Get to Know a Swimmer: Lindsey Reid

Today we profile junior Lindsey Reid, a 3-time conference finalist who, as you will see below, is a great team player!














Lindsey (center) at the 2008 ODAC Champs.

Name: Lindsey Shafer Reid
Nickname: Mom (for the team)
Class Year: Junior
Hometown: Glen Allen, VA
Favorite Event: Whatever Ben decides for me to swim!
Favorite Hobby: Singing
Favorite Food: Cereal and Chocolate milk
Favorite R-MC Swimming Memory: Winning ODACs as a freshman!
Favorite TV Show: Jon and Kate plus 8
Favorite Movie: The Big Green
Personal Motto: Just work hard and something good will always come from it, even if it's not what you expected.

Get to Know a Swimmer: Laura Belch

Our fourth swimmer of the day is senior and 11-time conference finalist Laura Belch:


Name: Laura Belch
Nickname: LaLa the [Beach Babe]
Class: Senior
Hometown: Manassas, VA
Favorite Event: 100 Free
Favorite Hobby: Beachin' it
Favorite Foods: Sushi, Salmon, Steak
Favorite R-MC Swimming Memory: Winning the ODAC title and busting my butt in front of everyone, not once, but twice at ODACs that year.
Favorite TV Shows: LOST and FoxNews
Favorite Movies: Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Super Troopers
Favorite Inspirational Quotes: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." - Philippians 4:13
"A man that never quits is a man that is never defeated." - Fred Thompson

Get to Know a Swimmer: Kellianne Mullin

Our swimmer of the day today is freshman, and Eagles fan, Kellianne Mullin:


Name: Kellianne Mullin
Class Year: 2012
Hometown: Charlottesville, VA
Favorite Event: 200 Breast
Favorite Hobby: Shopping
Favorite Food: Arch's Frozen Yogurt
Favorite TV Show: Gossip Girls / Greys Anatomy
Favorite inspirational quote: "Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else wil take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever." -Lance Armstrong

Get to Know a Swimmer: Hallie Stewart

Part II of our Get to Know a Swimmer series features two-time conference champion Hallie Stewart '10.


Name: Hallie Stewart
Class Year: Junior
Hometown: Midlothian, VA
Favorite Event: The R-MC Invitational
Favorite Hobby: Crafting
Favorite Food: Spinach Dip
Favorite TV Show: Gossip Girls
Favorite R-MC Swimming memory: Washington & Lee (dual meet) my freshman year
Personal Motto: Life's too short to be anything but happy.

Get to Know a Swimmer: "A Mo"

At 6:15 this morning, the 08-09 R-MC swimming season began as the team hit the weights dark and early. To celebrate the start of the season, here is the first of many "Get to Know a Swimmer" posts. Today's swimmer du jour is junior Amanda Morgan. Get to know Amanda M.:


Name: Amanda Morgan
Nickname: "A Mo"
Class: Junior
Hometown: Boiling Springs, PA
Favorite Event: 50 Freestyle
Favorite Hobby: Swimming (duh)
Favorite Food: Hot dogs
Favorite R-MC Swimming Memory: Winning the ODAC title my freshman year.
Favorite TV Show: The Hills, Gossip Girl
Favorite Movie: Sweet Home Alabama
Inspirational Quote: "Lick the rock, chug the tap." - Aimee Powell '08

Out with the Old, In with the New

The beginning of the swimming season is a great time of year, full of optimism and excitement at what the new team can accomplish. We at R-MC have a lot to be psyched about this fall. First, we have a very talented and huge freshman class (more to come on them). Our team is roughly twice the size as last year. Second, our swimmers will benefit from several sweet upgrades to the Estes Aquatic Center this year. The old rollaway rotary pace clocks and 10 year old lane lines are history. Replacing them are brand new wall-mounted digital pace clocks and brand new lane lines. But wait, that's not all. Also new this year for our swimmers' training pleasure is a relay takeoff pad, which will be an invaluable tool in perfecting relay exchanges.

