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Lake Valhalla Swimming

Handbook
Section Coaching  Membership & Participation  Swim Meets  Top

I.    I n t r o d u c t i o n

Welcome  Top

A.
WELCOME

Welcome to the 2007 season. We are looking forward to another exciting year. This handbook will serve as a tool to help you understand the full nature of Lake Valhalla's swimming program. We would like parents to assume the responsibility of reading this handbook with their swimmers so that the entire family understands the program. The Coaches will be very happy to answer any questions you may have.


History of Lake Valhalla Swimmimg

Lake Valhalla swimming began in 1970 with a small group of dedicated swimmers coached by the head life guard Dean Whittie. Over the past 35 years, hundreds of swimmers have passed through the program, with many going on to swim competitively on a year round basis for a club, or high school team. Some have even competed at the national level in high school and/or continued to swim in college.


Lake Valhalla Swim Team Goal Statement

The purpose of the Lake Valhalla Swim Team is to provide a recreational summer swim program for those children who are proficient enough in their swimming skills to move on from lessons and who desire to participate on a competitive level. Our program aims to be a fun experience for all swimmers, and also provides opportunities for those swimmers who have demonstrated a high capability and excellence in swimming.

Section Introduction  Membership & Participation  Swim Meets  Top

II.    C O A C H I N G

Message  Coaching Staff  Coach Resp.  Top

A.
A MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD COACH

I would like to welcome back all returning swimmers, and give a warm welcome to all first year swimmers! Now that you are a member of the Lake Valhalla Swim Team, it is important that we work together as a team. As an athlete, you are a role model for many younger athletes as well as for your teammates. Therefore, it is important for you to follow the guidelines for expectations and behavior. The positive influences that you have on others are an important part of success as an athlete and a member of this team. I look forward to working with each and every one of you. Good luck and let’s have a successful season!
(Jessica Blomn)

B.
COACHES' EXPECTATIONS

* Summer swimming is a very short season, so each practice is important and swimmers should make every effort to attend each one.

* Swimmers should also plan on attending every meet. Every swimmer is critical to the success of the team. It is very difficult to win a swim meet with empty lanes.

* If you have vacation plans, please make sure the Head Coach is made aware of these plans, in writing well in advance of the meet. Ideally, vacations should be planned for the weeks before and after swim team season.

* Swimmers should show up to their scheduled practices on time and ready to swim. Swimmers should wear swim caps to practice and meets. It is especially difficult to swim properly with long hair. Use of goggles is strongly encouraged to aid visibility and keep swimmers from constantly interrupting their strokes to wipe water away from their faces.

* Swimmers should listen to their coaches, follow instructions and be willing to learn and practice new strokes and techniques.

* Swimmers should be supportive of their fellow swim team members.

* All swimmers must arrive for warm-up one half hour before the meet begins unless otherwise posted on the bulliten board.

* Swimmers must sit with the team in the designated area (not with parents or non-swimmers)

* Swimmers should not be constantly running to the snack bar or bathrooms.

* Swimmers should be aware of the progress of the meet so they are prepared to swim their events.

* Courtesy and demonstration of good sportmanship to visitors, teammates, and spectators are a must.

* After each meet, swimmers are required to police (clean up) their area before leaving.

* Swimmers are required to stay for the end cheer in support of the other team at the close of the meet, whether we win or lose.

C.
LAKE VALHALLA COACHING STAFF

The 2007 LAKE VALHALLA coaching staff is an excellent group of competent, experienced individuals who are dedicated to swimming and to your children. Our coaching staff is comprised of one Head Coach and one Assistant Coach.


HEAD COACH: Carl Malinak


Coach Malinak, sometimes known as Coach Carl, is now in his 20th year at Lake Valhalla. Before coming to Valhalla, Coach Malinak had coached at Morris Knolls High School in Denville, where he was named the Coach of the Year in Swimming by the Daily Record. He has also been the Head Summer Coach at Indian Lake in Denville and was the first head girls' coach at the West Morris YMCA. Coach Carl has also served as an assistant, Head Girls' coach, and Head coach at the Lakeland Hills YMCA in Mountain Lakes where he coached three of the present day coaches. Coach Malinak resides in Rockaway Township with his wife Bettina and their two Brittany Spaniels, Buster and Ginger. This will be Coach Carl's 33rd. year of teaching mathematics at Morris Knolls High School in Denville.

