Mustang Monthly- Internet Edition

October 2008

 

Please see below for an article submitted by Head Coach Mook Rhodenbaugh:

 

© 2006 USA Swimming and The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. All Rights Reserved.

Getting Parents on the Team

Dr. Alan Goldberg

Competitive Advantage

 

PARENTS’ ROLE

1. DON’T COACH- Leave coaching to coaches. This includes pre-race psyching, motivation, after race critiquing, setting goals, enforcing additional cross training, etc.

2. SUPPORT THE COACH - Your coaches are the experts. They need your support for everyone to "win".

3. SUPPORT THE PROGRAM - Get involved. Volunteer. Help out at meets, fundraisers, etc.

4. BE YOUR CHILD’S BEST FAN- Support your child unconditionally. Do not withdraw love when your child performs poorly. Your child should not have to perform to win your love.

5. SUPPORT AND ROOT FOR ALL ATHLETES ON THE TEAM - Foster teamwork. Your child's teammates are not the enemy. When they go faster than your child, your child now has a wonderful opportunity to improve.

6. DO NOT BRIBE OR OFFER INCENTIVES - Your job is not to motivate. Leave this to the coaching staff. Bribes will distract your child from proper race concentration.

7. TAKE YOUR CONCERNS AND PROBLEMS DIRECTLY TO THE COACH - If you have a problem with the coach, do not go to other parents to discuss it. Go straight to the coach involved. Talking behind the coach’s back will not get you what you want.

8. UNDERSTAND AND DISPLAY APPROPRIATE MEET BEHAVIOUR - Remember your child's self esteem and race performance is at stake. Be supportive and cheer but always be appropriate.

9. MONITOR YOUR CHILD’S STRESS LEVEL AT HOME- Keep an eye on your athlete to make sure he is handling stress effectively from the various activities in his life.

10. MONITOR EATING AND SLEEPING HABITS - Be sure your child is eating the proper foods and getting adequate enough rest.

11. HELP YOUR CHILD KEEP HIS PRIORITIES STRAIGHT - Help your child maintain a focus on schoolwork, relationships and the other important things in life besides sports. Also, if your child has made a commitment to one sport, help him keep the priorities around this in mind.

12. “REALITY TEST” FOR YOUR CHILD- If a swimmer, for example, comes out of the pool with a personal best time and a last place finish, help her understand that this is a "win". Help her keep things in their proper perspective including losses, disappointments and failures.

13. KEEP YOUR CHILD’S CHOSEN SPORT IN PERSPECTIVE–The sport should not be larger than life for you. If your child's performances elicit strong emotions, keep these away from him. Remember your relationship will continue with your children long after their competitive days are over. Keep your goals and needs out of your child’s sport.

14. BE AN APPROPRIATE LIASION TO THE COACH - Keep the coach informed as to how your child is responding to the experience (when appropriate). If your child is having trouble with something that happened at practice or with something the coach said, help the child deal with it and if necessary, speak directly with the coach.

 

Swimmer Recognition

 

Congratulations to the following Dallas Mustangs swimmers for their selection by NISCA (National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association) for 2008 All-American high school swimming status:

 

Spindrift Beck (The Hockaday School)

Allison Arnold (Highland Park High School)

Lauren Roth (Creekview High School – currently a freshman at Purdue University)

Caleb Veazey (Bryan Adams High School)

Scott Weeks (Plano Senior High School)

 

Also, congratulations to Dallas Mustangs swimmer Meaghan Watters (The Hockaday School) for her selection by NISCA for 2008 Academic All-American high school swimming status.  She is currently a freshman at Yale University.

 

All of these swimmers are part of Mook’s National team.

 

Volunteer Opportunities at the DM Haunted Hat Meet, Oct 18-19, 2008

 

We need many parents and swimmers to help us with the upcoming Haunted Hat Meet.  This is the first B/C meet of the short course season and we are expecting many novice swimmers to attend.  Volunteer positions where we still need more help include timers, ready bench, runners, safety monitors, hospitality, and clerk of course.  Most positions require no experience, so we are all qualified!   We encourage anyone who can't help out on deck during the meet to consider assisting with the set up and take down of the equipment before or after the meet.  To volunteer, simply click the link below and add your name and phone# to the time slot you want to help!  

 

Please help our team with this meet and get to know other Mustang parents by volunteering during at least one session--its easy and fun!

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pSj9VTvwWdYjzx9Sta11wIw&hl=en

 

If you have questions, please contact one of our meet directors, Dee Koranda @ korandafamily@msn.com  or Jan Miller @ jmillerrock@gmail.com

Thank you Mustangs for volunteering!

 
Top 10 Reasons To Volunteer With The Dallas Mustangs!

