End of the Season Banquet & Awards Ceremony!

Who:  All AW-K Swimmers and Divers and their Parents

What:  End-of-the-Season Banquet and Awards Ceremony

When:  Sunday, November 12th, 5-8pm

5-6 pm: Potluck Dinner & Photo Booth

6-8 pm Awards Ceremony

Where:  Appleton West High School Cafeteria

What to Bring:  Please bring a main dish to share (6-8 servings) and one of the following:

Freshmen:  Fruit or Veggies

Sophomores: Drinks for 8--Water bottles, Juice, Soda

Juniors: Salads or Side Dish

Seniors: Desserts

We can't wait to celebrate the season with you!

Coordinating Committee:  Anna Armstrong, Emma Cody, Lexee Funk, Ellie Glynn, Brigita Hull, Evelyn Krafft, Olivia Polczinski, Lizzie Schimmers, and Alexa Van Laanen

Championship Season!

Hi Team!

Championship season is right around the corner, and I thought I'd give you a brief summary of what to expect.

First up is JV Conference on Monday, October 23rd at 5:00 pm at Appleton North.  The JV Conference meet is the Junior Varsity portion of the FVA Conference Meet.  We are allowed unlimited entries in the JV Conference meet, which means that if every single girl wants to swim the 50 free, they can.  Swimmers are allowed (and often do) compete in both the JV and Varsity Conference meets, but they can not compete in the same event at both meets.  There is a 4 event maximum (total for both meets).  There will be a mix of varsity and JV swimmers swimming at JV Conference.  There will be awards (duckies) for 1st-8th place.

The Conference Meet determines the team champion of the FVA Conference, and it will be held at Fond du Lac Aquatic Center on Saturday, October 28th and beginning at 10:30 am. The diving portion of the meet is held at the same location on Friday, October 27th, at 6:00 pm.  Swimmers and divers earn first, second, and honorable mention All-Conference honors for each event based on their finish and receive medals for these top 3 finishers. The format is the same as a dual meet, but the number of teams participating means more heats and a longer meet. Each team gets a total of 27 entries for all individual events and two entries for each relay event.  Some Varsity swimmers will swim all 4 of their events at Varsity Conference, but some may swim 1-3 events at Varsity Conference and the rest at JV Conference.

The WIAA Sectional Meet will be held on Saturday, November 4th at Neenah High School, beginning at Noon.  The diving portion will be held at Neenah High School on Friday night. Each team gets a total of 18 entries for all individual events and one entry for each relay event. Medals are awarded to the winners in each event, plus any other state qualifiers.  State qualifying comes from winning your event at one of the 6 sectional meets or finishing as one of the next fastest 18 swimmers in the state.

The WIAA State Meet will be held on Saturday, November 11th at 3:00 pm at the UW Madison aquatic facility.  It is a great achievement to qualify for this meet celebrating the state's top swimmers.

Our team banquet will be held on Sunday, November 12th.  More details on our big season-ending celebration will be posted soon.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  I'm so excited to be heading into this part of the season!

With AW-K Pride,

Coach Vicki

Other People's Kids

Hi Team!

I wanted to share this post that I wrote back in 2014.  It *absolutely* applies to you guys, too. I love you all, and I love being your coach.

With AW-K Pride,

Coach Vicki

Other People's Kids

When I was pregnant with Maddie, I could literally freak myself out worrying about things.  

I worried that I wouldn't be as good a mother of two as I was a mother of one.  

I worried about juggling two of everything:  diaper changes, nap schedules, baths, bedtime routines.  

Most of all, I worried that I could never love another child as much as I loved Emily.  

For 17 months, Emily was it.  

I funneled all my love into baby Emily.  

I worried about how I could split that love into two.

I remember sharing my concerns with John's mom.  

She was a mother of two, I knew she would know what I was talking about.  

What she told me was this:  you don't have to divide your love, 

your heart expands to include all of those you love.

She was right, of course.  

I had absolutely no problem loving Maddie as much as I loved Emily.  

And then when we added Jack to the mix, my heart grew even more.

 

When I started coaching, I found that my heart could grow to include loving other people's kids, too.

People often ask me my why I coach.  

The hours are inconvenient, and the pay is one step above a volunteer job.

This is what I say every time:  I coach because I love my swimmers. 

I coach because each year I get a new batch of other people's kids to teach, mentor, and love.

