HANDBOOK 2017-18 SEASON
COMMUNICATIONS Head Coach: Jason Lovell Jason.lovell@fwisd.org Assistant Coach: Ben Harris Benjamin.Harris1@fwisd.org Team Web Site http://paschalswimdiveteam.weebly.com Team Email paschalswimdiveteam@gmail.com Join our Team Remind App! If you have a smartphone, get push notifications. On your iphone or Android phone, open your web browser and go to the following link: rmd.at/paschalhig Follow the instructions to sign up for Remind. You ll be prompted to download the mobile app. If you don t have a smartphone, get text notifications. Text the message @paschalhig to the number 81010. If you re having trouble with 81010, try texting @paschalhig to (901) 730-7610.
Introduction Welcome to the 2017-2018 Paschal High School (PHS) swim and dive team. This year there are many changes to the program, which we hope you will find exciting. Primarily, you have two new coaches, Jason Lovell and Ben Harris. Secondly, we are starting diving and water polo teams. Coach Harris and I are ready for another successful year at PHS swimming and diving! We both are looking forward to the challenges of the season. I am your head coach, Jason Lovell. I recently have moved back to Texas from San Diego, Ca. I am a Fort Worth native as I graduated from Crowley High School. I have been swimming since the age of 4. I swam in high school and for Fort Worth Area Swim Team (FAST). In college is swam distance free, fly, and IM for New Mexico State University and the University of Texas at Austin. I later attended Texas Tech University. After graduating from college, I taught AP Biology at North Crowley High School and was their Head Swimming and Diving coach from 2000-2005. In 2005 I decided to move to California and pursue a career in the biotechnology industry. While living in California, I completed 7 San Diego Rock N Roll Marathons! After 10 years in California, I decided to move back home to be close to my family. I currently swim for Team Ridglea Masters swim team and recently completed the Shark Fest Alcatraz Swim in San Francisco, Ca. I am Benjamin Harris and I am your Assistant Coach. I was born and raised in Fort Worth, TX and attended Bruce Shulkey Elementary, Wedgewood Middle, and Southwest High School. I began swimming during my elementary years and became serious about swimming in high school. I swam for the Fort Worth Area Swim Team (FAST) from 1999-2005 and competed 3 consecutive years in high school, mostly in the back stroke and as a sprinter. I attended the University of Louisiana in Monroe. I walked on to ULM s swim team and swam on the collegiate level for two years. I graduated from ULM with a BFA in Studio Art and moved back to Forth Worth. In the summer of 2007, I took on a summer job as a Swim Instructor, teaching children and adults how to swim. I enjoyed coaching so much that in 2008, after beginning my teaching career, I became a volunteer assistant for Southwest High Schools swim team from 2008-2010. Later, I became their head swim coach from 2013-2016. I am married to my lovely wife Ashley who is a teacher in the HEB school district. We have a sweet fourmonth-old baby girl name Abigail. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, reading, hiking, traveling to different countries, learning and getting to know different cultures of other people, kayaking, making art, and being a passionate fan and a learner of this sport. PHS is in Region 1 and District 3. Our Region and District is incredibly competitive, featuring many of the top ranked teams in the state. Meets will be intense. With our size of our team and our uncovered talent, I believe we can win district and place in the top 3 in Region. We expect that PHS will be a leader in our District/ Region, demonstrating fast swimming, excellent teamwork, and superior sportsmanship.
