Tigers Sun & Fun on Panama City Beach Training Trip

24 Senior Tigers loaded up vans and went to Panama City Beach for our 2^nd annual training trip. For 7 days, the swimmers woke up at 6 a.m. for breakfast #1 and plunged into the Long Course pool for 2-1/2 to 3 hours of water training. Upon returning to the hotel, the swimmers were greeted in the pavilion (right off beach) with breakfast #2 from our fearless chaperones (Mr. & Mrs. Pecha and Dr. & Mrs. Berry). Once refueled, these training warriors invaded the beach for volleyball, tanning, paddle ball, banana boat rides, parasailing, diving for sand dollars (we brought home over 100!), body surfing, etc., for 3 hours prior to lunch ... and then it was back to the beach for 3 more hours before dinner, and then ... more beach!!! Oh, and a couple of those afternoons also had weight training sessions at Gold’s, as well as a second workout (Short Course) in the pool. Somewhere in there, they also managed to go to Pier Park and enjoy all the area had to offer.

So what did the swimmers eat during this trip, you ask? ....

100 pieces of fried chicken, 16 lbs. of Velveeta, 15 lbs. of sausage, 1,400 dinner

rolls, 17 lbs. strawberries, 20 cantaloupes, 10 lbs. bananas, 6 lbs. oranges,

12 avocados, 25 croissants, 60 grilled chicken breasts, 3 lbs. clam chowder,

7 lbs. chili, 500 homemade cookies, 6 lbs. rice, 12 lbs.potato salad,

8 lbs. chicken salad, 10 lbs. tuna salad,

26 pans of salad (usually Caesar and anchovyfree), 40 cases of Gatorade,

30 cases of water, 20 gallons of tea, 15 gallons of lemonade, 16 dozen

eggs, 4 cases of pastries, 3 cases of Otis Spunkmeyer muffins, 100 pop tarts,

4 cases of Muscle Milk, 60 protein bars, and 7 cases of Brims chips donated

by Terry and Becki Brimhall.

“It was a great mental lift for the athletes to get out of town and physically it motivated them to accelerate their season and get them into peak physical fitness in March. I was proud of how hard they worked and how hard they played,” said Coach Louis of his Tigers.

How hard did they really work, you ask? The swimmers trained over 60,000 meters Long Course, lifted weights twice, did dryland twice, and even got in a couple of Short Course workouts. All while gaining the ultimate tan and enjoying the beach 10 hours a day!

“It was the best travel trip I have ever done and it does more for the athletes’ long term than anything. I look forward to the team using this training tool for a long time to come,” said Louis.