I coach because it reminds me of how big my heart is.

I am so thankful that other parents share their kids with me.

My life would not be the same without coaching.

Hands down, I have the best job in the world.

XO,
Vicki

Senior Night!

Hi Team!

Believe it or not, tomorrow night is Senior Night!  I don't know about you, but I am having a hard time handling how fast this season is going.  I'm definitely not ready to say goodbye to this year's seniors--they are such an amazing group of women!

Here are a few details about tomorrow night:

**Timers should plan on arriving by 5:15 for a brief meeting.
**Diving will take place right at the beginning of the meet at 5:30.
**We will introduce the AW-K seniors and the Fond du Lac seniors at the break after the 50 free.

**Our senior celebration will take place immediately following the meet.  Please plan on staying for about a 1/2 hour to help recognize our fantastic seniors. 

I hope to see a big bunch of you at the pool tomorrow night!

With AW-K Pride,

Coach Vicki

AW-K vs ONL and the Quest for the Giant Pear

Hi Team,

It's time for the 3rd annual AW-K vs ONL Quest for the Giant Pear!  

Three years ago, one of our captains, Halee Fritsch, really wanted to do a community service project with the team.  Of course, we all thought that was an excellent idea, so the Halee Fritsch Food Drive was born (I named it that--not Halee).  Anyway, we thought it would be fun to challenge another team to a contest to see which team could bring the most non-perishable goods to a dual meet.  I reached out to the ONL coach, Heidi Wera, and she loved the idea. I decided we needed to compete for a super-cool trophy that would stay with the team that won each year. The past two years AW-K has won, and the giant pear (pictured above) has been proudly displayed on my desk.  To me, it represents AW-K giving back to the community in a fun, positive way.

Tuesday night we will once again battle in the pool and for the giant pear.  Please consider cleaning out your pantry and carting all of your non-perishables to the pool Tuesday night.  Everything we collect that night will be donated.  The team with the most items, wins!  Let's keep the giant pear at our pool and help a whole lot of people in the process!

Hope to see a big bunch of you at the meet on Tuesday night!  Timers should arrive by 5:15 for a short meeting.  The meet begins at 5:30.

With AW-K Pride,
Coach Vicki

Homecoming Week(s) Schedule Changes

Hi Team!

I just wanted to make sure everyone is on the right page with the upcoming Homecoming week(s) schedule changes.

Tomorrow (Wednesday, September 20th) is the Kimberly Homecoming Parade.  The Kimberly girls are excused from practice in order to march in the parade.  The West girls have regular practice from 3:45-5:30.  We will do Tai Chi and film study.  We will not get in the water.  Kimberly girls who choose not to participate in the Homecoming Parade are required to come to practice instead. Kimberly girls need to wear team apparel to the parade--team t-shirt, sweatshirt, or parka. Megan Karrmann and Nicole del Plaine are the captains in charge of the Kimberly Homecoming Parade info. Check the team Facebook page for more details.  Kimberly band members are excused--have fun marching with the band!

All athletes who need to leave Saturday's Neenah Invite early to attend the Kimberly Homecoming dance need to make sure I have their completed and signed travel release form by Friday afternoon.  If I do not have the signed form, you will not be able to leave early.  The swimmers who are leaving early can ride the bus to the Invite if they want.  We load the bus at 6:55.  The bus leaves at 7:00 am.

Next Thursday, September 28th is the West Homecoming parade.  Please note:  this date was change after the schedule was made.  The parade is on Thursday, not Friday.  The entire team will march in the West Homecoming parade, which is right after school.  Kimberly athletes should plan on coming to West at the regular time.  All athletes should wear team clothing.  The entire team has morning practice that day.  Everyone needs to be in the door by 5:30 am.  We will be in the water from 5:45-6:45.  I will prepare breakfast bags for the entire team if they want one.  Breakfast bags for the JV will be $4 and include a bagel, cream cheese or peanut butter, cheese stick or hard-boiled egg, and a cup of Greek yogurt.  I will take orders from the JV early next week.  Friday we will have normal practice from 3:45-5:00.  There is no morning practice on Friday.  Jacquie Chippeaux and Hailey Bevers are the captains in charge of the West Homecoming parade info. Please check the Facebook page for more details.

The Fond du Lac Invite on September 30th is Varsity only.  Varsity athletes who want to leave early to attend the West Homecoming dance need to fill out and return a completed travel release form to me by Friday, the 29th.

