Chris Koeppen Update

Coach Koeppen underwent his 3rd (and hopefully last!) brain surgery last Friday. The operation was done out in Phoenix by a world-renowned surgeon and by all indications it was a success. They think they cleared all of the tumor and his prognosis is good! I will keep you updated as we learn more.

All Swimmers Unite!

ASU, used to be a school in the desert, now a rallying cry to save men's college swimming. Last week, Arizona State University dropped men's swimming along with 2 other sports. The number of men's collegiate programs are shrinking every year. If something is not done, and soon, I really believe men's college swimming will be gone in the next 15-20 years. This may also impact women's programs. It costs a LOT of money to run a pool. Are colleges willing to pay? We'll see. With ASU gone, the Pac 10 now only has 5 men's teams. The Big 12, only 3. The MAC lost so many teams, they've combined with the Sun Belt Conference. There is hope, people are fighting these cuts. A year ago Syracuse dropped their program and people fought like mad and it has been reinstated for at least the next 3 years! Here is a link to the site trying to save the program at Arizona State.

ASU = ALL SWIMMERS UNITE!!!

"If you want to swim fast,

you have to swim fast”. This is a quote from Jon Urbancheck, who used to be the men's coach at the University of Michigan and still coaches with Club Wolverine. Pretty simple idea, makes a
LOT of sense. I was at a clinic this weekend and learned a lot. Jim Richardson, women's cach at Michigan and also with CW, spoke about the the changing trends in training. I've been toying with the idea of changing some of the way we train. I really believe the days of pounding out yardage and hoping to drop time at the end of the year are gone. We need to work at thriving, not surviving. Don't get me wrong, we still are going to work, we are just going to be smarter. You want proof that this works? This weekend at Santa Clara, Peter Vanderkaay broke the American record in the 400 free meter(3:43.82-6th fastest ever) and Erik Vendt set the US Open record in the 1500 meter free (14:46.78). This was done about a month BEFORE the Olympic Trials. Can't wait to see what times are thrown down at that meet, when they're rested! By the way, Peter and Erik swim for Club Wolverine!

Sectional Water Polo

The Spartan Water Polo teams finished their seasons this week at the Sectional Tournament. The boys lost on Wednesday night to Evanston, 11-3. Brett Heniken led the way by scoring 2 of the Spartans' 3 goals. The girls ended their season Thursday by losing a heart breaker 11-9 to Prospect. Despite Emma Goldman scoring 7 goals, the Spartans' furious 4th quarter comeback came up a little short. If you want to see some good water polo, GBN is hosting the Sectional finals on Saturday. The boys game is at 12:00 PM, followed by the girls at 1:30. Congratulations on great season and congratulations to ALL OF OUR SENIOR SWIMMERS, DIVERS, & WATER POLO PLAYERS ON YOUR HIGH SCHOOL CAREERS! WE WILL MISS YOU!

The Times They Are-A Changin'

And they've gotten faster! This is the second year of the 2 year experiment where the State cuts are based on a 3 year avg. of the 24th fastest relay time and 30th fastest individual from Sectionals. After the 200-2009 seasons, the Advisory Committee will re-examine the process. THESE ARE NOT OFFICIAL YET AND HAVE NOT BEEN APPROVED! THESE ARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS! Click here for the times.