7/6/19
Banquet/End of Season survey
Saturday evening is our end of season banquet!  Thank you to everyone who has paid for their dinners through the sign-up genius.  If you have not done so yet, and plan on eating at the banquet, please do so today!  Remember we will also have bags at the banquet for each of the coaches to place a note or small gift of thanks, if you would like.  If you are looking for suggestions on what they might like, please see any board member.  Open swim begins at 4:00 pm (meaning the kids all get to swim just for fun!) and food service will begin around 5:30 with awards presentation/slideshow after that.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080945acac22a4f85-2019

Last, I'm attaching a link to our end of season survey.  We'd love your feedback, so please take a minute to fill it out.  We are in need of a new treasurer to join the board next season!!  If you feel this is something you would be able to do, please comment on the appropriate question of the survey and I will be in touch!  This is a very important position for the Orcas, so PLEASE consider taking this on.  You will be trained and given everything you need to be successful. :)  Even if treasurer isn't something you're interested in, but you are interested in being a part of the board, you can also comment letting us know.  We can always use more help.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VCJ7KPK

Championship Information
Relays are not final and are subject to change at the discretion of the coaching staff. Freestyle relays are determined by individual freestyle times at prelims...if your swimmer is not in a free relay and wants to be, that can be good motivation for prelims! If your swimmer is not swimming freestyle as an individual event they can time trial a sprint at practice on Wednesday.

Our Championship prelims are at Amphi pool this Thursday, July 11. Warmups begin at 7 am, but if you want a good spot I would get there early! The team will have shade canopies, but you are welcome to bring your own as well... Gates open at 6 am. Either way, please make sure your swimmer is there by 7 am and is ready to warm up. The meet begins at 8 am and is scheduled to last until at least 1 pm. Make sure you bring plenty of water, snacks, and ways to stay cool. Frozen wash cloths in a cooler feel really nice on your face, and frozen grapes were a favorite meet snack of mine. :) Thursday's events will include the medley relay (a final event...they will not swim it again on Friday), the 6&U backstroke, and all regular individual events.

If your swimmer finishes in the top 8 in their individual events, they will swim their event again on Friday at finals. Even if your swimmer does not make it into the top 8, you still need to be at finals! Almost all swimmers will be participating in a freestyle relay, and we need that Orca spirit cheering us on!

Championship finals are on Friday, July 12, also at Amphi pool. Warmups for finals begin at 4 pm and the meet starts at 5 pm. We meet at the First Watch on Speedway and Kolb at 2:45 pm to decorate vehicles and caravan down to Amphi for those who are interested! At finals, all of the top 8 swimmers (and possibly an alternate or two) will swim their individual events. 6&U freestyle is also on Friday, as are the free relays. The meet will go quickly since there is only one heat of each event. Afterward, we wait around for them to tally up the results and announce the winners, and then we go to Peter Piper Pizza on 22nd and Harrison to celebrate! (see the flyer in your folder for Peter Piper info.)

5/29/19
- Our first dual meet is next Tuesday! We will be hosting Highland Vista at our pool for a safari-themed night. If you have not yet signed up to volunteer, please contact Catherine Byars at [email protected] or check out the SignUpGenius. If you are not attending the meet (Tuesday, June 4) please opt out using the red opt out folder at the pool no later than Friday. I will be finalizing all entries this weekend and we want to be good hosts by not having empty lanes.

- The Scouts asked that we remind everyone that the speed limit on the property is 5 mph (barely moving, I know). Please be respectful of this speed limit (and remind your teenage drivers too) as the Scouts are starting camp next week and will have lots of extra kids on the grounds. 

- Finally, we would like to congratulate Carah Haynes (15-18) for earning last week's Swimmer of the Week award. This is Carah's first season as an Orca and she has really embraced all five pillars of the Orca Way-- sportsmanship, spirit, motivation, dedication, and excellence. You're awesome, Carah!

5/13/19
A few quick announcements for this week...

First, congratulations to Luke Harris (9-10) for earning last week's Swimmer of the Week! Luke regularly swims up with the 11-14s and worked SO hard last week on some of our toughest sets. Luke, thank you for attacking every practice and for having a great attitude!

Second, if you have an 11-14 or 15-18 swimmer, their goal sheets are due next Monday, May 20. If they haven't had a chance to pick one up at practice, I have attached them to this email for you to print out at home. (Make sure you print out the correct one...they are slightly different!)

