Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Swim meet done - party at Ritas

We took the loss with the thunderstorm but we are ready to party at Ritas!!  Pack up your swim bags and head on over. We are headed there now!!

Ritas after the meet tonight!!!

Please join the Scotts Mill Sea Dragons after the swim meet tonight at Ritas of Apex!  We will celebrate the final track out for year round schools this school year by staying out a little later.  Hopefully we will have a win to celebrate too but either way, Ritas has offered to stay up late with us and keep the store open for our celebration.  So please show your support and drive to the Apex Ritas for Italian ice or ice cream right after the swim meet!  We will see you there!!

http://www.ritasfranchises.com/stores/store.cfm/Apex-27502/store/2974

Enjoy your day!
Laurie Williamson 😎

Saturday, June 27, 2015

IMPORTANT REMINDER - 8:00 p.m. Signout DEADLINE!

A reminder that if your Sea Dragon swimmer will not swim at this Tuesday's meet (away at University Club), you MUST sign them out by  8:00 p.m. tonight!!!!  The link is below.  We were not prepared last week with our lineup due to last minute changes.  While we understand that illnesses and emergencies happen, these extreme circumstances are the only times you should have to contact Coach Kevin to pull your child after the lineup has been made.  If you must do so after Tonight @ 8:00 p.m., please email Coach Kevin directly at maksinchukk@yahoo.com.  Please do not email or message me or another board member as this delays the notice the coaches get to make the necessary changes. Please understand that every child on our team matters - whether they swim main events or the 8th heat.  Each unplanned absence has a direct impact on your child's team and their teammates and jeopardizes our preparedness for the meet.  Please take ownership and help us represent Scotts Mill in a way that we can all be proud.  Thank you in advance for following this procedure.  

Click Here to Sign Out for Swim Meets

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Sea Dragon family Movie Night

Sea Dragon Family Movie Night!

Hello Sea Dragon Families,
Please join your fellow Sea Dragon friends for a Family Movie Night! We will be showing Big Hero 6 on the clubhouse lawn on June 28th at 8:30pm. Please bring chairs or blankets to sit on. Snacks will be provided by the Social Committee. 

All Sea Dragons under 13 must be accompanied by a parent or older sibling. 

We hope to see you there!

No practice tonight!

No practice tonight for any age group! The coaches will be at the Durham Bulls swim Night - as will many of our swimmers!! Go Blue Green!!

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Swim Parent Etiquette




Last night was a tough meet!  We swam a very talented team and gave it our best shot, but came up short on the win.  I saw a lot of great sportsmanship by our Sea Dragons and some amazing  swims and relay finishes by our Sea Dragons .  We even set a few pool records!

There were several difficult situations last night however that affected our meet.  Situations that could have been prevented by YOU-the Sea Dragon Parents!

1.        Adhering to the meet sign out procedures is critical!  If you are going to miss a meet, you must sign your child out of the meet by 8pm on the Saturday prior to the meet!  When you fail to communicate your absence or sign out late, it changes the lineup for 100+ swimmers.  The impact of this is HUGE!  Last night we had so many late sign outs that we delayed the start of the meet because we did not have an accurate lineup to set up our relays.  The bigger impact is on the kids.  When our lineup is changed on the day of the meet, it creates a stressful environment for our team of volunteers who are trying to get changes on the fly or even look for kids that aren’t even there!  Summer swim team is about FUN not stress.  The kids and volunteers deserve to have a FUN environment!  We also have to scratch relays when swimmers cancel at the last minute.  One child missing cancels the relay and the other three swimmers on the relay team, who were looking forward to swimming-another real bummer for the kids!  To avoid all of this, SIGN YOUR CHILD OUT OF THE MEET BY 8PM ON SATURDAY IF YOU ARE NOT ATTENDING!
2.       Parent volunteer positions-as I have said all along, it takes a village to raise a swim team!  We have some amazing dedicated volunteers on this team who volunteer over and over again, some who don’t even have children swimming on the team, and still work several full meets/season.  We also have families who have not reached their 3 meet volunteer commitments.  Last night we were short volunteers, and we were asked to provide extra volunteers to accommodate their 10 lane pool.  Our volunteer coordinator had to scurry around at the last minute to find people.  Thankfully some parents stepped up and did double “shifts”.  We should NEVER have to worry about having enough volunteers at a meet!  We have more than enough families on this team to share the work.  If you have not volunteered to sign up to volunteer for your required 3 meets, do so now, http://www2.mysignup.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?datafile=seadragonvols15 !  Just to note, at last night's the best seat in the house was a volunteer position, because you got to see the meet.  Otherwise the spectator seating wasn’t even poolside! Please ensure that you do your part and sign up to work a position.  If you do not know how to do something we can train you, just sign up!

We have several more fun meets and activities ahead of us this season, with community team work we look forward to making them all successful! 

Go Sea Dragons!

