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Important Practice Information
It's a busy week between Halloween and the Baylor Invitational this weekend. Take note of adjustments to practices for the rest of the week:
Wednesday, October 30: There will be only one Stingrays practice offered at 5:30 p.m to 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 31: Stingrays and Dolphins do not have practice in celebration of Halloween. The other groups should check the practice schedule for adjustments.
Friday, November 1: Practices will be held for Sharks, Juniors, and Seniors who are not traveling to Chattanooga.
Saturday, November 2: There will be a combined Sharks, Dolphins, and Stingrays practice held for swimmers not competing in the Baylor Invitational. Check the practice schedule for adjustments.
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Martha Bass Invitational at the Baylor School
We are thrilled to have 88 athletes traveling to Chattanooga to compete in Baylor's Martha Bass Invitational. We are sure everyone traveling to the meet is getting prepared, so please take a look at Baylor's updated meet timeline, which can be accessed HERE.
Please remember that Chattanooga is on Eastern Standard time, so athletes, keep this in mind when considering sleep and rest. To complicate things even more, it is that time of year where we Fall Back. Yes, Daylight Savings Time ends on November 3, 2019, so things can balance out on Sunday with that extra hour of sleep.
Chattanooga has several events happening in the downtown area, so give yourself extra time for travel when driving to the meet sessions. Review the session details below to get an idea when you need to arrive at the pool:
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Continuing Education for Swim Parentsby Head Coach, Christian Bahr
I am a swim parent, and all of this applies to me as much as it does to all of you.
I worried when my daughter moved from Stingrays into Dolphins. "Would it be too much for her? Will she lose interest?" We had these discussions at home. The first few weeks of practice I would peak over at her group, see her swimming and struggling, and bite my lip as thoughts such as, "That's not how she always swam freestyle" coursed through my brain. I did not say anything to the coaches because, as the Head Coach, any feedback I offer about my child in particular could really lead our team into a bad place. I trust our coaches. I know what they are working to accomplish, and while I felt a swim parent's impulse to want to question, I had a Head Coach's perspective to let the process play out.
This past weekend I was helping at the Sprint or Treat Development Meet by running the Colorado (we were short on volunteers!). It was a perfect perch from which to see my daughters race. Salem, my oldest, looked and swam wonderfully. I thought about the early weeks of her practices and the automatic parental concerns that just popped into my head, and I laughed at myself. I'd learned the same lesson I've been hoping all parents will learn: Do not obsessively watch practice and let the process play out.
Before we get into a laundry list of DON’T’s, let’s think about the things we should all do as swim parents. These lists comes from a number of places: My personal experience as an All-American collegiate athlete and member of the US National Team; Coach Erin’s experience as one of four siblings who all qualified for the U.S. Nationals at the same time; Coach Joe’s experience as someone who has coached at the highest levels from high school to college to the Olympic Games; Coach Marli’s experience as a swim mom turned swim coach; and plenty of online lists that truly do speak to what is important.
The DO’s:
Coach Erin: Allow your kids to fail and help them learn from their failures
Athletes plateau (Michael Phelps went three years from 2004 to 2007 without a best time!). It is hard. Traveling to a big meet and not swimming a best time can feel like a waste but it NEVER IS... if an athlete can learn from it and make purposeful changes at practice to strive for new success.
Coach Goeken: Understand that all children are unique, including yours!
Kids develop coordination, strength, endurance, etc. at different stages. This greatly affects their ability to develop as a swimmer.
Coach Bahr and Coach Goeken: Celebrate your child’s effort, not the result:
Celebrating a result can make swimmers feel as though their parents’ approval is dependent on the child’s times. As a parent myself, I know how hard it is not to gush about best times. Time is a result of effort over time. We should all encourage an environment that puts a premium on effort in practice and at meets, not simply on times.
Coach Erin: Supporting the team bolsters your child’s commitment to the team.
It can seem impossible to volunteer at a swim meet when you are also watching out for your kids. I always loved seeing my dad officiate at meets, even though we had nine kids in the family and there was always someone who needed watching! It made it feel like my dad was a part of the team, too.