 

  1. We will call and beg for your help anyhow.
  2. During swim meets that we host, it is the only way to get on deck with the swimmers. It’s a great place to take photos and cheer your swimmer on! 
  3. All hospitality food consumed as a volunteer, especially chocolate, is totally calorie free and never counts as cheating on a diet!
  4. The pay is incredible!
  5. You teach your swimmer by example, about the value of volunteerism and service to organizations.
  6. You meet other parents. This may lead to carpools, becoming friends, etc.
  7. We need lots of people to run our team events. We are one of the most respected teams in our LSC and well-known for hosting great meets. It’s because we have great volunteers!
  8. You might get to find out the story behind the name “Mook”.
  9. Number 4 is a lie – the truth is you do get Mustang Bucks, which is a credit towards your swimmer’s dues.
  10. You get the satisfaction of being involved in your child’s life. For some, swimming is an unfamiliar sport – becoming involved at some level will only bring knowledge about it.

Practice Schedule

School Year Schedule (September thru May)

Saturday morning workouts are scheduled during the season as needed for the Silver, Gold and National groups.  Coaches will let the swimmers know usually followed by an email.

Loos Natatorium

Pre-competition

Individual Scheduling Arrangements Made at Try-out for Team

Bronze

5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday

6:15 - 7:15 p.m. Friday

Silver

6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

Gold

5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

National

5:45 a.m. - 7:00 a.m. - Monday, Wednesday & Friday

5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. – Monday through Friday

Masters

6:00 a.m. - 7:00 a.m. Monday, Wednesday & Friday

Highland Park (HP) High School Pool

Pre-competition

Individual Scheduling Arrangements Made at Try-out for Team

Bronze

6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday

Silver I

6:45 p.m. – 8:15 p.m. Monday through Friday

Silver II

4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday

Gold

4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday

4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Friday

Masters

None

Knights of Columbus Pool

Gold

5:00 – 7:00 Monday through Friday

Silver

5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday

Bronze

7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday

CFB Natatorium

Red and Blue

4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday

 

Meet Entry Information

There have been many questions regarding which meets to enter, how to enter these meets, what to expect at a meet, etc.  Unlike summer league swimming, most USA swimming meets in North Texas are classified by ability and will have required qualification times. Your child’s coach is the best person to discuss which meets are appropriate for your swimmer, but as a general rule, new swimmers age 12 and under start at the B/C level meets.  For some meets, the North Texas teams are divided into divisions, so make sure you view the correct meet (Dallas Mustangs - DM - are in division II).  New swimmers who are age 13 and above most likely will be at a BB meet.  There are no divisions for the BB and A meets.  Also, swimmers must enter events based on their age as of the first day of the meet.  This differs from many of the summer leagues that have one cutoff date and allows a child to compete at that age for the entire season.            

Once you determine which meet your swimmer will attend, you can find meet information at the North Texas swimming website: www.ntswim.org. The “meet information” link on the left hand column has warm-up times, event schedules, and general info about the meet you are looking for.  To view any meet information, you can click on the link for that meet and then print it out if necessary.  One item to note that is different than what you will find in the meet information: for most meets MEET ENTRIES ARE DUE THE THURSDAY, TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE MEET, not the date that is given in the meet information. If for some reason we need entries earlier than this date, you will be notified by email.  You then must start the entry process by e-mailing Doug your entries.      

Things to consider when completing your e-mail entries -

Write the meet name in the e-mail subject line.  This helps to put your meet entry in the appropriate e-mail folder when we receive it.    .

Make sure your child is eligible to participate in the meet you are attempting to enter.  The meets usually fall into A, BB, or B/C levels.   “BB” swimmers may not swim in an “A” meet until they make an “A” time standard.  Once a swimmer has achieved at least three qualifying times at a certain level, they may swim any events at that level meet.  13 & Over swimmers are never B/C swimmers; they are BB swimmers until they have achieved 3 "A" times or above. Some meets might even require that a swimmer must have an “A” time standard in each event that they choose to enter to be eligible to swim in that event.  Again, check with your child’s coach to confirm what meet they should be swimming in if you have questions regarding this. Before your child proves otherwise, technically they are a “C” swimmer.  Once they swim in a meet, they will attempt to make “B” times, then “BB” times, “A” times, TAGS time standards, Sectional cuts (no age limits but typically 14 and over), and ultimately, some may even attain Junior National, National or Olympic Trials cuts.

When your child obtains the minimum of three time standards in the next highest level, they are classified as that “level” of swimmer (i.e., a “B” swimmer who gets his or her 3rd BB time standard in their age group becomes a “BB” Swimmer).  These times standards can be found in the time standards link of the North Texas webpage, in the meet information itself, or in the back of your Mustang new member handbook.  These time standards are listed in either short course (yards) or long course (meters).

List the events in meet event order on your e-mail.  Typically the girls events are odd numbered and the boys are even numbered. Check the meet information to see how many events per day or session your child may swim. On the meet information there usually is a daily limit of events that your child may enter.  If they exceed this number at the meet, they will be disqualified in the event which exceeds the daily limit regardless of how they perform in that event.