I think that should be the last of the schedule changes for the rest of the season.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

With AW-K Pride,
Coach Vicki

All Kinds of Thank Yous!

 Hi Team!

Holy cow!  The last two weeks have been amazing!  And busy!  And inspiring!  I'm sorry to be so far behind on blog posts, and I'm doubly sorry that some of these thank you's are so late!

First of all, I'd like to say a big thank you to the September 1st Lambeau clean-up crew!  I was a little worried about getting enough volunteers to come out on the Friday before Labor Day.  All that worrying was for nothing, though, as a big bunch of you showed up, and we had Lambeau cleaned up in no time!  I'd like to give a special shout-out to Dan Angiulli, who came out to help clean even though his daughter graduated last May!

Dan now joins a small but amazing group of alumni parents who have showed up to clean Lambeau after their child graduated, the other being Chad Held's parents who came to clean in June.  We also had a few alumni swimmers come out to clean this summer--Meghan Harper (and her boyfriend!), Chad Held, and Connor O'Brien are all super-alumni!

Back at the pool, the girls have been working extremely hard getting ready to start meet season.  All of our new swimmers joined the 200 club before August was over.  I can't tell you how amazing that is; most of those girls couldn't even swim a 25 without stopping when we started on August 8th.  Our huge group of new swimmers inspire me every single day!

On September 5th, we kicked off our Conference season with a big win over Appleton East.  That night was also Parent Night, and I can't tell you how awesome it was to see our athletes and their parents span 3 sides of the pool!

I'm pretty sure our success that night was due in large part to the excellent team meal the parents made on Monday night.  The spaghetti and meatballs were AMAZING!  Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone on that meal team!

There were lots and lots of good swims that night. For me, the highlight of the night had to be the JV 200 Free Relay.  We had athletes in every single lane (28 total) competing at the same time.  That one heat had more athletes than were on the whole team my first year!  Amazing!!

On Friday night, the Varsity competed in the Terror Relays, our home Invite.  There is no time when the phrase "It Takes A Village" is more appropriate than before a 10-team swim invite.  Thank you to every single person who helped make the Terror Relays such a success!  There were parents and volunteers who set up and ran concessions, prepared food and fed the coaches and officials, timed behind the blocks, helped with awards, and cleaned up afterwards.  I seriously could not have made it through that night without all of you!  THANK YOU SO MUCH!

The next morning, the Varsity was up bright and early to swim at the Patriot Pentathlon.  It's pretty hard to compete back-to-back like that, but the AW-K ladies made it look easy!

 They took home a few awards, too.  The pile was so pretty, I hated to pass them out!  :)

This past week we shifted into Phase 2 of our training cycle.  The entire team added weight training and core work to the work they are doing in the pool, and the varsity added morning practices into the mix.  My goal was to make them sore.  Based on their feedback, it's working.  :)

Our fabulous parents provided another delicious meal this week, even though it was a bye week.  The girls went crazy for the chicken Alfredo!  Thank you so much to Monday's meal team--you guys knocked it out of the park!

On Saturday night the girls traded in their swimsuits for dresses and head to Pullmann's for dinner.  It was so fun seeing the girls with dry hair and makeup! The girls spend so much time with their heads underwater, it's fun to see them just laugh and have fun together over a meal.  We even got to see Haley get asked to Homecoming (!).

This week we head to Neenah High School twice.  On Tuesday we have our dual meet.  It starts at 5:30, and our divers will compete during the meet, after the 50 free.  On Saturday, the entire team heads back to NHS for the Neenah Invite.  The girls need to be at West by 7:00 to load the bus. The meet starts at 9:00 am.  Seating is always tight at Neenah, so come early if you want a seat.

I can't tell you how much I am enjoying this year's team--this group of girls is truly special!  Thanks for all you do to support them and the entire AW-K program.  I hope to see a big bunch of you at NHS this week!

With AW-K Pride,
Coach Vicki

Parent Night!

Hi Team!

Tonight is our first dual meet!  It's also Parent Night, which is definitely one of my favorite nights of the year!  The meet starts at 5:30, but our divers compete at 4:15.  If you can come early to cheer them on, that would be great!

We will start lining up parents and athletes at 5:20.  There will be parent volunteers there to help get everyone set up alphabetically by grade.  Each girl and her parents will be introduced and will stand together during the Star Spangled Banner.

