Good Sunday afternoon, Torpedo Family!
I want to thank EVERYONE for a fantastic week. I'll be the first to admit it was a bit chaotic, but between Thursday and Saturday's events, everything went very smoothly. Parents and swimmers all stepped in and up to do a great job, even when we ran into hiccups.
We started off yesterday's meet dominating the relays and never looked back! We started with wins by our 8U girls free relay, and never did we relinquish the lead after that first event. We had 87 personal best times yesterday, meaning two-thirds of the swimmers dropped time in at least one event! Men's and women's teams both won to combine for the overall victory! Way to go! I'm so proud of each and every one of you. There are so many fantastic memories from yesterday, and you all are so much fun to coach. Also, congratulations to all of our high point earners!
Parents, you all did a great job with all things volunteer related. The starting, timing, console running, ribbon labeling, stroke and turn judging, concession manning, supporting, and cheering was fantastic! We can't ever run something like that meet without you all, and I heard lots of praise and kudos from vendors, parents and family, coaches, and swimmers throughout the day on how everything was going well and the meet was being enjoyed by all. Thank you all for making my job that much easier as a coach and for being so supportive of OUR program, because you all make this team and program what it is.
Final scores for yesterday were VTST 632, GFST 515, BMST 433, MMST 424, and FCST 107.
This coming Saturday, August 4, at 6pm, we will have our awards potluck dinner in Rotary Park (weather permitting). We will honor our swimmers and give them their ribbons from throughout the season, as well as recognize our Coaches Award and Age Group and Overall High Point Award earners. We would love to have everyone there, and please bring a dish or side to share with the team. Desserts are not only permitted, but highly encouraged. We will have all shirts, caps, pictures, etc. that haven't been picked up there, too. Please do your best to attend!
Finally, I sent out the link to our annual end of the season survey via Remind. Please spend a few moments to tell us about your experience this summer and help us continue to improve! I take this feedback seriously when trying to plan out things for the coming season and when we meet as a league in the Fall and Spring. I love reading your stories about the fun you all had or the growth you saw in your swimmer or how much you all appreciated coaches, but I also know not everything went perfectly, and I welcome your suggestions. The survey is anonymous, so feel free to be candid, although please try to be constructive with your feedback.
I look forward to seeing everyone Saturday evening!
David
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Saturday, July 21, 2018
Weekly Update for 7/22- FINAL WEEK OF THE SEASON!
Happy Saturday, Torpedo!
It was a long week last week. We had some great swims at some well-run meets in Marion and Granite Falls, but, unfortunately, we weren't able to come away with team wins. I'm proud of how everyone performed, and this week in practice, when dodging storms, we're going to really focus on details to be sure we are ready to go on Saturday.
Before we have our championship meet Saturday, we will host Forest City on Thursday evening. Please have your swimmers signed up by Wednesday evening. Given how close the meet is to Saturday, we won't be maxing out everyone in their events. Some may have a full slate, but in our larger age groups, we may not have everyone swim five events. If you want to volunteer for Thursday, click the link to visit the SignUpGenius link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084cabae2aaaf58-forest2
Friday night at 5:15pm we will have our annual pre-conference spaghetti dinner in Rotary Park (overlooking the pool). Should it rain, I'll be sure to update everyone on the rain location. Please sign up to bring a prepared dish: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084cabae2aaaf58-2018. Please do not bring any desserts or soda.
Saturday morning is the big one. We host the conference championships at our pool as all of the other teams converge for the final meet, the one for all the marbles. Swimmers must have swam in two meets in order to participate in this meet. ENTRIES ARE DUE WEDNESDAY NIGHT. If your second meet is Thursday's meet, please be sure you will be in attendance. We have a lot of volunteer slots to fill, but they are smaller segments and if we work together, we will easily be able to staff this meet without issue. Click the link here for Saturday's Sign Up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084cabae2aaaf58-valdese
Seating will be somewhat different this year. We will be on the tennis courts on the parking lot half. McDowell will have the other half of the tennis courts. Forest City will have Rotary Park, and Granite and Black Mountain will be up on the road. Tents will not be permitted on deck except for coaches, vendors, and handicapped seating. The earliest you will be allowed to set up tents is going to be Saturday at 6am. Please do not try to come in early or set up the night before.
Warm ups will be at 7am until 7:30am with McDowell. Forest City and Granite will warm up together from 7:30-8am, and Black Mountain will wrap it up from 8-8:30am. Timers and officials will meet at 8:40am, and we'll hope to start the meet at 9am. If volunteering first shift or half, please be there by 8:30am AT THE LATEST.
The season has flown by, and I appreciate all the help and support you all have given. Let's all come together to make this a fantastic last week and championship meet. See you all on Monday!
