Dear Shaker Swimmers and Parents,

Congratulations on a successful swim season! Thank you for your continuing support of Shaker Swimming and for your attendance at last night’s awards program. Looking out at all of the smiling faces last night reminds us what a wonderful privilege it is to be part of this dedicated community. Oh, and you all looked dazzling dressed up in St. Paddy’s Day green!

For those who could not attend last night, we are sorry you couldn’t make it. We missed you! You can pick up your Attendance Medal, Team Gift, and any other awards the next time you come to practice.

For those who missed it and for those who would like a copy, we are attaching a copy of the slideshow shown before last night’s ceremony to the end of this post. The slideshow was made possible by the sublime photographic skill and generosity of coaches, parents, and swimmers. Thank you very much, photographers!

In the interest of making a tradition out of this first ever slideshow, we’d like to encourage everyone to take more pictures: at practice, at meets, and at special events! All photographs can be submitted to shakerswimming@gmail.com. In the interest of internet bandwidth, please send only 2 or 3 pictures per email. Thank you!

We hope you enjoy the show!

Yours Truly,

Shaker Shark Coaches

Technical notes:

• This slideshow was made on a Mac using iMovie. To watch the movie, you will likely need the latest version of Quicktime and iTunes (available via www.apple.com).
• The movie file is approximately 165 MB; be patient while downloading. Our advice (especially for those on dialup): start your download, go to swim practice, come back and watch the show!
• There is a soundtrack to the slideshow, so turn up the volume!
• To download the file to your hard drive, right click the link and select “Save Link As…” or your browser’s equivalent.

Right Click On This Link To Download the 2007 - 2008 Awards Night Slideshow to Your Hard Drive!

Parents and Swimmers,

If you have any photos from practices, meets, or other Shaker Shark functions that you would be willing to share with us, please email them to shakerswimming@gmail.com. Please note that this is a different e-mail address than the normal Sharks email.

Photos submitted will be considered for use in a special presentation at Shaker Shark Awards Night.

Thank you!

Shaker Swimming

Here are some photos from the Lakewood Bronze Meet

What a wild weekend in Rocky River. Did anyone else notice the similarities between the Rocky River pool and our very own Woodbury Pool? Did it take you 20 minutes to find a parking spot too? Did you notice what a great job the Sharks did getting to their lanes even without a Clerk of Course? And… last but not least… do we have to swim that 100 free?! (Note: The answer is YES!)

Some other notes: the girls impressed the coaches (as well as a number of other coaches and parents) with their loud cheer on Saturday afternoon, the boys impressed the coaches with their willingness to try their flip turns, the girls did not have a single DQ in backstroke events, and the boys had a number of top finishers in their events. All in all there was a lot of fun, many improved times, and great swimming. The coaches did notice that swimmers need to continue to work on swimming legally in relays.

Speaking of top finishers, let me take this opportunity to highlight the Youth Shark Handbook. This quote is taken from a section titled Youth Shark Philosophy of Competition. I think it is particularly useful for those wondering about what the coaches think about awards and “finishing first” at meets.

“The Shaker Sharks Youth Program emphasizes competition with oneself. Swim meets are learning experiences. Winning ribbons, medals, or trophies is not the main goal. Even if a swimmer finishes first, but has swum poorly in comparison to his/her own past performances, he/she is encouraged to do better. The individual swimmer’s improvement is the primary objective.”

Keep working hard and listening at practice. Championships are not very far away!!!

Congratulations to all Shark swimmers who competed this weekend at the Euclid Bronze Meet. The Sharks had an amazing 47 10 & Under swimmers at the meet. What a show! Thanks also to Coach Vickie and “Out of Retirement” Coach Sarah for filling in for Brendan and Tina, who were busy at the Middle School Invitational Meet.

Swimmers: it was great to watch you all swim on Saturday. It is clear to me from the way you swim that many of you all have learned a great deal about the sport of swimming this year. I also noticed that you love to have fun together! The Shaker Sharks hold those qualities most dear and are proud that you are part of our team. Well done! Let’s keep it up for the rest of the season.

Of course, swim meets are about racing too. There were many fast races on Saturday. For those still looking for competitive improvement, here is the best advice I can give:
1. Listen to your coach (Ask questions!)
2. Come to practice (3 times a week or more)
3. Have fun (get to know your teammates and relax!)

Here are some photos of this weekend!

Here’s a short movie clip the SHSH Invite 2007! Enjoy!

Here’s another set of photos from the SHSH Invite! Lookin’ good Sharks and Families! Many thanks to Susan Carver for the photos!

Congratulations to all the Sharks who competed over the weekend in the Shaker Shark Invitational. The coaches are proud of your effort; you should be too. Also, thank you to everyone who volunteered to make our meet a smashing success. The Sharks could not be the fantastic swim team family it is without your help.

Here are some pictures from the weekend’s events. Look for many more in the days to come (including a video!)

Saturday was a day of firsts! Many Shaker Sharks competed in their first meet. Congratulations to those Sharks! Many Sharks also had their first experience swimming breaststroke at a meet. Good work everyone!

Remember, coaches see swim meets as learning experiences. Being disqualified is something every swimmer goes through at some point in their career. Learning to see a disqualification as a reminder to keep listening and working hard at practice is essential!

Below are some photos from Saturday. As per usual, click the thumbnail to see the full size image.

Here are some photos of Splash Party fun! We hope that everyone had fun! Click on the thumbnails to see the larger images.

Congratulations to the swimmers who competed at Solon’s Passport Meet! The coaches will hand out and explain your passports at practice this week! We were impressed with how well the Sharks knew the rules of backstroke! Super! Here are some photos from the meet. Click on the thumbnail to see the full image.

A great big thank you to all the swimmers and parents who helped and participated in the Halloween Swim-A-Thon on Saturday. Here are some photos from the day! Click on the thumbnail to see the full image.

Congratulations to all Shaker Sharks who participated in today’s Time Trials at Woodbury Pool! Also, thank you to all the Shark parents and Senior Shark swimmers who made the year’s first swim meet a success!

Here are some photos of today’s swim meet fun! Click on each thumbnail image to see the full size image.