Dwares JCC TigerSharks RIMA SWIM TEAM HANDBOOK 1
TEAM INFORMATION Welcome Welcome to the TigerSharks swim team at the Dwares JCC! We want swimming to be a positive experience for your family and hope that this handbook will help answer many of your questions and serve as a reference for you. Please feel free to ask coaches any other questions you may have. Fellow parents may also be able to help out with questions. Mission Our mission is to improve swimmers strokes, skills, times, as well as their overall sportsmanship in and out of the pool. Coaches Head Coach London Blake London is joining the team as the head coach for the TigerSharks and as the Aquatics Manager. Since she started organized swimming at the age of 5 in Dover Massachusetts London has been in a pool more than she has been on dry land. Working her way through USSA until she made Olympic trials while at Whittier College where she studied History and Art History. Unfortunately, her path would not lead her to the Olympics, but she has continued swimming and pursued a career in the fitness industry. London is very excited to bring her 17 years of swimming and 9 years of coaching to the TigerSharks. Joey Tetreault, Assistant Coach Joseph is a high school competitive swimmer who enjoys being in the water more than the next breath of air. He has participated in the Northeastern Winter Championship competition, and the New England Championship. As a swim instructor and coach, he enjoys helping swimmers to achieve their goals and hopes to encourage the TigerSharks to better their swim technique, speed and endurance. Joseph started swimming at the age of three here at the J and was also an original member of the TigerSharks team. He is excited to return as a coach this year. Tony & Laina Fonseca, Assistant Volunteer Coaches Tony Fonseca has an extensive swimming background, as both a coach and athlete. A RI native, Tony began USA swimming at 7 years old, training at Brown University with the Little Rhody Aquatic Club. He followed his USA swimming coach, Paul Mangili, to the Attleboro Bluefish in 1993. In 1995, Tony became the first junior national qualifier in the now illustrious team's history. A four time first team all state swimmer during four consecutive RI state team championships at Bishop Hendricken, Tony continued to swim in college, for four years, at the University of Notre Dame, scoring in the Big East Conference championships in each of his first three seasons. During his time at Notre Dame, the men's swim team recorded their highest ever team finishes, a second place in both 1999 and 2000. Post college, Tony spent six months volunteering with the Portland Porpoises, in Maine, before becoming the age group coach in 2001 at Foothills Swim Team in Littleton, CO. One year later, Tony was promoted to head coach of FST, and remained in that position until late 2005, returning to RI to enter private business. At FST, he built a staff of three additional coaches, oversaw a team of 110+ athletes, and directly coached 20 high school aged swimmers. Since 2005, Tony rarely swims, but has briefly made appearances at US Masters meets and practice, and competed in the New England US Masters Championships three times. Tony volunteers with the Tiger Sharks, and is typically accompanied by his assistant/ older daughter Laina. 2
Practice Groups and Schedules New swimmers are placed in groups after a try-out/evaluation by the coaching staff. Placement is based primarily on swimming experience. From there, swimmers change groups at the discretion of the coaches based on swimming ability, maturity, motivation, and commitment. All changes will occur at the beginning of each month. Practice groups consist of the following: Level 1 M-Th 4:30-5:30 P Coach London, Tony (Wed ONLY) Level 2 M-Th 4:30-6:30 P Coach London, Joey Level 2 Fri 4:00-6:00 P Coach London * In order to optimize swimming development, swimmers are requested to attend at least 2 practices per week. Membership & Dues All swimmers who participate in practices or meets conducted by RIMA or member clubs must be registered with RIMA as athlete members. TigerSharks and RIMA Registration In order to join the TigerSharks Swim Team, swimmers must join RIMA Swimming. This is the governing body of swimming which gives insurance coverage for the Dwares JCC Team. The annual enrollment fee is $125 for members and $175 for non-members, and covers team costs, insurance, team registration ribbons etc. This fee is payable by credit card. Monthly Dues A monthly participation fee must be paid each month for any swimmer who swims that month The fee is charged on the 5 th of the month and becomes delinquent on the 9 th of each month. The dues are to be paid by credit card. WE DO NOT ACCEPT CHECK. Monthly Payments Annual Payments Member Non-Member RIMA Fee $20 Level 1 $50 $80 Level 2 $60 $90 Members $125 Non-Members $175 Note: Dues are subject to change from time of printing 3
Taking Time Off We understand that families have busy times in their lives life happens! If you know tht your swimmer will be away from the team for a month or more, please let us know for record keeping and billing purposes. An email confirmation of the exact dates is required ahead of their leave of absence. Please send all emails to LBlake@jewishallianceri.org Team Apparel TigerSharks Colors Orange and Black Team Suit Both the male and female suit are made to be highly chlorine resistant, and will have the TigerSharks logo. More information will be coming in two weeks. In addition, team suits are meant for swim meets and are not allowed at practices. Team Cap Black cap with Orange logo Dwares JCC caps will be provided by the Coaches. It is required for swimmers to wear the team cap for swim meets. It is encouraged to have and bring extra caps to practice and swim meets. Dwares JCC will provide: A team logoed cap Swimmer of the Week cap This will be given out for a variety of positive supportive encoraging reasons. Swim Aids Each swimmer is REQUIRED to have their own goggles, fins, paddles and snorkel. It is highly suggested to bring some extra caps as they are known to break from time to time when used on a regular basis. Dwares JCC will provide kick boards and pull buoys. This equipment must be obtained within the first 45 days of the first practice. Team Communications Good intra-team communications are vital to a smooth operation of the Dwares JCC swim team. The team communicates through the following channels: 4
