Swim Lessons & JSI!

Hey everyone!

Swim team has been off to a great start! We saw even more new swimmers (and returning swimmers) this morning to kick off Week 2. If you didn't get the newsletter last week, we do have an official swim team email: sellwoodswimteam@gmail.com. If you would like to receive email updates, go ahead and shoot an email to that address, and I will add you to the list.

One thing our swimmers will be working on a lot this summer is building endurance - being able to swim long distances without stopping. It's always amazing to see how much kids will improve throughout the summer. In addition, we will be working on technique and doing the strokes correctly. With each coach overseeing 15-30 kids an hour, it can be challenging to do lots of individual stroke work each day. If your swimmer needs some extra assistance, a great option is to sign up for upper level swim lessons, in addition to swim team. Swimmers who want to work on competitive stroke work can sign up for the Piranha class (it's the pre-competitive level) - there's usually one offered in the mornings (generally at 9:25 AM) and one in the afternoons each session. Other upper level classes like Sea Lion, Dolphin, and Park Shark will also work on stroke development for freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke (and butterfly in Park Shark). These are great ways for swimmers to get individual attention. Usually even just one session will really boost a swimmer's performance by tightening their technique.

In addition, for older swimmers who may be interested in working for Portland Parks some day, Sellwood offers Junior Lifeguard and Junior Swim Instructor classes each session. These classes are a great way to check out the swim instructor and lifeguard programs and see if they are interesting and a good fit. You also get to learn vital skills, like CPR, and actually shadow a lifeguard or swim instructor while they are doing their job. The classes are conveniently in the morning after swim team. Jr Swim Instructor starts at 8:45 and goes until 10:45 and Jr Lifeguard starts at 11 and goes until 2 (includes a lunch break). You can register for all classes, swim lessons and JSI/JL, either at the pool, over the phone (503-823-3679), or online. As an employee who took these classes back when I was on swim team, I can testify that they really did provide valuable experience and help immensely when I was taking the actual Swim Instructor class to get certified to get a job when I was 15.

So those are great options to look into throughout this summer! See ya at the pool!

- Sarah

Sellwood Swim Team 2010!

Welcome to summer! We kicked off a great start to swim team yesterday morning (6/21), and despite the chilly June weather, it's looking to be a promising summer! With lots of old and new faces, we will have a great team this summer, and we should definitely be a competitive force at our meets! Last summer we placed 3rd at the City Championship Meet, and we can definitely do the same this summer...or better!

Practices are Monday-Friday from 7-8 AM and 8-9 AM. We encourage older swimmers (11 and up) to come to the earlier practice and younger swimmers (10 and under) to the 8 AM hour, but feel free to pick whichever hour works better with your schedule. So far, the 7 AM practice has been a little more crowded, but things should even out throughout this week and next.

Remember to register in these couple weeks so every child can receive a Sellwood team shirt and cap before our first swim meet (Saturday, July 10)!