State Practice and Shave Meet

• All state practices will start at 6:00pm unless we post otherwise.
• The shave meet is Tuesday for the guys who signed up. We'll post details on that as soon as they are available.

Results from Conference Finals

• State Qualifier: Ryan Beezhold - 100 Back

You can view the official results and the newly updated top times on the Meet Results page.

Photos from Conference Finals

You can download individual photos here.

Shaving Photos

Thanks to Beth VanPortfliet for sneaking into the boys' locker room last week to get these great photos!

You can download individual photos here.

Photos from Conference Prelims

You can download individual photos here.

Results from Conference Prelims

• State Qualifiers: Jack VanAllsburg - 100 Fly, John Faber - 100 Breast

You can view the official results and the newly updated top times on the Meet Results page.

Psych Sheet for Conference Meet

Holland has posted the psych sheet for the conference meet here.

Urgent Practice Schedule Change

Calvin has replaced the starting blocks at their pool, so that means practices can go back to normal for Wednesday and Thursday:

Wed-24-Feb

• All swimmers: normal time at Calvin

Thu-25-Feb

• (tentatively) All swimmers: normal time at Calvin
• Everyone to VanAllsburg’s immediately afterwards for the pasta party

Please check your email/Facebook/Twitter or manually check the website tomorrow since we may need to adjust the times for Thursday one more time.

Practice Schedule Changes

Because Calvin has removed the starting blocks from their pool, we need to move the practices for the conference taper swimmers over to Ottawa Hills this week. Please carefully review the new practice schedule:

Wed-24-Feb

• State taper swimmers: normal time at Calvin
• Conference taper swimmers: in the water 5:30pm - 7:00pm at Ottawa Hills

Thu-25-Feb

• State taper swimmers: in the water 3:30pm - 5:30pm at Ottawa Hills
• Conference taper swimmers: in the water 5:30pm - 6:30pm at Ottawa Hills, followed by shaving
• Everyone to VanAllsburg’s by 7:30pm for the pasta party

OK Black/White Conference Meet

The conference meet takes place over three days this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Holland Aquatic Center.

Thu-25-Feb: Diving Prelims and Semis

• Divers released from school: 2:00pm
• Divers ride in a van with Coach Pyper
• Meet starts: 5:00pm
• The van is round trip, so athletes have the option of riding back with Pype or arranging their own ride back.
• Pasta party at VanAllsburg's includes divers, so they should plan to head over to VanAllsburg's after the meet. Click here for details.

Fri-26-Feb: Swimming Prelims

• No school on Friday. Swimmers should arrive at GRCHS at 1:15pm to board the bus.
• The bus is one way, so swimmers need to arrange their own ride back.
• Meet starts: 4:00pm

Sat-27-Feb: Swimming and Diving Finals

• Athletes should arrive at GRCHS at 9:15am to board the bus.
• The bus is one way, so athletes need to arrange their own ride back.
• Meet starts: 12:00pm
• Pizza party for all athletes and families at Pyper's house in Byron Center after the meet. Directions here. See the sheet below for food assignments.

Click here to view the above document on its own page.

Pasta Party Thu-25-Feb

• Party starts: after practice Thursday (we expect swimmers to start arriving around 7:30pm)
• Location: VanAllsburg's house (Click here for directions.)
• Most of the food will be provided by the athletic boosters. Those of you who are signed up to bring additional food can review the sign-up sheet below.

Click here to view the above document on its own page.

More Photos from Holland Meet

Photos from Marcie Pyper

You can download individual photos here.

Practice Today and Band Concert

Practice is back at Calvin today, normal start time. Keep in mind that the conference taper swimmers will be getting out earlier than the state taper swimmers.

Any swimmers who will miss practice tonight because of the band concert NEED TO CONTACT ROB.

• email: rob@eaglesaquatics.com
• phone/text: 890-1335

Here are some suggested practices for conference taper swimmers and for state taper swimmers so that you can workout before the band concert if you can find a pool. This is HIGHLY ENCOURAGED.

Results from Holland Meet

Holland 107 - Eagles 77

• Swimmers of the night: Freshman - Alex DeBat; Sophomore - Troy VanPortfliet; Junior - Philip Recker; Senior - Justin VanPortfliet
• Diver of the night: Mark VanWinkle
• State Qualifiers: Erik Arent & Andrew VanderLei — 500 Free

You can view the official results and the newly updated top times on the Meet Results page.

Photos from Holland Meet

You can download individual photos here.

