Juniata Valley YMCA (JVY) Stingray Swim Team Handbook

Transcription

1 Juniata Valley YMCA (JVY) Stingray Swim Team Handbook The Juniata Valley YMCA Stingray Swim Team s primary focus is on developing character in individuals at all skill levels, not on winning or training only elite swimmers. We will uphold the YMCA mission of building an individual s spirit, mind, and body along with building strong kids, strong families, and strong communities. Swimmers will learn the four core values of the YMCA: caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility. Your swimmer s participation promotes sportsmanship, self-esteem, self-discipline, selfimprovement and social interaction among a wide variety of age groups. Inherent in this team atmosphere is the striving for personal excellence in a spirit of good will and fair play. The JVY offers a competitive swimming program on several levels of ability so every child between the ages of 5* and 18** has the opportunity to contribute. Parents should recognize that the swim team cannot take the place of swimming lessons. To be on the swim team, children should be able to swim the length of the pool without assistance. If not, they should continue in swimming lessons and join the team at a later date. *The CENKEY swim League and the YMCA of the USA do not have a minimum swimming age; the age of 5 has been determined by the JVY to be the usual youngest age that swimmers have the ability to swim a continuous 25 yards and have the attention to concentrate during practices. Swimmers younger than 5 may request a variance from the aquatics department to participate on the JV YMCA swim team. **Swimmers aged may continue to compete with the YMCA if they are not swimming for a college or university Juniata Valley YMCA Swim Team Coach s Letter Welcome to the Juniata Valley YMCA swim team! I am so excited about this season! Our team looks to be our largest yet and we have so many new and exciting things happening! The biggest change you will notice is our competition. We have merged our swim league and are now in a new league with 11 other teams! We are the CENKEY YMCA swim league. We will be swimming all the events that are in the PA state meet at each league meet. We will also be scoring meets again! This is an exciting aspect of our meets that has been missing for the past few years in our league. Anyone who knows me knows that winning had never been my main objective. I am extremely competitive, however, and would like to show off our swimmers in a new and different way by winning some meets. It also makes our swimmers work more as a

2 team than in the past. Swimmers have an interest in more than just their own races and I hope this will foster a greater sense of team for our Stingrays. Coming out on top of a dual meet requires cooperation. We NEED meet participation we can t score points without swimmers. We also need swimmers to venture into new events and try different and sometimes uncomfortable events. We can t win with all our swimmers swimming the 50 free. We need to cover all the events as much as possible. I know we can do it! The proudest moments for swimmers are often when they have completed an event that they thought was impossible for them! In our objective to do well at meets, we will be changing our sign up procedure slightly. You may still choose 4 events, but number them in order of preference from 1-4, 1 being your 1 st choice. We will be putting you in two of those 4 events, but choosing the other 2 based on what will help the team. Of course, if you choose varied and longer events, you will have more chance of getting all your event choices. So if YOU want to control which meet you swim the longer races, pick them! I will not promise that every swimmer will swim every event. That totally depends on ability. I will promise that we will stretch every swimmer a little farther than they think they can go! Another change for this season is our practice times. Our practices start at 4 pm and the levels do not overlap. We will have 3 lanes for each practice. This schedule change allows the Y to most efficiently use the facility. The pool is an in-demand place! Please check the pool schedule carefully before dropping off swimmers to open swim. In general there is no longer any open swimming prior to practice. All 6 lanes are in use for swim practice from 4-5:30 Mon-Thurs. I ask that swimmers get to the pool 15 minutes before their scheduled practice and be on deck and stretched by the start of practice. Last year we had a record 24 swimmers make district time cuts and 4 advance to state competition. With the talent we have on the team, I know we can break that record this season! To make that happen, we all need to be on the same page as far as practice. I expect Pups and to some extent Eagles to come to practice to have fun. I ask that we have fun in the context of swimming the workout each day. Mantas are at the stage where practice WILL NOT be fun. It MUST be hard work from the start of the season if we want those district time cuts. The fun for a Manta swimmer comes from seeing great times at a meet. Manta rays should try to fit some dry land cross training or strength training into their week. We will be focusing on core strength and kicking this season at all levels. (Yes, I hear the groans!) I am open to suggestions and look forward to a fun, exciting season! I am available before or after practice, via , or you can call or text me with any comments, suggestions, or concerns. I do ask that you do not interrupt the coaching staff during practice except in urgent situations. Ann Bonson, JVY Head Swim Coach voice or text ann@jvasa.org The JVY swim team adheres to the mission and core values of the YMCA: OUR MISSION: To put Christian principles into practice through programs that build a healthy spirit, mind and body for all. OUR VALUES: Caring: Show a sincere concern for others. Honesty: Be truthful in what you say and do. Respect: Follow the golden rule. Responsibility: Be accountable for your promises and actions.

