Schedule (2015-2016)

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Meet Programs

I have posted the Meet Program for this week's meet on the sidebar of the blog under the Important Links section.  I will post it by 5pm every Friday before our swim meets.  This way you can print it out and have a copy to bring to the pool with you.

NOTE:  You cannot view the Important Links section from a mobile device.  You must view it from a computer.  Sorry!

Important info...suits, practice, meet!

As of 4pm on Thursday, it appears that our suits won't be ready in time.  I am frustrated by this, but at this point in time it is out of our hands.  I will update you as soon as I know more!  So, plan to wear any suit to the meet this weekend.  Plan to wear our new RED swim caps.  If you didn't get one at the Pumpkin Meet, see a coach when you arrive.

Next, NO DRYLAND PRACTICE on 10/31.  Due to several families notifying me that they won't be coming, I have decided to cancel tomorrow's practice.

Finally, our first "real" meet is upon us, and I am very excited.  Warm-ups will begin at 3:30 on Saturday, so plan to arrive about 20 minutes early to the Mt. Hood CC - Aquatic Center.  The meet should last around 3 hours.

Below you will find some basic procedures and meet etiquette to help understand what a swim meet entails and what to expect.

Here is a good website
 that lists general swim meet basics from the USA Swimming website.  Feel free to read it (in addition to my notes) for a good overview of swim meets in general.



Arriving and warm-up:
Swimmers should come to the team area on the deck in their swimsuits. We will inform swimmers when the warm-up time begins. Everyone must complete the warm-ups. This is the time for swimmers to get ready for their races, get their muscles warmed up, and get used to the pool they are swimming in.  After warm-ups, we will have a quick team meeting and team cheer.

During the meet:
After the team meeting, swimmer will go to the area where they are sitting and wait there until his/her first event is called. Due to the length of the meet, swimmers should plan to occupy themselves with a book (that could possibly get wet), by cheering, chatting with friends, or sitting with their parents.  No electronics should be on the pool deck, due to the proximity of the water.  They will need to make sure they are paying attention to what event is swimming. The announcer will announce events and heats.  Let your swimmer know that they should go to the bullpen (staging area) about 3 events before they swim WITH THEIR MEET ENTRY CARD in their hand. There will be volunteers to help them get to the right lane in the correct heat of the event.  If the swimmer is not in the lane behind the starting block for their heat and event, the starter will not wait for them, so it is important that they follow the meet.

Snacks:
Since the meets are around three hours long, the swimmers may get hungry.  The best snacking foods would be any light, and nutritious snack that won't make a mess on the pool deck.  Goldfish, Ritz crackers, and Cheerios are poor choices due to how they make a mess once wet on the pool deck.  Fruit, peanut-free trail mix, wheat thins, etc... are all great choices.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

URGENT! Meet entries deadline change!

The meet entries deadline has changed for this season.  This is my oversight!  Last year it was a day later.  This year, they moved it up one day to Tuesday!

I need all entries by 9pm on Tuesday nights!  If possible, please send me what your swimmer wants to swim by 9pm tonight.  

For this week only.  If you can get it to me by noon tomorrow, I can also make that work.

Please look on the previous blog post for the link to the entry form.  (I am posting this from my phone so I don't have the possibility of creating a link… sorry!)

Monday, October 27, 2014

Nov. 1 Meet

I am excited for our first developmental meet at the Mt. Hood CC Aquatic Center (same place) from 3:30 to 6:30 pm this Saturday!  I need you to let me know if your swimmer will be participating OR NOT.  Also, you can help your swimmer select the events for their meet, if there is something they want to swim.  If you would rather me to choose, please click the box to let me know they will be there and leave the event entry sections blank.  YOU MUST HAVE ALL ENTRIES COMPLETED BY 8PM WEDNESDAY NIGHT!  If there is response, I assume your swimmer will not be participating!  My entries are due to CYO by 10 pm, and it is nearly impossible to enter them in the meet after 10 pm on Wednesday night.

Click here for meet attendance and selecting your events.

Each swimmer can swim up to three individual events and one relay or two individual events and two relays.  I will assign all relays.  Here is a listing of all events.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Practice begins at Valley Catholic tomorrow!

FINALLY...the good news we have been waiting for!  We will begin practicing at the Valley Catholic (VC) pool (just beyond the tennis courts) tomorrow.  Please look at the practice schedule for the days and times you have signed up for.  Please remember to come on the day you are signed up for because of the limited pool space.  If you have not signed up yet, please note that Monday and Tuesday are the only open days at this point, and email me which day(s) you prefer.  And as always, the weekend practices are open to everyone as the second or third water practice for the week.  (Note: no weekend practices until Sunday, Nov. 16)

PRACTICE SCHEDULE

PLEASE NOTE: Tuesday practice times are now 4:30-5:30.  I am sorry if this causes any issues for your family, but due to the VC school schedule, we have to change the practice time.

