| Team Expectations - Attendance
- Attending Meets
- Meet Schedule
- Workouts
- Goals
- Social Media
- Team Suit
- Practice Cancelations
Parent-Swimmer Contract - By signing this contract both swimmers and parents have read and understand the team expectations and requirements.
Attendance:
For the first week weeks of practice we would like to start off with an extra half hour of practice. The two hours will give us a chance to get ready for a great new season. This means practicing 6-8pm until September 21, when the younger sessions begin. After that this is a five day a week program. Practices will be held for 1.5 hours Monday-Thursday, and a two-hour practice on Friday. In order to improve we expect practice to be mandatory. We understand there are times that you will need to miss practice, but this should not be a habit. Signing up for a Club Swim Program is a commitment for both the swimmers and the coaches which should be honored. Attendance is crucial and will be a team requirement for the upcoming 2015-2016 season. Not only is attendance a requirement but pool time is also a requirement. Swimmers should be in the pool for the FULL allotted practice time, and should not be getting out early to shower.
High School Swimmers: Swimming for both RHSC and your High School Team can be difficult to manage at times. We understand that there are meets that may conflict as well. We are asking for our High School Swimmers to try to attend Red Hawk practices 4 days a week during the season. Swimming Doubles is highly encouraged for our high level swimmers. High School Practices are broadened for different levels of swimmers, which might not be enough pool time for high level competitive swimmers.
** High school swimmers ONLY** Those of you only swimming in the first session to get ready for your High School season are encouraged to attend meets up to the weekend of November 14-15 the next day High School starts.
Attending Meets:
Attending meets is now a requirement for the 2015-2016 Season. Everyone should be attending meets, especially championships. A list of all of the US swimming meets that are being held this year will be provided. Each swimmer will need to look over the meet schedule and let the coaches know which meets they are able to attend. We would like to be able to know in advance who will be able to attend each meet. This is a COMPETITIVE program, which means we will ALL compete as a team.
Meet Schedule:
This season we would like to participate in as many meets as possible. To ensure this we would like to get a jump on who will be able to go to which meets this season. We are providing you with the current US Swimming meet schedule for this year. Please look at the list of meets and circle the ones you are able to attend and bring it back to the coaches. This will help us with getting into the meets. There are many swim programs that are very large and facilities are only able to hold so many people at a time. By entering meets earlier we will able to attend more meets as a team. We will not attend all of these meets. Some meets based on time will be too fast, others we will not get into, and some can be cancelled. We will know more after you return your meet schedule. Please your circled list of meets back to the coaches as soon as possible. The list of meets is also a reminder that it is mandatory to compete in meets and at Championships. Red Hawk Swim Club is a competitive program for swimmers who want to race and improve in the sport.
Workouts:
To have a good workout it takes excitement and passion from the coaches and the swimmers. Participating in a sport is like being in a classroom. Both the teachers and students are learning from each other to get to a higher level of understanding in a subject. This season we will be incorporating different techniques to provide a fun and productive atmosphere. What we should expect this season for our workouts:- Swimmers will be put into lanes based on their ability to make an interval. (Example: If your friend is in the lane and you cannot make the interval for that lane you should not go into that lane). Swimmers that start in the second session will start in a lane with a slower interval and will need to work their way back to the lane they should be in with a faster interval. It is more effective to swim in a workout on a slower interval for the full practice than to be in a lane with a faster interval and taking multiple breaks.
- At the end of the first session (November 6) the lanes will be split into two lanes per interval. The lanes would include 2 lanes on a 1:30 base, 2 lanes on a 1:45 base, and 2 lanes on a 2:00 base. Everyone on the team NEEDS to be able to swim at least a 2:00 interval. If needed we might have more than two lanes of a slower interval, it will divided as needed.
Goals:
The coaches would like to incorporate goal making for this season. There are two types of goals; short-term and long-term. Short term goals are smaller and are attainable over a short period of time like a practice, a week, or a month. A long term goal (season goals) is a larger goal that takes a longer period of time to attain such as a season. Short term goals as a swimmer will hopefully allow us to reach long term goals (season goals). (Examples: Short term goals- improving on a drill, attend more practices, or being able to finish a practice without stopping. Long term goals- getting a best time in an event, making a cut for silvers, JO's, zones). We would like to recognize everyone's goals; ensure that our coaches and teammates help us work towards those goals; celebrate the goals achieved; and celebrate a true effort made towards the goal even if not achieved. The point of this is to teach swimmers commitment, perseverance, mental toughness, and to enjoy being an athlete.
Social Media:
Please keep the Team Website handy. It will help answer questions concerning starting times; team recess (holiday/spring break); and cancelations. This year we will be using Instagram and Twitter to keep those of you who use these applications updated through these accounts.
The use of these applications would be to motivate the team and to recognize hard work. Cyber-bullying will not be tolerated, meaning the accounts would be monitored and updated regularly to ensure the safety and well-being of the swimmers and the program. Any misuse through comments or photos will be deleted immediately and the user will be blocked immediately, and reported. The accounts will be set on private so the coaches will have to approve of who is following them. A release form will be sent out and must be signed by your parents to be displayed on the accounts. Parents are encouraged to follow the accounts. The accounts would include motivational quotes, health/fitness tips, swimmer of the week, meet info, and photos from meets and practice.
The accounts will be very similar to Montclair State Swimming and Diving:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/msu_swim_dive
Instagram: https://instagram.com/msu_swim_dive/
PHOTO RELEASE FORM
Team Suit:
The team fitting will be on Wednesday October 7th 2015 from 5:30-7:30pm in the lobby outside of the pool. Please plan to be there. They will have everything related to swimming. The team suit this year will be the SPEEDO Nano Fracture PowerPLUS Jammers for the boys; and SPEEDO Nano Fracture PowerPLUS Flyback swim suit for the girls. The suit can be seen on any major online swim store. These suits are not meant to be loose or baggy, the suits should be form-fitting or even a little tight. This is so the suit is able to be hydrodynamic through the water and not adding weight from extra fabric but in the end the swimmer should be comfortable. If anyone has any questions about how the suit should be sized please ask one of the coaches or the store owners who can help you at the fitting. |
