Hey all
It was great to see so many of you last week. Hope to see more of you this Sunday. I have updated the clinic section to the right of this post to include datas off and I fixed the time. So make sure to check it out.
Coach Rich
Hey All
Hope you have all recovered of the past week and a half. I know spending some time in New Orleans was just what the doctor ordered. For all of you that have not yet picked up your state awards they are at the pool so stop by and pick them up. I have posted the clinic info to the right of this post. I would strongly recommend all of you attend the clinics they will greatly improve your swimming. See you in a few weeks.
Coach Rich
Hey All
So we have decided to just warm-up at the Splash during our scheduled time. I think we will have plenty of room and time to get warmed up. Please remember that parking might be a little tight so you might want to get there early to make sure you get a spot and can get to the tent.
If you have any questions about this weekend feel free to contact me.
Coach Rich
Hi all
Just wanted to send out a reminder about the banquet tonight. Dinner will be starting at 5:30.Please remember that last names A-N should bring a dessert and O-Z a side dish. Sorry for the late notice we all know prompt blog posts aren't my thing.
Coach Rich
All I have to say is WOW!
For those you who have not heard yet you are now reading the 2010 Division II League Champions Gator's Blog. I wanted to thank all of you who swam or cheered this weekend, we would not have been able to do it without you.
We will not be having practice tomorrow to give everyone a chance to catch up on sleep and get ready for state. State entries are posted at the pool and I will get them on the blog when I get to a computer that still has windows xp and is compatible with our teams computer. Let me know if you have any questions or problems with the entries assap.
Practice for the rest of the week will be as follows
Upper division 7:30am-8:30am
Lower Division 8:30am-9:00am
Sorry this is short but I have to get back to the post league celebration.
Coach Rich
League week is here!!!
As promised here is the address to the pool. I will also post a link under Important Links to the right of this post to help you find the pool.
Columbine Knolls Pool
6191 S. Plymouth Drive
Littleton, CO 80128
Please remember to leave extra time to find the pool if you have not been there before. The meet is going to be close so we need everyone at warm-ups so they will swim extra fast.
See you there
Hello
I am excited to see you all tonight at the ice cream social. Hope fully you will eat some ice cream dye some shirts and watch the parents and upper division loose to the coaches in a medley relay. I think the parents have been a little scared and have been practicing the rain dance so that they don’t have to face us coaches.
After looking at the warm-up schedule for league I saw that we only have two lanes for 20 minutes to warm-up 56 swimmers. I think some of our 8 and under swimmers would get run over with 28 other swimmers in their lane. So in order get a complete warm-up in for everyone the upper division swimmers will be warming up at GMSC at 6:30am both Saturday and Sunday. We will warm up till 7:00 and then head down to CKST. Upper division if you need a ride from GMST to CKST after warm-up you need to ask myself or another swimmer we can work out some kind of carpool. We will have to leave no later than 7:30 so please be on time to the warm-up.
That’s it for now
Coach Rich
Gators,
Hi all I hope that everyone had a great weekend. We have a lot going on this week so if you are confused in any way about anything please feel free to call me or shoot me an email.
First of all as many of you know league week is upon us I know it has come up fast but I know all of you are ready to swim fast and in order to insure that you do here some tips from the coaches for this week.
1. Practice! I know you are not Allen Iverson and you all know how important practice is it is even more important this week. It is extra important to not only attend practice but also to listen to what the coaches are telling you.
2. Sleep. Sleep is very important, I myself get to bed every day by 8 pm just so I have enough energy to coach all of you in the mornings. I suggest all of you do the same.
3. Relax. It is important for all of you to try and stay off your feet and relax as much as possible
4. Eat Right. Make sure you are eating healthy food. Whole grain pastas with tomato sauce, fruits, veggies. Try to stay away from pop and sugar.
Follow these steps to a successful league meet.
On Wednesday @ 6:00 this week we will be having an Ice Cream/T-shirt dying party. This will be a B.Y.O.T party also know as Bring Your Own T-shirt party. As promised last week the coaches will be putting on a show against the parents and upper division in the annual coaches relay. This will count as your sugar for the day so make sure to eat a healthy lunch.