Home Meet Tue-16-Feb vs Holland

• Meet starts: 6:30pm
• There is no bus. Athletes should arrive at Calvin College by 5:00pm.
• Location: Calvin College (Click here for directions.)
• Click here for the latest top times document you can print and take along.
• Senior Night. We'll take some time before the meet to introduce and honor our seniors.
• We are hosting a meal for athletes of both teams after the meet. The sign-up sheet is shown below. Please bring your food items to the classroom across from the old gym. It is right behind the spectator stands of the pool on the upper level.

Click here to view the above document on its own page.

Results from MISCA Meet

• State Qualifier: John Swets - 500 Free

You can view the official results and the newly updated top times on the Meet Results page.

Monday Practice Change of Venue

Monday's practice has been changed to 6:00-8:30pm at Ottawa Hills because Calvin has to shut down their pool again. Taper guys are 6:00-8:00 and State guys are 6:00-8:30.

Practice Sat-12-Feb 10:00am - 12:00pm

For swimmers not traveling to MISCA tomorrow, practice will be from 10:00am until noon at Ottawa Hills. Sorry for the late notice - we just found out now.

Results from Zeeland Meet

Zeeland 126 - Eagles 60

• Swimmers of the night: Freshman - Craig Aldrink, Sophomore - Troy VanPortfliet, Junior - Grant Ludema, Senior - Erik Arent
• Diver of the night: Brent Primus
• State Qualifiers: Andrew VanderLei — 200 Free, Mitch Schroder - 100 Back

You can view the official results and the newly updated top times on the Meet Results page.

New Time Goals Sheet

We have updated the time goals sheet for the season. It includes the time standards for each event from school letter time up thru All-American, including the school record. Just look for the "Time Goals" link on the right side bar of the website.

Taper

Hello Parents!

We are going to be winding down the swim season for most of the guys over the next 3 weeks, and I wanted to take a minute and share with you what is happening in the pool. We start our taper this week, and it will last until the conference meet. For the current state qualifiers, their taper will start in 2 weeks.

If you're wondering what a taper is and why it's important, you're probably not alone. Basically, the idea is that we reduce the yardage and intensity of the training we do in practice until the competition that we're targeting. We will focus on more race specific things like sprinting, starts, and turns. The last few days before the meet, we won't be doing much more than warming up and doing a few sprints. The reason we do this is so that we can be rested and swim FAST!! It is an inexact science, and the results vary, but we generally are happy to see time drops of between 1 and 2 seconds per 100 yards of race length.

The most important components to a good taper are (listed in order):

• Training. All the hard work and hours of swimming we've put in since November have been the building blocks for the taper we are about to do. In general, guys that push themselves the most in practice while swimming with proper technique are the ones that benefit most from taper.
• Positive mental attitude. The swimmer must believe he will perform well and feel great in the water. Also, he must have a strong desire to swim fast.
• Rest. The swimmer should refrain from strenuous activity outside of swimming during taper, get good rest at night by staying on a regular sleep schedule.
• Balanced diet. Eat well - lots of carbohydrates, protein, fruit & vegetables. Stay away from junk food and pop.
• Be prepared. Shave down, use a suit that isn't stretched out (creating additional drag), use goggles that you trust.
• At the meet: Create adrenaline by getting excited to swim fast, sit down and relax before races, visualizing a great race. Think positive rather than creating nervousness and pressure upon yourself.

Expect the boys to have a lot more energy during taper....it can be tough to get them to rest because they've been wiped out every day for the last 10 weeks, and now they have energy again! Please help your son out by encouraging him and providing for some of the things listed above.

The guys have worked very hard this season! All the coaches have been continually impressed with the many good attitudes we have on this team. Thank you so much for supporting the team and your son throughout this season. We look forward to an exciting last few weeks!

Coach Keith

Snow Day - Practice is Still ON

Practice today at GRCC is still on from 3:00pm - 5:30pm, but with one exception. We no longer have bus service available. Since parking there is so limited, we're asking that parents drop off and pick up and that you car pool as much as possible. Parents, please encourage your swimmers to ask around for rides. They have nothing else to do today, right?

cRaZy Week of Scheduling

We have a crazy week of practice and meets ahead of us. Monday was the first day of taper. (There will be another post on this in the next day or two to explain exactly what taper means.) For now, take a look below at what we have ahead this week for practice/meet schedule:

