OFF THE BLOCKS - TeamUnify · 2019-11-03 · OFF THE BLOCKS CBAC Newsletter November 2019 The team suit, swim cap and team t-shirt are the only required team crested items required

OFF THE BLOCKS CBAC Newsletter November 2019

Coach’s Corner The Atlantic Coaches’ Meeting that I recently attended was outstanding! I, along with the other PEI coaches, are making plans for Canada Games, Atlantic All Star Team meets and camps with swimmers from ON and QC. Getting to hang out with the other coaches from the region in a positive learning environment was excellent. It confirmed just how passionate they all are, and we shared a lot of good ideas. Moving forward, CBAC coaches bring the following to our team:

• A commitment to every athlete on our team, regardless of ability level. • A commitment to encouraging well rounded athletes out of our age-group

program. • We want CBAC to be known for the coaches’ ability to teach, as well as

train, our athletes. Coaches are, at their core, teachers.

No matter if you are a returning swimmer, or new to CBAC, you are here because you have a goal: wanting to be better and a part of something bigger; a goal of being the best you can be. In Miniphins, swimmers are learning the fundamentals of the four strokes and turns. The goal in these groups is to instill the idea of good technique. Tiger Woods is the best example of this. Tiger is always changing and improving his golf swing with the

OFF THE BLOCKS CBAC Newsletter November 2019 belief that with proper technique comes better golf. CBAC coaches also believe that with proper technique comes better swimming. In Orange, swimmers are learning advanced skills of the four strokes, starts, and turns. This is where swimmers start to learn the idea of competitive training. The goals are to take the idea of technique and start applying it to training, learning to keep good stroke technique in training and in races, talking about time standards, and learning the importance of kicking. In Blue, swimmers are building on previously learned skills of the four strokes, starts, and turns while keeping an equal balance with competitive training. Goals for this group are to continue building on the idea that with proper technique comes speed, understanding the importance of kicking, beginning the process of goal setting, learning and understanding time standards, and understanding the importance of having good attendance. Junior, Senior, and National level swimmers are refining on previously learned skills of the four strokes, starts, and turns. The group will emphasize serious training in preparing them for high levels of swimming. Goals for the group are for swimmers to have an understanding of and an appreciation for such concepts as high self-esteem, personal accountability, self-discipline, goal setting, and goal achievement as these ideas relate to their success in training and in competition. At each level of the program, swimmers are instructed to strive for excellence. The excellence that I’m referring to here is the satisfaction of knowing that you have done your utmost to become the best you are capable of becoming. This philosophy is consistent throughout the program, and every CBAC swimmer, novice to national qualifier, is encouraged to: "BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE". Let’s take a brief moment to review our team uniform: What is the team uniform?

1. Racing Suits: The team suit colour is black. Preferably, training suits should be in black or blue. If there’s a sale on another color, we understand and support its purchase.

2. Swim Cap: If a swimmer chooses to wear a cap, he or she must wear the team cap. The team cap is orange or blue with CBAC imprinted on both sides.

OFF THE BLOCKS CBAC Newsletter November 2019 The team suit, swim cap and team t-shirt are the only required team crested items required in competition. The coaching staff highly recommends deck shoes, the club sweat suit, the club parka, the club hoodie, club shorts and other items that are crested with the team logo. We strongly discourage swimmers from wearing other clothing on deck during competition and at meets. We want to present ourselves as a team by looking like a team! Check out our Merchandise tab on our website for more information. Thank you - swimmers and parents - for your cooperation on this. Dream it, train it, live it!

Coach Tom Upcoming Events November 2 Double Up Meet – Charlottetown, Bell Aliant Centre November 22-23 Fall Splash – Summerside, Credit Union November 30-Dec.1 Long Course Training Camp – St. John, NB (selected

athletes) Note: You will get notification by email to sign up for a meet/camp if you qualify. If you have questions regarding your participation, please contact your coach directly. Team Apparel It’s not too late. Get your online team merchandise order in by Sunday November 3rd by midnight! Check out all the cool team apparel and place your order at https://bluephinsfall2019.itemorder.com Thank you CBAC Volunteers Thanks to all who helped collect food for the needy in our community during the Y’s Men’s Annual Food Drive; for volunteering yourself or your children, or both. Volunteering is a wonderful skill / gift to have and to share. Modeling or encouraging it is wonderful and helps develop our swimmers into responsible members of society.

OFF THE BLOCKS CBAC Newsletter November 2019 If you have any feedback, please send me an email. I will ensure your remarks get passed on the organizers. Once again, thank you. See you at the pool. Coach Donna [email protected] Save the Date CBAC Annual General Meeting:

Wednesday, November 13, Multi-purpose Room, Bell Aliant Centre, 6:15 - 7:00 pm. All

members welcome.

