Sunday, July 1, 2018

A Note from your Coaches

B Meet Monday, June 25

The Neptunes did great while hosting our first B Meet of the season.

• Over the 4 strokes, the Neptunes swam 133 individual races. Our swimmers got new best times in 91 of those events!!
• Additionally, 22 swimmers swam their first IM of the 2018 season.

Sportsmanship Relay Carnival, Wednesday June 27

• We competed as one of 12 teams in the Sportsmanship Relay Carnival, with several of our relays bringing home medals or ribbons for their efforts.
• Check out our Facebook page to see the Coaches Relay finish in 2nd Place!

A Meet Saturday, June 30

• The Neptunes won our second meet of the year 248-143!
• We had 54 new best times in 99 individual events!

This week we had several swimmers sick and unable to swim as Saturday morning approached. We appreciate families being vigilante in letting us know when something comes up and you cannot swim at the last minute. Even more importantly, we want to thank our swimmers for being flexible and stepping up to fill in for each other. We had several swimmers swim strokes that were not their strongest or favorite and even swim up in higher age groups, but that willingness to do what the team needs helps all of us get better and is a major reason we are such a strong team.

Swimmers of the Week!

Our Swimmers of the Week were announced during Friday's Pep Rally. They were the first athletes to receive any medals during our Olympic games and competitions. The winners were:

• 8 and Under: Shane Ockerman and Adriana Cousins
• 9-12: Grant Keith and April Nguyen
• 13-18: Rhys Cabot and Hannah Bunch

Special Shoutouts

• Congrats to Kennedy Beatty, Renzo Urbina, Mora Wyllie, and Cheryl Pratt who each swam a new stroke legally for the first time on Saturday.
• Congrats to Tillie Hemmer who dropped more than 13 seconds from her 50m Fly time on Saturday!
• Shoutout to our 11-12 Girls who had 9 different girls swim in the meet with all 9 of them scoring points in at least one stroke!

-Keep it up Neptunes!!
   Coach Jamie

Minis Information

• CONGRATULATIONS to the Minis who swam at our first 2 home meets last Monday and Saturday. GREAT SWIMMING!!
• Note: NO MINIS SWIM at the away B meet on Monday, July 2nd.
• Coach Christine would like you to consider bringing goggles to Minis practice for your swimmers.
• NO PRACTICE ON WEDNESDAY, July 4th. Have a HAPPY HOLIDAY!!
• CONGRATULATIONS to the Minis who swam a 25M lap during practice and have officially moved up to the Neptunes swim team. Evan Viger and Jayden Jackson. See you at 8 & under Neptunes practice at 9am on Monday! :)

Team Rep Report

HAPPY 4th of JULY: We will have NO PRACTICE on Wednesday, July 4th.

Swimmer File Box: At each practice, the coaches have a filebox which contains swim meet ribbons for those of you missed weekly ribbon distribution. Please take a moment to check the files, sorted by swimmer last name.

B-Meet – AWAY vs. Crosspointe on Monday, July 2nd

Address: 8275 Glen Eagle Drive Fairfax Station, VA 22039

**No Minis event at this away meet.

Remember: B-Meet entry is open to all swimmers – the only restriction is that a swimmer cannot swim in an event that they competed in during the previous Saturday’s A-meet.

Declaring Swimmer Availability: Make sure to declare your swimmer’s availability for the B-Meet by 10:30am Monday on the team website, or you may not be able to swim. Through the website, swimmers may mark your preferences for which two events (two strokes or one stroke and IM) they would like to swim. Please note, these are swimmer preferences but may be changed at the coaches’ discretion based on needs of the team or where they think you will be most successful.

Volunteers Needed: We also need to fill a few additional volunteer positions including 1 Stroke & Turn, 3 Timers (Crosspointe has 8 lanes versus 6), and 1 Runner for second half of meet.

• 5:30pm - Neptunes arrive. Marshals MUST be on the deck by this time! (early is preferred)
• 5:55pm - Neptunes warm-up (20 min max). Officials meet with Referee by diving boards.
• 6:05pm - Timers meet with Chief Timer by baby pool.
• 6:30pm – Swim meet begins
• 9:00pm – Swim meet ends promptly due to pool curfew.

Parking: They are reserving their parking lot for out team. In addition there is overflow parking for Crosspointe Glen Eagles pool at Silverbrook Elementary (across the street) or the Iglesia Pentecostal Bethel Church.

A-Meet – Home vs. Pinewood Lake on Saturday, July 7th

Our next A-Meet is a home meet against Pinewood Lake on Saturday July 7th at 9:00 AM. Make sure to declare your swimmers as available by the 10:30 AM deadline on Wednesday the 4th, or they will not be able to swim!

Plenty of volunteer spots are still available. Please check the website.

