The long-awaited day has arrived – it is time for swimming and diving again! We have 141 kids registered – that is more than 40% of the whole school! 124 of those are swimmers all of whom will be at our first swimming practice, so we need to get organized.
Everyone who wants to be on the Seton Swim Team should come to the first practice on Tuesday, November 5th. (The first practice for Diving Groups 1 and 2 is on Friday)
We will enter the Freedom Center through the front door. We will no longer use the side door behind the serpentine wall like we did in prior seasons.
Schedule for the First Day of Practice
Be in the bleachers ready for a team meeting before 6:04 a.m. That means you will need to arrive at the pool before 6:04 a.m. I will give an orientation talk about the program so everyone knows what to expect for practices in the future.
We will attempt to get into the water around 6:30 a.m. and exit the water around 7:30 a.m.
I have assigned every swimmer to the practice group for the first day – but this will be for the first day only. Your group assignments are published here:
Seton Swim ’24-’25 Roster and Attendance-Day 1 Lane Assignments-v4
Seton Swim ’24-’25 Roster and Attendance-Day 1 Lane Assignments-v4-Alphabetical
Again, your lane coaches for this first day will not necessarily be your coaches for the season. We are just trying to get you in the water to start the teaching process. The serious work will begin with the next practice when I have enough information to assign you to a practice group with a specific coach(es).
Because we have the whole team at practice at the same time for this first day only, almost half of you will be with me participating in a brief Time Trial. I need this data for form practice groups. It will also allow us to get a baseline time on all the new swimmers and see if some of the returning swimmers who were new last year have improved dramatically over this past summer. Don’t stress. It will likely only be 50 yards, and I know you can do it.
If you are part of the Time Trial group, after your swim you will likely be sent to the locker room to shower and change so we can space out the crowd of kids flowing through. You can also take advantage of one last opportunity to try on custom apparel.
One Last Chance to Try on Custom Apparel
Once you are done swimming and are on your way to the locker room, you can stop by to see Mrs. Lynch and try on any custom apparel (including swimsuits) or uniform items if you want to be sure of your size.
We are doing our best to get uniform items before the first meet and custom apparel items at least before Christmas. We are hoping that we can get many of the custom apparel items before the first Meet. Mrs. Lynch will be placing the orders for all apparel items shortly after the order deadline of Saturday, November 9th.
I encourage you to check out our newest custom apparel item – a Seton Swim & Dive Quarter-Zip jacket. The school will allow this jacket to be worn with the school uniform during the school day.
Because the Boathouse jackets have significant minimum order quantity, we only offer them every other year. We offered them last year, so the next time you can purchase a Boathouse jacket will be next season. We are not offering them this season.
Practice Group Assignments After the First Day
By Wednesday, November 6th, I will publish the practice group assignments for everyone on the team. Because of the extremely large number of swimmers on the team this year, we are going to divide the team into six (6) practice groups rather than the five (5) we have normally created. I will coach Group 6 personally.
About 84 of you will practice in the first four (4) practice groups across 14 lanes on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. The rest of you will practice with Group 5 and 6 in up to 9 lanes on Wednesday and Friday. 6th and 7th graders will be in Group 5 or 6 unless you are usually fast.
Divers will also practice on Wednesday mornings and Friday mornings and afternoons. Coach Keapproth has broken our rather large diving team into four (4) groups with a detailed practice schedule published by her via e-mail. I am adding a menu item for the Diving Schedule under the Calendar menu on this web site. It should be up shortly.
I have 12 kids myself so I know how hard sports logistics can be for large families. I will do what I can to avoid splitting up families across practice sessions. However, if you have a wide range of abilities among the kids you’ve enrolled, it may be impossible – and 6th graders will almost certainly be in group 5 or 6 since they do not go to Seton School. There are many good things about having 40% of the school on the team, but this is not one of them.
To give me time to figure it all out and communicate it in enough time for you to plan, there will be no Group 5 or 6 swimming practice on Wednesday, November 6th.
Diving always practices on Wednesdays and Fridays. The first diving practice is Friday, November 8th. No Diving practice on Wednesday, November 6th.
What to Wear and Pack for Practice
Thank you to former team Captain Teresa Bingham for developing a packing list for swimmers coming to Seton Swimming practice. Her list is on the last two pages of the Seton Swimming handbook which you can find under About/Team Information or by clicking here.
Wear your suit under your clothes to practice so you do not have to go to the locker room before practice. The only other things you really need for practice are a pair of googles and a towel. If you have long hair, you are also probably going to want to have a swim cap.
Locker Room Procedures
Our team is so large that we can be quite disruptive to the other patrons of the Freedom Center when we all descend on the locker rooms all at once after practice. To help keep the peace and make sure we continue to be welcomed, we follow these protocols:
- Except for using the restroom, plan on not using the locker room before dryland or in between dryland and practice.
- Don’t leave your bags in the locker room during practice. Bring them into the stands and leave them there.
- Leave locker bays open for patrons
- Use the first three bays of lockers closest to the pool only
- Leave shower bays open for patrons
- Boys, only use the gang showers. Do not use the private stalls
- Girls, only use the showers on one side, leaving the other row of shower stalls available patrons
- Do not use the bathroom stalls for changing. We only change clothes in the locker room bays.
- Remember that the patrons are judging Seton based on your behavior and your conversations
- Assume that everything you say can be heard by an adult from outside of the Seton community.
- Don’t be afraid to say hello to the patrons
- If you see someone in the locker room who clearly does not belong, then immediately:
- Grab your things and leave
- Notify a Coach, preferably me
If we follow these locker room procedures, we will continue to be seen as great guests at this wonderful facility, and everyone will continue to be safe in this public facility.
The Secret to Getting Up Early for Practice
Go to bed early!
That requires some good time management on your part – use your afternoons wisely.
Here’s one other trick I learned years ago. The time just changed from Daylight Savings Time, and that will give you an extra hour of sleep. Don’t allow your body clock to adjust – go to bed using the old time. That will make 6:04 a.m. feel like 7:04 a.m. – no problem!
Be Prepared
I’m looking forward to seeing you all on Tuesday, November 5th. Please make sure that:
- You arrive in time for me to start our meeting at exactly 6:04 a.m. in the bleachers.
- You are packed properly and prepared to participate in practice without going to the locker room first.
- You know your practice group and lane assignment before you get to the pool.
See you on Election Day!