Friday and the Heat, Practice Schedule for the Week of July 4th, VTST vs. FCST Meet Summary

Good afternoon, Torpedo!

I hope everyone is doing their best to stay cool in this heat! In this post I first want to address practice this afternoon (Friday, June 28). It is extremely hot today, and it will continue to be for a few days. We will still be having practice this evening. However, parents use your best judgement on whether your swimmers should attend. If your swimmers are already tired from the heat of the meet last night, let them rest and recuperate. Please have them drink lots of water over the course of the weekend, as many heat-related illnesses can occur due to lack of fluids (Coke, sweet tea, and anything with caffeine DOES NOT COUNT!). So again, come to practice tonight if you feel OK doing so, but please keep the weather in mind and drink plenty of fluids beforehand.

Second, for those who didn't hear at the end of the meet last night: Practice for next week on TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, and THURSDAY is CANCELED for the holiday. We will have morning and evening practices on both MONDAY AND FRIDAY.

Now, on to celebration! We had a hot meet last night, and our swimmers burned it up in the pool against Forest City! While numbers were certainly in our favor last night, the Torpedo had a great showing. We were able to get the meet done relatively quickly, and many of our swimmers had best times in at least one event. All the relays swam well, and the coaches only received a couple of DQ slips last night, which always makes us happy! We won the meet by a significant margin, and we had some good competition from Forest City. Way to go Torpedo!

Thank you to all of the lifeguards and Rec. staff who helped run the meet last night. Thank you especially to the parents who volunteered to help out with the various meet positions. Many parents who volunteered did so for the entire evening, instead of just one shift, due to necessity. We will be hosting two more meets this season, including our next meet on July 12. For those meets, the coaches expect parents to assist with the meet. While there are a few skilled areas for volunteers, the majority of tasks are not difficult to perform. PLEASE PARENTS: WE NEED YOUR HELP TO HOST MEETS! Without you to volunteer, coaches are not able to fulfill coaching responsibilities and instead have to pick up cards after events and hand out ribbons to heat winners, among other things. If you are interested in learning how to Clerk of Course (get kids into their events and heats), run the scoring system (input times into a computer), or be a stroke and turn judge, LET A COACH KNOW! These are not difficult tasks, and the more people we have familiar with these positions, the less stressful it is on everyone. Timing is incredibly simple, and it is also the best seat in the house. If you have older swimmers, or if you have someone able to keep an eye on your swimmer, such as a spouse, another Torpedo family member, or family friend, please volunteer to time! The more people we have sign up to time, the more sessions we can work, which will in turn decrease the collective burden. Don't think of this as time away from your swimmers or family, but rather as time interacting with them and something they have an interest in: being an active part of VTST and the Valdese swimming community as a whole.

Great Meet Tonight! FRIDAY PRACTICE CANCELED!

Thanks to everyone who made it out to Granite Falls this evening for a great meet! There were some wonderful races with close finishes. Several swimmers achieved personal best times, and all in all, once the cloud cover kicked in, a good time was had by all!

In the end, the Sharks were able to beat us, but we'll get another shot at them in July. In the meantime, we want to thank our hosts for a great meet.

ALL 8&U and 10&U Practices for FRIDAY, JUNE 22, ARE CANCELED! The coaches hope that everyone has a great weekend and comes back ready to swim hard against Forest City on June 28. Remember, we do have team pictures at 4pm on Thursday before the meet!

Have a great weekend, and way to go Torpedo! Great Meet Tonight!

Great Job Torpedo!

Wow! What a fantastic way to start the season! First of all, thanks to the McDowell Mariners for hosting us and for a great meet. We were able to wrap up before 10pm, and everything ran smoothly.

Last night we had over 60 swimmers compete at McDowell! Every age group was represented, and most age groups were represented quite well. The final score was Valdese Torpedo 847, McDowell Mariners 578. The men did a fantastic job, and the women did a great job of holding off a very talented squad from the Mariners. The coaches are all very proud of how everyone swam! You have all worked very hard since the beginning of the season, and it showed last night!
Complete results from the meet are posted on the bulletin board at the pool across from the women's locker room. The coaches also have ribbons for swimmers who finished in the top 5 in their events, so please ask your coach before or after practice for your ribbons!

Tomorrow morning will be the stroke and turn clinic at the Rec from 9-11am. All are welcome, even if you are new to the sport. This will be a very informal look at the stroke and turn position, but there is a lot of material to cover, so please try to be punctual! Lunch will be served at 11am, courtesy of VTST. If you can't make this clinic, don't worry! There is another clinic scheduled for July 14th.

The next meet will be on June 21 at Granite Falls. This will be a close meet, as Granite Falls always fields a strong team. Please be sure to sign up for the meet ASAP! Warm ups will be at 5:30, and please plan to be on time. If you are unable to attend after having signed up, please let a coach know ASAP so the coaches will have a chance to make any necessary changes.

Again, GREAT JOB AND WAY TO GO! LET'S GET THAT CHAMPIONSHIP!

Practice Schedule and Meet Sign-Up Reminder

Good Monday morning Torpedo Family! I wanted to touch base you all about a couple of things:

Today is the first day of our new practice schedule!
SUMMER PRACTICE SCHEDULE BASED ON AGE GROUPS:
June 11-until the end of the season.
8 and under: Mon., Tues., Wed., Fri.-5-5:45pm
9-10: Mon., Tues., Wed., Fri.-5:45-6:30pm
11-12 and 13-14: Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs.- 7:30-8:30am
15-18: Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs.-8:30-9:30am
In the event of severe weather, an announcement will be made on the blog!

Saturday will be our stroke and turn clinic from 9am-11am at the Rec.

Finally, our meet on Thursday will be in McDowell. Parents need to sign their kids up for the meet if they are planning to attend. Please also plan on volunteering in some capacity during the meet. We will need at least 12 folks to help time over the duration of the meet, as well as to help wrangle 8&U for their relays.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to shoot me an email or ask me on deck at practices.

Opening Meet Information (including Directions)

The opening meet for this season will be this next Thursday, June 14th against the McDowell Mariners in Marion. Warm-ups begin at 5pm, so please be on time! The drive from the Valdese pool will take roughly 40 minutes, so please plan to leave in plenty of time.

Please sign your child up in the binder at the pool desk. IF YOUR CHILD IS NOT SIGNED UP, THEY WILL NOT BE ENTERED!


PARENTS: Even though the meet is an away meet, parents will be expected to help with meet operations in some form or fashion. We will need a total of 24 timers to help over the course of the meet. We will also need a couple of parents to assist with stroke and turn judging. NOTE: This meet is prior to our stroke and turn training. If you intend to attend the training, this is a great opportunity to shadow a judge and see what the stroke and turn position is all about.

Directions to McDowell: Take I-40 West to Exit 86 (Marion/Shelby exit). Turn right at the end of the ramp. Stay on this road until you come to the second stoplight. Turn right on Rutherfordton Rd. Rutherfordton Rd. takes you to Main Street. Go around the curve. The road will widen. Go straight. At the fourth stoplight, turn left on Court St. Go down a hill. Take the second right on Academy St. The pool is on the hill on the left.