USA Swimming & SSC Always Looking For Volunteers

Seacoast Swim Club is a non-profit organization made up of very dedicated volunteers! Interested individuals donate their time, energy and expertise at every level. Likewise, USA Swimming is made up of volunteers from the National Board of Directors to the local swimming clubs as well as 50 standing committees. Staff liaisons, along with these committees, create, implement and evaluate USA Swimming programs. The House of Delegates meets annually to determine the rules and regulations for the following year. Between yearly meetings of the House of Delegates, an elected USA Swimming Board of Directors is charged with the responsibility of making decisions for USA Swimming.

Who is a Volunteer?

A volunteer is a person who is willing to help perform any one of the necessary jobs in our club or for USA Swimming. Your role as a volunteer is important to the sport. You can be actively involved in your child's swimming program and can also be instrumental in strengthening swimming in the United States. With a positive attitude and a willingness to lend a hand, you will also have a great impact on your child's athletic environment, and love of swimming.

There are unlimited opportunities to get involved to help in almost any capacity. The rewards are meeting new people, making new friends and having that great feeling that you have helped our Club and your child.

Give volunteering a try. Any contribution you can make will be appreciated. Ask one of the coaches how you can help. They will be able to put you in touch with appropriate people on our team that will place you in an area where your skills can be utilized.

Volunteer Jobs -- There are unlimited opportunities to get involved in almost any capacity. Seacoast Swim Club and USA Swimming are always looking for enthusiastic volunteers. Finding a way you can contribute is the most important thing to remember.

Consider Yourself Asked!

Coach’s Corner

Coach Patti Drew

Winter Championships are around the corner which means “Taper Time” for athletes. This is typically a time where workouts get less intense so that less yardage and fine tuning can take place. Your athlete will most likely have tons of energy and will want to release that energy. The taper period for swimming lasts anywhere from two weeks to one month and every athlete reacts differently. During this period, we would like to have your swimmer(s) refrain from doing other activities that they are currently not doing so that the body rests and relaxes and they can attain peak performance. So if your child is not currently running the next three weeks is not the time to start.

We would like to see all athletes do their best at Championships so eating a balanced diet, getting plenty of rest and staying hydrated are the keys to success.

Nutrition for Swimmers

One of the building blocks of quality training is good nutrition. Every swimmer and parent needs to be aware of the following two points:

1. Food does NOT make a swimmer swim fast.

That’s right. Food does not make him/her swim fast. What does make them swim fast? Training.

2. QUALITY training makes him/her swim fast.

A vital part of quality training is good nutrition!

Believe it or not, your swimmer doesn't get fast during practice. In practice he/she might see their times improving, but the adaptation to training (i.e. getting faster) actually occurs while the body is at rest. Workout is the stimulus that causes this to happen.

Workouts are hard! They’re supposed to be. They’re designed to tell the body, “This is hard work for me…you better do something to enable me to do it again later.” And the body actually responds by becoming more efficient – aerobically and anaerobically. During its time off, the body WILL adapt, but only if given the proper fuels.

Nutrition Tips

What should my child eat before practice? At meets?

The best pre-practice, or pre-meet meal should contain primarily carbohydrates. Carbohydrate-rich foods like pasta, breads and cereal are easily digested and absorbed. Rule of thumb: 0.5 - 2.0 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight one to four hours prior to exercise.

Meals that provide 100 grams of carbohydrates :

· 1 bagel with peanut butter and 2/3 cup of raisins

· 1 cup of low-fat yogurt, 1 banana and 1 cup of orange juice

· 1 turkey sandwich with 1 cup of applesauce

· 2 cups of spaghetti with meat sauce and 1 piece of garlic bread

· 8 oz. of skim milk, 1 apple, 1 orange, 2 slices of bread and 3 pancakes

· 1 serving of GatorLode and 1 bagel

Out to Eat? Try these…

1 cup of low-fat yogurt, 1 banana and 1 cup of orange juice

Cold cereal with low-fat milk, Orange juice, apple, bran or blueberry muffin

Pancakes, waffles or French toast with syrup (hold the margarine, bacon and sausage), orange juice, low-fat milk.