COME SWIM WITH THE GATOR SWIM TEAM

PRACTICE CHANGE SATURDAY DEC 31

Afternoon practice for all groups has been canceled Saturday, Dec. 31. Age Group 2 should plan to go to the 7:00 am practice.

PRACTICE CHANGE THURSDAY DEC 29

Practice for Age Group 3 has been canceled Thursday, Dec. 29 due to cold water temperature. Practice is optional for all other groups. The coaching staff will be at the pool if you want to swim. The pump has been fixed and normal water temperature is expected tomorrow.

HOLIDAY PRACTICE TIMES

• Dec. 24-26: No practice. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
• Dec. 27: Seniors: 7-9am. Regular PM practice times
• Dec. 28: Seniors and Age Group 1: 6:30 am depart bubble for Carbondale practice. Regular PM practice times.
• Dec. 29: Seniors: 7-9am. Regular PM practice times
• Dec. 30:
  • Seniors: 7-9am, regular PM practice time
  • Age Group 1: 7-9am, 6-7:30pm
  • Age Groups 2-3: Regular PM practice times
• Dec. 31: Seniors: 7-9:30am. Age Group 1 and 2: 7-10am. Age Group 3: No practice.
• Jan. 1st: No pratice. HAPPY 2012!
• Jan. 2: Seniors 7-9am. Regular PM practice times.
• Jan. 3: Seniors 7-9am. Regular PM practice times.

NEW JANUARY MEET

Gator parents and swimmers: we were unable to find a referee for our hosted meet in January and for that reason the Long Course Kick Off meet has been canceled. As a result, we will be attending a different meet that weekend: the Newburgh Sea Creatures Chill Out Classic in Newburgh, IN. The NSC meet is less than 3 hours away and they have a brand new 50m x 25yd pool where the competition will be held. This is a great meet for all age groups, but we have to sign up very quickly because they expect our entries by Friday. The sign up deadline is Thursday @ 7pm.

Click here to sign up

CAMP FRANKLIN AND SECRET SANTA

We are going to relax and have fun at La Croix Church during Camp Franklin. We will refuel on Little Caesar’s pizza on Thursday following the afternoon swim. On Friday morning, we will have a hearty homemade breakfast! Biscuits, gravy, sausage, bacon, and pancakes…… we bet your mouth is watering now! If anyone would like to donate drinks, food items, or paper products to the Camp Franklin meals, please contact Allison Davis via e-mail. For those of you talented in the area of cooking, Jena and Allison would love your assistance with the big, hearty breakfast on Friday morning. The cooking will start at 7:00am! Give Allison a shout out if you can help.

On Thursday, look for your Secret Santa envelope in your folder (in the “Box”) at the pool. Remember…. Shhhh! It’s a secret! We will have “the Reveal” after breakfast on Friday.

PRACTICE CHANGE

Practice for Age Group 3 has been cancelled Monday, Dec. 12 due to cold water temperature. The water boiler broke, parts have been ordered and will be installed ASAP. Stay tuned for updates on this situation..

SPEEDO SHORT COURSE JUNIOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Our own Gabriela Vieira is competing at Junior Nationals in Austin, TX this week! All meet information, including a live webcast of each day's prelims and finals can be found on the Meet Website. Gabby will swim 7 events and one time trial:

• Thursday, Dec. 8: 500Y Freestyle and time trial the 100Y Backstroke
• Friday, Dec. 9: 100Y Butterfly
• Saturday, Dec. 10: 200Y Backstroke and 200Y Butterfly
• Sunday, Dec. 11: 100M Butterfly, 100M Freestyle and 200M Backstroke

Good luck Gabby!

SECRET SANTA AT CAMP FRANKLIN

To bump up the fun factor even more, Camp Franklin will include a Secret Santa activity this year. Please limit gift value to no more than $10. If you are signed up for Camp Franklin and DO NOT want to participate in the Secret Santa, please contact Rae Wojdylo via e-mail by Saturday, December 10 at 8:00 pm.

