WEEK 3 DOLFIN EMAIL!!!

Hello Dolfin Families!

 

Things have been up in the air about what pool location we will be at for summer. We will be at our home pool at Pleasant Hill Education Center (Pleasant Hill Middle School). We will be doing a serious clean-up to get the facility ready for summer. We are excited to be back at our fast home pool with our famous snack shack!

 

It's hard to believe we are already at week 3! There is so much learning going on in the pool! I am seeing a lot of progress! You may have noticed that I am being VERY strict with following rules such as not spitting water and keeping hands and feet to themselves as well as being in the ready set position and listening while I am giving instructions. I have found that in order to manage so many kids in close contact that I need to be strict for a couple of weeks to set the expectation and then I rarely have a problem after that. They know that I don't get mad, I just want to make sure everyone is safe, and I will be able to ease up soon.  There will always be a few kids who continue to push the limits, but the majority will be able to move forward as a group. 

 

This week we will be adding skills and drills for Butterfly. The kids love working on Fly because it is fun! I am going to continue to keep the younger kids swimming the width of the pool while they are learning new skills because they fall apart during a full lap. This part of the season is focusing on stroke development and drills to help build their strokes. Once Summer begins, we will go over all the strokes again but add speed and race skills. For now, it is best to make stroke corrections through drills and while swimming at a slower pace. This is helpful for all levels of ability. 

 

Please make sure your swimmer has a good pair of goggles that are adjustable. The cheap goggles don't work for very long and it makes it difficult for your swimmer. Any brand is fine, but Speedo Vanquisher goggles seem to fit most swimmers and they have Jr sizes. You can find these at Sports Basement or Elsmore Swim Shop. It's also very important to wear a cap or at least a hair tie with long hair. We will be using fins every day from now on so please make sure your swimmer has everything they need for practice and don't forget to put names on fins. Mini-Dolfins DO NOT need fins. 

 

Sunscreen is very important, but it must be applied 20 minutes before your swimmer enters the water. If you put it on right before they enter the water, it washes off in the water. Please plan ahead. I am not a fan of swimmers wearing swim shirts or long sleeve swimsuits. They create a huge amount of drag and it makes swimming difficult for new swimmers. You need to be able to feel the water on your skin to become a better swimmer. I understand it takes a little time for some new swimmers to feel comfortable removing that layer, but we can just work towards that goal.

 

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. 

 

Have Fun, Swim Fast!

Coach Talli

[email protected]

925-216-7932 (text please)