Back to School

Just wanted to drop everyone a quick note and wish you all a safe and healthy back to school this fall!

I started back last week with band camp, and I know that Jon and Alayna are either back, or on their way shortly.

While not entirely swimming related, I will be student teaching in Henrico County this spring (as an elementary and high school music teacher).  I might even have some of you in my classes.  To commemorate this journey, I have started a new blog that I will be using to post daily photos and video from my student teaching, both as a personal diary of my experiences, but also as a way for others to follow along.  

Each day will feature a special tie or outfit, so it should be fun!

I am thinking Straight Tie Tuesday and No Tie Friday, but those are just a couple ideas.  Just expect lots of bow ties.

The site is mrticklesties.blogspot.com.

Have a great school year!

Thank You!

The Tigersharks finished the 2012 regular season with a winning record of 4-2.  This record is due to the incredible drive and determination of our swimmers.  Collectively, the Tigersharks dropped more than 720 seconds of time!  With most races lasting less than a minute, this is an astonishing amount of time to drop. 

At the Championship meet, TVW took 5^th in our division.  This was a great trip for our qualifying swimmers.  Times were dropped even further than the regular season, and many of our swimmers took home some very impressive Champs medallions.  The Tigersharks scored 340 points at this meet, placing us 20^th overall, between four divisions.  This was five places and 89 points better than last year.  A great finish to the 2012 season!

A huge thank you goes out to the Tigershark parents who helped make this season possible.  Swim team not be nearly as successful without the support and dedication of our team parents.

Also, thank you to our swimmers.  Goals were set, times were dropped, records were beaten, and smiles were had.  It was a pleasure to coach you all this season and you really made this summer fun for your coaches!  GO TIGERSHARKS!

Sincerely,

Coach Philip, Coach Jon & Coach Alayna

Champs Warm-ups

Saturday:

• 8:45-9:00 a.m.

Sunday:

• 8:15-8:25 a.m.

It is important that you arrive on time so that your swimmer can warm-up.  For Saturday, there will be NO warm-up and cool-down lanes, therefore swimmers will have very precious time in the water.  For Sunday, warm-ups are only ten minutes, and so arriving on time ensures that the team can get in an effective warm-up.

Monday:  

• Morning Champs Practice 9:30-10:30 a.m.
• Afternoon Champs Practice 5:00-6:00 p.m. & 6:00-7:00 p.m.

Tuesday:

• Kings Dominion Trip- Meet at @TVW at 10:00 a.m.
• Any swimmer planning to ride with a coach will need to confirm with Coach Philip in advance.  All 10 & Unders should have rides with other parents who will be their driver/chaperone for the day.
• Please purchase tickets in advance.
• Lunch will be in the park or at your car, depending on your group.  The coaches will have meeting spots and times for lunch for those interested in "Lunch with a Coach".
• NO MORNING CHAMPS PRACTICE!
• Afternoon Champs Practice- Coach Philip is leaving Kings Dominion at 5:30 p.m. and will coach practice for an hour for any interested swimmers.  Please confirm in advance!

Wednesday:

• Morning Champs Practice 9:30-10:30 a.m.
• Swim Team Banquet 6:00-10:00 p.m.

Thursday:

• Morning Champs Practice 9:30-10:30 a.m.
• NO AFTERNOON PRACTICE!

Friday:

• NO PRACTICES!

End of Season Banquet RSVPs

Please check your email and respond to the End of Season Banquet ASAP.  Allison Unowitz is trying to plan for numbers and will be ordering food Sunday.  She needs your RSVPs so we can ensure that everyone has enough to eat.  Thanks!

Congratulations Tigersharks!

Last night was an incredible showing of how tough you all are.  You continued to drop even more time and that shows how much you all want to be the best!

The final score for the meet was 960.5 (TVW) to 820.50 (Wembly).  That is an AWESOME 120 point victory for us!  

Finishing the season with a 4-2 record is great!  Jon, Alayna, and Philip are so proud of your hard work in the pool.  

