Dear Parents,
It’s an Olympic year, and a great time to introduce your child to swimming!
I hope the offseason has gone well for everyone.
We have another exciting summer unfolding before us, and it is time for the Ray’s to enter the pool once again!
For those of you who do not know me my name is Coach Andrew, or Andrew Johnson. I am writing to you all to share our summer schedule and allow your summer plans to take shape. The upcoming season will look very different, and we hope this is the first of many emails to get you as excited as we are for the changes ahead!
A few important dates for your calendar!
Parents meeting will be May 8th 6pm at the outdoor pool. All of the information will be provided in emails leading up to the start of the season although I highly recommend attending, especially for new families. It is a great time to meet the coaches and ask questions face to face! You also will have the ability to use a “swim suit fit kit” to help you buy the right sized suit for your swimmer.
The End of year Banquet will take place on July 23rd between 5:30 and 7:30. A rain date has been added to the calendar for July 25th at the same time.
Practice and Meet Schedules:
Pre-season will take place between May 20th and June 6th. Yes you read that correctly, June 6th! School, at least the schedule that we are bound to, will let out June 6th. Our regular season will begin Friday June 7th and end July 16th.
Practice Times:
May 20th – June 6th:
7:30-9pm with 6 lanes available. We will be splitting up the swimmers by age group and ability. Depending on the number of registered swimmers in each age group, we will split practices into 2×45 minute sessions and have a few days dedicated to specific age groups. More information to follow as we receive registration forms over the next few months.
June 7th – July 16th:
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays will be 6:00-8:30
Fridays will remain in the mornings 8am-10am. These practices will probably change week to week to include different activities and fun team building exercises. Also, the pool is available to us on Friday’s 8-10am, that does not mean the practices will be 2 hrs. More info on that soon.
Swim Meet Schedule:
Meets take place on Tuesdays and begin at 6pm. However, warmups for the home teams start at 5pm and away teams 5:30pm. More information on meets to follow including what to expect, how to prepare, and tips and tricks for meet day.
Meet Schedule:
June 11th @ Greenway Club
June 18th @ Harrington Grove
June 25th vs North Raleigh (divisional)
July 2nd vs Stonebridge
July 9 @ Northbrook (divisional)
July 16th vs Quail Hollow (divisional)
TSA championships are voluntary but a great meet that all swimmers should try to attend. This meet is TBD but will most likely be the weekend of July 22nd. Again, more information to follow.
Registration Fees:
1st Swimmer – $115
2nd Swimmer – $110
3rd Swimmer – $105
4th+ Swimmer – $100
Upcoming Emails will include more information on the following:
⦁ Suit Info and Cap Info
⦁ Our SPIRIT WEAR STORE is back through Image Builders! You will be able to order all sorts of merchandise from shirts to towels.
⦁ There will be an intersquad meet for swimmers and volunteers/parents a-like to have a practice run!
⦁ Volunteer committees will be formed to help streamline the season even more.
⦁ We will have a CONCESSION STAND! More info to follow.
⦁ We are bringing back the volunteer program. I will be asking older age groups to volunteer with the younger swimmers to help with their technique and practice “etiquette”. I will be happy to sign off on volunteer hours or even create it as a “coaching program” to add to resumes with recommendations as needed. I believe this to be a great learning experience for your older swimmer getting ready for college and beyond.
⦁ Volunteer Sign up, please be thinking about what volunteer jobs you may want to sign up for. Here is a link to the volunteer list. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1NotRUqtSKPhuiP5Vj0SyqHCUr1apZTJLiFMKuMvivh8/viewform?edit_requested=true
At the moment Stroke and Turn Judges and a back up Starter are the only time sensitive positions we need. If you are interested please email me immediately because there is a learning curve and even a class for Stroke and Turn.
For now please only contact me with questions regarding our schedule and registration. All other questions may be answered in the upcoming emails. You can contact me at RiverwoodRaysCoach@gmail.com.
We hope this email gets everyone as amped up as we are, and I can not wait to see each and every one of you and your swimmers at the Riverwood Pool in a few months!
Swimmingly,
Coach Andrew
Andrew B. Johnson
Cell:(919) 500-0942