Congratulations, JV Swimmers!

 Hi Team!

Wow!  How fun was last night's JV Conference meet?!?!  There were SO MANY best times last night--I love when the last one is the best one!  It was great to see so many of our girls up on the podium wearing their new parkas and getting their ducks.

Regardless of whether or not they took home a duck, AW-K swimmers were truly the big winners last night.  No other team has as much fun as ours.  I have never seen a group of girls quite like this one--girls who genuinely love and support each other unconditionally.  I can't tell you how many times I watched our girls run up to each other and congratulate them on a best time or a great swim.  It has been a joy to watch this group work together this year.  From start to finish, this season was magical.

Congratulations, JV ladies!  You make me so, so proud to be your coach.

Succeed On Purpose,

Coach Vicki

Athletes of the Week!

Hi Team,

I'd like to say a big congratulations to this week's Athletes of the week, Keti and AnnaMarie!  Both girls have made a big bunch of progress this season, and it's been great to have them on the team! Last week, Keti swam in her very first swim meet!  She did a 50 free, and she ended up going faster on her 50 meter swim than she did in yards in practice!  Way to go, Keti!  AnnaMarie had a big meet on Tuesday, as well.  She dropped 6 seconds in her 100 back!  Six seconds is a huge drop!  Amazing job, AnnaMarie! Way to go, ladies!  I am proud of both of you!

Succeed on Purpose,

Coach Vicki

Spirit Invite Wrap-Up & This Week's Practice Schedule

Hi Team!

Oh my gosh!  Yesterday was so fun (and SO LOUD!!).  The girls all did a great job with their Mardi Gras theme--the masks and boas and posters were all fantastic!  We ended up taking 4th behind Neenah, North, and Oshkosh West.  The girls did a wonderful job representing themselves, Appleton West, and Kimberly.  I am so proud to coach this team!  Thank you to all the parents and JV ladies who came down to cheer us on.  There is nothing like seeing a whole bunch of fans in the stands!

This week is full of "lasts" for AW-K.  Monday night is our last team dinner.  Tuesday night is our last dual meet vs Fond du Lac.  Friday will be our last full-team practice.  On Friday we will elect captains for the 2016 season and have some fun wrapping up the season together.

The JV ladies will taper this week after Tuesday night's meet.  The JV ladies will still have some practice in the water, but they will have no dryland, and their practices will be shorter.  The science behind tapering involves giving the muscles that have been overused through the season a bit of a rest so that they will be fresh for the championship meet.  To that end, please encourage your daughter to take it easy while she is on taper.  The girls should feel like they have energy to burn.  Please don't let them head out and run that energy off. During taper, swimmers shouldn't do anything more physical than going to class and doing their homework.

Kimberly students have Thursday and Friday off from school this week, so I have once again tried to be flexible with the practice schedule while still staying true to our #SucceedOnPurpose mission.  The Kimberly JV swimmers can attend the Thursday morning varsity practice and skip the Thursday afternoon practice if they want.  I would like all swimmers to attend Friday afternoon's practice, as it is our last combined practice of the season.  Varsity swimmers are expected to attend all regular practices unless they have been cleared through me.

Here is this week's schedule:

Monday, October 19th:
5:45-6:45 am Varsity
JV: 3:45-5:15 (no dryland)
Varsity: 3:45-5:45 (with dryland)
Team dinner at 5:45

Tuesday, October 20th:
Dual meet vs. Fond du Lac
West out at 3:10
Load bus: 3:20
Bus leaves: 3:30

Wednesday, October 21st:
JV: 3:45-5:00
Varsity: 3:45-5:30

Thursday, October 22nd:
5:45-6:45 am Varsity (JV Optional)
JV: 3:45-5:15--if you didn't go to morning practice (no dryland)
Varsity: 3:45-6:00 (with dryland)

Friday, October 23rd:
2016 Captain Elections
Whole team: 3:45-5:30

Monday night, October 26th, is JV Conference.  The meet will take place at Appleton North, and it starts at 5 pm, not 5:30 like dual meets. The girls will need to get to Appleton North on their own, since we don't get bus service within the district.  All swimmers must be on deck, ready for shoulders, at 3:45.   Some of the girls will be done for the season on Monday night.  A handful of swimmers are swimming at both JV and Varsity Conference.  If your daughter is swimming at Varsity Conference, she will not taper until next week, after JV Conference. All team members have already been notified about what and when they are swimming at the Conference meet.  If your daughter is done on Monday night, she will just need to stop by on Tuesday for a quick goodbye/wrap-up meeting on Tuesday at 3:45.  All parkas will need to be turned in on Tuesday.

