Practice schedule changes...

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday break (or soon to be break)!  I know I am thankful for so many blessings in my life and I thank God everyday for those gifts.

I wanted to let everyone know of a system-wide change that will be occurring starting next week for ALL swimmers.  Starting next week (12/6), Friday practices are strongly encouraged for ALL swimmers for the rest of the season.  Practice will occur in the auditorium (or music room) at West Hills from 3:15-4:15.  Swimmers will go to the gym at the end of school, and I will walk them outside the gym doors around 4:15 to be picked up from the curb.  Parents can stay in cars and line up in the parking lot, similar to Kindergarten pick up.

The reason for this change is that I have realized that I am missing an opportunity to address the whole swim team on technique, best time awards, meet results, and meet entries.  In addition to getting through the previously mentioned items, we will also be working on core strength with some moderate exercising (no special clothing required).

Due to this change, I would encourage all athletes that were swimming on Fridays to contact me and pick any of the other practice times that would work into family schedules.  Click here to see the current list of practice times and attendees.

Here is a list of the remaining Fridays and any special notes:

12/06 - in Auditorium 3:15-4:15
12/13 - in Music Room 3:15-4:15
12/20 - NO PRACTICE (No school - Christmas Break)
12/27 - NO PRACTICE (No school - Christmas Break)
01/03 - NO PRACTICE (No school - Christmas Break)
01/10 - in Auditorium 3:15-4:15
01/17 - in Auditorium 3:15-4:15
01/24 - in Music Room 3:15-4:15

No practice this week...

Just a reminder to everyone, there will be no practices this week.

Enjoy your thankful week!

Thanksgiving Week Practices

Due to scheduling, there will not be any practices during Thanksgiving Break.  I would encourage everyone to try to jump into a pool once during the break, but I realize that may not be possible.

In lieu of swimming, you could go over this document, created by Coach Roslyn.  It shows the common errors for all of the strokes.  These errors will earn a swimmer a DQ in a race, so let's try to avoid them. :)

Happy Turkey Day!  

Way to go!

Another great meet is in the books!  Here are the meet results (also posted to Important Links).  Remember, a negative improvement time means they dropped time.

Many swimmers have been asking, "When will I get my ribbons?"  That is a very fair question.  I envisioned at the beginning of the season, taking care of that during practices.  Once the season got rolling, I see that it isn't possible in our 45 minute practices.  Especially since every day, the groups are different.  So I am looking at options for a whole group practice once a week.  Details of this whole group practice will be coming out this week as I finalize logistics.  Once we meet as a whole group, I will award event place ribbons for all of the previous meets and best time awards.  Watch for details to come...

Lost and found items...

In the previous meets, a few swimmers have left behind items.  I have acquired many wonderful items that may be yours.  If your swimmer is missing a towel (I have 5) or other items, please see me.

Also, a girls team suit was left over at the Lake Oswego meet last weekend.  It is a size 30.  Someone else on the team is missing their size 28 suit.  I am wondering if they were accidentally switched after the meet.  Could you please check the size of your daughter's suit to confirm they have the correct one.  (FYI, Sharpie works well and lasts a long time on these types tags, if you want to label yours.)

Swim Meet TODAY!

Just a reminder that the meet is at the Reynolds Community Pool (1204 NE 201st, Fairview, OR) from 1:00 to 4:00. I would like all swimmers to arrive by 12:45, ready to swim. Since we host this meet, I would like all parent volunteers at their position by 12:45 as well. I believe we can enter the facility at 12:30, so feel free to arrive early.

I forgot to request one volunteer spot. We need 4 safety marshals during warm ups only. This requires one adult to stand at each corner of the pool during warm-ups only to ensure the swimmers are not acting in an unsafe manner. You can do this AND volunteer for another position, since this is before the meet only. If you could be one of the four, please contact the Volunteer Director, Meegan Mittelstaedt, as you arrive.

Meet Progam

The meet program has been added to the "Important Links".  You can download it here to view and print.

