Hello Gator Families! 

What a great meet at Columbine Knolls yesterday! This week our team won, with a team score of GVR:774/CKST:512, and once again our swimmers set PR's, earned State and Ken Caryl Invitational (KCI) qualifying times, and several kids completed their first races! You can see the meet results on the website! 

Next Meet: Our next meet is this Saturday, June 18th. It will be our first home meet! This will be a tri meet against Bear Creek and the Grant Ranch Baracudas. Please make sure you submit the races your swimmer will be competing in by 11 am on Wednesday in order to participate. To sign up: Go to the "Schedule/Signup" tab and click on "Meet Sign-up Instructions". If you will not be attending, please make sure to mark that. Warmup starts at 6:00am for the upper division (Silver, Junior, Senior) and 6:30am for lower division (Green & Purple). If you are volunteering, make sure you find Kirsten Suazo to check in. If you are on the second shift, please listen for the announcement for volunteers to meet before the break, which happens after event number 48.

Team Pictures: Team pictures are this Tuesday, June 14th. Pictures begin at 8 am so please make sure ALL team members are present at 8 am. If you want to pre-order pictures you can use this link: https://forms.gle/GWFqsnUp6DAG2DDN9 or to find the link on the website, go to the "Home" page and click on the link under Team Picture Info. Individual photos will happen after the group photo. We will still hold practice, with some slight modifications. The Senior, Junior and Silver groups will end at 8 for the group photo. The Green group will begin practice immediately following the group photo and do their individual pictures after practice. The two purple groups will do individual photos following the group photo, and then practice at their normal time.

Swim Across America: you received an email from Coach Meagan this past week about our participation in fundraising for Swim Across America. Our actual Endurance Challenge event will be on July 6th, but you can start now by setting up an account and sending it out to friends and family, or bringing change to practice for the penny jars! Fundraising is totally optional, but if you want to participate, it gives our kids another purpose for swimming and provides service to others, which is one of our team values. Please continue to look for information about SAA as we get closer! 

Buddy Forms: we are living in a digital age, and realized that it might be easiest to update our Buddy Forms in an electronic format. We know many of you have already filled out the forms and we have gotten those to your buddies folders, but if you are able to, please complete this Google form:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdB6U2y4dpoCz6Wtwq1RMGxe1UThdpp3SuZy0LS_4wpvmhNMQ/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0. We will be sharing the results with everyone so if you happen to lose the form, you can always find it!

Iron Man and Swim Goals: It can be important to set swim goals with your child. These goals vary by each swimmer and their ability. For some it might be to qualify for KCI or State, for some it could be to complete a particular stroke without disqualifying, or for our younger swimmers it might be to participate in a meet and just be able to get across the pool on their own! Talk to your kids about what their swim goals are this season, and help them set some realistic goals for themselves and work towards them. They can also tell their coaches at practice what their goals are so they can help them as well. We wanted to mention our Iron Man Award, which they can earn by completing legally (not disqualifying) every stroke available for their age group at some point during the season. This is a great way to try new events, and challenge themselves! 

Coaches Corner

Attitude

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life…. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill….The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day…. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.... we are in charge of our Attitudes.” ― Charles R. Swindoll

When we are faced with a challenging workout or a difficult task, the attitude we choose to embrace can either make it drudgery or purposeful. As a coach I have seen poor attitude lead to defeat before a race has even begun, and I have seen a positive outlook result in wonderful success. A positive attitude can turn a loss into an opportunity and a victory into even greater things. Maybe the greatest impact of our attitude is the effect it can have on others. With a positive attitude we can uplift and inspire those around us. Having a positive mindset is the first step in reaching our goals and it is a mark of great character. Let us choose each moment to have attitudes of joy, gratitude, and hope. Imagine what we might be able to accomplish!

Coach Meagan, Coach Avery, Coach Jackie and your Junior Coaches

Ongoing reminders: 

• Sign up for volunteer shifts if you haven't yet, every family must choose 3.
• If you would like to purchase a swim cap they are $5 for latex and $15 for silicone. Please email Jillian if you want one, and we'll arrange a way to get it to you. 
• Every swimmer must be able to swim the length of the pool unassisted by the coaches, in order to participate in the meets. Our coaches will assess this each Monday and Coach Meagan will email you if your child is in this category. If your child is not present at practice on Monday and you are unsure of whether he/she is eligible to swim in the meet, please email Meagan.  
• Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA): Every Monday morning from 6:45-7 am athletes from our team meet for a time of devotion, discussion, and prayer. Anyone is welcome to join the FCA group at any time. Please feel free to reach out to Coach Meagan if you have any questions.
• Meet/Event Photos: Many pictures are taken at every meet and most of the other team events. To access these, go to the "Meet/Event Photos" page under the "Home" tab and click on the "Governor's Ranch Shutterfly" link.
• You can get discounted tickets to Water World anytime this summer. You can find this information under the "Resources" tab on our website.
• Each week we will set out a box of folders at practice where you will find the ribbons your swimmer earned at the meet as well as anything else we need to get to you.

As always, please reach out if you have any questions!