2010-2011 Coach Messages - by Coach Jim Hutcheson

3/23/11 2/23/11 2/10/11 1/10/11
1/3/11 11/23/10 11/16/10 11/4/10
10/22/09 9/28/10 9/23/10 9/5/10


3/23/11

 I know that we just finished up with our short course season, but it is already time to get going on long course meets. These meets are incredibly valuable for experiencing a different atmosphere in swimming, using a 50 meter course and fewer turns than our winter season. Most swimmers that excel in short course pools develop their skills and stamina training and swimming in a long course environment.

These meets come with a few challenges, both in terms of entries and logistics:
  1. The entry deadlines are usually earlier and further out from the meets than those meets during the winter season. This is because there are fewer meets, fewer facilities, and more people needing to swim in those facilities. It is quite possible to get shut out of meets during LC season unless we get our entries in early for the meets. This could be a special problem this spring and summer, as many elite swimmers will be swimming additional meets looking for Olympic Trial qualifying times (which must be accomplished in a LC pool). Just be aware that there will be less flexibility for late entries and adjustments after entries are submitted;

  2. Because it has been a long time since last summer, many swimmers may not be sure of their times as far as being fast enough or slow enough to swim in the various meets. We have three meets that are "faster than" meets (Navy, UMBC, and ASC/UMBC) and three that are "slower than" (McDonogh, Navy June, and June RAC meet). Basically there is one meet per month for each group, and it is possible that some swimmers will be able to swim both types of meets if they need to work on new events or strokes at the same time they develop their stronger strokes. Just sign up for the meets you can attend - the coaches will let you know of any issues with your times.

  3. We would like everyone to swim a minimum of two meets through the LC season, and would prefer three or more. The purpose of swimming year-round is to continue to develop as a team, and while we know that most have summer swim teams, jobs, etc. our assumption is that most swimmers swimming year-round have a solid commitment to SPY and are trying to develop to their full potential; this means swimming meets as well as maintaining good practice attendance. All swimmers training and swimming at YMCA nationals must attend two LC meets and swim a minimum of four to five sessions through the summer.
The first meets are in mid April and early May. ENTRIES FOR THE MCDONOGH "SLOWER THAN" MEET ARE DUE ON THIS MONDAY, AND I MUST HAVE SIGNUPS BY SUNDAY NIGHT AT 5PM!! This meet is for those who have not swum LC meets in the past or who have not yet qualified for the Navy Elite Carol Chidester Meet in early May. Hopefully all those swimming through the spring will take advantage of this opportunity, as the next meet chance for the "slower than" crew will not be until June. This will be a chance to get updated times and hopefully qualify for the Chidester meet in early May or the UMBCX meet in mid-May.

Thanks for all your help - after this initial meet the timelines should slow down a bit!

Jim and Crystee

2/23/11

 Hi everyone!

I will be doing a specific C&P Meet email tomorrow once I have our exact warmup times and other information about the weekend. This is about more general swim team information, so please note the following:

  • SCHINDLER SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE APPROACHING...For our senior swimmers, there is a March 1 deadline for the Emily Schindler Scholarship awards for this year. These scholarships are awarded at our banquet each year, and a number of grants may be available depending on the success of the foundation during the past year. Application forms are on the website, and the selection is made by the Schindler family based on the application, essay, and interviews (with some coaches' input). Please take the oppotunity to tell everyoine about your experiences at SPY during your time on the team!

  • BANQUET INFORMATION IN MAILBOXES...The flyer and registration form for the annual SPY Banquet has been distributed to all swimmer mailboxes. Please pick it up the next time you are at the pool, and return the registration form and payment at your earliest convenience. We need a hard number by the weekend of Districts, but would really appreciate having the registrations sooner if possible.

