Swimsuit issues!

I am writing to catch everyone up on a major issue we have been having with the suits this year.  I will be brief with the problem...JD Pence will not be our suit retailer this year.  From our first contact in August and until now, we have been met with brick walls.  It is our desire to have new suits for everyone who wants one before our first meet on November 7.  The only way to do this is to switch retailers.  Do not go to JD Pence!  If you already have already purchased a suit from them, please contact me.

For this to happen, Coach Candace has made contact with a new retailer.  They have expedited fitting suits (and extra suits to purchase) to arrive by Friday's Dryland practice.  If you are wanting a new suit, you NEED to come to the dryland practice...heck...everyone should be coming to dryland practices! :)  There will be some suits ready for immediate purchase, but cash is required.  Girls suits will be $40 and boys suits will be $32.  If we don't have any more of your size on Friday, we will be able to order it in time to arrive by Saturday November 7.

Also, during the last 15 minutes of dryland practice (4:00-4:15) we will have a swimsuit exchange.  Coach Roslyn will lead the swimsuit exchange.

What is it?

In short: Donate old suits, swap small team/training suits for ones that fit, buy a used suit for $5 (proceeds go to the team)

Those with team suits from the last two seasons, or lightly used training suits that no longer fit your kiddos, please bring them!  Folks who bring old suits will have the first opportunity to swap, if the sizes are available. The rest will sell for $5 apiece, with one exception (a brand new, never used suit from last year). 

We'll start the exchange and suit fitting about 15 minutes before the end of dryland practice in the Cafeteria/Gym.  Parents are welcome to come a little earlier to help set up the exchange or discuss the new suits.

If you can't be there Friday and are willing to still donate, please have your child give the suit to Lilly or Gwen McFarland sometime this week, or bring to practice.

Lastly, I will send an updated practice schedule tomorrow.  I will send meet info toward the later part of the week.  Lots of info coming soon...stay tuned.

No practice today / Dryland tomorrow

Just a quick reminder that the pool at Valley Catholic is closed today for repairs.

Dryland practice tomorrow will happen from 3:15 to 4:15. Coach Roslyn and Coach Candace will lead the athletes through some stroke rule clarifications, and physical activity. Athletes should bring activewear (including shoes) and a water bottle. 

Please pick up your students by the gym doors or in the auditorium at 4:15, or make arrangements for them to stay in afterschool care.

Schedule update...two cancellations!

First of all, I am very sorry that I haven't been around much lately, nor communicated fully over the past couple weeks. Last week, we took possession and moved into a new house. This week, I'm in the process of cleaning and handing the keys over of our old residence.  Soon, this craziness will be over, and you will have the good ol' Coach Kevin back!  :)

Now for the first of two important schedule changes for this week.  There will NOT be practice on Thursday.  The Valley Catholic swim coach contacted me today to inform me of this.  They will be permanently fixing a temporary fix that affects the pool.

Next, the swim meet that was scheduled for this weekend, will not be happening.  It is cancelled.  It was going to be the a time trial to prepare for our first developmental meet on November 7.

Registration issues...practices impacted!

Currently we have 21 people signed up.  Our first year, we had over 40 swimmers and last year we had over 50.  I was projecting between 40 and 50 swimmers when I committed to weekend rentals at the Beaverton.  Due to our low numbers, at this point we will not be renting at the Beaverton Swim Center until we can achieve about 40 swimmers registered.  This is strictly from a financial stand-point.  With our current registration amount, at 40 swimmers, we were able to pay for the rentals, but at this point we cannot afford it without raising the already high registration amount.

Additionally, due to only 4 people signing up for Tuesday practices from the Practice Sign-up (if you haven't signed up, please do so) I created last week, it does not make sense for us to have practice on that day.  Starting this week, practices will be only Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 4:00-5:00 for Polliwogs (K-3) and 4:00-5:30 for Cubs and Cadets (4-8).  Furthermore, Thursday has a couple more people signed up, and if the number of average participants is less than 10 for the first couple weeks, we may cancel that practice too in the future.

