Eastern Express is located
in the central New Jersey Princeton area. Eastern Express is
both a member club of USA
Swimming providing a year-round competitive swim
team, and a licensed SwimAmerica
program providing a learn to swim program designed to teach
all the swim skills your child needs to be safe in and around
the water for a lifetime. New swimmers to Express are evaluated
and placed into the appropriate training group given their prior
experience and current skill level. Swimmers whose skills are
not yet strong enough for the competitive team may start in
the lessons program, Express SwimAmerica, and then move onto
the team at a later date. Team size is limited.
Information describing the year-round competitive
swim team provided by Eastern Express can be accessed by clicking
below on a topic of interest. For more information describing
the SwimAmerica lessons program, click
here.
At Eastern Express, swimming
is more than a sport -- it's a way of life. At Express, development
of the athlete is designed to better our young people both in
and out of the pool. Express athletes learn about perseverance
and determination, goal setting and achievement, dedication
and commitment. Swimmers on the team learn how to win and lose
with grace, and what it takes to strive for excellence. Express
athletes take these skills with them into school, work and life.
Importantly, each Express swimmer is a valuable member of the
team -- learning how to compete and cooperate with fellow teammates,
and how to advance from the guidance provided by the coaches.
Most of all, however, at Eastern Express, swimming is about
having fun and swimming fast!!!
Q. Why should my kids become
year-round swimmers?
A. Because year-round/club
swimming is a great sport! Club swimming develops healthy, physically
fit kids who know how to work hard and how to have fun! Club
swimmers develop time-management skills and a disciplined lifestyle
which leads to improved academics and a more focused approach
to life in general. Club swimmers learn about and enhance their
competitive abilities. Finally, swimmers enjoy many long-term
friendships with their teammates.
Q. Why should I choose Eastern
Express?
A . First, because Eastern
Express will develop your kids to be the best swimmers they
can be, regardless of what level they are at now. Express is
well-known for maximizing the potential of ALL swimmers who
are willing to put in the time, focus and effort. Second, at
Express your kids will be coached by full-time coaches who care
not only about developing strong swimmers, but also about developing
strong people. The Express program helps to build skills and
traits which last a lifetime:
Discipline - Our swimmers
learn self-discipline by establishing goals, and then working
to achieve them. Our younger swimmers have qualitative goals
such as improving a specific stroke flaw, while our older swimmers
set both qualitative and time goals. By establishing goals our
swimmers learn to become accountable to themselves for their
own effort and behavior. With the help of their coaches and
parents, Express swimmers learn to focus their energies and
manage their time in a way that will provide them with the best
opportunity for success.
Self-Esteem - Self-esteem
is built by overcoming obstacles. With the help of their coaches
and parents, Express swimmers learn how to deal with the ups
and downs of competitive swimming. Express swimmers learn to
persevere when times are toughest. Not all Express athletes
become champion swimmers, but our goal is that all become champion
people.
Leadership/Teammanship
- Express swimmers are encouraged to be leaders in word and
deed. They learn to speak their minds, while at the same time
respecting their teammates, coaches and parents. Express swimmers
take great pride in their team and support each other both in
and away from the pool as they pursue individual and common
goals.
Swimmers on the team range
in age from 6 to 18, and are divided into five different levels
based on a combination of swimming ability and age. The levels
include Age Group 1 and Age Group 2 for younger swimmers, Pre-Seniors,
and Seniors and Seniors Advanced for more experienced swimmers.
"Age-Groupers" focus on perfecting stroke technique,
and learning the skills necessary to advance to the Senior levels.
At the Senior levels, athletes focus on training to develop
a strong aerobic base while constantly striving to improve technique.
Since the team was first founded in 1987, Eastern Express swimmers
have competed at the Olympic Trials, USA Swimming Nationals,
Sectionals, the Eastern Zone Championships, the New Jersey Junior
Olympics, and several other championship meets. All swimmers
on the team are offered the opportunity to compete in USA Swimming
sanctioned competitions. Meets are available for every age and
skill level.
