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Ghoulish Greetings!

Happy Halloween!  With the weather still on the warm side, it is hard to imagine that it is the end of October and Halloween is Friday!  After the festivities of last Friday and Saturday night, I am excited to say it does feel a little bit more like the Fall time of the year!  With the BEST Team Halloween Party last Friday and then our first "Blue Boo Outing" last Saturday night to the Fear Farm, I am looking forward to seeing Trick-or-Treaters on Friday and the cooler weather!  A big thanks goes out to the Blue Parents who drove and chaperoned the trip to the Fear Farm-Mrs Dorsey; Mr. & Mrs. Downing; Dr. Kelly; Mrs. King; Mrs. Mann and Mrs. Rall (Torres).  We had 35 people take part in the outing-including Coach Tako; Noricko and Harrison Gibson!   I am not sure who had more fun, the parents or the swimmers!  We all got our share of screams; corn; "clowns; chain saws and food!  *A special thanks to Dr. Kelly, who (because he is such a great guy) was given 35 "Fast Track" bracelets for all of us!!  I cannot wait until our next team outing!

Practice Schedule Changes:

Friday, October 31st=NO PRACTICE  Happy Halloween!  I hope EVERYONE goes out and has some fun!!

Saturday, November 1st=NO PRACTICE-Due to high school regional swim meet @ BEST.  Enjoy a true Saturday!!

Upcoming Swim Meets

*Swim Neptunes' "Turkey Invitational=Saturday-Sunday, November 22-23rd.  I will be asking the swimmers for input in the next few days.  I need to know if you are NOT going to meet no later than Wednesday, November 12th!!

*Holiday Fest=Thursday-Sunday, December 4-7th.  Must have qualifying times for this meet.  Info to distributed in the next week or two.  this is a prelims/finals meet.  We will try to offer a practice either Friday or Saturday for those who are not swimming in this meet.  More info to follow.

*Gauchos Meet=Saturday-Sunday, December 13-14th.  Everyone is eligible for this meet, as it is a NTS Meet.  More info to follow.

*BEST Travel Meet-Indianapolis, IN.=January 15-18th, 2009.  Must have qualifying times to attend this meet.  We have 60+ Swimmers signed up to date.  Can use the above meets to qualify.  The IUPUI Natatorium is an amazing faciltiy to swim in. let alone visit! 

Blue Monthly Practice Schedule

Look for a new Blue Monthly Practice Schedule in mailboxes and by e-mail next Wednesday, November 5th.  (This schedule will run November 5th-December 7th)

Blue's October Test Set Results:

The October Test Set(s) Results will be distributed and posted next week also.  This will give both insight and feedback to the athletes.  Maybe the swimmers will share the info with their parents!!  *I can definitely see a difference in the level of motivation and focus (even anticipation) on the test set days!  Everyone is learning together!

Goal-setting Update:

The goal-sheets that everyone worked so hard on will be returned next week and we will spend some group time together each week leading up to the Neptune Meet and following through the Holiday Fest and Gauchos Meet in December.  Then, it will be time for an update/2nd phase of goal-setting for the season.

Upcoming Events/Happenings:

*Individual Video-taping (to begin on Saturday, November 15th)

*November/December Blue Community Service Project.  This is the time of year when we all need to be thankful for what we have been blessed with and share/give back to those less fortunate in the community.  (I am working on several ideas already)

*December Holiday Party Plans!! 

Thank you again for all of the fun last weekend and your support!  We all need time away from the pool and practice to get to know each other and share some "chatter and laughter!"  NOTHING beats seeing children/young people smile and having fun with their peers!  As we move into the holiday season, we all need to focus on the good and joy in the world!  As Coach Dave and I constantly remind each other-always remember to "catch people (Children) doing good things."  We guarantee there won't be nearly as much negative!!   

Coach Jennifer

Greetings Everyone!

Hope everyone has been enjoying the amazing weather!  Surely no one can be in a bad mood with this weather and endless sunshine!  Who would want to be anywhere else? 