  • SWIMATHON PAYMENTS AND DONATIONS ARE DUE NOW!!...Please drop off your pledge envelopes and sponsor money at the front desk by this weekend if possible, but certainly by March 5th. We really need this to have been a successful event, and are trying to tabulate the results to determine which group gets the pizza party for most pledges per swimmer and which swimmer gets to introduce Coach Jim (the math teacher) to the concept of "Pie". That big event will also happen at the banquet...something for everyone to look forward to (ugh...).

  • DISTRICT SIGN UPS ARE PAST DUE - YOU WILL BE SIGNED UP FOR THIS MEET IF YOU HAVE QUALIFYING TIMES, SO IF THERE ARE ANY ISSUES FOR THE WEEKEND OF 3/11-3/13 WE NEED TO KNOW NOW!!! This is our team championship for the year, and everyone is expected to be excellent and swim their fastest.

  • CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 8 & UNDER SWIMMERS!! ... All 25 of our 8 & Under swimmers have signed up for and will be swimming at the Towson 8 & U championship meet next Sunday!! This is the first year in four or five that EVERY swimmer has made the commitment to help their team try to win another championship, and speaks to the camaraderie and development of our younger practice groups as we seek to excel right from the start. Thanks to all families and swimmers for supporting this effort.

I think that's it for now...more information tomorrow about C&P's this weekend and practices.

Jim and Crystee

2/10/11

 Hi everyone!

These are the upcoming meets and who should swim them, along with special events and coming attractions. More information will be coming about the special events, but we want everyone to at least hold the dates.

Signing up for the following meets:

  • Feb. 26/27 C&P Championships: Team scored. All swimmers may/should participate in events in which they have not qualified for Districts (so yes, you can swim both meets - just not events where you have District cuts). The deadline is supposed to be tomorrow, 2/10. If we ae to include relays in this meet, I need more swimmers to sign up in every age group. All swimmers who have no qualifying times for Districts should sign up for this meet, as well as those seeking additional cuts. All 8 & Unders can swim this meet as a prelude to their 8 & U Championship Meet on March 6th. There are Open events on Sunday for those seeking District cuts in longer events or imporved times in events where they have qualified.

  • March 6th Towson 8 & U Championship Meet: ALL 8 AND UNDERS ARE ASKED TO SIGN UP FOR AND SWIM THIS MEET. THIS IS THE FINAL MEET OF THE YEAR FOR 8 & UNDERS (EXCEPT FOR A COUPLE WHO HAVE 10 & U DISTRICT CUTS). THIS IS THEIR BIG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP!!

  • March 3-6 MD State Championship Meet (Navy): All qualifiers who want to swim should have signed up. This meet is not required, and some swimmers (i.e. HS State Meet Swimmers) are encouraged to rest and train this weekend instead of swimming yet another "big" meet right before Districts (THE Big Meet). Great recognition for our younger swimmers who have qualified. Be prepared to help time at the session your child is at - it is a rule of the meet that we are responsible for a lane.

  • March 11-13 YMCA DISTRICTS - OUR SPRING CHAMPIONSHIP MEET FOR ALL QUALIFIERS. All qualifiers are expected to swim at this meet, and are asked to save both days for the meet. Please know that we do not ask for too many full weekend commitments, but that this is one of them. This is a championship event, and while we know that many spring sports practices begin around this time, we are asking for your commitment this weekend. If there is a real issue, please contact Jim directly. We plan and prepare for this meet all year, and want to make our strongest showing at this most important meet.
ALL PRACTICE GROUPS FROM DETECTIVES ON DOWN ARE FINISHED FOR THE SEASON AFTER DISTRICTS. WE OFFER EXTENDED SESSION FOR THOSE DET/PE/GUM THAT WANT TO KEEP SWIMMING (extra fee), MORE INFORMATION WILL BE OUT ABOUT THAT ELEMENT OF OUR PROGRAM BY FEBRUARY 25TH.

