Melissa Berkay - (Author)

6 Phases of the Commitment Continuum By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern Commitment in sport can be difficult to measure. In a sport as demanding as swimming, it is required that swimmers commit themselves to mandatory hours in the pool and in the weight room. For many of us, being committ...

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern Moments are usually memorable when they are associated with positive experiences. They are formed when the occasion is so great, so spectacular, so euphoric that it will never be forgotten. It will be firstly stored but forever engrained in your memory. ...

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern Swimmers are not the only people who find swim meets exhausting. Volunteers dedicate their time and effort to the sport to ensure that the meet runs swimmingly, without any hiccups or splashes. Whether it’s a high school meet, a club meet, a college dual...

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern After competing in my final conference meet last weekend, I realized that nothing compares to racing alongside your teammates and posting best times for possibly the last time. Despite senior year being the toughest emotional challenge that I have faced ...

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern Taper is undoubtedly the most wonderful time of the year for swimmers. After months of high volume, high intensity and even higher heart rates, the calm before the storm of the championship meet greets us with extreme generosity and significantly less ph...

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern Whether we are aware of it or not, many of us student-athletes take the college athletics system for granted. How many of us have complained about something related to our sports attire, or the standard of the cafeteria food, a horrific workout, or the m...

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern “When we got back to Dubai, Chris sat me and my mum down and said that if I listened to him and did everything he said, I would make the 2012 London Olympic Games. So from then on, I began training properly.” Velimir Stjepanovic has had his eyes on the p...

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern. Coaching in swimming is focused on marginal gains. Although fitness and conditioning are significant components in swimming, the sport revolves around making minute changes to different aspects of your stroke or technique, in order to make the largest i...

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern It’s hard to believe that only four months ago we commenced our senior year. The thought of going through the collegiate swimming cycle for the final time was slowly but surely beginning to sink in. The difference between then and now, is rather than hav...

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern I’m sure for most of us college swimmers, the Thanksgiving holiday was glorious. When your life revolves around daily doubles and piles of school work, no one can appreciate a break like we can. Perhaps some of us may feel guilty about taking the time of...

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern Take the time to imagine your life as you know it. You wake up, practice, eat, go to school, practice, eat then sleep. Your routine is regular and daily, and all you know. It may be uncomfortable at times, but being an athlete isn’t meant to be easy. Now...

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern. Throughout our swimming careers, most of us have been told that in order to become the best of the best, we must be physically conditioned to the utmost of our ability. The longer we train in the pool and the heavier we lift in the weights room the bett...

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern What does it mean to have heart? Does it mean that you will do whatever it takes in order to achieve success? To fight for what you desire, despite your fears and doubts? To repeatedly fall only to get up and try again? To perfect the imperfections? To n...

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern Everything seems rather like it always has been. Not much has changed. The dorms are the same. Classes are relatively similar. The pool hasn’t changed. The only thing that has changed for certain is you. Because whether you want to believe it or not, you...

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern The controversy about the purpose of the world's largest sporting events, such as the Olympic Games and the FINA World Championships, remains to be an ongoing, unofficial debate. For many, such games are about the best athletes in the world converging to...

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern Historically, sprinters have always been referred to as the "lazy" swimmers. We get out early. We get extra rest. We hardly do any yardage. We've heard all of the accusations and complaints from our middle distance and distance counterparts. My personal ...

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern. The final day of the British Summer Nationals proved to be more than memorable for Plymouth Leander. In the men's 400 medley relay event Plymouth Leander occupied not one but two positions on the podium. Plymouth Leander's A relay concluded the six-day ...

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern. Day four of the British Summer Nationals saw 22-year-old James Wilby of Loughborough University take the 200 breaststroke in a time of 2:10.91. Edinburgh teammates Calum Tait and Nicholas Quinn took second and third place in 2:11.32 and 2:13.25 respecti...

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern. It's day four and Britain's age-group and youth swimmers like Imogen Clark continue to smash their best times and their national records at the British Summer Nationals. 16-year-old Imogen Clark of Derventio broke the age-group record in the 50 breastst...

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern SHEFFIELD - Day three of the British Summer Nationals kicked off with a new record in the men's 13/14 age-group final in the 200 IM. Charlie Hutchinson of Ellesmere College took the 13 years and under age-group record by three seconds, touching the wall ...