Thanks for everyone's understanding of me being gone last Friday and Saturday.  Coach Dave and I were guest speakers at the Oregon Swim Coaches Association Fall Clinic.  I don't know how much was gained from the two talks that I presented, but it was a great 24 hours!  It was my first time in Oregon and it was perfect Fall weather!  I got to see a little peak of Portland; the clear viewing of both Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helen's was gorgeous and the Oregon Coaches were a fun bunch to share the day with!  I talked a lot about my Starfish and Rising Star Swimmers in the morning talk and a lot on the Blue Swimmers in my afternoon talk!  I did get to hear one talk and it was on a creative approach to dryland.  A lot of it was aimed at Senior swimmers, but I came away being motivated and armed with several new ideas.

 This week the Blue Swimmers had their first Goal-setting Session.  Of course, this included both food and lots of gabbing!!  Parents, you would be impressed at how well your children can talk and STILL do a great job of working on their goals!  About three fourths of the group completed goals on all four 100's & 200's of the four strokes; 200 & 400 IM and the 500 Free.  I am in the process of studying these detailed goal sheets and making a few minor changes and/or suggestions.  Upon completion, they will get these back and we will finish these together.  I sure hope that by going through this process, the swimmers will feel more confident in thinking about using these goals in their planning before meets and in the time before they race while at the meets (pre-race rituals).  We are learning!

Following are several reminders for everyone-

Schedule:

*Regular schedule for the remainder of this week.  That includes Saturday morning!!  7:15-8:00a.m.=Dryland/Swim=8-10:00a.m.

*Next week, Friday, October 24th=BEST Age Group Halloween Party.  Practice=5-6:00p.m. Party follows until approx. 8:30p.m.

*Saturday, October 25th-Practice=10-12Noon  Blue Party in the evening?  We have narrowed it down to either going to a Corn Maze or Lazer Tag.  They are voting and I will know on Thursday.

*Friday, October 31st=Happy Halloween!!  No Practice!  Have fun AND be safe!!

Dual Meet:

The BEST vs. Sun Devils Dual Swim Meet is this Sunday!!  The entries have been posted; sent in and a copy in your mailboxes.  Everyone can swim three events each.  There are relays.  We will post those.  Warm-Ups=9:00a.m./Meet starts=10:00a.m.  The meet is at ASU's Plummer Aquatic Center.  Please arrive by 8:45a.m. and be ready to "jump" in for warm-ups at 9:00 sharp!  Good Luck to everyone.  it should be a fun meet!

Indianapolis Travel Meet:

We still have plenty of time to sign up for Indy Travel Trip in January.  Right now Blue has eight (8) Swimmers signed up to go.  I sure hope that we have several more swimmers who can make the trip.  I have attended this meet many times.  It is a great meet and in one of the fastest pools in the world!  The "Nat" is world famous for swimming!  Swimmers attending this meet will need to have at least 75% attendance and four (4) cuts.  Any questions, please ask!

I hope everyone has a great end of week and I am looking forward to Sunday's meet!  "Let's go racing!"

Thanks for your support!

Coach Jennifer

Hello Everyone!

Congratulations to everyone in Blue on the great "early season" display of BEST Swimming!  Everyone in the group who swam in the BEST Intrasquad Meet went at least one new best time!  Since I was not writing splits, I was able to watch and observe more about the group's overall swimming.  Strengths included the group technique in our Freestyle and our Butterfly in the 200 IM.  Starts and breakouts looked solid and finishes are improving!  Areas that stood out that need our attention and work are breathing in and out of turns; Backstroke turns and finishes; Breaststroke race strategy.   Oh, by the way,,,the White Team won!!

Schedule:  We do have some changes coming up in the next few weeks to remind everyone about-

*I told the Blue Swimmers they can pick between coming to practice Friday night (5:30-7:15p.m.) OR attending a Sunday practice this week(12Noon-2:00p.m.).  I do not want them at both!  They will have seven (7) days of swimming offered to them this coming week due to the SDA-BEST Dual Meet on Sunday, October 19th.

*Saturday, October 11th-Practice is with Coach Kevin and Red due to Coach Jennifer (and Dave) speaking at the Oregon Swim Coaches Clinic on Saturday.  10-11:45a.m.

*Sunday, October 12th-Optional Blue Practice (12Noon-2:00p.m.)

