Hi everyone - 

Here we are halfway through the 2024 summer swim season, and since we are now over that Relay Carnival hump, I wanted to take this time to address some things - this is the core of my ethos as a coach, but I also think that sometimes we all need reminding.

This morning, Coaches Sam, Jacob, and I spoke with the team about what good sportsmanship means. Summer Swim is a different animal than year-round swimming in that it is very much a team sport. Swimming is usually thought of as an individual sport, but in the summer - where we have dual meets and meets dedicated solely to relays, and there are points assigned to races and places: it's absolutely a team effort. Even though we have both A and B meets, I think it's also important to remember that we are still ONE team: The Whetstone Whales! Support goes to ALL of our swimmers, not just the ones who go to Saturday meets. MCSL has also really emphasized the importance of good sportsmanship amongst not only opposing teams, but also within teams and among athletes, officials, coaches, and parents. 

So, that being said, I get that it is disappointing to lose a close race, and it's not easy to suffer loss after loss in dual meets. But where we win as a team, we must also lose as a team and support one another in those losses. It's fun and exciting to see everyone swim well (and hey - can we just mention that even though we lost that last A meet, we got a TON of personal bests!!). It's great to have accomplishments and do really impressive things. But I also know - we all know - how it feels to have a bad day, to be off, to suffer a disappointment when you should have done well (talk to me about 1999 Nationals sometime). I would say that the bad days, the off days, and the disappointments are where we should show even more sportsmanship and camaraderie, even though the easy choice is to turn on each other. Our swimmers and teammates need to know that we are proud of THEM and not just how fast they went. We support the person, not the accomplishment. This is a youth swim league, so the joy comes from watching them grow and develop, not just win every time. We can send the message that we show up no matter what. Teammates show up. 

I love Whetstone's mascot because whales travel in pods - and those pods are ride or die. They support each other, nourish each other, and grow with each other. 

And on that note - attached is the newsletter for the week. 

Go Whales!

-Coach Dana.