Good Wednesday Morning:

             Things are looking very good as we gear up for the 2009-2010 season.  I am excited with the talent we have coming back, and with the potential we have coming in through the evaluations I have had this summer and the 50 swimmers registered for our Stroke Clinic.  Over the next short period of time I will be getting notes out to you.  Today I will concentrate on what we all need to be aware of as we get started on September 8. 

     Þ      Start of Season     We begin on Tuesday, September 8.  The JR/SR group will practice from 3:40 – 5:00 p.m., and our Stroke Clinic will be held from 5:00 – 6:00.  I always ask 5-6 of the JR/SR group members to stay and help with the Clinic.  This has never been a problem, and I look forward to their participation with the Stroke Clinic this year.
     Þ      Coaching Staff      I am very excited about our coaching staff this year.  I had a great applicant pool, many with PA YMCA experience, and I knew that I would be OK with whomever I chose.  Here is how the staff looks: 
          Cubs/Pride  Katie Boudreau, an Engineering Grad Student, specializing in Acoustics
          D1              Zach Smith      
          D2              Nicole Gonsorick, a Communication Disorders/Speech Therapy Student
          D3              Brendan Berthold 

      Þ      Parent Meeting      Sunday, September 13, 2:00 p.m., at the Y

Þ      September 14        Practices begin  - see schedule at link on left

Þ      Big Cat Fall Kick-off    October 30 – November 1.  Entries are due to me on Wednesday, September 9.  Information is available on the Mid-Atlantic website (maswim.org).  You must complete a meet entry form (located in the lobby), attach a check (include payment for surcharge fees if applicable), and place in the ‘Meet Entries’ folder.  Entries without a fee check (payable to SCAY – NO CASH) will be returned.  I will submit our entries on September 10 - no late entries will be accepted.  This is a USA meet and swimmers must be USA registered to participate.  We can enter swimmers who are not yet USA registered; I will get to you USA registration information in a couple weeks.  Should you have questions concerning USA registration/participation, please feel free to contact me

Þ      Meet Entries   For USA and YMCA meets that require payment:
*I will be submitting entries ONLY for meets on our schedule
*I will only submit entries ONCE on the day indicated – after that you will have to hope for on deck entries
*We will have a coach on deck for all meets listed on our meet schedule – our meet schedule will be finalized and published after our KYSL meeting on October 4
*Our KYSL dual meets will be entered as in the past:  We will be asking during the week before the meet if the kids will be participating; parents can also email me with this information as a back-up

Þ      Registration     Registration for SCAY is ongoing.  Please get in and register as soon as possible.

Þ      Contact            Should you have any questions, concerns, compliments(?!), please feel free to contact me: 231-0340 OR spower@ymcaofcentrecounty.org.


That’s it for now.  Let’s have a great 2009-2010 season!!!!

SP