- October 1 Kast-A-Way Swimwear team outfitting at Zeugner pool
- Ocotber 8 October Opener dual meet vs. Hickory Seahorses (All groups)
- October 22-23 YSSC Invitational (All groups)
- November 12-13 Hickory Invitational (12 & Under)
- November 18-20 Dynamo Invitational P/F (Senior)
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Nehi’s are starting out strong! We have one of the largest groups of nehi’s the team has seen in recent history. We have been focusing primarily on stroke development, rhythmic breathing, and flip turns. Our biggest focus as the season begins is listening to our coaches during practice and not becoming a distraction to our teammates. We are looking forward to having a great season, and we hope the swimmers learn just as much from us as we have learned from them! |
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We would like to say welcome to all the new Orange swimmers this season, and welcome back to those rejoining the ranks! We have been working primarily on drill and stroke development with just a hint of endurance training for some of our more experienced swimmers. One thing we would like to touch on is observing proper locker room etiquette. Locker rooms are for changing and nothing else. Swimmers should be polite and respectful to members and each other at all times, but especially in the locker rooms. We would like to ask that once the swimmers have changed, that they would exit the locker rooms to make room for other members and other swimmers. The coaches appreciate the hard work put in already this season and we can’t wait to see your excitement and speed during the October swim meets! |
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We have been back in the water for 3 weeks and a bit. Practices are going well. The Crush group graduated 5 members to the Sr.D. group over the summer. We wish them well as they continue to grow in swimming and life! We are beginning to get some swim yardage mixed in with our drill/skill work and should begin our monthly timed swims soon. Our first meet is approaching and the Crush swimmers will be swimming the distance events, so be ready.
By now we should have our equipment bags with us at practice each day. The equipment bag should have: small Orange team kickboard, pull buoy, Triton fins, old shoes, pair of golf balls and extra caps and goggles, just in case. Everything should be labeled.
This whole group had a strong summer and did well. I would like to mention one particular accomplishment from our group from this past summer. Mary O Soule achieved a Long Course YMCA National cut in the women’s 200 Fly. Congratulations!
Lastly, I would like to leave everyone with a thought to start the year off with and it comes from the U.S. Navy:
Ship FIRST, Shipmates SECOND and yourself THIRD.
In the Navy, everyone must do whatever it takes to keep the ship running because if the ship isn’t running then no one goes anywhere and everything and everyone on the ship are vulnerable. Shipmates come second, because one person cannot make a ship run. The third important component is yourself as you are part of the crew. Think about how this applies to our team.
Orange, Black; Piranhas Attack! |
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Returning from a monumental summer season, it is time to get back into the swing of things. Morning practices will resume 19 September, So be sure that you are organized not only with all of your gear, but more importantly in the classroom. Get your work done on time, and be sure to allow yourself enough time to get it all done before the deadline. One of the most important lessons you may take away from this sport is time management! Be sure to speak with your coach if you have any problems.
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Our team website is now up to date with information on meet entries, competitions, and other news! Browse through and let us know your feed back in the blog section. Please click here to view our new website. We need pictures! If you have any pictures from past meets or would like to contribute to the newsletter, please contact coach Kale at kstevens@ymcawnc.org.
As always we welcome any feedback about ways to improve our site. So let us know what you think! Visit us on Facebook by following the link below:
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By Kiki Farmer
The Piranhas swim team is a team just like any other in the
sense that when we compete, we are to be uniformly attired. As a team, we also have training equipment which we use during workout the help our swimmers reach their maximum potential. Some equipment lends itself to that unifying look more than others and we see this same philosophy out to use in other sports, like football, baseball, or tennis. Imagine your favorite school or team without a uniform or specific color combination. Without some form of identification either through team colors, numbers or both, participating players would simply be a mixed jumble of people running or swimming around without a specific indentifying theme. Therefore, team colors and uniforms serve the purpose of unifying and identifying the group as well as being functional for the particular activity.
Our YMCA-USA club team is officialy contracted with Speedo (the national company) through our local team dealer: Kast-a-way Swimwear. What does this mean? It means that Piranhas are to wear/use Speedo products as much as possible. Ideally we should buy these products from Kast-a-way Swimwear, but we understand that this may not always be possible. Furthermore, as part of our sponsorship with Speedo, all team members receive a team discount on Speedo items purchased from our team dealer, Kast-a-way. Along with our sponsorship, Kast-a-way provides further discounts on items such as team banners, coaches shirts, Nationals qualifier outfittings, and from home meets such as the HULA meet, a percentage of sales back to the team. Finally, Kast-a-way has a list of all our team equipment/team wear by training group in order to simplify your purchase.