Pumpkin Meet Details!

The Pumpkin Meet is a few short hours away and I hope this email will let you know everything you think you need to know...

Details:
1:00pm-4:00pm
Mt. Hood CC - Aquatic Center (50 meter pool)
Relay Meet (no individual events)

Please plan to have your swimmer on the deck in their suit by 12:45.  The suits you ordered have not arrived yet, but I do have swim caps for every swimmer.  Wear any suit your swimmer feels comfortable wearing.  I will give them the new swim caps (RED!) and have a team meeting immediately before warm ups begin at 1:00.  The meet will start by 1:30, and will be concluded by 4:00.

Parents should sit closest to the race course (at the far end), and the swimmers will sit by the coaching staff.  Swimmer should bring 2 towels (labeled!), a light snack if needed, and WATER!

If your child is 3rd grade or younger and they need to go to the restroom, I will have them find you to take them, since it is quite a long walk back to the restrooms.

Due to the nature of this meet, it is hard to create relay groups for all of the different events due to swimmers coming late, leaving early, and illnesses.  So, I have only seeded a few different events.  I will encourage your swimmer to find some friends and make their own relay teams for many of the other events.  Most relay teams are 4 swimmers and some are 6 swimmers.  Some allow a mixture of genders and ages.  Here is a list of the events with limited explanation.


Thursday, October 23, 2014

Dryland practice tomorrow

Tomorrow will be our first dryland practice of the season. It will begin around 3:15. The swimmers will be called out by me from the carpool lines. Remind them, they need to go with their class at the end of the day out to carpool, then look for their coaches.

During the practice, we will do a variety of different exercises, so they should be dressed in attire (and shoes) in which they can move around easily.  Additionally, they should bring water (and a nutritious snack to eat before practice if they wish).

Practice will be done by 4:30. To pick up your swimmer, park or stay in your car on the side of the school nearest the gyms. I will bring them out to you. If you wish to watch the end of practice, feel free to park and join us at any time in the auditorium.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Great practice! Relay meet next week!!

What a great practice yesterday!  I am excited to see how everyone is progressing so far; with only two weeks of practice under our belt.  Now we need to start to focus a little on the first meet of the season...The Pumpkin Relay Meet!

I will be forwarding specifics of this meet later this week, but I need to know if your swimmer is planning on attending or not.  Here are the particulars:

Sunday, Oct. 26
Arrive between 12:30-12:40pm
Warmups begin at 1:00pm
Meet concluded by 4:00pm
Location:  Mt. Hood CC Aquatic Center (enter on 17th Dr.)

It will be crazy and fun!!!  Lots of different relay races, NO individual races.  It is a one-of-a-kind meet that is a good way to get the swimmer's feet wet (pun intended) for this year!  Parents, be warned, they will leave with candy!


Saturday, October 18, 2014

Practice today...5-6!

Don't forget of the "new" time today. BSC has a rental until 5:00 this week.  Next week, practice will be from 4:00-5:00.  

Also, swimmers should start bringing water bottles if they want to drink water during the workouts. 

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Practices this coming week!

I just received news that the Valley Catholic pool will NOT be repaired in time for practices next week.  Here is the adjusted practice schedule (& meet) until 10/27.

Click here for a quick view of the calendar, or it is also posted at the bottom of the blog (and always updated!)  Newest changes are in bold.

Sat. 10/18 - Practice @ BSC 5-6 (note one week time change)
Mon. 10/20 - Practice @ MJCC 6:30-7:30 (Last names A-L)
Wed. 10/22 - Practice @ MJCC 6:30-7:00 (Last names M-Z)
Fri. 10/24 - Dryland practice @ WHCS 3:15-4:30 (Bring athletic clothes & shoes and water bottle)
Sat. 10/25 - Practice @ BSC 4-5 (Last Saturday practice)
Sun. 10/26 - MEET @ Mt. Hood CC Aquatic Center 1-4

Volunteer opportunity/necessity!

Our team is in need of 2 or more parents to step up and volunteer to be Stroke and Turn Judges for swim meets.  This is not a difficult "job", but it does require a small amount of swimming background (if you have EVER swam on a team, you would be qualified).

The Stroke and Turn judge will determine if an illegal stroke or turn has been used by a swimmer to create an unfair advantage.  There will be a 1.5 hour class that covers the rules governing the four basic competitive strokes, turns, starts, and relays for the CYO Swim Program.  We currently have one parent trained and ready to volunteer, but I would like to have 3 or 4 parents so they can take a week or two off during the season, since we need S&T Judges at EVERY one of our meets.