• 7:15am – Parents help setup
• 7:45am – Swimmers PROMPT arrival (timeliness is imperative). Marshals MUST be on the deck by this time!
• 8:00am – Neptunes warmup (20 min max. Visiting team warms up after.)
• 8:30am – Minis arrive. Minis swim at 8:50am
• 9:00am – Swim meet begins
• ~11:30am – Swim meet ends (& cleanup begins)

A Message from the President and VP

It is hard to believe we are already halfway through our summer swim season. While our meets have just begun, we only have four more weeks before the Divisional meet and our End of Season party! I want to thank all the volunteers who make our swim season and meets a success. I especially want to recognize the hard work and dedication of our board members, especially our Team Representatives Tyler Wyllie and Mike Cabot, our Social Chair Sherrie Soos, and our Fundraising Chair Lisa Pratt. Their efforts before and during the season have been critical to establishing the solid foundation for our excellent coaching team led by Head Coach Jamie Visbeck to establish a FUN and EXCITING swim program for our children. If you haven’t had a chance yet, please thank them for the unselfish dedication of their time and energy this season! Thanks again to all the parents who make this a success. I look forward to seeing you all at the pool!! GO NEPTUNES!!

Tom Evans

NFST Board President

Let’s get Social

Thank you all so much for joining us at our first Pep Rally. We had a great turnout and we hope that you were able to meet some other swim team families. Go Neptunes!

Swim Buddies: Monday, July 2 @ Crosspointe. We have been enjoying watching buddies get to know each other and taking the time to encourage a new friend. For this away meet, we are asking that you make a card for your swim buddy. A couple reminders to make this program run smoothly for your children:

• Please bring your card to put in the Buddy bin to Monday’s morning practice. If you can’t make it, please send it with a friend. The reason for bringing it to the practice in the morning (as opposed to at the B meet) is so that we can supplement if needed to make sure that everyone is included. The swimmers exchange items after warm-ups and we don’t want to have any swimmer left out because an item didn’t make it in time. Please help us with this, it’s truly special to see the excitement each swimmer gets knowing their buddy took time to do something kind for them.

Tuesday, July 3: Sherlock Gnomes Movie at University Mall 2:20 PM

• Cost is $2 per person (payment must be made via Swimtopia if you want tickets purchased with the group)
• Arrive early as they open doors 30 minutes before the movie. Sherrie and Robin will be outside of the theater from 1:50-2:00 to pass out tickets and to escort our group around the line.
• Transportation available (Thank you Tish Keith and Michelle Witteried). If you need a ride, please be sure to note that on your RSVP. Pool pickup will be 1:30 PM and you will be dropped off after the movie.

• RSVP by Monday, July 2 at noon. please

Photos:

• Becky Cousins has created a Shutterfly album of pictures from Time trials, our B meet and Swim Buddies.
• Website - nfneptunesswimteam.shutterfly.com. Password- Neptune2016

Saturday, July 7: Potomac Nationals Game 6:30 PM

• This is the makeup date for the Potomac Nationals game. For those families who purchased tickets to the June 23 game, you should have your new tickets. Nationals staff said that your parking pass should be honored at this game so please be sure to bring that. Tickets can be purchased at the gate for any additional families wishing to attend.

Coming Soon...

• Monday, July 9... Buddies @ Laurel Hill (make something for your buddy)
• Wednesday, July 10... Picture Day & Doughnut breakfast
• Friday, July 13... Spaghetti Dinner at the Rossi's house. Please RSVP by Wed. July 11
  • Thank you to the Rossi's for opening up your home (especially with a new baby) and to so many families who are helping at this amazing event. For those helping cook food, please be on the lookout for an email July 12 with an updated guest count. Here are the needs we still have:
    • Transport tables/chairs to the Rossi home on Friday morning after practice and back to the pool after the dinner. Please consider donating a bit of time so we can make this as easy on the Rossi family as possible. RSVP here!
    • Volleyball game: bring a volleyball net/ball and set up/take down
    • Bonfire Safety Supervisor 6:30-7:30 PM
    • Teens: We would love to have some teens help set up tents/tables from 5:00-6:00 or to help break down afterwards

FUN-draising!

Concessions: NEW - We now have $1.00 concession cards available for purchase. Think about this as an option to gift to your Buddy. We still have the $20 pre-paid concession cards for families.

Spiritwear update: We have some NEW merchandise we want to tell you about!

Neptune Tattoos .25 cents each.

Redesigned Neptune Magnets are $5.

We have more of the new swim cap in stock for $15 each. We still have some of the old (silver) caps for $10 each.

If you have not picked up your team t-shirt please see Robyne Henry or Lisa Pratt to pick up your merchandise during the 8-9am practice. If you practice at one of the practices before or after that one, plan to stay a few minutes late or arrive a few minutes early to pick up your items.

Swim-a-thon: Swim-a-thon packets will be handed out this week. The Swim-a-thon is on July 18. Please reach out to our friends and family (even out of town ones) to pledge your swimmer per lap or to give a flat donation. This is one of our biggest fundraisers, your support to make this a success is appreciated.

Team lunch: We are having a team lunch after the A meet on Saturday, July 7 at noon at Glory Days, 9459 Lorton Market St, Lorton, VA 22079. This is for the whole team, not just those swimming in the A meet. 10% of our sales will go back to our team (This fundraiser is good for the entire month of July) - just turn in your itemized receipts to Lisa Pratt.

Communication

We’re implementing new ways to keep you in the know this year. How are we doing? We want to hear from you.

Are you following us on Facebook?

Have you signed up for text alerts from Remind? If not, text @nfneptunes to 81010. We do our best to send alerts for inclement weather, and any other late breaking news that you need to know.

And don’t forget to look here for our latest and greatest calendar of events. https://nfstneptunes.swimtopia.com/schedule

Look for the weekly newsletter every Sunday night, because there is going to be a LOT going on this summer and we don’t want you to miss out on any of it.