Weekly Update from Coach Jeanne, February 8, 2010
Hello Junior Warriors families,
We had a great meet with Flaherty yesterday… very competitive and exciting. While we didn’t win, all the swimmers at the meet had fantastic swims. Each swimmer put in that extra effort to swim fast and touch the wall ahead of the person next to them. We just came up a little short! We are hopeful that the loss yesterday (something the kids have not experienced on our team in several years) will get everyone fired up for championships and remind them that we are a team and we need to work together to achieve our goals.
A few things we need to work on before championships…good streamlines, turns and finishes. We will be talking to the kids about practicing their turns and finishes (particularly backstroke) when warming up at an away meet. Every pool is different so swimmers need to feel comfortable with the turns and finishes. We will also continue to emphasize the importance of doing legal turns and finishes in practice. If you don’t do them right in practice, you are more likely not to do them right in a meet.
News for this week…
- Swimmers of the Week – This week’s swimmers of the week are Fiona McHarg, Phoebe Morss, Jack Schwartz and Charlie Cundari. Fiona, Jack and Charlie all swam events at the Flaherty meet that are not necessarily their favorite. However, in each case their swims earned crucial points for our team. Not one of them complained about swimming an “off event” and they truly swam their best for the team. In several cases they were the only Wayland swimmer in their event! Phoebe had a phenomenal relay swim at the end of the meet to touch out her opponent. She was a bit behind going into the final relay leg against a girl who had touched her out in the 50 free. Knowing that the meet was very close, she put her head down and swam her heart out and hit the wall first. True team efforts by all four swimmers. Congratulations Fiona, Phoebe, Jack and Charlie!
- Intra Squad Meet – Mark your calendars for our second annual intra squad meet! It will take place on Saturday, Feb. 27th at 2:00 pm. We will not practice Sunday, Feb. 28th (spelling bee). Since we have a month between our last dual meet and championships, the intra squad meet will give swimmers a chance to race before the championship meet. More details to follow!
- February Vacation Schedule – We will be offering some optional practices for those of you who are around during Feb. break. A separate email will be sent with the schedule.
- Stroke Clinic – Jen Dutton, one of our coaches, will be offering a stroke clinic during February vacation again this year. A separate email will be sent with the details.
- Championship Meet – The championship meet is Saturday, March 6that Boston University. We assume that every member of the team will be swimming in the meet. Please let Jeanne know if there is any issue with your child participating in the meet. It is a fun meet and a great way to end the season. The meet will be split into 2 sessions:
– 10&unders – Appx. 8:00 am – 1:00 pm
– 11&older – Appx. 3:00 pm – 8:00 pm
More details will follow as the date gets closer.
- Missing Team Suits – Brian Carmichael and Abby Obar are missing their team suits. Please check your kids’ swim bags and suits and see if you might have their suits…names should be on the inside tag.
- Money Raised for Haiti – Last week we raised $120 from our pizza sales that will be sent to the Red Cross for relief in Haiti. Thanks to everyone for making this happen!
- Pizza Night Help Needed – We are in need of some people to help with the early shift on the next few pizza Thursdays. Please contact Maureen Tillett (mctillett@verizon.net) if you can help.
That is it for this week! See you at the pool!
Jeanne