HEAD COACH: Katrina Seftel


Katrina Seftel joins us for a sixth summer. She is a former member of the very competitive Lakeland Hills YMCA and Montville High School swim teams where she served as captian her senior year, and the Lake Valhalla Swim Team.
HEAD COACH: Jessica M. Blomn


Jessica joins us for her second year with a wealth of knowledge and experience. She is a Physical Education/Health teacher in Livingston. In the winter she coaches varsity swimming at Montclair High School. She just completed her 4th year as the head coach and has been with the team for 8 years. Jessica swam at the Montclair YMCA, swam all 4 years at Montclair High School, and swam 4 years at Montclair State. We welcome her back as part of the Team and look forward to a fun and exciting season!


ASSISTANT COACH: Colleen Reminsky


Colleen joins us for her first summer. She is a former member of the Lakeland Hills YMCA, Lake Valhalla and the Boonton High School swim teams. She has been a life guard at Lake Valhalla for the past 3 years. She enjoys working with and training children. Colleen is a great addition to the swim team staff.


1st ASSISTANT COACH: Alicia Seftel


Alicia Seftel joins us for her seventh summer. She is also a former member of the Lakeland Hills YMCA, Lake Valhalla and the Montville High School swim teams


2nd ASSISTANT COACH: Evan Seftel


Evan joins us for his fifth summer. He is also a former member of the Lakeland Hills YMCA and has experience at Lake Valhalla and Montville High School swim teams.

D.
COACHES RESPONSIBILITIES

Our coaches will plan and conduct all swim practices and set up all swim meets. They are responsible for determining which swimmers will participate in meets and the strokes they will swim. Coaches will make every effort to get every swimmer into home meets (this is not always possible). All participation on the swim team is determined by the coaches.

Section Introduction  Coaching  Swim Meets  Top

III.    TEAM MEMBERSHIP AND PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS

Fees  Volunteerism  Social Events  Team Organization  Top

A.
FEES

Each swimmer will be charged a fee of approximately fifty (50) dollars to participate on the team. This fee covers the cost of league fees, social events, and the trophy at the end of the season. Some special meets may require additional entry fees for those children who participate.


B.
VOLUNTEERISM

PARENT PARTICIPATION


Each parent (or family) is expected to work at least one half of the swim meets. Most swim team parents will work most if not all of the meets. In addition, some parents will be asked to assist us in other ways. The following is a list of positions that it takes to run a swim meet.

Meet Director - Organizes meet and ensures that all positions are staffed. Ensures that all people understand their jobs. Acts as liason to other teams regarding meet organization.

Starter and Referee (must be certified) - starts each event and acts as referee in the event of a dispute.

Stroke and Turn Judge ( must be certified) - evaluates individual swimmers for proper stroke and turn mechanics; four judges per team, per meet.

Timer - uses stopwatch (electronic buttons for teams with electronic timing systems) to determine each swimmer's time; day league requires eight timers and one backup; night league requires eight timers.

Across-the-Board Judge - determines the order of finish; day league requires two people looking for a particular place finish and handing out ribbons; night league requires one person who determines all eight places.

Scorer - prepares meet scoring sheets. Ensures that the sheets accurately reflect who is swimming in the meet. Records individual finishes and places and tallies the total meet score; day league requires one; night league requires two.

In addition, when we swim a home meet, we need one person to look for records, an announcer, two runners (to record times on the dock and bring them to the scoring table), and people to serve refreshments to the parents who are working the meet.

Parents working at meets should remember that ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES can not be consumed during the meet. Such behavior is in violation of league swim rules.

Even parent spectators should refrain from drinking during the meets as it is not appropriate behavior for a children's sporting event.

PHONE CHAIN


In case of a change in schedule, etc., each family will be notified by the phone chain. PLEASE NOTE -- Swim meets are held RAIN or SHINE, unless determined by the official swim team league representatives. You will be called if the meet is canceled. Otherwise, plan on swimming.

C.
TEAM ORGANIZATION

AGE GROUPING


Swimmers compete according to the age they are on June 1st. Groups are divided into 8-and-Under (6-and-Under at day meets), 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-17 (15-18 at night). Groups are also divided by boys and girls. There are some special meets (called 'odd age group meets") which change this grouping to the advantage of the younger swimmers (8-9, 10-11, etc.).

