Hi Dolphin Families!

I hope you all are having a fun and relaxing weekend! The coaches are thrilled to kick practices into high gear this week, and we’re so excited for a summer full of swimming and fun! Thank you as well to everyone who attended Thursday’s parent meeting – it was great to see so many enthusiastic faces ready to dive into another amazing season!

Below is the information covered in the meeting. As always, please feel free to contact me if you have questions.

Practice Schedule: Our regular practice schedule officially begins Tuesday evening.
This season, we are implementing a new morning practice schedule so that swimmers can receive more focused attention from coaches. The goal is to give each age group a better practice environment and allow coaches to work more directly with individual swimmers.

• Morning Practices (Monday/Wednesday/Thursday/Saturday):
• 6 & under + beginners: 8:00-8:30am
• 7 & 8 swimmers: 9:00-9:30am
• 9 & 10 swimmers: 8:30-9:30am
• 11 & older swimmers: 8:00-9:00am
• Evening Practices (Tuesday/Wednesday):
• 8 & under + beginners: 6:00-6:30pm
• 9 & older swimmers: 6:30-7:30pm

Our practice groups are designed to help swimmers get the right level of coaching and attention. While it generally works to divide the groups by age, not everyone starts swim team at the same time and therefore sometimes we need to move swimmers around so they are working on what will most benefit them. If you have questions about which group your swimmers should attend, please come talk with me!

Our first meet (our intrasquad meet) is THURSDAY! Sign-ups are now open on our website. Please confirm your swimmer’s attendance as soon as possible!

• All future meets are also available for sign up
• Attendance must be confirmed by 9:00pm two nights before each meet. If you do not confirm attendance on the website, we’ll assume your swimmer is not attending. I will do my best to send reminders, but please do not depend on them as your only cue to sign up. Meet entries take a lot of time, and late changes can be difficult and often impossible once entries are built.

To sign up, go to the Meets and Events tab and click the green “Meet Entry” button for the meet you’d like to confirm.

Note: Not every swimmer will swim every event at every meet. We are a BIG team, and CASL meets have limits on certain events. Freestyle and backstroke allow unlimited entries, however, breaststroke, butterfly, IM, and relays are limited to one heat per age group. That means coaches can only enter 2-4 swimmers per age group, depending on the size of the pool, in those events. Because of this, swimmers may not always get to swim every event they want at every meet.

Once the coaches see that a swimmer’s stroke is legal, we will do our best to give them opportunities to swim those limited events when possible. We will rotate events throughout the season so that swimmers have chances to try different races and shine in different ways. Thanks in advance for your flexibility and support!

Team Goals for the Season: This summer we will be focusing on three big goals.

1. Have fun and build team spirit. We want every swimmer to look forward to practice, make friends, and feel proud to be a Dolphin! Creating a positive team environment where swimmers support each other is a top priority.
2. Develop legal, confident technique. We want to teach swimmers the correct strokes, starts, and turns. We’ll always prioritize swimming right over swimming fast. Mastering technique builds confidence and long-term success.
3. Celebrate progress and personal bests. Whether it’s a faster time, a stronger kick, or trying something new, we’ll track each swimmer’s progress and celebrate their wins.

Pool Rules Reminder: For everyone’s safety and to keep practices focused, please remember only swimmers currently practicing should be in the water (this includes the baby pool). Please help make sure there are no siblings – or parents – in the water during practice times. Thanks for your help in keeping the deck safe and distraction-free!

Swim Meet Etiquette & Expectations

• Sit with the team during meets. At home meets, we sit on the wooded side of the deck. Folding chairs are helpful as seating is limited.
• Send swimmers 8 and younger with our “rounder-uppers” when it is their turn to swim. Please do not bring them to the blocks yourself as it is VERY busy back there! Our fantastic volunteers will get your swimmer where they need to go.
• Let the coaches take the lead behind the blocks – it helps things run smoothly and keeps swimmers focused. You are more than welcome to cheer from the side or from the non-block end of the pool. Once their swim is over, they are all yours again!
• Cheer loudly and often – positive energy makes a big difference!
• Stay quiet at the start of each race so swimmers on the blocks can hear the whistle and starter.
• Team suits and caps are optional, but we encourage wearing the team cap when possible. Caps will be available for purchase at the Blue vs White meet this Thursday.
• No caps or suits with other team logos or names during meets.
• No suits or tops with bows or ties (ties on trunks/bottoms are fine) during meets.

Let’s make this season unforgettable!
Ridgeside, Ridgeside, RAH RAH RAH!!

-- Coach Janelle