3 JVY Swim Team member Expectations: The coaching staff of the JVY Stingrays has the following expectations for swimmers, which are mostly common courtesy and basic manners. These include, but are not limited to, the following: Work with and support teammates of all ages. Cheer for and encourage fellow team members. Experienced swimmers should help newer members at meets and practices, as appropriate. Commit to giving maximum effort and full concentration at practices and meets. Respect all coaches, staff, parents, and fellow swimmers. Sit together as a team at all meets. Be in the team area when your events are called at meets. Don t make anyone come looking for you. Wish other swimmers good luck before the race and a handshake and good race or congratulations after the race, regardless of the race outcome. Stay in the water until all swimmers in the heat finish the race. Never throw goggles or other gear. Keep your hands to yourself unless it is to wish another swimmer good luck or congratulations with a handshake or pat on the shoulder. This includes, but is not limited to: hitting, pulling, dunking, lifting, lap-sitting, and public displays of affection. Be at the pool in time to be stretched and ready to be in the water, with goggles and caps, by the assigned time at meets and practices. All swimmers are expected to warm up with the team, in their designated lanes, swimming the assigned warm-up. Use your schedule and calendar to keep track of practices and meets. Sign up by the Monday prior to the meet, whether you are coming or not. You may notice a glaring omission in our expectations of a good team member. We have not mentioned speed or winning. Those are NOT our primary goals. We want to build swimmers of great character. Winning is awesome, fun, and exciting, but not at the expense of being an amazing person and team member!

4 JVY Conduct Policies: You are representing the Juniata Valley YMCA. As such, you are expected to: o act responsibly at all times o be respectful to everyone o be caring of others o be honest with themselves and others As a YMCA swimmer, you are expected to make your best effort to attend all scheduled practices, meets and team meetings. If you qualify to advance to districts and beyond, you are expected to attend and represent our YMCA to your best ability. Unsportsmanlike behavior towards team members, coaches, staff, officials, or other competitors will not be tolerated. These behaviors include, but are not limited to: o Being a nuisance or otherwise inconsiderate to swimmers in your lane during practice or warm-ups o Disrespectful social behavior on the deck, in the locker rooms, or other public areas o Failure to adhere to all the rules at the practice or meet facility o Failure to act in a way that supports the YMCA s core principals of Caring, Honesty, Respect, and Responsibility YOU are responsible to sign up for all swim meets. Indicate whether attending/not attending each and EVERY meet. You will not be entered into a meet unless you have signed up! You are expected to share lanes with other swimmers. Please allow enough space between you and the swimmer ahead of you and do nothing to prevent others from swimming. Do not leave anything unsecured in the locker rooms. Swimmer bags can be stored on the deck during practice and meets, or locked in a locker. Participants who have been recently sick, have pink-eye or diarrhea should not be swimming. Please call and let us know you are sick. To help keep our pool clean, please wash your suit after visiting another pool. There will be no pen markings on any swimmer s body except for recording of the swimmer s events on their hand/palm. Any other body art must be approved by the head coach. All jewelry should be removed during warm-ups and swim meets. When waiting for a ride, please stay in the supervised areas of the Y. Immediately upon arrival at the Y, all members are required to scan their pass at the desk.