I have posted a link with the league entries on the blog. These well be the entries at league unless you spoke with me this morning I made those changes. If you are having trouble opening the link try using a different browser if was having trouble using internet explorer.
See you at the pool
Coach Rich
Gators,
Due to weather the last 2 1/2 events from last night’s intra-squad were postponed until this evening. If you were entered in one of these events and would like to swim it tonight, we will be warming up around 7:30 and getting started at 8:00 keep in mind we only had a dozen or so events left so it should go quickly. The Coach’s and Parents relay has been postponed till next Wednesday at the ice cream social. That way there will be lots of you there to see the coaches give a live demonstration on how to win to both the upper division and the parent relays.
This weekend is another busy weekend for some of us gators. We have our last dual meet of the season on Saturday against Wheat Ridge at GMSC and on Sunday we have the last chance meet at Green Mountain Rec Center. In order to swim in the last chance meet you have to swim events that you have a B time in and are going for a league time or an event you have a league time in and are going for a state time. There is no need to sign up for this meet, just show up to the Rec Center for warm-up and we will give you cards to fill out.
We will be sending in league entries after the last chance meet on Sunday. Because we have a good chance to place high at league the coaches will have final say on what events swimmers are swimming at league if they have qualified in more than three. However if you have a preference please send me and email with what you would like to swim we will take it in to consideration. Please title the subject of those emails as “League Entries”.
I have added some new photos to the blog’s slideshow so check them out and send me any photos that you would like to see up there.
I think that is it for now.
Coach Rich
Gators I know this weekend’s meet was long but you all truly swam amazing. I am sad to say that although you all swam fast we lost a close meet to the Stingrays however we did beat 5Parks who beat us early this year at the swamp. We were really close to beating the Stingrays so lets make sure we get them at league. I Google Docs is having some problems so I was unable to post the meet results and the updated best times sheet. I will work on getting those posted as soon as possible. There will be a best times sheet in the book at the pool.
Todd Otto has informed me that he does not read the blog, instead he expects me to tell him all the important stuff that he is responsible for. And because we all know that he is too busy talking a practice to listen to me, I need your help informing him about up coming events. So please if you see Todd lounging at the pool please relay the following info to him. The more people that tell him the more likely it will stick.
Sign up for the last intra squad has started. If you missed practice today make sure and sign up tomorrow or else you will have to deck enter with cards. If you have not signed up yet and can’t be at practice tomorrow please feel free to email me your entries and I will get you in the meet. As many of you are aware the last intra squad is not only one of your last opportunities to improve your times. But it is also your chance to see the coaches teach the upper division a thing or two about the medley relay in the coaches relay. The Shelbanator has already practiced her victory dance. So don’t be surprised if the upper division swimmers are too scared to show up on Wednesday.
During the meet team T-shirts will also be on sale. They make great tie die shirts so you might want to pick a few. Old shirts will be $5, new Shirts will be $10 and new logo caps will be $10 (they are amazing).
Sorry that I have neglected all of my faithful followers these past few days. I went camping for the 4th and was completely distracted by all of the sweet fire works. I don’t really have to much to tell you except we will not be going to odd events tonight or tomorrow night due to lack interest and length of the meet. Looks like a good decision due to the weather. If you would like to sign up for the meet Saturday you need to sign up by tomorrows practice or else you will have to deck enter. Keep in mind it will be a long meet so plan to be there late.
Upper division we will play water polo Thursday night at 8 so if you would like to play come stop by.
Plan on having practice tomorrow unless the weather is really bad. I will try and post on the blog if we cancel it but some times the software doesn’t work on my phone very well.
Until then have fun and stay warm
Coach Rich.
Hey all,
I hope you all are excited for the 4th and are taking advantage of the weekend off.
