Meet Misty Hyman (A Fabulous Off-Season Opportunity!)

Hi Team!

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas!  How excited are you for 2016???  I think it's definitely going to be an amazing one for all of us involved with AW-K Girls Swimming & Diving!!

For those of you who don't know, I am working with MWWM on Wednesday nights, and they are hosting an amazing event where you can meet Misty Hyman, 2000 Gold Medialist in the 200m Butterfly.  There are two different events--one in the water and one out.  If you're interested, you can sign up for one or both sessions.  There are a lot of openings for the morning session, but only a handful for the in-water clinic.  So, if you're interested, sign up ASAP.

Hope to see some of you at the event!

Coach Vicki

Team Awards Banquet & Pot Luck

Appleton West-Kimberly 

Girls Swimming Awards Banquet

Who:  All 2015 AW-K Swimmers & their Parents
When:  Sunday, November 15th, 5:30 pm
Where:  Appleton West Cafeteria 

Please bring a main dish to share that serves 6 as well as the following according to your grade:

Freshmen:  Chips or snacks
Sophomores:  Drinks (water, juice, etc)
Juniors: Veggies, Salad, or Fruit
Seniors:  Desserts

Looking forward to celebrating our amazing season!

Top Ten Awesome Moments from Saturday

 Hi Team!

Holy cow!  Saturday's Conference meet was completely amazing, wasn't it?!?!  I'm still smiling, two days later!  There were so many fantastic moments that made Saturday great!  I thought it would be fun to share a few of them here.  So, without further ado:

Top Ten Awesome Moments from Saturday:

10.  Our school bus arrived early, and our bus driver was super nice!

9.  This photo:

 I love that when I ask for an in-the-water photo, they all hug up and squish in.

8. AW-K lead the way with team spirit and included every single team in their cheers:

7.  Seeing everyone representing AW-K in their new parkas.  The new parkas looked awesome up on the podiums!

6.  Marching out with the captains and seniors and seeing our entire fan base wearing Star Wars masks!  So fun!!!

5. The fact that almost every girl swam a best time (or was right on top of a best time) even though we were untappered, unshaved, and wore our Tuesday suits.

4.  Watching our girls overcome some unexpected obstacles like completely stuffed noses and ripped swimsuits.

3.  The big smiles I saw when the girls discovered they swam a best time.

2.  This final result:

1.  Working together as a team to finish in 4th place in the FVA.  Every single swim mattered.  Every single swim made a difference.  You did it!  TOGETHER.  I'm so proud!

Way to go, ladies!  Saturday's meet was one I will never forget!

On to Sectionals!!

Succeed on Purpose,

Coach Vicki

A Few More Thank Yous

Hi Team,

I've got a few last thank yous to say before we wrap up the season.

Our last team meal was a HUGE success.  The Bevers, Sunke, DeBroux, and Schueppert families served a Mexican feast, and the girls went crazy!  They ate every single bit of the taco meat and pretty much everything else, too.  :)  Way to go, dinner team!  The girls loved your meal!  Thank you so much!

Thursday night Hannah's family hosted the Conference dinner in their home.  It was amazing!  They invited the whole team, and pretty much everyone was able to come.  It was so great to have everybody together to share a meal away from the pool.  Thank you, Wellhouse/Beckwith family! We all love, love, loved the fabulous Victoria's meal!  Thank you for opening up your home to the team. It was a special night for everyone!

I'm so thankful for all the amazing families who support our team!

Coach Vicki

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