Hannibal Hurricanes
Competitive Swim Team
Swimmer & Parent Handbook
2011-2012
“Being your best is not so much about overcoming the barriers other people place in front of you as it is about overcoming the barriers we place in front of ourselves. It has nothing to do with how many times you win or lose. It has no relation to where you finish in a race or whether you break world records. But it does have everything to do with having the vision to dream, the courage to recover from adversity and the determination never to be shifted from your goals.”
- Kieren Perkins
Australian Olympic gold-medal swimmer
TABLE OF CONTENTS
All About The Coaches 3
History of the Hannibal Hurricanes Swim Team 3
Parent Meeting Schedule 4
Who’s Who in 2011-2012 4
Team Affiliations 5
Goals of the Hannibal Hurricanes Swim Team 6
Rules and Regulations 6
USA Swimming 6-7
Theory Behind Practice Groups 8
Team Practice Flights 9-11
Hannibal Hurricane Team Records 11-13
Team Membership 13-14
Fees 14
Mailbox/Bulletin Board/Email 14
Practice 14
Practice Policy
Practice Schedule
Missed Practices
Meets 14-15
What To Bring To A Meet
Away Meets
Policies and Responsibilities 16-17
Equipment Policy
Proper Conduct Policy
Discipline Policy
Parental/Guardian Responsibilities
Are You A Pressure Parent 17
Awards 18
Achievement Program 18
Swimmer of the Week
Swimmer of the Month
Officials 19
Benefits of Competitive Swimming 18
Winning Ways 18-19
Terminology 19-20
Coach Kara Viorel begins her 6th season of coaching. She is going on her 5th year as the Aquatics Director and is excited about continuing her role at the YMCA. Kara has 14 years competitive swimming experience. In May 2000, she graduated from Lake Forest College where she was a 16-time conference champion in Division III Women’s Varsity Swimming, 4-time Division III National Qualifier, 2 year team captain, and school record holder. She was an assistant coach in Deerfield, IL for 5 years and has been a certified coach in USA Swimming for 12 years. Kara has experience as an aquatics coordinator and is a certified personal trainer. She is also a level 3 ASCA Swim Coach. Kara has also had the role of Head Men’s and Women’s Swimming Coach for Hannibal-LaGrange College. Hannibal is where Kara’s swimming career initiated and she enjoys helping the sport of swimming grow in her hometown.
Assistant Coach Kris Kennedy is in her 4th winter season with the Hurricanes. She is a YMCA certified official and works with all groups on their swimming skills. She is also a certified coach through USA Swimming. Her stroke expertise is very helpful to the younger kids.
Assistant Coach Marifaith Mueller: this is Marifaith’s first season with the Hurricanes. She comes to the team with great coaching background. She has worked with other local teams and is now excited to share her experience and knowledge with HHST! Marifaith is a level 2 ASCA Swim Coach. Not only is Mairfaith active in the coaching world, she is very active in USA Masters Swim Program as well! You will see her on deck working with Bronze, Silver and Gold Groups throughout the season.
Assistant Rachel Brame this is Rachel’s second season with the Hurricanes . She will be working with the Bronze and Silver groups. Rachael swam in high school where she grew up in Kansas City. She was also a national swimmer for Hannibal-LaGrange College.
HHST PARENT ORGANIZATION
A group of interested parents, a supportive YMCA, and Spike Ehrhardt of Hardees Family Restaurants founded our team in 1986. We have continued to prosper due to the commitment of the parents. Parent group committees organize and manage meets, fundraisers, and decide the future of swimming activities in Hannibal. The program thrives on teamwork and cooperation!
A positive parent/coach relationship is essential to a successful swimming program. The failure of parents and coaches to work together in an atmosphere of mutual respect and consideration will result in a less than ideal experience for the swimmer.
As parents, there will be times when you do not understand or you question team policies or coaching decisions. This is natural and to be expected; however, come to the coaches or the Aquatics Program Director with your questions. There are usually reasonable answers. The worst thing you can do for yourself, your swimmer, and our team, is jump to conclusions and engage in petty and destructive side talk.
It is important that when resolving differences or misunderstanding, the swimmer not be involved. In order for the swimmers to derive maximum benefit from the swim team, they must have respect for and a sense of loyalty to the team and coach. If a swimmer becomes involved in a “tug of war” between coaches and parents, his or her progress and enjoyment of the sport will be damaged.
The Key Word is TEAMWORK!