I found it interesting that Coach Luke is so busy down south that he could find time to come visit us at the swamp but he was able to find time to post on our blog and stock us all through Ken-Caryl results. I will make sure to make him really home sick by telling him all the awesome stories when I see him next month. Hopefully he will make a trip west to see us some time.
I am not sure what Water World put in the water that made upper division think that their log weekend started a day early and that they didn’t need to attend practice today. I don’t think I need to name names you know who you are. I know some of you have been at practice on a regular bases and need some extra sleep every once in a while but those of you who spent two weeks down under really need to make as many practices as possible.
Alright keep in mind league is coming up faster than you think only 14 more practices till league weekend. Make sure you take advantage of them.
Coach Josh also wanted me to remind you that all of us coaches will be celebrating the 4th and in order for all of you to do the same we have canceled practice on Monday the 5th.
Have a great holiday
Coach Rich
Hello Gators!
I accidentally posted an entry earlier this evening to this blog instead of my new one, and as I went into a frenzy trying to delete it, I realized I could still totally control this blog and wanted to use that power to say hello!
I've been keeping up with Coach Rich and occasionally jeering Coach Jelby (albiet, via text message only) and spent some time reading through your Ken Caryl results...very impressive!
If you have a free moment, you can check out the article that the local paper, The Times-Picayune wrote about my team: http://www.nola.com/picayunes/t-p/stbernardpicayune/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1277357760284040.xml&coll=1. You can also follow me and my team at bvbarracudas.blogspot.com. While you're there, you can take a moment to notice that I was too lazy to think of an original blog format, although I did change the colors...and also that I don't post often because I am busy doing the jobs of Richard, Sandy, Dave Carol and Jelby (that last one was a joke...we all know she doesn't do anything.)
Shoot me an e-mail at lukemorin@gmail.com and let me know how you're doing! I'd love to hear from you!
ex-Coach Luke
I hope you all enjoyed your day out of the pool. Although I know a few of you went to the pool today any ways. I first want to congratulate everyone who swam this weekend at any of the meets. I know you all swam a lot and were tired but you still put together great races. If you see Dylan or Ben make sure to congratulate them on their wins at Ken-Caryl. Ben won both the 25 fly and the 100 IM, Dylan won all three of his events the 50 Free, 200 Free and 100 IM he also won high point for his age group.
Compared to last week this week will be low key. That said there are a few things I need to up date you on. We will be having practice Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday as usual. Thursday we will not have practice instead we will be having a team picture at 8am with individual pictures at 7:30. Because the 4th is coming up this weekend there is no meet scheduled and we will NOT be having practice on Monday the 5th. Below is a posted schedule for Thursday’s team picture.
Thursday July 1st
Individual Pictures start at 7:30am
Team Picture 8:00am Sharp (Do not forget to wear your team suit if you have one)
Order Envelopes will be handed out during practice on Tuesday and Wednesday.
If you have any other questions feel free to ask.
Coach Rich
First of all great job last night, you all swam really well. I was pleased to see that everyone was not only swimming well but you were all cheering for each other as well. We are all going to need that kind of support if we are going to make it though this weekend.
For all of you who are going to Ken-Caryl this weekend please check the updated schedule to the right of this post. Note that upper division swims tomorrow (Friday), 9-10 boys and 11-12 boys and girls swim Saturday morning, and 9-10 girls and 8 and under boys and girls swim Saturday afternoon. Please check what time your swimmers warm-up is and do your best to make it. Us coaches really stress out if we are missing our fourth really swimmer 5 minutes before the meet starts. One more note involving Ken-Caryl the meet is in a slightly different order of events and has different event numbers so make sure you make it to your race.
Upper division swimmers who are attending Ken-Caryl optional practice tomorrow at 7:00am for starts and turns. Everyone else's practices is as usual.
I know you are all really excited to see your times from last nights intra-squad I will get those posted later today, but first I have to go and swim. Coach Shelby started talking smack about the coach’s relay and how much the coaches were going to win by to all the swimmers today. And knowing how fast all you gators are I figured I better start hitting the pool or at least the hot tub at 24 hour fitness.