As coaches, Ben and I commit to the Paschal High School Swim Team, and have the following duties: To emphasize the proper ideals of sportsmanship, ethical conduct, and fair play. To eliminate all possibilities which tend to destroy the best values of the game. To stress the values derived from playing the game fairly. To show cordiality to visiting team and officials. To establish a happy relationship between visitors and hosts. To respect the integrity and judgment of sports. To achieve a thorough understanding and acceptance of the rules of the game and the standard of eligibility. To encourage leadership, use of initiative, and good judgment by players on the team. To recognize that the purpose of athletics is to promote the physical, mental, moral, social, and emotional well-being of the individual player. To remember that an athletic contest is only a game it is not a matter of life or death for player, coach, school official, fan, community, state, or nation. To avoid unfavorable criticism of other coaches and school officials, except that formally presented to the proper authorities. To report to the proper authorities matters which are detrimental to the welfare of the Conference. To study and practice the Sportsmanship Code of the NHSF. To be familiar with and to adhere all local, regional, and state rules and regulations. Coach Harris and I believe the safety of the student athletes is our top priority. Thank you for your interest in the program and we look forward to seeing you on deck. Jason Lovell and Ben Harris PASCHAL HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING AND DIVING TEAM HANDBOOK This handbook contains standards and expectations for members of the Paschal High School Swimming & Diving Team. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Coach Jason Lovell. This booklet has been approved by the Paschal Athletic Department and conforms to all U.I.L. standards that govern all Texas high school sports. The Paschal High School Swimming & Diving program consists of a group of boys and girls that are fully committed to representing their teammates, sport, school and community in the best possible manner always. Being a member of the Paschal High School Swimming & Diving Team is an earned privilege and honor. Failure to maintain these standards and requirements will result in the loss of this privilege. QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS Swimming & Diving is a very demanding sport that requires the following: Swimmers and divers must be physically able to participate at an advanced level of their sport. Swimmers and divers must be mentally able to handle the demanding and sometimes grueling schedule that goes with competitive swimming and diving and being a student.
Swimmers and divers must have more character and integrity than the average student. Swimmers and divers must maintain a passing average in all classes. Swimmers and divers are expected to follow every rule the school, district, and state require for high school students and student athletes. Swimmers and divers are expected to follow every rule in this booklet and every rule verbally communicated to them by their coach. Swimmers and divers are expected to make a full commitment to the team, training schedule, as well as the meet and taper schedule set forth by Coach Lovell. Remember this is a team and no one person is more important than the team. Treat your team members with respect in the water and outside of the water. Treat all opponents with respect and politeness. Respect and listen to your coaches. Your individual honesty, integrity, and image equal that of the team s. It only takes one person to make us all look bad. Team members that cannot adhere to the above requirements, or the requirements to follow, will be in poor standing with our program and will be removed. Attendance to swim training is mandatory. ATTENDANCE STANDARDS Any tardies (including being IN the pool by the scheduled time) and absences, excused and unexcused will be treated just like any other class and will be reported to the attendance office. Leaving training early (unless has been cleared by Coach Lovell) is considered an absence. Additional attendance standards: To build a program that improves the quality of the swimmers as well as the success of the team, attendance is a high priority. Swimmers are expected to be in attendance every training day barring extenuating circumstances. Such circumstances include sickness and family emergencies. Doctors appointments should be scheduled during non-training times (some emergencies will be permitted on a case by case method). ***Coach Lovell and/or Coach Harris must be notified in advance of a coming absence*** Communication is an essential tool in the world in which you live. Should a swimmer have difficulty communicating absences in a timely manner to Coach Lovell by either email, cell phone, or office phone, then that student will be placed on athletic contract. In order to account for the common academic emergencies that occur each six weeks, each swimmer is allowed to miss two training sessions a six weeks (arranged with Coach Lovell prior to absence) without penalty. We refer to these types of days as Academic Days. Should a swimmer need to miss a third training day in one six weeks, it will be assumed that the swimmer is behind in their studies and will subsequently be scratched from their next eligible meet for them to get their academics in order.
Very few things are more important than the academic success of our students. Every swimmer must know though, that accepting a spot on the Paschal High School Swim Team will only make that endeavor more difficult. Athletes give up a sizable chunk of their valuable time to compete in an activity they love. This does not diminish the importance of academics. It simply gives us less time to accomplish the same goals. Every swimmer is expected to manage his/her time so that academic success is a certainty. SWIMMING TRAINING STANDARDS Attending Paschal s training is mandatory. To begin training at Paschal High School each student must have: Can be found online: https://fortworthisd.rankonesport.com/new/home.aspx 1. UIL Pre-Participation Physical Evaluation (completed by a physician) 2. Medical Emergency Card 3. Insurance Information and Policies 4. UIL Acknowledgment of Rules 5. UIL Concussion Form 6. UIL Steroid Form 7. UIL Cardiac Awareness Form 8. Paschal Swimming & Diving Handbook Form Signature Page 9. ALL FRESHMEN OR NEW TO PASCHAL NEED TO FILL OUT A Previous Athletic Participation Form. (Coach Lovell will hand these out on the First Day of School) 10. Panther way substance abuse form (Meeting is Aug 22 nd ) If an athlete must miss training due to an emergency, illness, or any other unexpected circumstance, the reason must be communicated to the coach within 24 hours or it will be counted as an unexcused absence. An unexcused absence can be applied towards that swimmer s Academic Day allowance. The training schedule will be explained to the swimmers by the coach at the beginning of the year. Any changes during the year will be communicated as they occur. There are no bad weather days. If the conditions make it impossible to swim, there will be dry land training. That dry land training will take place at either the pool or at Paschal High School and will begin 15 minutes after the scheduled workout time should there be any necessary transportation changes. If there is no communication assume that the practice situation has not changed. The meeting place for dry land training will be in the old weight room. Training times will be communicated to the team in a timely fashion when they become known. Our training sessions will be focused on advancing as many of our swimmers as far as possible during the championship portion of our season. Therefore, it is very important to continue training consistently during the winter break, due to the proximity of the District Meet which is the first stage in the championship portion of our season.