*Tuesday, October 14th-Blue Goal-Setting Session.  Pizza @ 5:30p.m.  Goal-setting=6-7:45p.m.  PLEASE attend if you can!!  Let's make sure those who have not turned in their preliminary goal sheets due so this week!!

*Sunday, October 19th=BEST vs. SDA Dual Meet @ ASU-Pliummer Aquatic Center.  Info is in mailboxes on Thursday.  Everyone can swim three (3) individual events each.

*Friday, Otober 24th=BEST Team Halloween Party.  Practice will be 5-6:00p.m.  More info to follow!

*Saturday, October 25th-Practice is changes to 10-12Noon!!!!  We are having a Fall Blue Party!!!  More info to follow!

*Friday, October 31st=Halloween-NO Practice!!!  Have fun and be safe!!

*Saturday, November 1st=Practice TBA due to the High School Regional Meet held @ our pool.

**REMEMBER TO FOLLOW THE BLUE MONTHLY SCHEDULE FOR DAILY DETAILS!!**

Blue Strokework Update:  Now that the group has completed a four (4) week progression of viewing stroke video on each of the four (4) strokes: we learned and perfected many new drills; worked on starts; turns and underwater involving each of the four strokes, we are ready to progress to the next phase of the season.  This time frame was capped off with the BEST Team Intrasquad Meet as our first testing point.  The group did an amazing job in being attentive; open-minded and supportive of each other while focusing on a stroke each week.  We had a huge breakthrough in "coaching" each other.  I have encouraged them to help each other with their strengths and weaknesses.  I cannot see everything all the time.  I have encouraged them to mention it to their teammates when they see a technique or idea that they can help them with or compliment them on when they notice something great!  This is what being a teammate is all about!

I am very excited to "up" the training now!!  Oh, we will NOT end our strokework by any means, just need to start incresing the training aspect of the practices for this age group and level of swimmer.  One of the areas that we will add in the next phase is the use of Test Sets.  As you have seen, I introduced the first round of these seasnal test sets on the Blue October monthly schedule. 

Test Sets:  Two weeks ago, I spent time trying to figure out how I could most effectively use test sets to benefit this age and level of swimmer.  As a long-time age group coach, I do not believe that test sets should be a big focus of age group swimming.  Instead make use of this as a learning opportunity.  When deciding what to choose as a test set, I really tried to focus on it from the angle of "what can I teach/what can they learn or gain from doing this set or having this experience in practice?"  That is how I came to focus on using a rotating basis for 4-5 basic areas to test and mesure.  Speed Sets-pushing them to their limit (testing their limits!); Kicking; IM Test Sets; Distance Sets and Peer-Observed Sets of measurement.  By introducing them to Test Sets at this level, it will help make them more confident in facing; expecting and accepting challenges in workouts AND hopefully help prepare them for their best racing by giving them the feedback from these performances in the practice setting.  Hopefully their confidence will increase and help make it a more natural progression to take these lessons learned in practice and apply them to their racing environment and situations.

I will be posting and explaining Test Set results to the group.  Everyone will receive copies of the test set results.  I will continue to talk about and explain the actual test sets as we do them throughout each month's cycle.

Upcoming Swim Meets:  Following is the meet schedule for the upcoming month (s)-

*BEST vs. SDA Dual Meet-Sunday, October 19th  Info in mailboxes!  Please let me know ASAP if you CANNOT attend this meet!  Everyone swims three (3) events.

*Neptune 14 & Under NTS Meet-Saturday-Sunday, November 22-23rd. 

*Holiday Fest-Thursday-Sunday, December 4-7th

*AZ Gauchos Meet-Saturday-Sunday, December 13-14th.

Indianapolis Travel Meet:  This team travel meet is scheduled for Thursday, January 15-Monday, January 19th.  Everyone should have received both the meet and team travel information.  11-12'="BB" Times requiered/13-14="A" Time requiered.  The Blue Swimmers need to have at least 4 qualifying times and 75% attendance to attend this meet.  Flight information is available.  Please sign up in the office, if you are interested in attending this travel meet! 