It was a long week last week. We had some great swims at some well-run meets in Marion and Granite Falls, but, unfortunately, we weren't able to come away with team wins. I'm proud of how everyone performed, and this week in practice, when dodging storms, we're going to really focus on details to be sure we are ready to go on Saturday.
Before we have our championship meet Saturday, we will host Forest City on Thursday evening. Please have your swimmers signed up by Wednesday evening. Given how close the meet is to Saturday, we won't be maxing out everyone in their events. Some may have a full slate, but in our larger age groups, we may not have everyone swim five events. If you want to volunteer for Thursday, click the link to visit the SignUpGenius link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084cabae2aaaf58-forest2
Friday night at 5:15pm we will have our annual pre-conference spaghetti dinner in Rotary Park (overlooking the pool). Should it rain, I'll be sure to update everyone on the rain location. Please sign up to bring a prepared dish: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084cabae2aaaf58-2018. Please do not bring any desserts or soda.
Saturday morning is the big one. We host the conference championships at our pool as all of the other teams converge for the final meet, the one for all the marbles. Swimmers must have swam in two meets in order to participate in this meet. ENTRIES ARE DUE WEDNESDAY NIGHT. If your second meet is Thursday's meet, please be sure you will be in attendance. We have a lot of volunteer slots to fill, but they are smaller segments and if we work together, we will easily be able to staff this meet without issue. Click the link here for Saturday's Sign Up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084cabae2aaaf58-valdese
Seating will be somewhat different this year. We will be on the tennis courts on the parking lot half. McDowell will have the other half of the tennis courts. Forest City will have Rotary Park, and Granite and Black Mountain will be up on the road. Tents will not be permitted on deck except for coaches, vendors, and handicapped seating. The earliest you will be allowed to set up tents is going to be Saturday at 6am. Please do not try to come in early or set up the night before.
Warm ups will be at 7am until 7:30am with McDowell. Forest City and Granite will warm up together from 7:30-8am, and Black Mountain will wrap it up from 8-8:30am. Timers and officials will meet at 8:40am, and we'll hope to start the meet at 9am. If volunteering first shift or half, please be there by 8:30am AT THE LATEST.
The season has flown by, and I appreciate all the help and support you all have given. Let's all come together to make this a fantastic last week and championship meet. See you all on Monday!
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Seating at McDowell
Hello everyone!
After conferring with the folks in Marion, we are actually going to be able to set up on the terraces or the parking lot. We may also set up in the church lawn (please account for any of your trash should you sit up here).
They have asked for us to park on the street in front of or alongside the Rec or in the church lot. Please do not park on the church lawn.
See everyone there to warm-up at 5:30pm!
After conferring with the folks in Marion, we are actually going to be able to set up on the terraces or the parking lot. We may also set up in the church lawn (please account for any of your trash should you sit up here).
They have asked for us to park on the street in front of or alongside the Rec or in the church lot. Please do not park on the church lawn.
See everyone there to warm-up at 5:30pm!
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Weekly Update for 7/15
Good evening, Torpedo!
This was a really good week we just had. We won at home against Black Mountain and did a great job at the Sprint Distance Meet yesterday in Forest City. Congrats to all swimmers, and thank you to all swimmer and families for a job well done in helping keep these meets running smoothly.
This will be a busy week! We are away on Tuesday and Thursday this week.There will be no practices on Friday, July 20th (morning or evening). Warm ups for both meets will be at 5:30pm, meaning please be ready to enter the water at 5:30pm.
First, on Tuesday, we will be in Marion at the McDowell Recreation Department. If you haven't signed up for the meet, you need to let me know by noon Monday. I will be doing entries at that point and not be doing any late entries. Please park in the church parking lot at
This was a really good week we just had. We won at home against Black Mountain and did a great job at the Sprint Distance Meet yesterday in Forest City. Congrats to all swimmers, and thank you to all swimmer and families for a job well done in helping keep these meets running smoothly.
This will be a busy week! We are away on Tuesday and Thursday this week.There will be no practices on Friday, July 20th (morning or evening). Warm ups for both meets will be at 5:30pm, meaning please be ready to enter the water at 5:30pm.
First, on Tuesday, we will be in Marion at the McDowell Recreation Department. If you haven't signed up for the meet, you need to let me know by noon Monday. I will be doing entries at that point and not be doing any late entries. Please park in the church parking lot at
Saturday, July 7, 2018
Weekly Update for 7/8
Hello, Torpedo!
I hope that everyone had a great 4th of July and is ready for the end of the season! With only three weeks left, we have a busy time ahead!
This week we have two meets: the first is on Thursday, when we take on Black Mountain at home. This year Black Mountain has 140 swimmers on their roster, so expect a long meet with lots of competition. Entries for this meet are due on Wednesday afternoon. We need to have as many of you help out with this meet as possible to ensure it runs smoothly. Without your help, this meet could run very long, and we want to give everyone a chance to swim all of their events. You can sign up to volunteer here.
