Hello Gator Families! 

First of all, happy Father's Day to all of our amazing Gator Dads! We hope you are enjoying your day! 

We had a great meet at home yesterday! This week our team won, with a team score of GVR:1296/BC:892/GR:759, and once again our swimmers set PR's, earned State and KCI qualifying times, and several kids completed their first races in a meet! You can see the meet results on the website! 

Next Meets: Our next meets are broken into two parts. You recieved an email from Meagan explaining the difference between the Gator Open and the Ken Caryl Invitational.  

The Gator Open is this Wednesday at 7am at our Governor's Ranch pool. It will be a virtual meet, meaning that all swimmers will participate at their home pool, and then times from all teams will be combined for scoring. We invite our young swimmers who have not been able to participate in a meet yet to swim at the Gator Open! We will not have practice on Wednesday for swimmers not participating in the Gator Open, however we encourage everyone to come cheer on their teammates! 

The KCI will be held this Friday and Saturday at Ken Caryl. Meagan sent the meet timeline out, which is different from a normal meet. They are also on our website. You received an email yesterday if your swimmers qualified for this. We will not have practice on Friday, however we encourage everyone to come cheer on their teammates if they are not swimming! 

Race entries were due today at 2pm in order to participate in the Gator Open and The KCI. If you will not be attending, please make sure to mark that. If you missed this, please email Coavh Meagan immediately! 

Swim History in Swim inSwimTopia app: In the SwimTopia app there is a section where you can view all your swimmer(s) prior swim times. However, the default is for the times to be for 25 yard pools, not 25 meter pools. All the pools we swim in are meters, not yards. So the times look faster than what they actually are. To change to the correct size of pools just follow these steps:

Click on your swimmer's name > "Swim History" > "Converted" > "Course" > Select "Short Course Meters (SCM)" > "Done" > "Done"

Team Pictures: If you still want to order team pictures you can use this link: https://forms.gle/GWFqsnUp6DAG2DDN9. All orders are due by tomorrow at noon! 

Swim Across America: Our Endurance Challenge and SAA fundraiser event is approaching on July 6th! Please set up an account and send it out to friends and family if you want to participate in fundraising! You can also bring 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. 

To learn more about SAA and our team’s participation in the fight against pediatric cancer you can go to the Gator’s SAA website: https://www.swimacrossamerica.org/site/TR;jsessio...

If you would like to participate you have two options. You can either choose to make a donation to our team, or you can create your own page to send out to friends and family so they may donate under your swimmer’s name. To create your own page click the “Register” button and then “Join a Team” and type Governor’s Ranch Gators

Our practice schedule on July 6th will be: 

7 - 8 am Senior, Junior, Silver swim

8-9 am Green swim, upper division breakfast 

9-9:30 am Purple swim

9-10 am green and purple breakfast

10-10:15 am clean up 

This is a really fun day and parents are welcome to come watch. We will also be sending out a sign up genius to bring breakfast items for our swimmers. Please RSVP on the website for your swimmers if they will be participating in this day. 

Swimmer safety: this week a parent told us they noticed someone hanging around the pool during practice time who didn't seem to be associated with the team. We haven't seen him again, but we know several of our swimmers get to and from practice on their own, so it's a good reminder to discuss general awareness and personal safety with your kids. Our first priority is our swimmers safety so please always feel free to reach out if you ever notice anything suspicious. 

Buddy Forms: we have updated 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 also complete this Google form:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdB6U2y4dpoCz6Wtwq1RMGxe1UThdpp3SuZy0LS_4wpvmhNMQ/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0. The results are posted under resources on the website so you can always find it!

Upcoming Events: Make sure you mark your calendars for our team Movie Night at Grant (Ladybug) Park on June 28th and our Water World Day on July 12th!

Lost and Found: We have a growing collection of goggles and clothing that have been left behind at practices and meets. We put this out on the picnic table every day at practice. Please come check it out, especially if you know you are missing something! 

Coaches Corner

Perseverance

Just this morning I listened to someone speak on the topic of perseverance. He made the point that perseverance matters more than performance. He went on to define perseverance as, “the choice to keep doing what is right, even when it has not yet produced the results we are hoping for.”

In the context of swimming and athletics this might mean continuing to push through a difficult practice set, even when you are not making the interval. Or choosing to ask for help in mastering an event that you keep disqualifying in at meets. Or showing up to practice every morning when you’d rather stay in bed. 

We are often tempted to allow a problem or challenge determine our perspective and attitude. Sometimes we have a hard time seeing our problems or the challenges as temporary. We seem to think they will always stand in our way. However, if we continuously take small steps forward to face and overcome them, we will often find we conquer them without realizing it. This is perseverance. The sweetest victories are often those that are hardest won. If we experience victory without struggle or difficulty is a thin victory. “Character takes time and quick results do not produce lasting character.”  

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

Ongoing reminders:

• 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. 
• 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!