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The AmberJax would like to bid a fond farewell
to Coach Allen as he and his family are moving out west this
summer. Coach Allen has been the Head Coach at our Cecil Pool since
the beginning of the team and we are sad to lose him. We are
excited however to announce the coaches Chris George and Axie
Phillips are already in place and we expect big things from our
Cecil team.
Meet Wrap Ups
Our 2010 LC season is well underway and we had
two more exciting meets this last week. Our first was the Ohio
Valley Championship Meet in
Louisville
KY
and the other was the Daytona Beach Swimming Summer Meet.
The OVC meet is a long standing USA Swimming
Tradition with the 2010 Meet being the 82nd consecutive
meet. In the last three years however, it had become an AmberJax
tradition that we are thrilled to have. Every year we combine that
meet with a week long training trip that gives us exposure to
different teams, pools and colleges. It’s a great way for the
team to grow together and the 2010 trip was a special one.
We began the week with a practice at EHS on
Saturday June 5th from
5:30
to
7:00am
followed immediately by a bus ride to
Atlanta
. Our first stop was Golden Corral (again a tradition that makes
the boys so happy even if we have less than enthusiastic support
from the girls) and then on to
Stone Mountain
. We had our traditional climb/race up the mountain with Ana Marie
Bistrow claiming the win this year. Some team pictures, a ride down
on the tram and time in the park. Many of our kids tried out the
“Sky Hiker” a high ropes like adventure and then we all
grabbed dinner. After dinner, the laser light show and off to
bed.
We started Sunday with and hour of drylands in a parking lot and a
quick breakfast. We drove from
Stone Mountain
to Six Flags and enjoyed a day on the roller coasters. From there,
we hit
Chattanooga
TN
where we spent the night.
Monday morning was a distance practice in a
town pool and off to a day of white water rafting. Our guides on
the rafting trip encouraged us to “ride the bull” which
meant sitting on the bow of the raft and facing some of the rivers
toughest challenges. From there we went to
Baylor
Prep school
and had a two hour practice with their team. After practice, our
super hungry team ate dinner and we were off to
Bowling Green
,
KY.
Tuesday started with a sprint practice in a
beautiful local pool. After breakfast, we headed to
Western
Kentucky
University
where we met the coach and toured the facilities. From there we hit
Mammoth
Caves
and saw some of the very best formations that the Cave has to
offer. After the Cave, we drove to Elizabeth Town KY only to find
the pool there broken and the team had a much celebrated evening
off. We used this extra
time celebrate 2 birthdays, Blake Ehlers (18) and Peyton Hull
(16).
Wednesday started with a drive to
Lexington
KY
where we practiced in the
UK
pool and got a chance to meet their Head Coach. After lunch in the
dining hall, some of the team got an opportunity to tour the
basketball facilities. We left
Lexington
and drove to
Louisville
where we were anxious to settle into the hotel for more than only
one night. We had a quick warm up swim at the
Lakeside
facility and then back to the hotel for the night.
Thursday through Saturday were the days of the
meet. The highlights are below but in general, there were two very
special aspects of it. The first is the pool itself. Originally a
rock quarry, the whole lake is surrounded by beautiful old rock
faced cliffs. The long course pool is actually a fraction of a
facility which also includes two different short course pools, a
baby pool, and even rafting, horseplay, water basketball, water
volleyball and diving areas. The second real highlight is how our
team responded to the venue. Our performance was way faster than it
should have been (given the focus and schedule of the trip) and our
team spirit was the best at the meet by a long shot. At one point there was a single
swimmer from another tem in the 200 fly consol final and the entrie
AmberJax team jumped up and ran behind his lane to cheer him on.
Sunday morning was a rare opportunity for the
team to sleep in. We eventually awoke and went to Churchill Downs
for breakfast and some horse racing. From there, we drove to
Nashville
TN
for a practice in the Tracy Caulkins pool and one more bus ride to
Atlanta
Georgia
.
Monday morning saw us practicing at the
Dynamo
Swim
Center
and then off to a meeting with the Georgia Tech coaches and tour of
their pool. After lunch on campus, we headed home to the first
coast arriving in
Jacksonville
about
8:00pm
.
The trip was an overwhelming success on many
levels but what really made it special was hearing how the team
loved it:
When we
first got there Kevin insisted that we went on the biggest
rollercoaster (goliath) first. I didn’t really want to and I
was really scared but I didn’t tell anyone and I acted like i
was fine with it. So we got to the ride and there wasn’t much
of a line so we got right on. Well the beginning of goliath is the
hill up to the top and that’s when I really started freaking
out and panicking to Kevin and Christina who were sitting next to
me. I didn’t want to be there at all. Once we reached the top
I freaked out the most but then we started going down the drop. And
I started screaming. EXCEPT i was screaming because it was so fun
and i put my hands up in the air and forgot all about being scared.