Interested in serving on the CBAC board? Send your nomination

to [email protected] or come to the Annual General Meeting and submit

your nomination.

SWIM PEI News In Summerside, at the Halloween Meet, Swim PEI presented its Annual Awards. Here are the 2018-2019 CBAC award recipients: Major Award Winners:

• Alex B Campbell Award – Alexa McQuaid • Barney Bree Award – Charlie Morse • Coach of the Year Award – Coach Edie Rogers (Junior/Para) • Honourary Lifetime Achievement Membership Award – Katherine McQuaid

CBAC winners in the following categories:

• Top 10 & Under Swimmer Award - Kelsi MacKinnon & Raphael Tang • Top 11-12 Swimmer Award – Elena LeClair & Jessie MacKinnon

OFF THE BLOCKS CBAC Newsletter November 2019

• Top 13-14 Swimmer Award – Courtney McBride & David Du • Top 15-17 Swimmer Award – Alexa McQuaid & Charlie Morse • Top 18 & Over Swimmer Award – Pieter Vanleeuwen

For detailed information on the Awards and recipients, visit www.swimpei.com Congratulations everyone! Fundraising Hi 5 For Kids Gold Rush Lottery This is a weekly draw that takes place every Monday night. Purchase your tickets prior to 9:00pm each Monday to be guaranteed in the draw. Tickets can be purchased at PEI Source for Sports, located at 375 University Ave in Charlottetown Ticket prices are: 1 for $2 3 for $5 10 for $10 40 for $20 Advance tickets can be purchased for any combination. Funds raised will be used to purchase team equipment, such as fins, paddles, kickboards, Stretch Cordz and other training gear that all swimmers will have the opportunity to use. This is an all-ages lottery, and all CBAC members, swimmers, friends and family are eligible to participate by purchasing tickets at PEI Source for Sports. Swimmer of the Month Blake Kingston Blake has 100% attendance at practice. Wow! Coach: Tom Ponting, National Level

OFF THE BLOCKS CBAC Newsletter November 2019 Born: December 9, 2001 Joined the Bluephins in 2012

OFF THE BLOCKS CBAC Newsletter November 2019 Congratulations Blake. Keep up the great work! Heathy Habits Parent’s Corner

Communication is a vital part of success for any organization. It seems that the times when it is needed most are also the times when it is the most difficult to keep the lines open. I have been in a rush to get the season started and learn as much about the new swimmers as possible. So to help out, I thought I would give a basic review of the established means of communication within the club.

The website (http://www.bluephins.ca) is the most accessible of all the tools. It maintains a posting of Meet Schedule, Calendar of Upcoming Events, Monthly Newsletter and many other useful bits of information. If you are new to the club, it is a good idea to explore the website. It provides insight on team philosophy and much more. Many of these topics will be discussed in our Parent Meeting (scheduled for sometime in November).

The Newsletter “Off the Blocks” keeps you updated on events for the club. It is important that you read it each month.

Meet info will be emailed the weeks before the meets. It provides basic information in meet location, dates, and times. It also includes a schedule of events. This is for your reference. Coaches will select the events that each swimmer enters at the meet.

Parent-Coach communication is pretty straightforward. If you have a swimming issue, it is to be brought to your swimmer’s immediate coach. If you are unable to resolve this issue, then you contact the head coach. That is the process which will allow matters to be settled in as positive a manner as possible. One of the most destructive elements of an organization is gossip. Just like your days in High School, gossip is always slanted to a particular individual’s perception and often includes exaggerated elements, some of which contain no basis of truth. But if you allow it to shape your opinions, it will affect your swimmer’s opinions and proceed to infect others as well. Be a watchdog and seek the truth rather than succumbing to gossip.

Club issues can be brought to the attention of the head coach or a Board member. CBAC is a Parent-run organization. This requires that the Parents take an active role

OFF THE BLOCKS CBAC Newsletter November 2019 in club activities. Everything from helping at Swim Meets, Organizing special events (Club Banquet etc.) and assisting at group activities are examples of the roles that a volunteer parent can play. One way to stay on top of these activities besides reading newsletters is attending the meetings that the Board runs. The Board is always looking for eager volunteers.

CBAC offers some useful tools for information and communication but for them to be effective, the information has to be received. Please keep yourself informed and if questions arise, feel free to contact the appropriate individual. No question is a dumb question. Make sure we have your email address. Lastly, plan to attend group meetings.

