Hello, Fall Conditioning Swimmers and Families!

I hope this email finds you well! Uh oh, the smoke has been creeping back up on us! Still, we were able to have some really good practices this week. :)

Week in Review:

Most of the Thursday practices, and all of Friday afternoon practices were canceled due to the poor AQI, but other than that it was a great week! We finished up our butterfly focused practices this week-- now every swimmer knows all four strokes, I’m so proud of the kids for putting in that work! Then we started on some IM work as some early preparation for the Spooky Time Trials! The 8U and 9-12 did a lot of kick work, as well as practicing their sprint strokes. Many of the 8U learned their flipturns for the very first time, as well!! The 13+ did a lot of interval/sprint stroke work, also with a focus on IMs.

Swimmers of the Week:

Name: Parker Ballew

Age: 12

Favorite Stroke: Fly

Favorite Thing About Swimming: underwater dolphin kicks/holding your breath drills

Favorite Vacation: Skiing! Likes going to Mt. Rose, Northstar, and Squaw

Favorite Food: STEAK !

“I have never seen a 12 year old with as much self-discipline as Parker. All throughout this season I have been continually impressed by his motivation and enthusiasm for swimming. His good vibes influence the whole group, including the coaches! One of those kids that you can always rely on. Great job, Parker!” -Coach Tjasa

Name: Brett Hodson

Age: 16 (birthday was just a few days ago!)

Favorite Stroke: Freestyle

Favorite Thing About Swimming: “The feeling afterward.”

Favorite Vacation: Hawaii

Favorite Food: “A good panini.”

“Brett has been a reliable swimmer for us all the way throughout the summer to now. He not only shows up to every practice, but is communicative and kind to the coaches. He brings his A game to every practice and is a great role model for the younger swimmers on the team!” -Coach Malia

Notes About Air Quality:

We will continue to assess the air quality day-by-day, considering each day whether it is safe to hold swim practice and, if not, canceling. The coaches will make our final call by 2 pm; If we deem it unsafe, parents will receive an email notification via Swimtopia canceling swim practices for the day. If it is safe, there will be no email sent out. In other words, the assumption will always be that practice is happening unless we cancel via email! We use many different air quality online measuring tools-- AirNow.gov and Purple Air most of all. If we see that the air quality has surpassed 150 (marked “unhealthy for all groups”) we will cancel practice. We will also cancel if the forecast shows the AQI surpassing 150 during the afternoon swim practice times. The pool will remain open unless the AQI reaches 190-200. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me at [email protected], or Coach Caleb at [email protected] .

Practice Schedule/Lane Assignments:

Please find our fall conditioning practice schedule and lane assignments here .

Practice Structure:

Here’s what you’ll need to bring to practice this week:

• Mask (make sure to always wear a mask on deck and to remember to walk one-way around the pool!)
• towel/flip-flops/clothes
• Goggles
• Cap (optional, but encouraged)
• Water Bottle (pre-filled, this is especially important due to the poor air quality) we’ve noticed that the majority of swimmers have not been bringing water to practice, this is essential! Imagine going to soccer practice, in this air quality, and forgetting water! Please make sure that your swimmers bring a pre-filled water bottle to practice.
• Kickboard (we can provide kickboards that we sanitize between groups, but it is recommended that you bring your own)
• Fins (encouraged)

Gear:

If you want to buy gear for the upcoming season, check out the Greenmeadow team store on Swimoutlet.com for everything from t-shirts to goggles to kickboards and fins.

Parent Reminders:

Parents, please make sure your swimmers are bringing water to practice! We’ve noticed that the majority of swimmers have not been bringing water to practice, it is so important to stay hydrated when you work as hard as our swimmers do in their practices.

Also: our Spooky Time Trials Registration is now open!! Please sign your swimmers up at https://greenmeadow.swimtopia.com/

Contacts:

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to any of the coaches:

Coach Tjasa Kmetec [email protected]

Coach Caleb Fenner [email protected]

Coach Malia Jefferson [email protected]

Thank you, everyone!

Coaches Tjasa Kmetec, Caleb Fenner, Malia Jefferson