PRACTICE THURSDAY 12/23

Practice tomorrow, 12/23, will be from 8 TO 10 AM.  Swimmers were notified at practice this morning.  Sorry for the short notice!

GIRL'S BANQUET

So, we have a new, official date for the girl's banquet: Monday, January 3 at 6:30 (the Monday we return to school from break).  We will eat in the high school cafeteria and do awards in the AV Room.  It will be a desserts and drinks affair, so plan on eating a meal before attending.   Seniors bring a dessert to pass; Juniors bring drinks to pass (juice, pop, etc.).  I know it's not ideal to have it after break, but Monday was the only free day this week due to basketball games, both at the high school and middle school, and the Collage Concert, which many of our athletes are in.   Have a safe and enjoyable break, and we'll see you on Monday the 3rd!

Practice CANCELLED Today & Results from Last Night

Practice is CANCELLED for this afternoon.  I'm home sick with bronchitis...fun fun.  We'll see you tomorrow at 3.


Meet results from last night can be found HERE. For those who swam one or more of the same events as last week, the numbers on the far right represent the time gain or drop (negative = drop).  Many good improvements, especially on turns, though we still have a ways to go!  Fortunately, with Christmas Break ahead of us, we have plenty of uninterrupted training time!

The Week Ahead: 12/14 to 12/18

Notes for This Week:

• Meet vs. Bridgman  Tomorrow (Tuesday).  Swimmers need to be on-deck by 4:45; we will hop in by 5:00.  Meet starts at 6:00.
• Suits  Should be coming in this week.  $36.  I need your money before you can get your suit!
• Saturday Practice  Will be from 10:00 to Noon.  Some drills and skills, and one fast set.  We had a good turnout last week.  Hopefully, I'll have a chance to grab a griddle this week so we can have some pancakes afterwards!
• Christmas Break  See the calendar HERE for our practice times over break.  I need to know if you are going to miss any practice over Christmas Break AHEAD OF TIME.  Bring a note or shoot me an email.  If I do not receive notice, it will be considered an unexcused absence. 
• Music  I got a cable that will allow us to play tunes over the speakers in the pool area (so we can actually hear it!).  If you want to make a playlist for us to listen to at practice, burn a CD or put the songs on a flash drive so I can put them into my computer.
• Quote for the Week

• "There's a choice you make
  in every thing you do.
  But keep in mind that in the end,
  the choice you make makes you."
  -John Wooden
  
  
  Everyday, we make choices that determine our life's path.  In school, they effect our success in the classroom; in the pool, they effect where we are going to end up at the end of season.  Are we consistently making the the choices that will maximize our potential, both as swimmers and as individuals?

SNOW DAY...

Obviously, we have an unfortunate snow day today...  For the boys that have not heard, we do NOT have practice today.  A phone tree was supposed to be started by the captains, but apparently it didn't get around to everyone as I've gotten a few calls.  For the girls, the banquet scheduled for tonight is CANCELLED.  I'll have to check tomorrow to see if there's another day this week when we can get the cafeteria and either Listiak or the av room.  Right now, I believe Wednesday is the only possibility due to basketball and the collage concert, but I'll have to check with Janet Lynam tomorrow to make sure.  Be safe today!

Girls' Swim Team Banquet

Finally, our banquet date is set!  We will be having our banquet on Monday, December 13 in the high school cafeteria and AV room.  It will be a desserts and drinks affair, so plan on eating dinner before coming.  A flyer will be going out tomorrow at the high school, so look for that to come home with your daughters!

Results vs. St. Joe

Results for our team can be found HERE.

The Week Ahead: 12/6 to 12/11

First, Results from Yesterday:

• You can check out the results HERE.  If you switched the order of your relay during the meet (for example, Bobby and Davis switched in the 200 Back Relay) the names did not get switched in the results.  Also, check out CONFERENCE RESULTS from last year to see how your times compare.
• Overall, I thought the meet went well.  The meet saw many of us swimming new, different events and/or strokes.  Now, we have a starting point and plenty of work ahead of us!  Remember, it's the little things (starts, turns, streamlines, pushoffs, underwaters, etc.) that are going to take us where we want to be come Conference and State.  We need to be as efficient as possible in order to maximize our training.  Also, we did an excellent job of cheering on our teammates.

