Dolphin Swim Club Newsletter 
July, 2006
Dolphin Swim Club Newsletter
July, 2006
Important
Dates:
July
14-16 Montrose Last Chance
July
21-23 Western Slope Champs
July
28-30 CO State LC Champs
July
26-30 Far Westerns, CA
June Birthdays
Cade
Chapin 12 7/25
Calvin Fischer 17 7/30
Brenna Folkestad 15 7/19
George Gromke 12 7/7
Emily Saelens 9 7/14
Marina Silva 9 7/17
Jessica Stranger 9 7/22
Sara Witsken 16 7/16
July 2006
From our Head
Coach – Dale Leonhart
Meets:
We have had several very good meets:
GJI was a great team effort; we had good swims top to bottom all three days! We had great parent support at set up and tear down as well as during the conduct of the event!!! It was awesome. THANKS.
The Delta Meet was good too; several swimmers participated
and all did very well. those who
attended cut time, made West Slope qual times and had
fun.
Montrose
This weekend is Montrose; it is a ‘last chance’ meet for Western Slopes…if you make a qualifying time for an event and want to swim it at West Slopes, you must enter at Montrose before you leave on Sunday.
West Slope Championship Meet
ENTRIES
Our West Slope Champ Meet is
shaping up; we currently have 52 swimmer qualified in one or more events. This is our
State Championships and Far Western Meets:
Division I State LC (in Ft. Collins
@
Both of these meets are the last week of July; Far Westerns (in CA) starts on Wed 26 July, and Division I on Thursday, 27 July.
1500
I hope all had a GREAT time! We had 6 teams (60 swimmers) and lots of parents to help supervise and “life guard”. THANKS. We have a new team record for this event: the combined team, “The Ka-Boom / Lollipop Twists” set a new standard: 24:26.65! This is a drop of almost one minute from the previous team record! Good job, “Boom Twists”. The team members were Tim Leonhart, Kelsey Schlagel, Kristin Scandary, Ben Hogue, Emily Pearson, Jas Smith, Maddie Laiche, Marina Silva, Claire Walton, and Gabriela Cecere.
Developmental Meet:
We will
have a developmental meet on Saturday, 5 August at Mesa State Pool from
Entering events for various meets.
Some “talk” around the pool suggests that we should be more proactive regarding helping swimmers choose events to swim at our various meets. Here are some general guidelines; always swim the longest freestyle event you can and always enter the IM. These two events help our coaches evaluate endurance and all around swimming skills. Our program is a “grass roots” program and we are dedicated to developing competent all-round swimmers who possess good stroke techniques in each of the four competitive strokes. Endurance events (the longer freestyles) promote the development of a good work ethic and enable most swimmers to see the benefit of working hard at their tougher training sets.
Coaches are always available for discussing events to enter. Good liaison between swimmers, parents, and coaches promote smoother continuous progress toward each swimmer’s stated goals.
Monthly Topic:
Responsibility
This month, we have been discussing “responsibility” and its meanings. In general, we are in agreement that if one is be responsible, one must be in the proper place at the right time and doing what is expected in a meaningful appropriate manner.” I added the aspect of ‘being able to respond’ to a situation in a way consistent with desired outcomes…
The words ‘commitment’ and ‘dedication’ were mentioned by swimmers, as well.
I suggested that ‘choice’ was also an aspect of the meaning.
All of us have a choice of action when we are given any stimulus. Whether we can respond in a manner appropriate with our stated goals and desires depends on what our choices have been prior to the BIG moment. If we have behaved in a manner consistent with our goals and interests, then we have demonstrated dedication, commitment, and responsibility prior to our opportunity. (When we come off of the last turn and head for home in a tight race, when we are pushing the last 10 meters to make a personal best and a qualifying time for the next level of competition, we may (or may not) have the ‘ability to respond’ in the desired manner.)
In the end, ‘responsibility’ is an individual value that is a vital facet to every person’s character. To be labeled ‘responsible’ by your peers and superiors is a very positive thing; whereas, the opposite label, (‘irresponsible’), is an undesired negative one that we all should strive to avoid.
Team Picnic and Awards Banquet.
We will hold our annual team picnic on Sunday, 27 August in
The awards to be given include two traditional ones: the Grace C Reinhart ( for citizenship and leadership) and Outstanding Swimmer (for High Achievement in the Pool). Additionally, we will award swimmers for Improvement, Promise and Spirit.
Improvement: based on empirical data (most time dropped) and stroke improvement (IM time is the basis).
Promise: more subjective; coaches’ opinions as to the future of young novice swimmers in our program and the likelihood that they will enjoy success in our sport.
Spirit: Swimmer who demonstrated team spirit, support for teammates, and involvement in team functions.
OUR FALL SESSION
We will register for this Fall’s
session on 6 &7 September at Mesa State College, Saunders Field House. Registration for regular Dolphins and
We will begin regular practices on Monday, 11
September. This fall’s schedule will be
different than past schedules due to the Mesa State Women’s Swim Team’s pool
use. We are working to establish the
best schedule possible given the new restraints on pool space. (NCAA rules prohibit collegiate athletes
training in a pool concurrently with age group swimmers aged 13 and over. Thus, you can expect later training times,
since the college program will use the pool from
See you in Montrose and WEST SLOPES!!! Go Dolphins!!! Win i
From GJD Board President
I want to thank the many parent volunteers for their
hours of help at this years’ GJD Invitational. It was a record turn-out
resulting in a fun, efficient and smoothly run meet! Feedback from other
teams was very positive!
We are asking for nominations/interest for 3 board
positions. The requirements are that your child is swimming and has
belonged to the team for a minimum of 12 months. It is a 3 year
term. The board meets once a month. Please notify Dale or myself if
you are interested. The club's success depends on your involvement!
Brett: biogreen@bresnan.net
Dale:
imflbkbrfr@bresnan.net
The summer session is at full speed! Good luck at
Montrose and let's get a win at Western Slope Championships!
Team Merchandise
The following items are for
sale:
T-shirt
$11.00
ea
short
sleeved, light grey
DOLPHIN.
in red on the front
Dolphin
logo on left sleeve
sizes
avail:
YM
(8-10) we have three to sell
YL (14-16) we have six to sell
Female
team suit
$46.00
size 36
Speedo,
lycra
black
with Dolphin name/logo on the front
Please contact Leanne DePuey if interested:
We’ll be doing a team order
in September.
From Karen Leonhart (GJD
Invitational Swim Meet Director)
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who worked so hard to make the 52nd Annual Grand Junction Invitational a success. This year’s Invitational saw 21 teams with over 400 swimmers participate. Swimming is truly a sport where it takes the volunteers to make it happen. We had over 50 volunteers with hundreds of hours dedicated to the success of the GJI. We are fortunate to have the best 50 meter outdoor facility in the state. People love to come to our meet because of the friendly atmosphere and that is created by all of you!
Congratulations to all of our Dolphin swimmers and to our great coaches. Best wishes for the season.
See you at the pool,