Good evening, Cruisers!

I am so excited to be kicking off what is going to be a fun summer swim season with you all. I apologize for the long email, but please bear with me and read it thoroughly, as there is a lot of important information!  We also have our first two events coming up on the 15th, the New Parent Meeting and Meet the Coaches.  Please see the calendar below for more information.

Just to help break things up, here is a general outline of this email:

1. Expectations for the season
   1. Practice Attendance
   2. Emails and Alerts
   3. Parent Feedback Surveys
2. Mark your calendars! Important dates for the season
   1. Meet Themes
3. New Swimmer Evaluations
4. Practice Schedule and Policies
5. GRAL 101 - what your coaches want you to know!

Expectations For The Season

For our new families to the team, welcome to the Cruisers! And welcome back to all of our returning families. My name is Julia Shelton and I am excited to be returning as head coach of the team this season. This will be my 3rd year on the coaching staff, 2nd year as head coach, and 16th year with the Colonies, so I grew up a summer swim kid! My time swimming on the Cruisers and throughout high school helped me develop a lifelong love for swimming and the opportunities it has to offer for swimmers. We have an incredible coaching staff that is looking forward to meeting you all and getting this season started. A few of our goals for the season are:

• To effectively (and in a fun way!) teach your swimmer correct stroke technique for all strokes.
• To work with each of your swimmers to reach their personal swimming goals for the season - whether that be making it a full 25 backstroke down the pool on their back the whole time, swimming a 100 IM, or making their best time in their favorite event, whatever they want to accomplish - we want to be their biggest cheerleaders!
• To celebrate both the individual accomplishments of swimmers and the accomplishments of the team.
• To foster an atmosphere of sportsmanship, team growth, support, and a love of swimming from swimmer to swimmer and swimmer to team.
• And of course, have fun!

Practice Attendance

We truly want this to be a fun and memorable experience for everyone, and for each swimmer to love both swimming and being on the team for the summer. That being said, we recognize that there are lots of other fun things going on in the summer months for our swimmers. We are offering two different practice times a day (A.M. and P.M.) to work with family schedules. Per our tradition, we also have not scheduled Friday afternoon practices so families can start the weekend early if they wish! We do intend on offering optional Friday clinics once again this season.  More information will come about those in the following weeks.

We do not expect our swimmers to be at every practice every day, every week, or at practice twice a day - but we do expect to hear about all of their fun activities and adventures when we do see them! :).  Just make sure that if you all are missing a meet you indicate that on the meet RSVP before meet attendance declarations are due.

Emails and Alerts

Each week, typically on Sunday, I will send out an email outlining the practice plans for the upcoming week along with important announcements. These may include changes to the practice schedule if necessary (ex. weather, pool membership events), so keep an eye out for them. You will also receive an email from me the day before swim meets with reminders and the schedule for the evening, as well as reminders about the practice schedule following the meet.

If there are any last minute practice changes/time adjustments due to weather or water temperature, I will send out an alert via SwimTopia. Parents, I highly recommend you download the app before the season starts!

I can be reached directly through email Monday-Friday at [email protected].

Parent Feedback Surveys

I am a big proponent of feedback, and as a coaching staff we love to hear how we are doing and what we can adjust to improve swimmer experience! Every two weeks, I will send out a “Parent Feedback Survey” for you to fill out alongside your swimmer. You can fill out as little or as much of it as you would like, anonymously or not. We truly appreciate your honesty and participation, we value these surveys a lot as a coaching staff! The link to the survey will come out in the weekly email.

Important Dates for the Season

These dates are also available on the team SwimTopia page under the tab “Meets & Events”. 

Dates are subject to change.

Meet Themes

A schedule of themes for Swim Meets will be sent out two weeks prior to the first swim meet. The theme will also be sent out in the pre-meet email.

New Swimmer Evaluations

In order to ensure the safety of all of our Cruisers, all new swimmers will need to attend New Swimmer Evaluations. A coach will be in the pool with each swimmer walking them through the evaluation process. To be on the team this summer, all new swimmers must be able to do the following:

• Hold breath and blow bubbles with full head underwater for 5 seconds (coach will do it with them and count!)
• Successfully jump off of a block* and kick back to the wall
• Complete one full lap (25M) on stomach with little to no assistance or stopping on lane line; swimmer will start lap from pushing off the wall
• Show ability to float on back without assistance and kick with a coach follow for half a lap
• Willingness and excitement to learn correct stroke techniques and be part of the team

Each swimmer will receive a check sheet listing the above skills upon completion of their evaluation. I will discuss each swimmer’s evaluation with their parent(s). If your swimmer is unable to pass the evaluation this season, the check sheet is a great way to keep track of things to work on while playing in the pool this summer! :)

*Note that this is a change from our original list.

Practice Schedule

The following outlines our practice schedule for the upcoming season.   Note that these practice times are a change from last season!  Again, these practices are offered two times a day to work with different schedules. There is no requirement for your swimmer to attend both practices a day - we know your swimmers have lots of fun activities going on in the summer and want them to attend those as well. Because of our high volume of swimmers and differing practice sets between age groups, please only send your swimmer to their assigned practice time. We are unable to accommodate switches in practice times. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding this policy.

GRAL 101 - what your coaches want you to know!

We are excited for everyone to fully experience a normal GRAL season this summer! Due to COVID, over the past two seasons we have had versions of GRAL seasons modified for COVID regulations. We understand that many families have never experienced a normal season before, or have not had a normal season in a few years, so this is all new! The coaching staff and I thought it would be beneficial to provide you all with a breakdown of all things GRAL to reference throughout the season if you have any questions on how things work. Whether your family has been a part of the team for years or this is your first season with us, we hope that it gives you a refresher on how a fully involved GRAL season operates.

The link to this document will be sent out via email by the end of the weekend, and will take you to a google document titled “GRAL 101 - What Your Coaches Want you to Know!”  Please feel free to use this document at your discretion throughout the season. There is a LOT of important information in there regarding meet attendance and relays, so please give that a read! The first page will be hyperlinked to the sections to make it easier to navigate.

I am looking forward to a great season with all of you.  Please feel free to reach out to me at any time if you have questions, comments, concerns, or recommendations.  I would be happy to chat!

Have a great weekend, and go Cruisers!

Coach Julia