Dear Dolphin parents,

Wow, what a season! I just want to extend a heartfelt thank you for making this season such an incredible one! Coaching the Dolphins is the thing I most look forward to each summer and I am so grateful to continue to be a part of this team!

I want to take a moment to recognize our award winners for those who were unable to make it to our season party this past Sunday. Please join us in congratulating each one of these swimmers for their hard work!

• Coaches Awards: This award honors two swimmers who consistently demonstrate a positive attitude, strong work ethic, coachability, team spirit, and dedication to improving throughout the season. These swimmers always put the team first, are always ready to take on any event (often in older age groups) and do so with dedication and enthusiasm. They lead by example through their hard work, support of teammates, and celebration of others' successes. This year’s recipients were Jack Cutler and Annika Fischer.
• Heart of the Pod Spirit Award: This award honors the swimmer(s) who bring joy, encouragement, and positive energy to the team. This swimmer cheers for teammates, helps create a fun and welcoming team environment, and reminds us that team spirit is just as important as what happens in the water. This swimmer helps bring the team together and represents the heart of what makes Ridgeside special. This year’s winners were Ben Fox and Joe Whited.
• Dorsal Fin Leadership Award: This award recognizes a swimmer who leads by example through responsibility, encouragement, maturity, and a team-first attitude. This swimmer is someone others can look to for guidance, whether by listening well, working hard, helping younger swimmers, staying positive, or setting the tone at practice and meets. This year’s recipient was Weston Hamilton.
• Iron Dolphin Dedication Award: This award is a new award and recognizes a swimmer who embraces the season with determination, courage and a willingness to grow. This swimmer stepped into challenges with a positive attitude, worked hard to build confidence and skill, and showed steady progress through consistent effort. Whether at practice or in meets, this swimmer kept showing up, kept trying, and proved that dedication can make a powerful difference over the course of a season. This year's recipient was Colby Watts.
• Most Improved: From our first meet to our last, the Ridgeside Dolphins dropped a combined total of 736.52 seconds across all events, which is truly incredible! This year, we recognized one swimmer from each age group who showed the most individual improvement over the course of the season. Our 2026 Most Improved Swimmers are:

Addie Brown (6 & under Girls – 11.23s)
Willy Ellis (6 & under Boys – 23.74s)
Isla Rowe (7/8 Girls – 13.92s)
Otto Zylstra (7/8 Boys – 41.54s)
Josie Quillen (9/10 Girls – 7.48s)
Joshua Whited (9/10 Boys – 12.97s)
Ivy Taylor (11/12 Girls – 11.59s)
Jamison Doescher (11/12 Boys – 26.14s)
Madelaine Ellis (13/14 Girls – 11.82s)
Siler Nance (13/14 Boys - 9.10s)
Elizabeth Grace Schrader (15 & over Girls – 6.89s)
Kenny Suttles (15 & over Boys – 17.73s)

I am so proud of everything your swimmers have achieved this summer. My goal is always to help our kids develop a genuine love of swimming, learn to race the legal strokes, and become teammates who cheer loudly for one another while showing kindness and good sportsmanship to every team we face. It has been wonderful to see how fully they embraced those goals this year! You have raised some truly amazing kids!

As coaches, we strive to create an environment where your children feel excited to come to practice, feel confident enough to try new things, and are proud to be part of this amazing team. More than anything, we hope they leave this season loving swimming a little more than they did when it began.

The culture we are building at Ridgeside does not happen by accident. It is a testament to the values you have instilled at home and the heart your kids bring to this team. I am incredibly thankful for each of you, and I hope you know that the time and effort you put into getting your swimmers to practice and volunteering at meets have not gone unnoticed. Thank you for all you have done to support these kids and this team!

And guess what? I’m already counting down to next season! Look for 2027 registration to open in about 262 days!

Thank you again for such an amazing season. Here's to fast swims and tons of fun!

-- Coach Janelle