DIVING TRAINING STANDARDS We will be starting a diving team this season. Stay tuned for more diving information. WATER POLO Water polo will begin after the swimming and diving season has concluded. Stay Tuned for more details. VARSITY The standard order of events in varsity high school meets is as follows: 200-yard Medley Relay 200-yard Freestyle 200-yard Individual Medley 50-yard Freestyle **1-meter Springboard Diving** 100-yard Butterfly 100-yard Freestyle 500-yard Freestyle 200-yard Freestyle Relay 100-yard Backstroke 100-yard Breaststroke 400-yard Freestyle Relay **1-meter Springboard Diving falls between the 50- yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly at the state swim meet. However, during the season the springboard diving event occurs before the start of a dual meet or earlier in the week prior to a Saturday invitational meet. It is replaced in these meet programs with a 10-15-minute break. Double Dual, District, Regional and State Meets: A team can field a maximum of four athletes per individual event, and each athlete can swim a maximum of two individual events and two relays or one individual event and three relays. Relay spots are based on time. The top four swimmers will swim in A relays, the next four will be in the B relay, and so on. Relay placements can change throughout the season. Additionally, in meets excluding the end-of-season championship meets each team can field two relays consisting of four athletes on each relay. No spot is secure on a relay. Changes can be made per relay at the district, region, and state meet level. The relay advances not necessarily the swimmers on the relay. All eligible swimmers and divers will be able to compete and attend Invitational Meets. JUNIOR VARSITY Although swimming is technically a varsity-only sport (meaning there is no official junior varsity division within the UIL or district framework,) we colloquially refer to those athletes that do not qualify for the varsity meet competition roster and those that are ineligible to represent their school in varsity competitions for reasons other than those relating to academic eligibility as being on the junior varsity. This is simply because so many other sports have official junior varsity divisions it is generally understood that any athlete not on the varsity competition squad is on junior varsity. So, we use the term junior varsity in that spirit, even though by that term it is simply meant that the athlete either did not qualify for the varsity competition roster or is otherwise ineligible to represent the school in a varsity meet.