Of course, all of this was made possible by the generosity of our friends in the Yellow Jacket Club.

The Old:


The New:

Back To School

Today is Labor Day, and for those of us here at R-MC, that also means it's the first day of classes for the 08-09 school year (yes, we start school on a national holiday). And with that, the start of the swimming season is not far off. Our small army of freshmen have arrived and settled in, the upperclass(wo)men are back as well, and I'm looking forward to getting down to business. September 22nd is going to be our first day of practice this season. T-minus 3 weeks until splash down....

Let The Games Begin

Approximately four years down, less than one day to go. 8-8-08 is nearly upon us (actually it already is upon the athletes and spectators in Beijing). Yes, the Summer Olympics are here, and I hope you're pumped. I love the Olympics. It is sports' biggest stage. It only comes around once every four years. And, the showcase sports are swimming, track, and gymnastics, three great sports that don't get nearly the attention they deserve (outside of Olympic competition) here in the good ole USofA.

Regarding the swimming action, there are some great story lines in Beijing. Can Michael Phelps one-up Mark Spitz and win eight golds in one Olympiad? What is 41 year old Dara Torres capable of doing in the 50 and sprint relays? Just how dominant will Team USA be on the men's side? It's going to be a great show, and after the excellent coverage NBC had for Olympic Trials, I can't wait for what's in store.

Finally, I want to talk about Lopez Lomong, who I'm sure will get plenty of press during the opening ceremonies tomorrow. He's been selected as the flag bearer for Team USA. He'll be running the 1500m on the track in the Games, and his life story is pretty amazing. He's originally from Sudan, and basically spent his entire childhood in a refugee camp after escaping a militia camp where young boys were abducted and brainwashed/trained to become soldiers. Well in 2001, he was brought over to the United States and adopted by a family not too far from where I grew up in NY. He became a star pretty quickly, winning state titles in high school and a couple NCAA titles in college. He gained his citizenship and is now representing the United States in the Olympics and carrying the flag at the opening ceremonies. Pretty cool.

Busy Weekend

It was a busy last four days for yours truly. Thursday and Friday were spent in DC, Saturday and Sunday in upstate NY.

Part one of my journey had me in DC for YMCA Nationals, which were held at the University of Maryland. Both YMCA Nationals events are great meets, and this year's long course edition did not disappoint. There was some fast long course swimming to be had at the meet. Congrats to all who swam, including an R-MC Class of 2012 breaststroker who had a solid meet! While at the meet, I stayed literally 2 blocks from the White House, which is why you get to enjoy this beautiful BD original through the gated fence:


Part two of the journey had me going to "gorges" Ithaca, NY for the USA Triathlon Sprint Distance National Championships (where I was an athlete, not a coach). Ithaca is known for it's gorges, including one that features the tallest waterfall in the northeast (see below - as a frame of reference, you can see some tiny dots on the trail in the bottom right hand corner of the picture...those are people). At 216 feet, it's 49 feet taller than Niagara Falls. They actually sell t-shirts that say "Ithaca is Gorges," and yes, I am the proud owner of one such shirt. As for the race, it was a mixed bag. Solid swim and run legs, subpar bike (which cost me the race. Come on Normann!).


Part three of the journey turned out to be the drive back down to Virginia, which was an ordeal that I care not to relive. I'll just say it took much longer than anticipated to make it back, and leave it at that.

Swim Camp

Today is my first day back in the office after 3 weeks of swimming camp at Hamilton College. Coaching at swim camp is always fun because it allows me to work with swimmers of a different age range than what I'm used to. It's also a change of pace in that the Hamilton camp is a technique camp, not a training camp. This gives the coaches working it a chance to focus solely on teaching swimming, something most college coaches wish they had more time to do with their own teams during the season. Finally, it's fun for me to go back to the place I did my own college swimming and enjoy the great summertime weather in upstate New York, which is very different from upstate New York in the winter (which lasts about 6 months by the way).

Back in VA. Back to work. Go Jackets!