A representative from Kast-a-way Swimwear will be here at Zeugner
Aquatic Center on October 1 to do fittings and take orders for any gear/team wear that you may need. Once the season is underway, should you need anything else, you just contact them. Should you need something on an emergency basis and can’t wait to order, please keep in mind to go with Speedo if at all possible. There may be some of your swimmers that already have gear from TYR, Nike, Dolphin, or Adidas. As it wears out or is grown out of, please replace it with the appropriate Speedo gear. Piranha colors are Black/Orange. The team suit for everyone at meets is a black Speedo endurance suit with YWNC embroidered in Orange on the suit. Team caps and kickboards are available behind the desk at Reuter Y. Coaches carry team caps to swim meets should a cap break. All other equipment and team wear may be purchased from Kast-a-way Swimwear.
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Y and Jr. Nationals Re-Cap! |
By Chris Snyder
The Piranhas who participated in YMCA Nationals in Atlanta and USA Swimming’s Junior Nationals in Palo Alto had super successful end of season swims. The Piranhas took eight swimmers to Atlanta to compete at the 2011 YMCA Long Course National Championships. Emily Marett and Victoria Oslund for the ladies and Ryan DeBerry, Garrett Hoce, Luke Lechner, Dylon Johnson, Michael Williams, and Bill Young for the men. The athletes and coaches stayed in the Georgia Tech dorms that were right next to the pool. These dorms were the part of the 1996 Olympic Village. Michael Williams was born during those Olympic Games and celebrated his fifteenth birthday on the trip. There were many highlights and huge time drops from the swimmers that were shaved and tapered for the meet. Two of our relays scored points and we had several final swims. Our swimmers who were not fully rested had some tremendously gutty swims that set them up well for their focus meet two weeks later.
After a week back in training at Rec Park; Victoria, Emily, Ryan, Bill, along with coaches Kiki and Chris boarded a plane for California and USA Swimmings' Jr. National Championships. Cool Stanford mornings didn’t deter the Piranhas as they sizzled through prelims and time trials. We had five final swims along with three Olympic Trial cuts by Emily Merret and Bill Young. While in California the team had time to visit Santa Cruz, the Marin Headlands and the Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods and Fisherman’s Warf before heading back to Asheville.
These efforts and results at both meets show how hard work and dedication pays off. Looking forward to seeing who steps up and goes the distance in the 2011-2012 short course season.
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Vegan Brownies
Try a new swing to one your favorite desserts, brownie! This delicious vegan twist to a chocolaty favorite combines the health and gluten free recipe which includes dates and excludes the unfavorable ingredients to our animal ingredient-free conscious members such as eggs and milk. For those who are used to the traditional brownie recipe, this variation offers a delectable twist to make your taste buds jump for joy. Give this brownie a shot on your next baking campaign!
Ingrediants:
Makes 16 brownies
1 cup (175 g) pitted medjool dates
¾ cup hot water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons instant decaf coffee
½ cup cocoa powder
½ cup (57 g) garbanzo-garfava flour mix
¼ cup palm sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly mist an 8×8 baking pan with cooking spray.
Put pitted dates, hot water, vanilla, and instant decaf coffee in a heat proof bowl. Let sit while you measure the remaining ingredients. Sift cocoa powder into a bowl to remove any lumps. Add gluten-free flour mix, palm sugar, baking powder, and kosher salt. Whisk to combine.
Place dates and soaking water into the bowl of a food processor
fitted with a steel blade. Process until smooth, scraping down as necessary. Add flour mixture to dates and process until smooth. Batter will be thick.
Turn into prepared pan, scraping as much batter as possible from bowl. Smooth top with a spatula and bake for 15 – 20 minutes until brownies are set. A toothpick won’t come out completely clean for these brownies. Let cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container |
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- Be sure that equipment bags are propperly dried to prevent dripping and puddling. Wet floors are dangerous, drip dry your equipment!
- Parents are reminded to keep off the pool deck during practice hours. This means behind the glass at the YMCA facilities or in the lobby area at the Zeugner center at T.C. Roberson.
- Equipment we will be needing as we get back into our Fall routine are zoomers, kickboard, pull-buoy, paddles, swim snorkel and shoes. Ask your coach about the equipment you need!
- Orange Piranha kickboards may be purchased behind the front desk at the Reuter Y.
- On your equipment, be sure to write your name in a visible area. This way if you forget or lose something, it can find it's way back to you.
- Report problems to the coaching staff. Inapropriate locker room talk, broken or lost items, stolen items.
- Lock up your valuables!
Important: as Piranhas we are highly visible at the Y and other places. Mind your conduct as well as your tone of voice. Your behavior is a direct reflection of the team! |
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