See you all soon
Coach Rich
P.S. No practice on Monday. Get some rest.
I am sticking with the daily posts for this week because I know there is a lot of info for everyone to take in. I have updated the start times and warm-up times for both the pentathlon and the C/D meet under the next meet tab just to the right of this post. Please keep in mind that the pentathlon is at Applewood Athletic Club while the C/D meet is at Applewood Knolls.
The sign ups for the intra-squad meet is now over. If you did not get signed up have no fear you will still be able to attend the meet, swimmers will just have to fill out cards at the meet.
I have not yet received our warm up times from Ken-Caryl yet check back soon for that info.
Ok that’s all for now. Strap you self in this weeks about to get bumpy.
Coach Rich
Hello,
I just have a few little things for all you Gator followers. Peggy sent me a few photos that she had taken at the first few meets this year. I was able to put them on the blog as a slide show. You are also able to click on them and view them in a larger scale at your own pace. If you have any photos you would like to share email them to me and I will get them up.
Upper division there will be no polo this week. I have a conflict on Thursday and this week is just to busy and you all need your rest. Sorry we will pick it up next week.
We started sign up for intra-squad and C/D meet today. If you don’t sign up for the intra-squad by tomorrow you will have to fill out cards at the meet.
I think that is all for now.
Coach Rich
Hi all,
I wanted to touch basses with all of you before the week starts. I would really like to congratulate the team the great job at the meet yesterday. Not only did the swimmers swim very well and we were close to beating 5 Parks but all of the parents did a great job running the meet. I could not believe how fast we were out of there and how smooth the meet ran.
Now lets get down to serious business this week is going to be very busy with lots of info flying around so please do you best to stay on top of everything. Yes upper division this includes you too. On Wednesday we will be having our second intra-squad meet of the year. We will start warm up at 5:30pm and the meet will start at 6:00pm. We will be signing up swimmers for this meet at the pool on Monday and Tuesday.
Then on Friday the upper division swimmers that have qualified for Ken-Caryl Invite will be swimming at Ken-Caryl. The 400 will start in the afternoon and the rest of the meet will start in the early evening and run till late. Keep in mind last year we didn’t leave till 11:00pm. The following Morning the lower division swimmers who qualified for Ken-Caryl will be swimming. There are two different sessions on Saturday I am not sure which session different age groups are going to yet but I will let you know ASSAP. If you are not sure if or what you will be swimming at Ken-Caryl there is a link under Important Links tab that has all of our entries.
The following day (Sunday June 27th, for those of you who are fully confused by now) will be the brunt of the storm. There will be two different meets at the same time of course you can only do one. The Pentathlon will be at Applewood Athletic Cub once again you have to qualify for this meet by having a B time or better in 4 of the 5 following events Free, Fly, Back, Breast, and IM by the end of the meet Wednesday. If you do qualify for the Pentathlon I strongly suggest you do it, it is a lot of fun.
Finally the last event of the week will be the C/D meet hosted by Applewood Knolls. At this meet swimmers are aloud to swim in any events that they DO NOT have a B or faster time in. We will be sighing up for this meet during practices this week.
Ok I think that is it for now thanks for sticking it out I know it was long. This post was almost certainly longer than any history paper Coach Shelby has had to write. This is going to be long week so get some rest today.
P.S. Practice will be canceled next Monday the 28th so that all of us Gators will be able to get some much needed rest.
Coach Rich
Hi,
I just have a few things for you. First of all we are hosting 5 Parks tomorrow and it should be a fun meet but, we need your help. I was looking at the volunteer book today and we still had a lot of empty spaces that need to be filled in. If you have not signed up to help yet please ask one of the board members tomorrow at the meet how you could help.
Also tomorrow after the meet the coaches will be doing Ken-Caryl entries. I will have a sign up with us at the meet tomorrow to make sure you get in the event you want for that meet. If you will be unable to attend the Ken-Caryl Invitational please let us know by tomorrow. Keep in mind the team does pay per-entry so if you don’t show we spend money for nothing. If you are not going to the meet tomorrow or you forget to see me please call me or send me an email with what you want to swim or if you can’t attend. Remember Ken-Caryl Invitational does have qualification times that our close to our league B times.
