LEWISBURG - You often see on television college and professional athletes talking about their work in the film room, or how they've used video to improve their swing, refine their stroke, run better routes or study an opponent.
It's no different at the high school level, where football and basketball teams have been taping their games for decades.
Modern technology, however, has made the use of video even more accessible for every athlete to critique and improve his or her performance, no matter what the sport. And not a day later on a movie projector or television screen.
Right away, right now. Like instant replay.
Moments after they competed in the 200-yard medley relay Friday at the PIAA Class AA Swimming Championships at Bucknell University's Kinney Natatorium, the four members of Blue Mountain's boys' relay sat huddled in a corner of the deck, watching their race on coach Sandy Englert's Apple iPad.
The Eagles actually had two
angles to watch it, as relay alternates Jacob Wessner and Nick Yackenchick both videotaped the race. Wessner taped every one of the Eagles' races over the two-day competition on Englert's iPad, while Yackenchick recorded them on his LG Optimus phone.
"The video helps a lot," junior Nathanael Marino said. "That's the only way that I can really fix my stroke, is by watching to see what I do wrong in my stroke. That's how I help other people by telling them what they can do better and what they can fix.
"That's what I was trying to tell the boys. I looked at my stroke, and my stroke wasn't the best either. I know what I have to fix."
The Eagles have been extensively using video in their training and workouts for the three years Englert has been the head coach. They record every meet, and share the video with the individual swimmers through email or downloads so they can watch it at home or during their free time.
This weekend, the Eagles were able to critique their medley relay immediately after the race, then look at more video prior to their 200 freestyle relay. Marino used the video from Friday's medley relay to help him prepare for Saturday's 100 breaststroke competition.
Marino, who competed in four events at states, says he's devoted to using video to help him improve. Three straight trips to the state meet serve as proof that it works.
It's much different from when his three older siblings, Ryan, Andrea and Sarah, swam for Blue Mountain.
"It's so much different, it's so much more important," Nathanael said. "My siblings, not having it, they had to rely on their coaches. And, it's difficult.
"For me, I keep watching my videos. I watch when I did my fastest breaststroke, and I keep watching that to tune my body into what I have to do to get that same time again or even faster. I know what I have to do after watching them, and I'm going to continue watching them."
Some more odds and ends from the PIAA Class AA Swimming Championships as we officially close out the 2013-14 high school swimming season:
State recap
District 11 garnered only one gold medal in the Class AA competition, as the Salisbury quartet of Jon Anderson, Tim Costantini, Tyler Lesko and Mahlon Reihman won the boys' 200 freestyle relay in 1:27.56.
The Falcons, who finished third in the team standings behind Mars and Trinity, nearly had another in the 400 freestyle relay, building a huge lead through two legs before being caught by Mars and Southern Lehigh during the final 25.
West Allegheny's Jared Kehl (200 free, 500 free), Corry Area's Brent Benedict (100 fly, 100 back), Franklin's Phil Emerson (50 free, 100 free), West York's Courtney Harnish (200 free, 500 free), Gwynedd Mercy Academy super soph Allie Szekely (200 IM, 100 back) and Mifflinburg's Adrian Grabski (50 free, 100 free) each won a pair of individual gold medals.
- Szekely broke the state record in the 100 backstroke prelims with a time of 53.80. Her time broke the previous state record and Kinney Natatorium pool record of 53.88 set by Marian's Kristen Shickora in 2008.
- On deck at states was 2009 Mahanoy Area graduate Gianna Evancho, who is an assistant coach at Danville.
Calling it quits
Millersburg coach Doug Yeager is retiring after guiding swimmers from Millersburg, Upper Dauphin and Halifax at the high school level since 2003.
Yeager has been a coach at the Northern Dauphin County YMCA for the past 16 years, and the coach of the Millersburg summer youth team "longer than that," he said.
During his tenure, several swimmers from the three schools have qualified for the PIAA Swimming Championships, with Millersburg's Derek Yeager, Cole Davis and Ian Lloyd each capturing state medals.
Looking ahead
The Schuylkill League will alter its swimming schedule next season, as each team will face each other twice during the season.
In my mind, the move is a win-win for everyone involved.
The increase in league dual meets from five to 10 not only creates more drama for the league team titles, but provides more competition for the athletes and more opportunities to reach district qualifying times.
It also creates more opportunities for booster clubs to raise money through concession stands, and cuts down on the number of non-league trips to Berks County and the Lehigh Valley that Schuylkill League teams will have to make.
PIAA flips order
One big change at this year's PIAA Swimming Championships was that the boys' preliminaries and finals were held before the girls' prelims and finals in each session. In years past, the girls went first at 8 a.m., followed by the boys at 10:30 a.m.
Having prelims at 8 a.m. isn't easy on the athletes, coaches and their parents. When you factor in that the complex opens at 6:15 a.m. and warm-ups start at 7 a.m., most state qualifiers with 8 a.m. prelims are looking at 5 a.m. wake-up calls.
In talking with Melissa Mertz, the PIAA associate executive director and the person in charge of media relations and the swimming and diving championships, she said the PIAA will flip-flop the two genders every year from here on out, similar to what it does by alternating which days the Class AAA and Class AA competitions are on.
So, for those of you scoring at home, next year's state meet will have Class AA on Wednesday and Thursday, and Class AAA on Friday and Saturday. The girls will go first, followed by the boys.
Mertz said the idea to switch which gender went first was the result of someone just asking the question, "Hey, why do the girls always go first and have to get up so early to get here?"
If that's all it takes, hey, Melissa, can we have something besides hot dogs for dinner in the media room? It's 10 years and counting.
(Boyer is sports editor and covers high school swimming for The Republican-Herald. Follow him on Twitter @pubsportsboss)