Welcome to Week 7 of Poolshark season!

1) Celebrations - we loved recognizing our 5 graduating seniors on Thursday night (Cole, Jackson, Maddy, Kathleen & Jude) and are so proud of our record breaking 15-18 girls medley relay (Kathleen, Maddy, Liv and Jayla) broke the record from 2009.

2) thank you families for showing up TWICE in one week to race & volunteer - we are so thankful for parental support & positive involvement

3) we need volunteers for this Tuesday night when we host the Decatur Gators, please sign up HERE.

4) Private Lessons - Click HERE. As you plan for July/August, several families each summer choose to continue private lessons with their coaches for the rest of the summer - it keeps a rhythm of going to the pool in the summer and continues building on their skill set from the season.  

5) Storm Plan for this week - weather this week looks all over the place.  Here is the plan that we are waiting for confirmation with Decatur Gators.  It will be similar to this past week.  If it thunders past 7/7:15 on Tuesday, the meet will be canceled that night.  Makeup day will be Thursday June 15th.  I will try to keep everyone updated on Tuesday night via Remind app regarding weather delays but sometimes I forget amidst the hustle bustle of everything.  

6) Team Pictures - HERE is the link to order pics - thank you everyone for your patience that morning, it was our first picture day since 2019 so I was a bit rusty.  Deadline to order is Friday, June 23.

7) Burrito Wednesday! if weather allows (no pre-orders please) our burrito team will be back on deck this Wednesday during morning practice.

8) Girl Talk on Thursday June 15th during the ages 9-12 practice @ 9-10 am.  This is for all of our girls in the 9-12 age group.  Girl Talk will be led by Coach Theresa (Poolshark alum swimmer/coach) and supported by Coach Jayla & Maddy. Coach Theresa has hosted
girl talk the past three seasons. She is a rising senior at Georgia Tech and graduate of Decatur HS.  The topics will include information on
puberty as an athlete (including periods and period products),
changes to expect through puberty (relationships with friends,
crushes, hormones & emotions), the importance of self-care and
hygiene, and will end with a Q&A.  If you prefer your daughter does NOT attend, please let Coach Beth know and your child will have regular swim practice instead.  Girl Talk was created a few years ago because in all of my years of coaching, typically not a week goes by that at least one girl gets her period for the first time on a swim meet day, and it can be all the feelings from messy to exciting for both parents & child to work through.  We are doing this to help support our tween girls as they go through/anticipate this important time in life.  

9) Teen Talk on Thursday June 15th during the teens practice @ 10-11 am. This is for all of our teens in the 13-18 age group and will be led by Coach Theresa and fellow Poolshark alum Coach Nathan. The topics will include information on mental health
(resources, how to be a supportive friend, etc.), the importance of
self-care and hygiene, relationships (romantic and platonic with an
emphasis on effective communication and defining consent),
planning and transitioning to college, and will end with a Q&A. If you prefer your swimmer does NOT attend, please let Coach Beth know and your child will have regular swim practice instead.

10) Scoring at Meets - this past week, we lost by 3 points to Echo Ridge (353 - 350).  This is equivalent to losing 1-2 races out of 76.  Neither team focused on the score during the meet, and Echo Ridge won with humility, which is why I always request to swim them, they have great sportsmanship and leadership, win or lose.  We talked to our swimmers on Friday that the 'little' things in practice such as keeping streamlines on dives, kicking hard during kick sets, all add up because those are the things that can be the difference between earning 1st place vs 3rd place, and winning a meet by 3 points vs losing by 3.

11) Timeline for Tuesday will be the same this week: swimmers arrive at 4 pm, meet begins at 5:30, ends at 9:30.

12) 80's Spirit Night for our last home meet - Monday June 26th - plan your costume (parents & swimmers!)

13) ASA Divisionals - this is our Championship meet (lots of info HERE) 

When: Wednesday June 28th @ 9:30 am - 1 pm (warmups are TBD assigned and will begin as early as 8 am).  We will NOT have swim practice this day.

Where: Georgia Tech Natatorium

Cost: families pay $25 per swimmer plus a parking pass that you should definitely buy ahead of time HERE.  The league charges us $45 per swimmer and Venetian will pay $20 for each swimmer towards the $45 cost.  

Who Participates: This meet is recommended for our swimmers ages 7-18 that would like to experience a championship meet.  If your child is 6U, and your child has been on an A relay this season, then this meet is a good fit for your 6U child. Parents can also email me directly to inquire.  Ideally we have at least 8 kids per age group attend this meet so we can have 2 relays per age group.  Parents will choose the 2 individual events their child swims when they declare online and indicate those races in the 'notes' section.  We will try to get everyone in at least 1 relay if we have the numbers to support that.  

14) Poolshark Top 11 - Most Improved HERE / Speeding Bullets & High Point Scoring HERE: now that we have 3 meets under our belts (1 time trial & 2 dual meets), we want to take a moment to recognize our swimmers in these 2 categories that are improving the most, along with the swimmers who are competing at the highest levels for our team right now - both are important and reflect the dedication, hard work and focus of our swimmers and their families.

15) Planning for Week 9 (our last week of the season):

Monday June 26 - regular AM practice

Monday June 26 - last dual meet, hosting Lake Claire & 80’s Spirit night

Tuesday June 27 - regular AM practice, donut / awards day, Burrito Tuesday

Wednesday June 28 - no swim practice, ASA Divisional swimmers will compete @ Ga Tech in the AM

Thursday June 29 - end of season celebration 9 - 11 am  

Have Fun, Race Hard, Do Your Best, Go Poolsharks!

- Beth