Oh also retainers were found at the pool after upper division practice a few days ago. I have them so see me if you lost any. I will be asking for a description to make sure they are yours.
See you bright and early
Coach Rich
So as you can tell from the title of this post I have some important information for all of you. The schedule in both the gator guide and on the blog was missing a few meets. Please note these two changes.
Intra-squad Meet next Wednesday at 5:30pm.
C/D Meet on June 27th at Applewood Knolls
If you have any questions about these meets just ask.
Also I have heard 5 Parks is bringing 120 swimmers so please be prepared for a long meet, bring lots of food and water.
See you soon
Coach Rich
Happy Monday,
First of all I would like to congratulate all of you for not only swimming well and beating Lakewood but also for toughing out the elements. While us coaches were sitting inside in our warm and cozy chairs you all had to sit outside in the freezing rain and then jump in to a pool and try and swim fast. So thank you to all of you who stuck it out we wouldn’t have been able to win without you. If you are interested in your times I have posted the meet results on the blog. I am still working on getting best times on the blog check back soon.
If you plan on swimming this weekend please come to practices and sign up for the meet by Wednesday. I am pleased to say that the pool seems to be back to normal. So no excuses now I want to see you at practice as much as possible.
A note to upper division swimmers water polo will be on Tuesday at 8:00pm from now on because the guards have weekly meetings on Wednesdays.
See you in the pool
Rich
I am happy to report the gators were able to return to swimming in the swamp today. I was informed by some of the older gators that although the water is still a little swampy they were able to see both the walls and the bottom of the pool. I have been told that the water should continue to improve for the next few days.
Now down to the important business, Saturday we will be swimming against the dreaded Lakewood Sharks. While Lakewood might have the advantage of having the Foot Hills Swimming Association founder Betty as there head coach, the gators have something that no amount of experience can make up for. The Gators have Coach Josh. All though Coach Josh hasn’t been coaching since the start of FSA he is wise beyond his years. If you don’t believe me just observe him on Saturday. Watch for is electrifying pre-meet cheer. Listen for his deafening two handed whistle which some coaches spend a life time trying to master. And laugh along at his hilarious impressions of Coach Shelby. In order to fully appreciate all that Coach Josh does please show up to warm up on time ready to swim. Swimmers 12 and under will start warm up at 6:30-6:45 and swimmers 13 and up will be from 6:45-7:00. We will have a can’t miss team meeting at our tent at 7:00 sharp be there on time to help the team cheer.
Just a reminder the meet is at Green Mountain Rec-Center. It is an indoor pool so please come to the meet even if the weather is bad. But do bring warm clothes and blankest, the swim tent will be outside.
Coach Rich
Lately I have gotten the feeling that most of you have felt something missing from our team. I have spent the past few days thinking of what it could be. Could it be jelly all over Coach Shelby’s white polo? Or maybe a 6 foot 6 back stroker who runs into the wall while flip turning? Then it hit me, everyone is missing our old friend Coach Luke. Have no fear I have devised a plan to ensure his return home to our little green mountain. Because Coach Luke left us for gator filled swamps of New Orleans I have decided to turn GMSC into our own swamp in attempts to bring him home. All we need to do now is fill it with little gators. So please continue to come to practices and maybe just maybe the wise one will return along with a fan boat.
Just kidding around as many of you have noticed the pool is a bit murky right now. Don’t worry the GMSC staff is doing all they can to fix the problem. The good news is that the pool is safe to swim in it just makes swimming a bit more difficult. The pool should be back to normal soon so please bear with us.
On another note I will be trying to post best times and meet results on the blog so please check back for those soon.
Also upper division will be having polo tonight so if you are 13 or older feel free to swing by and play at 8:00pm. Look forward to seeing all you gators soon.
