NER Age Group Champs, Weekend 2

Day 1

A very warm weekend in May welcomed the North East’s finest to the John Charles Centre for Sport in Leeds for the last weekend of the 2024 North East Regional Championships. For the younger age-groups, we know where we are in comparison to the hordes of City of Leeds swimmers, but these weekends are about mixing it up with the hordes of Geordies, Mackems and Smoggies coming down to Yorkshire, competing against the unknown and seeing where you stack up.

Starting with our two young guns and we have the boys who can mess with the best. The multi-talented Jack Jones stepped up first for the 100m Freestyle, going out brave on a 31.33, it was level pegging going into the turn, but Jack came out half a body length in front and further increased his lead during the first 6 strokes, highlighting the importance of a fast turn speeds, lighting quick underwaters and a clean breakout. Could he hold that lead going down the last 50m? You bet he can, hitting the wall on a 1:06.43, kicking the day off with a huge PB and a very happy boy.

Up next came the young Mr.Roboto, for anyone who knows James Ellis will know the first race is a roll of the dice, things weren’t off to a good start when his head ended up back in the bin after the warm up, the signs were not good. So will his nerves get the better of him or will he conquer those demons? This time round they got the better of him and he had to step down but he would be back with a vengeance later in the day.

The girls 100m Fly swiftly followed for Millie Dey, Lexie Goddard and Phoebe Weatherill. 3 Queens of Sass out of the pool, but behind the blocks they are the epitome of confidence. The brief was to find your rhythm in the first 25m and aim to negative split the last 25m of each length, find your scoop and big 2nd kick on the return length and finish well. For Millie it was a lesson learnt, be in control of that first 50m in order to save a little for the return 50m, she took that on the chin and loudly exclaimed “I’m going to PB my next race!”. Lexie Goddard came next, a little too in control of her first 50m touching the wall with a very conservative 33.78s and towards the back of the pack, but boy did she have the legs to explode into her final 50m, making her way through the field to finish on 1:13.50, just outside her PB but a lesson learnt, be braver on the first 50m! Finally it was Phoebe Weatherills turn to show us what she can do, usually it’s a very smooth swim for Phoebe but this was rough and frantic but with a steely determination to give the top 3 girls a run for their money and she did just that, finishing with yet another PB of 1:07.76 and going into the Final in 4th place. The Final was a rollercoaster, the leading 3 Girls setting the pace and Phoebe went into the turn in 6th place, not ideal but when the chips are down this girl always gets her head down and grinds. Today was no different, she found her scooping action down the final 50m to put herself among contention for 4th place and now it was about who has the best finish, 3 girls hit the wall with 0.17 separating all 3, thankfully, and to Mark’s delight it was Phoebe who finished 4th with another PB of 1:07.60, showing the benefits of keeping those small details sharp.

The 2 Boys were back up for their 200m Backstroke with James determined to make up for the earlier mishap. Both in the same heat, both went out in control of the 1st 100m, not letting what’s happening around them alter their rhythm. James went out into the final 100m reaching and grabbing for the water with his stroke rate increasing as he went and finishing with a PB of 2:42.89 and booking himself into the Final. For Jack it wasn’t a PB this time around but as always with Jack, he comes out not with tears or disappointment but looking to learn more, an attitude all our younger swimmers should emulate. For James’ final the brief was simple, can you attack the first 100m harder and replicate that final 100m? Yes gets you a medal and in James’ case, a 100m split that was 2 seconds quicker than his heat, a promising sign but the job wasn’t done there. 3 swimmers were competing for Silver and Bronze and thankfully James has a 10m finish most could only wish for and it played to his advantage, touching the wall with a Bronze Medal and and a hughe PB of 2:38.54. Well done James!

