Swimmers Lane - Spring Newsletter Final

Swimming Strong for 30 years
Pictured: High Performance Swimmers
Austin Vacek, Aria Bernal & Glen Cowand
KATY Swimmers Prepare for 2016 Olympic Trials
There are few sporting events in the nation like the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, which serves as
the only selection meet for the U.S. Olympic Swim Team that will compete in Rio de Janeiro
this summer. Three KATY Aquatics athletes have earned a lane in the pool to compete in
Omaha, Nebraska June 26th-July 3rd.
Cinco Ranch students Aria Bernal and Glen Cowand, and NCAA swimmer Austin Vacek will
experience the event for the first time, competing with the elite in the nation and some of the
world’s best. All three KATY Aquatics veterans made the Olympic Trials cut in the 100-meter
backstroke, with Vacek adding the 200-meter backstroke and 200-meter individual medley to
his itinerary in Omaha.
Vacek achieved all three of his Olympic Trials time standards at the 2015 U.S. National
Championships, recording a time of 2 minutes, 2.02 seconds in the 200 back, as well as 56.79
in the 100 back and 2:04.01 in the 200 IM. Cowand, 17, earned his Olympic Trials spot with a
56.86, placing seventh in the 100 back at the 2015 Speedo USA Swimming Junior Nationals.
The qualifying time to beat was 57.19.
Like his KATY Aquatics teammates, Cowand takes national meet experience to the Olympic
Trials, as well as championship experience at UIL state meets. Cowand and Bernal were key
contributors to one of Cinco Ranch’s best state meet performances this past year. Cowand, an
incoming senior, defended his 100 back state title, setting a school record, and swam on two
state championship relays.
Bernal opened the Lady Cougars’ medley relay that set a school record and earned the bronze
medal. A six-year member of KATY Aquatics, Bernal earned her Olympic Trials spot with a
1:02.97 in the 100 back at the 2015 Southern Senior Champs meet in Shenandoah. The
qualifying time was 1:03.39.
Approximately 1,800 swimmers will gather in excitement to compete at the Olympic Trials in
hopes to become a member on the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team. It takes dedication,
determination, and personal sacrifice to get to this level of National Competition. KATY
Aquatics wants to congratulate each of these fine athletes for earning the opportunity to
compete alongside the best in the nation for a chance to be on the 2016 US Olympic Swim
Team that will travel to Rio later this summer.
Bernal, Cowand and Vacek are part of the High Performance Group led by Coach Andrew
Korda and Coach Justin Brosseau. KATY Aquatics is Proud to have these fine athletes
represent our club, community and state during the Olympic Trials. Our Coaches and team are
extremely excited for each of your accomplishments and are cheering for you!
Good Luck in Omaha!!!
Olympic Trials will run from June 26-July 3 with Prelims beginning at 10 a.m. CDT and Finals at 6:45 p.m.
CDT. A complete event schedule can be found on USA Swimming's website www.usaswimming.org.
2016 Spring Newsletter
Inside this Issue :
2016 Olympic Trial
Athletes
1
Senior Signing
3
Coaches Corner
4
April Pools Day
6
Swim-A-Thon Results
7
Make A Splash
9
Senior Recognition &
Spring Banquet
14
Upcoming Dates to
Remember :
 June 17th—19th
Aggieland Invite
 June 21st—28th
Capital City Classic
 June 26th—July 3rd
Olympic Trials
 July 7th—10th
LC Sectionals
 July 8th—10th
B & Under Champs
 July 15th—17th
Gulf Age Group Champs
 July 22nd—24th
Gulf Summer Champs
 July 27th—July 31st
TAGS
Page 2
Swimmers Lane
Teammates to Travel to Trials to Cheer for
KATY Olympic Hopefuls!
Fifty-five KATY Aquatics swimmers will travel to the Capital City Classic in
Lincoln, Nebraska on June 21st to compete in this timed-finals meet June
22nd—25th. From there, our squad will then continue their journey to cheer
on their fellow teammates, Aria, Austin and Glen during the first two days of
Olympic Trials on June 26th and 27th.
Aria will be swimming in the Women’s 100 Meter Back prelims on Monday,
June 27th in hopes of gaining a viable spot on the US Olympic Team. Austin
will be competing in three events during the Trials in Omaha. He will be
swimming in the Men’s 100 Meter Back on Monday, June 27th alongside
KATY Aquatics teammate, Glen Cowand, and in the Men’s 200 Meter Back
and 200 Meter IM on Thursday, June 30th.
All three athletes are eager to prove their skills in the water and swim
towards a vision of Olympic Rings in Rio.
Travels will come to a close on June 28th with the arrival back in Houston so
our competitive swimmers can finish out the Long Course Championship
Season. Our coaching staff would like to thank all of our parents for
encouraging their swimmers to partake in this lifetime event. Swimming is a
very intensive sport and we appreciate the support our athletes receive
from home.
KATY Swimmers Turn in their Fins for
Baseballs at Minute Maid
On Saturday, June 4th, over forty KATY swimmers and their families
dried off at the pool, and took a trip to the ball field to watch the
ASTROS take on the Oakland Athletics in what was the 2nd
of a 3 game series.
The ASTROS beat the Athletics 5-6 in a 12-inning win, and won all
3 games in the sweep that weekend.
Thank you to everyone who
celebrated KATY Aquatics Team
Night at Minute Maid, and we are
looking forward to many more sporting
events in the future!
Page 3
Ashelen Alvarez to Continue her
Swimming Career at UTPB
Swimmers Lane
KATY Aquatics is proud to recognize Ashelen Alvarez who
has recently become a part of the 2016-2017 Women’s
Swimming Roster at The University of Texas of the Permian
Basin located in Odessa, Texas.
Ashelen is currently a Senior II Swimmer on our team, and
a 2016 Graduate from Taylor High School. Like her fellow
teammates, Ellen Atkinson, Rachel Morrow and Jamie
Turlington, Ashelen will be continuing her swimming career
in college where we know she'll shine in the water!
She is an accomplished athlete who has competed at the
USA Sectional level as well as Gulf Senior Champs.
In addition to her many talents, she is also an instructional
swim coach for our SwimAmerica program, where she shares
her passion of the sport by teaching children how
to swim.
Good Luck Ashelen! We know you'll make waves in your future!
Swim Toward a College Scholarship with
Recruiting Help from KATY Aquatics
Recruiting in the sport of Swimming is a difficult process, but the hard work
can pay off and earning a Swimming Scholarship can be a rewarding, lifechanging experience. However, the art of college recruiting in Swimming
doesn’t work like other sports the way people may think. A lot of recruiting
now happens online.
Take an important first step in the road to a Swimming Scholarship by
attending one of several College Prep Classes that is offered by our club.
These meetings are typically open to current KATY Aquatics Freshman
and Sophomores along with their parents.
The purpose of this meeting is to provide our members with a foundation on
how to begin the college search process. We will discuss when, where, and
how to start connecting and promoting your swimmer to college coaches.
We will discuss the differences between the various competitive collegiate
levels, what coaches are looking for, and the time frames to keep in mind
when submitting applications. We will also go over the process of creating
an online recruiting profile for your swimmer and how to reach out to the
NCSA Network.
We typically host four meetings a year that last about 30-45 minutes long
with a question session afterwards. We cover a wide basis of knowledge,
and we highly suggest attending this meeting with your high school student
if you are interested in learning about the college recruitment process.
Please watch your email for notification of when the next College Prep Class
will be held, as our coaching staff is extremely excited to share our
knowledge with you and your athlete!
Page 4
Coaches Corner: NUTRITION
Tips to keep Athletes Hydrated “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”
Swimmers Lane
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Swimmers Lane
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KATY Aquatics and Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital
Teamed Together for April Pool’s Day
On Friday, April 1st, KATY Aquatics and
Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital teamed
together to promote April Pool’s Day.
Gift Bags filled with safety information,
coupons, and treats were passed out to all
who attended on behalf of the participating
vendors. Participants also had the chance
April Pool’s Day was a two-hour program
to win door prizes which included Water
designed to prevent drowning and inspire
Safety Books from KATY Aquatics, special
families to take water safety seriously.
Gift Baskets donated on behalf of Babies
Both children and adults were able to learn ‘R’ Us, and a Birthday Party for 10 provided
about the hazards associated with water
by Menchies Frozen Yogurt!
and how to deal with them safely.
Children enjoyed getting pictures with
Fabol Hughes, the Mayor of Katy, officially Bobber the Water Safety Dog, Coastie the
started April Pools by reading an April
Rescue Boat, and the Chick-fil-A Cow
Pool’s Day Proclamation at the Town
before sitting down at the ‘Reading Corner’
Meeting held earlier that week on Monday, where toddlers got to enjoy a story with
March 27th on behalf of the City of Katy.
puppets and create special crafts!
The event was held at the new East Tower
of Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital and
was FREE and open to the public!
Families with small children and expecting
mothers were encouraged to attend.
Activities included water safety games
provided by KATY Aquatics, life-jacket
fittings presented by U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, Boat Safety from the US Coast
Guard, how to Be Red Cross Ready, and
tours given by first responders of Life
Flight, Willowfork Fire Department and the
Ambulance crew from
Memorial Hermann!
It was truly a fun, safe event for all involved
and it is a program both KATY Aquatics and
Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital hope to
continue for years to come!
A special recognition goes out to all of our
Parent Volunteers who made the event
special by donating their time to make this
event possible for our community.
Thank you for your support!!
Swimmers Lane
Page 7
The results from the 2016 Swim-A-Thon are in and KATY Aquatics had
336 swimmers participate
in the pool!
The club earned a total of $71,722.81
Three swimmers individually raised $1,200 or more in contributions to their teams.
The top earners for the 2016 Swim-A-Thon are:
Tyler Kopp with $2,000
Jake Mitchell with $1,350
Edie Magana with $1,270
Team Jesse and Justin is the TOP FUNDRAISING TEAM for 2016!
They raised $15,426 with an average of $173 per swimmer,
making them this year’s winning Swim-A-Thon team!
This fundraising team was awarded a Pizza Party
during a swim practice for averaging the most money per swimmer.
Team Val & Clay came in very close with raising an average of $119 per swimmer.
The KATY Aquatics coaches, staff, and board members are extremely proud of the team’s
commitment to the sport of swimming and are excited
to have raised over $70,000 for our Team!
Thanks again to all of our swimmers and their families
for helping to make a difference for our club.
Page 8
Make A Splash Tour Stops in Katy
In response to an alarming epidemic where drowning is the second-leading cause
of accidental death for children under 14, the USA Swimming Foundation
embarked on its eighth-annual Make A Splash Tour presented by Phillips 66 to
save lives through swim lessons.
Since before the new year began, KATY Aquatics had been working diligently with
USA Swimming to bring the Make A Splash Tour to Katy, Texas. The Make a
Splash Tour for 2016 was confirmed in January when USA Swimming announced
Katy, Texas as a destination on its four-city tour stop.
Generally, the Make A Splash tour promotes their events to those that need to
learn to swim, like our SwimAmerica program. However, our club was given
special permission through USA Swimming to promote this event to our
competitive team and their families.
Our Make A Splash Tour Stop took place at Tompkins High School on April 22nd
and consisted of in-water swim lesson clinics, town hall sessions, and meetings
with local community leaders as well as parents and residents.
During the Town Hall Assembly, KATY Aquatics was delightfully surprised with a
$2,500 Grant from USA Swimming to assist with Summer Scholarships for our
SwimAmerica Program.
Our team members were privileged to hear Olympic Gold Medalists Cullen Jones
and Rowdy Gaines speak about water safety and end the evening with
an autograph session and photos after the Town Hall.
The Make a Splash Tour has visited more than 40 cities nationwide since
the initiative started in 2008, and we want to thank all of our KATY families
for welcoming Cullen Jones and Rowdy Gaines to our community and for
enjoying this special event with our staff.
Page 9
Page 10
KATY Aquatics and Texas Children’s Hospital
West Campus Jump in the Pool for Water Safety
Each year, thousands of American families
experience fatal and non-fatal drownings
among children which is why the month of
May is recognized as National Water
Safety Month. In an effort to help reduce
the risk of youth drowning in our local area,
KATY Aquatics and Texas Children’s West
Campus joined together to promote a
Water Safety event called ‘Make A Splash’
which was held on Saturday, May 14th at
the Cinco Ranch High School Natatorium.
Below are the top 4 Safety Principles that
were focused on during the FREE event.
1. The Importance of Safe Supervision
around Water
2. Why You should Learn How to Swim
3. The Value of Knowing CPR and
First-aid Response
4. The Necessity of Fences around
Residential Pools/Spas
The morning began with an opening Flag
Ceremony presented by Cub Scout Pack
585 and remarks from Deonesia Grays of
the Bria’s House Foundation. Deonesia
shared her personal experience of how she
lost her daughter to a drowning accident on
Memorial Day Weekend in 2005 and why
teaching children how to swim is an
important life saving skill.
Children enjoyed FREE swim lessons,
kayak rides, informational booths,
demonstrations and water activities for all
ages!