The next training is Oct. 22 from 6 to 7pm at Valley Catholic (where our normal practices occur).  Again, this is a volunteer opportunity, but our team is responsible for two S&T Judges at each meet.  If we do not have the proper number, coaches will be pulled from their coaching responsibilities and turned into S&T Judges.  I would like to avoid this possibility at all costs.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Tonight and Wednesday night practice!

Tonight's practice from 6:30 to 7:30 at MJCC is for last names of A-M.  Wednesday night's practice (same time and place) is for last names of N-Z.  Since we are renting 2 lanes at this facility, we are their guest.  Please help us by following these rules:


1. Swimmers must check in at the front desk.  They will have our roster.
2. Teams need to use the family sections in the MJCC locker rooms, not the adult section.
3. Team members must shower before entering pool.
4. Teams need to towel off in the tiled areas.
5. All personal items must be brought to pool deck during practice. Locker use is not allowed.

See you tonight or Wednesday night!

~Kevin

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Practices start this week - sort of...

I want to make sure that everyone knows that a modified practice schedule begins this week!  Please read below for all of the changes!

Monday and Wednesday (10/13 & 15) of this week, we have secured a couple lanes for practice at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center (very close to WHCS) from 6:30-7:30pm.  I know it is late in the day, but this is the best we could do with trying to find a pool at the last minute since the Valley Catholic pool is under repair.

Since we only have 2 lanes at MJCC, we must limit the number of swimmers at each practice.  If your last name is A-M, you will practice on Mondays (10/13) from 6:30-7:30.   If your last name is N-Z, you will practice on Wednesdays (10/15) from 6:30-7:30.


Please note, the practice at BSC next Saturday (11/18) will start an hour late, so it will go from 5-6.

The Valley Catholic coach has informed me that the pool *should* be up and running by 10/20.  Right now the plan is to begin our regular practice schedule on 10/20.  But, this could change, please make sure that you have subscribed to this blog by typing your email address in the upper right corner of this blog.

Lastly, if you scroll to the bottom of this blog page, you will find an updated calendar.  Right now I have it updated through the end of November, and I will finish the season in the next couple of days.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Practice begins on Oct. 10 at 4pm

NO MONDAY-THURSDAY PRACTICE THIS WEEK OR NEXT WEEK!

Read below!

Our first practice for everyone will be this Saturday from 4:00 to 5:00 at the Beaverton Swim Center.  I will conduct a safety assessment for all swimmers who did not compete for WHCS last year.  If you are a new swimmer and can not make it, please contact me.  If you swam last year, be ready for practice at 4:00.

Next week on Monday and Wednesday (10/13 & 15) and the following week (10/20 & 22), we have secured a couple lanes for practice at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center (very close to WHCS) from 6:30-7:30pm.  I know it is late in the day, but this is the best we could do with trying to find a pool at the last minute.  We feel it is important to get the swimmers in the water for a couple practices as soon as possible, and I realize that this schedule will not work for everyone, and for that I apologize.  This was the best we could do to given the short time frame.

Since we only have 2 lanes at MJCC, we must limit the number of swimmers at each practice.  If your last name is A-M, you will practice on Mondays (10/13 and 10/20) from 6:30-7:30.   If your last name is N-Z, you will practice on Wednesdays (10/15 and 10/22) from 6:30-7:30.

Hopefully, the Valley Catholic pool will be up and running by the end of October.  If not, please be watching for additional practice times at MJCC.

Monday, October 6, 2014

Practice Schedule updated...

From today forward, you will find the day of your practice in the following document.  I will regularly update it, so check back frequently.  You can also find it on the Blog home page under Important Links.  I populated this list from the signups at the Informational Meeting on Thursday night.

I currently have a lot of information on there, but it will be paired down during the season and only the practice schedule will be displayed.  Right now, you can also find the current registrations as of 8pm on 10/6.  Each practice day is listed with the available spaces open for practice.  Once a practice is full, I will not allow any more sign-ups for that day.  If you have not signed up for a day, please email me to let me know what day your swimmer will be attending.  You do not need to respond for Friday or weekend practices, because everyone is encouraged to come to those days and we have no limits on those days.

Please note currently many people are highlighted in the practice schedule.  As of now, they have not registered.  If you are a returning swimmer you must register by 10/9 to keep your space.  If you are a new swimmer, you have until 10/13 since the swimming assessment will be on 10/11 at the Beaverton Swim Center practice.

Please view the Practice Schedule here.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Team Suits

Just a reminder...

If you have not ordered your team suit from JD Pence (and you want to), it must be ordered by Monday at 6pm at their store.  They are also open until 4pm today.

Click here for their contact info.

Click here to see the suit options.

WHCS Swim Team Calendar