I do know that a few parents feel that this was not a true team travel meet opportunity.  The time standards for the 12 & Unders are VERY lenient.  When attending any prelim/final meet with Seniors, the time standards are generally tighter for the 13 & overs.  Some think we are traveling too far.  This is exactly why we did not travel at all last summer!  We try to provide a variety of travel opportunities.  For two summers we had travel trips to San Diego and Tuscon.  We looked at several locations and this seemed to offer an opportunity to a majority of our swimmers and it is one of the best facilities in the world!  We want everyone to have an opportunity to partake in a travel trip whenever possible.  Please know that I realize every family situation is different.  It is a costly weekend!  Trust me I know, I have one that I am sending on this trip also!  One suggestion for funding this trip came from a Blue Parent-in their family, they are going to request Christmas money from Grandma, etc instead of toys; clothes or gadgets.  Just an idea. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to ask me!

Blue Social Time:  Hey Blue, are you guys ready for a party?!  Coach Jenn is!  Hopefully you noticed on the Blue monthly calendar the Blue Party Day...Saturday, October 25th.  My plan is to have a later morning practice; do a group lunch and either go to a corn maize; lazer tag or a movie.  More into to follow.

Thank you to everyone for their early season support!  I am thrilled with the group's progressions.  We definitely were ready to race on Saturday.  Everyone is in a better mood and calmer again.  Ready to get down to business!  Thanks for your understanding in the days that I am not on deck.  I flew to Indiana and drove with my parents back to Phoenix the last three days.  It was a time I know I will cherish in the future!  Take care!  -Coach Jennifer

Good Evening!

Thank you to everyone who attended the Blue Parent Meeting on Monday night!  Hopefully the information was informative and everyone feels like we are on the same page as we move ahead with the new season!

Not a lot of new items-since we just met Monday night, but I do have several of important reminders for everyone covering the next few weeks as we head into October.

*Schedule/Practice Changes:

Saturday, September 27th=NO a.m. practice due to the Brophy/Xavier high School Invite.  Blue WILL have an afternoon workout.  I am waiting on the time okay from Sandy Lee.  I will e-mail everyone in Blue on Thursday.  It will either be 2:30-4:30p.m. or 3-5:00p.m.

Saturday, October 4th=NO Practice due to the BEST Team Intrasquad Meet.  Warm Ups=8:00a.m./Meet=9:00a.m.  I am hoping we will be done around 12:30-1:00p.m.  PLEASE let coach Jennifer know ASAP if you cannot attend the Intrasquad Meet.  I will do the entries on Friday, September 26th.

*Updated Blue Schedules  As I discussed in the Blue Parent Meeting, I am making a few minor adjustments to the Blue weekly schedule.  Starting next week-Monday, September 29th-Tuesdays & Thursdays=6-7:45p.m. (Not 5:45-7:30p.m.) & Saturdays=7:15-10:00a.m.

AND then, remember, that I do monthly schedules with the day-to-day plan for Blue.  These come out every 4-5 weeks.  These have many details for the Swimmers.  THIS is THE schedule that shows changes and updates that may deviate from the normal set schedule for Blue!  I have e-mailed this out to the parents each time also.  I would post this in a couple of places for both you and your swimmer to refer to!

*Info/Goal-setting Packages:  Also, at the Parent Meeting I handed out packets for each athlete to start filling out.  PLEASE make sure your athlete gets these.  I would like these back by Friday, October 3rd...at the latest!  I would like the info on them and we will be doing a group goal-setting session that the goal sheets will help them.

*Blue Goal-Setting Session:  Each Fall I like to take one evening practice time and do goal-setting as a group.  This has proved to be very productive!  They seem to follow-through on it better when with the coach and their swimming peers.  I am planning this first session for either Thursday, October 9th or Tuesday, October 14th.  I will confirm this next week for everyone.  Hopefully, everyone can be in attendance.  After the first group goal-setting session, I will begin to meet with them individually.

*Upcoming Meets/Activities: 

Saturday, October 4th=BEST Team Intrasquad Swim Meet. Warm Ups=8:00/Meet=9:00a.m.

Sunday, October 19th=BEST vs. Sun Devil Aquatics Dual Meet @ ASU (Time TBA)

Friday, October 24th=BEST Team Halloween Party.  Details TBA.

