By Garrett McCaffrey
For complete coverage of the NCSA All Star Team trip to the Irish Nationals, click here.
IRELAND, April 27. NO one flies across the ocean to swim slow. Whether they're rested or not, every single one of the NCSA All Stars wants to swim fast this weekend at Irish Nationals. Most of them probably will swim fast. These kids are good. Yet, in the days leading up to the meet I can't help but wonder, how do we know if a swimmer is really doing what's best in order to perform at their best in a meet?
With a talented group like this, it can be tough to hold back that competitive fire. I've seen a lot of these swimmers get wrapped up in beating the All Star in the next lane, but is that going to help them this weekend? Many of these kids don't have their full-time coach on deck, so these workouts may not be what they're used to leading up to a meet.
Are they capable of knowing what they need, even if it means getting out early or loafing in the back of the lane for a practice?
These are questions that good young swimmers need to figure out for themselves before they become great. Some coaches may not like me saying this, but ultimately it's the swimmer that has to learn what's best. A trip like this one is the perfect opportunity to take that kind of ownership. In the end, it's that ownership that separates the good from the great.
Here are a couple of the latest videos posted at the Landing Page from Ireland.
John Carroll of Jersey Wahoos
Geoff Brown of NOVA of Virginia
