WINTER PARENTS HANDBOOK.

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "WINTER PARENTS HANDBOOK."

Angel Palmer
6 years ago
Views:

1 WINTER PARENTS HANDBOOK

2 Mechanicsburg Swim Club Mechanicsburg, PA October 14, 2004 Dear MSC Swimmers and Parents, The Mechanicsburg Swim Club (MSC) Board of Directors is very excited that you have chosen to swim the winter swim season with our club. We are looking forward to an exciting season, with so many returning veterans and a promising group of new families joining the team. I want to take this opportunity to welcome you! Those of you who have not participated in competitive swimming before will have many questions about rules, procedures, and how you can help make your experience with MSC, and the winter swim season, a successful one. The primary purpose of this handbook is to help answer these questions. I also encourage you to get to know our veteran families who will be able to give you many tips on participating in a competitive swim club. And of course, all our Board members are always available to respond to any concerns you may have. MSC is fortunate to have Jeff Derr returning as Head Coach and Wes Derr returning as Assistant Coach. This will be the fourth winter season that Jeff and Wes have coached together. We would also like to welcome our newest assistant coach, Dina Hunsinger. Each year keeps getting better and better! Jeff, Wes, and Dina will ensure that all our swimmers make their best effort and contribute to the team while having a fun time doing it. As we gear up for this seasons challenges, please remember MSC s motto: EVERY SWIMMER IS A WINNER! Sincerely, Terri Kemmer President 2

3 COACHING STAFF The Mechanicsburg Swim Club (MSC) Board of Directors is happy to announce that Jeff Derr is returning as our Head Coach. Also returning is Wes Derr as Assistant Coach and we ve recently hired a new assistant coach, Dina Hunsinger. JEFF DERR Head Coach (phone ) Jeff started his swimming career with Age Group teams including Mountain View, West Shore Y, Indian Creek, and Cumberland Valley. During his four years at Cumberland Valley High School, he participated on both the water polo and swim teams which he captained his senior year. While at CV, Jeff was a District Qualifier all four years and a three year State Qualifier in swimming. By the time he graduated in 1993, the swim team only lost two dual meets in four years. After high school, Coach Derr went on to attend the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy where he continued his swimming and water polo career. Jeff was an All Conference swimmer for all four years and captained the swim team his senior year when he led the team to a second place finish at the conference championships. Jeff has been MSC s Head Coach since the winter season. Before joining MSC, he spent two as Indian Creek s Head Coach and Central Dauphin High School s Assistant Coach. Prior to that, Jeff was Assistant Coach for CV s water polo team and Indian Creek s swim team. Professionally, Jeff is a Lieutenant with the United States Naval Reserve. He is also employed by Schneider International, the largest trucking company in North America. WES DERR Assistant Coach (phone ) Like his brother, Wes has been swimming competitively since the age of five. He was on Cumberland Valley s high school team all four years during which his team won the District championship his last two years. Wes was also on CV s most successful water polo team in the history of the school. While attending West Chester University, he was the league s leading two-point scorer for three years. Wes led the nation in two point scoring in 1998, Wes s coaching experience includes Head Coach assignments for JCC and Indian Creek teams as well as coaching the West Shore Y s Masters swimming program. Professionally, Coach Wes is employed as the Health/Physical Education teacher for the Mechanicsburg School District, is Head Coach of the Mechanicsburg High School swim team, and coaches the Mechanicsburg High School water pool team. Dina Hunsinger Assistant Coach (phone ) Dina is originally from Murrysville, PA (near Pittsburgh). She started her swimming career at the age of 5 swimming for Franklin Area Swim Team (FAST) and then for Franklin Regional's high school team. She competed in WPIALS and States 4 years. Dina went on to swim for Indiana University of Pennsylvania for 4 years. While there, she was a cocaptain, a 5 time All-American, and held Freshman and School records in the 500 Freestyle, 400 IM, 1650 Freestyle, and 200 Breastroke. Her favorite events are IM & Breastroke. Dina s coaching experience includes coaching for 5 years at Meadowlink (summer league ) in Murrysville, and 2 years for Franklin Area Swim team(fast). Professionally, Coach Dina works for Carlisle Area School District as a Speech/Language Pathologist. She works with grades K-5, high school, and students in Life Skills Programs. 3

4 MECHANICSBURG SWIM CLUB Board Members We encourage all members of MSC to get to know your Board members and feel free to come to any of us with any questions, comments, concerns or suggestions you may have. Terri Kemmer President Meet Manager Ken Schaffer Vice President Concession Stand, Ways & Means Lee Capasso Treasurer VACANT Secretary Patty Stephens Clothing Committee, Public Relations Mike Auriemma Ways & Means Ann Kopacko Coaches Committee Bryan Stansfield Public Relations Bill Holloway Ex-Officio League Rep, Officials & Judges 4