SPECIAL EVENTS:
  • SWIMATHON FEBRUARY 13TH (THIS SUNDAY!!!): We are asking everyone to bring their sponsorship money and swim their laps for a chance at prizes and rewards, including a group pizza party (replaces practice one night for the best group), the chance to smear/throw a pie in Jim's face, and several door prizes/special awards. This is our only non-meet fundraiser for the year, so we ask for your full support of our goal of $100 per swimmer in pledges!!

  • MARCH 20 SPY BANQUET: If you've never experienced it, it's a revelation!! An afternoon of food, fun, and recognition for our swimmers. Trophies for everyone, recognitions of our seniors and volunteers, and a really pleasant experience. This shows the SPY tradition and the SPY environment more than any othr event we do all year, and is well worth the nominal family fee we ask for to cover the gym rental and food. There will be a flyer coming out in late February regarding exact details (pot luck contributions, etc), but PLEASE SAVE MARCH 20TH FOR A GREAT EXPERIENCE!
Thanks for all you do...now let's get back in the pool and get ready to rumble!!

Jim and Crystee

1/3/11

 Hi everyone!

Great job by all this weekend at Winterfest - as usual, despite the furious paddling under the water, all of the ducks remained afloat and the meet came off as a wonderful experience for the more than 40 teams and 1650 athletes that participated.

There are too many people to thank each individually, but rest assured that any task you performed this weekend was appreciated by the entire staff and volunteer leadership of SPY. Winterfest would simply not exist without all of your tireless efforts and unflagging support of swimming in general and SPY in particular. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts - for everything!

Just a quick reminder/announcement that our Swimathon will take place on Sunday, Feb 13 in the afternoon. Start lining up your sponsors, both individual and corporate, for the laps we will swim to support SPY Swimming and USA Swimming through reaching our goal of $10,000 of pledges and collected funds over the next few weeks. All groups and swimmers are asked to participate, and our goal is to raise $100 per family to support our ongoing initiatives and activities. More details will be forthcoming over the next week or two, but it's time to start rounding up your sponsors and pledges now!!

Thanks again, and don;t forget to sign up for the dual meets coming up the next few weeks!

Jim and Crystee

1/3/11

 Hi everyone!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! We hope that everyone had a joyous holiday season and is ready to get back to work for the very important late season meets, starting with this weekend at Winterfest. Hopefully you have been getting to practice and working hard (although I must say the statistics don't seem to bear this out for December...a little light on the practice attendance) so that we can swim well at Maryland this weekend and start to meet our end-of-season team goals and personal goals. Three very important messages need to get out to everyone for the coming week:
  1. WINTERFEST WORKER MEETING THIS WEDNESDAY!! This is a critical staging meeting for the different groups of workers for this weekend. We need to brief everyone on reporting times, procedures for the deck, and who to ask or communicate with in the case of any issues. This meeting will be at 6:30 in the meeting room fo the Community Center, and it is very important that everyone be there to go over procedures, etc. We know that there will inevitably be a few conflicts, but it is nearly impossible to put on the second or third largest YMCA swim meet in the country without everyone sacrificing a little bit and doing their own small part. There really are NO small parts, because if a few small things go wrong it makes it tough on everyone. Hopefully the training and education we've done this year will pay off with a smooth weekend of swimming!

  2. AACC PRACTICES!! Apparently there is a developing problem with kids being left long after practice before being picked up. We are woirking with the college on the whole issue of locker rooms being cleared in a timely fashion and better interactions between their staff and our swimmers, but we MUST make sure that all swimmers are picked up at the end of practice right away. The pool will be closing 20 minutes after we get out of the pool, which means that anyone left will have to wait outside. PLEASE PICK YOUR CHILDREN UP IMMEDIATELY AFTER PRACTICE - this will help us maintain relations with a pool we need to operate our team efficiently and avoid combination practices.