The second meet this week is our annual Sprint/Distance meet in Forest City on Saturday, July 14th (7:45am warmup). Swimmers 11 and up will have a chance to swim a few shorter events, as well as some longer ones. Entries for this are due Wednesday morning. As a former distance swimmer, I love this meet because swimmers get both Splash-and-Dash and distance events. As I did last year, I will have a shirt for each swimmer who completes the 200 fly, 400 IM, and the mile. Mile swimmers need to have someone to count laps, as well as time for them in that event, which is the last event of the day. We do have some assigned volunteer roles for the meet, and you can sign up for that here.
We are still in need of a few more folks to stroke and turn. PLEASE help out. It's pretty simple to do, and the more we have available to do this, the easier it is on everyone. View the videos here, and then take a moment to complete a 25 question open-notes assessment found here. If you have questions, please ask me, and I will be happy to help.
This is the final stretch, folks. Let's all work together to do great things and help bring another championship trophy back to Valdese! Have a great week!
I hope that everyone had a great 4th of July and is ready for the end of the season! With only three weeks left, we have a busy time ahead!
This week we have two meets: the first is on Thursday, when we take on Black Mountain at home. This year Black Mountain has 140 swimmers on their roster, so expect a long meet with lots of competition. Entries for this meet are due on Wednesday afternoon. We need to have as many of you help out with this meet as possible to ensure it runs smoothly. Without your help, this meet could run very long, and we want to give everyone a chance to swim all of their events. You can sign up to volunteer here.
The second meet this week is our annual Sprint/Distance meet in Forest City on Saturday, July 14th (7:45am warmup). Swimmers 11 and up will have a chance to swim a few shorter events, as well as some longer ones. Entries for this are due Wednesday morning. As a former distance swimmer, I love this meet because swimmers get both Splash-and-Dash and distance events. As I did last year, I will have a shirt for each swimmer who completes the 200 fly, 400 IM, and the mile. Mile swimmers need to have someone to count laps, as well as time for them in that event, which is the last event of the day. We do have some assigned volunteer roles for the meet, and you can sign up for that here.
We are still in need of a few more folks to stroke and turn. PLEASE help out. It's pretty simple to do, and the more we have available to do this, the easier it is on everyone. View the videos here, and then take a moment to complete a 25 question open-notes assessment found here. If you have questions, please ask me, and I will be happy to help.
This is the final stretch, folks. Let's all work together to do great things and help bring another championship trophy back to Valdese! Have a great week!
Sunday, July 1, 2018
Weekly Update for 7/1!
Good evening, everyone!
Here we are on the eve of our mid-season break, but make no mistake, there is a whole lot going on in July! First and most important is our July 28 championship meet. We are the hosts this year, and we're going to need all hands on deck to make this a great meet. Remember, to compete at the championship meet a swimmer must have competed in two meets this season, and there are several more to go. Please remember to sign up to swim in the notebook by the due date listed on each page. We have been fortunate to get swimmers in later on away meets, but this isn't always going to be the case.
Tomorrow (Monday) night we will be in Forest City to face the Stingrays. It should be a pretty quick meet, as we have a smaller contingent attending, and they have a smaller team than in years past. Please take a moment to sign up to time or judge (WE NEED MORE OF YOU TO DO THIS!) using the SignUpGenius link.
The Forest City pool is located at the Callison Recreation Center, located at 217 Clay St, Forest City, NC 28043. Warm ups begin at 5:30pm, which means your child is ready on deck to get in the water at that time. From the Rec, it takes slightly less than an hour to reach, so please plan accordingly. There is no space to warm up or cool down after this time, so please be there.
We received your pictures in the mail and they will be available for you to pick up after practices tomorrow morning or after the break. We have experienced a delay on our shirts, but I have been promised they will be available here in time for our home meet on July 12th. I apologize for the delays.
Following our meet tomorrow, we will not be having practices the remainder of the week. We hope you will take that time to celebrate our Independence Day!
Here we are on the eve of our mid-season break, but make no mistake, there is a whole lot going on in July! First and most important is our July 28 championship meet. We are the hosts this year, and we're going to need all hands on deck to make this a great meet. Remember, to compete at the championship meet a swimmer must have competed in two meets this season, and there are several more to go. Please remember to sign up to swim in the notebook by the due date listed on each page. We have been fortunate to get swimmers in later on away meets, but this isn't always going to be the case.
Tomorrow (Monday) night we will be in Forest City to face the Stingrays. It should be a pretty quick meet, as we have a smaller contingent attending, and they have a smaller team than in years past. Please take a moment to sign up to time or judge (WE NEED MORE OF YOU TO DO THIS!) using the SignUpGenius link.