• Tue-9-Feb: Normal Practice @ Calvin College
• Wed-10-Feb: Practice @ GRCC's Ford Fieldhouse. Swimmers will need to be in the water from 3:00pm to 5:30pm. There will be a bus going from school to the Ford and then back to school after practice. You can find directions to that pool here. Only seniors are permitted to drive, and are not permitted to have passengers with them. Others, please plan on riding the bus.
• Thu-11-Feb: Meet at Zeeland (click here for details).
• Fri-12-Feb: Practice @ Ottawa Hills. Swimmers will be required to be in the water at 5:30pm. Those tapering for conference will swim until 7:30pm. Those tapering for state will swim until 8:00pm. Please plan accordingly to allow enough time to change and stretch prior to that. Swimmers who qualified for MISCA will be going out to eat after practice on Friday night. Afterwards, they will be sleeping over at Jonker's house.
• Sat-13-Feb: Practice @ Ottawa Hills (time TBD) or MISCA meet @ Eastern Michigan University (see below for the list of attendees). The practice time for Saturday will be determined while we are at practice on Friday night. Please check with your swimmer when they get home. Transportation details for the MISCA meet will be announced later this week.

The following swimmers will be competing at MISCA on Saturday:

• Erik Arent
• Jono Jonker
• Nate Leppink
• Grant Ludema
• John Swets
• Jack VanAllsburg
• Andrew VanderLei
• Justin VanPortfliet

Bleaching Monday!

At school - right after school. Team captains know the details.

Meet Thu-11-Feb at Zeeland East

• Meet starts: 6:30pm
• Athletes board bus at GRCHS: 4:15pm
• The bus is round trip, so athletes have the option of riding the bus back to GRCHS or getting a ride home on their own.
• Click here for directions to Zeeland's pool.
• Zeeland will probably provide a meal for athletes after the meet.
• Click here for the latest top times document you can print and take along. Top times documents are now two pages and use a larger font.

More Photos from Holland Christian/Unity Christian Meet

Photos from Marcie Pyper

You can download individual photos here.

Thank You, Parents!

Thank you to all the parents who brought food to our home meets on February 2 and 4. The meals were great, we had plenty of food, and the attitude among the swimmers was one of appreciation. It was especially fun to have a social time for families following the exciting tri-meet on Thursday. So thank you all and go Eagles!

Quest Concessions Substitute Needed Fri-12-Feb

Jim and Kim Primus are scheduled to work the Quest center concession stand this Friday, February 12, from 5:30 - 7:30pm. Unfortunately they have a conflict. Can anyone help them out by picking up this slot or trading for another date? Please leave a comment here if you're willing to sub or trade. You can see the schedule of assignments here.

Results from Holland Christian/Unity Christian Meet

Eagles 100 - Holland Christian 86
Eagles 140 - Unity Christian 43

• Swimmers of the night: Freshman - Craig Aldrink; Sophomore - Mark Randall; Junior - Nate Leppink; Senior - Jono Jonker
• Diver of the night: Taylor Pruis
• State Qualifier: Justin VanPortfleit — 100 Free

You can view the official results and the newly updated top times on the Meet Results page.

State Meet Hotel Reminder

Parents and families, if you're planning on attending the state meet in March, or even if you think you might attend, remember that the deadline for making your hotel reservation is February 9. You can read the details here.

Diving Videos from Holland Christian/Unity Christian Meet

You can play, view or download individual videos here.

Photos from Holland Christian/Unity Christian Meet

You can download individual photos here.

Home Meet Thu-4-Feb vs Holland Christian & Unity Christian

Meet starts: 6:30pm There is no bus. Athletes should arrive at Calvin College by 5:00pm. Location: Calvin College (Click here for directions.) Click here for the latest top times document you can print and take along. We are hosting a meal for athletes of both teams after the meet, followed by an appetizer and dessert party for Eagles athletes and families. The sign-up sheet is shown below. Please bring your food items to the classroom across from the old gym. It is right behind the spectator stands of the pool on the upper level.

Click here to view the above document on its own page.

Photos from Northview Meet

You can download individual photos here.

Photos from Hamilton Meet

You can download individual photos here.

Photos from East Grand Rapids Meet

You can download individual photos here.

Photos from Union Meet

You can download individual photos here.

Results from Northview Meet

Eagles 110 - Northview 70

• Swimmers of the meet: Freshman - Ryan Beezhold; Sophomore - Mitch Schroder; Junior - Nate Leppink; Senior - Justin Van Portfliet
• Diver of the meet: Taylor Pruis
• State qualifiers: Grant Ludema — 200 IM, Justin VanPortfliet — 50 Free, Nate Leppink — 100 Free

You can view the official results and the newly updated top times on the Meet Results page.