Champs qualifiers practices start this afternoon at 5:00 p.m.  Mites and Midgets at 5:00 p.m.; Juniors, Intermediates, & Seniors at 6:00 p.m.  See you all at the pool!

For the rest of you, enjoy some well earned time off.  We will post more details in the coming days about Kings Dominion and the End-of-Season Banquet.

Tigersharks Time Drops (2012)

Just FYI...

As a team, we have dropped 660.27 seconds of time from Week 1 to Week 5... that is SUPER impressive!  That is 11 minutes!  

Think about that... that is 1/6 of an hour...

Let this be your inspiration to swim EVEN FASTER for the last meet!  Many of you are on the very edge of a Champs qualifying time (at least JV or faster).  Many still are very fast novice times who could easily skip over the Advanced division and straight into a JV time!

Swim fast Tigersharks!

Champs Practice Schedule (begins after Wembly meet)

Champs Practice Schedule (FINALIZED):

• Afternoon (beginning July 18-ending Monday, July 23)
• 5:00-6:00 p.m. Mites & Midgets
• 6:00-7:00 p.m. Juniors, Intermediates & Seniors
• Morning (beginning July 19-ending Thurs., July 26)
• 9:30-10:30 a.m. ALL

It's OFFICIAL!

Mark your calendars for Tuesday, July 24.  

The TVW Tigersharks will be invading King's Dominion.  

Water Rides.

Roller Coasters.

Awesome Entertainment.

What more could you ask for?

Times, pricing and other details will be announced shortly.  Please stay posted for more information.

Ribbon Ceremony

We will do ribbons during our normal morning practice times.  We will have doughnuts and fun swim. 


For those that cannot make the morning, we will give ribbons out this afternoon.

Intermediate & Senior Pancake Practice AND Pre-Meet Fun Days

On Monday morning, the Intermediates and Seniors will have pancake practice at their 10:00 a.m. practice.  If any parents can help make pancakes while we swim, please email Coach Philip today.  We also need volunteers who can purchase chocolate chips, syrup, and pancake mix for us.  If you can help, please email Philip.  Thanks!


The Mites and Midgets will have their pre-meet fun day on Wednesday, July 11.  We will go see Brave at 1:40 p.m. at Regal Short Pump.  Please meet outside the ticket window in the atrium at 1:20 p.m.


The Juniors, Intermediates, & Seniors will be going to Lazer Quest on Tuesday.  Meet at TVW at 12:15 p.m.  We will head to Lazer Quest and play two games (1:20 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.).  Please bring $20, which covers two games and snacks.  If you can help drive, please call Coach Philip (804-658-6295).

Records Broken in 2012

So far we have had eight record breaking swims during this year's season.  The females are really tearing it up, with seven records coming from the girls of TVW.  All records broken are Meters records.  Full records listings can be found on the Records page.  Congratulations:

• Female 8 & Under 25 Breast
• Taylor Betke
• Female 9-10 50 Free
• Maddie Unowitz
• Female 9-10 100 Free
• Maddie Unowitz
• Female 9-10 50 Fly
• Maddie Unowitz
• Female 9-10 100 IM
• Maddie Unowitz
• Female 13-14 100 Free
• Rachel Trevillian
• Female 13-14 100 Breast
• Rachel Trevillian
• Male 6 & Under 25 Free
• Hank Piersol

Congratulations

Congratulations Tigersharks!  You all swam so well on Tuesday night, and the results prove it.  Winning the meet with only a forty point margin...that's impressive.  Keep up the hard work!


The results of your hard work are showing.  We have an impressive number of Champs qualifiers, and an even greater number of swimmers on the cusp of a JV time.  Our team even boasts 77 of the league Top 50 Times.  


Our records from last year show the great work you all have been doing.  We are already past our record from this point last year (a 3-1 record this year and a 1-3 record last year).  


My promise still stands.  Win our division at Champs, we will shave my head!  Good luck!