The Forest City pool is located at the Callison Recreation Center, located at 217 Clay St, Forest City, NC 28043. Warm ups begin at 5:30pm, which means your child is ready on deck to get in the water at that time. From the Rec, it takes slightly less than an hour to reach, so please plan accordingly. There is no space to warm up or cool down after this time, so please be there.
We received your pictures in the mail and they will be available for you to pick up after practices tomorrow morning or after the break. We have experienced a delay on our shirts, but I have been promised they will be available here in time for our home meet on July 12th. I apologize for the delays.
Following our meet tomorrow, we will not be having practices the remainder of the week. We hope you will take that time to celebrate our Independence Day!
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Black Mountain Meet Canceled (Practice Schedule Updates for Tonight and Tomorrow)
Good afternoon, Torpedo!
Given the strong likelihood of storms tonight in Black Mountain, we will not be having our meet. We will not be making the meet up, but Black Mountain will come to us in July.
With this in mind, WE WILL NOT practice this evening given the same chance of storms here.
WE WILL be having practice in the morning, but each practice will go only an hour. The 8:30 group will be DONE AT 9:30.
Our next meet is this coming Monday, July 2, in Forest City. They have a fairly small team this year, but we still want to have a good showing. All entries are due to me by Friday evening. No late entries are going to be accepted after that point, as I need to have entries to them by Saturday morning.
Thanks, everyone, for your understanding and patience as we deal with summer weather. Have a great evening.
Given the strong likelihood of storms tonight in Black Mountain, we will not be having our meet. We will not be making the meet up, but Black Mountain will come to us in July.
With this in mind, WE WILL NOT practice this evening given the same chance of storms here.
WE WILL be having practice in the morning, but each practice will go only an hour. The 8:30 group will be DONE AT 9:30.
Our next meet is this coming Monday, July 2, in Forest City. They have a fairly small team this year, but we still want to have a good showing. All entries are due to me by Friday evening. No late entries are going to be accepted after that point, as I need to have entries to them by Saturday morning.
Thanks, everyone, for your understanding and patience as we deal with summer weather. Have a great evening.
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Weekly Update for 6/25
Happy Saturday, Torpedo!
First of all, I want to thank everyone for an awesome job on Thursday! You all did great in getting pictures done, setting things up, helping swimmers get to the clerk of course, cheering folks on, and helping out when the storms hit. I'm incredibly grateful to have such a great crew. When we called the meet, we were ahead of both teams by about 30 points.
We had two new team records set during the events we swam: Sam Jensen set our 8 and Under boys 25 free record, and our 15-18 girls' free relay of Caroline and Grace Lucas, Morgan Hall, and Kloey Merck. Congrats to those swimmers on a job well done! There were several other swimmers very close, and hopefully we'll see some more records fall in short order.
We did have a few discrepancies pop up regarding some of our swimmers' ages. Due to this, we are going to be verifying the dates of birth for our swimmers. We don't need a birth certificate, but we would ask that you check your child's date of birth or provide it if you didn't at the beginning of the season or in the past. This information will not be shared with anyone other than team and meet administration.
We currently have 58 girls and 33 boys registered for our team, which is fantastic! We have some great swimmers, but our younger boys' age groups have a severe shortage. This has been an issue for us in the past when it came to our championship meet participation, and we want to make sure that we keep that championship trophy at home. If you know of any young men 12 and under who could participate in the team, please encourage them to come see us this week! We are still signing swimmers up until Friday, June 29.
This Tuesday we have our meet at Black Mountain, with warm ups beginning at 5:30pm. The pool is located at 401 Laurel Circle Dr., Black Mountain, 28711. When leaving I-40W, go right on Black Mountain Ave., then take a left on W. State St.. Take a right on Cragmont Rd., and veer right at the fork onto Rhododendron Ave. Turn left at Laurel Cir Dr and the pool is on the left.
There is limited parking available, so please drop off and then find a spot to park. Please come prepared to hang out for a while at this meet. More than likely this meet will go on pretty long, as Black Mountain has almost 150 swimmers on their roster this year, and 92 participated in a home meet this past week. We will need timers and officials to assist in the meet, and I'll send out a sign up link later.
Following this meet, we are in Forest City. Please sign up if you are going to make it on Monday, July 2nd. We will need entries to them by June 30th, so the sooner you sign up, the better.
Thank you all again for an awesome job thus far! Have a great weekend!
First of all, I want to thank everyone for an awesome job on Thursday! You all did great in getting pictures done, setting things up, helping swimmers get to the clerk of course, cheering folks on, and helping out when the storms hit. I'm incredibly grateful to have such a great crew. When we called the meet, we were ahead of both teams by about 30 points.
