june 2011 newsletter - teamunify...dynamo monthly newsletter june 2011 swim for an 11-12 swimmer, or...

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Upcoming Meet/Important Dates:

* June 3 Dynamo Registration (2011-12) opens (returning)* June 4 Summer Sizzler* June 8 Dynamo Awards Banquet* June 10-12 Dixie Classic* June 16-19 Santa Clara Int’l* June 15 Dynamo Registration (2011-12) opens (new swimmers)* June 23-26 FLA International* June 24-26 Biloxi Travel Trip* June 24-26 Stu Hixon Invitational (June 1 registration deadline)* July 8-10 CAD Last Chance (June ? registration deadline)* July 8-10 Sr Circuit Meet (June 22 registration deadline)* July 14-17 AG State Meet (July 4 registration deadline)* July 14-17 Sr. Sectional (July 4 registration deadline)* July 21-23 Sr State Meet (July 11 registration deadline)* July 26-31 Southern Zone Championships* August 2-6 USA Swimming National Championships* August 8-12 USA Swimming Jr. National Championships

Dynamo in 2010:SC Junior ChampionsLC Juniors Runners-up2x Sr Sectional Champs2x Age Group State Champs

DYNAMO MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

JUNE 2011

Dynamo Swim ClubI visited the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs recently at the National Team Coaches Conference hosted by USA Swimming. I always enjoy attending these types of meetings as they provide an opportunity to listen and learn, while participating in the lively debates on current swimming related topics.

At the conference, we were introduced to Coach Frank Bush, the new USA Swimming National Team Director. In this position, Coach Bush will set the “tone” and goals for USA Swimming internationally and play an important role in USA Swimming’s development of gold medal possibilities in 2012 and beyond. Coach Bush recently had moved from Tuscon to Colorado Springs to begin his new job when the conference called for him to make a presentation. Given the timing, Coach Bush felt he had little time to adequately prepare for a presentation, so he formed a panel with five Olympic coaches and asked them questions.

The first of the five coaches to speak was Bob Bowman, who has coached Michael Phelps for well over a decade. When the panel was asked what two characteristics make a great coach, the first word out of Coach Bowman’s mouth was patience. The other four coaches on the panel nodded in agreement. When asked the same question about an athlete, the first word from Coach Bowman was the same, patience.

I personally will always associate patience with my father who always seemingly had it, never seemed rushed, and had things well in hand. I could feel the great comfort and confidence that surrounded my father. We never discussed an outcome that was limited by its immediate factors and results, but rather the outcome was colored with possibilities that time and dedication would allow. My father made clear that setbacks are to be expected but that they are only temporary, with success always on the horizon.

I offer the following to you not as a forum to preach particularly, but as an answer to a question that I hear more and more frequently from Dynamo parents, “How can I help my swimmer?”

I offer the following, respectfully:

• Patience (naturally)• Invest in change. Example: Coaches usually can get athletes to

invest in making stroke changes during practices and at the beginning of every season. Once the meets start, however, athletes abandon these changes and revert to their former habits, because they are not as comfortable performing with the changes, and they worry they may not perform as well doing something new. Now that I am coaching AG2, I am more in tune with these mental restrictions to change. This is greatly influenced by a parents interest is evaluating progress as faster than last time. I think a great

Patience

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Over the past three Olympiads, the swimsuits that athletes can wear changed quite a bit. Without going through the history, there are now(as of October 1, 2009) restrictions on the suits that can be worn. Universally, all

suits must be made of textiles, and water must run through them (rather than poly-urethane or the like). No suits may go below the knee, and female suits may not extend beyond

the shoulders, and no zippers are allowed.The following in the updated championship suit policy

for Dynamo. It is our goal to limit cost for families, and

make training a priority.Senior swimmers (15 and over), and those younger

swimmers who compete in Senior Level meets are not restricted, except to be guided by their coaches.

Please remember that Speedo is our club sponsor, and is the only suit to be worn by Dynamo athletes at meets.