Here is next week's schedule:

Monday, October 26th:
5:45-6:45 am Varsity--last morning practice!
3:45-5:00 Varsity
JV CONFERENCE at 5:00--arrive at Appleton North by 3:45

Tuesday, October 27th:
JV 3:45-4  wrap-up meeting and parka turn-in
Varsity: 3:45-5:30

Wednesday, October 28th:
Varsity 3:45-5:30

Thursday, October 29th:
No morning Varsity practice
Varsity: 3:45-5:30 (No dryland)

Friday, October 30th:
Varsity: 3:45-5:30

Saturday, October 31st:
VARSITY CONFERENCE at Neenah, 10:30 am

After the Varsity Conference meet, final decisions about relays and individual events for the Sectional meet will be made.  Sectional swimmers will taper the week between Varsity Conference and the Sectional meet.

Here is the schedule for that week:

Monday, November 2nd:
Sectional Team: 3:45-5:30

Tuesday, November 3rd:
Sectional Team: 3:45-5:30

Wednesday, November 4th:
Sectional Team: 3:45-5:30

Thursday, November 5th:
Sectional Team: 3:45-5:30

Friday, November 6th:
3:45-5:00

Saturday, November 7th:
SECTIONAL MEET at Neenah, Noon

That takes us through Sectionals.  I am really looking forward to writing the State week schedule next!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Succeed on Purpose,

Coach Vicki

A Big Bunch of Thank Yous!

Hi Team!

How fun was last night?!? Between all the Senior Night festivities, the successful food drive, and our big win against Oshkosh North-Lourdes, it was pretty much the best night,ever!

I wanted to say a few thank yous to the folks who made last night so great:  

Thank you to the Funk, Norum, and Karrmann families who fed the team Monday night. Your meal was a huge success--the girls LOVED it.  I especially loved the totally cute "AW-K" & "We love swim team" cookies (they were so cute)!  Team dinners are definitely a highlight each week. Thank you so much!

I'd like to thank the Nunn family who opened up their home to the girls so they could make the senior gifts.  The kick boards and little jars turned out great!  Thank you, Fe, for doing such an outstanding job organizing everything.  Your hard work really paid off--the seniors loved their gifts!

I'd also like to thank Paul Fritsch, who helped us with the food drive.  We collected over 300 items last night to send to the Salvation Army food pantry during our first "Halee Fritsch Food Drive". Paul collected and delivered the boxes to us and then delivered all of the food to the Salvation Army once it was over.  

Finally, as always, I am thankful to all the parents who served as timers during the meet.  I have not had to worry about timers even once this season. You guys are the best!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Coach Vicki

Awards Night

Hi Team,

Just a quick post to let you know that our team Awards Night will be held on Sunday, November 15th, at 5:30 pm.  Our theme is, "Celebrating Successes Big and Small."  The junior class and I have been busy making plans, and an invite will be sent home soon with all the details.  For now, we'd just like you to put the date on your calendars.

Thanks,

Coach Vicki

Senior Night!

Hi Team!


As hard as this is to believe, tomorrow night is our very last home meet and Senior Night!  Where has the time gone?!?  We will plan on honoring our 7 fantastic seniors during the break after the 50 free. We will also quickly recognize the ONL seniors.  Our freshmen, sophomores, and juniors have been busy getting ready for tomorrow night.  Senior night is definitely a special night on the calendar.