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Cary City Meet Sign Up

The Sign UP Sheet for the Cary City Meet taking place on Saturday, July 18th is now available online.  Unlike our Tuesday meets, you will need to sign your child IN to swim for this event.  Details are included on the sign up sheet including tentative swim times and prices.  More details will follow in emails.  This is a huge invitational meet which could potentially have 48 teams and over 1300 swimmers.  Points are given to the top 16 places so your participation can make a huge difference for the Sea Dragons - Let's win this thing!!

Click Here to sign Up for the Cary City Meet

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Meet Sign Out Deadline - 8:00 tonight for Tuesday's away Meet against Sunset Ridge

Greetings everyone!

Just a friendly reminder that the deadline to sign out for this Tuesday's away swim meet against Sunset Ridge is tonight (Saturday) at 8 pm. You may sign out at the following link: 

http://www2.mysignup.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?datafile=2015seadragonsignout

The sign out will close down after 8:00 tonight and reopen after the meet on Tuesday. Any last minute changes for this week's meet will need to be communicated to Coach Kevin at Maksinchukk@yahoo.com.  Thank you for considering our other swimmers and your team before making any last minute cancellations. Last week, relays had to be cancelled and swimmers were very disappointed when someone didn't show up at the last minute. The sooner we know, the better for everyone. 

Thanks again!

Enjoy your day!
Laurie Williamson 😎

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Info - First home swim meet tonight

Scotts Mill SeaDragons versus Cary Park SeaDragons Meet Information
Tuesday, June 16th, 2015

We swim at HOME this Tuesday against the Cary Park SeaDragons.  We
will run main events with 6 lanes, and heats with 8 lanes. Cary Park
has approximately 296 swimmers. They are ranked 5th in Division 2
(Scotts Mill is ranked 3rd in Division 1).  This is an OUT OF
division meet. Throughout the season, we swim 3 IN division meets, and
3 OUT OF division meets.

ALL SWIMMERS need to be at the pool by 4:30 pm with sunscreen already
applied. Please DO NOT pre-mark your swimmer's back or shoulders.  The
coaches and/or volunteers will help mark your swimmers with a set of
letters and numbers to help identify them for scoring purposes.
Please have your swimmer at the pool promptly to help this process run
smoothly and allow plenty of time for your swimmer to warm up and
prepare for the meet.
The meet will start promptly at 6 pm. Please keep your swimmers in the
dragon lair during the meet so that the kid pushers can find them.

Cary Park would like to follow traditional meet order.  The meet will
begin with the Medley Relay, followed by all ages of freestyle, then
all ages of backstroke, etc.  (i.e. 6 and unders do NOT swim first at
this meet). 6 and unders may leave after they have swum breaststroke,
but parent volunteers must stay until the end.

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 -- on your cap). If you would
like to purchase a team cap, contact apparel chair Sue Concordia
(nicksanson@mindspring.com). Don’t forget apparel will be sold at this
home meet so bring your checkbooks!

Dive Overs: In an effort to speed up the meet, all 11 & up events will
have dive overs.  Please remind your swimmers to remain in the pool
until the next heat has started.  This applies for the freestyle,
breaststroke and butterfly events.

Please leave the designated visitor seating area for our visiting team.

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

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.

Our HOA has requested that we do not allow our swimmers to write on
their backs with permanent markers. The marker transfers to our deck
chairs (not to mention your leather car seats) and leaves a terrible
mess for our clean up crew.

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 are
finished. And handshakes and high-fives for the swimmers in the
adjacent lanes are also way cool. Remember, we were the first
SeaDragons, let’s show who has the BEST sportsmanship and leadership
around!!!!



We will be doing coaches and parents relays. Please let Carol Medins
(carolmedins@gmail.com) know ASAP if you are interested in
participating in the parents relay.

Volunteer Assignments

ALL Volunteers please check in with Mimi Sweitzer by 5:30.  Meet
officials (times, Clerk of Course, and Judges) will need to attend an
officials meeting at 5:40.

Parking

Due to our LIMITED parking, please walk, bike or carpool up to the
pool. This will leave the parking spaces open for our visitors. If you
must drive up to the pool, please try to park on the street to leave
the lot for our visitors.

Concessions

Remember that concessions at the meets are a fundraiser for our team.
All proceeds go directly back into the Sea Dragons' wallet!

We will be serving pizza ,Subs, barbeque sandwiches, inside the pool
gates, and the Barbeque truck will be serving in the parking lot.  We
will also have drinks, snacks and candy for sale.

Rites After the Meet

Join your coaches and teammates at Rita’s in Beaver Creek after the
meet. It’s a great way to celebrate the meet, catch up with friends
and cool down after a long fun night!  Can’t wait to see you there!

Junior Dragons
Junior Dragons do NOT swim at this meet, unless you have previously
cleared it with Coach Kevin.  There is no practice Tuesday evening.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST!  Let’s show our SeaDragon spirit and welcome the
Cary Park SeaDragons to a Beach and Luau themed party!  Posters and
decorations are welcome to dress up our dragon lairs, fences
surrounding the pool, walkways, anywhere it is safe to hang
decorations and show our spirit!  Come dressed to celebrate and cheer
on the Scotts Mill SeaDragons at our first Division 1 2015 Swim Meet!
GO BLUE GREEN!!!!  GO SEADRAGONS!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, June 15, 2015

Beat the Heat at the Meet!!

