Mandatory Parents Meeting and Meet & Greet Night!

Mandatory Parents Meeting and Meet & Greet Night for the JS YMCA Winter Swim Team
When: Tuesday, November 9th
Where: JS High School – outside the pool area
Time: Both Practices – beginning at 6pm & 7pm

You have met the coaches – now it is time to meet the Winter YMCA Swim Team Advisory Committee!

Have you heard the coined phrase ... "ARE you ready?” Coaches of many different sports use this to prepare players – in this case our swimmers – for their seasonal workouts – are they ready to start the season? Swimmers need to be ready for stretching workouts, swimming laps, dry land exercise and much more. The same question needs to be asked of the parents for the booster club activities ... are YOU ready?

In order to have a successful season, we need parent volunteers. A LOT of parent volunteers because the advisory committee cannot do it alone.

Items to discuss during our Meet & Greet:
• Volunteer Timers/Officials
• Volunteer Concession Stand Workers
• Completing our Fundraisers
• Outfitting Your Swimmer: Our Clothing Sale
• CHAMPIONSHIPS!
• End of the Season Banquet!

Are you READY?

Please join us at one of the sessions, Tuesday, November 9th for refreshments, to learn important team information AND to learn how you can help to make a difference for your swimmer and the entire team.

Hope to see you there!

YMCA Swim Team Advisory Committee

Can You Spot the Differences?

Look closely at the picture below and see if you can pick out the differences between the two. The picutre on the left was taken on Tuesday night, October 19 while the picture on the right was taken two days later on Thursday night, October 21. Click on the picture to enlarge and see the differences a little better.

Give up?

1. Head coach Patty Kennelley is wearing a red shirt on deck in the left picture while she is wearing a gray shirt on the right.
2. The swimmers are in the water in the left while they are on deck in the right picture.
3. A record board appears in the right picture while there was none two days before.

That's right! Previously, if you wanted to look at the Jersey Shore High School Swim records, you had to exit the pool and go into the lobby. If you looked very carefully, you could read the records on a small 8" x 11.5" plague beside the pool door.

The Jersey Shore Swim blog will post another picture as soon as the names, times, and dates are entered onto the new record board.

Background and Philosophy of JS's New High School Swim Coach

Leland Thompson was four years old when he was jogging with his dad past Jersey Shore Borough’s outdoor pool. Like most young minds, he had a lot of questions and wanted to know what was going on in the pool and why kids were swimming back and forth. To satisfy is son’s curiosity; Mike Thompson took him into the pool area and talked to the summer swim team coach. The next day, Lee was swimming on the team and has been involved in the sport since that day.

Thompson’s latest swimming experience will take place this winter as he takes the helm of the Jersey Shore boys and girls swim team from long time coach Lou Anne Gasperine.

The high school didn’t have to look far to find a successful candidate. Thompson was a standout swimmer during his four year career at Jersey Shore. During his junior year, he was part of two relays that made it to the 2004 PIAA States; the 200 yard medley relay and the 200 yard freestyle relay with teammates Eric Gephart, Mike Smith, and Brandon Davidson. The foursome was able to capture fifth place in the 200 yard medley relay.

“We really worked hard our senior year as we saw potential with our relay,” said Thompson. The hard worked paid off as all four swimmers made States in individual events but also competed in the two relays. Hard work pushed their 200 yard medley relay to a fourth place finish.

His successful high school career propelled him to the next level and swam competitively for Slippery Rock University where he was a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference medalist. Unfortunately, the sports world came crashing down at SRU as nine varsity sports were eliminated, including men and women’s swimming.

“I still wanted to swim so I transferred to Clarion University,” said Thompson. “It was a wonderful experience but I was starting to concentrate more on the sport and as a result, my academics suffered.” He hung up his swim trunks and headed closer to home to work on his Health and Physical Education degree at Lock Haven University.

The sport still had a pull on him. “I became a volunteer high school coach at Jersey Shore two years ago under Head coach Gasperine in which I helped organize practices and meets. I got a feel for the opposite spectrum of swimming,” said Thompson. “Last year, I started to work with the more advanced swimmers and took on even more responsibilities. I fell in love with swimming again.”

Thompson also gained some coaching experience by working with the Jersey Shore Summer Swim Team under head coach Patty Kennelley. “This is a large group, over 100 kids, and this allowed me to gain some experience with kids of all ages and swimming abilities,” said Thompson.

As Thompson moves through his college experience, he recognizes the importance of academics. “I want the kids to do well not only in the pool but the classroom. Regardless if they go to Districts and/or States, I want them to grow as an individual and be a better person and student.”

