CKSR (Calvin Swimming and Diving Teams Report in From Puerto Rico)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR JANUARY 2, 2014

Calvin Swimming and Diving Teams Report in From Puerto Rico

{Editor's Note - The Calvin men's and women's swimming and diving teams are currently training in Puerto Rico this week. The first journal entry is by Calvin junior Alex Baumann (Holland/Holland Christian HS) of the men's team. The second entry is by junior Rebecca Mumby (Spring Lake/Spring Lake HS) of the women's team. More journal entries will continue throughout the week by members of both teams}.

JOURNAL ENTRY #1
By Alex Baumann (January 1, 2014)

A new year for the Calvin swim and dive team began with team breakfast and the promise of adventure. We were full of anticipation for a morning free from the pool, and spending some time in the Puerto Rican rainforests. Through the direction of some locals at the hotel we were given the location of a somewhat secret waterfall in the nearby National Forest. A short drive and a little bit of interpreting trouble later, we found our mark. We proceeded through a tight, muddy trail to the waterfall we had heard about. As promised by our trusty friends at the hotel, there was not a soul in sight.

Once at the falls the team couldn't resist the urge to swim in the shoots, pools, and directly in the torrent of water falling from over forty feet above. To our pleasant surprise we found more trails leading higher up the mountain that revealed more of the stream that feed the falls below. Many members of the team chose to explore further, while others remained content in the pools under the main waterfall. After re-gathering to take a team picture (attached to this journal) we were off to explore a better known trail.

This trail promised a larger waterfall at the end, but also lacked the privacy of the first. Never the less, the trail description did not disappoint and offer exactly what was expected. The falls were massive and gushed water at much greater rate than the first. While making our way back to the trail head we experienced the well-known fact that rain forest weather is unpredictable. In a span of ten minutes we went from hiking in the sun, to being drenched by rain, then back to sun. After the showers, it was time to return to the vans and later the hotel.

After a brief time on the beach, it was back to business. We returned to the pool for our evening session. Practice was successful on both ends of the pool and everyone could walk out with their heads held high.

Overall, the day was successful; now we are buckling up and preparing for our first double tomorrow. Wish us well!

AB

JOURNAL ENTRY #2
By Rebecca Mumby (January 2, 2014)

Buenos Dias from Puerto Rico!

Today the teams took on our first set of two-a-days! The morning session was a great start of JMI (just make the interval) sets..the swimmers did great! Over in the diving well we spent most of our time on the three meter working 1s and 4s (fronts and inwards) while soaking up some sun.

After practice the team hit the beach for a day in the sun..or so we expected but as we have learned thus far it's Puerto Rico anything flies and we were caught off guard by random periods of rain and shade. But that didn't stop the team from getting in the water; body surfing seems to be a new team hobby. Out of the water the team did back flips and played a little volleyball.

We wrapped up the afternoon with our second practice- a little cooler this time but still productive. The swimmers took on another difficult set but finished strong this evening even dealing with some rain. Survey says- this was the swimmers favorite workout so far! The cardio side of the diver workout, however, was not. (; The divers bounced around from 1 meter to 3 and then progressed to some tower work.
We ended the evening with a dinner free for all- some of the team went to Denny's while others stayed at the hotel to spare their legs.

Now we're off for a little TLC before we take on another morning workout followed by a bio bay excursion!

Stay tuned!

RM
Received on Thu Jan 2 23:33:30 2014