Good afternoon, Barracudas!

I have an array of information to let you know about in this email, so, per usual, read it all and then reach out if you have any questions.

Last Meet & Next Meet

Our meet against Gettysvue Country Club on Monday was awesome! The rain held off, the kids had fun and swam fast, and the atmosphere was definitely what summer league swimming is all about. Thank you to everyone for contributing to our ongoing dual meet winning streak. 

Our next swim meet is next Thursday, June 26th against Whittington Creek again at home. It's not too late to start RSVPing on SwimTopia for that. Team and individual photos should precede the meet around 4 o'clock; the exact time will be communicated later. In addition to photos, since this is our last home meet of the season, we will be recognizing seniors midway through the meet. So, if you (or your child) just graduated from high school and is in their last summer of competing in GKAISA, I need you to let me know! We have an idea of who those kids are, but we want to make sure nobody is accidentally missed.

Ribbon Mix-Up

Like I said in my Remind message, it's been brought to our attention that some ribbons from Monday's meet were printed and stickered based on overall place rather than heat place like normal. To be honest, I've somehow been clueless about how ribbons have worked until this last meet, so this is a learning experience for me as well. Nobody is at fault for this mix-up. We think SwimTopia got glitchy and stopped working correctly. That being said, ribbons are a big deal to the kiddos, and we want to make sure they've earned their correct awards. So, if your kid's ribbons aren't how they should be, please return them to me before the end of the week, explain the issue, and we'll get them the right ones at the beginning of next week. If you think their ribbons are missing entirely, message me about that, too. Thanks for your patience on that!

Trucker Hats

If you would like to purchase a JCSC trucker hat, text Andra Hutchins at (865) 604-5474 and she'll get you one with our second order of those. You will need to let her know by Thursday at 9 PM if you'd like one! 

Canceled Practice Tomorrow

In case you haven't seen or heard about Knoxville's Grown-Up Swimming league... It's a thing, it's a lot of fun, and the majority of your coaches who aren't still swimming in college are doing it. Some of you parents are doing it, too! My own mom is! Anyway, we're hosting a meet for this adult swimming thing tomorrow afternoon at the Jefferson City Outdoor Pool, so practice then is canceled. We will still have practice tomorrow morning, though, so please come to that if you're able. As for the meet, you're more than welcome to come watch, cheer, and/or help out.

Club Talon Starts & Turns Clinic

The previous head coach of JCSC and current head coach of Carson-Newman Swimming, Ben Young, is offering a "starts and turns clinic" at the end of the month through their USA Swimming program Club Talon. I've spoken with Ben and this clinic is most ideal for any swimmer who already knows how to do all the dives and types of turns and is seeking refinement and improvement. Ben coached many of the current JCSC coaches and/or coached us on how to coach, so we fully support any of y'all who wish to sign up for this clinic and get better. Below are his details on the clinic. There's also a flyer attached to this email.

"As the season is well under way and we are nearing the rightfully named Tom Schumann Memorial City Championship, we would like to invite you to attend our STARTS + TURNS Clinic held at Carson-Newman University. Details are below: 

WHO - Led by Benjamin Young (current Head Coach at Carson-Newman) Offered to any and all swimmers that are currently registered members of the GKAISA family.

WHAT - Two days of instructional guidance geared towards starts and turns 

WHEN - There are 3 options... attend the "turns" session, attend the "starts" session, or attend BOTH! 

OPTION 1 ($30) --> TURNS CLINIC - JUNE 27 @ 6-8 PM 

OPTION 2 ($30) --> STARTS CLINIC - JUNE 28 @ 9-11 AM 

OPTION 3 ($50) --> ATTEND BOTH SESSIONS *all prices are per athlete 

WHERE - Maddox Student Activities Center 2130 S Branner Ave Jefferson City, TN 37760 

WHY - While training is ever-so-important, it can often leave coaches feeling like they didn't spend "enough" time on the details that go beyond training. So, let us take some additional time to slow down, get it right, and learn to execute more efficient and effective details during our races.. AKA our starts and turns. Moreso, as a past summer league swimmer and coach myself, I know that ALL of our blocks do not look the same from pool to pool, and when it comes time to using the blocks at CITY, swimmers often are left feeling uneasy. Let's take the time to properly teach HOW to use the blocks so that when your swimmer arrives at City, they are left feeling confident in how they started the race! 

HOW - Head over to our website (clubtalon.swimtopia.com) to register! Be sure to click the Register Now button and then choose the 2025 STARTS + TURNS CLINIC Registration. Thanks and look forward to seeing you there!"

Thank you! See you at the pool!

GO CUDAS!!!

Josh