Shore has always had some top notch swimmers. Last year the girls placed third in District IV Championships while the boys finished eight. The girls also placed in the top fifteen in PIAA States by capturing thirteenth place. “We are a little lacking on depth. We take a lot of first place finishes in dual meets but have trouble picking up points with fourth and fifth place finishes,” said Thompson. One of his first orders of business is to increase the size of the team. “I hope to work with other student-athletes to see if they want to cross train and use swimming as that platform.”

In addition Thompson also hopes to increase participation in morning practices and dryland training. Work out of the pool will include weight and endurance training.

“I have big shoes to fill,” said Thompson. “I learned a lot under coach Gasperine and Jeri Demel (assistant coach) and hope to continue the winning tradition for Jersey Shore Swimming.”

YMCA Swimmers Start Season

The coaches had their hands full the first day of practice as both the early session (younger kids) and later session (older kids) were full.

Swimmers hang out at the wall as assistant coach Steve Sheets gives the kids their next drill.TO VIEW MORE PHOTOS AND SEE OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER PRACTICE SCHEDULES CLICK ON "READ MORE" BELOW.

Enjoy a College Swim Meet

Swim team parent, Shelley Moore, passed on an interesting article from Swimnetwork (a collection of swimming blogs, features, news, activities, etc.). This article located here talks about the status of college swim programs as budgets are tightened.

"The reality is that no collegiate swim teams are safe anymore. Not in this economy. Not with growing budget crises across the nation. Many of the readers on this website are themselves current, future, or former collegiate swimmers. We all know the joys and benefits of swimming at the NCAA level," says the author.

Swimming is not the only sport on the chopping block. Cal-Berkeley dropped baseball, gymnastics, and womens' lacrosse. It is interesting to note that one of the hardest hit men's sports is wrestling as hundreds of programs have been dropped over the past couple of decades.

To support swimming, the blog article states that every swimmer should attend at least one local college swim meet. In light of that suggestion, meet schedules for Lock Haven University, Bucknell University, Penn State University, and Lycoming College are posted below.
TO VIEW SWIM SCHEDULES CLICK ON "READ MORE" BELOW.

Swimmers Tackle Corn Maze

It was a great weekend as several Jersey Shore swimming families took advantage of the warm, sunny weekend to tackle the corn maze at Ard's Farm Market.TO VIEW OTHER PHOTOS OF THE CORN MAZE TRIP, THEN CLICK ON "READ MORE" BELOW.

Haven Area Aquatic Time Trials

Several swimmers from Jersey Shore participated in the Haven Area Aquatic Time Trials in preparation for the upcoming USA Swimming season. Below, Gabbie M. (kneeling), Emma B., Sam K., and Olivia (standing left to right)surround assistant coach Joel Blesh as they cheer on fellow Jersey Shorian, Kendra W. Kendra wanted to test her mettle in the 500 yard freestyle.

Hey Jersey Shore Swimmers - Get Lost....

....In a Corn Maze.

Looking for a for a good weekend family activity! Join us as we venture down to Ard’s Farm Market and tangle with their 5 acre corn maze on October 16. This year’s theme is a Wild West Adventure. See picture below.

For those interested in going, we are going to meet at the Jersey Shore Borough Outdoor Pool at 11:30 AM. We’ll travel to the farm market in convoy and spend a couple of hours at the site. In addition to the maze, there are several other activities such as a 95 ft. tube slide, rope maze, web maze, tile maze, and small corn maze, along with the fun barn, corn cannon, and the Lost Goat Mine (fossil digging and gem mine sluicing).

Visit their web page at http://www.ardsmarket.com/ for more information. ADMISSION: $9.00 adults; $8.00 children ages 2-12

Directions will be handed out in case you get lost as we travel down but here are directions just in case. The farm is located in Central Pennsylvania on Rt 45, halfway between Lewisburg and Mifflinburg. For your GPS, the address is 4803 Old Turnpike Rd, Lewisburg, PA 17837. Take Rt 15 to Lewisburg. When in Lewisburg, head West at Rt 45 for 3 miles. It will be on your left hand side.

Haven Area Aquatic Club Sets Race Schedule

Lock Haven's first USA Swimming club has set the race schedule for 2010-2011. The group is going to venture down east for a few swim meets but will also swim in its' own backyard with two meets in the State College area. The meet schedule is below. Also take a look at the gear for swimmers and parents. Click on forms to enlarge.

Winter Swim Team Wreath Sales

Find a youth organization and you will also find a fundraising activity right behind it. The Jersey Shore YMCA Winter Swim Team has an excellent fundraiser, Christmas wreaths. These look great on the entrance door during the festive season and also make great gifts to family and friends. Please support you local swimmer by purchasing a few wreaths. The order forms are below,just click on forms to enlarge.