Hey, Marlins!

Great job this week at practices and at the swim-a-rama!! Attached to the bottom of this note are the total lap counts for each swimmer from the swim-a-rama. A huge thank you to all the awesome volunteers who helped count laps, some of whom stepped up in the moment when we were short on helpers-- thank you!! And a super, super big thank you to Mari Ueda-Tao who organized the swim-a-rama and made it as fun as it was. Thanks, Mari!! :)

Also: a big thank you to Angela Sherry who worked really hard to serve up delicious pancakes for us during our pancake breakfast!! Thanks as well to all the volunteers who helped out at this event, as well, you guys rock!!

Parent Reminders:

We have our swim meet against Brookside coming up this Saturday, woohoo!! Make sure to sign up here (under upcoming events) before Wednesday at 5 pm! My recommendation is to sign your swimmer up for three individual stroke races and a relay (this is not a guarantee your swimmer will be on a relay, but just a way to express your swimmer’s willingness to be put on one! The coaches put the relays together the week leading up to the meet and will try to announce them at Thursday/Friday practices, though they are subject to change at the meet). I only recommend the IMs for swimmers 10 and up, but, of course, if your little one has their heart set on swimming the 100 IM then by all means, go for it!

Week in Review:

We did a lot of stroke progression work this week with all the groups: day one was freestyle, day two was breaststroke, and day three was the swim-a-rama!

Swimmer of the Week:

Name: Aiden Wittman

Age: 10

Favorite Stroke: freestyle

Favorite thing about swimming: “That you can have fun with new friends.”

Favorite vacation: “Probably Hawaii because I could chillax and swim for fun there.”

Favorite food: “Honestly, I like sushi.”

“These first two weeks of practice the coaches have been so impressed with Aiden. As a new Marlin, Aiden has been getting used to doing swim workouts, as well as learning a few new strokes. He works tirelessly on learning new skills, while keeping up a steady stream of funny and friendly commentary that lifts everyone’s spirits. He asks relevant questions, genuinely wanting to learn more, and to get things right. At the swim-a-rama, he kept doing flipturns at every wall long after everyone else had given up on them! More important than all this, though, is that Aiden is kind, friendly, cheerful, enthusiastic, and all around just a great person to be around. He makes friends with everyone around him, and is largely responsible for making practice time a fun place to be for everyone (including his coaches!). Great job, Aiden! I am so proud of you!!” -Coach Tjasa

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 (recommended)
• Water Bottle (pre-filled)
• Kickboard
• Fins
• Pull buoy (optional)

Gear:

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

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]

On a private note, thank you to everyone who made my birthday so much fun-- from Caleb and Malia to the lovely parents and volunteers and, of course, to the AWESOME swimmers who I just adore. I love Greenmeadow, and I love all of you. Thank you.

Thank you, everyone! Please let us know if you have any questions. :)

Coaches Tjasa Kmetec, Caleb Fenner, Malia Jefferson