Newsletter Septemeber / October 2009 Board Members & Annual Meeting     This season brings some returning members and some new members to the board.  The vote was done at our annual meeting.  Our board includes: Masters: Steve Johnson, Dave Fryfield and Breyer Barkman (Patterson) USA parents: Kerri Evans, Dan Nurre, and Lori Parks Annual Meeting Summary     Our annual meeting was Tue, SEPT 15, 7pm, at Amazon Pool.  This is a business meeting that is held every year to vote on new board members, go over the financial state of the club and any other business items to keep our membership informed.  The summary from the meeting is as follows.     This year our board president - Steve Johnson talked about the finances.  Our annual budget is about $90,000/year.  We bring in most of our money through dues, and we spend our money on coaches salaries and pool time.  Our football fundraiser has been the biggest increase in fundraising and we have been in the black the last couple years.  Our biggest fundraisers include: football, lap-a-thon, masters donation drive, and annual lake swim race.  Our philosophy has to been to never turn away someone who couldn’t pay and so far we haven’t had to.     Pool time is starting to be an issue!  Very exciting as we’re growing and that’s a good problem to have!  The city is now every year turning down requests for lane space so we are facing a lack of pool time available for our needs.  Our board and head coach are on a committee to help support the city in getting new pools built and improve current functions and programming in aquatics.     New board members: Masters - Breyer Barkman (formerly Patterson), and USA - Dan Nurre (Ciara’s dad).  Steve was willing to run for another session on the masters side.  Board positions are 2 year spots and the other members are on their second year.  Thanks to Donald Blades and Emilie Cate for his time on the board! Kidz Krazyness -First meet of the season: Marie Dehoog at Willamalane in Springfield.  Sign up with your kids coach.  The meet is Oct 16-18 but we need your sign up by Thursday, SEPT 24. -Our intersquad meet will be Sat, OCT 24, 8-10am at Echo Hollow Pool.  This is a fun meet for ALL swimmers, new and experienced alike.  We get to have fun racing each other and snacking on food. Parents please bring a breakfast like item to share. -Upcoming  Parent Meetings: These are for new and experienced parents alike.  Coaches will be going over the season plan, goals for each group, meets to go to, and more!  Our volunteer coordinator, board member and experienced parent will also be there to answer questions as well.  Novice: Tue, OCT 13, 5:30-6:15pm at Echo Hollow Pool.    AGR 1&2: Thur, OCT 15, 5:30-6:15pm at Echo.    AGR 3, HS, SR: 5-6pm, Echo.   Football Fundraisers -Please contact Kerri Evans to sign up.  kevans@bridgeslearning.com -Our first game started off great.  We made about $500 ( just a hair under our average from last year).  We also made record tips ($76!).  Special thanks to our interrum in charge guy Stephen Flanagan for stepping up while Breyer was getting married. -Our second game was even better.  We made $580 (just above our average!). Our ending counts were close, our cooking counts were close and we cleaned up in record time.  Way to go team!   Special thanks to Kerri Evans our volunteer coordinator for this event for her HOURS of calling to get all those volunteers signed up and there. -Remaining Dates: Sept 26, OCT 3, 31, NOV 14, and DEC 3. OCT 31 will be a costume contest.  Coach Gina will making sure we all have a great time. DEC 3 is the Civil War game.  While it is a weeknight, WHS doesn’t have school the next day.  High Schoolers check your school schedule now and committ to going. Masters Moments -3K Postal opportunities!  We are looking for ALL of our swimmers to participate and test their fitness in this annual event.  Whether training for meets, fitness or triathlon it’s a great way to judge your training from year to year.  These dates will only be the postal.  Please plan on attending to help time or to participate!  Our dates and times are: Mon, OCT 19, 6-7:30am;  Wed, OCT 21, 11-12noon; Thur, OCT 29, 6-7:30am; and Fri, OCT 30, 11-12noon.  -The Ironman Challenge: Ingrid started a trend and has challenged the team to donate $1 for every mile they race!  