And, notes about the upcoming week:

• Practices  Be ready to go at 3 each day!  If the locker rooms are open, you are expected to be changed and ready to go as soon as the pool is opened!  Remember, no changing in the stands.  If you don't have a lock for a locker, get one!  Also, once in the pool, we need to FOCUS!  It is not a time to shut off the brain; we need to be sharp and in-tune with what we're doing in the water.
• Suits  Our suits should be coming in this week, hopefully in time for our meet on Thursday.  The cost for the suits will be $36.  Checks can be made payable to South Haven High School.  Get your money in to Coach Herrman ASAP.  You will only get a suit if you have your money turned in!
• Meet Thursday  Our meet on Thursday is at Home against St. Joe.  Swimmers need to be on-deck at 4:45 and ready to hop in the water at 5 sharp.  Let's not have any stragglers like we did on Saturday! The meet begins at 6.

Ludington Meet Info

For all swimmers, the meet at Ludington begins at Noon with Warm Up beginning at 11:00.  Plan on meeting at the high school at 8:15am, departing by 8:30.  Eat a big breakfast and bring along some snacks and drinks for the meet.  Also, bring enough money ($10 or so) to cover a meal as we will grab a quick bite to eat on our way home.  Weather permitting, we should be back by at least 5pm.

Boys Season!

For all boys' parents, welcome to the South Haven Swimming Blog!  Here are a few updates to get us started with the season:

• Ludington Meet  We only have one car signed up, besides my own, for transportation to Ludington this Saturday.  That means we still have 12 swimmers unaccounted for!  Please either email Coach Herrman at benjamin.herrman@gmail.com or call him at (269) 313-6234 to sign up.  Departure times to come later this week.
• After Practice Food  We've already gotten two gracious donations for post-practice snacks for the boys!  If you'd like to donate, just drop your goodies off at the pool and we'll find a place to store them.
• Post-Meet Meals  Mrs. Baker and Mrs. Hiatt have agreed to team up and coordinate the post-meet meals for our Home meets.  Thanks!
• Concession Sign-Ups  We will be working the basketball concessions for the following dates.  Two people are needed for each game.  Please contact Coach Herrman if you'd like to work one or more of the games.
• 1/27/11 (Thurs) @ 4:45 PM
• 2/15/11 (Tues) @ 5:30 PM
• 2/24/11 (Thurs) @ 4:45 PM
• Suits and T-Shirts Look for cost and order information to come within the next week.

We've had a good start to the season so far and can now really get into the swing of things now that we're past Thanksgiving Break.  I'm looking forward to seeing where our true beginning is at the Ludington relays!

More Conference Info

Today, I am sending home a sheet with information for the rest of the week and updated directions to Allegan.  Make sure you get it from your daughter!

Conference Information

Our Conference Championship meet is this Friday and Saturday at Allegan High School.  Plainwell is running the meet.  Here's the meet information:

• TIMERS We are required to provide 3 timers for each session, Friday and Saturday.  On Friday, they need to be on-deck at 2:45 for the timers meeting; on Saturday, the meeting is at 11:45.  You can sign up for just one session, or both.  Either call of email me if you would like to sign up!
• SATURDAY TRANSPORTATION
• We need to provide parent transportation on Saturday.  We will have 3 divers leaving early, and 16 swimmers leaving a little later.  Email or call me if you can drive on Saturday!
• Friday, November 5th  (SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION!!)
• Swimmers will get out of class early to eat lunch and board the bus.  I'll let you know the official time when I find out.  Make sure to get your assignments AHEAD of time from your 4th through 6th hour teachers!  This does not count the same as being absent for an illness.
• 12:15 the bus LEAVES.  Be ready!
• 1:30 Warm Up begins.
• 3:00 Meet Start.
• Saturday, November 6th  (PARENT TRANSPORTATION!!)
• 8:00 Diving Warm Up begins for the 8-dive prelim session.  Departure times for divers will be set up via Justin.
• 9:30 we LEAVE the parking lot.  Get there EARLY and be ready to go!
• 10:45 Swimming Warm Up begins.
• 12:00 Meet Start
• Swimmers need to make sure to bring plenty of food and drink for each session so that they are fueled up and ready to go!

