SPG

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all our fantastic clients & their families. We truly appreciate you all and look forward to helping you reach your goals in 2017!

So many comments have undercut our female Olympians achievements in the Rio games. However, I loved how NBC broadcaster, Rowdy Gaines made a different kind of observation about US swimmer Katie Ledecky, "A lot of people think she swims like a man. She swims like Katie Ledecky, for crying out loud." - well stated Rowdy, now lets get the rest to follow. http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/09/sport/olympics-women-sexism-trnd/

Is Olympic coverage undercutting women's achievements? It wouldn't be the Olympics without getting frustrated at the tape delay, the flurry of commercials or the number of times that commentators inserted their foot in mouth. But this year, the questionable comments about females have frustrated some viewers.

So wonderful to see the fantastic Simone Manuel win Olympic Gold in the 100 free last night, becoming the first African American women to do so "I hope I’m an inspiration to others to get out there and try swimming. You might be pretty good at it" http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/11/sports/olympics/rio-schedule-medals-biles-phelps-lochte.html?_r=0

Rio Olympics: Simone Manuel Makes History in the Pool Manuel takes the 100-meter freestyle, becoming the first African-American woman to win an individual gold in swimming.

So many fantastic results for the US in the pool last night for Conor Dwyer, Ryan Murphy, David Plummer, Kathleen Baker, and Katie Meili. However my personal favorite was seeing Lilly King beat Yulia Efimova in the 100 Breast "I hope I did [make a statement about doping]," said King. "We can still compete clean and do well at the Olympic Games, and that's how it should be."http://www.sbnation.com/2016/8/8/12408520/olympics-2016-swimming-results-100m-breaststroke-womens-gold-lilly-king-beats-russian-cheater

Olympic swimming results 2016: Lilly King wins gold in women's 100m breaststroke Lilly King talked up her dislike of Russia's Yulia Efimova before Monday's 100m breaststroke final. Then she beat her.

There really is a sport for everyone!

Athletes come in all shapes and sizes.

David Lee, USA Volleyball: 6'8"
Simone Biles, USA Gymnastics: 4'8"

(via Simone Biles )

So lovely to see the excitement and happiness for Leah Smith from her UVA teammates after qualifying for Rio in the 400m.
https://swimswam.com/couldnt-interview-leah-smith-happened-video/

We couldn't interview Leah Smith because this happened (Video) The real story, is that Katie Ledecky is beatable. And the woman who proved that Ledecky is in fact human: Leah Smith.

As the Olympic Trials start in Omaha NE, video footage of some of the fastest swimmers in the world when they were kids. Before they were winners they were all beginners.
https://swimswam.com/before-we-were-winners-watch-lochte-franklin-ledecky-swim-as-kids/

"Before We Were Winners": Watch Lochte, Franklin, Ledecky Swim As Kids Any guesses as to who this cheerful child swimmer is? Watch this Olympic hopeful in action as a budding star before we see her on the big stage in Omaha.

As we all know, kids do not grow at the same rate or at the same time. In fact there can be years of difference for when kids go through puberty and their adolescent growth spurt. So why do coaches place so much importance on size, and thus selecting the kids who just have had their growth spurts early? Kids who are not selected then often do not have access to high quality coaching; further widening the gap between them and the kids selected. We need to address two aspects 1) get coaches to place less importance on size during adolescence, and see development/performance long term (we all grow eventually!) 2) ensure all kids get access to good quality coaching.

Bob Bowman (Michael Phelps coach) gives his insight on the importance of vision, mental rehearsal and practice. Great to see him recognize the importance of focusing on the process rather than the outcome. Something that every young athlete would benefit from doing.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2016/05/24/3-daily-habits-of-peak-performers-according-to-michael-phelps-coach/?linkId=24817525

3 Daily Habits Of Peak Performers, According To Michael Phelps' Coach A person can be blessed with raw talent (or an eighty-inch wingspan like Michael Phelps), but nobody can achieve excellence without putting in hours and hours of practice.

NBA star Stephen Curry - another great example of the benefits of playing multiple sports as a young athlete.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-stephen-curry-approach-to-youth-sports-1463526612

The Stephen Curry Approach to Youth Sports In an age of hyper-specialization, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry benefited from playing multiple sports until he reached college.

Today is the world press release of Jamie Vardy’s new academy, V9. SPG are delighted to announce that Dr. Neal Bowes will be the V9 Academy Director and is excited to be part of finding the next Jamie Vardy.

http://www.v9academy.co.uk/team/

V9 Team - V9 Football Academy by Jamie Vardy

In the words of former WR holder Janet Evans,“Katie is a role model for how she defines achievable targets, focuses on her particular task at hand and attacks the process every day to surpass her goals. Then she doesn’t rest on what she’s accomplished but resets what she can achieve and tackles those goals as well.” Help your child set challenging but achievable goals that focus on how their performance compares to their current one (rather than comparing to others) and see how it helps them stay highly motivated!
http://time.com/4299717/katie-ledecky-2016-time-100/

Katie Ledecky: The World’s 100 Most Influential People Speed demon