Hi Poolsharks -  

Thank you to all of our swimmers & families & coaches for your time, energy & dedication to be a part of our 2026 Poolsharks this year.

One of the biggest things we emphasized throughout this season each week was for our character on deck to match the excellence of our character (racing hard and doing our best) in the water.  We were so honored to receive the ASA Sportsmanship Award this season, as nominated by fellow teams and the league directors throughout the season.  This was phenomenal as it is a reflection of our entire Poolshark community - from our parents and families being welcoming and positive at all meets, to our coaches and swimmers demonstrating great sportsmanship.  The league only gives out this award in years they feel a team has truly earned it, and this was Venetian's first time ever earning the award.  We are so grateful for our Poolshark community!

Starfish!!!  What a special moment it was on Thursday during our celebration when our head Starfish Coach Ashley recognized all 25 of our Starfish, including the 10 swimmers who graduated to 6U officially and swam in a 6U race.  The beams of pride and smiles on their faces (and the coaches faces) were priceless!

Thank you for your notes, kind words & generosity. Thank you to each of our swimmers & families for your generosity and making time to write cards, say thank you and gift money - we are all very grateful for the generosity, not expected at all, and it is very appreciated by each of our coaches.

I am grateful for each member of our coaching staff and it is a delight to see how they care for each of the swimmers in their groups and our overall team. Each coach brought their own unique talents, gifts and personality to the team and made our Poolsharks stronger and better.

Many of our coaches will continue to be available for private/small group lessons (click HERE) through the end of Venetian’s pool season.

Parents - thank you for everything you do to make the Poolsharks possible. From driving your kids to practices & meets, to volunteering throughout the season - we are so thankful for each of you.

We are very thankful for the Venetian pool board leadership and their support of our Poolsharks - Poolshark Alum Mom Heidi O'Shea is our swim team committee board rep and makes time to represent our team at each of the board meetings throughout the year. Our pool board makes sure the pool is open & ready to go for the team and that we have continued access for meets & practices for 8 weeks.

We graduated 6 seniors this year and they will all be missed, but even more so we are thankful for the seasons that they gave to summer league swimming & the Poolsharks, both the swimmers & their families. Macey Cotter (NC State), Emily Deeb (Georgia Tech), Claire Duvall (McGill), Isaiah Lewis (UGA), MC MacKenna (Villanova), and Ben McCarthy (U of Denver).

At our End of Season Celebration, we recognized Mary Eleanor Fraijo-Paul, Christopher Phillips, Bess Shepherd, Worth Guest, Sarah Small and Leif Johnson as our six ‘Poolsharks of the Year.’ Each of these swimmers led by example each day with their work ethic, listening to coaches, encouraging their teammates, and bringing a positive attitude to each moment of the season.

We also made time to recognize our age group leaders for Jaw Dropper (most improved times throughout the season) and Top Chomp (high point from the season)  These awards are 100% quantitative and data driven and we are very proud of the growth and competitive fire these kids led their age groups with.

Pickup - ribbons, speeding bullets, Divisional medals/ribbons - these are in the Ribbon Boxes that we keep in the guard office. If you have not had a chance to pick up yet, please kindly ask the guards for the Ribbon Box the next time you are at the pool to pick up your items. We will also have our back to school Poolshark kickoff on August 16th where families can pick up awards.

Attendance Caps - I think we had our BEST attendance yet and I love how dedicated our swimmers & families were to get to practice, rain or shine, early in the AM, amidst a very busy May & June.  If you did not pick yours up (or I ran out before having yours - we will have these by Aug 16th and put in your ribbon box).  HERE is our last attendance update - if you see an error that affects earning a cap, please send me a brief polite email that includes your child's name, age group & coach, along with the errors.  

Divisionals wrap up (link HERE to ASA Championship page - includes all 6 Divisional session results combined together) - our 128 kids represented the Poolsharks wonderfully and had an excellent meet with 93 swimmers earning at least one speeding bullet best times in an individual event. Our team earned the Runner Up 2nd place trophy to an amazing Echo Ridge (their first title in 16 years!) out of 18 teams.

Our ASA Divisional PODIUM winners (1st, 2nd, or 3rd for relays & individual):

Our 11 team Record Breakers this season are:

Thank you to each of our Poolshark sponsors HERE this season - their support & generosity helps to provide our team with many things including team tshirts for each swimmer, speeding bullets and season of commitment items, weekly donuts, pink & green & black caps, and more.

Club Year Round Swimming - summer league is very special - mixed age groups and new friends, swimmers that are brand new to the sport and swimmers competing at Olympic Trials. Most kids (90%+ of summer league swimmers) only do summer league, but if your child wants to continue swimming this late summer/fall/winter/spring, there are many great options available.

We have Poolsharks on every single one of these local USA swimming clubs:

*club team Dynamo (trains in Oakhurst & Chamblee)

*club team Dekalb Aquatics (trains at Agnes Scott/Emory)

*club teams MAAC & Swim Atlanta (trains at Georgia Tech)

*club team Emory (trains at Emory) - registration fills up fast and will open 6/28 at midnight (~ 150 spots).

Signing off for Summer 2026 - Keep up with the Poolsharks on our Instagram page as we look forward to the August back to school kickoff, and plan for 2027!  

Teenagers that are interested in applying for a volunteer or paid coaching position next season can look for information in January.  

As always - Have Fun, Race Hard, Do Your Best, Go Poolsharks!

- Beth