Coach Marli: Use the car ride home to ask “Tell me about your favorite part of the day.”
This open-ended statement may or may not include swimming, and that is perfectly fine. Only talk about swimming if the swimmer initiates the conversation.
Coach Bahr: Your child will learn how to be a great teammate from YOU!
Part of being a great teammate is being supportive of teammates, coaches, and competitors. Questioning your child’s coach with or in front of your child (either the coach’s knowledge, a set, or their philosophy) erodes the trust your child needs to want to perform his or her best in practice. Parents who express value for a certain element of training but dismiss other elements tend to have kids who do exactly the same thing. These kids, in the end, tend to have erratic, unpredictable success.
Coach Goeken: Understand that performance goals must be matched by practice effort.
Each swimmer has a different desire, effort, commitment, and interest that may or may not change over time. As a parent, you need to recognize this. They all want to swim well at meets but they must put out effort at practice daily.
Coach Marli: Reframe Compliments
Learn to say “I am proud of your consistent work ethic/team spirit” rather than “Way to go, you crushed everybody” or “How could you let Suzy Q beat you?” I am proud of your consistent work ethic/team spirit keeps the focus on traits you value and does not emphasize comparisons with other athletes.
Now for the list of DON’Ts:
Don’t compare your child to other swimmers: Mrs. Bahr often tells me that “comparison is the thief of joy,” and it is especially true as a swim parent. Nothing will take the joy from your child’s sport more than knowing that you are comparing them to other swimmers, whether on their team or not. That begins our list of things NOT to do. The rest of that list is covered extremely well in, perhaps, a poorly named article from Swimming World.
Don’t coach your own child:
Parents may wish to learn about the sport in order to help their child, but coaching your child on the side or from the stands has plenty of bad side effects. It erodes their trust in their coach (who should I listen to, mom/dad or coach?). It makes their connection to the parent increasingly based on swimming to the point that kids can feel scared to “let their parents down” in the event of a bad swim. And it sends an inconsistent message between what’s being said on deck to what’s being said at home.
Don’t watch practice:
We all want the best for your children. Coaches are human. We understand that all parents’ concerns spring from the love for their child. We want to listen, we want to help, but direct communication about concerns is always going to benefit your child rather than you communicating concerns to your child.
We are all swim parents, in one way, shape, or form. And all we want is the success of all of our swimmers!
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College Commitment
We have another college commitment we are thrilled to share with our team.
Hume Fogg senior and Ensworth Aquatics teammate, Addison Wright, recently announced her commitment to swim at the University of North Carolina in Asheville.
We are very proud of Addison and wish her well during the next chapter of her athletic and academic career.
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Something Spooky in the Water
Sprint or Treat
Ensworth Aquatics hosted the 3rd annual Sprint or Treat Development meet on Saturday. The meet kicked off with a costume parade before the kids ditched their Halloween gear for their caps and goggles and hit the water.
Like all Development Meets, the Sprint or Treat is more about the racing experience than the time on the clock. The meet was not sanctioned with USA Swimming, which means that the times don't officially "count." However, it is always a great opportunity for a few things to happen:
- Kids get valuable racing experience in a very low-stress environment
- Parents get valuable VOLUNTEERING experience in a very low-stress environment
- Swimmers on both the Competitive and Development teams have an opportunity to get to know each other
One of our primary goals in creating the Development program is to bridge the gap from learning about being on a swim team to getting excited about being a part of the team. That is one reason why the meets are short and limited to 10 & Under swimmers. Coaches also have the chance to identify athletes in the Prep program who might be performing at a higher level than they realize and are ready to make the jump to the Competitive Team.
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Stingrays and Dolphins Halloween Celebration
Coach Erin, Coach Kathleen, and Coach Skylar infused Saturday's practice with all kinds of fun to get our Stingrays and Dolphins excited for Halloween. Everyone - and I mean EVERYONE - showed off their Halloween costumes in a parade before practice.
After the parade, swimmers got in the pool for their workout, but I think most would report the work was fun. The coaches played into the Halloween theme with fun sets like Tombstone kicking and Franken-Relays.