Hi Everyone! 

We hope you are as excited as we are about our first swim meet tomorrow!  It's going to be a HOT one - a Sea Dragon scorcher!!  Because temps may well reach 100+ degrees there will be an opportunity for any one and every one to take a quick dip in the pool after the freestyle events conclude.  If you would like to cool off plan accordingly and wear your bathing suit!  And since you will already be dressed maybe you can even volunteer for a parent relay!  

Reminders that we will have the Kona Ice truck from 4:30 - 6:30 pm and then we will meet up for Ritas Ice at Beaver Creek after the meet!  Lots of opportunities to cool off.  So don't let a little heat scare you!!  

See you tomorrow!!

Enjoy your day!
Laurie Williamson 😎

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Ice Cream for Blue Green!

Attention Sea Dragons!!  Tomorrow is the last practice before our first swim meet!!  The Sea Dragon Social Committee has prepared a special treat for you!  We will be serving ice cream to each age group after their practice is over (parent volunteers are needed to help serve please) as a special rewarding treat for all of the hard work we have put in to preparing for another winning season!  So please join us tomorrow night for an extra special practice you won't want to miss!!

Friday, June 12, 2015

Swim meet Sign Out

A reminder that our first meet is this coming Tuesday (6/16) at home - more information to come. If you know your child will not be swimming in this Tuesday's meet, please sign them out at the following link (this does not apply to Jr. sea Dragons):

http://www2.mysignup.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?datafile=2015seadragonsignout

This should be done by Saturday evening at 8:00 pm. This is VERY IMPORTANT!  An unexpected absence has an impact on the entire team. Coaches and volunteers must scramble to change the line up. Relays get cancelled or shifted and the kids are sad.  #nosadkidsplease

Thursday, June 11, 2015

The best thing I ever did was JUST SHOW UP!




Being a swim mom or dad is a wild ride.  Swimming is a sport like none other.  And while it appears on the surface to be an individual sport, it very much is a team sport; a team sport that is comprised of swimmers, coaches and PARENTS.   
As a family, we began our journey into swimming 12 years ago.  At the time, I had no idea what I was getting into!  I was the mom of 4 young children, none of which had ever swum any stroke but the doggy paddle, let alone on a team. I had actually never even been to a swim meet!  

My kids wanted to be a part of the swim team, what was a mom to do?  I lived in a fabulous, active community that had an amazingly fun, vibrant swim team,  but I was hesitant to jump in.
 So I decided to “just show up!”   I showed up with a desire to have fun with my kids. I showed up with a willing heart and able body.  I showed up with an open mind and a longing to connect  with my new neighbors and community. It was the best decision of my life! 

Personally I have gained so much by being a part of the Sea Dragon swim team for 12 years.  My best friends are swim moms and dads from this neighborhood.  Friends that have helped us raise our children.  Friends that I would have never met had I not “just showed up.”

A national blogger that I follow recently wrote  about volunteerism and one’s hesitation in doing so.  His article resonated with me as I lead the Sea Dragon Swim team for another season.  It takes many volunteers to run a swim team.  Sometimes parents are hesitant to volunteer because they feel they are either, inexperienced, under-qualified, or that they lack time.  The reality is that we are all busy, and we are all inexperienced and we are all under-qualified at times, but that is how we learn! Joshua Becker wrote in his article “Just Show Up” that we can accomplish many things and contribute to our organizations if we:
“Just become available. The experience will come. The talent will grow. And the opportunities will increase.” 

Please consider how you can engage this season, you won’t regret it!

 -Just Show Up, Written by Joshua Becker http://www.becomingminimalist.com/show/

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Super Blue Green Meet!



A BIG THANKS to all of you for making the 2015 Blue Green Meet run so successfully!  We had a great morning of fun and team camaraderie!
Thank you to the Concession Crew for "caffeinating", hydrating and feeding us this morning.  It is much appreciated on an early Saturday Morning!
Thank you to the Apparel Crew for setting up this morning and “dressing” the Sea Dragons with some fun team apparel!  I love seeing all of those bright green Sea Dragon Caps, fun t-shirts and really cute jewelry!
Thank you to Coaches for preparing our swimmers for the debut!  Hopefully we got some swimming jitters out and now we can focus on technique, confidence and speed!
Thank you to our Board Members for their months of preparation in getting our organization ready for a successful season! 
Thank you to the volunteer parents for stepping up and volunteering this morning, even when you weren’t familiar with a job/task- working through our “jitters” is important too.  A special thanks to the veteran parents that helped with the training today.

It looks like the 2015 Season is going to be a GREAT one!  I look forward to lots of fun with neighbors and friends AND to a lot of fast swimming!

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Blue Green Time Trial Meet-Important for all!




 Blue Green Meet Information
Saturday, June 6th, 2015 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 and enables the coaches to plan for our upcoming dual meets.  It is very important that we get your swimmers times-please plan on attending!

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 on the kids' shoulders

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!

Light breakfast snacks from GREAT HARVEST BREAD Co. and coffee will be provided.