5 What to Expect at practice: Arrive early enough at the pool to get changed, get caps on, get gear, and be stretched before your practice begins. We want to get in the water at the start of our pool time, as pool time is valuable. In general, the entire practice group, certainly the entire lane, will do the same workout set, at the same time. Be on time! If you arrive late, you will need to join in where the lane is in the workout. There will not be open space in the pool to warm up on your own. See the list below for what you need for practice. Equipment: Swim suits - Girl s suits must be one piece with straps that stay in place. We recommend purchasing swim suits meant for competitive swimmers. The vast majority of boys wear jammers competitive style suits that cover the thighs and end above the knees. Racing briefs are also fine, but most boys prefer the modesty of the jammers. Boys can swim in traditional swim trunks, but they have much more drag and impede the swimmers progress through the water. We have selected a team meet suit that is durafast polyester intended to last the entire season. No suit, however, will hold up if it is the only suit worn several times a week for 4 months! It is best to plan on a practice suit and a meet suit to get through the season. Our team competition suits are the TYR Phoenix in Navy/Orange imprinted with our JVY Stingray logo. We will be ordering them through Swimmers Network when they come to the pool to size our swimmers in early November. The girls suits are around $60 and the boys $40. You can also purchase your own, minus the imprint at several great websites. While these suits are recommended, swimmers may swim in a plain navy suit, or any other suit that meets the above suit criteria. Goggles invest in a good pair. You get what you pay for with dollar goggles. Goggles are available at the YMCA, Swimmers Network when they come for suit fittings, Rapid Transit in State College (who do great goggle fittings), and online. You NEED goggles to see where you are swimming! Caps We will offer one order for personalized JVY Stingray caps at the beginning of the season. These caps come in pairs (always good to have a spare!) and are highly recommended. If you must choose between the team suit and cap, go with the team caps! They are great for identifying our swimmers at meets. Caps are $22 for a set of 2. Athletic Shoes are necessary for all strength training and cross-training activities. Always have them in case of dry land workouts! Training aids we routinely use fins, gloves, paddles, pull buoys, kickboards, and other training aids. JVASA and the YMCA have invested in swim gear and it is available for use as coaches see fit. We strive to have equipment that fits our swimmers, but there may not always be the perfect size available, especially with fins. Swimmers may have their own gear in a bag and hang it at the YMCA. It is recommended for Mantas to have their own fins and paddles. Water Bottles bring water or sports drink to every practice. It is easy to get dehydrated during a hard workout because you do not realize you are sweating! We have a Swim Swap scheduled for Wednesday, November 6 at 5:00 pm. We encourage swim families to bring suits and equipment that is not being used and offer it to swimmers who need suits and equipment.

6 Swimming Season: The Juniata Valley YMCA swim team is a member of the CENKEY Y Swim League. The members of this league are Bellefonte, Brookville, Clarion, Clearfield, DuBois, East Lycoming, Hollidaysburg, Jersey Shore, Juniata Valley, Lock Haven, Ridgeway, and State College YMCA s. Our league meets are scored and held on Saturdays from December-February. Meets may start anytime between 9am and 1:00pm and generally run 3-4 hours. Swimming levels: PUPS This level is for swimmers learning techniques; freestyle with rotary breathing, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, starts and turns. This is a technique driven level. New swimmers with no prior competitive experience and swimmers still learning the strokes will be placed as Pups. Approximately 30-40% of our team is pups. Pups Practice Times: Mondays and Wednesdays 4-5pm Cost: $96 Earlybird; $121 during November. EAGLE RAY Swimmers at this level must know all four strokes, forward starts, and be able to execute a reasonable turn. These swimmers will continue to refine stroke technique while they concentrate on building endurance and speed. Approximately 40-50% of our team is eagle rays. Prerequisite: 100 free in 2:00 or less; legal 100 IM; forward start; and coach recommendation is required. Eagle Ray Practices: Tuesday and Thursdays 4-5pm; Wednesdays 7-8pm. Cost: $129 Earlybird; $154 during November. MANTA RAY These swimmers are ready to push themselves to the next level. This requires difficult drill and interval swimming during workouts along with dry land training as assigned and written goal work. Mantas should be self motivated to work at practice. Swimming success in competition cannot come from external sources. Be ready to commit to work when signing up to be a Manta. All swimmers making a district time standard in competition and planning to swim at districts are automatically promoted to the manta ray level % of our team is manta rays. Prerequisite: 200 free in 3:00 or less; 200 IM in 3:30 or less; OR District time cut in current year s competition. Manta Rays must also demonstrate starting dives with appropriate streamline/pullout; flip turns; district goals. Coach recommendation is required. Manta Ray practice times: Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs 5:30-7:00; with meeting, dryland, and skill work beginning at 5pm on days designated by the coach during the season Cost: $153 Earlybird; $178 during November. NOTE: Per YMCA National rules, all Y swim team members are required to have an active Juniata Valley YMCA membership to participate on the swim team. This membership must be dated 30 days prior to their first competition and swimmers must be members before they begin practicing with the team. Land based cross training - Swimmers are STRONGLY encouraged to supplement their pool time with dry land strength and cross training exercises. Young swimmers can accomplish this with simple crunches and the like at home. Swimmers aged 11 & older are encouraged to strength train in the wellness center before or after practice. Swimmers need adult supervision in the wellness center, those 14 and over are permitted to work out alone. The wellness center RULES: All swimmers must be trained on the equipment. See wellness center staff for a training appointment. NO loitering or horseplay. Please keep the dry land workouts appropriate for the age and skill of the swimmer and supervise young athletes as they try new activities!