We had two new team records set during the events we swam: Sam Jensen set our 8 and Under boys 25 free record, and our 15-18 girls' free relay of Caroline and Grace Lucas, Morgan Hall, and Kloey Merck. Congrats to those swimmers on a job well done! There were several other swimmers very close, and hopefully we'll see some more records fall in short order.
We did have a few discrepancies pop up regarding some of our swimmers' ages. Due to this, we are going to be verifying the dates of birth for our swimmers. We don't need a birth certificate, but we would ask that you check your child's date of birth or provide it if you didn't at the beginning of the season or in the past. This information will not be shared with anyone other than team and meet administration.
We currently have 58 girls and 33 boys registered for our team, which is fantastic! We have some great swimmers, but our younger boys' age groups have a severe shortage. This has been an issue for us in the past when it came to our championship meet participation, and we want to make sure that we keep that championship trophy at home. If you know of any young men 12 and under who could participate in the team, please encourage them to come see us this week! We are still signing swimmers up until Friday, June 29.
This Tuesday we have our meet at Black Mountain, with warm ups beginning at 5:30pm. The pool is located at 401 Laurel Circle Dr., Black Mountain, 28711. When leaving I-40W, go right on Black Mountain Ave., then take a left on W. State St.. Take a right on Cragmont Rd., and veer right at the fork onto Rhododendron Ave. Turn left at Laurel Cir Dr and the pool is on the left.
There is limited parking available, so please drop off and then find a spot to park. Please come prepared to hang out for a while at this meet. More than likely this meet will go on pretty long, as Black Mountain has almost 150 swimmers on their roster this year, and 92 participated in a home meet this past week. We will need timers and officials to assist in the meet, and I'll send out a sign up link later.
Following this meet, we are in Forest City. Please sign up if you are going to make it on Monday, July 2nd. We will need entries to them by June 30th, so the sooner you sign up, the better.
Thank you all again for an awesome job thus far! Have a great weekend!
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Happy Meet Day!
Happy Meet Day, Torpedo!
It's finally here, and it's a big one! We will be facing off tonight against the McDowell Mariners and the Granite Falls Sharks. There will be a lot of good, healthy competition and I want to reiterate sportsmanship on the deck tonight.
We have had a lot of people sign up for roles in the meet tonight, but we need more! Please, if you haven't had a chance, go to this SignUp Genius link and select a time for you or a family member to assist.With the exception of the stroke and turn operation, all of the jobs are something you can learn very quickly. Check out my earlier blog post on how to run the console if you are interested in that.
We will be taking pictures at 3:30pm. If you didn't get a picture form at the beginning of the season and need one, there will be some on deck for you to use. About 4pm we will start lining up to do our team photo. Please wear a team shirt or a blue shirt if you have one. I apologize for not having our team shirts yet. They should be in for next week's meet in Black Mountain.
It is going to be hot, so please be sure to bring snacks, drinks, and shade for this afternoon. We will start allowing for tent setup at 4pm. Please try to be as compact as possible on the deck, as we will have a good number of people here tonight.
I will be sending out events for swimmers through Remind later today, and they will also be available via the Meet Mobile app.
Let's get excited! It's Meet Day!
It's finally here, and it's a big one! We will be facing off tonight against the McDowell Mariners and the Granite Falls Sharks. There will be a lot of good, healthy competition and I want to reiterate sportsmanship on the deck tonight.
We have had a lot of people sign up for roles in the meet tonight, but we need more! Please, if you haven't had a chance, go to this SignUp Genius link and select a time for you or a family member to assist.With the exception of the stroke and turn operation, all of the jobs are something you can learn very quickly. Check out my earlier blog post on how to run the console if you are interested in that.
We will be taking pictures at 3:30pm. If you didn't get a picture form at the beginning of the season and need one, there will be some on deck for you to use. About 4pm we will start lining up to do our team photo. Please wear a team shirt or a blue shirt if you have one. I apologize for not having our team shirts yet. They should be in for next week's meet in Black Mountain.
It is going to be hot, so please be sure to bring snacks, drinks, and shade for this afternoon. We will start allowing for tent setup at 4pm. Please try to be as compact as possible on the deck, as we will have a good number of people here tonight.
I will be sending out events for swimmers through Remind later today, and they will also be available via the Meet Mobile app.
Let's get excited! It's Meet Day!
Sunday, June 10, 2018
UPDATE FOR THE WEEK OF JUNE 11
Happy Sunday, Torpedo!
I hope you had the chance to get out to the graduation ceremonies for our schools this past Friday and Saturday! We have some fantastic young people starting new chapters in their lives, and I again applaud and congratulate them on their success and wish them the best going forward.