SIGN UP FOR CAMP FRANKLIN

It's almost time for Camp Franklin 2011!!! Camp Franklin is a Gator tradition that happens annually just before Christmas, where swimmers are challenged to achieve a week's worth of practice in 24 hours (4 swimming sessions). In between sessions, swimmers and parents will be socializing and having fun together in several planned activities, including a hearty breakfast followed by movies and games. The "rest area" is usually at Lacroix Church (we're checking availability and will post more details soon).

Swimmers who complete all practices will be eligible to get a super-cool Camp Franklin t-shirt (please indicate sizes on the sign-up form). As an added benefit, they will also feel great knowing they can handle Coach Steve's most challenging swim practice!!!

Sign up for Camp Franklin now! The deadline to sign up is Friday, Dec. 3rd.

HOLIDAY PRACTICE TIMES

Here are the Holiday practice times for Christmas:

• Dec. 21: Seniors: 5-7am. Regular PM practice times.
• Dec. 22: Camp Franklin: 1:00-3:30pm and 8:00-10:30pm.
• Dec. 23: Camp Franklin: 7:00-9:30am and 1:00-3:00pm.
• Dec. 24-26: No practice. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
• Dec. 27-30: Seniors and Age Group 1: 7-9am. Regular PM practice times.
• Dec. 31: Seniors: 7:00-9:30am. Seniors and Age Group 1: 2:30-5:00pm. Age Group 2: 3:00 to 5:00pm.
• Jan. 1st: No pratice. HAPPY 2012!
• Jan. 2: Seniors 7-9am. Regular PM practice times.
• Jan. 3: Seniors 7-9am. Regular PM practice times.

OZARK "A" CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

A great display of talent and competitive spirit by the Gator swimmers who participated in the Ozark Championship meet this past weekend. Our team finished a strong 5th place overall in total points (3rd in number of points per swimmer). Here are the highlights:

• New Ozark and SIUC Pool Records:
  • Gabriela Vieira broke two conference records in the Girls 13-14 age division: the 100-yard butterfly, one of the oldest Ozark records (1983), with a new time of 54.64; and the 100 backstroke (1992) in 56.01 seconds. Her times are also new pool records at the SIU-Carbondale's Shea Natatorium.
  • Ozark Records
• New Team Records:
  • Brogan Davis lowered his own team record times in two Boys 11-12 events, swimming the 50 backstroke in 29.07 seconds and the 100 back in 1:01.62.
  • Gabriela Vieira broke the old (1995) 100 freestyle record in the Girls 13-14 age group with a new time of 51.62, and set two new Open records: 100 fly (54.64) and 200 fly (2:04.14). She also lowered her own record times in the 200 free (1:51.23), 100 back (56.01), 400 I.M. (4:30.11) and 100 back (56.01).
  • Team Records (SCY)
• New Time Standard Achievements:
  • Brogan Davis (11) is back in the "quad-A club" after achieving his first AAAA time in the Boys 11-12 age group with a time of 1:01.62 in the 100-yard backstroke.
  • Gabriela Vieira (14) achieved her first two Senior National cuts in the 100 fly (54.64) and 100 back (56.01). Gabby's 100 fly time is currently ranked the 20th fastest all-time mark in the Girls 13-14 age group history according to USA Swimming's All Time Top 100 Age Group Times.
  • Gator Achievements Page
• New Hair:
  • Coach Steve lost every last bit of hair in his head after challenging the swimmers to get new "cuts" or time standards and win a chance to drive an electric shaver across his head. Talk about an incentive! See pictures on the Gator Facebook page.
• High Point Winners (Top 8):
  • Gabriela Vieira: 1st Place in the Girls 13-14 age group with 134 points.
  • Brogan Davis: 2nd, Boys 11-12 (124 points).
  • Phoebe Law: 2nd, Girls 10 & Under (121 points).
  • Caitlyn Palmer: 7th, Girls 13-14 (95 points).
  • Individual Scores
• Best Individual Event Finishes:
  • 1^st Place Medals: Brogan Davis (100 IM, 50 Back, 50 Free); Phoebe Law (50 Free); Gabby Vieira (100 Back, 100 Fly, 200 Fly, 200 Free, 400 IM);
  • 2^nd Place Medals: Tysen Miller (100 Breast);
  • 3^rd Place Medals: Jacob Bening (50 Back); Caitlyn Palmer (50 Free); Helen Wojdylo (100 Breast, 200 Breast);
  • 4^th through 8^th Places: Austin Hobbs (100 Breast); Morgan Morris (1000 Free); Madeline Siefert (200 Breast); Stephen Sugarbaker (1000 Free); Kristian troxel (400 IM); Kyleigh troxel (1000 Free, 400 IM);
  • 9^th through 16^th Places: Morgan Maguire (1000 Free);
• Meet Results and Reports:
  • Full Results
  • Gator Results (Individual)
  • Team Rankings (Total Points)
  • Quality Team Rankings (Average Points per Swimmer)
  • The Gator Times page has been updated

