Saturday, May 31, 2014

Meet Sign Out Now Available!!


Hi Everyone!  The Meet Sign Out is now available on Sign Up Genius for the Meets at the link below.  Please add all of the childrens' names (First and Last) to the Comment section when signing them out!  This is VERY IMPORTANT!!  Sign outs MUST be done for the Blue Green Meet (06/07) only by This Thursday (06/05) at noon.   For all other meets, Sign Outs will need to be completed by the Saturday (at Noon) before the meet.  We will send out reminders but if you know in advance you are going to be gone, you may sign them out now.


 
Thank you so Much!

8-)Laurie Williamson

Friday, May 30, 2014

Volunteer for the Blue Green Meet!

We are asking each family to fill one volunteer position for the Blue Green meet. The sign up can be found using this link:  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0C4DAFAC2D6-2014.


Thanks!
Cyndi

Thursday, May 29, 2014

BLUE vs GREEN intersqaud MEET!



 Blue Green Meet Information
Saturday, June 7th, 2014 from 8am-10ish
warm-ups begin at 7:15am

 
The Blue Green Meet is our practice meet so that parent volunteers can learn their positions, and kids can experience how a real meet will operate.  It also allows the coaches to get a base time for every swimmer in each stroke.

All swimmers need to be at the pool by 7 am  -- with sunscreen already applied. It is helpful if sunscreen is dry before we marker names and numbers on the kids' shoulders .  If you want, you may pre-mark the right shoulder with first initial, last name. Like this:
M. Jones

Due to a TSA rule change we will also be marking numbers on the kids’ arms for all meets.  You will be getting your child’s number at the Blue Green meet.  This number will be required on your child’s arm at each meet and will not change throughout the season. (So, it is helpful to learn the number and have it written on your child before each meet)

NOTE: Junior Dragons do NOT swim at this meet, and there is no practice Saturday morning.  A special Junior Dragon meet will be announced later in the season.  If you and your Junior Dragon would like to see how a meet runs, please join us and cheer on the Sea Dragons!

Swimmers should wear their team suits and team caps.  If you do not a have a Sea Dragon cap, wear no cap or a PLAIN cap (i.e. no other team names -- year-round team or high school -- as your cap.  This is a TSA rule change this year- so NO exceptions!)  The apparel folks will be on site selling caps and other Sea Dragon goodies.  Support the Sea Dragons and buy your caps and t-shirts this week!

Parents and spectators should bring folding chairs. Due to limited space, no chairs are allowed in the dragon lair, except for parent volunteers.

Meet format will run as follows:  We will follow traditional meet format, beginning with the 6 & unders swimming freestyle, followed by 7-8 freestyle, 9-10s, etc.  Stroke order is freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, then butterfly. We will not do the freestyle relay at the end, however we may practice some medley relays at the end of the meet, to learn how to line up the relays. 

Please allow our kid pushers and clerk of course crew to line up and seat your swimmers for their races. Do not walk your swimmer to the chairs behind the blocks as this confuses things and causes congestion.

Also remind your swimmers that it is good swimming etiquette to stay in the pool after a race until all the swimmers in the heat a re finished. And handshakes and high-fives for the swimmers in the adjacent lanes are also way cool!

Volunteer Assignments

ALL parents should check in at the volunteer table between 7-7:15 with our volunteer coordinators Cyndi Edgington and Mimi Switzer.  ALL families are needed to volunteer at this meet in the positions that they signed up for during the regular season.  Experienced parents are needed to train new parents on the volunteer positions, so please be ready to step up.  There will be a volunteer sign up email to follow this email, please sign up for a position- it takes a village to run a swim meet!

Parking

Due to our LIMITED parking, please walk, bike or carpool up to the pool. If you must park on the street, please park on only one s ide of the road to leave enough clearance for emergency vehicles.

Concessions

The Concessions committee will be providing some complementary coffee and Great Harvest Bread Co. breakfast breads for the team, but will not have anything for sale.  Please pack plenty of fluids for you and your swimmer. 
 
Go Blue!  Go Green!  Go Sea Dragons!

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Practice cancelled tonight 5/27

Practice is cancelled tonight due to rain and thunder. Stay dry and see you all tomorrow.

Coach Kevin.

Durham Bulls Tix Purchase Deadline

The deadline to purchase tickets to the Durham Bulls Swim Night has been extended to Thursday, May 29th! Place your check made out to SMSD in the envelop on the coach's table. 

Durham Bulls Swim Night: 
Thursday, June 26th, gates open at 6:00, parade at 6:15, first pitch 7:05.
Tickets are $8.99 each, Thursdays are $1 concessions night with $1 hot dog, popcorn, and french fries.

Join us for a great night of baseball with your swim team friends!

