Hello Everyone!! 

*Warning - this is a long email with lots of info! :-) 

It's been a while since I have communicated! I hope everyone is doing great and hanging in there as we are approaching the last 6 weeks of the 22-23 school year! WOW! I always think that after "swim season" is over that things will settle down, and every year I am reminded that we are just as busy! With that in mind, here is LOTS of info for you all. Please grab a beverage and settle in for some reading. :-) 

• HERE is our schedule for April/Week 1 of May. Your swimmers have been doing a GREAT job keeping up with all of this but I figured I would share this with you all too. And, THANK YOU all for being understanding about my tardiness to practice this week. Allergies are absolutely kicking me down! I will do/be better next week!
• Physicals are beginning to expire. Every swimmer must have one on file and they must be renewed annually. As I get expiration notifications, I will be contacting families to let them know. Please take care of these so your swimmer is not missing out on practice, Red v. Blue, etc. 
• Red v. Blue Meet - Friday, April 21st @ BHC Pool. This will be an "all day out" for swimmers (if they choose to they can go back to school after the meet if needed). We will start the meet at 9:45 am, have breakfast at the pool (we will get a sign-up for donations set up next week), have Paper Plate Awards, and then have lunch as a team. Leading up to the meet we will have a series of competitions too! Be on the lookout for more detailed info next week! 
• BANQUET! Tuesday, April 25th, 6:30-9 pm at The Oasis. This is always a fun night so please make an effort to attend. :-) Swimmers are paid for! Any family attending with the swimmer will need to pay $36 per person to LHS Swim Booster Venmo. If you have not paid already, please do so. Indicate in the notes for Venmo how many people you are paying for. If you have questions, please reach out to: [email protected]. 
• TRYOUTS for the 23-24 school year are Saturday, May 6th from 7:30-9:30 am at BHC pool. Any swimmer who has been on the team for 1 year or less must try out (all current freshmen and new members this year regardless of grade level). There is a method to my madness for this, I promise. Don't worry, all current swimmers will be invited back. :-) If you know of anyone interested in joining, please make sure they have THIS information. There are several links to be filled out so if you share this, please mention that as well. 
• TEAM CAPTAINS "tryouts" will begin next week. Since I started coaching in 2020, there has not been a traditional Team Captain process for a variety of reasons. One of the big reasons is that we have had a very "young" team of mostly freshmen and sophomores until now. Next season LHS swim will have 5 Seniors and 11 Juniors! Our rising upper-class leaders have been building these last few years and I am excited to have them help guide the team. This role is extremely important to the team (and to me) and does include lots of outside time, the need for consistent communication, the ability to attend all team events, discretion, and maturity. Anyone interested in trying out will need to fill out THIS form, get teacher recommendations, and give a speech to the team. There will be a team vote and then I will take all of that and choose Captains from there. This will be tough because we will have 16 upperclassmen next year and I can't have all 16 be Captains. I have no doubt that the right leaders will be put into place though, and ALL of my upper-class swimmers will play an important role with the team next year no matter what. 
• Finally - as we are winding the year down, I am not loosening up on expectations. If your swimmer gets ready at home after practice, please remind them that they must be in the cafeteria to check in at 9:45 am. This week I have had several swimmers arrive late (or not at all) and conversations about being on time. We are getting out of practice with the same amount of time we have all year (and sometimes earlier) so please remind your swimmers to be on time. I will be marking people tardy/absent and privileges will be revoked if the tardiness can't be fixed. 

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LOOKING FORWARD:

• Please make sure your swimmer is swimming this summer!! While it is not mandatory, it sure does help! Swimmers who are not in the pool practicing over the summer typically have a rough time getting started next year if they haven't been swimming. There are LOTS of great summer options in our area. If you need info, please don't hesitate to reach out to me, or have your swimmer talk to the other swimmers about what they do over the summer. :-) 
• Be on the lookout for information about the Veterans Retreat this summer! This is typically organized by the swimmers, but for this one, swimmers have indicated a desire for a party boat on the lake. This will take some parent organization so if you are willing to take this on, please email me and let me know! 

If you have hung in there for this whole email - THANK YOU!! Hopefully the next few are much shorter. Have a great weekend and please don't forget your "To Do's" for this week: 

• Swimmer physicals 
• Pay for banquet
• Veterans Retreat volunteer(s)

Thank you for sharing your swimmers with me each and every day and I will be seeing all of you soon!! 

~Coach Weeks