Next up was the little firecracker and serial fist bumper Sofia-Elyse Sanders in the 200m Breaststroke. We don’t have many Breaststrokers these days so it’s always pleasing to see one of this quality come through the ranks. Off the dive she stayed cool, calm and collected with a 100m split of 1:33.01, fairly slow with her fantastic underwater keeping her in the race, but the brief was always to increase that stroke rate down the 3rd 50m and explode into the final 50m. Watching from the poolside it was the perfect demonstration of an Age Group Race, consistent in the middle sector and exploding down the final quarter. While everyone around her was showing signs of fatigue, Sofia came through the pack picking them off one by one and chasing the feet of the leading swimmer. Hitting the wall on 3:06.92, we had a very happy swimmer going into the Final in 3rd place. If the heat was the perfect Age Group race, how could she possibly do better? Well I'm not sure, but somehow Sofia managed to do just that, the 100m split was 2.4 seconds quicker than the heats and for anyone reading this you must be sat there thinking “Wow, she must have gone out like a train on the first sector”, she didn’t. Looking just as calm and composed as she did in the heats and still riding the glide effectively. At the halfway point she was just outside the medals in joint 4th, but if the heat was anything to go by, the race was far from over for Sofia, increasing the stroke rate again down the 3rd 50m she was in contention for Bronze coming out of the final turn and just under a second behind Silver. It was a big ask to make up that time with 50m to go but she was up for it! With 10m to go it was neck and neck and all about who could time their finish absolutely spot on. Sofia hit the wall, smashing another 3 sec off her time from the heats and more importantly finishing in 2nd place and a well earned Silver Medal! Congratulations Sofia!

Now it was time for the sprints, first the girls 50m Backstroke, there was no PB this for Sofia but there were no tears or doom & gloom, just a very receptive girl looking for feedback still riding on a high from her earlier swim of the day. Millie Dey got the PB she wanted, taking 0.5s off her time. Next up was the boys 50m Fly, Jack finished just a smidgen outside of his PB with James, after scuffing his breakout (and he knew it!) finishing in 1st place going into the Final. The Final was a frantic affair, after coming out of his 200m Backstroke there was little time to recover before he was off again. Thankfully Jessica Hubery stayed with him to keep his nerves at bay and it worked a treat, hitting the wall in 1st Place and a Gold Medal. A superb day James!

The final race of the heats was the mid-distance 400m Freestyle for Jessica Hubery and Phoebe Weatherill. The key to these events is consistency, the first 100m will be fairly quick and we’re aiming for PB+5 while holding 36s 50m splits across the middle 200m and trying to descend the final 100m. For Jess this was a much needed boost for her after enduring a few tough weeks, hitting the 36s consistently and desperately hanging on with everything she’s got down the last 50m to come out having taken a second off her PB and booking herself into the final. That’s some good going Jess well done!
 

Meanwhile, Phoebe showed the same consistency and determination with only one split going over the 36s target but this was offset by a 34.78 going down the final 50m and coming out with a 4:47.06, a fantastic 4 second PB. The de-brief was simple after the race, I’m so proud of these two swimmers having endured what they have this season, with each facing their own difficulties and never once shirking a challenge. Well done Girls.

Unfortunately, the Final wasn’t meant to be for Jess, we suspected she might only have enough for one good race today and it proved to be. Not too far from her PB hitting the wall on 4:49 but nonetheless, she got what she came for, a good PB and a lesson to learn, all journeys consist of peaks and troughs, the good times don’t come without the hard. Hard work pays off, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But eventually it does pay off. Keep chipping away Jess.

Thank you to Mark and our own Cheerleaders up on the Balcony for your support.

Day 2
 

John Charles was eerily quiet as i walked in for the start of the final day of competition at this year’s North East Regional Championships. The relative peace didn’t last long as the stands began to fill with parents, whilst swimmers, officials, and coaches filed in on poolside.

Following the usual frantic warm up, it was time for the Female 100m freestyle. The firecracker herself Sofia was up first in heat 2. The brief was to go out fast but hold a little back for the return, and that’s exactly what she did. Going out in a 33.34 (her 50m PB is currently 31.64) this meant excellent pacing for the first 50m. Heading home with another quick 50m split of 34.64secs saw Sofia hit the wall in 1:07.98, meaning an almost 2.5secs PB, 7th in her heat and into the final. Awesome work Sofia and what a start to the day!

