Good morning!  Our season is finally here!  Welcome to every one of you, we are so glad you are with us this summer!  It is going to be a fun and fast summer and we are glad to get to do this together with you.

I know everyone has a million things on their plate this week, but PLEASE read through this email carefully because we need to get some important info out...

What to bring to practice: All swimmers need to come prepared in their suits, with water bottles, goggles, caps (if needed), towel, and some sort of comfortable shoes for drylands.

Sickness: If your child has a fever or vomits, please keep them home for 24 hours.  We are in pretty close contact all summer, and we can't afford to have sickness spread.  It is so much better to keep your swimmer home for one practice than to have multiple swimmers missing for days.  

Parents/siblings seating: Will continue to be outside the fence during all practices.  Feel free to bring a blanket or lawn chair and watch.  No food on the deck please.

Communication with Coaches: This is a BIG one.  Please know that we do want to hear from you if needed, but during practice is rarely the best time.  In order to keep all our swimmers safe, and progressing, we need to be able to focus on each group that is there, and sometimes we have 2 groups overlapping.  We have 5 shifts of practice times and most days, we are on the deck from 7 am to 12 noon.  If there is an emergency, please call my cell phone.  If it's just a heads up (running late, etc) feel free to text.  Anything else that can be texted or emailed, I will get back to you as soon as possible.  I LOVE this job, and our families, so I want to be realistic about how I can/will respond. Also, after being on the deck for 5 hours, when we finish at noon, we need to catch up on some things at home.  You all are great about this, but I just want to be sure everyone knows, I will get back to you you as soon as I can, it just won't often be immediately.

Behavior: Our swimmers are amazing, and they do such a great job of listening quickly and responding.  However, we know it's a little tricky given that their ears are often under water.  With safety always in mind though, we often try to act swiftly, to be most cautious.  If we see that children are not following instructions, we will address this and have them sit out for a few minutes.  We know what to expect from the various ages, but we have found that quickly and kindly addressing those not following instructions is helpful for their growth and the good of the whole group.  Please trust us on this, and support us.  If you hear us "yelling" at them while they're swimming, please know we're not actually yelling at them, we're trying to be loud enough for them to hear us while their ears are filled with water :)

Drop off/Staying at practice: You can drop your kids off for their practice, and don't have to stay.  Please be realistic about the ages and behavior of your child(ren).  Coaches are focusing on what's going on inside of the gate (or drylands) during practice times.  If you drop them early or pick them up late, or leave siblings, we can not be responsible for their safety or activities.  

Parking: There are lots of spaces in the pool parking lot.  Please though, leave the 2 spots to the right of the chain gate/drive area for the coaches.  Sometimes we have to run in and out quickly and/or load things into and out of our cars, and it is ideal for us to be able to use those spots.  Even if you are just pulling in to drop off your child, please don't use those 2 spots for that. Thank you for helping us with this!

Group text: We will be getting together a team/group app that we will need everyone to join for all quick, last minute communications, please be on the lookout for that info.

Weather: We do practice in LIGHT rain, but not heavy rain, lightning, or thunder.  We are also too big to try to keep everyone under the pavilion if we can't practice due to the weather.  Please keep an eye on your radars.  If it looks like there  is a possibility of bad weather, do not plan to drop your kids and leave the area. We will update on the app/email/fb page if we need to cancel or postpone practices.

We officially begin our season this Thursday 5/26. All returning swimmers will come to their normal practice time. NEW 9-10 year olds come during their practice time, only for an evaluation and are then done, and can begin Fri 5/27. NEW 8& Unders will wait until Fri 5/27 to come, they will be evaluated Friday during their practice time, then done for the day, and can begin Tues 5/31.

We understand that many of our families will be out of town this week and/or next. Thur and Fri of this week will still have workouts, but it will be at a slower pace, as we're taking time to set up lanes, place groups, get to know the kids, and see what works best for each group. Please be patient! We have found that taking the time to organize them best up front allows for more progress and less chaos later.  

Reminder that we have our stroke and turn clinic this Thurs, 5/26 at the pool pavilion from 6-8 pm.  If you haven't signed up yet, please see last week's email from Stacy Rector for that info.  Thank you to all of you who are coming!  

Thank you all!  Can't wait for Thursday.  If you have any questions, let me know!
Coach Jodi, 207.8878