Continue working hard, showing our team spirit, and demonstrating good sportsmanship!  

Schedule: Week of July 4th

July 3: 

• Morning Practice: 9am (Mites, Midgets & Juniors), 10am (Intermediates & Seniors)
• Away Meet @ TVRA: Arrive 4:45-5:00.  Warm-ups 5:20-5:40.  Meet starts at 6:00pm.

July 4:

• NO PRACTICES

July 5:

• No morning practices
• Afternoon Practice: 4:15-5:00pm (Pre-Team), 5:00-5:45pm (Mites), 6:00-7:00pm (Midgets & Juniors), 7:00-8:00pm (Intermediates & Seniors)

July 6:

• Morning Practice: 9am (Mites, Midgets & Juniors), 10am (Intermediates & Seniors)
• No afternoon practices

Power is BACK ON!!!

Power at TVW has been restored.  

There WILL be afternoon practice at TVW today following our normal practice schedule.  

Practice Cancelled: TUESDAY June 26th

Due to a power outage that is still affecting parts of the West End, including our own TVW, we will not have morning practice.  Please stay posted for further updates.


Our pizza party for this afternoon for the Mites and Midgets is CANCELED!  Information on re-scheduling will be announced shortly.  

Olympic Trials

For those of you that enjoy watching great swimmers, the Olympic Trials are happening now in Omaha, Nebraska.  While I cannot take a field trip with all of you to view in person, we can all watch from the comfort of our own homes on NBC at 8 PM each evening.  Swimmers like Ryan Lochte, Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, and others are competing at near World Record pace for the chance to compete at the Olympics in London.  Only the top 2 from each event make it so it is a nail biting performance!  Enjoy!

GRAL Top 50

I have added a list of Tigershark swimmers who have broken into the Top 50 for the league for each event.  Congratulations to those swimmers.  We have many in this list.  It has been added as a new link on the righthand side of this page.

First Meet Photos

Photos from our first meet are available for purchase from our photographer, Krista Fidlow, from her website.  Previews and purchases can be made by clicking here.


Anyone with photos of their own from our meet can send them to Coach Philip to be posted here on the website.  Thanks!

Congratulations Tigersharks!

Congratulations on a great meet (our first win of the season!)


Check the Meet Results page for full results.  We will distribute ribbons after our stroke clinic this weekend (finishing at 10 a.m.).


Please check the page this weekend for information on pre-meet fun days, report times, etc. for our coming meet.  


Thanks!


Philip

Sincere Apologies

I want to apologize for the confusion seen this morning at swim practice.  There was an issue where multiple schedules were being sent out and there was issue as to which one was correct.  Just to be clear, the practice schedules can be viewed to your right on the tab Practice Schedules.  These are correct and detail the correct times for morning practice.  


Thanks!


Coach Philip

Pre-Meet Fun Day #1! (June 20th)

12 p.m. - Juniors, Intermediates & Seniors 

• Lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings OR Johnny Rockets (will vote at practice Wednesday morning).  Rides can be arranged if necessary to the restaurant, but not back (as coaches are staying for the movie).

2 p.m. - Mites & Midgets

• Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted @ Regal Short Pump.  Please meet in the atrium at 1:30 p.m. to purchase tickets.  

Please remember that report for the meet is from 4:45 p.m. until 4:55 p.m.  Remember to factor this into your schedule if attending the movie.  Thanks!  

School's Out For SUMMER!

Swimmers and Parents,


As we near the end of the school year, here is a quick look ahead to the end of this week and the beginning of next week.  Per usual, the calendar on this site is a great reference for any questions you may have about events.  This letter is also FULL of important information, so please read carefully.


This Friday we will NOT have swim practice.  Your children will want to enjoy the pool on their last day of school, not spend their afternoon with me swimming laps.


We have our second clinic this weekend to work on backstroke technique, mechanics, starts, turns, and finishes.  We will follow the same schedule as last weekend: 8 am - 9 am Mites and Midgets; 9 am - 10 am Juniors, Intermediates, & Seniors.


