Please Help Me Raise $200 for the 2009 Swim-a-thon

Current Amount Raised...$155

Please consider sponsoring C to help raise money for the Carteret Currents (http://www.carteretcurrents.com/) swimming activities which include local and national programs. C's goal is to raise $200 for this year's swim-a-thon.

There are thousands of Americans of all ages engaged in swimming. USA Swimming (http://www.usaswimming.org/) offers programs for beginners, Olympians and everyone in between.

USA Swimming is dedicated to further development of the sport. Their three core objectives are:

Build the base
Promote the sport
Achieve competitive success

95% of the funds collected are retained by C's team to help finance their swimming program, while 5% is sent back to USA Swimming to defray expenses and to support other grass roots programming.

Each swimmer is limited to a MAX OF ONE CONTINUOUS TWO-HOUR PERIOD in the water or a MAX OF 200 LENGTHS OF THE POOL, whichever comes first. This distance represents approximately three miles. We are very proud to announce that C completed 58 laps (1,450 meters) which is over 3/4 of a mile for his first year participating in the swim-a-thon!

A portion of your donation to USA Swimming is tax deductible. Check with your tax advisor for tax implications.

Monies are due to the Carteret Currents by Friday June 5th. Therefore, we would be grateful if you'd reply back to this e-mail with your intention of a donation and then send a check afterward (mom will write one check for the total amount to the Carteret Currents).
Your financial support will support the Carteret Currents and athletes.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR DONATION!!

Video of My First Swim Meet

Here is the video of my very first meet. Dad recorded both the fly and backstroke but wasn't able to record the free. Mom had to pick up J and K and accidentally took the camera with her in her purse. ENJOY!

First Swim Meet at ECU

I'm very happy with my first swim meet. I had a great time and can't wait to do it again. Mom and dad were both VERY proud of me. J and K ended up going to Playdate to play while I swam. They were happier there and it gave me some quality time with mom and dad.

Here are my times and where I placed in each of my heats:

25M Fly: 4th place with a time of 34.72

25M Back: 3rd place with a time of 31.48

25M Free: 3rd place with a time of 31.20

Enjoy a few of the pictures from my meet (link under "Photo Album" in the right hand column)...mom will get video posted tomorrow.

MY FIRST SWIM MEET IS SATURDAY MARCH 28TH!

Last week my coach approached my mom and said he thinks I'm ready to compete! After talking to my mom for a while he suggested that I enter into the upcoming meet at Eastern Carolina University (ECU) on March 28th. I was VERY hesitant but after speaking to my coach and the head coach I agreed to give it a try. Mom has ordered my team swim suit along with the team warm up suit for me to wear so I can look official. I will be swimming in three events for this meet. I'll start with the 25M Butterfly, then the 25M Backstroke, and last I'll swim the 25M Freestyle. The boys I'll swim against are all eight years old and under which makes me feel A LOT better. The kids I've been swimming with are around 10 years old.

I've been out of school the last two days with a flu bug but I'm still excited about my meet. Yesterday I asked mom if I could watch a few events from the 2008 Summer Olympics we have on DVR. It's always fun to watch Michael Phelps, Aaron Piersol, and Ryan Lochte swim! Today I think mom is going to read some more of the Michael Phelps book to me during quiet time.

Mom hopes to record the races for everyone to watch but if nothing else we'll have pictures up next week for everyone to see.

If you are reading this before Mach 28th please say a little prayer for me. A prayer to calm my nerves and to do my very best. To stay focused and try to beat no one but my own best times in the pool. Thank you.

THANKS AUNT MICHELLE!

Merry Christmas everyone!

One of my favorite gifts this Christmas was from my aunt Michelle. She sent me Michael Phelps' new book "No Limits". Mom, dad and I started reading it together for quiet time today and it's a REALLY good book. The book is broken down into eight chapters for each of the eight races at the '08 Olympics. We finished the prologue and half of chapter one today. I learned that you should never say "I can't" or it puts limits on your abilities and that you should set goals on a regular basis and share them with your coach. I set two goals today for the freestyle and breast stroke. Thanks so much Aunt Michelle, I love learning a lot about my sports hero and learning some good techniques too!!!

I Saw Michael Phelps In Baltimore!!!

The middle of October mom surprised me and took me to see the Olympic celebration in Baltimore, Maryland. Why is that so special you ask? BECAUSE THAT IS WHERE MICHAEL PHELPS IS FROM!!!! We drove six hours to Maryland and although mom tried her very best we couldn't find the parade, but we did get to see the festival in the evening at Fort McHenry. There were speeches from important people like the mayor and singing from a choir, fireworks and of course Michael Phelps! Billy Bush, host of Access Hollywood was there as the M.C and he interview Michael Phelps, his mom and Michael's coach Bob Bowman. During the interview mom took me to the front of the stage so I could see Michael up close, it was so cool!!! I must have thanked mom a thousand times for taking me, it was awesome.

Oh, I almost forgot the best part...we had to take a bus over to Fort McHenry because there were no cars aloud for security reasons. Anyway, we were waiting in the front of the line for the next bus and all of the sudden the crowd starting cheering and clapping and Michael Phelps drove by in the motorcade. The really cool part was he was looking out the passenger side window at the crowd, saw me with my Michael Phelps t-shirt on and gave me a wave!!! I feel pretty blessed to have seen my sports hero and have him wave at me too!

Click here to check out the Michael Phelps Festival pics.http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=11rdbx93.1qxfqfy3&x=0&y=fue9mj&localeid=en_US

Training for the Carteret Currents

This week mom and dad should find out when soccer practice is, if it's on a different day(s) than swim practice I should be able to start swimming with the Carteret Currents (see their web site under my favorite web sites at the side bar). If soccer practice is during the same time then I'll join the team in November and keep practicing with dad.

I haven't been able to get into the pool in over a week due to a tummy bug, but the last time I practiced I swam a total of 200 meters! Dad says I'm doing really well and working really hard. Mom was really impressed with how well I took to diving into the pool from a sitting position. Both my parents tell me they are really proud of me!