By applying yourself to the task of becoming
a little better each and every day over a period of time,
you will become a lot better.
~John Wooden~
As we talked a lot about this past week, as we begin a new season we are in the business of correcting bad habits and solidifying good ones. We may take things a little slow and we certainly aren't looking to push intervals just yet, but hopefully this allows us to really focus and set a great foundation that will set us up to really reach our potential come November. Speaking of quotes, each athlete will be asked to bring a quote/verse/etc. with them to the retreat. Each class will go through their contributions and pick one of them to memorize as a class, kind of a class mantra. Parents, it could be fun to ask your daughter what they're considering or what they've come up with!
Our first week in the pool was a blast! It's so fun to see our swimming and diving family finally back together again in the water. As I told our freshmen, this week may have been a jump up from what they were used to in middle school, but everyone's hanging in there quite well and it'll only get more comfortable (though not necessarily easy) from here. Our first Fun Friday event of the season was a BLAST to watch and hopefully even more fun to actually participate in! 42 girls playing Shanks and Minnows in the diving well is quite the chaos to watch! It was also cool to see 12 of our alumni come back and join in the fun. There are a few pictures posted both on our Facebook page (HC Aquatics) and Twitter (@HCAquatics). Hopefully, this can be an annual beginning-of-the-season activity!
Below is the important info for this week. Once again, we have another week with a lot going on, so please read carefully and plan accordingly!
Practice Times
- 3:30 to 5:45pm (divers may go to 6:00pm depending on board availability).
- Remember, that means on-deck and ready to hop in the water at 3:30, so plan accordingly.
Locker Room Use
- This week we can use our normal locker-room in the Instructional Pool.
- Upperclassmen will show our crew which row of lockers is ours. If you want to leave equipment, suits, towels, etc. in the locker-room, make sure you bring a lock!
- Due to construction in that pool area, athletes must use the back hallway to get to the main pool area. In an effort to keep the hallway floors dry, athletes need to bring a towel on-deck with them for practice so they can dry off before heading back to the locker-room!
- Swimmers can store their equipment bags in the locker-room as they did last year.
Senior Camp
- HCHS' Senior Camp is this Sunday and Monday up at Spring Hill Camp. I, along with many of the high school faculty, will be there so I will not be at practice on Monday. Lisa will run our practice, with swimmers in the water by 3:30pm.
- Seniors need to bring a suit, cap, and goggles to camp for our annual wake-up swim on Monday morning!
- HC Athletics' Night is Tuesday (8.18) at 7:00pm. This year there will be two speakers, one for parents and one for athletes.
- Fall athletes are required to attend this talk, so please plan for this.
- At 7:30ish we will break out into meetings for individual sports.
- Each family will receive a packet with info from our picture forms, to our Team Handbook, and lots of pertinent information will be gone over. Please have a parent from your family in attendance!
- The Team Handbook is required reading. A signed-off sheet (both parents and athletes) is due on Friday, 8.21.
- There is a goal sheet in the back of the Handbook that needs to be filled out and brought to the retreat.
- Pay-to-play for this year will be $85 (checks payable to Holland Christian).
- You will receive an envelope at the Parent Meeting, so if you bring a cash or check that night you can just turn it right back in!
Team Pictures
- Our team pictures will be at 3:15pm on Thursday (8.20).
- Picture forms will be handed out at the Athletics' Night on Tuesday. If you want an individual or team photo, be sure to have your daughter bring a filled-out form with them on Thursday!
- Athletes need to wear nice jeans and a white t-shirt.
- Warm Ups (brand-new Maroon parkas!!!) will be handed out this week.
- Our Team Retreat is this Friday and Saturday (8.21-22) at the cottage of a friend of the DeBoer family.
- Address: 4153 N. Lakeshore Dr., Holland, MI 49424 (just north of Camp Geneva).
- There is construction on Quincy, so it might be easier to take Riley or Lakewood to get to Lakeshore.
- We will carpool there after practice on Friday.
- Pick up will be at 5:00pm at the retreat location on Saturday.
- Key items to bring:
- Your filled-out goal sheet from the back of our Team Handbook.
- A bag chair.
- A lifejacket (if you have one).
- A swimsuit and towel.
- Sleeping bag & pillow.
- A pair of white or black flip-flops (like Old Navy style) to decorate.
- If you have a question about this, talk to one of our Captains (Emily, Erica, and Areal) or Katherine Heeres (I've heard she's super excited about this activity!).
We're truly off to a great start in the pool! The beginning of the season can always be a little bit of an adjustment, but we're starting to build some great habits and have lots of positivity. If we can make ourselves a little better each day, it should make for a fun season!
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