Thank you so much for both your support of BEST and myself, but also of your children!

Coach Jennifer

We are now approaching the end of the 2nd week of the summer training schedule!  Wow!  The Blue group has REALLY come a long way in just two weeks!  I am really proud of the progress that everyone has made-both in terms of practice efforts and personal growth!  We are beginning to see the positive results of the group working together.  Let's keep working together and as I have been telling them, we ALL will reap the benefits!!!  I am very proud of them and I am having a lot of fun with workouts!  They are my motivation.

Schedule Reminders:

Friday, June 13th-NO DRYLAND!!!  Practice=9-11:00a.m.

Saturday, June 14th-Practice=8-10:00a.m.

Thursday, June 19th=Practice times TBA due to visiting teams & meet prep

Friday, June 20th=Everyone @ swim meet or NO Practices!

Saturday, June 21st=Everyone @ swim meet or NO Practices!

Practices:

As I stated above, the quality of practices over the last week and half have been impressive!  I have witnessed a lot of personal growth and effort.  A couple of thoughts concerning the weekly schedule-

Mondays and Tuesdays are work days!!  I try to cover all four strokes with drilling and kicking; a good Free and IM set; and a little speed work.  On Wednesdays, I base the workout on those who have attended Monday & doubles on Tuesday.  So it is a recovery/stroke work focus practice.  On Thursday, they seem fresher and ready to focus again.  Thursday seems to be their best day for focusing!!  I try to push one workout on Thursday and Friday's workout towards distance.  On Saturday we do a long warm-up (meet like) and speedwork.

Two other thoughts.  On the double days, I try to go around 10,000-11,000m total of the two workouts.  And I do try to have good interaction through conversation-both one on one and group.  I am trying to encourage a postive environment that they are proud to contribute to.  As we continue through the summer, I will take opportunities to pull them aside and talk with them about their goals one on one.

Remember, if they do have to miss the morning workouts, there are make-up workouts offered on Monday/Tuesday/Thursday evenings from 6-7:30p.m.  Coach Kevin leads the Monday session and I coach the Tuesday and Thursday sessions.

Swim Meets:

Good job to those Blue Swimmers who attended the Flagstaff Meet last weekend!  It is always a true challenge to race/perform at altitude!  Remember, going best times isn't always the only way for us to grow and learn.  Pushing yourself through a new challenge is though!  Congrats to Ian McIlwraith for winning high point for the 11-12 boys and to Logan Bianchi and Sofia Abrate for being high point runner-ups for the 11-12 and 13-14 girls repectfully.

Next Friday, June 20th & Saturday, June 21st, the group will be participating in the Sparky Invite at the ASU/Mona Plummer facility.  The warm-up times are as follows:

Friday & Saturday a.m. (13 & Overs)-Warm-Ups=7:00a.m./Meet start=8:00a.m.

Friday p.m. (12 & Unders)-Warm-Ups=1:00p.m./Meet start=2:00p.m.

Saturday p.m. (12 & Unders)-Warm-Ups=1:30p.m./Meet start=2:30p.m.  *This is a change!!

New Swimmers:

Blue has several new additions in the last two weeks-

Welcome back to Tait Radcliffe!!  The group was THRILLED to see him appear at dryland last week!  We are happy to have you back!!

Also, we have a group of Red Swimmers who are transitioning to Blue over the summer.  They will be attending Blue practices on Monday & Wednesday each week.  Those swimmers include-Paul Jacobs; Allison Mann; Katie Rottman; Kassidy Schmidt & Bria Spellman.  Please help make these swimmers feel welcome.  Also, Bria is new to the BEST team.  Welcome Bria!

Goal-setting:

The Blue group will be spending some time on both Monday and Tuesday of next week.  We will use Monday's dryland time and part of Tuesday's morning practice to work as a group and individually on this area of importance.  We will also be talking about meet readiness. 