Email Please make sure your family is on our TigerSharks email list. Email is our main form of communication for the swim team. We send out emails to help keep families update on upcoming events, meets, and entry deadlines.swim Team email: LBlake@jewishallianceri.org Team Parent Meetings A parent meeting is held every September, January, and May. The meetings include discussion of coachs and team objectives, season meet schedule, season events, and break down of the meet entry process. This is also a great time to meet other parents who are part of the team. Social Activities We will be having a social activity per season for fun team bonding outside of the pool. These activities offer excellent opportunities for swimmers and families to become better aquainted. Swim Across America (September 12 th ) Fall Hope St. Stroll (September 20 th ) Winter Hope St. Stroll (December 3 rd ) Volunteers Parent participation and assistance are crucial to a well run team. Volunteering your time is a fun way to get involved in your child s activities and for parents to meet other parents. Volunteers don t have to attend meets to volunteer. Below are some great ways to donate your time: Stroke and Turn Officials Each team is required to provide one Stroke and Turn official for every 20 swimmers brought to a RIMA swim meet. If this is not provided coaches will have to fill this position so the meet can still continue. Therefore, parent volunteers are essential to running a structured meet. This is your chance to ensure a fun, safe and organized environment for your child to compete in and to further your knowledge of swimming. Timers Just like the TigerSharks Summer League, all timers are parent or family volunteers. There are no assigned shifts for the RIMA meets. Based upon the number of TigerShark swimmers attend each meet, between 1-3 lanes will be assigned for our team to fill with their timers. We are a smaller site, but since we participate in meets, it is important to volunteer as a timer since many other parents will have done the same for our swimmers. Coordinating Social Activities This is a great way to be involved if your swimmer does not attend meets. Have an idea for a team activity? Send an email to the coaches atlblake@jewishallianceri.org and we can discuss more details with you being the primary organizer. 5
2. COMPETITION Types of Meets Intersquad Meets - We are coordinating several interquad meets and as we lock down dates and times we will convay them to you. These are run like RIMA meets but all times swam at these are unnofficial and do not count toward qualifying for a time standard. Meet Information Competition is found in the form of swim meets, held in neighboring towns, throughout Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Meets are held on weekends during the winter and spring months. Events The events held at swim meets vary depending upon the age group and type of meet. Events are divided into individual events and relay events. Individual Events- include the four competitive strokes: o Freestyle o Backstroke o Breaststroke o Butterfly o Individual Medley (IM)- an event comprised of all four competitive strokes. In the following order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle. Relay Events- are composed of four swimmers. They may have four girls or four boys within the same age group. The two types of relays are: o Freestyle- all swimmers swim freestyle o Medley each swimmer swims one of four of the competitive strokes in the following order: backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle. Distances Short Course Yards SCY 25 yard Short Course SCM 25 meter (no meets on our calendar use this distance) Long Course LCM 50 meter TigerShaks pool is 25 yards long by 4 lanes wide. Olympics are LCM, in a 50 meter pool. Seasons Fall Season September through March Spring Season April through June Summer Season Mid-June through August Heats Since there are bewteen six to ten lanes in a pool and there are more swimmers than an event can accomodate, the event is broken up into heats of swimmers (depending on the # of lanes in pool). In 6
most meets, swimmers are seeded in heats based on time. RIMA meets seed swimmers: slower swimmers or those with no time entered in the first heat and faster swimmers in the final heat. Specific championship meets or events that are open in age group may be seeded fastest in the first heats and slower/no time entered in the final heats. Age Groups The age of the child on the first day of the meet will determine the age category in which he/she will swim. Boys and girls swim separately and are divided into the following age groups for competitive swimming: 6 & under 8 & under 9-10 11-12 13-14 15-16 17-18 Meet Registration Information RIMA Meeting TigerSharks Meet Schedule -2016 Team Date Warm-Up Place Fox Point Sunday, October 18, 12:30pm Fox Point Boy's + Girl's Club Taunton Tiger Sharks + N. Prov Barracudas Sunday, November 08, 1:00pm Taunton Boy's + Girl's Club East Providence Tidal Waver Sunday, November 15, 1:00pm HOME Pawtucket Sunday, December 06, TBA Pawtucket Fall River Flyers Sunday, January 10, 2016 1:00pm Fall River Boy's + Girl's Club Envious Sunday, January 17, TBA Envious Swimming 2016 Cumberland Penguins Sunday, February 21, 2016 1:30pm Cumberland Boy's + Girl's Club RIMA Championships are TBA as the league is still working out the details of where and when What to bring to A Swim Meet: Team Suit and an extra suit Team Cap and an extra cap Goggles - and extra goggles Warm Clothing sweatshirt, pants, or sweats, and shoes or boots. It is easy for a swimmer to become chilly even when the sun is out. 7
