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