In all:For all meets but championship meets, our swimmers are to wear their traditional black suit with the Dynamo logo. The

only requirements Dynamo asks of its athletes are: the black suit and yellow cap. Other Dynamo gear you purchase is encouraged, but not required. For Championship meets:

- 10 and Unders are to wear their normal cut of suit

they wear all year. The ‘tech’ suits are not at all made for these body types.- 11-12 year olds have the option of wearing their traditional suit, or a Speedo Aquablade. The Aquablade is

an excellent suit, and costs well under $100.00 versus a LZR that can cost $550.00. Again, these LZR suits are not designed for this body type.

- 13-14 year olds are also encouraged to wear their traditional suit or the Aquablade at their championship meet. 13-14 year olds who compete at Senior Level meets

(SR. State or SR Sectionals) may be encouraged to wear a tech suit (LZR Elite or Faststkin Pro) by their coaches. There has been discussion about this recently, and we are leaving it up to the coaches and athletes of

13-14 to decide on aquablade, Pro, or LZR Elite for these swimmers.

We are serious about eliminating monetary roadblocks to athletes competing in our sport. The advantage we are interested in exploiting is the one that states you belong to

Dynamo, and are surrounded by a great group of coaches and teammates, and we will out technique and out-work our opponents.

We appreciate your support on this issue.

INVESTOR NEWSLETTER ISSUE N°3

FALL 2009

Dynamo Championship Suit Policy/Reminder


JUNE 2011

swim for an 11-12 swimmer, or anyone on our club would be maybe slightly slower, but with 2 more kicks off each wall. Or maybe 1 fewer stroke per lap. Those are good swims, and mean more to progress than a slower swim performed with less attention to detail.

• There are many ways to judge how we are performing: stroke counts, underwater swimming commitment, stroke rate turns, negative or even splitting an event are only a few. We would like to be the best team at evaluating our swimmers beyond just a time on a watch.

I remember having the unbelievable good fortune of hosting Coach George Haines as he traveled as a guest of the Stanford Women’s Team to the NCAA Women’s Championships in 2001. Coach Haines, a real dean of

Patience Continued from Page 1swim coaching, was a seven time Olympic Coach and founded the Santa Clara Swim Club. I remember him remarking, in response to another coach’s comments about swim parents, that a “great swim parent can make the swimmer.” I asked questions about his comment, as I always heard what parents do wrong, but I wanted to know what works?

Coach Haines gave a simple explanation, “Parents are to help the children manage their commitment and let the coaches manage performance.”

I use that statement in all my group parent meetings. And to bring us full circle, the one characteristic that parents need to fulfill this role in their swimmer’s journey is the very one coaches and swimmers need to fulfill theirs – patience.

JT



FALL 2009DYNAMO MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

JUNE 2011

Future “Division” StructureFuture “Division” StructureFuture “Division” Structure

Division New Name Current Name

Home School Division All Age Group levels

Home School Green Home SchoolHome School Division All Age Group levels Home School Gold Home School Adv

AG3 Division Mostly 10 and Unders

AG3 Green Green& Gold with 3 practice optionsAG3 Division Mostly 10 and Unders AG3 Gold AG3

AG2 DivisionMostly 11-12’s

AG2 Green AGD (younger)/AG3AG2 DivisionMostly 11-12’s AG2 Gold AG2

AG1 DivisionMostly 13-14’s

AG1 Green AGD (older)/AG2AG1 DivisionMostly 13-14’s AG1 Gold AG1

Senior Division High School + (Some 8th graders in spring)

SR3 Same, Compete State WideSenior Division High School + (Some 8th graders in spring)

SR2 Same, Compete State/RegionallySenior Division High School + (Some 8th graders in spring) SR1 Same, Compete Regionally/

Nationally

Dynamo expanding to Division Structure in Fall of 2011As we move to the 2011-12 season registration, we are taking the opportunity to again improve our group and team structure. The staff spends a lot of time benchmarking our structure with those of other clubs. The adjustments are fairly small, and our goals are:

1. Streamline the process for members of our club, particularly new members.2. Put our coaches in mentoring situations within the club by having ‘Divisions’, and expand to

have one more coach on deck at each facility.3. Put our most experienced coaches in positions as ‘Division Heads’, and provide mentorship and

expanded contact with all Dynamo athletes. In essence AG3 Gold Alpharetta Coach will be AG3 Division Head at Alpharetta, with impact on the AG3 Green Athletes and Coach.

