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!