The smiles of Millie Dey were temporarily absent as she stood tall and confident on the starting blocks of her 100m freestyle. This kid LOVES to race and another controlled first 50m saw Millie out fast, returning quickly Millie hit the wall in a 1:08.65, 5th in her heat and just 0.36secs off a PB. Heading back for the coaches debrief the smile was back and all she wanted to know was “DID I PB, DID I PB??” Not this time Millie. PB or not we always walk away with lessons learnt and ways to improve. Disappointment aside Millie took on board the work ons and headed off to the cool down pool still smiling as usual.

A steely eyed Lexie Goddard was up next, and there was something different about Lexie today. She seemed more calculated and confident than usual. Gone were any mentions of a crisis, or the world ending and this was seriously good to see. Off the dive in her usual style Lexie flew down the first 50 with controlled effort, holding and pulling water whilst being careful not to snatch or slip her catch. With her stroke rate picking up in the back 50 Lexie hit the timing mat in 1:07.01. Not enough for a final but once again and despite the disappointment, I found myself sat with a very receptive swimmer. Well done Lexie!

Next it was Jess Hubery heading through marshalling. Out like a torpedo as usual Jess hit the wall at 50m and just 1sec slower than her 50m PB. Holding that speed coming back minus a dive is super hard and Jess gave it her all touching the wall in 1:04.52mins and just 1.12seconds outside her PB. With recent sickness hanging over her this was a superbly brave effort! Well done Jess. 

Last up for the sprint race that’s not a sprint was Phoebe, as another swimmer backing up a huge day from the day before she was feeling the inevitable heavy body. This is where a great tried and tested pre-race routine comes into play with great effect. Find a routine that works, stick to it and don’t deviate unless it stops working. See it as a framework though because things do and will happen to derail your routine. With no derailment today however, never deviating Phoebe stuck to her routine like glue and it showed. Just 1.31secs slower than her 50m PB, her pacing to half way was almost text book. Rocketing home with her head down into the wall Phoebe narrowly missed a PB by 0.17secs and the final by 0.06secs. If theres a sport of narrow margins folks this is it. Not deterred, unsurprisingly Phoebe headed off to execute her post race routine.

Ahh James, if you know James you’ll know his first race of any meet is a struggle for this lad. Swimming is a never ending metaphor for life. Fears, worries, threats all seek to undo us, and especially when we’re at our most vulnerable. If we can beat these demons then that’s where we grow, where the sense of achievement of beating these becomes our superpower by creating confidence. Lessons we can all take into life away from the pool. This super talented 12yr old was no exception today, but i promised him that if he can overcome these moments he can achieve anything. Once off the blocks it was game time for James in his 100m Butterfly. He hit the wall at half way in 34.16, coming back in 39.64 meant those nerves must have seriously sapped his energy for the back half. Soon after the race, with nerves put away for now, James was all smiles again. His time of 1:13.80 saw him safely into the final later in the day. Well done James, make sure you keep beating those demons! 

Henry’s 200m breaststroke was next. His brief was to make sure his first and last 50’s were the fastest, the middle 2x 50’s needed to be split around the same but do achieve this he needed to continue to push the 3rd 50 as fatigue will inevitably set in. Another controlled but quick first 50 saw Henry pace it well, the middle 2x 50’s on my watch were almost identical (49.54 / 49.53). Ok, lets see what he has for the final 50. Unfortunately to push that final 50m was just too much for a tired Henry. Fear not though, as he’d done more than enough. Coming in with a 3:11.03, a 7sec personal best and 6th fastest going into the final. Well done Henry, we’ll see you later on for the finals.

