Membership Information

What to expect when you decide to Join

Hello, and welcome to the exciting world of swimming! By joining CAT you are also becoming a member of USA Swimming, in which your child will become a member of one of the country’s largest, most organized, and competently coached youth sports. There is a lot to learn about being the parent of a competitive swimmer.  I hope that all of you will feel comfortable approaching me, or any of the coaching staff, with any questions you have about the team and the new sport that you are getting involved in.  This section has been prepared with the goal of acquainting you with the sport of competitive swimming. It contains information that will help you and your family to get the most out of participating in age group swimming. With a positive attitude and a willingness to lend a hand, you will also have a great impact on your child’s athletic environment, and his or her love of swimming.

There are many reasons to swim on a competitive swim team.  You can look at the awards, new friends, the health benefits, learning life skills, but every time USA Swimming polls the athletes the #1 answer for both boys and girls of all ages is that it is FUN!

The thing that I like most about swimming is that every athlete can be successful.  The level that they compete at is determined by their commitment to the sport, work ethic in practice and the belief in themselves.  The world we live in is full of instant gratification, but swimming takes time and commitment to reach the highest levels.  It takes time to learn how to be successful.  So, what do new swimmers have to do in order to  be successful in their new sport?  Simple...

·          be happy

·          have fun

·          learn proper technique from their coach

·          attend meets on occasion

·          be able to count on support from you when they fail.

Why are these things important?  The answers are, not so simply, the following:

·          If they are not happy, they will not want to excel and will probably become stagnant in their growth within the sport… If you feel your child is not happy, talk with them about it.  If that does not work, talk with your child’s coach to see if they have any suggestions or insights to the situation.  Swimming isn’t always for everyone, unfortunately :), but we will never give up on someone and will do our best to figure out what’s up if someone is unhappy.

·          This one kind of ties in with the one above, but in many ways it also can be separate.  "Fun" can be very different from child to child and as your child matures mentally, as well as within the sport, you can expect their definition of fun to change.  I have had 11 year olds tell me the greatest possible thing that we could do in a practice is 3 x 1650 for time (seriously!); while others would like to do nothing else but do cannon balls off the side for an hour.  Bottom line, the coaches will mix it up to try and satisfy everyone, BUT Not To The Deterrent Of The Practice Group.  Again, if a problem in this area arises and leads to #1 going down the drain, talk with your kids about it and then don’t be afraid of talking with us about it.

·          Bottom line THE MOST important thing a beginning swimmer can do when they first start is to learn to swim with proper technique.  Children, when they start swimming, are NOT in the bodies they will be in when they are done with their maturation process.  So, really, how FAST they swim Now means NOTHING of how fast they will swim later on in their lives.  This "later on" is what we are worried about.  If a child Mentally learns how to manipulate their body and to swim the strokes correctly they will be MUCH better off in their future swimming careers.  If a child just worries about hammering the water to death every time they get in and never really thinks about HOW they are swimming, they probably will be faster NOW.  However, in the future, because they are used to only swimming incorrectly will very likely will hit a barrier that will be super challenging for them to overtake.

·          Competing in a meet from time to time is really one of the only ways an athlete can see how they are progressing.  Knowing they have that upcoming swim meet can also be a huge motivation for an athlete to make sure they are practicing on a regular basis and making the appropriate changes to their strokes.  Think about this for a second--- (not true for everyone I am sure, but….) If you knew you didn’t have a test, would you have ever studied for one anyway?

·          This will be off the subject at first, but please don’t ever be afraid of having your child fail.  Of the, literally, 100’s of swimmers at particular meets, only one of them gets first.  Of the, literally, 1000’s of employees that apply for a particular position only one, in the end, gets hired.  If you are not that "one," you learn to try harder to succeed; you learn to find more within you; you learn that with enough effort you can and will win.  Individuals would not know the meaning and feeling of success if they do not know the meaning and feeling of failure.  ----  As coaches our job is to tell the swimmers, this was good and this was bad.  The swimmers will come to expect this, and will know there will more than likely be something their coach wants them to continue to improve upon.  In a way, this makes us kind of the bad guy… because of this YOU have the opportunity to be the ever ready good guy.  No matter what the situation, even when inside you where cringing at the performance you just saw, be the person that says "You did fantastic honey.  I know that next time you will do even better!"  If they get "blah, blah, blah, blah, blah your turn was bad" from coach and "blah, blah, blah, blah your start was horrible" from mom and dad, they walk away with two negatives.  Be the ever persistent positive.  I am not saying that we will be the ever persistent negative, far from it, but as coaches, even when they are Champion of the World we will give them something to work on; we want YOU to help us and be the individual(s) that will always give them the pat on the back (without that something else to work on…that’s our job).

If you are still looking for more information check out this from USA Swimming.

Welcome to the Team

In deciding to join our team, you will need to know more about us. This summary will explain dues and other fees, meets, organizational structure, and other general information.

CAT Organization and Board of Directors
CAT is a parent run, volunteer organization.  The Board of Directors is a parent elected representative body that meets monthly and decides policy for the team. The 2006-2007 President is Bill Boyce.  Issues that have to do with the organizational aspects of the team should be addressed to him. The Board meetings (second Wednesday of the month) are open to all parents. Each family is required to help the team with fundraising events and organizational tasks throughout the year.  Should you decide to join the team, you will be asked to sign up for volunteer committees at a later New Parent Meeting.  Email communication, the monthly newsletter and flyers placed in your family mailbox will keep you informed.
 
Coaches
CAT coaches are paid employees of the parent Board.  They are highly trained professional individuals committed to developing excellence for both the team and the individual swimmers.  They are happy to talk to parents and swimmers about concerns and issues.  Coaches may be contacted by leaving a message on the CAT office phone, (766-6306) and they will return your call. Please do not disturb the coaches while they are on deck with the swimmers, as they are focusing on the swimmers and the workout, the most important aspects of their job.  They are often available to parents immediately after workouts are completed.
 
Handbook
CAT publishes a handbook containing in-depth information about the team and swimming.  Please read your copy of the handbook.  It will answer many questions for you.  If you have additional questions, feel free to ask other CAT parents, the coaches or Stephanie Olbrich (Administrative Assistant) on deck or by email at .
 
Swim Meets
Each season, the coaches publish a list of area swim meets considered important for the team. Different meets are appropriate for different levels of swimmers. The meet entry information and forms for these meets are placed in family mailboxes several weeks before each meet. Entry procedures, deadlines, and fees are explained on these flyers. Swim meet attendance is entirely optional, especially for new and inexperienced swimmers. Coaches will recommend appropriate meets to individual swimmers as skills improve.

Administrative Assistants
Laura Pfeifer, a CAT parent, and Greg Bostrom, Age Group Coach, are the Administrative Assistants in the CAT office. Questions concerning any details of the team may be addressed to them. Messages may be left at 766-6306 or via email at catofficemanager@aol.com . In deciding to join our team, you will need to know more about us. This summary will explain dues and other fees, meets, organizational structure, and other general information.

Welcome to the team! We hope you and your swimmer(s) will find this experience to be a rich one, full of personal growth, accomplishment and fun.