PRACTICE GROUPING


Each age group is assigned a practice time:
    * 11-12, 13-and-Over -- 11:15 to 12:30
    * 9-10 -- 12:45 to 2:00
    * 7-8 -- 2:15 to 2:45
    * 6-and-Unders -- 3:00 to 3:30

ATTENDANCE


Attendance is encouraged for each practice to ensure proper stroke development and conditioning. If you are unavailable to attend either a practice or a meet, please let the Head Coach know as soon as possible. If you are going on vacation and are unavailable to swim, please put your vacation plans in writing and submit them to the head Coache.

POINT SYSTEM


We keep a detailed record of points and times on each swimmer. the size of the trophy awarded at the season's close is determined by the number of points the swimmer earns. The coach determines the size on a system of equalizing point division. The number of points awarded are as follows:

Time Trial participation -- 1pt.
Dual meet participation -- 1pt.
Bettering One's Own Times -- 2pts.
Attendance -- 1pt per day of practice
Special and Championship Meets do not count
Dual Meet placement --
    Day League
      1st - 4pts.
      2nd - 3pts.
      3rd - 2pts.
      4th - 1pt.
      1st relay - 1pt.

    Night League
      1st - 6pts.
      2nd - 4pts.
      3rd - 3pts.
      4th - 2pts.
      5th - 1pt.
      1st relay - 2pts.
      2nd relay - 1pt.


D.
SOCIAL EVENTS

Pizza Party - immediately following the last home meet of the Ramapo (day) league.

Ice Cream Social - immediately following the last home meet of the Lakeland (night) league.

Picnic - held in August for swimmers and their families; trophies and awards are distributed at this time.

Dorney Park - fun outing and team-bonding for 11 and older swimmers.

Bowling - party for 10 and under swimmers.

Section Introduction  Coaching  Membership & Participation  Top

IV.    SWIM MEETS

Ramapo Conference  Lakeland Conference  Special Meets  Conduct & Behavior  Top

A.
LEAGUES

Lake Valhalla participates in two swim leagues. The Ramapo Swim Conference is called our "day league" and the Lakeland Conference is called our "night league". Each league has a different set of rules.


RAMAPO SWIM CONFERENCE ("day league")

Children participate in the following age groups and strokes (swimmers may be asked to swim in an older age group). All swimmers score points for the team (except 6-and-unders).

Boys and Girls

* 6-and-Under 25m. freestyle and 25m. backstroke
* 8-and-Under 25m. freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke
* 9-10 25m. freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke
* 10-and-Under 25m. butterfly
* 11-12, 13-14, 15-17 50m. freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly
* each age group has additional relays

Championships - Boys and Girls

* one swimmer per stroke per age group plus one relay team per age group (boys and girls).
* 15-17 swim mixed relays (13 & over for some relays)
* 8-and-Under swim freestyle relays; all others swim freestyle and medley relays.


B.
LAKELAND SWIM CONFERENCE ("night league")

The "B" division of the night league is very competitive. Most teams have many year-round swimmers with extensive state and national competition experience. Swimmers may be asked to swim in an older age group.

Boys and Girls

* all swimmers swim 50m. free, back, breast and fly
* 15-18 swimmers swim 100m. free instead of 50m.
* 8-and-Unders -- mixed freestyle relay
* 15-18 -- mixed medley and freestyle relay
* all others swim medley and freestyle relays

Championships - Boys and Girls

* three levels based on achieved times: "C", "B", "A"
* each swimmer will have a place to swim if he/she so desires
* fees for "C" and "B" championships


C.
ENTERING SPECIAL MEETS

We attend some special meets as a team and some on an individual basis. If the team is going to a meet, entries must be submitted to the head coach at practice. Non-team meet entries are your own responsibility. Check the bulletin board for information (Morris Center Mini-Meet; Junior Olympics).
Swimmers are not required to enter the special meets.


D.
MEET CONDUCT AND BEHAVIOR

* All swimmers, AND PARENTS, must arrive for warm-up one half hour before the meet begins unless otherwise posted on the bulletin board.

* Swimmers must sit with the team in the designated area (not with parents or non-swimmers)

* Swimmers should not be constantly running to the snack bar or bathrooms.

* Swimmers should be aware of the progress of the meet so they are prepared to swim their events.

* Courtesy and good sportmanship to visitors, teammates, and spectators are a must.

* After the meet, swimmers are required to police (clean up) their area before leaving.

* Swimmers are required to stay for the end cheer in support of the other team at the close of the meet, whether we win or lose.

Section Introduction  Coaching  Membership & Participation  Swim Meets  Top