Hi Hammerheads! 

We are excited to see everyone at tomorrow's (Thur 4/23) Kick Off Party at Love Pool 5p-7p. Friendly reminder there will not be any swimming tomorrow, you will be picking up team shirt, caps, and purchased merchandise and ordering team suits. Coaches will also be on deck if you have any questions ahead of the first practice next Wednesday 4/29. 

The coaches are super excited to meet our new swimmers and see returning faces! We have a couple of reminders to help make the first week of practice run smoothly.

1. Please arrive to your swimmer's scheduled practice time a couple minutes early and with your swimmer ready to swim. Ready to swim means suit on, goggles on or around neck, cap on, ready to hop in the water. This allows your swimmer to begin practice as soon as possible and to get the most out of each practice. 

2. Getting to know our swimmers! Because we know swimmers are going to do an excellent job showing up "Ready to Swim" a lot of our kiddos are going to look exactly the same in their caps, goggles, and suits. For the first week of practice if you could kindly write your child's first name and last initial on the side of their cap or on their left shoulder with sharpie this will help our coach's get to know everyone's name pretty quickly. 

3. What to expect. Coaches spend the first few practices running through different drills to assess swimmers levels and what needs to be worked on. After levels have been assessed we will go right into improving stroke technique and endurance. We typically choose one or two strokes to focus on each practice, so attending practice daily is helpful for your swimmer to grow and improve in all four stroke. 

4. Coach communications. We love it when parents ask questions and want to learn more about our process and their child's swimming. We do ask that you take a moment before or after a practice to grab coaches Layne or Laura to chat about questions, comments, or concerns. Stopping coaches during a practice takes focus off the swimmers in their lanes and time away from instruction. It is also difficult for a coach to give your question full attention and proper response while also coach kids in the water. We do also ask that you allow our coaches to do their jobs, and not coach your kiddos from the sidelines during practice. Trust the process, ask questions if you have them, enjoy watching your swimmer grow and improve! 

SAFETY CORNER: Proper Swim Attire

We just want to remind parents and swimmers as we kick off the season that proper swim wear is necessary for safe and productive swimming.

Caps- these are very important with any swimmers that have hair past the chin line or that can get in their faces, please try to send your swimmers to practice with caps on.

Goggles - imperative for your swimmer to be able to see in the water and be able to steer clear of other swimmers in their lanes to avoid crashing into each other. It is also important to find properly fitting goggles so that they are not constantly filling up with water. Goggles should only cover the eyes, please no snorkling masks. Please make sure your swimmer has well fitting goggles at every practice. 

Swim suits - competition swim suits are ideal for proper movement in the water. For girls this is a well fitting one piece suit, for boys this is jammers. Swim trunks are ok for boys if you dont have jammers, just make sure the waist is fitted correctly and/or has ties that tie well so that they are not falling off when your kids are swimming. We know that swim shirts are popular, especially at the beginning of the season when the water is a little colder and to help with sun protection. Please make sure if your child wears a swim shirt that is fits well, these should be snug/skin tight like a suit. Swim shirts that are too big not only make your child colder, they also limit range of motion and can be dangerous to newer swimmers that are not as strong in the pool. 

Lastly, a friendly reminder to apply sunscreen at home to give it time to dry before your swimmer enters the pool. Putting sunscreen on on the deck right before the kids hop in just causes most of it to wash away. 

Please feel free to reach out to coaches Layne or Laura with any questions about what to wear to practice and meets.

Some Schedule Reminders!

-Kick Off is tomorrow (Thur 4/23) 5pm-7pm at Love Pool

-Pool Clean Up is THIS Saturday 4/25 at 9am. Please sign up to volunteer on swimtopia if you have not already!

-FIRST PRACTICE is next Wednesday 4/29 please see the practice schedule in Swimtopia for your child's practice time. 

-Picture Day is Wednesday, May 13th at 5pm

See yall tomorrow!

GO HAMMERHEADS!!!