Hello, Winter Conditioning Swimmers and Families!

It’s been a great week of practices! A REMINDER: we will not be practicing for the next two weeks due to the holiday season! See you all on January 4th!

Week in Review:

8U and 9-12 mostly worked on breaststroke and butterfly, with the 9-12 also working on some IM transitions. The 13+ worked on backstroke and breaststroke, also working on IM transitions. The groups had a rocky start at the beginning of the week, but the week ended really strong, with all the groups giving some of their best practices right before we go into our holiday break. :)

Swimmers of the Week:

Every week the coaches choose 2-3 swimmers who really went above and beyond in their practices in the past week to be recognized as the Swimmers of this Week. Without further ado, here are the first swimmers of the week of our Winter Conditioning season!

Name: Fleur Du Pontavice

Age: 5

Favorite thing about swimming: floating on your back

Favorite vacation: Grandpa’s house in France

Favorite food: “Spaghettis!”

“Fleur is such an excited and positive member of our team! I could tell she was nervous on her first day, but she didn’t let that hold her back. She worked hard, fearlessly trying new things in the water, all with a big smile on her face. On her second day it was raining and her mom told me that Fleur insisted on coming to practice anyway. She is a great listener and has an awesome attitude, one that positively impacts all the other swimmers around her! Great job, Fleur! I’m so proud of you!” -Coach Tjasa

Name: Kelly Tao

Age: 8

Favorite stroke: Butterfly

Favorite thing about swimming: doing all the strokes

Favorite vacation: Hawaii

Favorite food: “I like fruits and veggies.”

“Kelly has been one of our consistent strong swimmers for the past year. Kelly comes to every practice with a big smile on her face, always ready to work hard and have fun. Her love for swimming and swim team is contagious and she brings such a positive presence to our practices. Kelly’s love for swim team carries into her strength as a swimmer-- always asking questions and pushing herself in the workouts! She is both inspiring to her teammates in her work ethic in practice as well as her team morale and spirit! Coach Tjasa and I can always rely on Kelly and we have thoroughly enjoyed coaching her this year! Great job Kelly, you rock!” -Coach Malia

Name: Jules Nagayama

Age: 12

Favorite stroke: Breaststroke

Favorite thing about swimming: Breaststroke

Favorite vacation: either snow or beach

Favorite food: burger

“Coach Malia and I have been so impressed with Jules’ work ethic the past few weeks. He asks questions, tries hard to implement stroke corrections, and pushes himself during his workouts. He also positively impacts the attitudes of his fellow teammates, making practice time fun and light-hearted. When we told him he was this week’s swimmer of the week he kept saying that he really didn’t think we were going to give it to him. But Jules is exactly what swimmer of the week should be-- a leader, someone who likes to swim, who has fun with swimming, and who makes swimming fun for others. Great job, Jules! You seriously really, really deserve this!” -Coach Tjasa

Practice Schedule and Lane Assignments:

Please find our fall conditioning practice schedule here (effective Monday, December 7th)

What to bring:

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

• 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)
• Kickboard (we can provide kickboards that we sanitize between groups, but it is recommended that you bring your own)
• Fins (optional, but encouraged)
• Pull buoy (optional)

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, a reminder: due to county regulations regarding the number of people in the pool area/on the pool deck in order to maintain effective social distancing, we ask that only one parent/guardian accompany 8 and under swimmers on deck. Unfortunately, parents of older swimmers will not be allowed on deck during practice times. I know this is frustrating (my parents always loved to watch my swim practices growing up!), but, unfortunately, for this very bizarre year, it is a necessary precaution for our team to be able to continue practicing.

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, happy holidays, and see you on January 4th!

Coaches Tjasa Kmetec, Caleb Fenner, Malia Jefferson