To go along with our Senior night festivities, we are also going to hold a food drive competition between our team and ONL.  The food drive was something our very own senior (and captain), Halee, was passionate about doing.  All food will be donated to the Salvation Army food bank.  I love that our two teams are going to give back to the community together.  To up the excitement, I have made a "trophy" which will be awarded to the team who donates the most food items.  Please check your pantry and see if you have anything you'd like to donate.  There will be boxes on deck tomorrow night for the collection.  Halee said the Salvation Army is always in need of non-perishables, cereal boxes, Mac & Cheese, etc.  Let's fill the boxes and win the trophy!

Here are the people who volunteered to time tomorrow night: 

Tuesday, October 13 vs. Oshkosh North/Lourdes

1. Paul Fritsch
2. Susie Fritsch
3. Ursula Nolte
4. Erica Blair
5. Christina King
6. Eric Blair
7. Shelly Welhouse
8. Geri Angiulli
9. Susan Harper
10. Jennifer Nunn
11. Mike Harper
12. Stephen Nunn
Coach Vicki

Finally, I'd like to give a big shout out to last week's meal team of the Dollevoet Family, Armstrong Family, Angiulli Family, and the Johnston Family.  You guys did an excellent job--the girls LOVED the meal (especially all of those little cupcakes!).  Our team is lucky to have such fantastic, supportive families.  Thank you!

Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow at Senior Night!

Athletes of the Week!

Hi Team,

I'm a little behind posting about last week's Athletes of the Week--sorry about that!  Last week we named Abby and Megan as our Athletes of the Week.  Both girls have had fantastic seasons and have contributed individually and on relays.  For those of you who don't know, Abby has some foot issues which make flip turns and starts difficult.  Some days even just kicking hurts.  Abby has battled through the pain on many occasions and has been an inspiration to the whole team.  Megan's work in the pool and her great sense of humor and positive attitude out of the pool make her an excellent teammate.  Congratulations, ladies!  I am so proud of both of you!

Succeed on Purpose,

Coach Vicki

Athletes of the Week!

 Hi Team!

It was another great week for Appleton West-Kimberly!  We won every event except for one varsity and one JV at our dual meet against Berlin.  Thank you to all of the parents who traveled to Berlin to cheer us on!  This week's Athletes of the Week all swam fantastically at Berlin.  Nicole came in 2nd place in the Varsity 100 Back, even though she was incredibly sick.  Way to swim tough, Nicole! Beth has done an excellent job all season contributing on the varsity team both in individual events and on relays.  She has become one of our go-to freestyle swimmers.  Emma and Kirsten both did an excellent job swimming their individual events on Tuesday.  Emma placed 1st in the JV 100 breast, and Kirsten took first in the JV 100 fly.  Both girls swam in varsity heats and did an excellent job! Great job, ladies!  I am so proud of each and every one of you!

Succeed on Purpose,

Coach Vicki

Team Parkas!

Hi Team!

How exciting is this photo?!?  The team looks amazing in their new parkas, don't they?!?  The new logo looks awesome, and the girls couldn't be more proud to wear their parkas on deck and to school. In a million years, I didn't think we'd get this far this fast.  Special thanks to Kathy Chippeaux and her "Can-Do" attitude and to every single one of you who helped raise the funds we needed to purchase new team parkas.  I absolutely love seeing the girls wearing them!


I'd also like to thank the Chippeaux, Welhouse, and Blankenheim families for preparing and serving such an amazing team meal last Monday. The girls loved your dinner!  Suddenly, Monday has become everybody's favorite day of the week.

We are back home on Tuesday night to take on Oshkosh West.  The following people have signed up to help time:

Tuesday, October 6 vs. Oshkosh West

1. Paul Fritsch
2. Susie Fritsch
3. Ursula Nolte
4. Jim Norum
5. Christina King
6. Jennifer Nunn
7. Michelle VandenBosch
8. Stephen Nunn
9. Shelly Welhouse
10. Chad Bevers
11. Geri Angiulli
12. 

It looks like we have an opening for a timer.  If you're interested, please let me know!  

Thanks a bunch,
Coach Vicki