  3. DUAL MEET SIGNUPS!! We have three dual meets coming up in back to back to back weeks. We do not need everyone to swim every meet; we do, however, need enough people at each meet to field an effective team. You are welcome to swim all three meets - especially if you are seeking District cuts or MD State Meet cuts (CATY meet ONLY will be USA approved for MD State qualifying - both teams are USA registered and we have enough officials to do that). Please sign up for two of the three meets. We know that dual meets aren't as exciting as big invitationals, but they are where our team can develop and gain recognition for all of our swimmers, not just a select few. We will keep entries to three swims per meet, and try to have poeple swim one "end" of a meet or the other as much as we can, but there are participation requirements for all of the end-of-season meets, and many swimmers have not yet swum any meets (and need 2-3 prior to C&P's, and 4-5 prior to Districts and Nationals). At least two of those must be Y-ONLY meets such as Schisler, Opening Gun, or Dual meets.
Thanks for all you do for SPY...believe it or not we are only a few weeks from swimming for championships and banners!!

Jim and Crystee
Head Coaches

11/23/10

 Hi everyone!

Great job at Wilton this past weekend!! We had nearly 80% best times and made our usual great impression on the teams from that region with our organization, volunteerism, and SPY Spirit!

A couple of items to review and think about as we go into the holiday season and start serious preparations for Winterfest the first week of January:
  1. WINTERFEST JOB NEEDS: A COUPLE OF SPECIFIC NEEDS AND A GENERAL REMINDER!!
    • We are in real need of an announcer for the afternoon sessions at Winterfest and also for Finals at night. This is a critically important job for a trials/finals meet, but it's also very scripted and not very difficult. The primary qualification is a strong. clear voice and a willingness to pass on information to the swimmers, coaches, and parents. If anyone has experience at this (for a summer club or other setting such as a school or jobsite) we could really use some help - and you're right on deck watching your child!! Contact Maureen (maureen@spyswimming.org) if this appeals to you!!

    • We also need a hospitality room attendant to work with Mrs. Smith (our hospitality GURU) and attend to the hospitality room for coaches and officials when she is not on-site. This is again not a tremendously difficult job (all of the supplies and materials will be there - it is primarily keeping things stocked and transitioning between the times of day), but needs someone with a pleasant demeanor and a hospitable attitude - obviously ANY Spy parent could do this well. Again, please contact Maureen if you can help with this. It is a little less physically intensive than standing on deck, so might be good for someone who doesn;t do as well standing for long periods.

    • BE FLEXIBLE WITH YOUR SERVICES!! We seem to be getting a lot of requests for timers, yet except for finals this is one of the jobs that other teams can easily help fill. You may be getting e-mails with revised assignments over the next few weeks. We really need you to try to be as flexible as possible so that we can get all of the support positions filled to host the meet as smoothly as possible. I realize that many people have signed up for timer thinking that the only jobs at te meet are timer, table worker, or official - but there are many other jobs that require people also, and we have to use our parents as efficiently as possible. Thanks in advance for your help and support with this.


  2. PRACTICE ATTENDANCE: As we approach the holiday season and school events, family obligations, and a multitude of other distractions, please keep in mind that only through practice do swimmers improve. Our attendance was pretty good in September and October, but has really decreased in November thus far. For better or worse, every swimmer must practice and train to achieve their goals - and performance is measured individually as much as by team. There are no stars (like in team sports) to cover up the fact that a swimmer has not been practicing and getting faster...each swimmer needs to assess their own commitment and performance, and the stopwatch is a very impartial judge. Please help our team continue to develop by coming to as many practices as possible - it is the only way we will maintain the excellence that our tradition has created!
HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING...CHECK THE PRACTICE SCHEDULE - AND GET READY FOR THE DECEMBER MEETS!!!!

Jim and Crystee
Head Coaches

11/16/10

 Hi everyone!