5 FACILITIES We are the guests of the Mechanicsburg High School. We must respect our host and abide by the rules set forth by the Mechanicsburg School District. This includes the No Smoking on School Property policy and also the Keep All Doors Locked (except the main entrance) policy. The door to the main hallway leading to the pool must be locked at all times. WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PROP IT OPEN even if we are standing outside. Please use the main entrance to enter the building. Children (swimmers and siblings) should not be unattended in the hallway. If swimmers are in the building before or after practice, they must wait at the pool area. Do not enter the gymnasium or other areas of the building. The locker rooms must be kept clean and the facility must be maintained in good condition. Please make an effort to monitor the locker rooms to make sure they remain neat and orderly. There are times when we are not allowed to use the locker rooms due to use by visiting sports teams or other activities. At these times, we are not permitted to use closets, the pool office, or hallway bathrooms as temporary locker rooms. This rule will be strictly enforced so as not to lose our pool use privileges. Swimmers will need to dry off in the stands and wear clothes (sweats recommended) over damp bathing suits to go home. When in the hallway, swimmers must be dry and be wearing shoes. Please park in the designated areas only. The area in front of the high school is a NO PARKING ZONE. The Mechanicsburg Borough police may issue you a citation if you park in this restricted area. Street shoes and sneakers are not allowed on the pool deck area. Only bare feet or special swim socks/shoes are permitted. Our coaches are not responsible for your child after practice. Please be there on time to pick up your swimmer. Our goal is to maintain our reputation as a responsible user of the high school pool facilities. Swimmers who violate this policy are subject to disciplinary action up to and including suspension from the team. LOST AND FOUND A box is kept in the pool storage area for lost and found items. Check it periodically you might find that lost pair of goggles or missing towel. Swimmers often have similar team suits, goggles, caps, or towels. Please mark your swimmer s belongings with their name. If lost, they will be easier to identify and return. Once a month, lost and found items will be donated to charity. 5

6 COMMUNICATIONS Each swimmer/family has a folder in the file box. Please check your folder at each practice for any notices or updates. Team related information will also be posted on the bulletin board on the left wall as you enter the pool. All emergency communications (e.g., canceled meets or practices) will be done via the phone tree. MSC s web site, will also contain valuable information about the club and other swimming topics and links. PARENT VOLUNTEERING Unlike many other sports, swim meets require a large number of parent volunteers to make them run safely and efficiently. There are many tasks that need to be accomplished both at swim meets and behind the scenes. For the club to be successful, we ask that at least one parent from every family serve on one of the Board s committees. Volunteer opportunities include but are not limited to: Timing or other meet activities. Officiating. Working the scoring or timing equipment. Setting up and tearing down before and after meets. Writing ribbons, seeding, or other meet duties. Staffing the concession stand for a shift. All questions regarding volunteer opportunities should be directed to the Board member responsible for the committee. PRACTICE SCHEDULE MSC s normal practice schedule is every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Because the practice schedule differs when the high school teams starts practice, you will be provided with a schedule distributed separately from this Handbook. The Head Coach will determine which practice is most appropriate for your swimmer. Please note that schedule times and dates are subject to change. A monthly calendar will be distributed to communicate these changes to you. Coaches will also notify swimmers of these changes during practice. Schedule changes will also be posted on the bulletin board and a copy will be put in your swimmer s folder. Remember to check it often. 6

7 TIPS FOR MEETS Home meets will be held at Mechanicsburg High School with MSC s warm-ups at 8:00 a.m. Warm-up times will be communicated to you for away meets. Please check your folder for the scheduled time. Meets are usually not canceled due to weather! If a meet is canceled or postponed, you will be notified via the telephone tree. This notification could be late the night before or early in the morning before the scheduled meet. Swimmers should bring a sweat suit or shirt to wear between events and an extra towel or towels. It is also a good idea to bring something for both parents and swimmers to sit on (such as towels, folding chairs, old comforters, etc.). Goggles and caps occasionally break or tear. You may want to bring extras of these items to all meets. Because the pool area is usually quite warm, parent volunteers and spectators may want to wear shorts or lightweight clothing. Swimmers may want to bring money to purchase snacks or sodas AFTER they have completed swimming their events. Under Central Penn Aquatic League (CPAL) rules, swimmers are not permitted to wear ANY jewelry while competing. Any swimmers observed wearing jewelry during their events will be disqualified by meet officials. Because of this, it is recommended that swimmers leave all jewelry home. Younger swimmers find it helpful to have parents write the event numbers they are swimming and the lane they are assigned on the back of their hand in ink. This helps them remember their events so they do not miss competing. Swimmers are encouraged to bring a book to read or a quiet game to play between events. However, expensive items such as electronic games or audio equipment are best left at home since MSC is not responsible for lost items. No food or drink is permitted in the pool area at the Mechanicsburg High School. Food and drinks must be consumed in the lobby area. No street shoes or sneakers are allowed on the pool deck area. If you will be working a meet, please remember only bare feet or special pool socks/shoes are permitted on the deck. 7

