Red Deer Marlins Newsletter
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RED DEER MARLINS
SUMMER SWIM CLUB
April 2012 - Newsletter
Volume 23; Issue 1
www.reddeermarlins.org
Welcome back for another season of Marlins Swimming! We are looking forward
to another exciting summer of healthy activity, and competitive swimming for all
of our members. To those families that are new to the club, we welcome you,
and are glad you decided to become a part of one of the premier summer swim
clubs in Alberta (ranked 4th provincially in 2011).
Once again, it will be a summer of early mornings (bring your coffee), and busy
weekends (bring your lawn chair) at the pool. Parents are encouraged to read
our handbook on the website to find a list of all the necessary items you will need
to survive a summer swim season (www.reddeermarlins.org).
This summer proves to be a busy one for our club, as we are hosting:
ASSA Region D Championships – Aug 10, 11 & 12.
Competitive Swim Camp – July 9 – 13.
Marlins Swim Meet – July 14th.
In order to support the above events for this summer, we are looking to each
family to volunteer their time as officials during the season. Without these
volunteers, swim meets simply wouldn’t be a reality. Please contact Sheena
McNiff-Wolfe for information about officiating, or ask any experienced Marlins
parent.
Remember that along with the volunteering, bingos, and practice sessions,
comes the fun, friendships, and camaraderie that our kids will develop during the
summer. Once again, I would like to welcome everyone to the club, and I look
forward to seeing all of you at the pool!
Regards,
Ian Bettenson
President
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Coach Committee Chair Report:
Well….we have an amazing coaching staff this season. There is wealth of knowledge,
experience, enthusiasm and organizational skill on the staff this season.
Please read the bio’s the coaches have submitted to this newsletter and come out to the
Bottle Drive/Meet the Coach BBQ on Saturday, May 12.
Precompetitive A & Intro to Competitive – Natalia Chiles. Natalia was hand selected
2 seasons ago because of her great success with the Red Cross Program. She has had
amazing results with her swimmers, some unable to swim 10m on May 1 and by the end
of July able to complete 64 continuous lengths. She is an amazing mix of compassion
and challenging for this wonderful age of swimmers. She has made multiple little Marlins
what they are today.
Precompetitive B – Jillian Engler Jill is a new addition to the coaching staff but
certainly not a newcomer to the Red Deer Marlins. Jill has been a long time swimmer
and an outstanding team leader who will make the transition to coaching easily.
Hayley Goring – Squad 1 and Head Coach Hayley, a long time Marlin, knows what
being a Marlin is all about. She understands the balance of having fun and learning the
sport of competitive swimming, helping the athletes find that drive for personal
achievement and team work. She is an amazingly organized individual that all parents
will appreciate.
Jesse Verwey – Squad 2 Jesse is new to our team this season but was watched while
he coached a rival team last season. We knew from the rave reviews he had from his
last year team and the enthusiasm he displays towards his athletes that we had to have
him as a part of the Marlin coaching team.
Clint Stevens – Squad 3 Clint has a huge bio, please read and see what kind of
experience he is bringing to our pool deck. Clint’s most current success was with our
camp last year. His approach and success with the camp athletes drove us to inquire on
a permanent coaching position with the Marlins. We are very glad he accepted the
position.
AJ Mahoney – Squad 4 AJ also brings a ton of experience and knowledge to our pool
deck. AJ was one of my ‘babies’ from my early coaching days. His education career
brought him back to Red Deer and our athletes will benefit from his fantastic approach to
the sport of swimming.
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Squad 3 & 4 have a special arrangement for this season. AJ has agreed to coach with us
but with one special request. Due to the large draw on his life that being a high school
teacher and year round volleyball coach brings to his life, he has requested that he have
the month of July off of coaching to rejuvenate as a person. We have granted his request
and see that he is such a great asset to the club when he is here that it far outweighs if
he wasn’t here at all. Clint and AJ will work together throughout the season to ensure
that there is an easy transition to Clint while AJ is away. AJ will return for the entire
month of August to prepare the swimmers for Regionals and Provincials.
Masters and Swim Fit will have the assignment of their coach very soon.
Camp Director Report:
Swim camp will run July 9-13th this year. The fitness testing portion of the camp will take
place on Sunday, July 8. We are hap py to welcome back the coaching staff from last
year to continue on their great success from last year. There are a few schedule
changes from last year to accommodate a larger number of participants this year and to
expand on the work the coaches are able to do with a few less athletes per session.
Swim Camp was a great asset and success last season and proved to be a great
fundraiser for our club. All of the camp details are on our website.
Camp volunteers are required to make this camp a continued success. If you are able to
volunteer a few hours of your time to this funds generator please contact Amanda,
Amanda.halford@scottsville.com. You don’t need to know anything about swimming or
the detailed workings of the camp, just need to be willing to do some emailing and
organization for the camp.