WILTON DETAILS - THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR THOSE TRAVELING THIS WEEKEND TO CONNECTICUT:

1. REPORT TIMES:

Friday 1000 FR: report to pool by 12:00 pm (warmups ar eopen and start then)
Friday Older Kids (13 and Over 400 IM and 50 FR): Report by 2:00 pm for open warmup - session starts 3:00 pm
Friday Younger Kids (12 and Under 200 FR and 200 IM): Report by 5:30 PM for open warmup - session starts 6:30 pm
Saturday AND Sunday: 13 and Overs report 6:50 AM
12 and Unders report 12:45 PM
All Finalists (top 12 swimmers for all 11 and over events - NO FINALS FOR 10 & UNDERS!!) - report 5:30 for 6:30 start

2. TEAM THEME: ANIMALS!! Dress as your favorite animal or bring your favorite stuffed animal for Saturday night finals in our team area.

3. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS (OUTSIDE OF TRAVEL):

No chairs are allowed on deck or in the hallways at the Y. The gym will be available for overflow seating for parents (we prefer the swimmers be on deck, and we will try to secure bleacher seating and bench seating for the kids. Parents will be able to sit inj bleachers on deck across from where the swimmers are seated. If the kids are not in the team area, we will not be able to chase them down for their events!

All swimmers should bring a Sharpie or Permanent Marker to write their heats and lanes once they are posted. This is a major difference from meets in Maryland - there are no heat sheets prior to the session. All teams turn in their scratches (more on that in a minute) before the session, and then the heat sheets are generated and posted - it's a little chaotic for the first event, but it keeps the sessions moving and shorter because of no empty lanes). The heat sheets will be at each end of the pools, and the coaches will then get a few to distribute to parent helpers and for the kids to look at.

PLEASE BE ON TIME - IT IS CRITICAL AT LARGER MEETS SUCH AS WILTON/WINTERFEST/DISTRICTS!! If you are not there for warmups and have not contacted me in advance, the assumption is that you will not be there for the session. This requires us to scratch you from events and take you out of any relays (as we have to submit relay names prior to the session). Please leave plenty of time to get from the hotel to the pool, park, and walk into the building. These guys host a lot of meets, have a great facility, and know what they're doing. As with anything, however, it requires everyone cooperating to get the most out of the experience, and being on time and prepared for what we will encounter is the first step.

4. SATURDAY NIGHT FINALS

Again this year, and in recognition of this being our big team meet for the fall, we would ask that all swimmers plan to attend finals on Saturday night until at least 7:30 PM. The session starts at 6:30 PM, and this will allow swimmers to see what the "big time" is about without keeping them from eating and getting to bed at a decent hour. Supporting your teammates and big/little Ems as they swim at finals is a great way to show our team spirit, and a way to learn for the future. If there is a critical reason you cannot attend, we understand, but again this is a team event and a team function, so we would ask that you attend finals on Saturday night only.

5. SUNDAY EVENTS AND DEPARTURE:

Swimmers may leave on Sunday after their last event, but if they are not staying for finals (and we strongly encourage everyone to stay and swim if they qualify - very few have school Monday and making finals is a milestone for most swimmers) they must scratch themselves out of the event at the scratch table or ask a coach to show them how to do it. Scratch no matter how far down the results you have finished - that way you can't be bumped up to finals because of other people leaving the meet. It is important to stay and swim if you can - most people swim faster at finals than in prelims, and it is a courtesy to the host team to not have everyone bailing out of finals. There is also a penalty for those not showing up at finals and for their team. Please help us to maintain our reputation as a great team to invite to meets by showing the people we meet up there how pleasant, efficient, and friendly their guests from Maryland can be! I think that's it for now...if I come up with new information or additional details I will send out another message on Thursday for the weekend.

Jim and Crystee
Head Coaches

11/4/10

 Hi everyone!

We're really getting into the season now - make sure you keep up on meet deadlines and signing up to swim in the various meets over the next five to six weeks. This weekend we have OPening Gun at Talbot County YMCA, and in two weeks - WILTON!!

