Hey Guys,

Sorry I’ve been meaning to recap my last day in Barcelona but I was exhausted upon getting home and I’ve been super busy since then. Right now, I am in Mexico for some intense training with the Elite Group. So far, I’m getting my butt kicked!

So our last day in Barcelona was a lot of fun. The coaching staff was a little disappointed with the number of people who qualified for the finals on Day #1, but we were more well-adjusted for Day #2. A lot of us were really nervous to be racing people from other countries, but the bottom line is, racing is racing. In the U.S., from age group meets to Nationals, there is never a lack of competition. I think that is something to remember from this experience-- a race is a race no matter where you are or who you are racing. They always should be approached in the same way. I swam 400 IM and 200 Breastroke on the second day. I went season bests in both of them and am way ahead of where I was last year. I fell in the middle of the pack within our Youth team. Some went slower and some went faster. I know I will be faster come end of the season, so I wasn’t too disappointed that I didn’t go any best times. I wasn’t rested for the meet because my main focus is Nationals in Irvine at the beginning of August. I mostly went for the experience and Barcelona didn’t disappoint. Representing team USA was a lot of fun. The coaching staff made sure we all acted very sportsmanly and were very polite to give America a repuation abroad. I made a lot of friends from other countries and especially from Spain. On the last day of competition me and my friend Brett Boston who is going to Ohio State talked to all of the meet volunteers. He traded away his USA warm-up for a kiss on the check from this one pretty spanish girl, it was pretty funny. I traded away my caps and got some pretty cool ones that I am excited to show everyone.

The main objective of our last team meeting was for the coaches to tell us to SHARE OUR EXPERIENCES with those at home. National Youth Team was an awesome experience and it makes me motivated to train hard and hopefully make more national teams. I am the first person who has been with New Trier Swim Club their whole life to make the team, but I hope I will not be the last. Our team is full of talent! Swimming is so much fun because it offers so many unique experiences. Thank you for reading this and I will see you all soon!

Sam

Day #2 in Barcelona

Dear NTSC,

Today was the first day of competition at Mare Nostrum in Barcelona. I was pretty nervous! My times weren't spectacular, so I'm viewing today as more of a learning experience (man, it was one of those!). I was one of the tough kids who swam three events today. It was really tough because they were all very close together. When you add in warmdown, suitcheck, and the time you need to be in the ready room before they march you out to race, there isn't time for much else. My first event was the 100 Breaststroke and I was kind of confused because it hadn't occurred to me that they weren't going to say "take your mark", it was going to be in Spanish! The race wasn't great. Due to my nerves, I really spun my wheels (for those of you unfamiliar with swimming that means that I took too many strokes and didn't catch enough water in each cycle). I ended up going a 1:07 which is three plus seconds above my best time. I was disappointed because this was my first time representing USA and I felt like I was letting the team down. But 1:07 is my best untapered time and three seconds faster than I went at Bucetto's Open a couple weeks back so I am happy with it. It was hard to think my race was good at the time because everyone at this meet is just so dang fast! It is a humbling experience and makes we want to get back to training when I get home. My next races were the 400 Freestlye and the 200 Fly which I did better in. I did not make it back to finals but we had a kid on the team, Jacob Pebley, who beat Aaron Peirsol in the 200 Backstroke and got second in the event. He dropped a ton of time. Most of the people on our team aren't rested and are adding time so this was really excited.

The night session was really exciting. I started a wave cheer like we do at our high school meets. The Europeans ate it up! Everyone on our team is proud to represent USA and even though we haven't been together long, we are bonding really well. I'm trying to meet a lot of people from other countries because it is really interesting. I've traded a ton of caps and gotten some really cool ones that I am excited to show you guys!

Can't wait to see you guys (some of you in MEXICO!)

SAM

Day #1

1st Stop New York City