CELEBRATE WITH US

Attention parents and swimmers attending the Merry Swim meet in Carbondale: join the team for a Holly Jolly good time at the Giant City State Park Lodge immediately following the Saturday session with an all-you-can-eat fried chicken, dumplins and all the fixin's dinner. Because it is off-season, they will open the restaurant just for us, so we will need an accurate count of families planning to attend (please RSVP to Eric Brazel via email). The cost will be $11 per adult and $7.99 per child, which includes the meal, beverage AND gratuities. If you have never been there, it is a really fun place and will be a great opportunity to visit with other Gator Families!

ARTICLE: THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR SWIMMING PARENTS

Reposting this great article with invaluable advice for parents by Rose Snyder, a former director of the US Olympic Committee Coaching Division:

I. Thou shalt not impose ambitions on thy child. Remember that swimming is the child's activity. The child will progress at his own speed. Nothing is worse than a parent forcing a child to do something he does not want to do. This nice thing about swimming is each person can strive to do his or her personal best. It doesn't matter whether they come in first or last, they can all improve themselves.
II. Thou shalt be supportive no matter what. There is only one question to ask the child "Did you have fun"? If meets and practices aren't fun, the child should not be forced to participate.
III. Thou shalt not coach your child. You have taken your child to a professional coach; do not undermine that coach by trying to coach your child on the side. Your job is to support, love and hug your child no matter what. The coach is responsible for the technical part of the job. You should not offer advice on technique or race strategy. That is not your area. This will only serve to confuse your child and prevent that swimmer/coach bond from forming.
( . . . )

Continued... Click here to read the full article.

Find more articles and links on the Gator Practice page.

A REMINDER TO ALL PARENTS

Please do not talk to the coaches on deck during practice. The swimmers need the coaches' full attention. If you need to talk to a coach, please wait until the practice is over or (preferably) contact the coach by phone or email to schedule an appointment.

ALL AGE GROUPS SHOULD PARTICIPATE IN MEETS

All Gator swimmers are strongly encouraged to attend as many meets as possible during the season, so please consider signing up for the upcoming meets. Here are some very important reasons for swimmers to attend meets:

• NEW SKILLS:Competing in meets gives us a chance to learn things that we can’t really learn in practice. Racing is a skill that must be developed, just as a good butterfly is a skill that needs to be developed. To do this we need to practice and the more meets we compete in the better we get.
• TEAM SPIRIT:Going to meets as a team encourages us to get to know our teammates better and fosters team spirit. It also allows our younger swimmers a chance to watch, and learn from our older, more experience swimmers.
• GOALS:Good goal setting takes practice too. By swimming in meets and testing ourselves to the limit, we learn just how far we have come, and what we need to improve on. Remember, we can learn just as much from our failures as we can from our successes.
• REWARDS:Swimming is a sport that teaches us great life lessons. Particularly, if you want something bad, then you have to work for it. Participation in meets gives us a chance to be rewarded for all our hard work.

There are many more great reasons to swim in meets. The main idea is to realize that meets are a great learning experience. Just as tests that we take in school allow us to both monitor our progress and to learn from our mistakes. Meets are a vital part of any swimmers development and ALL swimmers are encouraged to participate in them, regardless of what practice group you are in.

Original text by Jamie Greenwood. Published with permission from Virginia Association for Competitive Swimming.

EXCELLENCE

"Excellence is certainly not ordinary. It is special. It is also however, for the most part, not a chance or accidental occurrence. Excellence results from consistent preparation, positive beliefs and attention to detail. Excellence occurs when we make it the standard for our daily routine." Continued.