Before we knew it Sofia, Lexie and Phoebe were all heading off for their 200m Individual Medley heats. First up was Sofia finishing with a 6 second long course personal best and into the final as 10th fastest, great work Sofia and well deserved. Heat 6 saw Lexie line up in lane 9 and right under our noses. Lexie hit the wall after the first 50 butterfly just 1.08 sec outside her 50m butterfly PB, risky but could she hold that fast start and keep pushing the backstroke, unfortunately it wasn’t to be but a massive lesson learned in pacing the start. Finishing in a respectable 2:42.29, yet again Lexie took on the feedback with a cool demeanour and headed off to the cool down pool. The penultimate heat saw Phoebe line up in lane 9 again with nowhere to hide from the poolside team of coaches, parent/coach/team manager Mark and the rest of her team mates. Playing to her strengths Phoebe went out fast on the butterfly and holding on for a 1.45sec PB in a time of 2:36.33, 7th in her heat but just missing the final by 0.48secs. Narrow margins yet again! 

Caspar Burdon is one of a kind. This only just 12yr old funny man hides his professionalism with humour. Always keeping me in check, he’s one of the brightest kids i know, and i know a lot of bright kids. He’s also got a backstroke start lots of swimmers look at with admiration. Heading to his race, the brief couldn’t be more simple. Start like you did in the warm up, breaking out with a high arm turnover and massive kick, no need to pace it, give it everything in an all out effort right the way to the finish. Unfortunately Casper’s legs didnt show up for his race but knowing Caspar, i know he’ll learn from this, he’s too clever and switched on not to. Just dont tell him that, it’s not cool to be this clever! Finishing time 38.01secs and 0.49secs off a personal best. Great swimming Caspar!

Up next was a no-nerves James, it’s about time! This splash and dash race saw him swim a great race, right until the finish. Head up on the touch looking at the board left me with my head in my hands, even if he did finish first in his heat with a tidy PB. Laughing and smiling to myself i walked back along the pool edge thinking these kids will be the end of me! After a small chat about his finish James took it on board, he was in the final and looking forward to doing it all again, i think?

Last up for the splash and dash finish to the morning was Millie, Lexie and Phoebe in their 50m butterfly. Millie was out for a final and of course a PB. On the finish the first box was checked, the second she narrowly missed by 0.09secs with a 32.98secs. With another chance in the final to get that PB Millie was happy, and should be, her head down finish was on point and brilliant to watch, well done Millie! Another great finish from Lexie saw her (butter)fly into the wall in 32.99 and 0.64 outside her PB. Small margins yet again saw Lexie narrowly miss out on a final, but i think Lexie walked away from this meet with lots to think about and masses of areas to improve which is what it’s all about for me. Win, loose or draw the process is exactly the same - learn from everything and knowing Lexie and listening to her after all her races that’s exactly what she’ll do. Hanging over the starting blocks in Phoebe style, it was her turn to go all out in her 50m sprint Butterfly. On the “take your marks” command she grabbed the front edge of the blocks and rocked back slightly, on the starting sound she was off. When Phoebe races, it’s often with shear tenacity, will and aggression and today’s 50 fly was certainly one of those races. She won’t mind me saying that her finish wasn’t the best with a slight miss measure and a glide into the wall but a 30.61secs saw her 3rd fastest in the heats and safely into the final. Well done Phoebe, well see you later on. 

With the morning session done we would see 5 swimmers return for 7 finals at 5pm. For them it was time to rest up, fuel up and come back ready to RACE. For me and Mark however, it was time to welcome Freya to the fold and prep her ready for her 1500m Freestyle.

