USA Swimming and Spring Practice Opportunities

To get our feet wet in USA Swimming, Zeeland has agreed to allow us to compete with their club team - West Michigan Swimmers. We will register with Michigan Swimming and pay our USA Swimming dues through West Michigan Swimmers. We will also swim our USA Meets with West Michigan Swimmers. This is a great opportunity for our small community to experience USA Swimming. We are very grateful to everyone involved with West Michigan Swimmers to give us this opportunity and we will do our part to make the team successful and help with the work.

My intention for USA Swimming is to give a greater opportunity for our High School and Middle School swimmers. This will allow our swimmers to compete in USA Swimming meets and gain extra experience in different meet formats. All USA swimmers will be expected to compete in the age group swim meets when possible and will need to pay an additional coaching fee based on when they start with the program.


Tentative USA meet schedule can be seen HERE along with further WMS info.

The age group practice and meet calendar will be up shortly.
Thanks
T

GREAT JOB STATE RUNNERS-UP

Another wonderful season has come to a close. The end of season party was fun last night and it was good to talk with everyone. We look foward to getting things rolling again in another couple of months and start the build to next year.

State meet results are posted online at www.mhsaa.com and at www.miscaonline.net .

Have a great break from swimming and we look forward to seeing you in a couple of months!
T

Congrats Ryan

Congratulations to Ryan Overhiser for qualifying for the state meet by finishing in fourth place at diving regionals last night!

State Meet Week and End of season party

The final week of the season. Be sure that you are getting great sleep, eating food that will allow you to perform well, and keeping your stress level low. Here is the layout for the week:

Monday: Practice 3-4:30ish.
Tuesday: Only juniors have to report to school. I will start practice at 2:25 so the guys can be done by 3:30 or 3:45. We have a home middle school meet as well. Ryan will be heading to diving regionals at East Grand Rapids High School. Regionals start at 5:00 pm. I would encourage all swimmers to head to the regionals to cheer Ryan on.
Wednesday: Practice 3-4:15ish. We will then head to the Melpolder's for a pasta party, if you would like to contribute food, please contact Daryl. We will be done by 6:30 or so unless the guys want to watch a movie.
Thursday: Practice 3-4:00 ish. We will be eating at the pool before we leave, if you would like to contribute food, please contact Shelley Scholten. Hopefully on the road between 4:30 and 5:00. I will be taking all of the boys cell phones when we get to the hotel. I will keep my cell phone on and with me if there is an emergency and you need to get a hold of your son. We will possibly order some pizza or something later on if the guys are hungry. In rooms at 10:00, lights out by 11:00.
Friday: Wake-up swim 8:30-9:00 (Ryan will head to EMU for diving warm-ups 9-11 am). Head back to the hotel for breakfast. Head to the pool by 9:45. Warm-ups start at 10:00 and the meet starts at 12:00 pm. When the swimming is done the divers will have one hour to warm-up before the start of diving prelims. We will grab something to eat (probably Jimmy Johns or Subway) quickly after swimming is done then head back to watch some of the diving. We will get more dinner after diving. After dinner we will hang out at the hotel (near our rooms) and possibly watch a movie. In rooms at 10:00, lights out by 11:00.
Saturday: Same as how things went Friday morning. Warm-ups and meet start times are the same except that diving is between the 50 Free and 100 Fly. The meet should last until 3:00 or 3:30. We will stop for something to eat on the way home, athletes choice.
WHAT TO BRING:
*Stuff for shaving down Thursday night and Friday night.
*Plenty of healthy fuel for the weekend (snacks, drinks, etc.)
*A folding camp chair or something similar for on deck at the meet
*Plenty of warm, dry clothes (State Team shirts should be in by Wednesday)
*Money for food (Each athlete will get $30 from the school for food that I will need receipts for)
*Any equipment you need for warm-up, loosen-up, etc.
*A positive attitude (NO FEAR AND RECKLESS ABANDON)
*Ipod or the like, whatever you need to keep yourself loose and relaxed


END OF SEASON PARTY:
Monday, March 15 we will be having our end of season party in the middle school cafeteria at 6:30 pm. We will hand out end of season awards and talk a little about this season and what's to come in the years ahead. A great celebration after all of the hard work of the season. For food, if you are coming with a family of more than four, please bring a hot AND cold dish to share. If you are coming with a family of four or less, please bring a hot OR cold dish to pass. I will have plates and silverware as well as water and some dessert.

Thanks
T