If you have signed up to time, please meet in the pool lobby at 5:15 for a short timer meeting.

I am beyond excited to see the girls compete and celebrate our fantastic parents tonight!

With AW-K Pride,

Coach Vicki

Last Lambeau Crew!

Hi Team!

Tomorrow (Friday, September 1st) is our very last Lambeau clean-up for the 2017-2018 season! Please plan on meeting outside the Fleet Farm entrance at 4:15 pm.  Don't forget to dress for the weather and wear closed-toe shoes.  The Lambeau people will provide disposable gloves and water. We will be heading home by 7:30 pm at the latest.

Here is the list of people I have signed up:
1. Vicki Terlap
2. Peyton Michler
3. Lynn Michler
4. Ben Todd
5. Becca Sesto
6. Russ Sesto
7. Carrie Olson
8. Corey Olson
9. Owen Daniels
10. Mike Daniels
11. Ava DeGroot
12. Kyra Woodrow
13. Jason Woodrow
14. Sandy Bevers
15. Chad Bevers
16. Hailey Bevers
17. Julia Welsh
18. Haley Westphal
19. Cassey Lee
20. Jana Metko
21. Susan Metko
22. Becca Best
23. Tricia Gonzales
24. Mary Leverance
25. Ellie Glynn
26. Anna Armstrong
27. Jackson Armstrong
28. Scott Armstrong
29. Tanya Armstrong
30. Brianna Gonzales
31. Bella Brown
32. Tianna Buxton
33. Gabby LeCaptain
34. Jeff LeCaptain

Please let me know if I missed your name.  Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow night!

With AW-K Pride,
Coach Vicki

Thank You, Volunteers!

Hi Team!

I just finished emailing everyone who signed up to help with a team dinner.  There is all kinds of info in the email including the names of the other members of your team.  There are a couple of nights where we could use a few more families to help out with the meal.  Please click on the link on the right side of the page (Volunteer sign ups) to see the meal team lists.

On that same page, I listed everyone who signed up to help with timing at meets.  There are a few spots that are open for timing, as well.  Please let me know if you can help out.   Please plan on being at the pool by 5:15 pm if you are timing.  There will be a short timers meeting before each meet.

I am so excited about watching the girls compete next week!

With AW-K Pride,

Coach Vicki

Last Lambeau!

Hi Team!

We've got one last clean-up party at Lambeau Field this Friday, September 1st, from 4:15-7:30.  We have done a fantastic job getting big groups of volunteers to work at each clean-up.  Let's see if we can set a record at this last one!  The list of volunteers is pretty small so far, but I know you guys will come through for the program.  Remember--each swimmer is required to work at 2 Lambeau clean-ups, and you need to bring a parent with you to at least one of the two.  I have kept volunteer lists for the last three, and between the two teams, there are quite a few of you who still need to come and volunteer.  A bunch of you have worked at all three of this year's Lambeau clean-ups--THANK YOU!!

Here's who I have signed up so far:

September 1^st  4:15-7:30 pm

Vicki Terlap
Peyton Michler
Ben Todd
Becca Sesto
Carrie Olson
Amy Funk
Lexee Funk
Owen Daniels
Mike Daniels
Ava DeGroot
Kyra Woodrow
Sandy Bevers
Chad Bevers
Hailey Bevers

Please text or email me by Thursday if you are able to help out.  Thank you!

With AW-K Pride,
Coach Vicki

Car Wash Fun!

 Hi Team!

Way to go on Saturday!  You guys made $574.00!  I divided it evenly between everyone who worked, and you each made $15.50!  I still need to break a few 20's to finish filling all the envelopes, but I will get that done in the morning.

I'd like to say a big THANK YOU to the guys at Extreme Audio for allowing us to use their parking lot, hose, and water for our car wash.  I'm pretty sure the best part of the whole day was that they played super-loud music for the girls to dance to between car washes.

It was fun to get to hang out with the girls away from the pool.  It was also fun to see so many parents, grandparents, and guy swimmers come through the line.

I hope you all pick out something fun from the team apparel store.  I'll have your envelopes to give you in the morning!

With AW-K Pride,
Coach Vicki

The AW-K Team Apparel Store is OPEN!!

Hi Team!