Towels bring two or three. Swimmers are in and out of the water frequently and towels get wet quickly. Folding Chairs some pool decks provide adequate seating, but a folding chair is recommended in case they don t. Nutritious Foods is especially important at all day meets. Most meets have snack bars, but not all serve nutritious foods. Sleeping bag - a good idea if weather is chilly. Sun Screen - even on overcast days it s possible to get a sunburn. Water / Sports Drinks important to stay hydrated. Most swim meets will have a snack bar available. Parents and Swimmers Parents Role It is your goal to allow each swimmer to be as good as he or she can be, and to have fun doing it. Parent participation and assistance is essential. In order to allow our coaches to coach at meets, parent volunteers are essential to running a structured meet. This is your chance to ensure a fun, safe, and organized environment for your child to compete in. This is a family commitment. Parent Obligations Swimmers should not leave a swim meet without first notifying their coach. This protects a swimmer s safety and also notifies the coach in case the swimmer is needed for relays. The coaching staff should be informed of any long absences and vacations. This should be done via e- mail. If a swimmer has signed up for a meet and finds out that he/she cannot attend, the coach MUST BE NOTIFIED VIA EMAIL IMMEDIATELY. It is expected that parents help out at meets and/or events. Swimmers Role The swimmer s job is to do their best, respect their coaches, teammates, and competitors to help make the swimming experience enjoyable for everyone. With the assistance of the coaches, you should set high personal goals and work hard to achieve them. It is equally important to participate in team cheers and spirit activities, and have a good time! Know your times! TigerSharksTeam Rules- A few team rules have been established and must be enforced to ensure the safety, fair treatment, quality workout and friendly atmosphere for all swimmers. 1. Be on time.tardiness is disruptive and may result in missing important information and valuable warm up time. If a practice starts at 4:30 it means you are IN THE POOL at that time, not standing on the pool deck. 2. Swimmers must come to practice and meets prepared, this means bringing their own suits, goggles, and caps. Closed toed athletic shoes and appropriate attire are required for dry land activities. 3. Swimmers should always walk on the pool deck, no running! 4. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a mature, safe, and responsible manner at all times. Uncooperative or disruptive swimmers will be asked to leave practice. 8
5. Diving is allowed only under direct supervision of a coach. This means no diving off the blocks or walls on weekends or before practice. 6. No sitting, standing, or swimming over the lane lines. 7. All equipment should be returned and placed neatly in its proper place at the end of each practice. We strive to leave our pool deck as it was or neater than it was before practice. 8. Hair should be kept away from the face. Long hair should be tied and swim cap should be worn. Wearing hair down changes a swimmers body position, thus creating bad habits. 9. Jewelry or watches are not recommended. It can be a distraction from practice if a piece falls off in the water or on deck. 10. Parent supervision is required on pool deck before and after all practices and meets. 11. Mature, responsible behavior is expected in the locker room.understand this area is a shared space and other members or swimmers will be in there at any time. Failure to treat the facility with respect will result in a loss of priviliages. 12. Please be sure to pick up all trash and miscellaneous items at the end of all meets and practice. It only takes a few minutes, but really reflects on the quality of our team. 13. Swimmers represent the Dwares JCC at all practices and meets. Please follow pool rules, respect the members, staff, and equipment of all facilities. RIMA Swimming Rules Parents are not allowed to be on the pool deck during swim practices. Should a parent wish to discuss a matter with a coach, coaches are available before and after practices or by email/phone. Smoking and alcohol are prohibited at all swim meets. Discipline & Complaint Procedures Discipline problems are dealt with on an individual basis. Swimmers must understand their responsibilities to the coaching staff, parents, other team members, practice schedules, meet schedules and to personal belongings. Swimmers should discuss all questions or problems with their coach and these will be kept confidential. Parents with questions or problems concerning their swimmer should feel free to talk with the coaching staff before or after practice. Conferences can also be set up. Deviant behavior will be dealt with immediately. Consequences will include, but are not limited to: 1. Warning of inappropriate behavior 2. Time-out on pool deck (swimmer is not to leave pool area) 3. Removal from pool for the remainder of practice parent will be notified. 4. Probationary period or suspension following by probationary period 5. Dismissal from team 9