~Cyndi
p.s. There are no other taxes or fees with the ticket price.

Monday, May 26, 2014

A note from Coach Kevin

We hope everyone had a great Memorial Day. I thought the first week of practice went really well and we are off to a great start! It was also great to see old faces and new faces joining the sea dragon team. I am very excited to see what this team can accomplish this year. I would like to suggest a couple thing as we begin to prepare for week two. I suggested this stuff last year so bare with me if you have done this already. We all know how hard swimming is and if it was easy everyone would do it. But there are ways to make it easier and that is to create less DRAG. I want to suggest that if your child wears a swim shirt that they dont wear it during practice. These are not allowed to be wore in meets and they create tons of drag and limit movements of strokes too. Also anyone with long hair should wear a swim cap. Swim caps reduce drag and keep hair out your face. And the last thing I suggest is getting a good pair of goggles. These help your swimmer feel more comfortable in the water because they can see and when they can see they put there faces in the water and when their faces are in the water their body's are at the surface of the water which yes you guessed it REDUCE DRAG!    
We will begin  working on all of the strokes over the next week or two so it is important that swimmers try to get to as many practices as possible so they can work on all of their strokes.  We will most likely spend 2-3 days focusing on  each individual stroke, drills and technique, so if you miss 2 days in a row you could miss out on learning a stroke.

Also, next Saturday (June 7) is the Blue/Green Meet! More details to come, but this is our intersquad meet where the swimmers get to experience the meet format, the coaches can get swimmer times, and parents learn how to run their volunteer positions. It will take most of the morning so please let us know ahead of time if you will not be there so we can take your swimmer out of the meet and get their times at a later date.  There will be no practice this day just the meet.
This Saturday's clinic will be a FLIPTURN clinic and therefore will be restricted to 11 and overs. Reminder: practices start an hour later this year so the clinic is from 10:45-11 am.
Finally, the deadline to turn in Durham Bull money is TOMORROW at practice. Tickets are $9 each. The game is on Thursday, June 26th so come out to cheer on the Bulls and have fun with your friends.

See everyone tomorrow!

Seadragon Coaches

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Swim caps!!

Support your SMSD!  Swim caps are in!  $14 for silicone and $5 for latex. Catch Barb Tapper at practice or email atbtapper3@gmail.com and she'll do her best to get you one!  

Poster contest!!

We know we have great athletes on the Sea Dragons Swim Team but do we have great artists? We bet we do! If you are creative and want to make a poster that will be displayed at all of our home meets join us on Sat, May 31 from 1:00-400 at the Clubhouse. If you are making jewelry that day and want to make a poster you can come before or after your time slot.  If you cannot make it on that day please feel free to make a poster and bring it to the Blue/Green Meet.  We will have a contest for the best poster during the Blue/Green Meet where the posters will be displayed and voted on by secret ballot by the swimmers and parents.  Up to 3 people can be on a team and the winner(s) will pick from prizes donated by Apparel.  Enter and get the chance to win:  goggle straps, cool loops, earr ings, water bottles, tattoos and more!


Use your creativity and your Sea Dragons spirit! 

Apparel/Spirit 

No Practice Monday (Memorial day)

Attention Sea Dragons!  There will be no practice on Memorial Day (Monday). Stay safe, enjoy your families and we will see everyone Tuesday!  Happy Holiday!!

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

DURHAM BULLS Swim Night

Hello Sea Dragon families,

Join your Sea Dragon friends for a night of fun, fellowship, and baseball June 26th as the Durham Bulls host Swim Night! Swimmers have the opportunity to participate in the pre-game parade starting at 6:15 pm (gates open at 6 pm, first pitch at 7:05 pm). Thursdays are also $1 concessions - hot dogs, french fries, and popcorn all $1 each!

Team pricing: 
$8.99 for a Terrace Reserved seat

We will order tickets as a team to get the team pricing and have our seats grouped together. To purchase tickets, please make a check out to SMSD for the appropriate amount. There will be a large envelop on the Coach's Table each night of practice for you to place your check. Hurry! Checks must be received by next Tuesday, May 27th! Please email Cyndi with any questionscyndi_edg4@yahoo.com.

See you there - Go Sea Dragons!
Cyndi Edgington

Monday, May 19, 2014

Thank you from the Spirit Committee

To all Junior Seadragons!   Thank you so much for all the candy donations. We have an awesome swim team! Please keep them coming! See you Tonight!

First Clinic Scheduled

Our first clinic will be a Diving Clinic. May 24th 9:45-10am.  It is open to all age groups except Jr. Dragons.    Sign up during practice. Only 20 spots available.


Coach Kevin

Saturday, May 17, 2014

UPCOMING EVENTS!!

Calling All Sea Dragons!!

