Hello AquaSprint Swimmers and Parents!
I hope you’ve had an enjoyable summer. Wasn’t the swimming in the Olympics just fantastic to watch? The top swimmers were amazing! I was thinking of all of you for every race I watched; seeing all of those beautifully streamlined bodies (could you just hear me yelling to squeeze your ears between your arms and put your hand on top of hand?!) and incredibly strong butterfly kicks off of every wall! Did you see how they kept their legs together after the start of their dives? What about those perfectly high elbows under the water in freestyle? There were so many smart races, great starts, turns, finishes, fast times, and so much to learn watching those top athletes. There were mistakes made, too, all of which we can learn from. I watched an Olympian (Michael Phelps) go from being in first place to finishing second place (200m fly) by five one-hundredths of a second because he glided into the wall at the finish while the winner finished his stroke perfectly and strong right at the wall. Even champions make mistakes we can learn from! He turned things around then and won the 200m IM in his perfect form. Do any of you have some favorite moments from the Olympics?
Now I’m all excited to begin a new AquaSprint season! The Olympics aren’t motivating just for swimmers, they are for coaches too! There are a few points I’d like to make before the season begins:
- For security reasons, there is a sign-in and sign-out book. Please ensure your child is signed in at the start of practice, and, very importantly, only signs out upon leaving the building.
- Please ensure your child arrives for practice on time. This means being all set to swim (suit and cap on, and goggles set) a few minutes before the scheduled start time. Per pool rules, please do not let your child on deck more than a few minutes before their start.
- Please ensure your child’s swim suit fits properly (Check for wear, as suits tend to become worn through all too quickly. It helps to prolong their life by rinsing the suits in cold water after each swim).
- I strongly recommend a non-cloth swim cap. The cloth caps don’t stay on the entire practice.
- Please adjust your child’s goggles before practice, and ensure they are in working order. It is too time consuming for the coach to be adjusting multiple swimmers’ goggles.
- We will be starting some very moderate land exercises for the swimmers this year. It should not be strenuous (for example sit-ups). Please ensure your child has a t-shirt for exercising. It might be helpful to also have an extra towel for them to use on deck.
- Should you have any questions or problems during the season, please see the club Secretary (Claire Sheridan). She will then forward on your information, and will get back to you.
One of our main goals is to teach proper swim technique. This goal comes before working on speed. Once proper technique is learned, speed will follow. We have arranged the swim lanes according to ability.
Linda and I appreciate being able to coach your kids, and the support you give us throughout the season. We look forward to another great season!
Swimcerely,
Dana