with a very respectable :23.6. Way to go Lacey!! Thanks again to coach Brian for practice that morning with the senior group and getting our splits and times! You guys have an awesome team!

11.1.09 West Islip, NY

Couldn’t wait to get back to West Islip, NY! We had a great event in the spring and now we’re back. The ever-awesome, Peter Vanderkaay, was with me last time and I was excited the kids were going to meet, the Olympic Champion, Megan Jendrick!

Megan is one of the most amazing competitors I have ever met. I knew the kids would be amazed to here her story and see her 100 breastroke gold medal; moreover, race one of the best. We had some repeat swimmers and many new ones. It was my first time to lead a clinic with Megan and her stories were very inspiring. Of course we raced everybody and then it was our turn to race each other! I know Megan is one of the best breastrokers in the world, having just set a world record this last summer, but I knew I could take her. Boy was I wrong! Even though I’m a half a foot taller, she ran me down and smoked me! I was humbled and ecstatic all at the same time. It truly doesn’t matter how big you are- it’s all about technique and fitness. But I’m fired up now, so I’ll be ready for a rematch. Susan Whalen and all the other swim parents did a super job setting up for us and we had the perfect turnout of 75 swimmers in their 5 lane pool.

Steamline award winners were Chris for the boys and Bridgett and Katelyn for the girls!

And one of my favorite parts of a clinic after 5 hours of teaching, racing, signing, and loving on kids is the meal at our host’s home, the Whalen family. We had some amazing spaghetti with meatballs and finished it off with some pumpkin pie and cookies. But the best part really is just getting to be with another wonderful swimming family, when I am away from my own. Thanks again to Susan and her family for their hospitality!

Here’s a couple of nice notes I’d like to share.

Mr. Davis -
I cannot stress enough how good it was for my 9 year old daughter to spend the day with you and Megan Jendrick at The Breakout Swim Clinic with the West Islip Swim team this past weekend.
She has been swimming since she was 7 months old and only recently joined a Team and started going to meets.
She has enjoyed her meets and always liked practice, but after hearing you and Megan talk about your experiences it is like a lightbulb came on and she has realized that this sport she already enjoys is full of real world oppurtunity.
She won the “Streamline” award at the clinic and has literally not stopped smiling since. She had you sign the swim cap and made her Mom run right out and get a frame for it which now proudly hangs between The Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato in her room. She has been working on setting goals for her upcoming meet season and is genuinely excited to race!
I picked her up from practice yesterday and she was explaining to me that we need to go to the Supermarket so that she can get some good protein snacks for right after practice just like Megan advised.
My wife and I are thrilled with her new found enthusiasm and thought we should let you know how worthwhile the experience was for all of us.
Thanks again and we hope to attend another clinic in the future!

“Our swim club hosted a BREAK OUT event last night and it was wonderful! I couldn’t believe how hands on Josh and Megan were with the kids. And so motivating! It was enjoyed by all the kids and adults as well. Thanks for providing these events!”

10.25.09 Denver, CO – ACES Swim Club

Well I just got back from Denver, CO and hanging out with the ACES Swim Club and Matt Grevers. It was a great time hanging out with Matt Grevers, who is passionate about technique and young swimmers reaching their potential, and the guy is hilarious! The kids and swimmers were so excited to race once of the fastest and tallest swimming Olympian in the world, Matt stands at 6’8”. Heck, I was excited to race him! Matt wowed the kids with his streamline and long powerful strokes. We had great help from super swim dad, Troy Eiber, who drove us to and from the airport. His kiddos, Lauren and Griffin were fun to spend time with. Thank you Coach Tom and Coach Eric! Special thanks to Coach Eric for getting my splits on my 100 Free for time. I went a 48.4, just under the school record of 49.2. So I was pretty pumped! Pretty good for an old guy with no warm-up!

There were a lot of parents that stuck around for the whole program and listen to the speeches. Thanks for supporting your kiddos!

Streamline award winners: Girls – Emily, Emily, Emily (all different) and Bailey. Boys – Vincent and Tristan.
Spirit / Smile Award: Grace, and Spencer.

Check out how much fun we had!

Oh and Matt and I saw snowfall for the first time this season! Huge snowflakes falling everywhere the whole time, so cool! Well next week, I will be in West Islip, NY, Columbia, MD and DeWitt, MI. I am looking forward to spending time with those clubs.

(Can you see the snow in the picture above?)

Keep warm! It’s a chilly 63° here is San Antonio, TX. (That’s for my northern friends)

10.17.09 Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA

Despite the delay into Pennsylvania Friday night, because of the first snow of the season, Christine Marshall and I made it to the quaint town of Wilkes-Barre, PA. When we woke up Saturday morning, the snow was gone and we were greeted by the gorgeous fall trees and sunny sky! The clinic was held at the historic downtown Wilkes-Barre YMCA Mericle Pool. It was an intimate group of swimmers, which allowed Christine and me to get to know and race all the kiddos. After we raced them, I challenged Christine to a 50 free, and can you believe it I tied her! (I think she was being easy on me.)

Streamline award winners: Katy, Shelby and Ashley (girls from Lane 1) and Ari and Aidan (boys).
Spirit / Smile award winners: Darren, Ari, Roluka and Ashley.
And special congratulations to Jennifer for diving off the blocks for the first time!
Way to go guys!

Thanks to Tammy Lalli for organizing the clinic, she did a great job! Check out the great pictures below from the clinic.

Next weekend, I will be in Denver, CO with my friend Matt Grevers and the ACES Swim Club Team. If you’re in that area, sign up now!