Hi Team-

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. The rain yesterday was kind of a bummer but our Sunday turned out to be a pretty nice one. On Sundays I often reflect upon the past week and looking back we had a pretty successful week as a team! We had two home meets with snack bar and many people stepping up to fill much needed volunteer roles! Thank you parents and caregivers, without your help we could not run these meets! I am so grateful for you and all your hard work! We have another one on Tuesday, at BTC against Vergennes, so get excited! Please declare whether your swimmer is attending the meet, maybe leave a note for me with reminders, and sign up for jobs.  

I love seeing the can do attitude in both the swimmers and the parents at these meets. It warms my heart to see swimmers stepping up to the blocks to complete their first legal 25 Butterfly, like Declan Laraja our newest 8&Under to complete the gauntlet that is the 8&Under 25 Butterfly. Way to go Declan! Also a shout out goes to swimmers competing in their first 50 Butterfly, like Anna Andriano! Awesome job Anna! Also Skylar Gallese did her first 50 back and free in the 11-12 age group. She was worried about the turn and the distance, but kept working in practice and swam wonderful first races at the 50 distance. I know these swimmers had their reservations about doing these events but they faced the challenge head on and did phenomenally. They should be proud of their efforts, getting up on those blocks and racing your hardest is not easy. It takes a lot of courage and strength. These swimmers demonstrate that with the right attitude we can all do hard things and achieve success. This is an inspiring message to take into the short work week!

This week is going to be a short week of swimming. We will have a normal practice schedule Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday the 3rd, we will have regular morning practice but no afternoon practices due to the Burlington fireworks in the evening downtown and the general bustle this creates during our usual practice time. There will be no practice on the 4th of July and no Friday Funday on the 5th of July! Please have as much fun as you want without me! So to recap, after morning practice groups on Wednesday the 3rd, the next time I will see you all at practice will be Monday the 8th! So be safe, have fun, and get in lots of swimming time at the lake, BTC, or whatever body of water that is most convenient to you.  

In wrapping up this lengthy email I want to put in another plug for volunteering and getting involved. Here is the volunteer sign up form. We need support for many projects and events that happen outside of normal practice times. These extras help foster team spirit and provide other opportunities for our swimmers to form lasting connections to each other. These extras will not happen without a large amount of volunteer support. Thank you in advance for checking out the form, signing up and getting involved! Maybe it is just me, but often I find the more I put into an endeavor the more investment and reward I feel in participation. Summer swim needs your investment and all of us will prosper with your help! Thank you everyone! Have a wonderful evening and see you at the pool!

Coach Hilary