This week marks the beginning of our split practices. As a reminder, our 9-10 and 11-12 swimmers will practice 7:30-8:30am, and the 13 and ups will be from 8:30-10am. Our 8 and unders will practice from 5:15-6pm. All practices are Monday-Friday, unless otherwise specified due to a meet or coach announcement. For example, please remember we will not be practicing this Friday, June 15th.
In the past we haven't required any training gear (fins, paddles, etc.), but this year I want to encourage our 11 and up swimmers to consider purchasing fins, and a snorkel. I want to encourage paddles for our swimmers 13 and up in addition to the fins and snorkel. We will use these items in practice on occasion, but again, they are not required. If you had to choose between them, please look into fins first, then the snorkel and finally paddles.
If you are interested in some awesome Torpedo swag or getting any of the above mentioned training gear, please check out our SwimOutlet.com store. I've linked to it at the bottom of the page (or here for mobile viewers: https://www.swimoutlet.com/valdesetorpedo/). If you have an account on the site, be sure to link it to the team store. We do receive a portion of sales that come through the store, and you all get awesome gear!
Speaking of swag, t-shirts and cap orders were due on Friday. If you missed this deadline, we will go ahead and start collecting names for a second run. I have only heard from a couple of swimmers regarding silicone caps, and we do not have enough to make an order at this time. We are hoping to have the shirts available for our pictures on June 21st, and caps should be in by then, as well.
I will put out the sign up sheets for this season's meets tomorrow morning (Monday) in the VTST folder at the fitness counter. In order for your swimmer to be entered in a meet, they need to be signed up by the date provided on each sign up sheet.
In anticipation of our upcoming meets, I want to encourage all parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, etc. to find a way too assist us at our meets. We ABSOLUTELY NEED YOU ALL. I have included a link to the training videos for starters and stroke and turn officials at the bottom of the page. Please see if you can assist with either role, and let me know via email if you are interested. We will need timers, runners (collecting materials from officials), heat winner ribbon giver-outers, scorers and console operators. I will send out SignUp Genius links as the meets approach. Each role is vital to running a great meet, and you all have done an awesome job in the past. I'm looking forward to that being the case again this year!
If helping with meet operations may not be your thing, please think about helping out with our Boosters at their concession stand at home meets. You can assist by donating desired goods, or helping run the stand during the meet. Please speak with Jackie or Carol about opportunities for this.
Let's have a great week! See you all at the pool!
I hope you had the chance to get out to the graduation ceremonies for our schools this past Friday and Saturday! We have some fantastic young people starting new chapters in their lives, and I again applaud and congratulate them on their success and wish them the best going forward.
This week marks the beginning of our split practices. As a reminder, our 9-10 and 11-12 swimmers will practice 7:30-8:30am, and the 13 and ups will be from 8:30-10am. Our 8 and unders will practice from 5:15-6pm. All practices are Monday-Friday, unless otherwise specified due to a meet or coach announcement. For example, please remember we will not be practicing this Friday, June 15th.
In the past we haven't required any training gear (fins, paddles, etc.), but this year I want to encourage our 11 and up swimmers to consider purchasing fins, and a snorkel. I want to encourage paddles for our swimmers 13 and up in addition to the fins and snorkel. We will use these items in practice on occasion, but again, they are not required. If you had to choose between them, please look into fins first, then the snorkel and finally paddles.
If you are interested in some awesome Torpedo swag or getting any of the above mentioned training gear, please check out our SwimOutlet.com store. I've linked to it at the bottom of the page (or here for mobile viewers: https://www.swimoutlet.com/valdesetorpedo/). If you have an account on the site, be sure to link it to the team store. We do receive a portion of sales that come through the store, and you all get awesome gear!
Speaking of swag, t-shirts and cap orders were due on Friday. If you missed this deadline, we will go ahead and start collecting names for a second run. I have only heard from a couple of swimmers regarding silicone caps, and we do not have enough to make an order at this time. We are hoping to have the shirts available for our pictures on June 21st, and caps should be in by then, as well.
I will put out the sign up sheets for this season's meets tomorrow morning (Monday) in the VTST folder at the fitness counter. In order for your swimmer to be entered in a meet, they need to be signed up by the date provided on each sign up sheet.
In anticipation of our upcoming meets, I want to encourage all parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, etc. to find a way too assist us at our meets. We ABSOLUTELY NEED YOU ALL. I have included a link to the training videos for starters and stroke and turn officials at the bottom of the page. Please see if you can assist with either role, and let me know via email if you are interested. We will need timers, runners (collecting materials from officials), heat winner ribbon giver-outers, scorers and console operators. I will send out SignUp Genius links as the meets approach. Each role is vital to running a great meet, and you all have done an awesome job in the past. I'm looking forward to that being the case again this year!