She did an ironman this summer and donated $140.60 in appreciation for our coaches and team helping her along her journey! -This is the time of year to think about renewing your annual OMS (oregon masters swimming - includes usa masters swimming and our team insurance) membership.  This is a required part of being a member whether you pay monthly or a punchcard.  Upcoming Practice Schedule Starting Oct 12 our evenings move back to Echo Hollow Pool.  Schedule Below. These are posted for the entire season on the website too! KIDS Oct 12-Nov 6 - Back to Echo Novice    Tue/Thur/Fri 5-6:15pm AGR 1        Tue/Thur/Fri 5-6:30pm AGR 2        Tue/Thur/Fri 5-7pm AGR 3        Mon/Wed/Fri 4-6pm, Tue/Thur 5-7pm HS        Mon/Wed/Fri 4-6pm SR        Mon/Wed/Fri 4-6pm, Tue/Thur 5-7pm, Sat 8-10am (amazon) MASTERS - morning and midday stay at Amazon through the end of oct! Mon - Fri 6-7:30am, amazon Mon, wed, fri 11-12noon, amazon Tue, Thur, Fri 6-7pm, ECHO Sat 8-10am, Amazon September to feature swimmers in primetime     We're all used to seeing swimmers like Natalie Coughlin, Michael Phelps and Cullen Jones during Olympic and World Championship-time broadcasts on NBC Sports, but this fall, you might be surprised to see some of your favorite swimming heroes smack-dab in the middle of your primetime TV schedule.  Mid-month, tune in to see the world's all-time winningest Olympian Phelps in a slightly less-serious competition as he races against NBA super-star Shaquille O'Neal on ABC's new show, "Shaq Vs."     Also on ABC, the smash hit Dancing with the Stars will feature "Golden Girl" Natalie Coughin in some fast-stepping. Coughlin will not be the first Olympic hero to attempt this feat- past winners include Shawn Johnson, Kristi Yamaguchi and Apolo Anton Ohno. "Dancing" begins on September 21. Rehearsal photos are already posted.  Lastly, flip over to HBO on September 15, and catch gold medalist and swimming ambassador Cullen Jones as he talks with HBO's Real Sports about his mission, both in and out of the pool. Education by Jim Miller, M.D. September 15, 2009     This fall, most swimmers will be coming off a break following the long-course swimming season. Coaches will be going to their annual national and state meetings, where they learn new training techniques and share some of their own experiences of the past year. The time is now to prevent injuries.     Assuming you can put the topic of high tech suits aside for a moment, the recent World Championship in Rome was inspiring with new, more efficient swimming on display. As an athlete, this is the time to improve stroke technique and work on those aspects of your training that are the weakest. If this time of swimming renewal is taken seriously, the year will be exciting with achieved goals and a decrease in injuries and soreness.     Swimming injuries are almost always related to stroke technique flaws. Overuse injuries in swimmers may involve the neck, lower back, elbow, or knee, but by far, the most common injuries involve the shoulder. Medical research reveals that between 60 and 80 percent of all swimmers will have a shoulder related injury, requiring them to take a break from training for one week or longer, at some point during their swimming careers.     So what can we do about it? Here are several tips to consider. They have been designed to help decrease this number and keep you in the water. After all, who wants to be part of that statistic?     * Listen to your coaches. Early season training is not as hard as it will become later, but it is the time to learn and step up to the next level. Your coaches will be using this time to work on technique, including drills, so be patient and use this time to learn. Come out of every practice better than when you started.     * Give your coach feedback if a specific drill or stroke is causing you to feel discomfort.     * Let your coach know early if discomfort is a daily occurrence.     * Be diligent your dry land routines. Dry land is designed to decrease your risk of swimming related injuries, but only if you do it correctly.     * If your program does not have a coach or someone to guide you in developing a dry land program, find one. There are numerous clinics across the country and other coaches within USMS that will fill this void for you. The discussion forums at usms.org are a great place to find other coaches and swimmers.     * Be very careful while stretching. A lot of accomplished swimmers are flexible, however it is important to not allow this natural gift of flexibility to become a problem. If stretching is overdone, the shoulder will become unstable and more susceptible to injury     * If you need to see a medical professional, find a medical practitioner who understands swimmers and swimming. Educate your practitioner about swimming and your training regimen. Merely taking time off isn’t always the answer. Make sure to ask questions so that upon return to the water, you are not plagued by the same discomfort. Seek treatment for the cause, not the symptom. The best treatment is prevention, so be conscious of your body. Listen to it and allow it to tell you how to proceed during your fall training. Jennifer’s Update Jennifer wrote, “Eighteen months ago I noticed I kept bumping into doorways and I couldn't hold my morning mug of tea straight. It was odd but didn't seem serious. I figured I irritated something while sleeping. The next day wasn't any better and I started to notice my left side was what was affected but everything was so mild. Of course it was the weekend and a trip to the emergency room seemed extreme. Monday morning I couldn't even hold a cereal spoon which made me panic. I called my doctor who told me to get to the emergency room. I had to call John at work to come drive me over. A CT scan showed I had a bleed in the middle of my brain. I got to spend 24 hours in ICU feeling silly because I felt fine. While there I slowly lost the use of my left leg and arm. It was due to swelling of the brain tissue which gets irritated by blood. Once on the neuro floor I began to relearn to walk and try to use my arm. I spent two weeks in an in-patient therapy program to get to the point where I could take care of myself and be strong enough to deal with a busy household ( mainly a four year old who didn't really get that Mommy couldn't step over things or that he could knock me over). Then it was months of out-patient physical and occupational therapy. By Christmas I was recovered enough to be released from all therapies. I was able to do just about everything. My endurance and strength were not back all the way, but that was about it. When the stroke occured swelling made it impossible to see what caused my bleed. It takes about 6 weeks for a bleed to clear up. Then I had another MRI. It showed a cavernous malformation. It is a vein which is thin walled and knobby like a blackberry. These can be prone to bleed as mine now is. I was probably born with it. In July I went to UCSF to see an expert as CCM's are fairly rare. He decided that since I was making such a good recovery the risks of surgery to remove it were too high. Normally it's a no brainer (haha) to remove them. But mine couldn't be in a worse place, in the cerebellum next to a nerve bundle. A year went by and I was feeling better about not having a future bleed. Then in June I had a day where my arm felt a little off, but that happens. The next morning I was having trouble with eating breakfast again. I told John I was pretty sure I'd had another bleed. We made arrangements for the boys with some friends, tried to call my neurosurgeon to see if we could bypass the ER and just get a CT scan, but he was on vacation. So we called my regular doctor and again headed to the ER. This time at the new hospital in town. Knowing what was probably going on this time made things a little easier. The CT scan showed a very similar bleed. There were a few differences this time. My face was affected for a few weeks. I did not have to relearn to walk, although my hip was affected. My arm and hand did lose their mobility again, but the areas most affected are different. This time I didn't have to be in ICU or in-patient therapy. I was kept in the hospital about a week just to monitor me. Then back to out-patient therapy 2-3 times a week. John has been my chauffeur all summer. Recently I met with my local neurosurgeon. He immediately told me I should have surgery. I did not want to hear that. From my point of view this stroke was smaller and with fewer negative effects than the last one so why would I want to risk the chance of permanent loss on my left side? I asked him to consult again with UCSF, this time by phone. The result is that they both recommend surgery. Apparently each time a bleed occurs the tissue becomes more fragile so future bleeds are more likely and even though I have been able to recover very well so far, that is not guaranteed in the future. I do not have to have this surgery, but with two neurosurgeons telling me I should, I probably will.”