  1. PRACTICE THIS WEEKEND:
    • FRIDAY - ALL PRACTICES AS SCHEDULED
    • SATURDAY - PRACTICE FOR SPIES ONLY - 7 TO 9 AM (Those in OPening Gun are welcome to do extended warmup)
    • SUNDAY - ALL PRACTICES AS SCHEDULED


  2. OPENING GUN ARRIVAL AND WARMUP TIMES
    • 10 AND UNDERS - ARRIVE 7:00 AM FOR 7:10 WARMUP
    • 11 AND OVERS - ARRIVE 10:45 AM FOR 10:55 WARMUP
    NOTE: All swimmer seating is in the gym, with limited parent access (parents are limited to stands and upper hallway). I will need a few parents to serve as "team parents" (TCY calls them "Angels") and coordinate kids getting to Clerk of Course. As I was just told this, I have not had a chance to pre-recruit, so I will try to find a few of you Saturday morning to help out). Please obey all parking guidelines (basically stay out of the church lot next door and use the school across the street for overflow) and know that it will be a crowded meet and there will be every opportunity to be frustrated...but we are SPY, and we don't do that!!. It will be a good warmup for Wilton and the logistical challenges of many people in tight spaces! Your swimmers may leave when their events are done, but please check out with the coaches in case relay changes need to be made due to illness or other issues!

  3. REMINDERS
    • Sign up now for Schisler Invitational (12/4-12/6), 8 & Under dual meet vs. ASC (Thanksgiving Friday), and Capital Classic (if qualified). Make sure you have hotel reservations for Raleigh if necessary.
    • GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING NEXT THURSDAY 11/11 AT 7:30 PM AT SPY - ONE REP PER FAMILY PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND!!
    • Equipment and Apparel have been distributed - please make sure you start using it - everyone should be in SPY suits and caps this weekend at OPening Gun.


Thanks for your continued support!

Jim and Crystee
Head Coaches

10/22/10

 Hi everyone!

Key information for this weekend regarding practices and the meet against HCY:
  1. ARRIVAL TIMES FOR THIS WEEKEND:

    SATURDAY (10 AND UNDERS AT SPY): Arrive NO EARLIER THAN 1:15 for 1:30 warmup and 2:15 meet.

    SUNDAY (11 AND OVER): Arrive at 12:30 PM for 12:45 warmup. We will be sitting in gym and walking across hall to the pool.

    SWIM FAST...They are using this meet as a "measuring stick" to make sure they can beat SPY since they've improved so much and grown their team to 200 swimmers. I hate keeping score, but if we're going to keep score, then let's win.

  2. PRACTICES THIS WEEKEND: SATURDAY: AS SCHEDULED EXCEPT FOR THOSE SWIMMING ON SATURDAY (a few Detectives and Sleuths)- ALL SP and INV should be there.

    SUNDAY: No practices, as the little guys will already have swum this weekend and the olderkids will be at the meet.

  3. REMINDERS - DEADLINES!! Wilton Deadline is this weekend - entries must be mailed by Friday of next week, so I need to get drafts up. We only have 68 to date - we really would like 100 swimmers for this meet. You need to get hotels reserved this week if you have not. Opening Gun draft entries will be up by Monday for review.
Thanks - see everyone somewhere this weekend!!

Jim and Crystee

9/28/10

 Hi everyone!

I have been asked to see about securing about six to eight volunteers to help at the Fitter and Faster clinic this weekend at SPY. Basically we need two parents at 9:15 to meet with the clinic director, Dave Arluck, and to coordinate goodie bags, registration info, and generla prep work. Additionally, I need four to six people to come at 10 or so and stay through about 1:00 who will help as building guides, registration table workers, and a photographer (all the kids get to have their pictures taklen both formally and informally with the Olympians - Matt Grievers and Misty Hyman).

