Divisionals Meet This Saturday and a Secret!

July 30 – Division III Championships @South Carroll. Directions to Divisionals Meet. Theme: Cops n Robbers. Divisional Warm Ups begin at 8 a.m. exactly. Please have your swimmers at South Carroll between 7:30 – 7:45 a.m.

Do you have money for the gifts for the coaches OR the swim team reps? Give the $$ to Jill Berry at Divisionals. She will be at the meet through the relay events.

A huge congratulations to all swimmers who will swim at the Division III Championships! Go Wahoos!
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Sssshhhhh...It's a Secret!
Coach Justin and the Assistant and Junior Coaches have a secret up their sleeves! Can you keep a secret from your kids?!

Tonight the coaches will be delivering a super colorful and way cool sign for your Divisional Swimmer! Yes, that’s right Coach Michelle and Coach Rebecca, and a team of swim moms have created a large poster for each Divisional Swimmer!

Later tonight — after 9 p.m. when all of our swimmers are in bed getting a good night’s sleep before tomorrow’s Divisionals — the Wahoos coaching team will deliver a poster to your home for each of the Divisional Swimmers. As you leave your home tomorrow morning don’t forget to look for the poster AND bring the poster to the Divisionals Meet. We will hang all the posters on the fence when we arrive at South Carroll.

Please note: If you live on a private driveway or have a hard-to-find home, the coaches will place the sign in a prominent location. Look for it!

LAST CHANCE TO CONTRIBUTE TO GIFTS FOR COACHES!

Last chances to contribute to the gifts for coaches!

• I’ll be at the Novice Meet tonight collecting money. If you can't find me you can give the $$ to my husband, Jim Berry.
• I’ll be at practice tomorrow morning collecting money. 
• You can give $$ to Lindsay Hough as well. 

 We will be giving the gifts to coaches at Wednesday’s nights End-of-Year Party. Thanks for a great season!

-- Jill Berry

West Howard Swim Team News July 23, 2011

Practice Schedule for Next Week

Practice will be held next week for Straehle and Divisional swimmers only. Practice will be held every day.

• All “early” swimmers should plan on practicing at 7:45 a.m. to 9 a.m. -- mostly 13 and over swimmers.
• All other 8-U, 9-10, 11-12, etc. will practice from 9 a.m, to 10 a.m. 

There will be no Wahoopalooza on Friday.

Novice, Straehle, and Divisionals

A huge congrats to all the Wahoos who will swim at the Straehle on Wednesday and the Divisionals on Saturday! The divisional line up will be complete and posted on Sunday on the West Howard Swim Club website.

Upcoming Meets

July 23 -- Last Home Meet v. South Carroll. 7:30 a.m. Warmups. We will celebrate our senior swimmers: Rebecca Kasda, Bryan Pelkey, and Michelle Skroupa. Theme: Farmers.

July 25 – Novice Meet @Wynnewood Pool. Warmups are at 4 p.m. Meet starts at 5 p.m. You can purchase a t-shirt at the meet. Theme: Rock n Roll. Directions to Novice Meet.

July 27 – Straehle Meet @Four Seasons Swim Club. $4/event. Give $ to Mary Pat Jordan by 7/23. T-shirts – Pre-order $13. Theme: Rock n Roll. Directions to Straehle Meet.

July 30 – Division III Championships @South Carroll. $4/event. Give $ to Kristie Baldwin. T-shirts – Pre-order $13. The top 4 swimmers in each race are eligible for Divisionalsa. Directions to Divisionals Meet. Theme: Cops n Robbers.

End-of-Year Party

July 27 – @ West Howard Swim Club. 6 p.m.-9 p.m. West Howard will provide hot dogs, hamburgers, and pulled pork sandwiches. A-J – bring a salad or side dish to feed 10. K-Z – bring a dessert. Swimmers will be honored at the party.

Coach Gifts -- At the end-of-the-year party, we will award gifts to Coach Justin and Assistant Coaches Matt, Rebecca, and Michelle. Suggested donation $10/family. Give $ to Jill Berry and Lindsay Hough.

Did you know that we have Junior Coaches this season? Eight of our 15-18 swimmers are volunteering their time this season. We welcome: Amanda, Meg, Ian, Amelia, Clay, Cassie, Bryan, and Katie!

For more swim team news, go to: http://www.WestHowardSwimClub.com or sign up to view photos from the swim season at http://westhowardswimteam2011.shutterfly.com/ (Please note the correction to the Shutterfly url.)

Best of luck to all swimmers! And, a huge thank you all parents who volunteered, contributed food and drinks, or provided support for your swimmers. We appreciate all you do to make the Wahoos the best it can be!

Thanks, Coach Justin for a great season of Wahoos swimming! Go Wahoos!

What's Up, Wahoos?

A huge congrats to all the Wahoos who made it to the Straehle on Wednesday and Divisionals on Saturday! 

