Team Santa Monica Newsletter - February 2020
MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD PRESIDENT:
Happy Lunar New Year! More specifically, welcome to the year of the metal Ox. Even if you don’t believe in horoscopes of any kind, you may welcome the forecast. The good news is that there is no bad news. The metal, which carries over from last year, is said to rule over the lungs in the body, and it is said to represent clean and smooth surfaces. What better way to stay clean and take care of your lungs than to swim?! The Ox represents being solid and stable - forecasters suggest that this means we’ll be in a holding pattern of sorts. I’ll take a holding pattern over further sharp decline any day! What might this mean for the team? Our stability has been tested by the pandemic, but TSM is well-positioned to see it through. Our solid foundation will enable us to emerge from the pandemic to serve the youth of this community – more kids will be safer and faster because of it. We will continue to offer as much swimming to our members as we can, and we will expand our programming as soon as possible to the fullest capacity allowed by the County, City and Swim Center.
Finally: I want to sing praises to swimming’s finance Hero of the CENTURY!! Our parent volunteer Treasurer, David Newberg, has tirelessly prepared a new projection each time the pool situation changed. He applied for, received and secured forgiveness for, the first round of PPP loans, and has secured our second-round PPP loan. I say with confidence that this team would not be moving forward in this way without David’s commitment to this team and his herculean efforts to see us pull through. Please join me in thanking David for his many years of volunteerism to the team, and particularly during this time. This is his last season with us, and in August he will be leaving behind an incredible legacy – a future for TSM!
FUNDRAISING
The December virtual TSM Happy Hour with Ice & Alchemy was super fun and informative, and the team raised just over $600! Many thanks to the Chuchens for donating raffle prizes! And THANK YOU, Josh Suchan @ I&A for donating time and expertise!! (for more, visit: www.iceandalchemy.com; IG: ice_and_alchemy)
OMG: the TSM Candy Grams were a HUGE HIT! 900 Candy Grams were ordered, raising $927!
Thank you to Laura Goodman and Andrea Alpert for leading this, and to the families who volunteered to make it happen, including the Burrells, the Changs, the Dembos, the Luks, the Petrans, the Walbridges and the Wus.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Swimathon will have a different format, but it must go on! Please mark your calendars for TSM’s annual swim-a-thon for the week of May 3rd. The swim-a-thon may look differently than in past years, but this event is a great opportunity to build community within TSM, to get some fun swag and to support USA Swimming. In the coming weeks we will share how swimmers can ask family members, friends, neighbors, and businesses to pledge either a flat donation or certain amount of per lap. We hope that every team member swims 200 laps in 2 hours!
Upcoming Events:
We keep hoping that we’ll get the permission and sanctioning needed to hold another intra-squad meet. Cross your fingers that it will be soon.
Prizes: If your swimmer raises $150+, they get a custom red practice cap! More $$, more prizes!
Group Updates
SEALS
Seals has completed their second test set of the year. I’ve seen a lot of improvement in times and completing all 5 efforts. We are still working on technique and kicking daily and swimmers who have attended dryland regularly have had more improvement and are stronger in the water.
-Coach Adriana
AG1
AG1 is doing very well! We have a few swimmers back in the water since having been out on vacation and quarantining and overall, attendance has been great. Swimmers are starting so show up more mentally and physically and have more determination to meet/surpass their goals! We’re focusing a lot on technique work and fundamental skills (I.e. sub kks, streamlines, reading the pace clock, leaving on time, body line, etc.!)
Happy with where they’re headed and looking forward to continue working and growing with them and seeing them continue to grow and work hard as well!
-Coach Michelle
AG2
AG-2 has been doing really well lately. I thought the schedule change may have a negative affect, but everyone has adjusted extremely well. We are really emphasizing kicking and developing our underwaters. I love the attitude and personality that each swimmer has been bringing to the group.
-Coach Dan
AG3
AG3 is doing great! A few of the kids have been complaining about their foot/ankle/shoulder/back hurting so they've been doing a modified version of the workouts. We're taking it one day at a time. Looking forward to hopefully have a swim meet soon.
-Coach Iman
SENIOR DEVELOPMENT
Senior development has spent the last month working on longer distance sets and kicking. At the beginning of January, SD was asked to write three goals for the year. Since writing those goals, I have seen more motivation and drive to get better. While some practices have been tough both physically and mentally, the swimmers always show up with a positive attitude.
-Coach Adriana
SENIOR PREP
Senior Prep is struggling as a group a little bit. It's understandable due to the current situation (COVID, no swim meet, etc...) and that could effect the swimmers, mentally. So, I been very creative trying a lot of new things to keep my swimmers motivated and engaged during practices and I hope we will see some changes in the near future.
-Coach Walid
SENIOR PERFORMANCE
Since the holidays we've had a lot of travel and other events pop up that have prevented the group from being at full strength, but we are finally getting to that point. The training is on it's way up to the highest level of the season and we will get to see some of the progress we have made throughout the season.
-Coach Dan
NATIONAL PREP
Everything is going well. We're taking it one day at a time. Kids are working hard and swimming fast. Alan and Colin have been standing out.
-Coach Iman
INJURY PREVENTION TIPS FOR THE SWIMMER
Athletes, are you experiencing shoulder pain or soreness these days? This could be a mobility issue! Oftentimes, an athlete can benefit from hands-on treatment, such as myofascial decompression (cupping), instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM), massage or active release techniques that will address mobility impairments in the lats. But if you can’t get in to see a physical therapist, here are a couple mobility exercises you can try.
Contact Us
Are you experiencing pain or do you have questions? Please contact us for more info and to book an appointment. You can schedule an in clinic appointment through the online request an appointment page.
PLEASE BE ON NOTICE:
Late pickups are not only difficult on your swimmers and disrespectful to the coaches, but it costs the team to pay coaches for this additional time. At the next BOD meeting, the Board will be considering late fees for compensating coaches for their additional time spent.
Please remember that when we are waiting outside of the Swim Center, we are representatives of TSM. As such, we need to remind ourselves to continue to wear masks AND maintain physical distancing. We appreciate your cooperation.