The groups were treated to some delicious Ghost donuts from Fox's Donut Den brought in by our terrific group parents, Jessica Horne and Maureen Kolton.
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Sharks & Dolphins Halloween Party
Sharks & Dolphins, it's your turn on Thursday! The Spurriers have generously invited Dolphins and Sharks to their home on Halloween night for an early dinner and trick or treating in the Richland / West End neighborhood, where the homeowners truly go all out with live bands, outdoor movies, and even the famous great pumpkin display tradition.
We would love to see our teammates enjoying this fun holiday, share photos using the button below.
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Swim Across America
Ensworth Aquatics will host Swim Across America for the third year in a row on November 17. Swim Across America raises money to fund clinical trials and research in the fight against cancer. So far more than $35,000 have been raised at Swim Across America events held at our Natatorium. This year, our goal is to raise another $25,000, and we invite all Ensworth Aquatics families to be involved!
Click here to read more information about the Swim Across America event at Ensworth.Be on the lookout for additional information and invitations for you to be a part of this very important event.
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Upcoming Meets & Events
Click on the swim meet links to access meet and hotel information.
U.S. Open
Georgia Tech University in Atlanta, GA
December 4 - 7, 2019
Qualifiers Only
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Swim Meet Registration
Signing up for a meet is easy, especially with the OnDeck app. Please review this article for information on how to use OnDeck. You can also sign up directly through the team’s website. Information on how to do that can be found in the article as well.
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Ensworth Aquatics Holiday Classic
We are very excited to host our inaugural Ensworth Aquatics Holiday Classic championship meet December 6 to 8 here at our home pool.
So how did this come about? We were approached by several major teams to host a midyear championship meet, mainly because we are recognized as having the best volunteers, who run great meets in one of the finest facilities in the Southeast. We also listened to our Ensworth Aquatics families who found it difficult to travel right after Thanksgiving, during a busy time of the year, right before exams and the holidays.
As a result, we have approximately 14 teams representing the finest clubs across Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and Alabama planning to bring 500 plus swimmers to race. The meet format will be timed finals on Friday afternoon (running two pools), and include prelims and finals for 11 & Older athletes on Saturday and Sunday with a middle 10 & Under session on Saturday & Sunday as well. There will be one heat of finals for 11 & 12-year-olds and two heats of finals run for 13-14 and senior. We plan to run 10 lanes for both prelims and finals. In addition, we will run distance events in two pools to help manage the timeline.
We heard you on not traveling; now we are going to need your help. It is going to be all hands on deck to run the meet. We are fairly certain we will have visiting clubs helping with some officials, but we are going to need each and every one of our families to give their time and talent to help host the meet. So find your babysitters, recruit family members to time, whatever it takes! We are asking each family to commit to 3 to 5 sessions for this meet. If we all volunteer it will be closer to 3. We have already started filling technical roles and ask you to go ahead and sign up to volunteer as Hytek/computer operators, Colorado workers, timers, meet marshals, hospitality, volunteer coordinators, concessions, officials and more. Some sessions we may need 20 timers…we need you! The sign up is accessible on our Meet Landing page, which can be accessed HERE. Please contact Naomi Kitahara kitaharan@ensworth.com if you are interested in learning a skilled position.
It is going to be an exciting, fast meet and a wonderful opportunity for our swimmers to compete at home.
Thank you, and see you at the pool!
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Happy Birthday Shout Outs!
Here are upcoming birthdays for athletes through November 16, 2019:
Anabelle Dragan - October 30
Maggie Cowles - October 30
Emerson Darr - October 30
Laciana Large - October 31
Virginia Frutel - November 1
Brinkley Kolton - November 1
Kees Jones - November 2
Patrick France - November 6
Harrison Cook - November 7
Kaylee Willis - November 7
Zoey Rushing - November 14
Eleanor Cornwall - November 15
Matthew Hughes - November 16
Roseanne Nguyen - November 16
Your teammates wish each of you the happiest of birthdays!
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Ensworth Aquatics Gear
Team T-Shirts
We appreciate everyone's patience for the annual shirts. They will be ready for pick-up during practice today, Wednesday, October 30. If you can help with distribution on other dates, please contact Naomi at kitaharan@ensworth.com.