Halloween Dinner Directions

We will be headed to Clementine's Too in St. Joseph for the Halloween Dinner.  Follow the link below for directions.  The girls will meet at the pool parking lot at 4:30 and take off from there.  In addition to the seniors, Lainee Boss and Mary McDaniel will be driving for those who would like their daughters to ride with a parent.  See you there!

DIRECTIONS

Halloween Dinner

For the Halloween Dinner, the team will be meeting in the pool parking lot at 4:30.  We will be heading to a place in St. Joseph, so I will be meeting the team there.  We need a couple parent volunteers (two or three) to drive in addition to some of the girls who will be driving themselves.  If you would like to volunteer, please either send me an email or call me and I can give you more information.  Plan on $15 to $20 for the meal.  The girls should be back in South Haven in time to do some trick-or-treating!

Senior Night Update

We will be doing Senior Night at the diving break, not at the beginning of the meet so that we can accommodate all the senior's families.  Look for it to start around 6:15, just after the conclusion of the 50 freestyle!

The Week Ahead: 10/18 to 10/23

• Last Dual Meet on Tuesday (10/19) against Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Central.  This is also Senior Night, and we will begin a little early at 5:50 with recognition of our senior class.  Swimmers need to be on-deck at 4:45 and in the water at 5:00 for warm up.  Should be a very competitive, fun meet!  Great way to end the dual meet season!
• Trip to Jolly Orchards and Safari Joe's is slated for Saturday (10/23).  This is being organized by the captains, so look for more info from them early in the week.

Safari Joe's and Saturday

With the health interests of the team as a whole in mind, we've decided to CANCEL the trip to Safari Joe's that was originally scheduled for tomorrow!  Too many sick kids...only 7 at practice yesterday, yikes!

We will still have an optional Saturday practice from 10:00 to 11:30.

REST UP!

Concessions and Raffle

We still need a few more people to sign up to help with the concessions for the Rams Boosters.  Here are the dates, those who've signed up so far, and how many are needed!

• 10/15/10 (Friday) @ 6:00 PM, Varsity Football
• Mary Pat Balke, Mary McDaniel, Ann Meskauskas, Tracy Hiatt, Lainee Boss, Audrey Litts, Eva Ticknor
• THREE MORE NEEDED!
• 10/21/10 (Thursday) @ 6:00 PM, JV Football
• Mary McDaniel
• TWO MORE NEEDED!
• Please contact Mary McDaniel to sign up.

We also need to sell a few more raffle tickets for the Rams Boosters!  Please contact me if you'd like to purchase one or get one to sell.  

Thanks!

• Meet Tuesday @ Otsego  Meet at the high school at 3:45, bus LEAVES at 4:00.  Meet start is the usual 6:00.  Should be a very competitive meet with lots of close races...looking forward to it!
• No Dryland  this week, and for the rest of the season, for that matter.  We will be including some within our practices during the water-time, but nothing separate at the beginning.  So, be ready to hop in the pool at 3!
• Friday Practice will get out at 5:00, as we have done for the past few weeks.  But, that means we must get going right away!
• Upcoming Bonding Events
• 10/8 @ Safari Joe's.  The Hiatt's have graciously offered to reserve some rooms for the girls for the night so they can enjoy the indoor waterpark and hang out.
• 10/22 Trip to Jolly Orchards
• More info on specific times, etc. to come this week.