The clinic has the promise of being extremely successful and bringing a lot of credit to SPY as an organization - not to mention giving our kids a chance that most swimmers never get. I hate to ask this at the last minute, but I would really appreciate your help. I spent a long time on the phone with Dave tonight and told him I would do my best to get him some help at the clinic, but that the coaches would be at the ASC meet that morning and couldn't really be there hands on. He promised me that everyone would be done by shortly after 12:30 once the clinic was well underway and in the hands of the Olympians.

Please drop me an e-mail if you are available and willing to help - I hope each of you realizes how much I appreciate your contributions when called upon and how proud you make our whole organization when you step up as volunteers whenever there is a need!

9/23/10

 Hi everyone!

  1. DUE TO THE KAREN STEVENS MEMORIAL YOUTH TRIATHLON SATURDAY MORNING, THERE WILL BE NO PRACTICE FOR ANY GROUPS ON SATURDAY. SPY Swimmers will be helping out with race logistics and support, and this promises to be a huge community event in memory of Karen Stevens, a SPY staffmember and mother of two swimmers who passed away last year after losing her battle with cancer.

  2. PRACTICE WILL BE AS REGULARLY SCHEDULED ON SUNDAY.

  3. We have had an outstanding first two weeks of practice. Over the next week or so the coaches will be making a few grouping adjustments to better balance numbers and abilities within groups, as we do every year. Please continue to come to practices and work hard. Believe it or not, we start meets over the next two to four weeks, and then get ready for our late fall meets leading up to the holidays.

  4. Thanks as always for your ongoing support of SPY Swimming. Please feel free to drop me a line anytime with concerns, compliments, good trivia questions, etc. I will be attending a training symposium this weekend, so will be out of touch most of Saturday.

See you on deck - have a great weekend!

Jim

9/5/10

 Hi everyone!

Three updates as we get ready to start this week with our 2010-2011 season:
  1. 1) ALL PRACTICES START THIS WEEK ON THE POSTED FALL SCHEDULE - again we ask that all swimmers attend the group to which they have been assigned ONLY. We will be looking for discrepancies and making a few adjustments after the first two weeks of practice have finished. Thanks for your cooperation as we get started. As a reminder...things will seem very crowded for the first week or two as the excitement of a new season is here and people are trying to establish their routines, carpools, etc. Usually after the first two weeks or so things settle down and everything runs very smoothly.

  2. 2) INFORMATION SESSIONS FOR NEW AND RETURNING PARENTS THIS WEEK: I will be available during and after practices at least once for each group on the following schedule to answer questions you may have and to go over some basic information (how to sign up for meets, which weekends we really need more swimmers, and anything else you can think of to ask). The schedule for these meetings (which will take place in the weight room where it is cooler and quieter) will be as follows:
    • Tuesday 5:45 PM (after INV, during DET practices)
    • Wednesday 5:30 PM (after GUM, during PE practices)
    • Thursday 7:00 PM (after SL)
    • Spies parents can always e-mail Crystee or me, but the kids tend to take care of their own business and take care of each other in that group, as we see them so often)

  3. MEET SIGNUPS AND OLYMPIAN CLINIC SIGNUP: The Annapolis Freestyle meet is available for signups through September 19th, and is a great startup meet for those who are looking for early season swims. Additionally - remember that SPY is hosting the Fitter and Faster Tour event, featuring two Olympic Team members, at SPY the afternoon of October 2nd. If you are signed up for the clinic, you probably will need to swim OPEN events at the freestyle meet (no big deal - the events are the same - just AM instead of PM). There is a link on the SPY page and the home page of the webiste for anyone else interested in the rare opportunity to watch and learn from Olympic swimmers who are coming to our little hole in the ground pool on the 2nd!

I hope everyone is looking forward to getting back in the water...I know the coaches are looking forward to seeing everyone - old and new! Let's make everyone welcome and have a great season!

Jim

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