8 PRACTICE ATTENDANCE POLICY ATTENDANCE POLICIES Attendance at practices is extremely important to the success of the club and swimmers alike. Swimmers are encouraged to attend practice consistently (3 times per week) especially the week of a meet. If conflicts should arise, please leave a note in the coach's mail slot in the front of the file box ahead of time. Note paper and pencil will be in the slot. Absence without notice should not occur except for illness or emergency. In general, swimmers are encouraged not to miss more than 5 practices a season. Swimmers are allowed to miss practice for school or other organization functions, religious education, and family reasons. Abuses of this policy will be dealt with by the coaches on an individual basis. Those participating in other fall sports are also permitted to miss practice, but must let the coach know. Swimmers who plan to participate in winter sports activities will not be permitted to miss practice. Excessive absenteeism from practices may lead to restriction of events and dismissal from the team. NOTE: Swimmers on high school teams are exempt from this policy once high school swim season starts. SWIM MEET ATTENDANCE POLICY Swimmers are expected to participate in every meet. Attendance at meets is vital to the success of the team. Meet attendance exhibits a commitment to your team and your coaches, and provides your team with the best chance to win. If a swimmer cannot attend a meet for any reason, one of the coaches must be notified NO LATER than the Wednesday before the meet. Unexcused absences from meets cannot be tolerated and will be dealt with in the following manner. One Unexcused Absence Swimmer will be limited to one event at their next attended meet. Two Unexcused Absences..Swimmer will be asked to leave the team. In cases of unexcused absences due to real emergencies, please contact the coaching staff as quickly as possible the following week. These situations will be dealt with on a case by case basis. In all situations regarding practice and meet attendance, the coaching staff will hold the final authority. This policy applies to time trials and all dual meets and will be strictly enforced. Attendance at Invitationals, Divisionals, and All Stars is optional. 8

9 PLEASE NOTE Warm-ups are mandatory for all meets. All swimmers are encouraged to stay until the end of the meet to ensure you are completely finished swimming. Last minute line-up changes may occur. If you must leave before the end of the meet, you must tell Coach Jeff. Leaving early at home meets is not permitted as help is needed for breaking down after the meet. COOPERATION AND SPORTSMANSHIP Swimmers are expected to give their undivided attention to the coaches and disruptive behavior will not be tolerated; therefore, parents, siblings and friends are not permitted on the pool deck during practice. It is both distracting and detrimental to all of our swimmers. It is the coaches discretion as to what constitutes disruptive behavior. See the Code of Behavior section below. Public displays of poor sportsmanship by swimmers will not be tolerated. This includes, but is not limited to disagreement with decisions of the officials or unsportsmanlike displays over one s own performance in an event. Parent and spectator behavior during meets will be held in accordance with the National Federation Swimming and Diving rule that states When spectator(s) becomes unruly or interferes with the orderly progress of the meet, the referee shall suspend the meet until meet management removes the individual(s) from the premises. This will be strictly enforced. 9

10 STATEMENT OF MECHANICSBURG SWIM CLUB CODE OF BEHAVIOR The Code of Behavior put into effect by the Board of Directors and coaching staff provides the framework by which all MSC disciplinary issues will be addressed. The goal of this policy is to provide a means to protect swimmers, coaches, parents, and MSC. Violations of these codes will result in disciplinary action and/or dismissal from the team. The following rules and regulations will be strictly enforced: 1. Swimmers shall respect their coaches and adhere to their requests at all times. 2. Swimmers shall refrain from using profane or obscene language. 3. Swimmers shall refrain from damaging or defacing school or personal property. 4. Stealing of school or personal property is prohibited. 5. Swimmers shall respect the rights of teammates and opponents alike and be courteous to others at all times. Harassment of any nature will not be tolerated. 6. Swimmers shall refrain from horseplay and fighting at all times. 7. Smoking or the use of smokeless tobacco is prohibited. 8. The possession or consumption of alcohol or drugs is prohibited. 9. Cassette/CD players and headphones must be kept at minimum volume levels. 10. Swimmers shall assist coaches in operating a safe and pleasant environment for all others present. 11. Swimmers will not disrupt practices or meets. 12. Swimmers will behave in an appropriate manner in the locker room. Disciplinary Measures Swimmers who violate the Code of Behavior are subject to the following disciplinary measures: 1 st Offense Swimmers will receive a warning and attend a coach s counseling session. 2 nd Offense Parents will receive a letter from the Head Coach to notify them of the offenses. 3 rd Offense Swimmers face suspension or dismissal from the team. NOTE: Any swimmer caught stealing, fighting, or destroying school property will be immediately dismissed from the team. 10