Christina and I had so much fun on that ride that at the end when
we were waiting to get off we decided that it gave us natural
highs. It was definitely the highlight of 6 flags and probably one
of my highlights of the entire trip. Another highlight was when we
were white water rafting and at the beginning Kevin and Tina were
freaking out and they thought they were going to die, but then we
got to the first rapid and they LOVED it just like I did when we
rode the rollercoaster. I loved the rafting too, I just
wasn’t scared at first because I had been before and I knew
how much fun it was. Ok well those are 2 of my best memories I hope
they help! Thanks again SOOOO much! From
Elizabeth
The highlight
of the whole trip for me was climbing
Stone
Mountain
, and finishing. (thanks coach mike
for crossing the finish line with me)
my favorite part was a few things...1.) Loosing Cari's shoes on
the roller coaster, 2.)
White water rafting.(Benji falling outta the boat) 3.) Having the
best 3 room mates ever!!!!! Finally the swim meet was a great one
for all of us. Overall the trip was a blast! thanks to all the
coaches and fellow AmberJax for making this such an awesome time
for everyone! From
Carson
The most hilarious
memory of
Kentucky
was when we went white water rafting and we all rode the bull and
flew off! The most challenging part of
Kentucky
was when we went to Baylor and swam with their team... It was
really tough at first but we all swam and kept pace. One of my
favorite memories was when we went to six flags and rode all the
rides and Kevin and I had to walk up a small hill and took a break
because of how exhausted we were. Another great memory was at the
lazer light show with Tori Elizabeth and ebb and we watched a bunch
of families around us teach their little kids to dance. One other
great memory was in our hotel room seeing the glowing blob on the
ceiling with Caroline and shelly and freaking out that something
horrible was happening!
From
Christina
Ok, my favorite part
of the week was the meet because we get to swim
with people we never get to swim with and we get to meet people
from
all over the country. Another one of my favorite parts was going
to
UK
and seeing all the basketball stuff. Oh my goodness! It was also
a
great experience seeing the colleges and being able to talk to
the
coaches there. Lastly, white water rafting was so much fun! It was
fun
being able to swim in the river and our guide took us to this
creek
that was tucked away and it was like nature to perfection.
Thanks for letting me go even with my condition. I know, at least
for
me, it got really annoying about when I had to get out and stretch
and
stuff. But I was so happy I could go and be able to experience a
great
tradition of the AmberJax team. I'm really excited and
encouraged
about how this summer is going to turn out.
Thanks again,
Ana Marie Bistrow
Meet
Wrap Up
31 of the 34 AmberJax in the meet had life
time bests.
New Records
Shelly Craddock 15-16 Girls 100 Free
Marilyn Rowell 15-16 Girls 100 and 200 Breast
Jaimee Gillmore 15-16 Girls 200 IM
Jack Munoz 9-10 Boys 100 Free
William Walker 13-14 Boys 200 and 400 Free
Shrimpy Harrington 15-16 Boys 100 Back
Blake Ehlers, Alex Brown, Shrimpy Harrington and Clay Sones
Boys 200 Free Relay
Shrimpy Harrington, Wil Friedman, Alex Brown and Blake Ehlers
Boys 200 Medley Relay
New Time Standards
JO Times
Chris Dingfield 100 and 200 Free, 200 Fly
Luke Dingfield 100 Fly
Jack Munoz 50 Back and 100 Fly
Kevin Munoz 200 Breast
Senior Champs Times
Caroline Bateh 100 Breast
William Walker 200 Fly
AAA Times
Zach Dingfield 200 Free
Shrimpy Harrington 100 Back
William Walker 200 and 400 Free
AA Times
Luke Dingfield 100 and 200 Free
Zach Dingfield 50 and 100 Fly, 200 IM
Shrimpy Harrington 200 Back, 400 IM
Jack Munoz 50 Free
Tori Thompson 200 Free
William Walker 200 Fly
Congrats to all the
Swimmers!
Daytona
Swimming Summer Meet
13 of our 17 swimmers had life time best
swims.
New
Time Standards
JO Times
Jacob Androsco 100 Breast
Kyle Smithers 100 Breast
Senior Champs
Times
Chris Kendrick 50 Free
AA Times
Chris Kendrick 50 Free
Congratulations to all the AmberJax!
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