Written by annabelle tometich [email protected] Last year it was five-time state champion Molly DuBrasky. The year before that distance swimmer Stephanie Peacock and sprinter Jon Nunez grabbed headlines, and the year before that it was Fort Myers High's Amy Modglin and Cypress Lake's Chelsea Franklin. For the past four years, in fact, Lee County has been home to some of the best swimmers in the state. A flood of Division I athletes, including Madison Wagner (Kansas), Robby Kennedy and Tayler DuBrasky (both Florida), has been pouring out of Lee...

The 2011 High School swimming season is now underway.  GCST has high school swimmers at Bishop Verot, Canterbury, Estero, Fort Myers, Gulf Coast, North Ft. Myers, and Oasis Charter high schools. You can find the latest meet results and articles on our High School News page under the News heading on the front page menu bar.  "Good luck" and "swim fast" to our high school athletes on their quest to Orlando and the Florida Finals State Meet. High School News

By GINA KOLATA The question has occurred to many endurance athletes, and it seems so basic: Will cross-training — doing a second sport, or lifting weights on days when you aren’t running or cycling or swimming — improve your performance in your primary sport? And at first glance, the answer might seem to be an obvious no. If you want to be a better runner, you have to run — regularly, consistently, and with a training plan that forces you to gradually increase your distance and speed. If you want...

GCST has been awarded the 2013 US Masters Swimming National 5K Open Water Championships.  The event will be held in April, 2013 at Ft. Myers Beach, FL.  More details to follow.

Parents "Are you a Winning Parent?"   Reprinted from Competitive Advantage – Sports Psychology Services and Resources http://www.competitivedge.com/questionnaire_parents.htm Do you really want your child to excel and go as far as possible in his/her sport? Do you want him or her to have fun and feel good about him/herself? Would you like to help your child avoid becoming a dropout statistic? If your answers are` “yes” to these questions then it is critical that you play the “right” role on the parent-coach-athlete team. Be supportive! Be your child’s best fan!...

2012 USA Swimming Registration is now open for all GCST members (Not required for Masters swimers). All swimmers that registered as Seasonal Members (Summer Special) must renew their registration by September 1st to remain active with GCST.  All current GCST year round Annual Members must renew between September 1st, and December 31st, 2011. Existing Member Registration Information Complete the easy Online Registration process, print the registration and turn in payment due to your coach or mail it to: GCST 20421 Rookery Dr. Estero, FL 33928 Make check payable to SFSCI.

GCST members did very well in the Fast Cat 5K race in Estero, FL on August 20, 2011.  Blanca Edwards won the Masters Female division, Ginger Tompkins won the Female 40-44 division, and Haley Tompkins was the fastest 12 year old female in the race.  Congratulations on a great run!!! Results

Here are two videos from the 2011 Summer Florida Age Group Championships in Orlando by Lanie Benzon. 1   1

USA Swimming's Ed Spencer will be visiting GCST on August 24-27, 2011.  Ed is a Master Coach with USA Swimming Club Development, and part of the Club Excellence Program.  Ed last visited GCST in 2005.  GCST has been awarded 6 straight years in the Club Excellence Program.                      

The final Florida Swimming Top 10 list is now available. 10 GCST swimmers made the latest lists with 7 first place rankings. Darrien Heil 11-12 Boys Thomas Malooly 11-12 Boys Eric Ordaz Jr 13-14 Boys Blake Woodrow 13-14 Boys 5 First Place Rankings Hannah VanDress 10 & Un Girls 1 First Place Ranking Savannah Bowser 11-12 Girls 1 First Place Ranking Bean Faunce 11-12 Girls Savannah Bowser 13-14 Girls Kaitlyn Hauser 13-14 Girls Courtney DeVeny 13-14 Girls Courtney DeVeny 15-16 Girls Molly DuBrasky 17-18 Girls Top 10 Lists:  Girls   Boys...