Happy Father’s Day to all of our Dolphin Dads!

Please read through the entire email! There is important information regarding this week’s meet and practices! Thank you!

🐬Meet #2: Our second meet will be at Home against Raleigh Racquet on Tuesday, June 18th. Please be ready to warm up promptly at 5:00 (that means get to the pool before 5:00 so you have enough time to get settled and your swimmer has time to get their number and cap on). We turn over the pool to the other team for warm ups right at 5:30.

• Please consider walking to the pool if you are able, to free up spaces for parking. If you are driving, please be sure to park at the top of the hill to leave room for the visiting team to park close to the pool. We extend this courtesy to the visiting team at each home meet. Park with your car facing inward toward the field to allow for as many cars as possible to park.
• Please check your volunteer status for Tuesday’s meet. If you are unable to cover your volunteer slot please find a replacement. Please also be sure you have signed up for 4-5 volunteer slots this season. This does not include volunteering at social events, only meets. We need all the help we can get—we cannot run a meet without our volunteers!
• Volunteers should check in with Elizabeth, Lee Ellen, and Casey at the volunteer table when you arrive. All volunteers will meet promptly at 5:45 with our TSA Rep to review all positions.
• Concessions: We will be offering concessions to BBW neighbors during the home meet this week to encourage our neighbors to come down and cheer on our team and see what all the fun is about! Lines at the concession stand may be longer than usual.
• Gone List: The following families have marked themselves “not attending” this meet. If your swimmer will not be at the meet, and you are not on this list, or if your child gets sick that day or something else comes up, please let us know ASAP. Coach Ben @ 919-889-4232, Andrea 561-441-1085, or Jill @ 757-580-4021. Coach Ben sets the lineup on Sundays and it is really hard to change the meet lineup the day of the meet.

Walker Griffin

Avery Griffin

Frankie Hayes

Georgia Hayes

Jacob Hagan

Callie Chitsaz

Sloane Fryar

• We had a lot of children playing in the shallow end before the meet last week and would like to recommend that all children stay out of the water except when doing warmups. It makes for a lot of chaos, but it also tires out the swimmers unnecessarily. In addition, we had a lot of children in the pool during clean-up. This is a major safety concern! Zack Smith had to jump in to rescue one of our youngest swimmers during this time. It is hard to keep an eye on children in the water while attempting to quickly clean up the deck and get everyone home. Please do not allow your children to play in the water at the end of the meet.

🐬Practice Reminders:

• Pre-Practice and Post-Practice, please remind your swimmers that Ms. Mindy might be working with Juniors in the shallow end of the pool. We encourage you to remind them to not disturb them by staying out of the section that she is using. Our youngest swimmers safety is of top priority!
• Sick Policy: Please do not send your child to practice if they are sick! If your child has had a fever or other illness, please wait at least 24 hours fever-free or symptom-free (off of fever reducing medicines) before sending your child back to swim.
• WALKING ON DECK: Please remind your children to walk on deck. There has been a lot of running and this is unsafe for everyone!
• If using the shared toys, please return them to the bin when finished!
• BATHROOMS: Please check behind your swimmers in the bathrooms, especially those 7 and younger. We understand that they may be able to use the bathroom on their own at home, but the toilets may be different at the pool and it may be harder for them to properly use them. We have had several incidents this week of parents having to clean up messes made by children other than their own. 

🐬Coaches Corner

From Coach Ben: I hope everyone has had a nice weekend! This past week after the meet, we have been refining everyone’s strokes and we are still working on minimizing DQs for this upcoming meet on Tuesday. If your swimmer is not going to attend the meet, please mark that in Swimtopia or reach out to me, Jill, or Andrea. Thank you! Go Dolphins!

From Coach Mindy: Jr Dolphins!!

First I would like to give a huge shout out to the Jr Dolphins who swam in the first meet: Mary-Shepard swam unassisted in a main event, which means her swim made points for the team! Walker Griffin, June Gorski, and Nora Wagner, also did their best and made us very proud!