Athletes not in the top four in any individual event as well as first year athletes attending Paschal High School who are not so zoned will be eligible to compete in non-varsity competitions that we call junior varsity invitational (for reasons already mentioned.) Those that do not qualify for a varsity competition roster will still practice concurrently with those athletes that do qualify. Additionally, these athletes will attend varsity meets as team managers to help coaches get splits, run meets, and fulfill other team manager obligations. Still, technically there is only varsity swimming, and those on varsity are simply divided into those that qualify for the competition roster and those that do not. This distinction matters in application because if one would be eligible to represent one s team in a varsity competition but simply never qualified for a varsity roster (or do not do so regularly,) one is still eligible to qualify for certain other distinctions such as Academic All District if one meets those qualifications. Another reason this distinction matters are because the general rule that seniors must be on varsity does not necessarily apply in swimming the way one might think. No one is guaranteed a spot on the varsity competition roster for meets. The coach will put together the best performing varsity roster of eligible athletes for each meet, regardless of the classification of each athlete. That does not mean that a senior athlete that fails to qualify for the varsity competition roster for a meet is not on varsity. That senior athlete would still be on varsity, as all athletes are, because again swimming is a varsity-only sport. That senior athlete would be eligible to swim in meets that we colloquially refer to as junior varsity meets (even though there is technically no junior varsity division in swimming) to get times for events and potentially earn one s way onto the competition roster for future varsity meets. PRACTICE TIMES Practices will be held Monday through Friday during 7 th period- 4:50pm at WILKERSON-GREINES ACTIVITY CENTER Pool unless otherwise stated by the coaches. Athletes should be on the pool deck NO LATER than 3:15PM. Practice will begin at 3:25 pm and last till 4:50 pm. Bus Transportation will be provided to and from the pool. Students who are riding the bus to practice need to be on the bus by 2:50 pm. Team members who ride the bus from practice will need to be picked up at PHS. HOLIDAY TRAINING Because the swimming season falls during some major holiday periods, athletes must understand that their attendance during these holiday periods is necessary to be successful. The Christmas training period is crucial since it is near when we may need to start tapering for our district and championship meets. It is often the last, best intensive training period in the season. We will train on the following days over the fall semester breaks (tentatively): These dates are subject to change. THANKSGIVING: November 20-22: Time to be announced WINTER BREAKS: December 22-28: No Practice (UIL-mandated five-day holiday break) December 29: Time to be announced January 2-5: Time to be announced
TEAM EQUIPMENT AND APPAREL Each Swimmer and Diver will be provided a competition swim suit. These suits are for competition not practice. Swimmers and Divers will need to purchase a practice suit. We will have access to equipment at the pool, however, we share with other teams, if possible, swimmers are encouraged to purchase the items below (not required). This will ensure that ALL swimmers have training equipment. Please make sure to write your name on your equipment!!! Pull Buoy Paddles Swim Fins Kick board Swim Snorkel Mesh Swim Bag (to contain equipment above) The items above can be purchased through Amazon, DJSports.com or any sporting goods store. If you need assistance ordering please ask Coach Lovell. ACADEMIC ALL DISTRICT Any varsity-eligible athlete with a 90 or above unweighted cumulative average across all subjects for T2 qualifies for Academic All District. Grades are not rounded TEXAS INTERSCHOLASTIC SWIM COACHES ASSOCIATION (TISCA) ACADEMIC ALL STATE QUALIFICATIONS: Varsity athlete Classified as a junior or senior 93.75% of the grade scale used (e.g. 3.75 on a 4.0 scale) Five semesters for junior applicants Seven semesters for senior applicants Lettered in the year for which one is applying for Academic All State GPA may not be rounded up NATIONAL INTERSCHOLASTIC SWIM COACHES ASSOCIATION (NISCA) ACADEMIC ALL AMERICAN QUALIFICATIONS: Varsity athlete Classified as a senior 93.75% of the grade scaled used (e.g. 3.75 on a 4.0 scale) for seven semesters. Lettered in one s senior year GPA may not be rounded up
TEAM CAPTAINS (Starting 2018-19 School Year) One must be an exemplary role model for the team. One must have a satisfactory academic record and not have been academically ineligible to compete during the season prior to the one in which one seeks to become a team captain. One must have the required organizational skills. One must have the required leadership skills. One must have the required communication skills to communicate the will of the team up the latter to the coach in such a way to ensure that it receives a fair hearing, and to communicate the decisions of the coach down to the team in such a way that they are understood and adopted. LETTERING To earn a varsity letter in swimming and diving: 1. An athlete must complete the season in good standing (passing all year long) and compete in at least one individual event in a minimum of 80% of the varsity meets that their team enters, culminating with the District Meet. 2. Completes three years of Varsity competition in good standing (passing all year long). 3. All Varsity Letters will be awarded upon the discretion of the Head Coach BOOSTER CLUB Paschal High School has the BEST booster club in FWISD! I encourage each swim family to join the booster club. Our swimming and diving team booster club representative is Jennifer Griffith jennrgriffith@gmail.com. Membership forms can be found on the PHS Web site: https://www.fwisd.org/page/4216.
2017-2018 HANDBOOK SIGNATURE PAGE Student: I, have read the Paschal High School Swimming & Diving Handbook, and fully understand the commitment and expectations of me as an athlete and the program. Signature Date Parent: I, have read the Paschal High School Swimming & Diving Handbook, and I understand the commitment my athlete has taken by choosing to participate in the program. Signature Date