We resume practices on Monday morning with the beginning of morning practices.  The schedule for morning practices has been added to the new tab on the side of the website.  Please review that schedule carefully before Monday morning.


Afternoon practices continue at their normal times, however, we will not have afternoon practices on swim meet days.


For future swim meets, please continue to use the Meet Absence Form found on the website to sign out swimmers.  This will save a lot of hassle for me and Jon as we do meet entries, most importantly, relays.


Please look at the website starting Sunday evening for information on Wednesday's pre-meet fun day, the meet Wednesday night, and post-meet ribbon ceremony.  All information can be found on the swim team calendar.


If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.


For those who have not had a chance to view the website, it is a wealth of information and can be accessed by clicking HERE.


Thanks!


Coach Philip

Swim Team Update: June 11

Please note, ribbons will be distributed for the 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. practices at 6:00 p.m. Monday afternoon.  We will have popsicles and get our ribbons!


Ribbons will be distributed for the 7:00 practice during their practice.


There is no meet this week.  Our next meet is June 20 at home.


Because school lets out Friday, there will be no Friday afternoon practice.


Saturday morning, we will have our second clinic.  We will focus on backstroke stroke, starts, turns, and finishes.


If you took photos at the meet this weekend, please send them to Coach Philip so they can be posted on the website.

Meet Results have been posted here.

First Meet Information

First Meet Information


Events should be posted under Meet Information by this evening.  They will also be shared at practice and at the Freestyle Clinic on Saturday morning.

• Pool Address: 13550 Causeway Drive, Richmond, VA 23233

• Seating: Seating for the away team is located at the end of the pool opposite the starting blocks. Please bring deck chairs for your use.  Besides Table Workers, the Clubhouse is off-limits to parents and swimmers during the meet.

• Check-In:  Please arrive between 7:30-8:00am for check-in.  THIS IS A CHANGE FROM EARLIER!  Fox Hall wants all of our swimmers checked-in by 8am!

• Concessions:  There will be a number of concessions available at the meet.  There will be breakfast options such as fruit, bagels, muffins, and assorted beverages.

• Weather:  In the case of inclement weather, we will wait in our cars.

WELCOME: First Official Post of the NEW Coach's Corner Blog!

Tigershark Swimmers and Parents,


This new blog is a great opportunity for us to share information and celebrate successes during this season.  My plan is to update this with details about weekly fun days, first places, team records, meet results, schedule updates, etc. during the season.  


First, as weather has already proved to be an issue twice this season, please note that our weather policy is to call the pool.  When you hear Jeff Peterson's message, please press 1 and you will hear our swim team updates.  Jon and I will also try to get an email out to parents in the event that practice is cancelled.


Second, things are off to a great start.  We look forward to seeing our successes at the first meet!  Everyone has learned so much already and strokes are looking really strong.  Keep up the hard work and it will continue to pay off.


This Saturday, June 9, we will have our first clinic at the pool.  We will review Freestyle, as many of us will be swimming that this weekend, or at some point during the season.  Starts, turns, finishes, and stroke will all be reviewed during this hour long clinic.  The Mites and Midgets will meet at 8am and the Juniors, Intermediates, and Seniors will meet at 9am.  


Following the clinic, we are hoping to have a short pre-meet FUN DAY!  We will have music, some games, and a celebration prior to our Sunday met.


For the meet this weekend, please plan to be on deck at 8:15 so we can begin warmups promptly.  Fox Hall has a much shallower diving area than our generous 12-foot well, so we need everyone to have a chance on the blocks. For this and future meets, please fill out an absence form (at the top right of this page) so the coaches can enter swimmers appropriately in their events.  


Lastly, the calendar for the week will be posted on this page, and changes will be posted as well.  I will usually try to update around the same time.  If you fill in your email address in the box to the right, you can receive an update when something new is posted.  Thanks!


Philip