Introductory Letter from Coach Brian
Introductions
Welcome to the 2007 season of Womens Swimming and Diving. I am very
excited about the upcoming season. As this being my first year on the job, I
look forward to gaining knowledge of each of you, in the pool and out. This
season will be filled with learning experiences for both the swimmers and
the coach. It will also be filled with a lot of hard work, dedication, ups,
downs, wins, losses, and most importantly FUN!! Good luck throughout the
season and hopefully you will achieve everything you set forth to.
Philosophy
Before I begin talking about my philosophy of swimming I want to say
something about my background. I first started swimming competitively when I
was in Fifth grade, for the Walled Lake Swimsters Club. I swam there for
four years until I reached high school when I joined the Walled Lake Swim
Team. I enjoyed four successful seasons, getting excellent tutelage on all
four strokes and making it to League Finals in every year on the team. I
also spent my senior season as Captain. After high school I continued my
journey on to Purdue University, where I immediately joined the Purdue
Triathlon Club. I competed in various races in the triathlon club and still
train for them today. During my student teaching at Northridge Middle
School, I volunteered as a coach for the North Montgomery Mens and Womens
Swimming and Diving Team. After graduating from Purdue with a Bachelors
Degree in Social Studies Education, I came back home and became the
assistant coach for the Walled Lake Western Mens Swimming and Diving Team.
That summer I also became the assistant coach for the Orchard Valley Vipers,
where I am now currently the Head Coach. These are the places I learned how
to swim efficiently and use proper technique in all strokes. In the fall of
2005 I became the Head Coach of the Farmington High School Girls Swimming
and Diving Team. While here I improved on an already good team. We finished
in the top 20 in the state both years as a coach and received three
All-State awards. I also learned what it takes to be a head coach of a swim
team. I also helped out with the guys swim team at Farmington High School.
Throughout all these stops I have picked up a lot of valuable information
and formed my own view of how to run a successful swim team program. One of
the main components of a successful program is to provide oneself with
motivation through goals and the want to better oneself both within ones
sport and out. I plan on doing this through constant encouragement and
weekly meetings where the team talks and discusses their goals and what they
have done to achieve them. These meetings will provide an opportunity for
everyone to be aware of other teammates goals so they can help their
teammates. It will also be useful as a team bonding activity which is also
very important to a successful program. As far as the swimming part of my
coaching philosophy, I believe in swimming correctly. I believe it is
important to use drills and technique work. I do not like to overwork my
swimmers. My practices are generally around 6,000 to 8,000 yards, but are
very intense and fast. As far as discipline, I am strict, but fair with my
team. I will rarely yell at my team, but I will expect them to do as I say
and obey the rules of the team, otherwise there will be consequences.
Schedule
The first official practice will begin on August 13, 2007, however I
encourage all of you to start before that on your own! These practices will
be held at the Northville High School Pool at 8:00- 11:00 Monday through
Friday until school starts. Once school starts, practice will be held after
school; starting at 2:45 and lasting until 5:45. There will also be
occasional Saturday morning practices from 8:00 to 11:00 once school starts.
Once school starts there will be morning practices held from 5:45 to 6:45 on
Monday through Friday, however you are only required to go to three of the
five. I will provide a schedule of all the meets and where they will be
held. All meets and practices are subject to change in case of emergencies.
Practices
Practices are the key to becoming a successful swimmer. It is here where
you can fine tune your stroke, increase your speed and endurance, and try
new techniques that may work best for you. I take practices very seriously
and expect you to do the same. Each practice will be run in the same way
(except morning and Saturday practices). At 2:45 swimmers will start land
training which will consist of Pilates, abdominal work, and pushups. This
will end after 30 minutes, when we will have a team meeting where we will go
over the swimming workout for the day, and any other business that may need
to be taken care of. Practice will end around 5:45.
Varsity Letter
The biggest reward a swimmer can receive at the end of the season is
their varsity letter. Swimmers will earn their letter by achieving a certain
number of points based on attendance, points in a meet, improvement, and
whatever else the coach feels like giving them out for or taking them away.
The point system works as follows:
- Attendance- If the swimmer is at every practice, meet, or function,
they will receive 50 points. If they have any excused absences they will
only get 47 points. For each unexcused absence the swimmer will lose 5
points (and you can go in the negatives!) Attendance points carry on
from year to year.
- Points earned in a meet- however many points that swimmer earns for
us in a meet goes towards their varsity letter.
- Improvement- Every time a swimmer swims a P.R. (Personal Record)
they will receive an additional 2 points.
A swimmer MUST receive 150 points in order to receive their letter.
An excused absence is any time the swimmer has talked to the coach about
being absent PRIOR to the event, practice, function. If you have three
excused absences in a week, that counts as one unexcused and you will be
held out of the next meet. An unexcused absence is when the coach knows
nothing about the absence. Each unexcused absence results in a suspension of
the following meet!!! Athletes can be removed from the team if this becomes
a problem. You are also required to be at practice (excused or unexcused)
the day before a meet or else you will not be competing at that meet.
I also expect everyone to be on time and prepared when practice starts.
If you are tardy three times then that will count as an unexcused or excused
depending on why you were tardy. Being prepared means dressed for dry land
and ready to practice, mentally and physically.
Other
There are many other issues to address, here are a few:
Attire
Swimmers are required to wear full swimsuits (no two pieces). It is a
good idea to buy two, they wear out quickly. Swimmers also should have two
pairs of swimming goggles, a swim cap, a water bottle, a towel and anything
else they need in order to do their best at practice or in a meet. I also
suggest bring shorts and a T-shirt to wear while doing land work outs, a
stretching mat will also help.
Parents
Parent support is a big part of a winning swim program. I encourage all
parents to take a part in their childs sport. There are many things that
need to be done, such as preparing food after meets, organizing pasta
parties before meets, helping to run the meet, and much, much more. I hope
to be in contact frequently with parents.
Questions or Concerns
If any parent or swimmer has any questions or concerns regarding what has
been outlined in this packet, or about anything else, feel free to email me
at mcneff00@yahoo.com.
Thank You Very Much,
Brian McNeff
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