Sunday, March 9, 2014

2014 Announcements and Season Schedule!

Good afternoon everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed the recent snows we have experienced these past weeks and are ready to get out to the pool! We are looking forward to a great summer with you all at VTST!

I'd like to address a few things with everyone as we look forward to the upcoming season. First, Morganton Swim Club will not be participating with the Tarheel Swim League this season. As a team, we should all be positive and wish them the best as they move forward and transition to different competition. They have provided us with great intra-county and intra-league competition over the years, and we will miss them.

Second, over the past few seasons we have done a tremendous job of encouraging new swimmers to join our team family. I would like to issue every Torpedo family member a challenge: I challenge you all to invite at least one friend or family member to join our team this season. Meeting this challenge will help us to ensure continued success within all of our age groups, continue to raise the profile of the sport in Burke County, and provide more people to share in the fun we all enjoy as members of the VTST family!  

Our schedule for the season is as follows:
Monday, April 21: Sign up sheets available at the Valdese Rec Fitness Counter.
Tuesday, May 27: After-school practice for the season begins- 11-12, 13-14, 15-18: 3:30-4:30; 10 &Under: 4:30-5:15.
Saturday, June 7: TSL Stroke and Turn/ Starter Clinic at McDowell YMCA (Marion) 9am-12pm. Please plan to attend if you are interested in officiating or have served as a stroke and turn official in the past. Clinic to be conducted by USA Swimming's Colleen Gillan, a well-respected official across the country.
Wednesday, June 11: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR BURKE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS!
Thursday, June 12: Beginning of summer practice schedule. Evenings will practice every weeknight EXCEPT for meet nights, and morning practices will take place every morning EXCEPT for the morning following meets.
11-12, 13-14 Novice: 7:30-8:30am;
13-14 Advanced, 15-18: 8:30-9:30am;
8 and Unders: 5-5:45pm;
10 and Unders: 5:45-6:30pm.
PLEASE plan to have your swimmer at their appropriate practice. If you absolutely cannot find a way to get your swimmer to their appropriate practice, please contact me and I will be more than happy to work with you on some options.
Tuesday, June 24: Home Meet - Granite Falls Sharks (5pm Warm-up)
Tuesday, July 1: Away Meet - Forest City Stingrays (5:30pm Warm-up)
Tuesday, July 8: Away Meet - McDowell Mariners (5:30pm Warm-up)
Thursday, July 10: Away Meet - Granite Falls Sharks (5:30pm Warm-up)
Thursday, July 17: Home Meet - Transylvania Aquabats/ Black Mountain Stingrays (5pm Warm-up)
Saturday, July 19: Sprint/ Distance Meet at Forest City; 11 and Up Only (Warm up TBD)
Friday, July 25: Spaghetti Dinner at Rotary Park immediately following 10 and Under Practice (6:30pm)
Saturday, July 26: TSL Conference Meet at Valdese (Warm up TBD)
Saturday, August 2: Team Potluck Dinner and Awards Ceremony (Rotary Park, Time TBD)

Please be on the lookout for more updates. We will once again be utilizing the Remind101 text service, so please sign up if you haven't! Enjoy your sunny Sunday afternoon!

~Coach Andersen

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Thanks again for another fantastic season!

Good morning! We managed to avoid any rain and have a great dinner and awards ceremony last night. Thank you to everyone who came and provided food and fellowship.
We still have some t-shirts available, as well as caps and ribbons for some swimmers. We hope to have all the Sprint/Distance ribbons together by Monday, so please feel free to stop by and pick them up then.
As was the case last season, we have another short evaluation available. This is an opportunity for you all to give myself, the coaching staff, and the Rec. some feedback about our program. The survey is completely anonymous, so please feel free to be as blunt as you wish to be. It can be found here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/C8LQBNT. It will be open to respondents until the end of the month.
Also, don't think that summer is the only time you can be in the water. There are several programs available in the area, and I will be more than happy to discuss ways to stay in the pool. Feel free to email me should you be interested, and I hope many of you will be!
 Finally, I want to personally thank you all again for a wonderful season.Without your support, this program would not be what it is, and what it is is fantastic. We as coaches had a great time, and we thank you for allowing us to work with and to get to know your families. We hope to see you back next summer for another great season of Torpedo swimming!

Friday, July 26, 2013

Last minute conference news

Good morning!
Tonight will be our spaghetti dinner! Please bring pasta, sauce, salad or bread to share. Come after 6pm, and we will eat at 6:30 after the 9-10 practice finishes.
Tomorrow will be a pretty long day. Conference warm ups are at 7:30am. Please be on time as deck space will fill quickly. Should you want to come early, tents maybe set up at 6am. Any tents found onthe tennis  courts before 6am will be removed.
Parents, please plan to contribute some food to our coach and official hospitality with drinks,fruit, baked goods, or sandwich fixings. Any help would be great and welcome!
Finally, please come out tomorrow ready to cheer on all of the swimmers. We want it to be a good meet for everyone, and a positive environment will help us achieve that goal.
See you all tonight!