7 Level Specific Practice Objectives and Expectations: Pup Objectives: To develop the swimmer s confidence, both in and out of the water To help them relate positively to other teammates To become proficient in 3 or more strokes and develop a positive attitude about swimming Pup swimmers are expected to: Come to practice on time and prepared to swim with goggles and caps Be willing to try new drills and movements Talk to the coaches anytime you have trouble with a drill or stroke movement Always allow other swimmers to swim their workout Listen keep head above water when instructions are being given Eagle Ray Objectives: To develop a strong work ethic with discipline To understand the importance of personal goal setting To become competent in all 4 strokes through training for the individual medley To develop a feeling of team unity and swimmers who have respect for teammates, coaches, and the YMCA. Eagle Ray swimmers are expected to: Come to practice on time, prepared to swim goggles, caps, positive attitudes Swim the workout - Be willing to try new drills and movements Talk to the coaches anytime you have trouble with a drill or stroke movement Always allow other swimmers to swim their workout Not to engage in picking, teasing, or horseplay during practice Pay attention head above water when instructions are being given Manta Ray objectives: To demonstrate responsibility and commitment to the team by consistently attending practices and meets, with 100% effort. To utilize dry land training, in addition to pool practice for training and conditioning. To provide leadership and positive role models to younger swimmers To understand that success is directly related to practice attendance To have respect for fellow teammates, the team as a whole, the coaches, and the YMCA as an association. Manta Ray swimmers are expected to: Swim the workout given by the coaches. Swim in any lane designated by the coaches. Swim with any team members as designated by the coaches. Coaches have reasons for daily swim groupings. Work as a team. Teasing, pulling, pushing, picking, or other horseplay will not move you toward your goals and will not be tolerated. Coaches and/or Y staff members WILL ask you to leave the pool for the remainder of practice if you are not swimming the workout OR are preventing other swimmers from swimming their workout. You may return for the next practice, ready to swim. Coaches are there to help you with technique, speed, drills, turns, starts, and other aspects of your swimming. Talk to your coaches about aspects you want to improve in your swimming and they will incorporate those things in future workouts. During periods with swim lessons or classes, there will not be open swimming lanes during our practice time. Team members will need to swim with the team during team practice time, adhering to the above expectations.

8 What to expect at swim meets: There are no eligibility requirements to swim in any of our dual meets. Our motto is everyone swims, everyone wins. All swims count. Swimmers swim by seed time ; that is the fastest previous time for the season. The final event placing is across all heats for the event. Each swimmer will swim 3 or 4 times, dependant on their ability and on the number of swimmers in the age group for relays. Swimmers may swim a maximum of 4 events per meet, at least one of which must be a relay. Every swimmer is expected to swim in every event of their age bracket throughout the season. Normally, swimmers may choose 2 of their own events and the coach will place the swimmer in 3 rd and 4 th events. Requests can be made to the coach of event preferences, but it is ultimately up to the coach to determine the line-up. (A list of events can be found on Appendix 1.) We ARE scoring meets this year and have more talent on our team than ever before! We WILL be placing swimmers in events that will help the team. Remember, we will never ask a swimmer to swim something that is beyond their ability; swimmers just THINK the event is beyond their ability! Please plan to attend all meets possible, we need swimmers at meets to score! There will be a sign-up form for every league meet (away and home). Each swimmer is responsible for checking off their name and ranking their preferred events 1-4; We will try to give every swimmer their top 2 events (#1 and & #2) Because of a large number of swimmers or restricted space on the pool deck, our swimmers could be housed in a separate area from the pool. Normally, the team is supervised by the Mother Hen who lets swimmers know when they are ready to be seeded to swim their event. Here are some items we recommend you pack for your meets: Swim suit plus an extra; Goggles plus an extra; Swim cap plus an extra Three or more towels (wet towels make for cold swimmers) A blanket or sleeping bag if you end up in a gym Warm clothing (swimmers can get cool between events and it is good to have sweats or other comfortable clothing) Cards, games, music, books to entertain swimmers between events Healthy snacks (There will usually be a concession stand if you choose to purchase food) Fold up chair(s) (Check pool guidelines, some do not allow chairs on deck) Money for concessions or programs As new swimmers learn the strokes, they inevitably will be disqualified (DQ) in the events they swim at meets. This happens or has happened to every swimmer on the team. Please encourage your swimmer to keep practicing and working hard. Coaches will encourage swimmers to not dwell on a DQ, but learn from it and move on. If your swimmer feels they were DQ d in error, please direct the swimmer to talk to the coach. Everyone makes mistakes and the coach can work directly with the meet referee to determine why the swimmer was DQ d. Any swimmer who is disqualified in their event will not earn any points or use their recorded time.

