Final week!

It's our final week of the regular season! We’ll be swimming at Mountain Park on Thursday, a venue the Dolphins haven’t competed at in a long time. The good news is that the Mountain Park Aquatic Center is the home pool of the Parkview Swim Team, so Coach Brown knows his way around and many of our teenage swimmers call it a fast pool.

This facility will have a few differences from our other meets:

START TIME: 6:45PM tentative meet start. 6:05PM tentative warm-ups. This facility is run by Gwinnett County, who dictates when the swim team can start using the pool. We will share an exact schedule when we have it later this week. 

PARKING: There's a lot with lots of handicap spaces. So if you have grandparents or friends who have wanted to come to a meet but have been wary of the parking situation in neighborhoods, this might be a good one to invite them to.

SEATING: There are stands overlooking the pool for parents and spectators. You can also bring your own chair to set up along the back wall or in the lobby. ONLY VOLUNTEERS will be allowed on the pool deck.

LANES: This pool has 10 lanes, so the meet will move along quicker than normal. Since the parent seating is completely separate from the bullpen, please encourage your swimmers to stay in the bullpen for the entire meet. Bullpen volunteers will only be able to stage swimmers who are on the pool deck.

COACH ETHAN!
After 14 years as a Dolphin, this is Coach Ethan’s last. An education major at UGA studying to teach high school math, he’ll be preparing for his career next summer. We know many of our swimmers (including mine) have been talking to him about coming back to Lilburn when he graduates so they can have him as a COACH & TEACHER!

Coach Ethan has coached sooooo many of our Dolphins, and we know kids and parents may want to say thanks this week. We’ll celebrate Coach Ethan as a team at Fun Friday, but feel free to use the “Coach Kudos Cards” to write him a note or there are a few specific thank you cards circulating at practices. We’ve heard from a reliable source that his favorite snack foods are Chez-its and Sour Patch Kids, he loves to eat at Panda Express and can never have too much University of Georgia gear.

COACH KUDO CARDS
As our season comes to a close, we know swimmers and families may want to say thanks to their coaches. Feel free to write your own thank you notes or give your own tokens of appreciation. But you can also use the Coach Kudo Cards (located in the blue box under our announcement board). We’ll collect all the cards at the end of the week and give them to coaches at our Last Splash Bash. Let our coaches know what a positive impact they’ve made on swimmers and the summer swim experience.

YEAR-ROUND SWIM PROGRAMS
Several parents have asked us to highlight year-round swim opportunities for those kids who are eager to keep swimming. We have a handful of Dolphin swimmers who participate, so be sure to ask around to get a first-hand account of these programs. For the year-round programs, registration happens usually in July, but we’ve found that slots will open up throughout the year (add your swimmer’s name to the waitlists).

Mountain Park Aquatic Center Classes – Like other youth classes offered by Gwinnett County, these run as 6-week sessions throughout the year. Sign-ups are first-come, first-serve and sometimes an evaluation is required before registering so that the swimmer is placed in the level that best corresponds to their skills.

Spartans Swim Club – A part of Greater Atlanta Christian School, this program offers different levels of programs/teams, which run the entire year (but can be paid for monthly). There are different levels depending on a swimmer’s age and skill level. Meets are held on weekends throughout the year, but are normally not a requirement to participate. Evaluations are required before signing up for a program (happening now), and registration for newcomers occurs in July.

Gwinnett Aquatics – A non-profit organization, “GAGA” offers different programs/teams based on a swimmer’s ability and age. The teams run the entire year, but can be paid for each month. Meets are held on weekends throughout the year. Evaluations are required before joining a year-round program (happening now), and registration for newcomers occurs in July. In addition, Gwinnett Aquatics offers lessons for beginning swimmers. They also offer clinics at different points in the year, including one for middle & high school swimmers preparing for their high school swim season.

Swim Atlanta – Located a little farther away from Hanarry West, Swim Atlanta is similar in structure to the two programs above. Swim Atlanta also manages pools and hires lifeguards.

Go Dolphins!
See you at the pool!