 I will be distributing a laminated copy to each swimmer entitled "Keys to a Great Warm-up".  Throughout the year, I have discovered and rediscovered that this area of responsibility is a hard one for young swimmers.  They are just not sure how to best take care of themselves (their bodies) when approaching their pre-and post-race swims.  I was fortunate to work with a great age group coach in North Carolina who really helped me learn and expand my knowledge in helping young, developing swimmers gain their own knowledge and confidence in this area.  I only hope that I can pass along this info as well.  (A big thanks to Coach Patty Waldron for all of her help in this area!!)

In closing, I am wishing a very "Happy Father's Day" to all of the great BEST Dads out there!  I hope everyone has a great weekend and can enjoy AND APPRECIATE what our own Fathers have done for us in our lives! 

Thanks for sharing your great children with me!     -Coach Jennifer

Hello!

Hope this finds everyone looking forward to a great weekend!  I am finally successful at getting into this new blog system!!  I feel like I went through an initiation!

What a great weekend we just had!!  It was truly a Best Weekend with the Team Breakfast; Team Pictures; Intrasquad Meet and the Best Team Banquet!  I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did!  I felt renewed when I got to Monday!

BEST Intrasquad Swim Meet.  What fun it was to get back to "some racing" long course style!!  The Blue group looked very good/strong for early season.  It was nice to see everyone have an opportunity to race, but no pressure!  We had a great percentage of best times!  We had 74% best times for the group!The big point that I noticed was how strong everyone looked at the end of their races!  I am really glad that almost everyone got the opportunity to race the 200 Free.

BEST Team Banquet.  Wow!  Between the Red and Blue groups, we had a great turnout for the banquet on Sunday afternoon!  Everyone looked so nice, all dressed up!  The food and videos were great!  I just want all of you to know that I truly meant all of the positive words that I spoke about all of you!  You make this all worth while for me each and every day!  And I know the Best is yet to come for all of you!  A big congrats goes out to those of you who won special recognition awards:

Red Group Coaches Award=Logan Bianchi

Blue Group Coaches Award=Laura Gonzales & Brad Dorsey

Age Group Most Spirited Award=Emma Dromiack

Thanks to those of you who attended.  It is nice to have the opportunity to get together and celebrate our achievements and good fortunes that have been blessed upon this team over the past year! 

Blue Parent Meeting.  A big thank you to all of you who attended the Blue Parent Meeting last night!  It was really good to have the time to talk with all of you.  More than anything I wanted to provide more info on how I operate and my philosophy.  If you were not in attendance, I did put the entire meeting packet in your mailboxes.  Besides talking through the meeting outline, I did discuss several other items.  I will outline those thoughts for you below.  Besides the normal group stuff, I tried to expand on or give more insight into the areas that I feel are of utmost importance at this stage/level of swimming development.

*Practice thoughts (items of important with this group)=

-The Responsibility the Swimmer has in his own day-to-day approach to his swimming "learning to make each workout count";

-Stroke work vs. Training time.  We are now beginning to spend more time with training at least 3-4 days a week;

*Competition Thoughts=

Responsibility and the role that each swimmer has in his own success with competitions which now include the areas of Warming Up/Warming Down/The Learning & Implementing of Race Strategies;

*Dryland Focus=

Looking at both how dryland plays an ever-growing role of importance in the entire program from bottom to top;

How it can vary season to season.  Focusing on the running and increase of dryland during the spring and moving into more dryland maintenance in the summer season;

Other options that come into play during the summer as use of the dryland time frame:

*Mental Training.  When I began introducing several of these concepts to the Red Group late this past winter, I found that they were "hungry" to learn and that they wanted more of this.  Areas to explore and expand upon through this season include-Goal-setting (we will do goal-packets); Visualization (they love this exercise!); Focus Strategies; and possibly Relaxation skills.

As we explore these areas, I will try to keep the parents in the loop!

May Meets.  The entries for the May Meets are finished and posted.  Please double check the entries for the Gauchos Meet on May 17-18th &  Cactus Classic, May 23-26th.

June Meets.  The first of two June Meets is fast approaching.  The "Beat The Heat Meet" in Flagstaff is June 6-8th.  I will work on that entry May 20th.  Please make sure to sign up for this meet in the office, IF you are participating.