Eastern Express was founded
by Todd Kemmerling in the early months of 1987. The team held
its first workout on April 13, 1987 at Trenton State College,
now The College of New Jersey (TCNJ ), with a young and eager
group of sixteen swimmers. The 1987 Spring session was originally
planned as a pilot program for a year-round team that would
begin later in the Fall of 1987. However, the enthusiasm and
excitement of the Spring '87 session carried the team right
through the Summer, and we have yet to look back.
In 2004, Brent Matheson became the Director and head coach of
Eastern Express. In 2013, Mike Randazzo - an Eastern Express coach since 2006, became the owner and head coach of Eastern Express. Express is directed by a staff of full-time
professional coaches who provide a full-service USA Swimming
club. The business of the team, administration and policy, is
conducted by head coach, Mike Randazzo, together
with his staff of assistant coaches.
Eastern Express is directed
by a staff of full-time professional coaches who provide a full-service
USA Swimming club. The business of the team, administration
and policy, is conducted by head coach,Mike Randazzo,
together with his staff of assistant coaches,Tiny Randazzo, Craig Haywood, Sarah Richards, Dana Meth, Kristine Spike and Jen Feltis-Cortese. For
more detailed information regarding the coaching staff, click
here.
Our training and development
system is based on predetermined and numbered training intervals
(the time allotted to cover a given distance). The system was
developed by analyzing the training and competition performances
of our swimmers throughout the team's history. In advance, we
can evaluate with a reasonable degree of accuracy the intervals/speeds
an individual needs to be training at in order to achieve his
or her goals. While racing confidence and the will to succeed
certainly factor into the equation, our interval system provides
a much more objective marker - for parents, swimmers and coaches
- to evaluate the progress being made by each swimmer in their
training program.
Swimmers on the team range
in age from 6 to 18, and are divided into five different levels
based on a combination of swimming ability and age. In determining
group placement, the coaches also take into account meet performance,
commitment, attendance, training ability, and attitude. Pre-Team, Age-Group, and Pre-Senior swimmers are characterized
below.
Age Group
Age |
Group |
Must Make |
Should Make |
Not More Than |
8 year olds |
Age Group |
2 - 3 |
3 |
3 - 4 |
9 year olds |
Age Group |
2 - 3 |
3 |
3 - 4 |
10 year olds |
Age Group |
3 |
3 - 4 |
4 |
11 year olds |
Pre-Senior
Age Group |
4
3 - 4 |
4
4 |
4 - 5
4 |
12 year olds |
Pre-Senior
Age Group |
4 - 5
4 |
5
4 - 5 |
5
5 |
13 - 14 year olds |
Pre-Senior
Age Group |
5
4 - 5 |
5 - 6
5 |
6
5 |
At Eastern Express, emphasis is placed on both
academic achievement and athletic achievement. Commitment to
academics goes hand in hand with commitment to swimming. By
expecting both from our swimmers, our athletes learn time management
skills that are well ahead of the majority of their school peers.
While a swimmer may go through trying times on occasion, with
the help of parents and coaches, our swimmers learn to focus
their time and energy in an effective manner. In the fall of
2000, the cumulative, unweighted G.P.A. of our Senior Program
swimmers was 3.65 on a scale of 4.00. Virtually all of our swimmers
maintain or improve their academic standing as their training
commitment increases during the high school years. Eastern Express
is proud of its graduates who have moved on to become student-athletes
at the following colleges and universities:
Bucknell, Colgate, Colorado State, Columbia, Cornell, Duke,
George Washington, Indiana, Lehigh, Mary Washington, Michigan,
North Carolina State, Northwestern, Oberlin, Princeton, Rhode
Island, Rider, Stanford, The College of New Jersey, UCLA, University
of Pennsylvania, US Naval Academy, Virginia, West Chester, and
Yale
Senior1, Senior 2, and Senior Elite swimmers are characterized
below.