Sturgis Relay Invite

• Swimmers/Divers Going will be Kallie Gerling, Dea Meskauskas, Hannah Robertson, Alison Thaler, Jocelyn VanWynen, Mariah Boss, Jenn Hollebrands, Stephanie Ticknor, Becca West, Stephanie Balke, Stephanie Phillips, and Kayleigh Townsend.  There are only 8 relays, with only one entry per event, so it makes sense to limit the number of swimmers going as has been done in the past.  
• Transportation will have to be provided by parents.  I have sent out an email regarding this, so please look for that and REPLY ALL if you are planning on making the drive.
• Times
• Meet at 6:45am, departing at 7:00.
• Warm-up at 9:00, with 10:30 start.

The Week Ahead: 9/20 to 9/25

• Invitational Results posted HERE
• Bridgman Results posted HERE
• Dryland will be switched to only 2 days a week as opposed to spread out over 4 days.  This week, we will do dryland on Tuesday and Thursday before we get in the water.  Tennis shoes will be a must!
• Meet Wednesday against Manistee.  Some form of team apparel with warm-up jackets will be worn to school.  On-deck by 4:45, in the pool for warm-up at 5:00.  Meet starts at 6:00.
• Meet Saturday at Sturgis.  We will not be provided with a bus, but I'm working on reserving at least one van that I can drive.  However, we will still need at least one or two other parent cars as well.  I haven't received the meet info yet, but will get out more info (departure times, etc) as soon as I get it!

Bridgman Meet

For our meet Thursday, we will be dressing up for the school-day (ie, no jeans, tshirts, etc).

To catch our bus, we need to meet at the pool BY 4:00 pm.  Make sure you fuel up (something healthy, NOT McDonalds!) between school and our departure time; otherwise, you'll be running on fumes come the 6:00pm meet start.  We should arrive back around 8:30, if not earlier.  Bridgman will be providing a post-meet meal.

Invite ReCap

BIG THANKS to all those who helped make our invitational a success today!  

• Amy Garber, our pool manager extraordinaire!  
• Those parents who helped out with the concession stand and/or donated foodstuffs!
• The high schoolers who helped time!
• Phil Boss, for announcing! 
• Dale and Karen Novotny, for running their usual extremely efficient meet!
• Our Lady Rams, who did an excellent job of organizing themselves before the meet while I was running around!
• Anyone I've forgotten to mention...!

Honestly, I'm so thankful for all the above-mentioned support, especially for this being my first invitational, let alone first home meet.  Have a good rest of your weekend!

Coach Herrman

Concession Fundraiser

Hey All.

If families are willing to contribute, we will be doing a concession stand at the invite to raise money for the girls swim team.  All proceeds will go into our activity account.  I've sent out an email about this as well, but HERE is the link where you can access the sign-up spreadsheet (Let me know if it doesn't work for you!  For those who haven't used Google Docs before, anyone who goes through that link can access and edit the spreadsheet...try it out!).  Amy Garber has graciously agreed to staff the stand and she, via RAC, will provide the up-front money for the cash box.  Also, thanks to Amy and Mrs. McDaniel for bringing this idea up to me (another learning experience for a first-timer!).  If there's anyone who would like to head this effort, just let me know!  Also, if there's anything else involved in the invitational that's been done in years past that I've missed, please don't hesitate to contact me!  Thanks for all of your help.  

~Coach Herrman

The Week Ahead: 9/7 to 9/11

Here are the updates for this coming week!

• Practice  Now that school's starting up again, we will be practicing daily from 3:00 (ish) until 5:45.  My goal is to have them out of the water by 5:30, but the actual time will vary daily depending on how efficient we are and how much work there is to do!  Note: 5:45 means out of the water at 5:45, not dressed and ready to leave.  Swimmers will need clothes and shoes for dryland each day.
• Rams Wear Tracy Hiatt is putting together an order for generic South Haven Swimming and Diving Shirts.  They are gray with purple lettering and are not year- or gender-specific.  You can order for the entire family!  They are $10, checks payable to Tracy Hiatt.  She needs the money by tomorrow (Tuesday 9/7) for the first batch of orders.  If enough people are interested, a second order may be placed in the future...
• Invitational Saturday (9/11) we host our invitational.  Diving warm-up begins at 8:00am, with the diving competition beginning at 9:30.  Swimming warm-up begins at 11:00am (read in the water at 11!) with the meet beginning at Noon.  We are hosting Allegan, Otsego, Plainwell, Hackett Catholic Central, and Mattawan.  More info to come soon...!