11 TIME TRIALS Time Trials will be held at the Mechanicsburg High School pool during November. All swimmers are expected to attend Time Trials. Each swimmer will be timed in each of the four competitive strokes freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, and breaststroke. Parent training will be conducted during Time Trials. Instruction for the various meet jobs will take place at this time. Parents are strongly encouraged to attend. DUAL SWIM MEETS MSC is in Division AAA of the Central Penn Aquatic League. During our regular season, we will swim against each of the five teams in our Division as well as one cross-over meet which we will swim against a team in another Division. Swimmers are allowed to swim a maximum of three individual events (including exhibitions) and one relay. An exhibition heat is one in which no points are awarded. Most of the pools at which MSC swims are six lanes. For individual events, the scoring is as follows: 1 st Place 6 points 2 nd Place 4 points 3 rd Place 3 points 4 th Place 2 points 5 th Place 1 point 6 th Place 0 points For relay events, the scoring is as follows: 1 st Place 8 points 2 nd Place 4 points 3 rd Place 2 points 4 th 6 th Place 0 points Ribbons are awarded to all swimmers that score points in any of their events. DIVISIONALS AND ALL STARS Divisionals, which will be held in February after the last regular season meet, is a championship meet in which all of the teams in our division compete. All swimmers who have participated in three or more dual meets are eligible to participate. Parent volunteers will be needed for timing and officiating. Swimmers who have qualifying times at Divisionals go on to compete in All Stars. All Stars is a championship meet in which the top swimmers from all CPAL divisions compete. This event will be held later in February. 11

12 INVITATIONALS During the swim season, there are many opportunities for your swimmers to swim in additional meets called invitationals. These are voluntary and your swimmer may pick the events they wish to swim. The benefits of swimming in invitationals (particularly for younger and new swimmers) include getting used to the swim meet format, establishing times for selected strokes, and having the opportunity improve endurance and stroke technique. One of MSC s coaches will always attend invitationals. More information will be provided during the swim season. RIBBONS Meet ribbons will be in your swimmer s folder at the Monday practice following the meet. Please remove the ribbons and leave the folder. 12

13 ORDER OF WINTER SWIM EVENTS 1 Boys Open 200 Free 2 Girls Open 200 Free 3 Boys 8& U 25 Free 4 Girls 8 & U 25 Free 5 Boys Free 6 Girls Free 7 Boys Free 8 Girls Free 9 Boys Free 10 Girls Free 11 Boys Free 12 Girls Free 13 Boys 8 & U 25 Breast 14 Girls 8 & U 25 Breast 15 Boys Breast 16 Girls Breast 17 Boys Breast 18 Girls Breast 19 Boys Breast 20 Girls Breast 21 Boys Breast 22 Girls Breast 23 Boys 8 & U 50 Free 24 Girls 8 & U 50 Free 25 Boys Free 26 Girls Free 27 Boys Free 28 Girls Free 29 Boys Free 30 Girls Free 31 Boys Free 32 Girls Free 33 Boys 8 & U 25 Back 34 Girls 8 & U 25 Back 35 Boys Back 36 Girls Back 37 Boys Back 38 Girls Back 39 Boys Back 40 Girls Back 41 Boys Back 42 Girls Back 43 Boys 8 & U 25 Fly 44 Girls 8 & U 25 Fly 45 Boys Fly 46 Girls Fly 47 Boys Fly 48 Girls Fly 49 Boys Fly 50 Girls Fly 51 Boys Fly 52 Girls Fly 53 Boys 8 & U 100 Individual Medley 54 Girls 8 & U 100 Individual Medley 55 Boys Individual Medley 56 Girls Individual Medley 57 Boys Individual Medley 58 Girls Individual Medley 59 Boys Individual Medley 60 Girls Individual Medley 61 Boys Individual Medley 62 Girls Individual Medley 63 Boys 8 & U 100 Free Relay 64 Girls 8 & U 100 Free Relay 65 Boys Free Relay 66 Girls Free Relay 67 Boys Medley Relay 68 Girls Medley Relay 69 Boys Medley Relay 70 Girls Medley Relay 71 Boys Medley Relay 72 Girls Medley Relay

Maclay Swim Team Handbook

Maclay Swim Team Handbook Maclay Swim Team Handbook Table of Contents 3. General Information 4. Policies and Procedures 6. Lettering Requirements & Team Captains Duties 7. Frequently Asked Questions 9.