Hi Wavemakers!

I hope you all stayed cool in this super hot weather this weekend! Lots of important info here, so please read carefully.  Also, if your child is missing a little bracelet (found in 6&under bullpen area), please let me know.

In this email:

• Schedule
• Practice morning after meets
• Evening Practice info
• Morning vs. Evening Practices
• RSVP Meet 2
• Volunteers
• What to expect/bring to a meet
• After meet get together
• Clinics after morning practices
• Team t-shirts
• Want to purchase team swag?
• Swimmer's ear
• 11&older buddy program
• Seniors graduate
• Private Lessons

SCHEDULE

Week of 5/27

Morning practice times:

8:30-9:30: 7-10 year olds

9:30-10: 6&unders

10-11: 11 and older

Evening practice times are the same as they have been but at Princeton Square (7476 Princeton Trace NE)

Monday-NO practice-Memorial Day

Tuesday-morning practice at Mark Trail, first meet- at Brittany Club (3359 Breton Circle, Atlanta) -arrive by 4:45 for warm-ups

Wednesday-morning practice at Mark Trail (see note below about different times), evening practice at Princeton Square

Thursday-morning practice at Mark Trail, evening practice at Princeton Square

Friday- morning practice at Mark Trail

Week of 6/3

Monday-morning practice at Mark Trail, evening practice at Princeton Square

Tuesday-morning practice at Mark Trail, meet- at Mark Trail

Wednesday-morning practice at Mark Trail (10 and younger, 9-10; 11&older 10-11), evening practice at Princeton Square

Thursday-morning practice at Mark Trail, evening practice at Princeton Square

Friday- morning practice at Mark Trail

PRACTICE THE MORNING AFTER A MEET

On Wednesdays after a meet we have “fun” practice. We give out ribbons and donuts, and the kids get free play time. All kids 10 and younger are from 9-10AM and 11&up are 10-11AM, at Mark Trail.

EVENING PRACTICE AT PRINCETON SQUARE

Evening practices will be at Princeton Square (7476 Princeton Trace NE) from now on, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. We will NOT have it this Monday due to Memorial Day. Please park only on the same side of the road that the pool is on.

MORNING VS EVENING PRACTICES

A quick note about practices, morning practices are the ones to come to if at all possible. We have more coaches there, more lanes available, starting blocks/kick boards/flags. If you cannot attend morning practices, please come in the evening, but if you can, please come in the morning. And please be on time! Many of you have asked if we teach diving, and we definitely do, but mostly in the mornings as we don’t have the space in the evenings. Thanks!

RSVP FOR MEET

The deadline to RSVP for the 2nd meet is this Tuesday (always 1 week prior). Please make sure to RSVP only if you will NOT be at the meet. Entering kids in a meet is a huge puzzle, and when one piece is taken out, it is very difficult to complete the puzzle…especially when the puzzle is already done. Thanks in advance.

VOLUNTEERS

We are currently short volunteers for the meet on Tuesday. If you can help, please go to the website (mtps.swimtopia.com), click on “calendar” and then “job signup”. We really can’t run a meet without a lot of parents to help out. Thanks!

WHAT TO EXPECT AT A MEET/WHAT TO BRING

At a normal meet, swimmers are allowed to do a maximum of 4 events, 2 individual and 2 relays. I do my best to get everyone in 4 events at every meet, although sometimes I cannot get 2 relays for everyone if there is an odd number of kids at the meet. The medley relay is the first event (free relay for 6&unders), and then we go through freestyle, backstroke, IM, breast, and fly, and the last event is the free relay. 6&unders are usually done by 7:30ish and all others by 9ish.

I recommend bringing multiple towels to a meet, warm clothes (as it can get cool at night), a water bottle, and everything you need to swim. We do have concessions at every meet as well (cash only).

I do not recommend wearing a swim shirt in races. In practice that is totally fine, but it really weighs the swimmer down, so please have your child take it off just for the race (and then they can put it right back on!).

Lastly, we really need all kids to be safe during the meet. We want everyone to have fun, but we also do not want kids to get hurt. We are asking that during meets, swimmers are not playing with other sports equipment (baseball bats, soccer balls, etc.). Thanks!

AFTER MEET GET TOGETHER

After meets we generally go to a local restaurant. All are invited and each family pays for their own food and drinks. We will send an email before Tuesday with where we will be going this year (still following up with the restaurants.

CLINICS AFTER PRACTICES

After morning practice on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, we have optional clinics for any swimmers to work on starts, strokes, etc. It is $5 per swimmer and limited to 5 swimmers per clinic. There will be a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board at Mark Trail at the beginning of each week with exactly what the clinics will be each day. After the clinic, please give the $5 to the coach who taught the clinic. We will begin with clinics on Wednesday, 5/29.

TEAM T-SHIRTS

T-shirt’s have been delayed due to a family emergency at the locally owned and operate company we use.  We will get them to you as soon as we get them in.

WANT TO PURCHASE TEAM SWAG?

Anyone interested in ordering team swag please contact Ashley Giardino (email: [email protected] phone: 770-265-3393)

SWIMMER'S EAR

At this time last year, we had a few swimmers get swimmers' ear, and I want to try to avoid it this year. There are some things you can do to avoid getting swimmer's ear. First, encourage your kids to dry their ears (the outside) when done swimming and tip their heads to the side to drain any water still in their ears. There are drops that you can use to dry up any remaining water as well. There are natural mixtures you can use (just google it) and also drops you can buy at the store.

11&OLDER BUDDY PROGRAM

We have ten 11&up kids signed up for this program. We will start with the first meet by introducing kids to their buddies (each 11&up will have 2 at this point to cover everyone). We will NOT give little gifts yet. I think we will have more kids want to do it once they see it happening. If your 11&up swimmer wants to do it and hasn’t told me yet, there is still time! Email me!

SENIORS GRADUATE

We had a few Wavemakers graduate from high school over the past week! Please congratulate Coach Grace Grider, Charley Plumly, and James Roden! Grace will be heading to Georgia College, Charley to the Naval Academy, and James to Kennesaw State!

PRIVATE LESSONS

A few of you have already asked about private lessons for this year, and many of our assistant coaches offer private lessons over the summer. Here is contact info:

Evan Bell- 470-259-0772

Su Lin Cox- 404-402-1162; [email protected]

Grace Grider- 770-557-5331

Shea Griffith- 404-804-2720

Mya Hassler- 678-708-3063

Sydney Smith- [email protected]

Natalie Tully- 404-713-2771

Julia Gray Wells- 404-663-7336

Kaitlyn Wood- 470-449-0129

Kate Zaparaniuk- 404-821-2332

Thanks, and have a great weekend!

Coach Julie