Lara’s Blog

Keith and I head out tomorrow to Tucson for the first dual meet of the season, at University of Arizona.  The Wildcats face the Wisconsin Badgers at the newly refurbished Hillenbrand Aquatic Center Friday, October 31 at 2:00 PM.  The recent article on the Arizona Women’s Swimming and Diving Page gave a nice synopsis of where the team is at this point in time and some amazing stuff about Lara.  In the first set of CollegeSwimming.com rankings, the Arizona women are billed as the top-ranked team.  The Team returns 12 All-Americans, 24 letterwinners and a talented group of newcomers. 
“They call her LJ”, the article states,”Lara Jackson currently holds the Arizona All-Time Record in the 50 Yard Freestyle with a time of 21.69.  Jackson will be a significant factor for the Cats in their hopes to repeat as champions.”
Head Coach, Frank Busch had this to say about Lara, “Lara Jackson, who is a returning national champion, will be key for us this year along with alot of our returning girls on the relay teams.”
Lara tells me that she has been more driven than ever in practice and is feeling very strong.  Last week at the intersquad meet, she started off her 200 free relay with a time of 22.90.  She sure sounds ready to me!
I’ll keep you posted, or check out the Arizona website under athletics for meet results.  Go Cats!

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The University of Arizona Women’s Swimming and Diving Team has been ranked # 1 in the country for the 2008/2009 season.  The team did lose one high acheiving graduate from last season, Lacey Nymeyer.  However the Team returns 12 All-Americans and 24 letterwinners from the 2008 championship team.  The team received 240 total points as well as all eight first place votes on CollegeSwimming.com rankings.  The team captains are seniors Taylor Baughman and Lara Jackson.
“It does not surprise me that our women are ranked No. 1,” said Arizona Head Coach Frank Busch.  “It’s a great honor and we are looking forward to beginning the season.”
Source: University of Arizona Website

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Lara is officially on the 2008/2009 National Team.  What does that mean?  To be eligible for the team, athletes must have one of the top six times in events swum at either the 2008 Olympic Games, 2008 Olympic Trials and/or the 2008 US Open.  Swimmingworldmagazine.com  recently had an article by Kristen Heiss dated October 2, 2008 featuring a look inside being on a national team. 
“A perk that comes to mind when thinking about the National teams are the places the athletes get to travel.  Every summer USA Swimming selects swimmers to represent the U.S. in meets all over the world. 
On the trips, the athletes are well-taken care of.  Coaches are selected from clubs around the United States to coach these teams.  Working with different coaches also gives the athletes the opportunity to learn how to adjust to different coaching styles and benefit from the advice other coaches have to offer.
Part of traveling with a U.S. team means being outfitted with the official team uniforms.  USA Swimming does an admirable job of supplying the National teams with suits, customized caps, parkas, bags, suitcases, shoes, water bottles, rain jackets, sweatshirts, and the list goes on.
Working to make a National Team is a great motivator for swimmers.  Being able to meet new swimmers, travel and represent the U.S. is an honor for the athletes.  And it’s alot of fun!”
USA Swimming also has training grants available for National team members.  The professional swimmers who have sponsorships definitely have an advantage over the NCAA swimmers who rely on limited athletic scholarships.  These grants are available for the swimmers who need to maintain their eligibility, with limited financial resources.  (That would include Lara for sure).  So good for Lara.  She has reached the elite level of her sport.  Who would have thought this possible just 3 short years ago when she was a freshman on the Arizona Swim Team.  Yep, good for you, Lara!

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