Thanks for a Great Kick Off Mass and Breakfast!
Dear Friends and families of Gonzaga Swimming,
Thanks to everyone who helped stage an incredible kick off to the season with our Mass and brunch Sunday. Special thanks to Fr. Rokusek for celebrating Mass and to our captains’ moms for getting there early to set up. It was truly awesome to see the throngs of people that came together as a team and to support the team. As I said, this is a team operation. Every person freshman or senior, swimmer or parent is vital to our success. That said, it was a great to see such numbers.
A few new announcements include that Mr. Brian Larkin will be assisting the team on trips and meets this year. As a faculty member in the building, he will be a great asset alongside assistant coach Emily Michard and Head Dive Coach Anita O’Quinn.
As we prepare for our season, a few items of business:
MORNING WORKOUTS and TEAM SUITS
Morning workouts have begun. They are held Tuesdays and Thursday at 6:50 a.m in the gym. These are important because they offer conditioning we can’t get in the water, offer us extra practice to give us an edge, and serve as a time and place we can all meet to discuss important team issues.
As far as the first practice, EVERYONE WAS ON TIME, which is a HUGE way to start the season! Great job! We had a record turnout today and distributed our team warm ups, suits and caps.
-Warm ups are on loan and have a number attachted to them. They must be returned at the end of the year with the correct number. Otherwise they will be purchased for $80.
-Everyone MUST have a team suit to be worn in competition only. No practice wear.
- Suits (Mandatory) $27 dollars
- Drag suits (Optional) $25 dollars
- Capst (Reccommended) $4 dollars
- **If you have a suit from last year, you do not need to purchase a new one. Team suits must be worn in competition as part of the uniform. Warm ups must be worn to meets.
USS Practice Logs:
All swimmers are expected to participate in five water practices a week. If a swimmer chooses to swim with a club team instead of Gonzaga, he needs to fill out a USS Practice Log and submit that log to Mr. Norton at the end of each week signed by his coach. A link to that practice log is here and on the main page.
Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday Practices
Practices are mandatory. If we are going to stay a championship team, it is vital that we practice as one. That includes sacrificing our days of school and coming to practice. Of course, the holidays are a time for family and travel ensues. That’s understandable. If you have a conflict, please drop me an email and let me know. Otherwise, we expect you to be at practice over the breaks. Keep in mind that one of our biggest meets is only 3 days after we get back from Christmas break! You know they’ll be practicing.
Thanksgiving Week:
We will have practice the Monday, Tuesday and WEDNESDAY before Thanksgiving. Thursday and Friday are off. Wednesday practice will be at 9 a.m. at Gallaudet.
Exam Week
We will NOT have practice during the Monday-Wednesday of Exam week (Dec 15-17). However, we WILL have practice Thursday and Friday of Exam week (Dec. 18, 19). You will be excused if you have an exam. Otherwise, expect to be at practice at 2:30 pm on Thursday and 9am on Friday.
Christmas:
-We will have practice during Christmas Week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (Dec. 22, 23, 24) at 9 a.m.
-Will will NOT have practice Dec 25-28
-Practice RESUMES on Dec-29, 30, 31.
-No Practice on New Years and until classes resume on Jan. 5
-DeMatha vs. Gonzaga is on January 8!
Calvert Hall and St. John’s Invitational (Time Trials)
We have two meets back to back this week. Calvart Hall is a competitive meet and will draw from the Varsity squad, but JV swimmers are expected to attened and will swim. St. John’s Invitational will draw more from the JV and new swimmers; our intent is not to win but to get as many times on new swimmers as possible and give old swimmers a chance to swim events they don’t normally swim.
That’s all of now. Keep a look out for emails from Mrs. Lisa Murphy and check the website to stay abreast of team news and results.