This Tuesday’s meet is also at home! I’d like the following to swim in it! Emmett and Carver Dumpor, Mary-Shepard Penick (unassisted), June Gorski, Abby Kennedy, Sydney Fuller, Nora and Claire Wagner, Vince Nicholsen, Bennett Bailey (free and back) and Nora Hudson! The last home meet is July 9th. All will be assisted, unless I have spoken to you and your dolphin. Any of my dolphins can swim in the away meets. I probably won’t attend to have the pool open to one on ones.

The team cheer that’s done before meet is: spelling out “S U P E R, super, super that’s what we are. G R E A T super great we’ll always be.” It is said 4x squatting and quietly cheering, each time we say cheer we get up and say it louder. I meant to go over this Thursday— but got distracted. We will do it at Monday’s practices. I can’t do the squat part because I will blow out a knee.

Dives—-With new divers, I prefer the start with arms straight in a streamline stance w head between arms. Once they grasp the streamline entry into water, they can do any other pose on the block. We need them to spring from the wall, into the water. I use the “ring of fire” hula hoop to get them going in straight legged over bent which turns into a jump. From the bent legged entry they go into water like a jump. They then have to recover from this jump and get to surface of water into the streamline. I’d rather them belly flop because it’s on the surface, without the deeper underwater coming to surface time. Once they are on water they start stroke. After learning and practicing this new dive, you back up a bit and discuss the momentum of the actual streamline and using it up prior to starting stroke. Meaning you get all the force of the streamline before strokes.

With free I ask them to take at least 5 strokes, (the more the better) before their first breath. Young Summer swimmers in meets, usually dive and immediately take a breath. With backstroke starts, they are using their legs to shove off wall. I use straight arms to get into a streamline. They go up and into water. Not shoving thru water with their back. Stroke arm count is 1-4. Again, arms come all the way up to ear. Fingers are together. With breaststroke, Iegally in a meet it is a long pull past hips, and a kick. As their arms begin next stroke, heads to break surface of water.

With Wees— still working on bubbles. Blowing surface, then chin in water, then face. We don’t want them forcing air out, just a gentle blow of bubbles. I have a few who will get into a streamline-body on surface of water, blow bubbles and pick up a toy. This gets them off the bottom of pool and into a swim position. Again, biggest hurdle with new swimmers is the face and slowly blowing those bubbles. Please practice the above with your dolphin!

The Mids continue to work on freestyle. Arms reach out not crossing the imaginary lines out from head. Crossing line keeps them from going in a straight line. Bent knees also will have them going side to side.

Pres worked on dives, backstroke and free.

The majority of the swimmers come ready to try, attempt work with me. Again, if your swimmer is tired or having a bad day, don’t force them. If it is an off day, let me know and I can figure out a make up.

Have a fun weekend! See you all next week

🐬SwimTopia: A really neat feature of the SwimTopia app is the ability to see what your children are swimming on the day of a meet and to see their results during/after the meet. On the main page of the app, scroll down under your names to Upcoming Events, and click on the meet. The events your child is swimming in will be listed here. It also shows what work shifts you have signed up for. If you’d like to see results from a past meet, click on Past Events directly to the right under “Upcoming.”

🐬SHADOWS: Steven Joseph shadowed under Bob Smith at this week’s meet for Stroke and Turn Judge and it worked out great! We’d love some more shadows for some of our heavier positions–managers, coach manager, volunteer coordinator, meet maestro, TSA, Stroke and Turn, clerk of course, etc. Please reach out if you are interested! We won’t be in these positions forever and will need others to take over in order to keep the team running–it would make the transition so much easier if you shadowed first to get a feel for what is required!

🐬Important Upcoming Dates

June 18th Meet at Home vs. Raleigh Racquet

June 22nd Saturday Clinic (TBD based on the meet)

June 25th Meet Away at Planter’s Walk

June 27th LUAU

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

See you at the pool!

🐬Go Dolphins!🐬

Jill and Andrea