Until Now!

Until Now…..
We just ended our training trip in beautiful Park City, UT. I know most swim teams like to go south to train but we probably ended up having the same weather as in some Florida locations. We had a great week of training and racing!!!! Here are my top six highlights!

#6 – Ruby Tuesdays! The official restaurant of the TCU swimming and diving training trip. They were extremely hospitable and filled our bellies with yummy and delicious food. Thanks Ruby Tuesday!

#5 – Fiesta Bowl! While it didn’t come out with the ending we had hoped for, our football team put up a good fight against a very good team. It was great national exposure for TCU. The team finished #6 in the final season poll. Watch out for the frogs next year they will be a national contender!

#4 – Training hard! The team trained doubles at altitude along with two very important conference dual meets, these kids stepped up to the challenge and did it with a smile on their faces.

#3 – Our amazing Condos! Wow our lodging was first class. Every condo had hot tubs and enough room to fit 10 in some places. I know the swimmers and divers liked sitting in the hot tubs after a tough practice. The mountain views were picturesque and It definitely beat staying in a hotel for a week.

#2 – The nail bitter versus Utah! Both meets were intense! They came down to the LAST RELAY. The men prevailed! The women came so close to upsetting Utah in their home pool. Either way it was the best meet environment I have ever been apart of. The Swimmers and divers put up an amazing effort.

#1 – Until NOW….... We have never beaten BYU on the men’s side UNTIL NOW! The men swam amazing and beat the cougars 172 - 119. The women also had an outstanding meet but BYU was just a little stronger. The men are currently undefeated and have one more conference foe to take down. The Men’s and Women’s team will finish up the dual meet season at TCU vs. UNLV on February 6th.

Home for the Holidays: It's the time to achieve GREATNESS at the end of your season!

As we approach the end of the semester there is a lot of excitement surrounding taking that last final, handing in the endless 15 page research paper that required an ‘all-nighter’ to complete, and realizing that you’ll never have to see another scantron for at least 6 weeks!

During finals week, training takes a back seat to academics, rightfully so, as you all are STUDENT-athletes. Training during finals week is more about reliving stress, aerobic maintenance, and clearing your head of academic jargon at least for a little while. Swimming during finals week, can be the life support to help sustain your energy and keep you mentally fresh throughout the week.

Once finals are over, that means some well deserved downtime to celebrate the holidays with friends and family, right? Yes, it is a time to spend with friends and family, as well as take a break from a difficult semester working towards that 4.0. But No, this is not the time to take a week long vacation period from the water.

The time between finals and prior to training trip is mentally one of the most difficult stretches to be 100% committed to training and the goals you’ve set forth at the beginning of the season. We as coaches get that, but to quote the great Winston Churchill “The price of GREATNESS is RESPONSIBILITY.” You have a responsibility to your teammates, coaches, and yourself to maintain your training at a high level during this period. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by and don't let your teammates down even though you're not physically training with them.

In some respects, the time leading up to your training trip could be one of the most pivotal points in your season. You’re trying to maintain the momentum you’ve built up during the first semester, but also attempting to prepare your body, both physically and mentally, to reach a new level of training threshold for your training trip. What you do with this time, could mean the difference of being in the Consolation Final or in the Championship Final , qualifying for NCAA’s or Olympic Trials, or helping your team win a MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM TITLE!

With all that said, I’ll leave you with 2 final quotes and a motivational video that hopefully will inspire you to train harder than you ever have during the holidays, stay committed to your teammates and your goals, and prepare yourself to have the best training trip of your life that will lead to greatness at the end of your season!

“Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking.” – J.C. Watts


“Champions are made when no one is watching!” - Anonymous


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBD6X6fU3wU&feature=related#watch-main-area

Happenings around TCU!

Hello to everyone!

I am running a little behind on my blog, but I thought that I would let you know how things are going here for TCU. We have been quite busy. The kids headed home for Thanksgiving with their families and friends. We got a little break around here. Our football team finished off the regular season with a win against New Mexico…GO FROGS 12-0!!!! Everyone came back in good spirits after their little break. It was nice to have them back nice and refreshed. Last Tuesday, Richard, Bill, and I took a group of 19 athletes out to Federal Way for the Short Course National Championships. It was a great meet. The group swam well and now they have a feel for where they are at in their seasons. We had some great swims and our relays were AWESOME! All in all I think that is was a very worthwhile trip. When we were gone, Matt and Julie held down the ship and gave the kids that were home some great workouts to keep them going. They also got to see some snow down here in Ft Worth...that doesn't happen very often. We found out on Sunday that our football team will be going to the Fiesta Bowl. They will be playing rematch of last years Poinsetta Bowl against Boise State. Hopefully we will have the same results as last year. This week is our last week of classes and then we have finals coming up next week. Everyone is a little stressed out, but they are getting it done. We have a smart bunch of athletes and I am sure that they will all do well on their finals.

Have a great week and GO FROGS!!!!

