Great start to a busy week!

First of all, thank you to EVERYONE who came down to Forest City last night for the meet. There were a ton of great swims, and all of our swimmers did a fantastic job. I also really appreciate the parents, grandparents, and other family members who helped time and officiate. We can't make the meets happen without you, and I heard from numerous Forest City parents who wished they had enough people willing to help to do four shifts like we have adopted for our meets this season.

I wanted to remind everyone of a few things as we begin the last half of this busy week:

• We swim Granite Falls at home on Thursday, so PLEASE sign up if you haven't done so. It was a close meet last time, and we will need all hands on deck. I will be doing entries Thursday after the morning practice. It will be a longer meet, so please come prepared. It is really important swimmers stay hydrated and out of the sun (prior to the meet, too!).
• I will also send out text messages tomorrow to make sure we have our first shift workers for the meet, so if you want to be proactive, please go ahead and message me, either through remind or e-mail. 
• If you haven't picked up your shirt or cap this year, please pick it up at the meet tomorrow night. They will be at the concession stand. 
• We will have both AM and PM practices on Friday.
• Finally, 11 and up swimmers have the Sprint/Distance Meet Saturday morning in Forest City. This is always a fun meet. In the event you haven't already done so, please sign up.

Every year we send out a survey for you all to give us feedback. This morning I went ahead and sent out a link to a google form for you to go ahead and lodge any questions or comments to me regarding the team, league, whatever. I want to encourage you all to please use this. I will take some time over the next few days to do whatever I can to address your thoughts and see how we can use them together to make VTST a better organization.

We will still send out the end of season survey in late July, but it has come to my attention that some of our members have had some concerns that hadn't been aired, and I wanted to go ahead try to find a way to make myself as available to you as possible. PLEASE, if you have any concerns, come talk to me and I will try to address them the best I can. If I don't know about them, then I can't work to help resolve things.

Granite Falls Address/ Meet Info

Hi everyone!

Tomorrow night we face-off against the Granite Falls Sharks. Warm up begins at 5:30pm, but you need to be there in time to be ready to get in. The address for the Rec Center and pool is 56 Pinewood Rd.​, Granite Falls, NC 28630. 

Please keep in mind it is going to be hot when we start warm ups. Please bring plenty of water and start hydrating TONIGHT!

Events for swimmers will be texted tomorrow morning, and they will be posted at the pool, as well. It is very important to pay attention to the meet to be sure that you aren't missing any events. Coaches will help the younger swimmers, but we need older swimmers to assist, too. 

See you all tomorrow! Go TORPEDO!

The Season Begins!

Good evening! As we begin this weekend, please take a moment to remember the meaning of the holiday. Thank you all in the Torpedo family, whether parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, or cousins, for your service to this country.

I want to pass along a few quick housekeeping items:
1. Tuesday will be our first day of practice for the season! Our 11-18 year old swimmers will practice from 3:30-4:30, and our 10 and under and 8 and under groups will practice from 4:30-5:15. Please come prepared with goggles, a suit, and, for our older swimmers, a water bottle.

2. There has been a slight change to our practice scheduling. Due to some conflicts arising the mornings of June 9 and June 10, WE WILL NOT START OUR SPLIT AM/PM SCHEDULE UNTIL MONDAY, JUNE 13.

3.  We host our first meet on June 14 against Forest City, so please be sure to sign up for the meet in our notebook as soon as you know you know you can attend. The sign up sheets for the season will be in the notebook at the fitness counter, and you will need to sign up for any meets you plan to attend. IF YOU SIGN UP AND CAN'T ATTEND A MEET, PLEASE LET THE COACHES KNOW so we can make any needed adjustments in a timely manner.

4. The Hickory Crawdads are helping us by letting us receive a portion of the ticket sales for the June 16 game. All you need to do is pick up a voucher and turn it in when you buy a ticket for a game. This is the first of two games the Crawdads will be helping us with, and we are grateful for their help again this season.

5. June 18 is our stroke and turn clinic at Valdese. The clinic begins at 9am and should end by noon. Anyone who can attend, even if new to the team, please make an effort to attend. If you can help us out this season by volunteering as an official, it would be a huge help to the entire team. The more officials we have available, the easier it is for everyone. It is my hope to also be training a few additional starters for the meets this year. This way I can share those duties at home meets without being concerned for our meet timelines.

6. Finally, we currently have about 70 swimmers signed up for the season. We want to encourage you all to invite friends and family members to bring to the pool and join us in the fun this summer. It is going to be a great season, so bring some folks along to join in the fun.

We are all looking forward to a great season! See you on Tuesday!