Meet Program...delayed

Due to circumstances out of my control, the meet program has not been published by CYO.  I normally have a copy by this time of the week, so I will post it as soon as I have it.  I expect that it will be delivered to me sometime tomorrow.

Reminder...meet attendance/entries due today at 8pm!

Please click here to let me know if your swimmer will be here, and to fill out events if you want.

BY 8PM!

I must submit tonight!

Nov. 17 entries due by 8pm Wednesday!

Please click here to enter your swimmer by 8pm on Wednesday.

Click here to volunteer for the meet.

Finally, click here to see a listing of what the meet jobs entail.

Meet Results / No Practice Monday!

You will find the results attached here and also on the blog under the  "Important Links" area.   Also, since you are on the blog, check out the file "All Star Qualifiers" for the All Star Meet on Feb. 1 I have posted in the links area.  We are starting to grow the list of WHCS swimmers.  "Go Crusaders!"

Additionally, since there is no school tomorrow, there is no practice either.

See you all on Tuesday!

Nov. 9 Meet

I am very excited for our meet tomorrow!  The warm ups begins at 4:30 at the Lake Oswego HS Pool.  It is located to the to the east of the High School which is located at 2501 Country Club Rd, Lake Oswego.  I just received an email from the host team letting us know that swimmers will be allowed to walk into the facility at 4:15.

Please view the meet program, and print it for your reference during the meet. Remind your swimmers to listen for the coaches to give them their event entry cards.  I suggest writing your swimmers events with a sharpie on their hand or arm before they get in the pool in a way similar to this photo.  You can see the event, heat, and lane from the meet program.  Coaches can assist with this if necessary.  This way, they know exactly when they are swimming.  In this photo, this swimmer's first event is Event 8, Heat 3, and Lane 6.  The next is Event 20, Heat 2, and Lane 4.  Please only write the individual events.

Please make sure you view the link to the blog and look at the Important Links on the right.  One of the documents is a listing of the All Star Meet qualifying times.  The only way to get into the All Star Meet is with a qualifying time in a developmental meet, and a few swimmers have already achieved qualifying times.  If your swimmer is interested in swimming in the All Star Meet, please share the qualifying times with them.

Please feel free to ask me any questions I may have missed.  Do not respond to the email, as it sends it to a noreply address.  You have two options: first you can comment on the blog, or you can send an email to swimteam@whcs.org.

Friday Practice...

WHCS has our normal practice time tomorrow (Friday).  Valley Catholic does NOT have school tomorrow, but has allowed us to practice.

I wanted to inform everyone, since some parents were asking the question.

Nov. 2 Meet Results

I am sorry for my oversight!  A few parents asked for them today, and I apologize for not getting this posted faster.  You will find the WHCS team's results here.  I will also keep it on the right side of the blog under "Important Links" for the remainder of the season.  You will also find the entries for the Nov. 9 meet on the side too!

Note: there were a lot of DQ's primarily due to (but not limited to) the following reasons:
Freestyle  - Using the bottom (by standing) or using the lane line for propulsion.
Backstroke - Not finishing while on back
Breaststroke - Not finishing with a simultaneous two-hand touch, or legs were not a mirror image of each other (i.e. scissor kick or flutter kick)

Meet Entries due by 8pm!

As of 4pm, the following people have responded to let me know if they coming to the meet or not (see below).  Please respond either way at: https://docs.google.com/a/whcs.org/forms/d/1NpR7S-XvtNiTmDA-sof0xGhlj3Z9KTSNWdkfTXVbhjM/viewform  Remember, this is for individual events only.  I will place everyone who will be at the meet in relays.  If you want Coach Kevin to decide all events, please only indicate that your swimmer will be present.

I NEED ALL RESPONSES BY 8PM!  CYO requires me to submit by 10PM.