The second meet in June has been altered for the BEST age groupers.  Due to Arizona Swimming only approving the BEST Closed Invite for Senior Swimmers the weekend of June 20-22nd, the BEST age groupers are going to participate in the Sparky Invite, on June 20-22nd.  this meet is held at the ASU complex.  As soon as we have the information, we will get it to you.

Meet Contracts.  Thank you to those of you who have filled out and turned in the meet contracts that I distributed.  They sure helped me complete the May entries much quicker and more efficiently.  I do not want to enter swimmers who have no intention of participating and then YOU have to pay for it!  If you have not let me know your summer meet plans, please do so ASAP.  It helps me out greatly!

Summer Practice Schedule.  Remember the BEST Summer Practice Schedule goes into effect on Tuesday, May 27th.  VERY IMPORTANT...the Blue Group will follow Bronze's practice schedule Tuesday, May 27th-Saturday, May 31st!  This is due to Coach Jennifer being gone.  I am attending USA Swimming's National Open Water Select Camp and Championships as a team manager.  We will start the Blue summer schedule on Monday, June 2nd.  (I marked this on the copy of the Summer Schedule that I included in the Parent Meeting packet last night.)

Students In Summer School.  PLEASE make sure that I know if your Swimmer is attending Summer School.  Also, I need to know the times and the duration (start & finish dates) of their summer school session.  Between the workouts offered by the Bronze and Blue groups, EVERYONE will have ample opportunity to practice each week!  PLEASE GET ME THIS INFO ASAP!!!  I want to make sure these Swimmers have a schedule ahead of time that they know!!

Coming Soon.  GOAL-SETTING SESSION!!

As I close for now, I want to take a moment to wish a very special group of people...MOTHERS...a "Happy Mother's Day" to each and everyone of you!  I hope your day is special because of your family!  Relax and enjoy! 

Have a great weekend!

Coach Jennifer

Greetings and Welcome to the 2008 Long Course Season!! I just want all of you to know how excited I am to be working with your families.

We started off the new season with a detailed team meeting on Monday evening. I tried to cover anything and everything I could think of. The bottom line of the meeting was to not only communicate with them, but also "set the tone for a positive team training environment!" There is no room for any negativity! No one can excel to his or her potential if the negative has room to grow.

April/May Practice Schedule. As I stated in the e-mail sent out earlier this evening:
Mondays=6-7:45p.m. (Swim only)
Tue/Thu=5:30-7:45p.m. (Dryland & Swim)
Wednesdays=5-7:00p.m. (Swim only) THIS IS A CHANGE!! Start on Wed., April 16th.
Fridays=5:30-7:30p.m. (Swim only)
Saturdays=9-11:30a.m. (Dryland first & then Swim)

May Swim Meets. Our first long-course meets will happen in May:
*BEST Team Long Course Intrasquad Meet=Saturday, May 3rd. (Time line info to follow next week)
*Glendale Gauchos Swim Meet=Saturday, may 17th-Sunday, May 18th. If you do not qualify for the Cactus Classic Meet, you will be entered in the Gauchos Meet.
*Cactus Classic Swim Meet (Prelims/Finals)=Friday, may 23rd-Monday, May 26th. THE BLUE ENTRIES ARE POSTED ON THE AGE GROUP BULLETIN BOARD!! If you cannot attend, please let Coach Jennifer know ASAP!! I have entered EVERYONE who has qualifying times for this meet! I will also put the meet information in everyone's mailbox next week.

Blue Practice Equipment. All Blue Members need the following equipment on hand EACH and EVERY day of practice...starting next week:
Mesh bag for equipment
Water bottle
Kickboard
Buoy
Strokemaker Hand Paddles (Most everyone in this group should use the Green Size 1 paddles)
Snorkel
Fins (Blue & Orange Speedo ones are the preferred ones)
Positive Attitude!! :)

Blue Communication. Coach Jennifer feels regular communication with the families is VITAL!! I will use the following three modes of communication weekly:
Mailboxes for schedules; meet info
Weekly parent e-mails
Blog postings each week-either Wednesday afternoon or after Wednesday practices

The mode of communication I would first recommend to get in touch with me, is through e-mail. My e-mail address is jgibson@brophyprep.org.