PARENT MEETING SCHEDULE
September 14, 2011 **NEW PARENTS ONLY** 5:30pm
September 21, 2011 5:30 pm
January 11, 2012 5:30 pm
February 15, 2012 5:30 pm
WHO’S WHO IN 2010-2011
YMCA ORGANIZATION
Coach Kara Viorel 573-795-1009
Aquatics Director Kara Viorel 573-221-0586
YMCA Director Pete Friesen 573-221-0586
PARENTS ORGANIZATION
Executive Committee
President LaRhonda Behl 573-221-9251
Vice President Mark Dowil…………………………..573-248-3754
Secretary Mindy Prenger 217-653-2990
Treasurer Renee Bennett……………………… 573-231-0691
573-795-9586
Michelle Lewton……………………573-822-3004
WEBSITE
www.teamunify.com/ozshhst
TEAM AFFILIATIONS
ST. LOUIS YMCA SWIMMING DISTRICT
Our team is a member of the St. Louis YMCA Swimming District that consists of 19 teams and approximately 600 swimmers.
EJFY………………………………………………Edward Jones Family YMCA
12521 Marine Ave Teresa McDowell
Maryland Heights, MO 63146 314-995-7273
BOOY Boonslick Heartland YMCA
PO Box 104 Dickson Stauffer
Boonville, Missouri 65233 660-882-8500
CRCY Centralia RecPlex//Mt. Vernon
115 East 2nd Street Larry Jukes
Centralia, Illinois 62801 618-315-1475
EDWY Edwardsville YMCA
1200 Esic Drive Bob Rettle
Edwardsville, Illinois 62025 618-656-0436
FRAY...... Four Rivers Area Family YMCA
400 Grand Ave. David Schneider
Washington MO 63090 636-239-5513
HHST Hannibal YMCA
1 YMCA Drive Kara Viorel
Hannibal, Missouri 63401 573-221-0586
JCAY Jefferson City Area YMCA
424 Stadium Drive Sherry Wittrock
Jefferson City, Missouri 573-761-9015
KWBY Kirkwood/Webster YMCA
226 East Lockwood Kelly Lakebrink
St. Louis, Missouri 63119 314-686-3542
MEXY Mexico YMCA
1127 Adams St. Matthias McManus
Mexico, Missouri 65265 573-581-1540
HTCY……………………………………………………………Monroe County YMCA-HTC Center
9514 Caring Way Steve Sloan
Columbia, IL 62236
RLAY…………………………………………………………………Rend Lake Aquatics YMCA
468 North Ken Gray Parkway Laura Johnson
Ina, IL 62846 618-521-7112
SCCY St. Charles County YMCA
3900 Ehlmann Road Mary O’Mara
St. Peters, Missouri 63376 636-928-1928
South City Family YMCA
3150 Sublette Jamie Hamilton
St Louis MO 63139 314-609-5676
TCAY Lewis and Clark Community College
5800 Godfrey Rd Nancy Miller
Godfrey, Illinois 62035 618-466-7000
WCFY West County Family YMCA
16464 Burkhardt Rich Corning
Chesterfield, Missouri 63006 636-532-3100
WWFY Wildwood Family YMCA of Greater St. Louis
2641 Hwy 9 Liz Knoesel
Wildwood, Missouri 63040
YOCC YMCA of Callaway County
1215 Wood St. Sara McDanielr
Fulton, Missouri 65221 573-220-7996
YOSI YMCA of Southwest Illinois
15 North 1st Street Maria Fernandez
Belleville, Illinois 62220 618-570-9986
YSEM…………………………………………………………………………YMCA of Southeast Missouri
511 Taylor St Adian Marshall
Siskeston, MO 63801 573-472-9622
YOFM………………………………………………………………..YMCA of O’Fallon Missouri
3451 Pheasant Meadow Dr Kerstin Rompel
O’Fallon MO 63366 314-852-3779
MISSOURI/ILLINOIS YMCA CONFERENCE
Our district is one of five districts that make up the Illinois YMCA Swim Conference, which consists of 54 teams and approximately 3,700 swimmers. A swimmer’s age for the entire season is defined as the age the swimmer will be on December 1, 2011. This is also the day when team rosters are due. Only swimmers submitted on this roster are eligible to compete in Districts and State. To be on the roster, the swimmer must be on the team and have all current fees paid to the YMCA by December 1, 2011.
Ages are divided into the following competitive groups:
6 and under for some meets (not districts/state)
8 and Under
9 and 10
11 and 12
13 and 14
15 to 21
GOALS OF THE HURRICANE SWIM TEAM
1. To have FUN!
2. To encourage swimmers of all abilities and ages to develop their full potential.
3. To create a strong competitive team that strives for success within the competitive arena.
4. To offer a healthy activity which fosters mental and physical discipline.
5. To encourage individual goal setting and personal pride.
6. To develop and promote a club social program to encourage attendance, develop team unity, and build long-term friendships between team members and club families.