4. Allow peer Groups will train and learn together, and 5. Allow our coaches to put an emphasis on teaching.

The new AG3 Division will combine the current Green and Gold into AG3-Green. AG3-Green will retain the multiple practice options that Green and Gold currently have.

We want each division to be in the water together on certain days, with all coaches of that division. For Example, AG3 Division (both AG3 Green and AG3 Gold) may practice together on Saturdays (or another day) with the coaches of both of those groups on deck together. While maintaining the basis of our current structure, we have created these divisions to ensure peer groups are placed together within the team.

This will take effect in August of 2011. For re-registration, we ask that you register for your current group. Over the summer the coaching staff will inform swimmers and families of group assignment.

2011-2012 Dynamo Registration is now open on the website. Returning members are asked to register by the June 15, and to register for your current group.

New swimmers to Dynamo will be able to register as of June 16, 2011

http://www.dynamoswimclub.comhttp://www.dynamoswimclub.comhttp://www.teamunify.com/MemRegStart.jsp?team=gsdschttp://www.teamunify.com/MemRegStart.jsp?team=gsdsc


Swimming In College

How should a swimmer proceed if s/he hopes to swim in college? USA Swimming coaches and staff hear this question frequently. Although each swimmer’s situation is unique, there are some important principles that apply generally. Tips from the Dynamo coaching staff follow.

Start early! In common with all students looking forward to attending college, swimmers should start doing their research early—in fact, in the freshman year of high school. Getting familiar with college and university websites is a great starting point. By all means, focus on pages for athletics and swimming—and also on academics. Additionally, driving through campuses while on vacation, simplistic as it sounds, is also a good idea. Looking at campuses in this way can help a high school student begin to give serious thought about what kind of campus feels right.

Learn to keep good notes. Students—especially those who hope to compete in a sport in college-- should get a dedicated notebook or binder or start a computer folder labeled “Getting to college”. They should make notes about each school they’re interested in and academic majors they think will be a good fit with their interests, abilities and career goals. Next, it’s helpful to jot down information about the swimming program, coaches and academics. Another area to note is campus activities and programs of interest. With the high cost of attending college today, be sure to keep careful notes about finances (and be sure to take into account that tuition and other expenses are rising rapidly). It’s a good idea to develop notes on as many as ten colleges or universities.

Spend time thinking about what kind of school is a good fit. A student may want to consider different sizes of schools (for example, include at least one each from Division I, II and III) and different types of institutions (public or private, religiously affiliated, liberal arts colleges and research universities, metropolitan area schools and those located in smaller cities and towns, etc.)

By starting early to learn about these different types of schools, high school students should be better prepared to make an appropriate choice when the time comes. Unfortunately, there are no magic formulas for making the right selection of college, but the more students know about different types of schools AND the more they know about themselves and what they need in order to function best, the more successful they can be.

Evaluate swimming ability and potential. Recruiting is all about timing, and the quicker a swimmer jumps on making college contacts, the better off s/he’ll be. However, it is difficult for many swimmers and their families to evaluate the ability to swim at the collegiate level until about the junior year in high school. At Dynamo, head coaches begin speaking to Senior level swimmers about swimming in college during the fall of a swimmer’s junior year. This conversation takes place during goal meetings.

