We had the best first week of practice! We could not have a more enthusiastic group of swimmers and especially loved watching some of our new swimmers gain confidence and watch their fears disappear as they conquered the pool!  We also learned...these kids LOVE pancakes!

Please read all the way through for important information about this week...

Our First Meet: Everything You Need To Know!

Where: Deer Creek Pool - 6200 West 133rd Street (Near 135th and Metcalf)

When: Wednesday - Swimmers arrive 4:45pm, meet begins @ 5:30pm

Heat sheets will be sent out before the meet (and available on the SwimTopia app if you have downloaded and have the premium version).

Swimmers should sit with their age groups in the crash areas, parents should bring chairs for the spectator area.  Please chat with your swimmer about 1) good behavior in the crash areas and 2) the importance of staying in the crash area so that the Team Parents for their group can find them when it's time to swim!  You are always welcome to (and encouraged) to check on swimmers in the crash area.

BEFORE THE MEET

Please make sure your swimmer's arm is marked with their events BEFORE arriving at the pool. (Tutorial here, use a thin Sharpie.)  Please also write their first and last name on the back of their right shoulder!  This makes it so much easier for Team Parents to get them to their events. IMPORTANT: With 145 swimmers, we will not have time to do this for you at the meet. SWIMMERS MUST COME WITH ARMS MARKED AND NAMES ON THEIR BACK. If you are new, watch the tutorial and if you're still thinking "Omg Help!" reach out to Lindsay/Heidi before Wednesday and we'll hook you up with a veteran parent in your age group! We are so happy to help BEFORE Wednesday (Wednesdays are absolutely NUTS!)

Changes to Optional Dives & Turns Practice

Holy moly, the turnout for Dives & Turns has been off the charts -- waaaaay more than any other season! We love having all these kids so much...but after the first week we can tell we're not able to manage so many kids at one practice AND give them good instruction.  So, beginning this week the Dives & Turns schedule will be:

Monday & Thursday - Families with last names beginning A-L

Tuesday & Friday - Families with last names beginning M-Z

We are going to hold off on Wednesdays for now as coaches are always crazy getting ready for meets (and kids should be staying out of the heat as much as possible before the meets!)

Thank you for understanding!

Teen Night Begins Monday

Our first teen night is Monday (tomorrow) beginning at 7pm. They'll have a light practice and fun activity planned by our junior coaches followed by dinner and a show on the pool deck. They don't need to bring anything but goggles, a towel and themselves!

Team Gear - Shirts, Caps, Yard Signs etc.

Your swimmers picked up their (bright orange) team shirts (and any extras that the family ordered) on Friday at practice.  If you haven't seen them yet, check their bag!  A few kids did not pick theirs up, so they will be available at practice this week.

If you ordered team caps, we expect to receive all of them on Monday (and will have at practice on Tues/Wed).

If you ordered a yard sign, they are in! You can grab them at practice this week or Lindsay/Heidi can leave on our porch for pickup. 

If you are missing anything else ordered from SwimQuik, call them directly. We don't have records of those orders so, unfortunately, aren't much help!

Donuts & Ribbons Thursdays

We always have donuts after practice on Thursdays and kids can pick up any ribbons they earned from the first meet! Look for the big blue file boxes on the pool deck -- kids can pick up their ribbons there!  We totally admit -- the donuts are bribery -- sometimes kids are tired after a long meet on Wednesday night, but donuts usually do the trick to get them out of bed!

Mustang Market Friday

The Market is a Mustang tradition -- it's basically a giant prize booth that swimmers can spend their Mustang Money.  Swimmers earn virtual "money" for attending practice each day.  They can choose to spend their money however they choose -- but the Market is open June 9, 16, 23, 30 and July 14.  It's a fan favorite and open 8:30-10:45am!  Huge thanks to parents Shawna Levy and Angela Jones for running this and Jamie McGowan for being our "buyer"!

DQ Fridays

Much to the kids' dismay, DQ (in this case) actually stands for 'disqualification' not Dairy Queen!  DQ's are pretty common for swimmers in these first few meets, especially for our new swimmers. DQ's are given when swimmers do not follow proper technique. All swimmers have been DQ'd at some point -- so if your swimmer gets one (or two or three) please reassure them it's totally normal and part of the learning process. Even our oldest swimmers get DQ'd sometimes!

New this year, we are going to use Friday warm-ups on the basketball courts to go through some of the most common DQ's from each meet.  Parents are always welcome to listen in too!  And we always encourage swimmers to ask their coaches why they were DQ'd.  Coaches will have a little yellow slip with the reason for each swimmer!

A swimmer will not know they were DQ'd immediately, it will show up when the meet results are posted.  Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions!

Families Signed Up To Work Wednesday

Just a reminder for the volunteers signed up to work Wednesday's meet.  If you cannot make it, please send a replacement!  All volunteers should check in with Lindsay at the Mustangs table to ensure they get volunteer credit.

MF Mustangs @ DC Dolphins

June 7, 2023

If you made it this far, THANK YOU! I promise the weekly notes are not always this long!

-Lindsay & Heidi