Practice With Skyline High School

Due to a busy day, I had to practice before EMU was open today. I contacted my high school coach Sean Hickman who was chosen to coach the new Mens Team at Ann Arbor Skyline High School. He was nice enough to allow me to join his new team for a Saturday Morning Practice. The new school is transitioning one class of students in per year, so this year is 9th graders only. The team is comprised of many different levels of swimmers as expected. I was immediately impressed with the turnout considering it's the first year for both the school and the swim program. They have 18 swimmers on the roster. I remember being on Brightons team with only 12 swimmers covering all four grades! All the swimmers were respectful to the coach and were disciplined in practice.

I got in early and did an extra 500 yards, the team joined me and we swam another 2,000 yards. I was sure to mix it up with some butterfly and long underwater kicking to prepare for tomorrow's meet in Brighton. Afterward we did numerous race starts and turns. Coach Hickman asked for my asisstance demonstrating some freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke. Overall I think it was beneficial for the kids to see what was possible.

The facility is fantastic, they keep the water nice and cold at 79 degrees, perfect for training. However, I could tell the high school swimmers would have preferred it much warmer. I did notice the blocks weren't very tight though, during my freestyle starts the blocks moved about 2" when I jerked forward on the start. It surprised me, I hope they can tighten them down somehow for competition. The walls, gutters and bulkhead were all very good.

I want to thank Coach Sean Hickman for letting me swim with his team and thank the team for allowing me to lead their practice. It was a great experience. Thanks Skyline!