9 JVY Swim Parents and Guardian Expectations: Our swimming program works so well due to the cooperation and communication between the parent organization, JVASA, and the YMCA. Both organizations work hard to support our swimming program, both financially and with their time. Through your registration fees, the Y pays for coaching, pool time for practice, league and advancement fees, and other pool expenses. Parents make the program succeed by providing all the manpower for the swim meets & team activities and by fund raising through JVASA to pay for home swim meets, supply training gear, awards, and fun goodies for the team. I ask that you support JVASA s efforts for your swimmers! We need you! Our meets can not run without your participation. We encourage you to become a swimming official, learn to time or run the timing equipment, work in our concession stand, or participate in the many other areas needed to make a swim meet successful and fun for all of our swimmers. Parents are asked to help during at least half of each meet. Sign up is in the meet book. Currently, all parents are welcome to watch practice. If parents on deck become a problem, the YMCA has the right to close practices. Please be courteous and considerate of all using and working at the YMCA. During a meet, please direct your concerns and questions to our coaching staff. It is inappropriate, and against the rules, to directly approach swimming officials or recorders with a problem or complaint. You may of course, thank them for their service to the teams! 35% of the JVY swim team budget is paid for by the Juniata Valley Area Swim Association (We call it JVASA). Without concession stands at home meets and fundraisers we would not have training equipment, ribbons and awards, the timing system, coaches at CHAMPS and Districts, and all the extras that make the team fun! Please contribute to the concession stand (sign up is in the meet book) and help with the fundraisers. Please direct any of your concerns or questions to the coaching staff before or after practice, rather than during practice. Please contact the coaching staff with questions or if your swimmer is unable to attend a meet or practice: o By coaches@jvasa.org o By calling the JVY at or Head coach Ann Bonson at Although the Juniata Valley YMCA considers input from JVASA regarding policies, hiring, and fees; the JVY makes all final decisions regarding the management of the YMCA Swim team. Rules for the team are governed by the following: 1. Rules that Govern YMCA Competitive Sports: etitive%20sports.pdf 2. Technical Assistance Paper on YMCA Competitive Swimming Programs YMCA of the USA: 3. YMCA Mid-Atlantic Group Championship Guide: 4. YMCA Mid-Atlantic Group Competitive Swimming and Diving Championships Rules Supplement 2006 Edition: USA Swimming Mini-rulebook (technical rules only): 6. The swimmer and parent rules included in this team handbook

10 GLOSSARY OF SWIMMING TERMS Aging up When a child moves from one category to another as the result of a birthday. District and National Qualifying Times Times set by the YMCA that must be met by a swimmer in order to swim in the either of these meets. These are set by event (stroke), sex and age group. Clerk of Course The check-in point for each swimmer in order to be placed in the proper event, heat, and lane for a swim meet. DQ Short for disqualification. If a swimmer is observed to have failed to swim a stroke in the prescribed manner, then he or she will be disqualified by a strokes and turns official. Heat One individual race within an event. There are usually several heats in a given event. Swimmers are placed in a heat according their fastest previous time. (usually their fastest time for that season) This time is called the seed time. Heats may be run from slowest to fastest which is considered championship seeding, or fastest to slowest. IM Short for Individual Medley, a multi-yard event where each stroke is swum in the following order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. Intervals In practice when swimmers swim prescribed distances during a specific period of time, i.e. swim 100 yards in two minutes. If a swimmer finishes in 1:40, then he or she has 20 seconds to rest. (Also called repeats.) JVASA Short for the Juniata Valley Area Swim Association. This is the parental support group, more information can be found at JVY Short for the Juniata Valley YMCA. Line-up This is the swimmers event schedule that the coach prepares for every meet.