Welcome to the start of the 2003 summer season! The coaching staff is very excited about the upcoming season. Over the last three seasons, our club has begun to grow in both quantity and quality, and we look forward to continuing that trend.
All of the coaches have returned from last season, and we have one addition. We are very excited to have Tracy McVey joining us. Coach McVey will be working with the Gold A group this season. She is also the Avon H.S. girls head coach; so many of you have seen her before. We are happy to be able to bring an experienced, dedicated coach like Coach McVey to our club.
In the off-season, Coach McVey, Coach JR, and I had the opportunity to volunteer at the national championships and the Duel in the Pool that were held here at IUPUI. I was very gratified to see that the finest swimmers in the world practice many of the things we teach here at ACST. It made me feel good about the direction in which our own program is heading. Perhaps someday, one of our ACST swimmers will represent us at these high level meets.
We are very fortunate to live in such close proximity to the IU natatorium in downtown Indy. It is one of the premier swimming facilities in the world and some of the finest swimmers in history have competed there. All of our swimmers get a chance to compete in the Nat several times per year.
Meet Sign-ups
All of our veteran swimmers should already have signed up for the summer meets. New swimmers will need to sign up the week of May 5th. The sign-up sheets are posted on the bulletin board. The coaches and board members will be available to assist new families. Check with your childs coach for suggestions as to which meets would be best. Please note the minimum number of meets for each group.
It would help the coaching staff a great deal if you could keep any changes to a minimum. However, put a note in Coach Leekes folder if you need to make a change. Do not call or tell your childs coach. It must be written down (or I will never remember it). All ACST swimmers will automatically entered in the Aquasprints. Senior, Gold, and Silver swimmers will swim events on Friday and Saturday. Bronze swimmers will be entered for the Saturday session only.
New parents: Check your folder about two weeks before the meet. All of the meet times and your childs events will be put in the folders. Directions to the meets will be posted on the board. The only exception will be the Aquasprints meet. We wont finish the meet entry in time, but the information will be on the board.
Morning Practice
Morning practice will begin on Monday June 9th at 8:00-9:45. Practice will be held at the Avon Intermediate School (on the corner of 267 and 36) until the end of summer school when it will be moved to the high school. We will have morning practice on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings.
· Morning practice is for Senior and Gold B swimmers only. Swimmers 11-12 are allowed to go to a maximum of one per week, 13-14 two per week, and senior swimmers can attend all three.
· Morning practices are designed as an extra practice only. They are not a make up for evening practices. All swimmers who intend to come to morning practice must sign up with their coach the prior week. Only swimmers that have signed up will be allowed to practice.
· Only swimmers who have made their required four weekly practices in the prior week will be allowed to attend.
Two-Week Trial
Welcome to all of our new swimmers that are participating in the two-week trial. I hope that you enjoy participating on the team. The trial period will end on May 2nd. You can register with the club on May 2nd or Monday, May 5th. You will give the first payment and sign up for summer meets at the time of registration. Feel free to ask any questions of the coaches or board members. We are here to help.
Aquasprints
Our Aquasprints meet is almost upon us. The meet committee has been working hard to make sure that everything is ready to go. Fourteen teams will be attending, and we will have 300-400 swimmers here on that weekend. Remember that all ACST swimmers will be signed up for the meet although most of the Bronze swimmers will not do a Friday event. The meet information will be put in your folders the week of May 5th. The 13 and over swimmers will swim Saturday morning, and the 12 and under swimmers will swim in the afternoon.
We will have a special practice for the entire age group team on Thursday, May 8th. The Gold, Silver, and Bronze swimmers will all participate. This is our only required practice all season, so all age group swimmers need to be there. We will be preparing them for the meet and assigning partners for the new swimmers.
Remember that all ACST families are required to work in some capacity that weekend. You can sign up to work the meet at the front table with any of the board members. Working together, the meet will be a terrific success!
May Schedule
The May schedules will be in the file folders this week. I will have some on the table as well for those families that dont have a folder yet.
Please note that we will not have practice on Memorial Day or the night of high school commencement. Our schedule will also be altered slightly the week of our Aquasprints meet.
