Rudgear Rats Newsletter: Week of June 1st
Upcoming Dates
June 2: Summer Practice Schedule begins
June 2: First Day of Summer Breakfast
June 3: Rugrats Begins!
June 4: REST vs. Ygnacio Wood
June 7: REST @ WCSC - Declare by 6/4
June 8: Team Natalie Challenge
June 9: Picture Day and Buddy Day No Practice
June 11: REST vs. Las Trampas - Declare by 6/7
June 12: 8U Social
June 14: REST vs. WHO - Declare by 6/11
June 14: Adult Social
TL;DR
-First Day of Summer Breakfast is tomorrow on the pool deck!
-Coach lunches & coffee sign-up is live
-Buddy forms due June 2
-Spirit gear & team suits arriving this week
-RSVP for Adult Social by June 7
-Time Pop stars and bracelets are back
-Check your meet job call times
-Rudgear Vibes Only
Head Coach’s Message
I just want to say how proud I am of everyone for giving it their best at our last meet! It’s still early in the season, and we’ve got lots of time to grow, improve, and sharpen our skills — I’m excited for all the progress I see ahead.
One quick reminder as we head into more races: let’s start making sure our caps and goggles stay on during events. You can either double cap with your goggles under the second cap, or wear your cap over your goggles to help keep everything secure. This small change can make a big difference on the blocks and in your races.
Keep working hard and supporting each of your fellow rats — let’s keep the building momentum!
-Coach Mason
First Day of Summer Breakfast
We are kicking off summer in our favorite way tomorrow - breakfast on the pool deck! Join us before, during, and after your swimmer’s practice to enjoy. Click here to help out.
Coach Lunch & Coffee
We have a great tradition of keeping our coaches at Rudgear fed! Sign up here to bring our coaches lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the season. We also have the option to drop off coffee Friday mornings! We have six coaches this season so you may want to partner up with another family!
Our coaches’ favorite things and go to orders can be found here.
Buddies Forms - Due Tomorrow!
If your swimmer wants a buddy, have them fill out a buddy form and return it to the folder at the pool by June 2nd.
Buddy Day
If your swimmer submitted a buddy form, please bring them to the pool on June 9th at 11:00am. We will do our buddy reveal and play some games for buddy bonding! (If your swimmer cannot make this date that is okay - we will post names of all buddies at the pool.) Parents/Caretakers are welcome and encouraged to stay and hang, but if you can’t that’s okay! Pick up at 12:30pm.
Picture Day
Picture day is June 9th from 8am-10am. You can show up at any time in that window, but please note that not everyone can get in at 9:50am. If they have one, swimmers should wear their new team suit (if they don’t have one, that’s okay - they can wear the suit they wear to meets). Even if you don’t plan on ordering photos, all team swimmers should come by so they can be included in the team photo. To learn how to order, please read the note below from our photographers:
Picture Day OPT-IN Details - Text "2025RATS" to 90738 to opt-in for picture day
There is NO PREPAY (yay!), you just need to Opt-In/Subscribe via text message, before picture day. Once pictures are ready for ordering, all those that have opted-in via text will receive the private link and access code to place their orders. All orders are mailed directly to parents' homes. It's that easy! :)
*Parents/Caretakers MUST opt-in via text to receive the ordering link and SPECIAL PROMOTIONS
Spirit Gear
Our merch has arrived! Ruth will be on deck Monday and Tuesday starting at 9am to distribute all our fresh new RudGEAR. If you registered your team swimmer by February 28th, they will receive a free team shirt. Any and all merch questions should go to Ruth Perez | [email protected]. If you see Ruth, please give her a big thank you! Organizing all this gear is no easy task and each year Ruth rocks it. Thank you, Ruth!!
Team Suits and Caps
Round two of our team suits and caps are coming this week. If you missed out on a cap and want one, we will have a limited number for sale via the spirit store.
Adult Social - RSVP by June 7th!
Our adult social is just a couple weeks away! Please be sure to RSVP by June 7th so we know how many RAT parents are saddling up for our Bourbon Highway hoedown.
Time Pops
Summer is here, and that means it’s TIME POP SEASON!
Keep an eye out this week for our Time Pop poster going up at the pool! It will be updated each week (not after every meet).
A huge shoutout and thank you to Tiphanie Karas, who puts in tons of time, effort, and love to keep the poster updated and looking great. We are so grateful for her! Please remind your swimmers to say thank you when they see her!
This season’s Time Pop goal is 15 pops by the end of the summer. Swimmers who reach this goal will receive a special certificate at the awards ceremony!
Also, coaches will hand out time pop bracelets on Tuesdays. If your swimmer has popped one or more times they will receive a bracelet this Tuesday. Moving forward, we will do this every Tuesday and bracelets will be handed out for the previous Wednesday and Saturday meet (just one bracelet per week whether your swimmer popped one time or four).
And remember: Time Pops are all about personal progress—swimmers are only competing with themselves. Encourage them to swim their best and have fun chasing their own goals!
Meet Job Call Times
If you are working a meet, please make sure you know when you should arrive. You can always check our website if you are unsure. Tip: If you are working a meet, your call time is *never* the same time as the start of the meet. :-)
Who Should I Contact?
If you have a question or concern and you’re not sure who you should email - the Contact the RATS page on our website is a great resource! For your convenience, here are the top requested contacts -
Coach Mason - [email protected] | If you want to share something about your swimmer, ask a question, etc.
Meet Entries - [email protected] | If you have any questions about meet entries or recorded times
Jobs - [email protected] | If you have any questions about your meet or team jobs
Coach Liaison - [email protected] | If you have any questions or concerns about coaching
Reminders
1. Practice is back to being a RATS-only time at the pool. Swimmers should only be in the pool during their practice time. There is no playing in the diving well or baby pool during practice.
2. Swimmers may be dropped off during their practice time; however, swimmers must have a parent/caretaker present if they are going to be on deck before or after their practice time.
3. We know summer and meet season can bring out big emotions— let’s be sure to avoid sharing frustrations loudly on the pool deck or in front of the swimmers. It’s important to keep the environment positive and focused on supporting our swimmers. If you have feedback you’d like to share with the board, please email [email protected]
4. Please allow the coaches to focus on the swimmers and refrain from asking them questions during practice. You can always reach out to Coach Mason via email ([email protected]).
5. Double check that you have declared your swimmers into (or out of) the meets for the season.
Team Natalie Challenge
The Team Natalie Challenge is next Sunday! Register today for a morning of fun AND help raise money for a cause that is near and dear to our team’s heart. Can’t participate? Come on down anyway and cheer the participants on!
Get more info and register at: https://bit.ly/TeamNatalieChallenge
Let’s Connect
Instagram: @rudgear_rats
Facebook: Click here to join our Facebook group
Let’s make it a great week and GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO RATS!!
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