Fall Spiritwear Orders
Most of the items have come in and we are sorting them out. If you can help, please contact Naomi.
Team Swim Caps
Swimmers can still pick up their annual latex swim cap in the natatorium front office before or after swim practice. We will notify families when the team t-shirts and bag tags are ready to pick up later this month.
Speedo Merchandise & Equipment
Additional team gear, including warm-ups, swimsuits, backpacks, and equipment can be purchased directly at All American Swim. Visit the Team Gear page on our website for instructions on accessing our Ensworth Aquatics Online Store as well as the equipment requirements for each practice group.
To help our families who may have equipment/apparel they no longer need or have outgrown, we have a Swap Shop page (under the Competitive Team menu) where we will post any swim team-related items you want to sell, trade, or give away. This includes apparel, swimsuits, equipment, training aids, etc. Please email the description/photo to Naomi Kitahara. Alternatively, you can also post on the Practice GroupMe.
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Healthier Halloween for Athletes
By Coach Marli McIntire
5 Tips for Athletes
1. Eat Dinner
Eating a balanced dinner before trick-or-treating is super important and probably the best thing you can do to promote an athlete's health on Halloween. Choose lean protein (beef, chicken, fish, eggs, etc.), healthy carbs (quinoa, potatoes, rice, whole grain pasta), and colorful veggies and fruits (broccoli, spinach, kale, peppers, berries, apples, bananas) to insure full bellies while trick-or-treating. If you don't have time for dinner, blend up a quick smoothie.
2. Limit Restrictions
Enjoy the candy within reason. Athletes may want to choose a couple of pieces of candy to have with each meal and snack during the first several days after Halloween. This will keep it fun without overdoing it. Making a big deal out of restrictions may lead to future issues with sweets. What if your athlete wants to eat all of the candy at once? This provides a huge life lesson opportunity, with natural consequences. Use this time to teach rather than judge. *However, if you have a meet/performance the day after Halloween, I suggest not eating all the candy at once!
3. Consider Daily Sugar intake Recommendations
Keep in mind that we should all limit our sugar consumption to less than 10% of total energy intake. Furthermore, when we keep added sugars below 5% (25 grams or 6 tsp) per day, we are providing an even greater increase in health benefits. Along with candy, include healthy options when possible. Most serious athletes understand that added sugar does not help them reach high-performance goals. They are typically more than willing to eat a nutritious meal or snack when given the opportunity. Here are 50 + Healthy and Festive Halloween Ideas. Also, check out Nutritious Snacks for Athletes and Sugar Consumption and the Athlete for additional information.
4. Eat Candy Thoughtfully
Try unwrapping the candy slowly, or make a game out of how intact you can keep the wrapper as you remove the candy. Describe a costume you saw while trick-or-treating or favorite house decorations between each piece of candy you eat. Savor and enjoy each bite. Chew it slowly and notice the taste, texture and how you feel as you eat it. Usually, when extra time is taken, we are more in tune with hunger and fullness.
5. Focus on Halloween-Themed fun.
There are plenty of fun things to do on Halloween. Pumpkin carving, spooky games, face painting, and dressing up can help dilute the focus on sweets. For teen athletes, consider meeting up with friends at a coffee or donut shop. Enjoy a one-time indulgence with friends and then move on with keeping that athletic lifestyle.
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Lines of Communication
Ensworth Aquatics is working to literally open better lines of communication between coach and athlete. We have incorporated the use of “My Swim Ears” by a company called MOST Tech. These devices allow coaches to communicate with athletes while they are swimming. We have tried out a set for a few months and have found that they have been incredibly helpful. Our plan is to make the most of this technology, providing athletes feedback mid-stroke instead of just using the short amount of time they have on the wall to make a correction.
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Goal Meetings
Coach Skylar and Coach Erin want to encourage dolphins to schedule goal meetings. Additional dates in November have been added, so if your swimmer has not scheduled his or her meeting, please use this link for swimmers to pick a time.
For many swimmers between the ages of 9 and 11, they have never evaluated what they want to accomplish in a season. These meetings are a great first step!