Once a swimmer gets a good sense of her or his potential to swim in college, s/he should complete the on-line interest questionnaire on the website of the athletic department at schools under consideration. Once this task is done, reviewing the current costs of each school is needed. (Students may also want to begin getting familiar with the Financial Aid information for schools they’re interested in.) As students start to get serious about ranking schools, three main factors should be considered: (1) the college itself (reputation, standing, campus life, commitment to teaching and learning, etc.); (2) academics (rigor, support for students, majors and requirements), and (3) athletics (reputation, coaching staff, level of competition, facilities, etc.) If a swimmer starts with ten schools on their list at the beginning of the junior year, a good goal is to work down to 5-7 schools by the senior year.

Once contact has been made with college swimming programs, a great idea is to set up a family email account so all are involved in asking questions and receiving answers. It is very beneficial for swimmers to write down impressions from college

visits and carefully document calls, letters, etc., from coaches. On a visit to a college, the high school student should have a list of questions for members of the swim team. Asking the coach questions is important, but the swimmers can give the prospective student a more realistic view of how that team operates. A good principle to remember is that when a high school swimmer makes a campus visit, s/he’s there both to sell her-/himself AND to learn as much as possible. Ask all the questions you can!

The bottom line is to start this process early, have a large list of schools, visit these schools, ask questions and push to find out the answers. In the process, swimmers need to make sure they’re doing what it takes (both athletically and scholastically) to be recruited. Make sure that the schools you are looking at are schools you will want to attend no matter what happens in the future. No matter how carefully a swimmer plans, things can change once on campus: coaches can leave, athletes get injured, a particular sport can be dropped, etc. Lastly, swimmers have to concentrate on not letting down during their senior year in high school. Avoid “senioritis” by working to improve as a swimmer and as a student throughout the senior year.


JUNE 2011

Dynamo thanks 2008 Olympian Christine Magnuson who did a great job

with our SAT Clinic on May 21. Followed up with a cookout and ‘Dive-In

Movie’, a great day for all!




JUNE 2011

Over the past year, we have heard the word bullying frequently in the news involving children of all ages. Many adults equate bullying with the rite of passage teasing experienced by most children at some point during childhood and adolescence. Unfortunately, the level of teasing has escalated into behaviors that cannot be ignored by teachers, counselors, coaches, and parents without potential detriment to our children. The consequences are serious for not recognizing certain behaviors as bullying and for failing to respond appropriately. Every child deserves safe and healthy school, athletic, and play environments free from bullying behaviors. By recognizing acts of bullying, schools, sports organizations, and other organized social venues where children congregate can lessen the number of bullying incidents and help create tolerant and accepting environments for each child. This issue has become so prevalent in our culture that legislatures and school boards across the country have created laws and policies defining, prohibiting, and punishing bullying behaviors in school environments. Recent research reveals that approximately thirty percent of children in the United States are involved in bullying either as a bully, a target, or both. As early as 1999 and then again in 2010, the Georgia General Assembly enacted bullying legislation requiring each school district to adopt policies to prohibit bullying in grades six through twelve and to require local school districts to notify parents and guardians when their child has committed a bullying offense or is a victim of bullying. This legislation applies only to the Georgia Department of Education, which

now expressly prohibits the bullying of any child by any means or method while at school, on school property, at designated school bus stops, or at school related functions, or through the use of any computer or computer network of a local school system. The Georgia statute also dictates the minimal action a school must take when it receives a report of bullying. The Georgia statute does not apply, at this time, to other non-school venues where children come together for supervised activities or athletics. These venues must take the responsibility in educating their parents and children about bullying and take measures to prevent acts of bullying on their premises.

