Swimmers Take Your Marks

Tammy is living in a new town with her mother and new stepfather, and she doesn't know anyone. When another new girl named Lora asks her to join the summer swim team, Tammy jumps at the chance. But when Tammy realizes that Lora is a much better swimmer than she is, Tammy's hopes for a new best friend begin to sink.

To assure themselves free swimming time at the local pool, a group of children form a swimming team but find that the pool officials expect them to perform in competitions.

Talent, skill, and a passion to compete: These are the characteristics that define elite-level swimmers. But as the sport’s best coaches know, even the most gifted of athletes won’t develop these traits without a plan—one that recognizes talent, develops skills, and nurtures success. Developing Swimmers is the only book to offer a comprehensive, long-term plan beginning at an age-group level. Renowned coach Michael Brooks shares the insights, secrets, and strategies that have transformed his athletes and swim teams from novice competitors to distinguished champions. Developing Swimmers will show you how to -evaluate and identify talent in even the youngest swimmers; -establish realistic yet challenging short- and long-term goals for your athletes; -assess and refine strokes for greater power and efficiency; -improve starts, turns, and finishes for faster times; -structure positive and productive practices for swimmers and swim teams; and -foster your swimmers’ passion, bolster commitment, and instill winning attitudes. From motivation to meet management to race-day tactics, Developing Swimmers covers it all. It is the guide every coach should have on the shelf. With Developing Swimmers, you will improve the performance of your swimmers—and your entire team.

In developing countries, sports development cooperation is still in the need of justification and steadfast arguments. Many people ask the question why invest in sports in developing countries for which water supply, health service and agriculture projects are much better suited? An apt reply to this question may be for many of the people of a developing country, Sports is the only Sweaty Leisure-time activity. Sports represents a moment of joy in the midst of hard poverty-stricken and dirty everyday life. Doing sports even makes one s work go more smoothly the next day. Contents: Introduction, Swimming as a Sport, Principles of Training, Teaching Techniques, Preseason Planning, Early Season Planning, The Back Crawl, The Front Crawl, The Breaststroke, Rules and Regulations.

Swimming is one of the best, most enjoyable, and most effective forms of exercise available, and this is the classic guide for beginners and expert swimmers alike, completely revised and updated for the '90s. B & W line drawings throughout.

Birch Hill Swim Club has a new coach and the team's star swimmer, eighth-grader Lasha Boyko, couldn't be more excited. Even though the lanky swimmer comes from an immigrant Ukrainian family of modest means, she dreams big. The coach has a track record of producing Olympians and Lasha wants to be her next star. The hitch is that she's one of the fiercest trainers in world. To achieve her lofty goals, Lasha must look within herself to find the strength. Can she be a champion?

Called a “masterpiece” in a starred review from School Library Journal, award-winning author Chris Crutcher’s acclaimed Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes is an enduring classic. This bestselling novel is about love, loyalty, and friendship in the face of adversity. “Superb plotting, extraordinary characters, and cracking narrative make this novel unforgettable.”—Publishers Weekly Sarah Byrnes and Eric Calhoune have been friends for years. When they were children, his weight and her scars made them both outcasts. Now Sarah Byrnes—the smartest, toughest person Eric has ever known—sits silent in a hospital. Eric must uncover the terrible secret she’s hiding before its dark current pulls them both under. Will appeal to fans of Marieke Nijkamp, Andrew Smith, and John Corey Whaley. “Once again, Chris Crutcher plunges his readers into life's tough issues within a compelling story filled with human compassion . . . with his characteristic intelligence, humor, and empathy."—ALAN Review An American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults