Junior Academy Newsflash

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SWIM ROTORUA JUNIOR ACADEMY

Friendship, Fitness & FUN

  NEWSFLASH!

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are enjoying your swimming this term and that you are making lots of progress. Here is your latest Junior Academy NewsFlash! Remember, this is your newsletter to keep your informed of all things related with the Junior Academy J. Please email Pauline Spear if there are any topics you would like us to include.

New Focus for the Junior Academy

Many thanks to those of you who gave us your feedback via the recent Survey Monkey. The vast majority of the feedback was very positive with a few suggestions on what we can do better. As a result, we have decided to give the Junior Academy a stronger focus on developing Friendships, Fitness and Fun. The content and the coaching delivery will change a little to reflect that. I hope you will like our new approach.

Term 4 Challenge

To encourage our new Junior Academy values of Friendship, Fitness and Fun, we are launching our Term 4 Challenge. It is similar to previous Challenges with a strong emphasis on making excellent progress. The coaches will be encouraging all swimmers to:

J Have a great attitude – always positive and have a go at everything

J Attend their lessons every week

J Try extra hard to improve their skills

PLEASE SEE THE REVERSE SIDE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Holiday Programme

Everyone (especially if you have just joined us) is very welcome to attend the Holiday Programme. The dates are:

Wednesday 30 September                      )    Lesson time is 4.30 – 5.45 pm

Friday 02 October                       )    Last 15 minutes is devoted to starts and turns J

Monday 05 October                    )    

Wednesday 07 October               )    Fee is $25.00 for all 5 lessons

Friday 09 October                       )    The Club will invoice you in due course

Giving you Feedback

One of the key findings of the Survey Monkey was that parents wanted more feedback about how well their child(ren) was progressing. We are keen to deliver on this! As a result you can speak with your squad coach as follows:

• Either at 3.50 pm (before the first lesson) or at 6.05 (after the second lesson)

• On week beginning Monday 30 November. This coincides with the Challenge prize giving and awards. We are very keen to catch up with every parent that week, so come poolside and watch your child(ren) swim!

• We always value your support, so please catch up with your squad coach soon.

Coaching Cover in Term 4

A big THANK YOU to Duncan Nixon who is stepping down this week to concentrate on his schoolwork and exams. Duncan has been with us all year and has been a great coach and very popular with you all. The coaching line up for Term 4 is as follows:

Monday             Bronwen & one other (hoping to confirm this week)

Tuesday                        Bronwen & Tiana

Wednesday        David Boles & Bronwen

Thursday           Natalee & one other (if the numbers increase)

Friday               Claire & Natalee

Plus Veronika when she is available. We are keen to have her coaching with us J. In the meantime, we are still advertising for a new Junior Lead Coach. Please let us know if you know of anyone who would be suitable. Thanks again for your patience.

New PASSPORTS – will be ready for Week 1 in Term 4

Tip from the Top

When pushing off the wall – make your hands and arms like an ARROW. Straight and pointy!

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Quote of the Month – The only difference between Try and Triumph is a little Umph!

Alastair and the Coaching Team

SEMPTEMBER 2015

Dear Junior Academy member,

6 WEEK CHALLENGE

I am very excited to inform you that we are launching the Term 4 6 Week Challenge for all our Junior Academy members. The Challenge is the perfect opportunity for you to accelerate your improvements, learn some new skills and have a go at some new events.

The theme of the Challenge incorporates the new Junior Academy values of:

FRIENDSHIP, FITNESS AND FUN.

In order to receive the Challenge Award you will need to attend at least 2 of the events listed below and show the coaches your friendship, fitness and fun skills. We will also have some special Coach Awards for most improved, best attender, best team player and much more!

The 6 Week Challenge consists of 3 parts:

1. Training

J Attending as many lessons as possible

J Improving your skills (especially those tricky ones like breaststroke, fly, starts and turns)

J Stepping outside your comfort zone and having a go at everything!

J Lead your lane and volunteer to do demonstrations

Use your NEW PASSPORT to help you!

2. Events

    J Race Night on Sunday 18 October (3.00 to 4.45 pm in the 25 metre pool)

    J Skills Clinic on Sunday 22 November

    J Mini Triathlon on Sunday 29 November

Don’t worry if you have not competed before. We will have coaches and team managers in attendance to help and guide you. All the events are low key and lots of fun! Remember, you don’t need to be a registered competitive member to take part and learn J

3. Presentations

These will take place during training on week beginning Monday 30 November. Parents, please come poolside that week and watch your child swimming. As well as presenting the Award winners, the coaches are taking time out to give you feedback on your child’s progress. This was one of the key findings of the recent Swim Rotorua Survey Monkey.

I hope very much that you will enjoy the Challenge!

Kind regards,

Alastair and the Coaching Team