The store is open--go check it out and have fun picking out all kinds of AW-K clothing!  Click on the link below to enter the store;

https://awkswim.itemorder.com


I can't wait to see everyone sporting their new AW-K gear!

With AW-K Pride,

Coach Vicki

Car Wash Info

Hi Swimmers and Families,

This Saturday, August 19, is our big team car wash!  Every single dollar raised will go back to the girls who work to help defray the cost of their team suits and optional clothing. 

Here are the details:

Location:  Extreme Audio Parking Lot:  211 N. Lynndale Drive, Appleton

Time:  9:00 am -1:00 pm

We have asked the girls to sign up to work a 2-hour shift.  They are more than welcome to stay for the entire 4 hours, but they don't have to. There will be at least one coach there with the girls the entire time.  We are hoping for plenty of sunshine, so please make sure to bring sunscreen and lots of water.  The girls can wear a one-piece swimsuit and shorts. They will most likely get wet.

We have tons of old towels that have been donated to the team, but we could use a few squeegees so we can do windows.  We could also use a couple of more big sponges. Please make sure you put your name on anything you want us to get back to you.  

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  We hope to see a big bunch of you over at Extreme Audio with your dirty cars!  

Thank you for your help spreading the word!

With AW-K Pride,

Coach Vicki

PS  RAIN DATE:  September 16th

Potluck Update!

Hi Again!

The dance coach has graciously offered to move her practice up to Buchanan Gym so that we can hold our Potluck in the Appleton West cafeteria.  Hooray!  You can park in the parking lot by the pool and enter the school through door 31, which is around the back of the school.  We will have some parent board members ready to show you how to get to the cafeteria.

See you Thursday night from 5:30-7:30 in the Appleton West cafeteria!

With AW-K Pride,

Coach Vicki

Parent Potluck and Meet the Team!

Hi Team!



This Thursday night (August 17th) is our big Parent Potluck and Meet the Team dinner!  I love this night because it gives us a chance to introduce the team to all the parents and thank them for all of their support. We will meet from 5:30-7:30 pm. I am working on finding a location that is big enough to fit our expanded super-team.  We ask that each family brings a main dish to share which serves 6 (pasta, meatballs, pizza, casserole, etc.), their own paper plates, plastic silverware, and cups, and one of the following:

Freshmen: Drinks (no soda, please)
Sophomores: Desserts
Juniors: Veggies or Fruit
Seniors: Chips or snacks

At the meeting we will introduce the team, go over a few expectations, sign up for volunteer opportunities, and discuss the parent and team clothing order. We will also be collecting $60 from each swimmer to cover the cost of the team suit.  Please make checks out to Appleton West Girls Swimming. 

I'll be sure to let you know where we are meeting as soon as it is confirmed!

I am looking forward to seeing everybody Thursday night!

With AW-K Pride,

Coach Vicki

Week One Highlights!

 Hi Team!

Wow!  I absolutely loved our first week together!  The entire team is off to a fantastic start!  I thought you might like a peek at some of the highlights from our week together.

On Tuesday we established right away that We Are All Wonder Women.  We worked on getting to know each other, went over some expectations, and set up our team non-negotiables, which will be posted tomorrow.

That night, pretty much everyone came over for the big team party.  We ate pulled pork, played a corny team builder, and then spent the rest of the time crafting.

 The girls got to meet Olive, who LOVED meeting 50 new friends.

 Some of the girls made AW-K bracelets, which turned out to be kind of hard to make. :)

 Others decorated water bottles.

 A few of the girls made tie blankets.

 We also spent some time in the water last week:

I can't tell you how excited I am about the new lane lines!  I am so grateful to everyone who donated to the lane line fund and to everyone who helped work extra Lambeaus last year.

Time trials were exciting and really gave us a good look at just how awesome the team is going to be this year!

 I am so proud of how everyone did last week.  Some of the girls had never even swam before last week--and every single one of them did a fantastic job during Time Trials!

This week we shift to training mode.  The girls will have their first Tai Chi lesson on Tuesday, and on Thursday we will meet with a nutritionist.  Thursday night is also our big Parent Potluck.  Details about that will be posted on Monday.  Please plan on attending the Pot Luck--we will go over lots of team information and sign up for volunteer opportunities.  We will also be collecting money for the team suits at the Pot Luck ($60).

I can already tell that this is going to be an amazing season!  I can't wait for tomorrow morning!

With AW-K Pride,
Coach Vicki