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October Open Review
Our Stingrays had another great meet! We continue to see lots of time improvements and what we love to see most is the number of swimmers trying new events. Out of 101 swims, 23 were first time swims with many swimmers trying more challenging events. Lillian Schimmel swam 200 I.M. for the first time, Claire Hout, Cole Ravin and Anderson Attmore competed in 100(s) of stroke for the first time. Many of our stingrays had all personal bests and many lessons were learned throughout the meet. Congratulations to everyone who competed.
Sprint or Treat
Congratulations to all of the Stingrays who came out for the Sprint and Treat developmental meet! We loved seeing our Stingrays' enthusiasm and team spirit during the costume parade and throughout the meet, as they cheered on teammates and younger swimmers from Swim School. We watched swimmers practice some great racing techniques in the 25 and 50 sprints. We also had several swimmers competing in events for the first time: Cyrus Pittman in 50 back and 25 Butterfly, Kieran Wray in 50 Freestyle and 50 Backstroke, Thomas Ward in 25 Butterfly, Eleanor Cornwall in 25 Butterfly and 25 Breaststroke, Lawson Robinson in 25 Butterfly, and Caroline Kakac in 50 Breaststroke. Way to go!
Practices
We will continue to work on all of the little things that help our swimmers get through the water efficiently, while also working on building their endurance. In order to do this, we are asking for two things. First, please make sure your swimmer is attending 2 to 3 practices each week. Second, please make sure your swimmer is coming to practice prepared. They need running shoes, cap, goggles, fins and a water bottle for every practice. They are no longer allowed to borrow fins from the swim school, so please make sure your swimmer has their own pair of fins that are clearly labeled with their name. Also, check to make sure labels are still on fins as even Sharpie can wear off.
Looking Ahead
It is hard to believe we are already approaching November. The holidays are upon us and things will get busy. Our next swim meet will be the Ensworth Aquatics Holiday Classic on December 6-8, and we would like everyone to attend. Please mark your calendars and plan to volunteer.
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USA Swimming - Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policy
This past summer USA Swimming implemented the Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policy (MAAPP). This new policy is designed to safeguard athletes from potential sexual abuse by adults. All clubs are mandated to implement this new policy, which includes an Electronic Communications Policy that replaces the policy that has been in place since our club was founded. In order to finalize registrations, we ask that each family acknowledge the MAAPP. To access our full outline of the policy, follow this link to visit the information page on our website.
Use this link to complete the acknowledgment as soon as possible. This is a required step in USA Swimmings registration. Naomi Kitahara will be contacting all team members who need to comply.
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Ways to Stay Connected
GroupMe App
If you have not already joined your swimmers' GroupMe, please consider doing so. Parents, coaches, and staff use GroupMe to communicate last-minute updates, traffic issues, practice changes, lost and found, carpooling and much more. Each practice group has its own group text, and we believe if you ask any returning team members, they will confirm that GroupMe is an invaluable communication tool as it enables them to ask specific questions and plan activities particular to their practice group. Use this link to download the GroupMe app.
Click on the links below to connect with your swimmer's practice group and parent reps:
Parent Reps
Stingrays - Jessica Horne & Maureen Kolton
Dolphins - Lindsey Sanford
Sharks - Fran Spurrier
Juniors - Margaret Mason
Marlins - help needed
Senior1/Senior - help needed
Team Website & OnDeck
We are confident that everyone on our team has visited our team website by now, but beyond registration, it serves as the primary information tool for our team. Through our website, parents and athletes will commit to competitions, enter events, sign up to volunteer, access newsletters, review practice schedules, much more. Be sure to "Sign In" to the website to view all content. Go ahead and visit www.ensworthaquatics.com and bookmark it!
OnDeck is TeamUnify's supporting app that allows our staff to communicate through our website directly to team members' mobile devices. OnDeck also presents our website content to users with improved mobile device usability. What this means is you can enter into swim meets and signup to volunteer more easily on your mobile devices. Use this link to download OnDeck.
Social Media
Ensworth Aquatics is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Click on the icons below to connect with us through social media.
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