Jersey Storm Swimming Newsletter
November 2012
Meet Updates
Storm Mini Meet October 21
There was a great turnout for our first hosted meet of the season, congratulations to all our new swimmers on their first swim meet!
Event Winners
Lindi Worrell and Logan Wilk
Top 8 Finishers
Natalie Celso, Melinda Lee, Dom Pugliese, Meghana Dheram, Liam Phang, and Leo Bishop
Best Times and other Great performances
Caleigh Krystyniak and Saniya Srivastava
GAAC November 3-4
Storm swimmers put on many great performances at the GAAC meet, even after missing a whole week of practice thanks to Hurricane Sandy!
Event Winners
Danielle Caruso and Ariana Palmer
Top 8 Finishers
Logan Barnes, Porter Barnes, Connor Davis, Breanna Eppolito, Ally Fifer, Sanele Lallo, Jacob McConnell, Jake McGee, Maddie McKim, Christian Overton, Angelo Stefani, Austin Wilk, Cheyenne Wilk, and Cheyenne Wilk
Newly achieved AA times
Connor Davis
Newly achieved A times
Danielle Caruso, Jake McGee, Ariana Palmer, and Taylor Worrell
Newly achieved BB times
Logan Barnes,, Porter Barnes, Ally Fifer, Sanele Lallo, Maddie McKim, Angelo Stefani, and Cheyenne Wilk
Newly achieved B times
Breanna Eppolito, Oliivia Eppolito, Jacob McConnell, Ally Milewski, and Christian Overton
Best Times and other Great performances
Karlos Chanquin, Samhitha Dheram, Eliza Hess, Ashlyn Oelrich, Taylor Siville, and Austin Wilk
Wahoos Thanksgiving November 17-18
Storm traveled to GCIT to swim at the Wahoos Thanksgiving Meet, there were a ton of great performances.
Event Winners
Jake McGee and Kyle Worrell
Top 8 Finishers
Logan Barnes, Porter Barnes, Danielle Caruso, Connor Davis, Olivia Eppolito, Maddie McKim, Ariana Palmer, Angelo Stefani, Cheyenne Wilk, Jared Worrell, Taylor Worrell
Newly achieved AA times
Danielle Caruso, Jake McGee, and Kyle Worrell
Newly achieved A times
Logan Barnes and Taylor Worrell
Newly achieved BB times
Porter Barnes, Connor Davis, Maddie McKim, Ariana Palmer, Angelo Stefani, and Jared Worrell
Newly achieved B times
Gabby Celso, Breanna Eppolito, and Cheyenne Wilk
Best Times and other Great performances
Danielle D’Allassandro, Olivia Eppolito, and Austin Wilk
What is Deck Pass?Deck Pass is an online platform that tracks swimmers’ times and rewards them with digital incentives. USA Swimming members can track their best times, set goals, check their IMX scores and earn digital patches for their achievements. All swimmers can track their times via the log book and also set personal goals. Deck Pass also allows you to connect with friends and family and you can also share your achievements by connecting your account to Facebook.
How do I get Deck Pass?Anyone can register for a Deck Pass account. Just log-in to Once you sign-up, you’ll need to connect your account to your USA Swimming membership in order for your times to show up on your Scoreboard.
WHAT IS IMXTREME, YOU ASK?
IMXtreme is a program that allows USA Swimming members to track their times (or coaches to track their team's times) against swimmers all across the nation! Just by swimming a specific program of events, you can see where you rank against your teammates, your region and yes, even across the USA! Interested? We thought so.
STEP ONE-GET IM READY
IM Ready is the little brother of IMXtreme, tailored toward our younger swimmers. Does 200 yards seem a little much? Then start getting "IMReady" by swimming shorter distances, and keeping track of your improvements. Compete against your teammates in this program that also lets yousee yourselfget faster! After all, isn't that what it's all about?
HOW TO MANAGE EXTRA WEIGHT IN THE YOUNG SWIMMER
BY JILL CASTLE, REGISTERED DIETITIAN AND CHILD NUTRITION EXPERT
There’s no doubt that the sport of swimming can be an ally to the child who may be carrying extra weight. While swimming on a regular schedule will likely produce the benefits of greater physical endurance, fitness and self-esteem, and cement the cornerstones of a healthy lifestyle, it may not produce significant changes in weight status. What many swimmers and parents don’t realize is that it takes more than just swimming alone to battle the bulge.
Nutrition Habits
Young swimmers may carry extra weight for a variety of reasons. Make sure it is truly “extra” weight, and not normal variations associated with growing. The following nutrition habits may need improvement:
What is the swimmer eating?
Are meals balanced with lean meats, whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low fat dairy products? Do snacks contain a protein, whole grain, fruit or vegetable? Getting the right balance of nutritious foods (90%) and fun foods (10%) is essential. Aim for three “square” meals that contain most of the major food groups, and snacks that represent wholesome foods that satisfy the appetite. Be as scheduled with snacks as you are with meals. Watch out for too many sweets or packaged snacks as these can ramp up the extra calories quickly.
How is the swimmer eating?
Look at the eating habits of the swimmer and the whole family. Is the swimmer eating out more than five times per week? This frequency starts to push the calorie load into overdrive. If eating out, where is it occurring and can the swimmer make (or is the swimmer making) healthy choices? Does the swimmer snack for more than 15-20 minutes? Dining at fast food establishments and lengthy snack sessions are associated with high calorie intake.
Why is the swimmer eating?
Many swimmers eat due to hunger, which is a good reason. However, the swimmer can be overly hungry because the quality of meals and snacks are not nutritious or satisfying. This can lead to overeating. Cultivate good eating habits, including mindfulness when eating. Identify physical hunger from eating out of boredom, pleasure or emotions. For the swimmer, the goal is mostly to eat for physical hunger or fuel.
Is Weight Loss OK?
A gradual weight loss of no more than 1.5% of body weight per week (for the 150-pound swimmer, no more than 1-2# per week) in the presence of a nutritious and adequate diet is acceptable. Don’t make the mistake of cutting out carbohydrates or protein—these are essential nutrients for active athletes. Instead, target fats. Keep the good fats such as olive and other plant oils, avocado and nuts in the diet, and cut out the unhealthy fats like fatty meats and dairy, fried foods and processed snacks. A registered dietitian specializing in weight management or sports nutrition can help with healthy weight management in the growing swimmer.
Beware of the Risk Factors
Managing weight in the young swimmer means being aware of the unintended consequences that may occur, such as extreme dieting and growth disturbances. While dieting is associated with a risk of disordered eating and eating disorders, ignoring important nutrients like calcium, vitamin D and iron, and overall calories to maintain growth may spur other problems.
Bottom Line: Swimming is one of the best sports around for healthy weight management, but remember, exercise alone may not correct excess weight. Fine tune nutrition habits to get the most out of swimming and other forms of exercise.
Jill Castle, MS, RD is a registered dietitian and child nutrition expert. She is the co-author of the upcoming book, Fearless Feeding: How to Raise Healthy Eaters from High Chair to High School (2013), and creator of Just The Right Byte, a child and family nutrition blog. She lives with her husband and four children (two swimmers!) in New Canaan, CT. Want to contact Jill? Email her at.