Senior Groups
Age |
Group |
Must Make |
Should Make |
Not More Than |
Freshmen and Younger |
Senior Girls
Senior Boys |
5 |
5 - 6 |
6 |
Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors |
Regardless of Group |
6 |
6 - 7 |
8 |
Sectional Qualifiers |
Senior Girls
Senior Boys |
7 - 8 |
8 |
8 |
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Eastern Express practices at The College
of New Jersey (TCNJ)Packer Hall Aquatic
Center in Ewing, NJ, and at DeNunzio
pool on the campus of Princeton University in
Princeton, NJ. The TCNJ Aquatic Center is the "home"
pool for Eastern Express, and is located in the center of
the TCNJ campus. The TCNJ Aquatic Center houses an eight-lane
pool with a movable bulkhead that can be set at twenty-five
yards, twenty-five meters, or thirty meters for water polo.
A separate adjoining diving area includes two three-meter
and two one-meter diving boards. The diving tank area provides
additional pool space for swimming instruction, and facilitates
close instructor-swimmer interaction.
The College of New Jersey campus is located
just minutes off of Interstate 95. Driving directions and
an aerial view of the facility can be obtained from the links
in the table below.
DeNunzio pool on the campus of Princeton University is used
by Eastern Express for early morning practices, and for long
course practices during the summer. DeNunzio pool was constructed
in 1990, and its state-of-the-art design and technology make
it one of the fastest pools in the nation. The pool measures
50 meters by 25 yards, ranges in depth from 9 to 17 feet,
and has two bulkheads that allow for numerous training and
competition configurations.
The Princeton University campus is located just minutes off
of Route 1. Driving directions and an aerial view of the facility
can be obtained from the links in the table below.
During the school year, Eastern Express typically
practices in the afternoon on weekdays and in the morning on
weekends at The College of New Jersey. Senior swimmers also
have a second early morning practice on select days during the
week at The College of New Jersey during the school year and DeNunzio pool at Princeton University during summer. Group schedules and sample practice schedules are listed on the Schedule page. On the Meet Schedule page is a list of the meets that Eastern Express Swim Team will be participating at during the season (short course or long course season).
During the summer after school ends, Eastern Express
typically practices in the morning on weekdays at DeNunzio pool
at Princeton University, and in the evenings and on Saturdays at The College of New Jersey. Group schedules and sample practice schedules are listed on the Schedule page. On the Meet Schedule page is a list of the meets that Eastern Express Swim Team will be participating at during the season (short course or long course season).
All swimmers registering for
the team must complete and submit the Eastern Express Swimming
- Registration Form.
New Jersey Swimming - Registration Forms
USA Swimming - Registration Information
All swimmers registering for the team should
also complete either the New Jersey Swimming - Swimmer Transfer
Form or the USA Swimming - Swimmer Registration
Form. If at the time of registration, the swimmer is already registered
with USA Swimming for the current season, then the New Jersey
Swimming - Swimmer Transfer Form should be completed and submitted.
If at the time of registration, the swimmer does not have a current,
active registration with USA Swimming, then the USA Swimming -
Swimmer Registration Form should be completed and submitted. Please
note that USA Swimming registration must be renewed each calendar
year. In addition, as defined by New Jersey Swimming regulations,
any swimmer transferring from another club must compete Unattached
for 120 days from the last date of competition for the previous
club.
All completed forms should be submitted to
Eastern Express Swimming. The Eastern Express business office
will forward any of the necessary forms to either New Jersey Swimming
or USA Swimming. If you are interested in joining the team, simply
give us a call to arrange a meeting with the coaches or to attend
a practice. For Eastern Express contact information,
click here. New swimmers have the opportunity
to swim with the team for a FREE one-week trial. Please note,
however, that space is limited.
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