Coach Rich
Gators,
As you all know last Saturday we had our first meet at the swamp this summer. I was amazed at how well all of you gators swam with only a week of practice. I hope all of you were as excited about the meet as I was. I know Coach Shelby was, she was so excited she spent the night at the pool just to be sure she wouldn’t miss warm-up. Most of you followed her example and were ready to get in at the start of warm-up but if you were a bit late, lets try extra hard to get to the Lakewood meet on time this Saturday.
I saw some really fast swims which got me excited for the rest of the summer. But in order for all of you to continue to improve and to reach your goals you need practice. I saw a lot of small mistakes like flip turns on back to breast turns in the IM, bad or no flip turns, false starts… The only way to improve and limit these mistakes is by spending your mornings with your three favorite coaches.
Lastly I know things seemed a bit crazy on Saturday, all of us were a bit out of sink. Things should start to settle down a bit now that we have more time to sign up for meets and we are getting to know all of you better. Sign up will begin Tuesday for the meet this Saturday against Lakewood at Green Mountain Rec. Center and will end Thursday. If you plan to enter the meet please sign up at practice no later than Thursday.
Later Gators
Coach Rich
WOW! What a start!
I just got home from our first intra-squad meet and I can’t believe how fast all of the gators swam. I don’t recall ever seeing so many state/league qualification times in the very first meet. I don’t have any official times yet but it looks like Ben Hofstra broke a 12 year old team record in the 8 and under 25 fly. So if you see him tell him congrats. Remember warm-up is at 6:00 am on Saturday where we can show off in front of AKST.
Coach Rich
Congrats to everyone on a successful first morning practice. I was really impressed with the attendance early this morning although I noticed a few faces were missing. I won’t call out names till next week.
If you came today you should have signed up for today’s intra-squad and Saturday’s meet. If you missed today don’t worry. You can show up to either meet and deck enter. All you need to do is show up to the meet and talk to a coach. (Please try and show up early. That way we can take care of you before warm up.)
I look forward to seeing all of you tonight. Please try and get there by 5:20 warm up starts at 5:30 and we will be having an important parent meeting at 6:00 so please be there.
Coach Rich
Hello Gators,
So we are a week into the season and things are starting to get moving. Tomorrow (Wednesday) we will not be able to have afternoon practice because the club will be opening for open swim at 1:00. So today was our last after school practice on Thursday we will begin morning practices. I know most of you can’t wait to spend all or those beautiful sunrises in the water. Below is a list of practice times starting Thursday.
6:30-8:00am 13 year olds and up
8:00-9:00am 9-12 year olds
9:00-9:45am 8 and under
Also on Thursday we will be holding our first intra-squad meet. Swimmers can swim up to three events and can either pick up cards at practice on Thursday or before the intra-squad meet. There will also be a parent meeting before the meet starts so please try and be they by 6:00pm.
We will be sighing up swimmers for Saturdays meet at practice on Thursday and Friday.
Enjoy sleeping in while you can.
Coach Rich
So these afternoon practices are often affected by the weather and today looks like thunderstorms are likely. So if it is lightning we will most likely not be getting in but if you have any questions about the status of practice please feel free to call me at 303-921-1767.
Dear Gators,
I wanted to be the first to welcome everyone back. I hope you had a great school year and are ready to hit the pool. I have heard that the pool is being filled this week and should be ready for swimming this next week. I figured I would post next weeks afternoon practice schedule because are first intra-squad is June 3rd and I want all of you to be ready.
Monday-Friday May 24th – June 2nd
5:00 - 6:00p.m. 9 year olds and 8 and under swimmers
6:00 - 7:00p.m. Lower Division (10, 11, & 12 year old swimmers)
7:00 – 8:00p.m. Upper Division (13-18 year old swimmers)
If you or you child is 9 but has swam on the team in previous years they would be welcome to come to the 6:00-7:00 practice if you would like.
Please keep in mind this schedule might change due to weather or water temp I will post info if a change is made.
If you have any questions feel free to call me at 303-921-1767, or email at richcleeds@gmail.com
Looking forward to a great summer.