Tis the Season by Coach Julie Harrington

Tis the season… With Thanksgiving looming this week I cant help but be thankful for all that I have in my life and my journeys that have led me to the amazing city of Fort Worth.
- First and foremost I am thankful for my family and friends. They are the most amazing people I know!
- For finding this opportunity at TCU. Not only do I get to do something I love like coaching but I am also getting my masters as well. I never thought I would be able to go back to school but it’s been a pretty smooth transition and a state of art education as well.
- My co workers. I have worked with many groups over the years but I think the coaching staff here at TCU has something special going.
Richard: One of the most knowledgeable coaches I know, he has been doing this for over 30 years and I can see why the program has been so successful over the years. He is also one the most generous people I know.
Bill: My morning coaching buddy. He is such a great coach and I have learned a lot from him. Bill is going to be an amazing head coach someday; his only downfall is he is a dolphins fan.
Keegan: Has made the transition to Texas so easy. She knows her stuff when it comes to swimming and it’s been great learning from her too! She is amazing head coach material.
Matt: aka tripod aka my officemate. He makes it easy to share our office space with our jokes and videos. He is going to do big things someday… remember his name!
Wayne: A remarkable diving coach. Our male diver Kyle has two divers of the week honors under his belt, an overall funny guy and pleasure to work with.
Laura: The glue that holds us together. She is truly part of our coaching staff and we would be lost without her.
Kendall: She puts us back together when we are broken (even me) and does it with a giant smile.
Theo and Heather: our faithful Managers… they work so hard to make our lives easier.We all have one goal: making this program the best it can be and we are almost there.
- The TCU swimming and diving team: These kids work their butts off. There is hardly any complaining and they work well together as ONE team. The guys are undefeated and the girls have notched five wins in their belts. I am so excited to see what these kids will do at championships. I think we will be turning some heads in the Mountain West Conference!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- TCU Football: what a ride they have had this year. I hope the stars align and they can play for a National Championship.
- The Athletic Department at TCU: They truly know how to treat their student athletes. They are a first class operation. I know how hard everyone works and its definitely paying off.
- Joe T Garcias: They have the most delicious Mexican food I have ever tasted. Ok I have rambled on long enough; I have a lot to be thankful for.

I hope that when you are sitting around the table come this Thursday you appreciate who or what is special to you! HAPPY THANKSGIVING and GO FROGS!!!!!!!!!!!

The Thrill of Competition

As I was sitting in the packed Amon G Carter stadium last Saturday night watching the #4 TCU football team roll over #16 Utah in front of an over-capacity crowd (50,307), I realized why we do what we do. For anyone in athletics, all of your work and effort is focused on experiencing that highest level of competition and reaching your peak. It is something that you put in hours of practice for, only to experience a few times a year. When you come upon these moments you must rely on your training because once the adrenaline starts flowing all you can do is enjoy the ride.

College swimming is a little different than club swimming in that it truly becomes a team sport. In a collegiate dual meet it is all about racing the person next to you. Your time becomes a little less important and the push for victory becomes a driving force. This an event where the crowd plays a big role, performances from your teammates can inspire you, and a 1-2-3 finish in an event is enough to shift the momentum at any point of the meet. In short, every single dual meet provides you that opportunity to experience the ultimate high of competition.

The Mountain West Conference provides a unique situation in which every school must compete against one another in a dual meet each year (home one year, away the next). They crown a regular season (dual meet) champion in addition to the end-of-year conference meet champion. This places the sport in line with other sports that may have a conference tournament or championship game. However, it also provides some interesting fodder for coaches and swimmers who have always been focused on end-of-year tapered performances. I would argue "Why can't you have both?!" Place your emphasis on racing hard in your dual meets because those competitions are what makes college swimming so great. If you are following your season's training plan, your taper and end-of-year performances will still be great! Enjoy both aspects of what makes college swimming so great and unique from other levels of swimming.

We are continuing on our journey this Saturday with the first home meet against MWC foe Wyoming. The men look to improve to 2-0 and the women to 2-2 in conference. We also look forward to showing this to our newly signed 2010 freshmen next year: Michael Franz (Carmichael, CA), Ryker Saunders (Franklin, TN), Emily Rose Creighton (Newmarket, Ontario), Michelle Fleming (Whitby, Ontario), Taylor Bentley (Georgetown, TX), Christine Riddle (Colleyville, TX), and Mandy Vincent (Woodbridge, VA).

GO FROGS!!

What a time to be a Horned Frog

I don't think we can say it enough this week, but "WHAT A TIME TO BE A HORNED FROG!" Our Football team is ranked #4 in the country, Volleyball is riding an 8 game win streak while breathing down the neck of first place Colorado State, and we have the Mountain West Conference Male Swimmer & Diver of the Week (Edgar Crespo & Kyle Callens).

As most typical sports fans, I start day dreaming about what could make an already amazing week even better. First, I envision College Gameday with Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, and Desmond Howard gracing the commons on Saturday morning. It's a picturesque scene with Frog Fountain in the background, a sea of purple horned frog fanatics throughout the commons, and not a cloud to be found in a perfect rhody blue sky.

Continuing to dream about what could make an already great week even better, I enivision Amon G Carter stadium completely full BEFORE THE STAR SPANGLED Banner. Now I know I must be dreaming, if the stadium is completely full before kickoff. The same sea of purple horned frog fanatics which was on the commons earlier, has now flooded into Amon G Carter, and painted the whole stadium purple.

Finally it's time for our Horned Frogs to take the field, but with all dreams I decide to take it one step further. Our TCU Horned Frogs come out in special edition Nike Pro Combat Uniforms specifically designed for our team! Our DONT BACK DOWN logo can be found on the gloves, shoes, and inside the collar of the jersey. And what really makes a Horned Frog Gnarley in the Animal Planet, we SPIT BLOOD from our eyes, no lie, we SPIT BLOOD from our eyes. The helmets will have streaks of blood as if its coming from our own eyes. Oh man, even though I'm dreaming I have goosebumps thinking about these Uni's!

To cap this whole dream off, we end up beating Utah 44-0 while Florida, Alabama, and Texas all lose! As I come out of my day dream because some is yelling at me "TRIPOD, TRIPOD!" I realize this wasn't a dream at all, well except for the last part, it's actually all taking place at TCU this weekend! Man, do I feel lucky to be a Horned Frog!