Reminder that tomorrow (Sunday 5/18), you will have the opportunity to meet this year's coaching staff from 2-4 p.m. as they scoop free Ice Cream for you at the clubhouse.  Thank you to our Recreation Committee for their part in making this event possible.  What a great way to start the season....Hope to see you there!

Also...an important reminder that PRACTICE STARTS THIS MONDAY.  Please see the website for more details about when you should be there for your age group.  Have a great weekend....get lots of rest and we will see you soon! 

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Swim suit Reminder

Practice starts this Monday!  Don't forget to contact Barbara Tapper for your SMSD suit!  They're ready for pick up!  Btapper3@gmail.com!"

Sunday, May 11, 2014

A Sweet Request!

Calling all Junior Sea Dragons! 
Please support your team and coaches by considering a donation of candy for coaches to include in after swim practice time!  If you would like to participate, please drop off candy ( no peanuts, chocolates, meltables) to Barbara Tapper at 114 Rushing Wind Way. I'll be sure they get to the coaches in time for practice!  Thanks in advance!  The Spirit Team! 

Friday, May 9, 2014

Help Needed - Stroke and Turn judges

Parents, 
We are in dire need of more volunteers certified to be Stroke & Turn judges for the Sea Dragons. If you are interested in becoming certified, please see the information below. If you are re-certifying via the online certification, please contact us as we can cover your fees! 
Thank you!
Starter/Stroke and Turn Clinics --
 
Saturday, May 17th @ TAC: Starter’s Clinic – 8 am/ Stroke and Turn Clinic – 10 am
 
Thursday, May 22nd TAC: Coaches Clinicat 7 pm

Thursday, May 22nd @ 
Planters Walk in Knightdale: Stroke and Turn Clinic at 7 pm

Saturday, May 31st @ 
Northbrook in Raleigh: MEGA CLINIC DAY
                                    8:00 am  Starter's Clinic
                                    9:30 am  Stroke and Turn Clinic
                                   11:00 am Coaches Clinic

Thursday, June 5th @ 
Lochmere Highlands Clubhouse (NOT the main Lochmere clubhouse) in Cary: Stroke and Turn Clinic at 7:30 pm.
 
 
Stroke and Turn officials who do not hold certifications from USA Swimming, the NCHSAA, the NCAA or the YMCA must re-certify every year.
 
Officials who have been certified by one of those outside organizations need only to email TSA vice president Todd Blandford a copy of their credentials before the beginning of each TSA season.

An online option for stroke and turn certification is available at 
www.strokeandturn.com. There is a $25 fee for this course.  If you certify via the online method you need to ensure that you know the differences between what is taught online versus the TSA rules (yes, there are some differences!). Finally, it is not the recommendation of the TSA Clinics Committee for any first-year official to obtain certification via the online method.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Sea Dragon Swim Suits are IN!

The bathing suits for summer season are in!  They are ready to be picked up at 114 Rushing Wind Way. Please email me the night before and I will have your suit ready the next day on my porch in a SMSD bin. Thank you and we're looking forward to a fun, successful swim season!  Sue Concordia and Barb Tapper


Friday, May 2, 2014

Save the Date! Ice Cream Social!

ICE CREAM SOCIAL
Please join the Recreation Committee and
Scotts Mill Sea Dragon swim team as we
celebrate the opening of the swim season! Sea
Dragon swim coaches will be scooping ice
cream at the pool patio from 2-4pm. You add
the toppings and dig in! This event is rain or
shine. See you there!
Sunday
May 18th
2-4pm

TSA Stroke and Turn clinics Now available

If you are considering being a Stroke and Turn Judge, you must attend a mandatory training session first.  Below is the schedule of the current TSA clinics so far:

Saturday, May 17th at TAC : Stroke and Turn and Starters Clinics (times to be posted soon)
Thursday, May 22nd at TAC : Coaches Clinic - 7pm
Saturday, May 31st at Northbrook 8:00 am Starter's Clinic; 9:30 am Stroke and Turn Clinic; 11:00 am Coaches Clinic

We are waiting to hear about additional stroke and turn clinics to be held at Lochmere in Cary as well as Planters Walk in Knightdale.

The online stroke and turn clinic is available as well at: strokeandturn.com.  Please be aware that the cost has increased to $25.00 per key this year. Additionally, it is the recommendation of the clinics committee that you attend an in person TSA hosted stroke and turn clinic if this is your first year as a TSA stroke and turn official as the online stroke and turn certification does not cover TSA rules that differ from USA swimming. If you need any further information about this site please contact the TSA vice-president: Todd Blanford or check the TSA Tuesday Night Lights blog

Remember: if you have certified stroke and turn officials (USA or NCHSSA) they need to copy their certification card and send it to Todd Blanford.