Water Safety Organizations such as
Abbey’s Hope, Bria’s House, Colin’s
Hope, Consumer Product Safety
Commission, Independent Pool and Spa
Service Association, Josh the Otter,
Safer 3, Shallow Water Blackout Aquatic
Safety, Stewie the Duck, Texas Children’s
West Campus, US Army Corps of
Engineers, United States Coast Guard,
USA Swimming Foundation, and the ZAC
Foundation all supported this effort with
informational pieces, games and
demonstrations.
Other draws to the event included a Fire
Truck display from the Willowfork Fire
Department, a Police Car display from the
Fort Bend Sheriff’s Department, an
Ambulance from the Fort Bend EMS
Squad, and special appearances from
Bobber the Water Safety Dog, Coastie the
talking Boat, the Chick-fil-A Cow, and
Princess Ariel!
Swimmers Lane
Additional businesses in
attendance for Make A
Splash included
Adventure Kids Playcare, Athena Learning
Center of Katy, Costco, Vortexic Martial
Arts, The Wellness Center, WIC and YES!
Youth Fitness & Sports Performance.
Patrons of the event also experienced
FREE Door Prizes and food samples from
Papa Murphy’s Pizza, Tony’s Mexican
Restaurant, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Great
Harvest Bread Company, and Sprouts.
The event had something fun and
informative for everyone!
It was a great community effort with over
500 patrons attending. A lot of effort went
into preparing for this water safety event
and the KATY Aquatics Staff would like to
personally thank our Community Partners,
Parent Volunteers, and all those involved
for donating your time to this event. We
could not have hosted such a fantastic
day without your support!
KATY Aquatics
Thanks our Community Partners & Vendors
for their Generous Support and
Contributions towards the
2016 Make A Splash Event!
Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus — Title Sponsor
Make A Splash — USA Swimming Foundation
Bria’s House Foundation — Guest Speaker
Abbey’s Hope Charitable Foundation
Adventure Kids Playcare
All About Katy
Athena Learning Center of Katy – Cinco Ranch
Babies R Us
Chick-fil-A — Cinco Ranch, Mason Road, Katy Green
Children’s Museum of Houston
Colin’s Hope Foundation
Consumer Product Safety Commission—Pool Safely
Costco
Cub Scout Pack 585
Fort Bend EMS Squad
Fort Bend Sheriff’s Department
Great Harvest Bread Company
IPSSA—Independent Pool & Spa Service Association
Josh the Otter — The Joshua Collingsworth Foundation
Kids Healthy Teeth
Nothing Bundt Cakes—Katy
Papa Murphy’s Pizza
Safe Kids Coalition
Safer 3 Water Safety Foundation
Shallow Water Blackout — Aquatic Safety Research Group
Spotlight Acting Academy
Sprouts
Stewie the Duck — Stew Leonard III Children’s Charities
Swim Spray
Times Square Entertainment
Tony’s Mexican Restaurant
US Army Corps of Engineers
US Coast Guard—Coastie
Vortexic Martial Arts
The Wellness Center
WIC — Katy Location
Willowfork Fire Department
YES! Youth Fitness & Sports Performance
ZAC Foundation
Page 14
K AT Y A q u a t i c s
Wo r k H a r d , P l a y H a r d
Congratulations to the 2016 Senior Class!
Page 18
2016
Spring Banquet
Swimmers Lane
KATY Aquatics
5506 1st Street
Katy, Texas 77493
Phone: 281-391-7200
Fax: 281-391-7210
E-mail: [email protected]
KATY Aquatics
Thanks our 2015-2016 Sponsors
for their Contributions to the TEAM!
Platinum
D&J Sports
NT Visions
Health One Emergency Care—West Campus
A Department of West Houston Medical Center
Speedo
Gold
Paragon Pools
KATY Aquatics
is an official
affiliated Team
Important Information :
 Do you have questions about
your Invoice?
Email:
[email protected]
 Do you have questions about
Service Hours?
Email:
[email protected]
 Do you have general questions
about the Team?
Email:
[email protected]
Silver
Great Southern Agency
Hargrove Design Group
The Club at Falcon Point
Willow Fork Country Club
Bronze
Data Shredding Services
Schlumberger
Friends of KATY Aquatics
First Cup Café
Katy Printers
2016 Swim-A-Thon Sponsors
Patient Financial Services
Academy Sports & Outdoors
Kids Healthy Teeth
Martinez McGuire—Attorneys At Law
The Athletic Lab
Ashford Chiropractic & Rehab
Brock Orthodontics
Discovery Consulting Services, Inc.
Medina Orthodontics, PLLC
Dr. Darlington Erowele, DDS, PC