Parents Meeting September 28, 2013

1. Parents MeetingSeptember 28, 2013

2. AGENDA • Welcome • Introduce NGA Staff • The role of a Coach and the role of a Parent • Swim practice & Dry Land training • NGA Swim Meet Schedule | How we enter meets | What to expect at swim meets • Meet escrow accounts and how that works • How to be active in your swimmer's goals & achievements this season • NGA Communication Tools: Texting Messages, Web Site & Facebook • Question & Answer Session

3. About North Georgia AquaticsThe NGA program is dedicated to providing opportunity and encouragement for all of its swimmers, teaching the proper techniques for the four strokes, starts and turns - while having fun.Keeping the team small allows the coaches to provide one-on-one attention to each swimmer and to focus on their individual areas for improvement.  The coaches know all of the swimmers, their strengths and what areas need to be worked on to achieve improvements at each swim meet.

4. About the Coaches Coach Mike formed North Georgia Aquatics after moving to Georgia in 2008.  Before NGA, he trained both US Navy swimmers and New England National swimmers for over 30 years.  Coach Mike runs a disciplined team, where focus and effort is key.  Coach Mike is a proud father of two and grandfather of two, both swimmers on NGA with one being a State Qualifier.  Coach Ricky began coaching for NGA last year after swimming for Coach Mike and NGA.  He enjoys working with the younger swimmers to build their strengths and teach them the beginner techniques to prepare for becoming competitors.  Coach Ricky is a Senior at North Forsyth High School and a strong contribution to their swim team. Coach Gabriela has been directing our dry-land program for the past year and new this year she will begin coaching in the water too.  She is a registered nurse and educated on the correct exercises for instructing young swimmers to help them become stronger to prevent injuries while swimming.  Coach Gabriela is a proud mom of two, her son is a freshman starter on the Forsyth Central football team and her daughter is a multi-year State Qualifier and holder of the most team swim records with NGA.  We'll be watching her at the Olympics some day! Coach Chrissie is the Team Manager for NGA.  She was a swimmer beginning at age six and participated in her high school and college swim teams.  While Coach Chrissie enjoys spending time with the younger swimmers, she uses her pool time to welcome new families, organize the meets and team outings and manage the business side of things.  Coach Chrissie is a proud mom of two, both NGA swimmers.  Her daughter became a Long Course State Qualifier at age 8. 

5. The Role of a Coach and The Role of a Parent The Parents Job is to drive them to swim and tell them over and over… "I love to watch you swim."

6. Communication - Whether parent or coach the best way to resolve any issue or concern is with one-on-one communication. We ask that any requests to discuss your swimmer come by email to make an appointment before or after practice. Please do not interrupt practice to speak with the coaches. Coach Mike’s email address is: SwimNGA@yahoo.com. Please allow 48 hours 2. Trust - Parents need to trust the coaches. If you have committed to a team, trust that the coaches have a plan. 3. Respect - Along with trust comes respect. No matter what you may personally think of your athlete's coaches they are trying very hard to help your athlete and the team. Give them the benefit of the doubt that they are doing the very best they can and respect them for their effort. It's easy to criticize from the other side of the fence. 4. Be Realistic - How good is your athlete? Being realistic is a by-product of expectations. If your athlete is not yet a consistent peak performer, try to see it through the eyes of the coaches. They have to do their best to develop all of the swimmers. Maybe your athlete isn't good enough to be in the fastest relay today, but he/she is learning a ton about the sport and is benefiting by being exposed to better competition.

7. Swim practice & Dry Land training What is dry land? Dry land will consist of upper, lower, and core strength training, cardiovascular exercises, and stretching in a circuit format. All exercises used will benefit each swimmer by combining specific exercises with associated movements that are directly related to certain components of the major strokes and with certain exercises that are indirectly related by targeting muscle groups similar to those in a phase of one of the major strokes. Why should the kids participate in dry land? Dry land programs are beneficial to swimmers when they are designed to work together the body's muscular framework and stroke mechanics. Swimming alone can create muscle imbalances that cannot only lead to strength imbalances but also may create flexibility and postural imbalances that can predispose a swimmer to injury and inhibit optimal performance. The objective of our program is that each swimmer will gain strength, speed, endurance, and flexibility along with building self-confidence, self-esteem, and healthy bodies while enjoying themselves in a safe environment.

8. Swim practice & Dry Land training Times for dry land Dry land will be held on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday after practice. Coach Mike will dismiss the eligible swimmers from swim practice 10 minutes early and dry land will last 30-40 minutes on Monday and Wednesday and 50-60 minutes on Saturday. Dry land requirements and rules To participate in dry land, the swimmer must be 10 years of age or older unless spoken to by coach and must come to swim practice 4 days or more a week. Coach Mike keeps attendance weekly and will inform me of who is eligible for dry land on a week-to-week basis. Swimmers must also attend 2 out of the 3 days of dry land. If requirements aren't met, the participant will not be invited the following week. Rules have been instilled to ensure the safety of all participants. We expect all swimmers to listen, behave, and take this seriously. We want to prevent injuries so consequences will be given to individuals displaying any inappropriate behaviors or distracting others.

9. NGA Swim Meet Schedule As information becomes available, the links will go live and text messages will be sent for notification.

10. How we enter meets • Process for Entering Meets: • The dates are listed on the website so families can plan their other activities around the meets. • An RSVP text message is sent, announcing that the meet information is available on our website. At this time we ask every family to read the meet information and submit an RSVP by the deadline (usually 3-4 days) • Once the RSVPs have been received, Coach Mike works on individual plans for the swimmers, determining which events they should swim at this meet. His decisions are based on several factors: • a. Does the swimmer need an official time in particular events • b. If two preferred events are running too close together, one will be swum at this meet and the other may be swum at the next meet. • c. Have any strokes been a focus at practice, so competing in this event will determine progress and improvement. • 4. Once the events are submitted, USA Swimming does not permit us to receive a refund for cancelled entries. Sickness is not an acceptable reason for cancelling and the families are still responsible for paying the meet fees.

11. What to expect at swim meets Swimmers: Bring several changes of clothing – shorts, sweats, shirts Bring many towels and keep a dry one for after the meet Wear your team suit and cap – do not wear the suit to practice Bring back up Goggles Bring lots of healthy snacks, leave the sugar at home Parents: Dress for the desert – calling the climate a sauna is an understatement Bring a padded chair Bring a cell phone charger – the results are posted online so the cell phones usually die before the end of the meet. Bring $5 – 8 for the Heat Sheet Bring healthy snacks for the kids, please leave the sugar at home

12. Meet escrow accounts and How that works Swim meet fees have to be paid before your swimmer is entered into a meet. To ensure the meet fees are paid, we recommend that you pre-pay an amount to the team to cover meets. You are welcome to pre-pay whatever amount you wish, as long as money is available when a meet is being entered.

13. Meet escrow accounts and How that works Chrissie will keep track of the funds and send out periodic statements explaining the costs. Any unused money will be returned at the end of the season.

14. How to be active in your swimmer's goals & achievements this season http://www.gaswim.org/

16. NGA Communication Tools: Texting Messages, Web Site & Facebook Text Messages: • Meet RSVPs • Practice Cancellations • Weather Alerts • Reminders One-way communication. Mobile numbers are not published.

19. NGA FaceBook Page Facebook Communications: • Group Contribution – Please add questions, comments, interesting articles, etc. • Event Notifications • Photos from practices or meets are always needed • Current Updates • Private Group – only approved members can view the posts. Please log into Facebook and search for “North Georgia Aquatics”

20. Questions and Answers