What if I'm too late and have to late enter?  Currently there are several meets on the North Texas Swimming calendar that do not allow late entries.  All the more reason to make sure your entries are on time so you don't get closed out of a meet.  The meet information that you download and/or print out will let you know whether or not they are allowed to late enter and at what rate.  To discourage people from doing it in North Texas, meet hosts have made the late fees typically triple the early entry fee rate.  If you do have to late enter, take your USA ID Card, a list of your child’s events and entry times to the meet.  To prove those entry times you will be required to bring a copy of their best times from the USA Swimming SWIMS database. If your child has never swum the event or events you are attempting to late enter then they will be entered in a NT (no time) and there is no need to prove that.  Your child's USA ID number begins with their date of birth in mm/dd/yy format, then the first 3 letters of their first name, then their middle initial, and finally the first 4 letters of your last name.  For example, the USA ID of Coach Douglas Stirling Moyse would be 050885DOUSMOYS (birthdate 05/08/85 with first name DOUg, middle initial S, and MOYSe).

Review Meet Entries

A few days before the meet you can review your child’s meet entries on our website at www.dmswim.com. There is a link in the main menu on the left hand side entitled “Meet Entry Information."  Follow that link to access your swimmer’s entries in an upcoming meet.  Please review your meet entries to make certain that you are both entered in the meet and entered in the correct events.  Entry times are a swimmer’s best times, which are maintained in our team manager database by Coach Doug.  If you submitted an entry form for the meet and your name is not on the report or there is an error in the events entered, please contact Coach Doug via Email. Once the entries have been submitted to the meet host unfortunately no changes can be made but we can discuss what to do when late entries are an option.  The meet entries report is sorted by sex and then alphabetically by swimmer name.  Once the entries have been submitted to the host team, they will be available on this website for your review by the Monday prior to the meet start

 Meet Day

Please arrive at the meet at least 10 minutes before the scheduled warm-up time.  All swimmers are expected to participate in warm-ups and particularly at the BB/B/C level, this is the time that the coaches will put relays together based on who are the fastest combinations of swimmers who are there.  Swimmers are required to check in, usually 30 minutes before the meet begins, for each event that they are entered in.  Failure to do so will result in the swimmer being scratched (removed) from the event.  Check in sheets are typically found on deck posted on a wall.  After your child swims, he or she should go directly to their coach who will talk to them about the race.  Finally, each swimmer should wear a Dallas Mustang swim cap when competing.

Scheduling Updates for Highland Park Pool

 

Highland Park will be closed the following days in October due to high school swim meets:

 

Thursday, October 9th

Tuesday, October 14th

Tuesday, October 28th

 

Those swimmers are welcome to swim at either Knights of Columbus or Loos.

All-Star Meet

The TSA annual All-Star meet will be held this year November 8-9th at the University of Houston.  All interested swimmers should go to the Team North Texas website at www.tntzones.org for application and selection information.

Supply Room

Show your team spirit and stop by the Loos supply room to pick up a Dallas Mustang yard sign and car decal.  The supply room is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:15-7:15.

 

 

Painless Fundraiser

 

The Dallas Mustangs is registered with Tom Thumb in its Good Neighbor Program. Please remember to attach our Good Neighbor Number to your Reward Card and Tom Thumb will donate a percentage of the member’s total grocery purchases back to the Dallas Mustangs every time your Reward Card is used! Painless and potentially profitable for our team!

 

OUR TOM THUMB NUMBER IS 7648

 

 Tuition Policy

The Dallas Mustangs is a competitive year round age-group swimming program.  As such we strive to provide consistent quality coaching and workout facilities.  To achieve this goal we establish pool rental contracts and salary commitments with our coaching staff for a full 12-month period.  The Dallas Mustangs Swim Team is not, and was not designed to be a swim program where swimmers drop in one month and out the next.  Flexibility has always been important to us.  We try to work with each family on the team and we will continue to do so. 

 

Tuition may be paid annually or monthly.  Monthly Tuition must be paid via  credit card only.  NO checks will be accepted at any pools or through the mail.  NO EXCEPTIONS.  Annual tuition may be paid by check submitted with your registration form.

 

·        Tuition is due from September through July.

·        Leave of Absence (LOA) is available only for injury and medical reasons.

·        There will be a $10.00 per month discount for the second and subsequent swimmers in the same family.  The fourth swimmer is free.

·        If dues are paid annually, there will be a $110.00 discount for the second swimmer and a $220.00 discount for the third swimmer. If there are more than 3 swimmers; the three highest tuition rates will be billed and the 4th and subsequent swimmers are free.

·        A swimmer transferring from another team must be in good standing with their old team.

·        Tuition is due the first of every month. There will be a $5.00 per family late fee after the 10th of the month for non-zero balance accounts.

·        There are no tuition refunds, tuition paid for the month or the year commits you for that period.

·        Written communication to the DM Treasurer is required to change or stop automatic billing.

·        The swimmer(s) may be barred from swimming if there is an aged account balance is excess of 60 days.

 

Any questions regarding billing should be addressed to the team treasurer via e-mail

 

Meet Entry Policy:

 

Meet entry fees will be paid by credit card only.  Your credit card will be charged monthly.  There will be a $1.00 surcharge per meet per swimmer added to the fee.  Meet entry fees will be charged separate from tuition charges.  All swimmers must maintain a current and up to date meet entry account.   Swimmers who do not provide valid credit card information for meet entry fees will not be allowed to enter swim meets.