The divisional line up will be complete and posted on Sunday on the West Howard Swim Club website.

Practice Next Week

Practice will be held next week for Straehle and Divisional swimmers only. Practice will be held every day.

All “early” swimmers should plan on practicing at 7:45am to 9:00am -- mostly 13 and over swimmers. 

All other 8-U, 9-10, 11-12, etc. will practice from 9:00am to 10:00am. 

There will be no Wahoopalooza on Friday.

Best of luck to all swimmers!

Wahoos Swam Hard

The second to last meet of the season was glorious. Yes, the result was not what we had hoped. But the weather could not have been more perfect for swimming. Warm temperatures coupled with a refreshing breeze allowed swimmers to do their best.

Our swimmers worked hard from practice laps to dives off the starting blocks. Many earned points for the team. Many improved their times. Although the result was not what we wanted, all did their best.

A key change this season is team comraderie. Wahoo swimmers have always exhibited team spirit. You can't help, but notice the way that the kids parade in to the pool at home or away. Their cheers -- old and new -- show a group of swimmers who are working together as a team.

From the first swim meet our family participated in eight years ago, I still get fired up hearing the V-I-C-T-O-R-Y cheer. This season, under the helm of new Coach Justin Owens, the team now sing a Hawaiian-type cheer, in addition to the old cheer. The kids start chanting quietly from down on their knees. The volume increases as the swimmers rise to a standing position. I am proud of how our swimmers work together both in the pool and out.

One more regular season meet to go. Wahoos host South Carroll next Saturday. GO WAHOOS!

WEST HOWARD SWIM TEAM NEWS – July 2011

Upcoming Meets...

July 23 -- Last Home Meet v. South Carroll. 7:30 a.m. Warmups. We will celebrate our senior swimmers: Rebecca, Bryan & Michelle. Theme: Farmers.

July 25 – Novice Meet @Wynnewood Pool. See signup sheet on board. $3.50/event. Give $ to Debbie O’Byrne. Theme: Rock n Roll.

July 27 – Straehle Meet @Four Seasons Swim Club. $4/event. Give $ to Mary Pat Jordan. Theme: Rock n Roll. T-shirts – Pre-order $13.

July 30 – Division III Championships @South Carroll. Theme: Cops n Robbers. $4/event. Give $ to Kristie Baldwin. T-shirts – Pre-order $13. The top 3 swimmers in each race are eligible for divisionals.

End-of-Year Party

July 27 – @West Howard Swim Club. 6 p.m.-9 p.m. West Howard will provide hot dogs, hamburgers, and pulled pork sandwiches. A-J – bring a salad or side dish to feed 10. K-Z – bring a dessert. Swimmers will be honored at the party.

Coach Gifts -- At the end-of-the-year party, we will award gifts to Coach Justin and Assistant Coaches Matt, Rebecca, and Michelle. Suggested donation $10/family. Give $ to Jill Berry and Lindsay Hough.

Did you know that we have Junior Coaches this season? Eight of our 15-18 swimmers are volunteering their time this season. We welcome: Amanda, Meg, Ian, Amelia, Clay, Cassie, Bryan, and Katie!

For more swim team news, go to: http://www.WestHowardSwimClub.com or sign up to view photos from the swim season at http://westhowardswimteam2011.shutterfly.com/ (Please note the correction to the Shutterfly url.)

Practice Times for This Week

Saturday was a great day! The weather was glorious. Not too hot. Not rainy. The perfect day for time trials.

I loved listening to the new cheers mixed in with the old V-I-C-T-O-R-Y cheer. The kids were really enthusiastic about the new cheers. Loud, too! We're going to be a force to be reckoned with at Saturday's meet! A mix of old and new may be the theme for this summer's swim season.

Speaking of new...the new swimmers are a welcome addition to the Wahoos family. Welcome new swim team families!

Practice times for this week [June 20-24]
Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday
12:30 – 1:30 ages 13 and over
1:30 – 2:15 ages 11 -12
2:15 – 3:00 ages 9 -10
3:00 – 3:30 ages 8 & under

Thursday – Tie Dyeing immediately after practice!!! [Thursday is the first day of swimming after school ends for Howard County]
7:45 – 9:00 ages 13 and over
9:00 – 10:00 ages 11-12
10:00 – 11:00 ages 9-10
11:00 – 11:30 ages 7-8
11:00 – 11:30 6 & under

Have your swimmer bring a white t-shirt to Thursday's practice for tie dyeing. An old West Howard Wahoos shirt would work perfectly.

NEW Time for Friday's Practice
Friday Fun Practice – It’s Friday, Friday, Friday...Pancake Breakfast immediately after practice!!!
7:45-8:30 ages 11 and over
8:30-9:15 ages 10 and under
9:15- 10:30 WAHOOPALOOZA

Don't forget to sign up to bring something to the Pancake Breakfast!