Finally, our Red and Black meet is coming up this Friday! This is an important day, so please make every effort to be there. If you are not able to make it, please email me to let me know and don't forget to sign the opt out book for any future meets that you are unable to attend. The Red/Black meet gives us a chance to give all of our equipment a test run, gives our swimmers a chance to refresh their meet protocol before our first actual meet, and, most importantly, serves as a time trial meet to establish a baseline for the season (especially important for those 11-14 and 15-18 goal sheets).

All swimmers will swim all four events, with the exception of the 6&Us who only swim freestyle and backstroke. We will not be running any relays which will hopefully allow us to finish pretty early. We ask that all volunteers arrive by 4 pm, and everyone else no later than 4:25 pm so that we can get in the pool for warmup by 4:30 pm. The meet starts promptly at 5. Stay tuned for another email that will include the heat sheet, red/black team assignments and 8&U/15-18 buddy assignments.

If you have any questions, please let me know or ask a board member during practice!

5/6/19
We would like to congratulate Robert Sierra from the 15-18 group for earning last week's Swimmer of the Week! Robert has been putting in the work at practice the past few weeks despite some lingering pain from an injury. We want to recognize his perseverance and grit. Well done, Robert!

If you have an 11-14 or 15-18 swimmer, they will be coming home with a goal sheet this week. Please encourage them to fill out the sheet and get it back to me by Monday, May 20.

Finally, just a reminder that the Scouts need use of the pool this Wednesday, May 8, so we have to cancel the 8&UB practice. All other practices will swim at their normal time.

Stroke and turn clinic is this Saturday, May 11 at Udall Senior Center from 9-11 am.  Please consider going and becoming a stroke and turn official!

Be sure to put your child's name in the Opt-out binder if you are unable to attend the Red/black meet on May 17th.  Please try to make it if possible.  Times are taken at this meet to help determine placement of swimmers for our first dual meet.

Please supervise your 8 & under swimmers while at the pool.  Do not leave them at practice unattended unless they are in the water under the coaches supervision.

4/29/19
Hope you all had a great weekend and are hanging in there...the end of the school year is near!

We would like to congratulate Kelvin Lester (11-14 group) for earning last week's Swimmer of the Week! Kelly faithfully comes to practice and shows such interest in improving his technique through asking questions and applying stroke correction. Thank you for your diligence, Kelly!

This week begins our second training cycle where we start to swim a few more yards while still working technique. Your swimmers may be a little more hungry and/or tired than usual. Also, if you have an 11-14 or 15-18 swimmer, they will be coming home with a goal sheet sometime this week. It is to be filled out and turned back in to me by Monday, May 20.

A few upcoming dates to be aware of...

Our Chipotle fundraiser is on Monday, May 6 from 4-8 pm at the Chipotle on Grant and Tanque Verde. Chipotle donates 33% of the proceeds back to the team, so hope to see you there! (We will still hold regular practices that night, with the exception of the 15-18s possibly getting out early to go to Chipotle together.)

Unfortunately, the Scouts need use of the pool on Wednesday, May 8 until 5 pm, so we will have to cancel our 8&UB practice that day. All other groups will still swim at their normal time.

Finally, if you have not signed up for our Remind text updates, we would encourage you to do so! We send out short texts once in a while, mainly about last-minute issues such as weather cancellations. You can join at any time by texting @orcasswim to 81010

4/22/19
Time for our weekly "Coach's Corner" update!

Despite the weather continuing to be unpredictable (ummm our 8&UB kiddos who swam in torrential downpours last week are tough as nails), our season is off to a great start. The coaching staff has been so pleased with the new age group arrangements (9-10, 11-14 and 15-18 instead of 9-12 and 13-18) and we hope you are too. Be sure to let us know what you think on the end-of-season survey that we'll send out in July.

We would like to recognize two swimmers of the week from last week... First is Levi Notheis from the 8&UB age group who wanted to keep swimming even though he got multiple bloody noses (don't worry, we got him out). Way to persevere, Levi! We would also like to recognize Olivia Rodriguez from the 11-14 age group. This is Olivia's first year on swim team and she approaches every practice with a can-do attitude and zero complaining. Thank you, Olivia!

Be sure to check out the team website for updates and upcoming events. The next two weeks are a normal practice schedule, and our next event will be the Chipotle fundraiser on Monday, May 6.

As always, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. :)