Summer School Attendance. Parents, please send me your swimmer's summer school information/details ASAP either by e-mail or a written copy with your swimmer to practice. This will help me with practice attendance planning for the summer schedule!

I am looking forward to a fun and fast season of swimming with your children! If there is anything I can do to make the Blue Group a better experience for your swimmer, please do not hesitate to let me know! I want to work with everyone!

Please stay posted for our upcoming Blue Parent Meeting. This will happen in late April.
Thank you for your support of BEST and of your children!
-Coach Jennifer

Greetings and Welcome to the 2008 Long Course Season!! I just want all of you to know how excited I am to be working with your families.

We started off the new season with a detailed team meeting on Monday evening. I tried to cover anything and everything I could think of. The bottom line of the meeting was to not only communicate with them, but also "set the tone for a positive team training environment!" There is no room for any negativity! No one can excel to his or her potential if the negative has room to grow.

April/May Practice Schedule. As I stated in the e-mail sent out earlier this evening:
Mondays=6-7:45p.m. (Swim only)
Tue/Thu=5:30-7:45p.m. (Dryland & Swim)
Wednesdays=5-7:00p.m. (Swim only) THIS IS A CHANGE!! Start on Wed., April 16th.
Fridays=5:30-7:30p.m. (Swim only)
Saturdays=9-11:30a.m. (Dryland first & then Swim)

May Swim Meets. Our first long-course meets will happen in May:
*BEST Team Long Course Intrasquad Meet=Saturday, May 3rd. (Time line info to follow next week)
*Glendale Gauchos Swim Meet=Saturday, may 17th-Sunday, May 18th. If you do not qualify for the Cactus Classic Meet, you will be entered in the Gauchos Meet.
*Cactus Classic Swim Meet (Prelims/Finals)=Friday, may 23rd-Monday, May 26th. THE BLUE ENTRIES ARE POSTED ON THE AGE GROUP BULLETIN BOARD!! If you cannot attend, please let Coach Jennifer know ASAP!! I have entered EVERYONE who has qualifying times for this meet! I will also put the meet information in everyone's mailbox next week.

Blue Practice Equipment. All Blue Members need the following equipment on hand EACH and EVERY day of practice...starting next week:
Mesh bag for equipment
Water bottle
Kickboard
Buoy
Strokemaker Hand Paddles (Most everyone in this group should use the Green Size 1 paddles)
Snorkel
Fins (Blue & Orange Speedo ones are the preferred ones)
Positive Attitude!! :)

Blue Communication. Coach Jennifer feels regular communication with the families is VITAL!! I will use the following three modes of communication weekly:
Mailboxes for schedules; meet info
Weekly parent e-mails
Blog postings each week-either Wednesday afternoon or after Wednesday practices

The mode of communication I would first recommend to get in touch with me, is through e-mail. My e-mail address is jgibson@brophyprep.org.

Summer School Attendance. Parents, please send me your swimmer's summer school information/details ASAP either by e-mail or a written copy with your swimmer to practice. This will help me with practice attendance planning for the summer schedule!

I am looking forward to a fun and fast season of swimming with your children! If there is anything I can do to make the Blue Group a better experience for your swimmer, please do not hesitate to let me know! I want to work with everyone!

Please stay posted for our upcoming Blue Parent Meeting. This will happen in late April.
Thank you for your support of BEST and of your children!
-Coach Jennifer

Wow - what a great Sate Meet! Thank you for being on time, for warming-up and cooling down conscientiously, for giving your individual and your relay events equal importance, for coming to see me for feedback regardless of the way you felt about your race, and for being humbled by your successes. All of your practice efforts paid off in so many fantastic and exciting swims. We had 100% of the Blue group swim best times! Kudos to our individual event champions and runner-ups.

Practice times for this week remain 5:30-7:30 pm every evening. There will not be any practice on Friday, Saturday and Monday, March 21, 22, and 24. Have a happy Easter and travel safely if you are planning on leaving town!

For those attending the Far Western Meet, Coach Kevin is offering to run workouts on the days there is no regular practice as follows: Friday, March 21 = 10-11:30 am / Saturday, March 22 = 9:30-11 am / Monday, March 24 = 4-5:30 pm