Coach Tom Team Gear Team Aquatic Supplies Looking for swimming gear – suits, fins, goggles, etc? CBAC has an account set up at Team Aquatic Supplies for team members, friends and family. When purchasing from the Team Aquatic website (see link below), the CBAC coaching staff recommends the following:

Training / Practice Suits: Any brand you would like in “Blue or Black” family of colours but we understand if you find a great deal on another colour.

Racing Suits: Any brand swimmers prefer, preferably in the Blue, Black or Black/Blue combo. The coaching staff strongly discourages 12 & under aged swimmers from buying expensive textile type suits. They are not required nor warranted at that age or level.

• By entering our Family & Friends coupon code you can make online purchases at a 20% discount off the suggested retail price. Discount is on regular priced items only. Sales items are excluded from the team discount.

OFF THE BLOCKS CBAC Newsletter November 2019

http://www.team-aquatic.com/charlottetownbluephins.html

The Last Word

HOW CAN YOU HELP YOUR CHILD’S TEAM? The first question really should be, "Why should I help the team?" The answer for many people is not clear, although it seems like it should be. The simplest reason is also the most powerful. You should help because your child benefits greatly from the program. The second reason is that most clubs cannot function without substantial volunteer help. The economics are not there for a full professional staff to do all the things that need doing. Look at the finances of youth sports for a moment. Nobody likes to pay bills. Now count up the hours that are available for your child to participate in your program over the year. Divide your fee by those hours, and you will come out with substantially less than you pay your baby sitter. And the baby sitter doesn't provide much in the way of a

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OFF THE BLOCKS CBAC Newsletter November 2019 learning situation, values education, physical exercise and development or role model. (Or at least, not many baby sitters do!) Now imagine if you had to pay for all you get from your team. Teams can't do it without your help. The club needs your help. Now let's get along to how you can provide that help. People have strange attitudes toward working with organizations. In most, a very few people do a tremendous amount of work that benefits everyone. There are parents who develop workaholic behavior towards teams. This is a bad deal for everyone. That person sooner or later burns out, leaving a big hole to fill. Meanwhile, that individual holds a great deal of power in the club, according to the rule that says, "he that does, decides." (That unwritten rule operates in all volunteer organizations, doesn't it?) The club needs a little bit of time from everyone, a little more from some, and on occasion, a great deal from a few. Note that when you find your lawn uncut, the dishes three days deep in the sink, your cat starving on the porch, and you have just driven home from the team leaving forgetting half of the carpool, you are over committed. This may also result in your children thinking that your club job is more important than they are. The simple goal of most organizations should be to devise a system where the coach is left free to do what he does best . . . to coach. This means that parents take responsibility for fund raising, administration, club communication and similar items. Over the past five years, there has been a trend to look at coaches more as a CEO (Chief Executive Officer) where they are involved in making sure that all things are successful, and essentially, that the tasks are accomplished by parents. Having coach involvement in those tasks is great, if the coach has the time. If not, the idea is to use the volunteer talent available, in the areas where it can be most effectively deployed. Many clubs have a Board of Directors that helps operate the club. The best boards are long range planning boards that leave the daily work to committees. New parents are often asked to work on one of these committees. If you are not asked, volunteer. Many times people simply forget to ask...they are not slighting you, they are just so busy, they don't notice. This is also where you will begin to make new friends in the organization. What kinds of jobs are available?

OFF THE BLOCKS CBAC Newsletter November 2019

• Fundraising...bring in the dollars to make up the difference between operating budget and club fees. There has never been an organization with enough operating funds. Most of us are experts at spending and less expert at "raising" money, so if you have any ability here, you'll be extremely popular at the club. (Of course, if you have that ability, you are already extremely popular...)

• Communication...letting people (including club members) know about the club, its goals, aims, results and personal stories. For the newsletter a journalism background is helpful, but even more important is a willingness to organize results and stories, and run around town to local papers, TV and radio stations. It takes persistence, and the results are not automatically on display immediately.

• Registration... helping the club attract and retain members. This can be really rewarding for new parents, as they learn much more quickly about the good things in the sport while working on this type of assignment. You'll be a source of information to prospective new families.

• Meet Management…These volunteers are those who run competitions as part of fund raising and as opportunities for kids to compete. It takes a lot of volunteers to run a quality competition. You'll be called on plenty, and your help is vital. This is one time that money will not substitute for your physical presence.

Lastly, remember that a parent organization is a watchdog of philosophy...that same philosophy that attracted you to the team. Stability is what builds the organization and your support for that stability is the key thing you can contribute. I like the thought of "bloom where you are planted." As your child progresses in sports, stay with your club and help it progress. Involve yourself in helping to set goals and objectives and make it great! And remember, it is all for FUN, and all for your youngster. Adapted from “News for Swim Parents.” Published by the American Swimming Coaches Association. www.swimmingcoach.org

www.bluephins.ca