7. To encourage and develop a supportive parent and administration layer.
RULES AND REGULATIONS
1. When the coach is speaking, you are always listening.
2. Never say “I can’t”. Nothing is impossible, always try your hardest and give 100% effort.
3. Always swim from wall to wall – No stopping or walking on the bottom of the pool.
4. If you are going to be late or must leave early, please bring a note.
5. There is absolutely NO running on deck.
6. If you have a question, always ask your coach, and please raise your hand.
7. When you are at the wall, keep your head above the water and your eyes on the coach.
8. Stroke work is our main goal; you need to concentrate hard and work on your strokes.
9. There will be no arguing with other teammates about the order of the lane.
10. At meets you should always be at the team meeting prior to the start of the meet and you should ALWAYS see your coach after each race.
USA SWIMMING
What is USA Swimming?
USA Swimming is the National Governing Body for competitive swimming in the Unites States. USA Swimming formulates the rules, implements the policies and procedures, conducts the national championships, disseminates safety and sports medicine information and selects athletes to represent the United States in international competition.
How is USA Swimming Organized?
International – The international federation for the aquatic sports is the Federation Internationle de Natation amateur (FINA). USA is affiliated with this organization.
National – USA Swimming is a Group A member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC)
Zone – We are divided into four separate zones – Central, Eastern, Southern and Western.
Local – Within the US, there are fifty-nine Local Swimming Committees (LSCs).
What is our Local Swim Club (LSC)?
Our local LSC is Ozark
What are our USA swimming affiliations?
Centralia Recreation Complex (CRCY)
Clayton Shaw Park (CSP)
Edwardsville YMCA (EDWY)
Flyers Aquatic Swim Team (FAST)
Gator Swim Team (GATR)
Heat Swimming (HEAT)
Parkway Swim Club (PKWY)
Rec-Plex Swim Team (RPLX)
What are the USA Swimming websites?
www.usaswimming.org
www.ozarkswimming.org
What are USA Swimming Time Qualifications?
These are the times needed to qualify for the Ozark Championships (held in February and comparable to YMCA area championships)
This can be found on the “Qtime Sheet”
SCY – Short Course Yards
SCM – Short Course Meters
LCM – Long Course Meters
How do I apply for USA Swimming?
Complete application form turn into Coach Kara. All Platinum and Gold HHST swimmers will also be USA certified. A card will be mailed to the coach and then put into your mailbox. Your card will need to be re-newed every year.
Club code – HHST
LSC – Ozark (OZ)
If you have a USA card from another team, you must wait 120 day from the last meet swam, before you can hold a card with HHST. If you want to continue to swim USA during that time frame you MUST swim unattached (enter this as your club code). If you would swim for another team during the HHST season, you would be ineligible to participate in YMCA meets, including districts.
When transferring from another team, you must become HHST-OZ attached after the 120 waiting period. If you swim USA and are not attached to HHST, you will not be able to participate in sanctioned YMCA meets with HHST. This includes Tom and Becky, districts, area, and national competitions.
HHST fully believes in team unity. That is why we have made the decision that the entire team becomes USA certified. We hope you understand our newer policies.
THE THEORY BEHIND PRACTICE GROUPS
The structure of each practice group has been developed based on several different qualifications. Listed below are some of the considerations that have gone into our group designs.
1. Our program is designed based on the following coaching philosophy which the HHST staff upholds. We will provide athletes with the tools for a long-term swimming career and in a greater context, character qualities that will be useful throughout life. With these long-tem goals in mind, we will
beginning with their first day of practice. For example, we are not thinking of how to produce an 8 & under event winner but how to improve their skills in the water while having fun! In addition, we have found that working towards that big picture is usually accompanied with short-term success (but not always).
2. All children at a given age have a specific range of motor abilities and mental capacity. In order to create a positive learning environment in a very challenging sport, we put great effort in building that positive environment where we are not asking too much of any athlete too early. Swimming is a sport that demands a great deal mentally and physically, so the coaches aim to provide our young swimmers with the tools they need to pursue the sport of swimming for the long term.
3. Children, particularly in the age range of 9-12, show a wide variety in their growth rates and developmental processes. With this in mind, no coach can not create a set in stone plan for everyone and then expect it to work for each individual. Our grouping allows for flexibility, taking into account that one athlete may climb a different learning curve than another – though they may eventually reach the same place.
4. It may be possible to “move” a swimmer quickly from group to group, but the swimmer takes the risk of missing crucial steps in the fundamental building blocks the coaching staff is trying to provide. The athlete may eventually recover the missed steps but it may be too late, limiting their potential success. It is much more effective to form good habits early than to try and break bad habits later in the swimmers career.