December 3, 2010

Greetings WCAN Families,

As we move into the winter swim season, we wanted to express the importance of dressing warmly both upon arrival as well as after practice. The pool can be a chilly place in the winter and being a wet swimmer makes it even colder. Please let your swimmers know that warm clothing and shoes are necessary this time of year!

Second, there are some WCAN team standards that we would like to remind everyone of and that will be upheld moving forward.

• Each swimmer should be on time to practice and ready to get in the pool when they arrive. During the fall and winter months, we usually need to remove pool covers and put lane lines in before practice. However once the pool is ready for practice, the swimmers should be ready as well. (In simpler terms...no lolly-gagging to get in the pool.) Additionally, there are of course days when circumstances do not allow for early arrival at practice. In these instances, we just ask that the swimmers hustle to get in the pool when they arrive.
• Each swimmer should be ready to give a good effort at practice! This does not mean swimmers should be ready to sprint the entire workout each night. As coaches, we appreciate that a "good effort" means something different for each swimmer, whether they are a part of WCAN at a competitive or recreational level. 
• Each swimmer should listen to his/her coaches during practice and at swim meets (if applicable). This means being attentive during swim set introductions, with stroke feedback, etc. As Coaches, we all coach because, simply...we love doing it! We want to see the swimmers have fun and improve daily on their skills but we also need their partnership in order to achieve this!
• Each swimmer should have respect for all others both in and out of the water. This point generally goes without saying. However, we felt it was necessary just to remind each athlete to be kind and think of other people’s feelings in all circumstances. 

Finally, each swimmer has the opportunity to have a great practice every day at the pool!  There are some days that are better than others, but if all swimmers think about these guidelines and simply do his or her best while in and around the pool, then this will give each swimmer the opportunity to achieve the best possible result during each workout. 

We are all looking forward to a chilly, yet awesome winter season of swimming! There are many exciting things to come for Wine Country Aquatics! 

Cheers, 

Coach Katie and the Coaching Staff