That's all for now...but keep checking back for more!

  I hope everyone had a relaxing long weekend.  For the ladies on the team and those of us who work in education, let's have a great start to the school year!!!

Allegan Results

HERE

Calendar

HERE

This Week (8/30 to 9/2)

A few updates for this week:

• Meet Tuesday  Our meet Tuesday is at Allegan.  We will be meeting in the parking lot next to the pool at 3:00 and departing at 3:15.  We are using parent transportation, and have enough parents signed up to accomodate the team.  If you plan on taking your swimmer on your own, please call or email me at some point today.  Allegan IS providing an after-meet meal!  Warm-ups begin at 4:00, with the meet starting at 5:00.
• Wednesday Practice Change  We will be practicing on Wednesday from 8:00 to 10:00 am, as I have Open House at Baseline Wednesday afternoon.  Sorry for the short notice!  Hopefully, we can all be flexible with the change.
• Thursday/Friday  We will be practicing from 8:00 to 11:00 as the calendar states. 
• Suits  They came in today, so we'll have them for the meet tomorrow!

If you have any questions, feel free to email or call me!

Calendar, Clothes, and Contact Infomation

Calendar The calendar can be accessed HERE. As soon as the divers get their season practice figured out, I will add those times to the calendar as well.  

Clothes Each swimmer can get a team sweatshirt and team sweatpants.  Just the sweatshirt is $30.00.  If you want the sweatshirt/sweatpants combo, the cost is $49.  These prices include $4.00 for printing the last name on the back of the sweatshirt.  If you or your swimmer does not want her last name on the back, you can subtract $4.00 from each of the prices listed above.  Swimmers are to give their sizes to Dea, Alison, or Jocelyn by tomorrow.  They need the money by next Tuesday (8/30).  Checks payable to Tracy Hiatt.  

Contact Info Tomorrow, I will be passing out team contact information to each swimmer (I'd rather not post it here online where it's more public!).  Make sure it comes home!

That's all for now.  Thanks for checking the blog!

First Update - A LONG One!

Welcome to the new blog for South Haven Swimming & Diving!

Here are the updates for the week:

• Diving Coach  Yes, we now have one!  I'd like to welcome Justin Hulsebos as the new South Haven Diving Coach.  Coach Hulsebos comes to us from Olivet College, where he was a two-time NCAA DIII national qualifier and graduated from in '09.  He went to high school in Wayland.  Currently, he is living in South Haven and working for All State Insurance.  We are excited to have him on board!
• New Diver  Speaking of diving, we also have a new diver!  Kayleigh Townsend, a sophomore, will be joining us from Las Vegas.  She begins practice tomorrow.  Welcome, Kayleigh!
• Practice Schedule  On Wednesday and Thursday, swimmers will be practicing from 8:00 to 11:00.  On Friday, we will be practicing from 1:00 to 3:30 because I have new-teacher orientation in the morning.  Divers will be practicing on Wednesday at 7:00, and will figure out a new practice schedule with Coach Hulsebos.
• Suits  Our suit order should be in by this Friday.  The suits cost $55, checks payable to South Haven High School Athletics.  Girls must turn in their money in order to get their suit.  
• Concessions  Those who signed up to work the booster concessions for the first football game this Friday (8/27) should be getting a reminder call from Mary McDaniel.  I know we did not fill the volunteer list for our other two games in October, so please contact her if you're able to work one or both of them.   
• Team Wear  The captains are putting together an order for team sweatshirts and sweatpants.  As soon as I get more information, I will post it.

Make sure to add this blog to your bookmarks and/or sign-up to follow it.  I think it's the most efficient way for me to disseminate information.  Look for more to come!