If helping with meet operations may not be your thing, please think about helping out with our Boosters at their concession stand at home meets. You can assist by donating desired goods, or helping run the stand during the meet. Please speak with Jackie or Carol about opportunities for this.
Let's have a great week! See you all at the pool!
Sunday, June 3, 2018
UPDATE FOR THE WEEK
Good evening, Everyone!
It looks like we might have some clear weather this week, so we are really looking forward to getting some good work in with all of our swimmers. With that said, it is summer time, and we ask that swimmers be flexible should any storms arise this week.
As a reminder, we will change schedules after this week starting on June 11, with our 9-10 and 11-12 year olds practicing from 7:30am-8:30am, and our 13-18 year olds swimming from 8:30am-10am. Our 8 and Unders will swim from 5:15pm-6:00pm. All practices are Monday-Friday unless otherwise announced.
If you are interested in getting a shirt for the summer, please be sure to get your order in by Friday afternoon at the latest. Likewise, if you are interested in a silicone swim cap, please let me know so I can get numbers in line to place an order.
We have several swimmers participating in graduation celebrations this weekend, and we want to wish them congratulations and all the best! Please take a moment to congratulate our seniors when you see them on deck this week. We are very proud of all they have accomplished!
In addition to the best wishes to our upcoming grads, I have a two bits of information to share with everyone. First, I have recently accepted a full-time position with the Town of Valdese Recreation Department as the new Aquatics and Fitness Supervisor. I will be continuing in my coaching duties with the team, as well as assuming several new roles at the pool and fitness center. I am really looking forward to the new opportunities this provides the community, myself, and family. Second, as a result of this transition, I will be attending a day-long training in Asheville on Friday, June 15th. We will have a long weekend with no practice that Friday.
It looks like we might have some clear weather this week, so we are really looking forward to getting some good work in with all of our swimmers. With that said, it is summer time, and we ask that swimmers be flexible should any storms arise this week.
As a reminder, we will change schedules after this week starting on June 11, with our 9-10 and 11-12 year olds practicing from 7:30am-8:30am, and our 13-18 year olds swimming from 8:30am-10am. Our 8 and Unders will swim from 5:15pm-6:00pm. All practices are Monday-Friday unless otherwise announced.
If you are interested in getting a shirt for the summer, please be sure to get your order in by Friday afternoon at the latest. Likewise, if you are interested in a silicone swim cap, please let me know so I can get numbers in line to place an order.
We have several swimmers participating in graduation celebrations this weekend, and we want to wish them congratulations and all the best! Please take a moment to congratulate our seniors when you see them on deck this week. We are very proud of all they have accomplished!
In addition to the best wishes to our upcoming grads, I have a two bits of information to share with everyone. First, I have recently accepted a full-time position with the Town of Valdese Recreation Department as the new Aquatics and Fitness Supervisor. I will be continuing in my coaching duties with the team, as well as assuming several new roles at the pool and fitness center. I am really looking forward to the new opportunities this provides the community, myself, and family. Second, as a result of this transition, I will be attending a day-long training in Asheville on Friday, June 15th. We will have a long weekend with no practice that Friday.
Monday, May 21, 2018
Torpedo Pictures
Good evening, Torpedo!
I wanted to share a quick bit of news with everyone regarding our team pictures. This year we will take pictures before the June 21 home meet against McDowell and Granite Falls. Our make-up date will be the July 12 meet against Black Mountain.
In either case, individual and team pictures will be taken at 3:30pm.
I wanted to share a quick bit of news with everyone regarding our team pictures. This year we will take pictures before the June 21 home meet against McDowell and Granite Falls. Our make-up date will be the July 12 meet against Black Mountain.
In either case, individual and team pictures will be taken at 3:30pm.
Saturday, March 3, 2018
Meet/Practice Schedule for 2018
Good afternoon, TORPEDO!
Sign ups for this year's team will start on April 2nd, and we'll close registration on June 30. Please encourage friends and family to come on out and join us for a great experience!
We want EVERYONE to find a way to help at meets. Whether it be with concessions, timing, giving out heat winner ribbons, or running the console, there is something for everyone to do, and WE NEED YOUR HELP! Last year you all did an absolutely fantastic job of helping out and filling roles. I have no doubt you all will do the same again this season.
It is still early yet, but here is this year's schedule! Please note changes from years past with regards to the practice schedule. Based on feedback from you all last year, we have decided to move the practice for the 9-10 year old swimmers the morning. There may be a few more tweaks, but this is pretty much what we're looking at for this summer.
Also, for the meets, we have switched the event order to now have our free relays at the start of the meet as opposed to the end.
On to dates and times!
Special Events:
Tuesday, May 29, 5:15pm-after 10&Unders finish: Welcome Event with Popsicles and time for members to gather to ask the coaches questions, to learn how to time, etc.