In order to recognize and prevent bullying, it must be explained. Bullying is intentional repetitive teasing or harassment with a conscious intent to hurt another child, which can be verbal (making threats or name calling), psychological (excluding others or spreading rumors), and physical (hitting or taking another’s possessions). Social networking sites and electronic devices also provide opportunities for cyberbullying, which is the willful, hostile, and repeated harassment and intimidation of a child through the use of digital technology, such as email, blogs, or texts. Other bullying behaviors include: sexual, religious, or racial harassment; public humiliation; using websites or social networks to circulate gossip and rumors; any electronic communication whether verbal or photographic that is intended to cause emotional distress to the victim. This definition is broad and there are times when a child may not realize that the words spoken or action taken is hurtful to the intended recipient. Because of this potential, all incidents of

purported bullying should be investigated by speaking to the accused and the victim, as well as any other parties who may be aware of the situation. All children should be educated on the definition of bullying, the effects of bullying, and the consequences of bullying. The education process should be ongoing with constant reminders about the harm such acts cause to all children involved. Children are entitled to learn and grow in an environment free from fear and intimidation. All organizations with youth programs must develop a no tolerance bullying policy that defines the prohibited behaviors, establishes a reporting process, and enumerates appropriate disciplinary action. When bullying is reported, the organization should investigate the allegations by speaking to the children involved, by notifying the parents or guardians of the children, and by determining what age appropriate consequence should follow. During this process, it is important to attempt a collaborative effort by speaking with all the parties involved in an attempt to solve the underlying issues resulting in the bullying behavior. While consequences are necessary, educating the children as to why their behavior is hurtful may prevent future episodes of bullying. If coaches, teachers, and counselors are proactive in creating a positive non-bullying climate for children in their care, the children will reach their full potential in a safe and secure environment.

Bullying

This article was contributed by Dynamo parent Ceci Christy who works as a child advocate lawyer in the juvenile justice system.



DYNAMO STAFFHead Coach/CEOJason Turcotte

CFO/Dynamo Pool Management CEOMike Cotter

Office ManagerEdie Wunderlich

Billing CoordinatorChrys Randolph

Assistant Head Coach/Lead Coach AlpharettaRich Murphy

Lead Coach/Chamblee/Beth Winkowski

Head Age Group CoachBen Rae

Swim School DirectorLisa Vaughn

Chamblee Facility Phone770-457-7946

Alpharetta Facility Phone770-772-6007

INVESTOR NEWSLETTER ISSUE N°3

FALL 2009DYNAMO MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

JUNE 2011

SWIMMING -

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770-457-7946 ext. 16 • www.DynamoSwimSchool.comBring this ad for 10% off your first session

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INDOOR HEATED POOLS • YEAR-ROUND LESSONS

Good Luck to Matias Koski, who will be in Finland and Europe competing this summer. In addition to the 2011 European Junior Championships, he will be competing at a meet in Rome. Dynamo is pleased to support Coach Rich Murphy joining Matias in Italy for the International Open Swimming Trophy in preparation for the European Junior Championships, before returning for USA Swimming Nationals and Juniors in Palo Alto with Dynamo.

2011-2012 Dynamo Registration is now open on the website. Returning members are asked to register by June 15 and to register for your current group.

New swimmers to Dynamo will be able to register as of June 16, 2011

Dynamo Juniors registration will open on June 8, and goes through the Juniors Reg link, not the Team Reg link
http://www.dynamoswimclub.comhttp://www.dynamoswimclub.commailto:[email protected]?subject=from%20newslettermailto:[email protected]?subject=from%20newslettermailto:[email protected]?subject=from%20newslettermailto:[email protected]?subject=from%20newslettermailto:[email protected]?subject=email%20subjectmailto:[email protected]?subject=email%20subjectmailto:[email protected]?subject=email%20subjectmailto:[email protected]?subject=email%20subjectmailto:[email protected]?subject=email%20subjectmailto:[email protected]?subject=email%20subjectmailto:[email protected]?subject=from%20newslettermailto:[email protected]?subject=from%20newslettermailto:[email protected]?subject=from%20newslettermailto:[email protected]?subject=from%20newslettermailto:[email protected]?subject=mailto:[email protected]?subject=http://www.teamunify.com/MemRegStart.jsp?team=gsdschttp://www.teamunify.com/MemRegStart.jsp?team=gsdsc

june 2011 newsletter - teamunify...dynamo monthly newsletter june 2011 swim for an 11-12 swimmer, or...

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