We are getting ready to start off another great year!  I hope you are all as excited as I am to get back to the pool and start out this new season.  There have been a few exciting additions to the team (please help me welcome the Cheney families!), and a few new coaches too.  I will be introducing the new coaches next week in the coach’s note.  I know a lot of you want to know what the schedule is, so here’s some quick links to our Short Course (25-Yard) season. 

1.      Fall Practice Schedule (Check your group calendars)

2.      September-March meet Schedule

Registration Night Info (Click the links):

1.     New swimmer tryouts & forward this page to friends!

2.       Returning Swimmers- Swimming gets started next week!

ASCA Clinic:

Keddy and I flew to the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) World coaching clinic last week for 4 Days of 6+ hours of classes a day. We were taught from experts in all fields relating to coaching.  Here are some of our favorite talks:

1.       “Body language and coaching”

2.       “Plyometrics and its effects on swimmers.”

3.       “How I prepared Rebecca Soni for her 2010 WR races.”

4.       “10&U’s ; How to teach them with fun”

Each day we had psychologists, teachers, coaches, physiologists, nutritionists, and many others explain how expertise and research in their fields could affect our coaching.  However, one of the best parts about going to these clinics is the “Clinic in a Clinic.”  Several meals we got to go out with legendary coaches like Nort Thornton(Coaching world record holders & Gold Medalists since the 1970’s) and have him talk swimming with us over a burger or nachos.  Overall, coming back from this trip has Keddy and I fired up and ready to coach with several new ideas and tools to make us more effective and efficient coaches. 

Finally, we wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of the addition of the Cheney program.

The Waves are taking over the management of the EWRA Swim Team in Cheney.   All of their members will now be members of the Waves.  To read more about it, please click here.

Tonight, at 6:00 PM, there is a Board Meeting in the basement of Westminster Hall.  All board meetings are open to the general membership (again, that’s you!).  We would like to extend as special invitation to all parents who may want more information about this exciting new opportunity.  We have prepared some answers to a few general questions that you might have.  All of this information will be explained in greater detail tonight.

Why is this good?

A.  We are providing an opportunity to coach in a new area, growing our team, and continuing the work of building the Waves into the premier competitive swim team in the Inland Empire.

B.  We are securing access to a fantastic facility at Eastern Washington University.  This way, if either facility (Whitworth or EWU) is ever unavailable (ie. Repainting the deck, broken pumps, College / High school meets.), we are able to offer practices at another facility.

C.  We can host invitational meets in that facility, creating more opportunities for our athletes.

Will it impact my child’s coach or practice time?

No.  The coaching staff at Whitworth will not change in the near future.  Coach Kevin will still coach the seniors with Keddy.  Coach Keddy will coach the Regionals and Age Group, and coach Rory will still run the Ripples and assist with the Age Group.

Practice times will also remain the same; our pool time at Whitworth will be unaffected.

Coach Kevin and Coach Keddy will initially coach out in Cheney from 3:30-5:00 PM, but hope to hire another coach before the weather makes travelling to and from the facility difficult.

Will it impact me financially?  Will it impact the team financially?

No.  Dues will not be raised to subsidize any of the Cheney programs.  The Cheney program will be able to cover all of their current expenses.

We anticipate that the program will be able to generate enough revenue to hire a qualified coach to meet the needs of the swimmers out in Cheney.  As stated, we have several coaches that we are considering to run the program. 

Due to the small size of the current team, and the low overhead cost of the facility, in the long term, this could actually significantly strengthen the financial health of the organization.

Kevin & Keddy