With a solid warm up done Freya was ready. In her own words she has a “love, hate relationship with this event”. “I love it because everyone tells me I’m good at it, and I hate it because it’s so darn long”, and she’s right, it is and she is too. Based on a simple fact that due to recent illness Freya hasn’t been able to train much since NER weekend 1 a few weeks ago. That said, Freya soon identified that this would be a win/win for her whatever happened. I take my hat off to anyone who gets out there and sees what they can do under such circumstances. If you let it, there will always be a reason not to do something challenging. It’s how we’re wired for survival and goes against our instincts to take risks, but as I’ve said before, that’s where the growth and the self-development live. As stated often by the motivational speaker Tony Robbins, “happiness and self-fulfilment come from progress”. Sometimes you have to risk it on the off chance that you’ll make progress. In this case Freya just wanted to see what she could do, and I applaud her for that attitude. As Freya swam 30-times up and down the 50m pool. She did herself very proud, coming in only 22seconds above her personal best time, this was a moment to be proud of, and yes I would take that as progress and so did Freya. Well done on such a brave effort. 20:32.00mins and 13th in the North East Region, brilliant!

Yet again, with heats and distance races done, it was finals time!

The running order saw Sofia back for her 100m freestyle final. Boom, she was on it again from the start. Heading out of her turn at 50m Sofia gave it her all in an effort to catch the leaders hitting the wall hard in true firecracker spirit. Going into the final 10th, she came out 9th. Well done Sofia, dust yourself off, we’ve got another final coming up shortly.

James muttered about not wanting to do the final, but that was it, he knew it was something he just HAD to do for himself. Almost matching his heat swim for the first 50m, James turned and headed for home. With 25m to go he was hovering around 6th and with A-LOT to do. On speaking to him afterwards he said he knew what he was doing and had confidence in his finish. With his head down he powered into the wall winning a bronze medal with a new personal best of 1:12.56. Awesome work James! See you shortly for the 50BK final and remember no head up finish this time!

Henry had a quietness about him for his 200m breaststroke final, but the brief was to take all the learnings from the heat which was mostly pacing and put it right in the final. Henry knows how to race and go ‘full beans’ effort when asked, and as expected, Henry gave it everything yet again finishing in a time of 3:14.62 and 9th in the Region. Well done Henry, superb racing as always!
 

To say Sofia wasn’t all that carried away with her being in the 200m Individual Medley final would be an understatement but as she would find out there was absolutely no need. Going in 10th Sofia came out 9th in the region with a superb 2:52.49. I hope that racing the final gives her a massive boost in confidence and lets her know that some things are worth the discomfort. Well done Sofia, you should be proud of yourself.

With no head up finish this time around James hit the wall with another 50m backstroke personal best and another Bronze medal. Amazing stuff James and with more bling than Mr.T I’d say you’ve had a great NERs. (Someone might need to explain TO James who Mr.T is – CRAZY FOOL!)

With Millie Dey in great spirits once again, (I want some of whatever she’s eating) her brief for the final was to include some banging fly kicks in her underwaters off the start and give it full gaz all the way. Yet again her finish was superb with a PB and 7th place in a time of 32.52. Brilliant racing as  always Millie!
 

Lastly it was the turn of formidable herself, Phoebe Weatherill. We were stood just beyond the 25m mark on poolside as the starting sounder went off. As Phoebe broke out of her underwater phase her stroke rate went into overdrive. As she reached 25m I began to follow the line of swimmers gunning for the wall. With a short distance to go I thought she had it but she was just touched out by 0.65seconds into a silver medal. Phoebe hit the wall in an outstanding 29.90secs. I asked her afterwards what was more satisfying, the silver medal or going sub 30 for the first time, with a smile on her face the answer was simple, “both!”     

Closing comment - the days I attended plus from what I’ve heard from other coaches, all three NER weekends (not to mention National Qualifying Window meets) saw lots of emotional ups and downs. From tears of joy, to tears of disappointment and tears of excitement, to pure inner joy and everything in-between. With all of this in mind I continue to be amazed about how these young athletes are able to train, compete, do schoolwork, prepare and take exams, and not to mention deal with everything that gets thrown at young people these days. Whether you’re at the NERs or not every swimmer in the club should all be immensely proud of themselves.

May we also extend a personal thanks to all the parents for their support too, along with a special thanks to Mark for his outstanding Team Management skills and Nicola for your support also.   

“When there is no enemy inside, the enemy outside can do us no harm!”… an old African proverb that resonated with me as I drove home on Sunday evening.