Tuesday, July 3-Friday, July 6: NO PRACTICES in observance of the Independence Day Holiday
Friday, July 27, 5:15pm: Spaghetti Dinner before Championship Meet, Rotary Park (Old Rock School if bad weather)
Saturday, August 4, 6pm: End-of-Year Banquet at Rotary Park. One last chance for everyone to gather for a meal. Swimmers will receive awards and ribbons from the season.
PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Tuesday, May 29-Friday, June 8:
3:30pm-4:30pm (11-12, 13-14, 15-18)
4:30pm-5:15pm (10 and Under)
Monday, June 11-Friday, July 27:
Mon-Fri:
7:30am-8:30am (9-10, 11-12)
8:30am-10am (13-14, 15-18) -Wednesdays will be until 9:30am.
5:15pm-6pm (8 and Under)
Please make every attempt to be at the correct practice. If you can't make it for some reason, please discuss it with Coach Andersen. Please check the previous blog post for some insight into why we have practices the way we do: http://vtst.blogspot.com/2016/07/from-coach.html
MEETS:
Thurs., June 21: Granite Falls/McDowell @ Valdese
Tues., June 26: Valdese @ Black Mountain
Mon., July 2: Valdese @ Forest City
Thurs., July 12: Black Mountain @ Valdese
Sat., July 14: Sprint/Distance @ Forest City (11&Up Only-7:30am Warm-Up)
July 17: Valdese @ McDowell
July 19: Valdese @ Granite Falls
July 26: Forest City @ Valdese
July 28: League Championship @ Valdese (Swimmers must have swam two meets to be eligible to swim at the Champs meet-7:30am Warm-Up)
All home meets have a 5pm warm-up and all away meets have a 5:30pm warm-up with a 6pm starting time. Swimmers need to sign up for all of the meets they intend to participate in. If they are not signed up for a particular meet, then they will not be entered to swim.
Sign ups for this year's team will start on April 2nd, and we'll close registration on June 30. Please encourage friends and family to come on out and join us for a great experience!
We want EVERYONE to find a way to help at meets. Whether it be with concessions, timing, giving out heat winner ribbons, or running the console, there is something for everyone to do, and WE NEED YOUR HELP! Last year you all did an absolutely fantastic job of helping out and filling roles. I have no doubt you all will do the same again this season.
It is still early yet, but here is this year's schedule! Please note changes from years past with regards to the practice schedule. Based on feedback from you all last year, we have decided to move the practice for the 9-10 year old swimmers the morning. There may be a few more tweaks, but this is pretty much what we're looking at for this summer.
Also, for the meets, we have switched the event order to now have our free relays at the start of the meet as opposed to the end.
On to dates and times!
Special Events:
Tuesday, May 29, 5:15pm-after 10&Unders finish: Welcome Event with Popsicles and time for members to gather to ask the coaches questions, to learn how to time, etc.
Tuesday, July 3-Friday, July 6: NO PRACTICES in observance of the Independence Day Holiday
Friday, July 27, 5:15pm: Spaghetti Dinner before Championship Meet, Rotary Park (Old Rock School if bad weather)
Saturday, August 4, 6pm: End-of-Year Banquet at Rotary Park. One last chance for everyone to gather for a meal. Swimmers will receive awards and ribbons from the season.
PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Tuesday, May 29-Friday, June 8:
3:30pm-4:30pm (11-12, 13-14, 15-18)
4:30pm-5:15pm (10 and Under)
Monday, June 11-Friday, July 27:
Mon-Fri:
7:30am-8:30am (9-10, 11-12)
8:30am-10am (13-14, 15-18) -Wednesdays will be until 9:30am.
5:15pm-6pm (8 and Under)
Please make every attempt to be at the correct practice. If you can't make it for some reason, please discuss it with Coach Andersen. Please check the previous blog post for some insight into why we have practices the way we do: http://vtst.blogspot.com/2016/07/from-coach.html
MEETS:
Thurs., June 21: Granite Falls/McDowell @ Valdese
Tues., June 26: Valdese @ Black Mountain
Mon., July 2: Valdese @ Forest City
Thurs., July 12: Black Mountain @ Valdese
Sat., July 14: Sprint/Distance @ Forest City (11&Up Only-7:30am Warm-Up)
July 17: Valdese @ McDowell
July 19: Valdese @ Granite Falls
July 26: Forest City @ Valdese
July 28: League Championship @ Valdese (Swimmers must have swam two meets to be eligible to swim at the Champs meet-7:30am Warm-Up)
All home meets have a 5pm warm-up and all away meets have a 5:30pm warm-up with a 6pm starting time. Swimmers need to sign up for all of the meets they intend to participate in. If they are not signed up for a particular meet, then they will not be entered to swim.
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