I have been trying to get more people interested in swimming for West Hills, but I need your help at this point for us to grow.  If you could spread the word of how great the sport is to your friends, it would be much appreciated!  Also, I have heard some people are confused about one fact...if you are competing in another sport (WHCS or non-WHCS), we are only asking them to come to one practice a week until their season is over.

Please pray for our team, so we can return to our robust numbers of swimmers!

Practice sign-ups and a little info...

Now is the time to sign up for your practice time for the season.  At this point in time, our registration number are significantly lower than this time last year.  With these lower number, we can offer in-water practice twice during the weekdays at the Valley Catholic pool.  If our numbers increase two-fold (which I hope it does), we will have to limit the practices to once during the weekdays.

The Friday Dryland practice at WHCS starting on 10/16 from 3:15 to 4:30 is optional, but encouraged.  The weekend swimming practices at the Beaverton Swim Center starting on 10/17 is strongly encouraged.  More info on the weekend practices will be coming out soon.

Please click here to sign up your swimmer for particular day(s).

This week's events

This week we begin, practice for the Cubs (4th-6th) and Cadets (7th-8th) on Monday and Wednesday from 4:00 - 5:30pm at the Valley Catholic pool.  There is constructions on one of the adjacent buildings to the pool, so the entry to the pool is different than last year.  Please look for the new entry.

Also, if you have a first time swimmer, we would like to see what their swimming looks like from a safety standpoint.  Additionally, we would like to assess if they know any of the other strokes.  We will be conducting this on Monday (10/5) anytime from 5:00-5:30, it should only take about 10 minutes in the water.  If you can't make this one time safety check, please email the coaching staff to find other possible times.

There will not be Friday dryland practice or any practice this weekend.

Coach Kevin

Registration and Adjusted practice schedule

The season starts in 3 days!  Are you registered?  If not, click here.  If you are, please continue to tell your friends about the team, WE NEED MORE SWIMMERS!  For some reason, our registration numbers are much smaller, compared to this time last year!

Here is a little known fact...ANYONE can swim for our team, not just WHCS students.  Homeschool, public school, or other private school students can register for our team.  When they register through the above link, they need to indicate that they are registering for an "Exception", and indicate that they want to swim for West Hills Christian School.  It's a couple more hoops to jump through than a WHCS student has to go through, so email Coach Kevin if there are any questions.

Also, if you need financial assistance (or know someone who does) to register due to family hardship or multiple athletes from one family, contact Coach Kevin.  CYO has scholarships available.

At the Parent Meeting on 09/29 (see my notes here), I indicated that practices will begin on Monday 10/5 at the Valley Catholic Pool for our Cub (4th-6th grade) and Cadet (7th & 8th grade) athletes only.  While this is true, we will have an adjusted practice schedule of only Monday 10/5 and Wednesday 10/7 for that week.  Cubs and Cadets who are already registered are encouraged to come to both practices if they can.  We will begin practices for everyone on Monday 10/12 for all ages.

For any swimmers who this is their first year, I must perform a safety check to make sure they can swim 25 yards safely.  The ONLY Safety Check will be on Monday 10/5 at 5:00-5:30.  If you have a first year swimmer and cannot make that time, please email and we may be able come up with an alternate time for you.  If you swimmer is a Cub or Cadet, I will conduct those at the beginning of practice on Monday or Wednesday.

Please note...this year, practices are a little different.  Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, practice will go from 4:00-5:30, but 5:00-5:30 is for Cubs and Cadets only.  If you have a Polliwog (K-3rd grade), their practice will end at 5:00 on those days.  Tuesday practices will continue this year from 4:30-5:30 for everyone!

Please look for another email, during the weekend to sign up for specific days.  Again this year, we will have a weekend day practice at the Beaverton Swim Center, the schedule for the exact days (starting in a couple weeks) will be coming soon.

Blessings,

Coach Kevin