Clapp, Shaylee

Craft, Madison

Dutt, Madeleine

Farmer, Caleb

Farmer, Megan

Guffee, Avery

Guffee, Ella

Guffee, Jameson

Jaramillo, Emily

Johnson, Hannah

Killian, Ainsley

Longacre, Elisabeth

McFarland, Gwendalyn

McFarland, Lillian

Moshofsky, Sarah

Nelson, Laurel

Otto, Ariel

Suter, Maggie

Terhaar, Maya

Walker, Christian

Weber, Cole

Willis, Katy

Woody, Hailey

Zell, Mariah

Zell, Sierra

Nov. 9 entries due Wednesday by 8pm!

It's time to choose your swimmers events.  The meet this week is at Lake Oswego HS Pool (address and directions coming later this week) from 4:30-7:30.  

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.

Please email me any questions you have!

Meet recap / Practices this week

I am so excited by what I saw yesterday.  West Hills has some talented swimmers, and I love how they used their God-given talents to try their hardest and succeed!

Now for a couple of items to discuss with parents and swimmers.  First of all, we all need to get to the pool earlier (me included).  Let's shoot for having the swimmers on deck, in their suits, ready to swim 15 minutes before the the scheduled start of the meet.  Our next meet at the Lake Oswego HS Pool is scheduled to start warm ups at 4:30.  Let's try to have everyone in suits on deck at 4:15.

Feel free to print the meet program at home and share it with your swimmer.  Have them look at the event numbers and realize how close or far apart their events are.  Also, too many swimmers did not realize they were in relays.  Let them look at the relays or let them know when they are swimming and with who.  I will always have a meet report posted, but I want them to know what they are swimming before everyone gets to the meet.

Also, pack two towels for your swimmer.  One to sit on and get very wet, and one to dry off with and keep warm.  All of the snacks I saw were great!  Keep them performing well with nutritious snacks.

We will be hosting the meet in two weeks, and parents are always encouraged to volunteer at every meet.  If you want to be involved, you do not need to be invited.  If you want to be a timer, take an empty seat.  If you want to work in the bullpen or other positions, inquire if they need help at the table with a computer operator.

Results will be posted tonight or tomorrow by CYO.  I will make a link on the main blog page and send a post to let everyone know exactly where to find them.  As I expected, we had many DQ's.  Some of them occurred due to the finer points of the more technical strokes.  A majority of them came in one of three main areas that we will work on in practice this week.  If your swimmer was DQ'd in one of these strokes, this is probably one of the reasons:

• Freestyle - walking/using bottom of pool
• Backstroke - turning over on front before the end of the race (Swimmers must finish on their back)
• Breaststroke - finishing with one hand (Swimmers must touch the wall with two hands simultaneously)

Lost and found items from Nov. 2 Meet

I found these items left behind.  If they are yours, I will bring them to practices this week.

Practices this week:

Normal practices this week.  

Coach Kevin will not be at practice Tuesday night or Wednesday.  This will be my regular schedule going forward.  With 7 practices a week, I need to step back a little for my own sanity.  I hope you understand.

Nov. 2 Meet

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 Reynolds Pool located at 1204 NE 201st Ave., Fairview, OR.  The meet should last around 3 hours.

Below you will find some basic procedures and meet etiquette to help most of us at our first "real" meet.  Meet tips for the Reynolds meet will be listed at the bottom, so please make sure you read it all.  

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.


Nov. 2 specific information:
Our team suits should be ready for pickup Friday afternoon (If this changes, I will post new information immediately!), and I will hand them out before the meet begins.  Plan to arrive about 20 minutes early to get your suit, if I have it.   Unfortunately, some sizes are on backorder.  Please click this link to see if your suit was backordered.  Highlighted names are backordered and will have their suit before the Nov. 9 meet.  Due to this fact, and wearing the suit for the first time, EVERYONE should bring a backup racing suit.  I will have WHCS swim caps for everyone.  Please try to take care of yours, but if you should lose or damage it, I will always have more on hand to give out.

Click here for the Meet Report.  Please print your own copy and bring it to the meet.  This will list all swimmers' events, heats, and lanes.

As always, if you have any questions...ask!