Volunteers required:
Chaperone – to spend a morning or afternoon at the camp supervising the athletes and
ensuring a smooth flow between the sessions
Volunteer Coordinator – coordinate the following volunteers: chaperones/athlete check
in/billets
Marketing – ensure website is current with the information/email clubs for
participants/stay in contact with particpants – what to bring/when to be there etc
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Vice President Report:
Wow…what a huge year for the Marlins. If you are on the website, you can see that the
programming and the schedules are mind boggling. We keep building our club each year
which is a great testament to our staff and the quality of our programming. We have
added another Precompetitive Squad, called Intro to Comp, to build our base of
swimmers. You will see Masters in the pool – athletes over the age of 18, well….I think
the mean age will be 30…..maybe 30 something!!
We as a club made a decision last season that with growth we didn’t want to compromise
quality of the programming. We added a ton of pool time, capped group numbers and are
offering different schedules to ensure each athlete receives coaching in smaller group
sessions.
The Marlins are a great group of people and an organization that we are very proud of.
But will all of that comes a large amount of work. Jump in and get involved, join a
committee, become an official!
Happy Swimming everyone….enjoy the 2012 season!
Amanda Halford
Vice President/Coach Committee Chair/Camp Director
Marlin Evaluation Swim
April 29th, 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Michener Pool.
Evaluation day for:
**All NEW swimmers and
Returning Precomp and Squad 1 Swimmers
** If your name is on the following list please attend!!
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** Grace Monaghan, Owen Halford, Kieran Monaghan, Hayden Bettenson, Franny
Hansen, Kate Hansen, Matthew Hansen, Sarah Mateika, Hanna Mateika, Mya Robinson,
Delaney Lehman, Pierce Shybunka, Hannah LaGrange, Hana Wolfe, Jelena Syndal,
Eoin Wolfe, Alexia Callan, Paul Pearce, Jacob Mudry, Haley Poole, Marin Walton, Alex
Markotoff, Jack Walton, Eliane Barnard, Rachel Wiemer, Manny Gesshe, Cameron
Frenette, Noah Thomas, Zack Fletch, Megan Raivio, Eduard Barnard, Sean Raivio, Mats
Nieuwenhuis, Sophia Caraca-Hart, Styn Nieuwenhuis, Michael Hill, Jeremy WilliamsonHernandez, Connor Poole, Matthew Purdy, Sarah Mudry, Erik Sveinson, Emma Wrench,
Alexandra Wiemer, Nikkisha Brunet, Alison Guthrie, Priya Thoma,s Grant Claerhout,
Chris Marr Laing, Sarah Raivio ,Kira Weddell, Rachel Zabel, Adam Guthrie, Keely Anne
Budd, Ryan Claerhout , Jacob Stephan, Joseph Stephan, Jaden Callen, Alex Fletch
Coaches Corner:
Introducing our coaches for the 2012 season:
Hello swimmers and parents!
My name is Hayley Goring and I am very excited to be returning for another great
summer of swimming with the Marlins. During the non-Marlins season, I go to school at
the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, where I study Biology. I was a lifeguard
and swim instructor before I started coaching with the Marlins. I was also a coach with
Special Olympics Swimming in Red Deer for 6 years as well as one year in Vancouver.
I swam with the Marlins for 10 years before I decided to give coaching a try. This will be
my fourth year coaching with the Marlins, and my second year as Head Coach. This year
I will be returning to Squad 1, along with my Head Coach duties. I am counting down the
days until the season starts!
I am very excited that with the addition of extra pool hours this year, we are able to
accommodate more swimmers at a lower swimmer to coach ratio. This is a great
opportunity for the coaches to be able to give more one on one attention and feedback
during our practices. Another great opportunity for our swimmers is the Swim Camp that
is returning for another fun week!
I look forward to meeting our new swim families as well as reconnecting with the returning
members. I am very excited to work with the new (and returning) members of our
coaching staff to make this a terrific season.
Swimming with the Marlins was always the highlight of my summer and I hope it is for
your swimmers as well! See you soon!
Hayley
Head Coach & Squad 1 Coach
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I am super excited for this up and coming year! This is my third year with
the Red Deer Marlins swim club. I'm interested to see the improvements the
precomp kids will make.
Well I'm supposed to tell you a little bit about myself so here it goes:
I'm a first year business student at Red Deer College. I graduated from
Lindsay Thurber in 2010. I currently work with the city of Red Deer as a
lifeguard. I have worked at Michener, Recreation centre and currently at the
Dawe. I've always been a swimmer although the majority of has been life
guarding swimming. I recently took my water safety instructor trainer course
through Red Cross (in English that means I teach swimming instructors how be
swimming instructors). I have a bunch of random swimming courses under my
belt such as life saving, some synchro and diving instructor. I love
coaching, especially the little guys because they always remind me to be
lighthearted and keep it simple.
I'm really looking forward to this upcoming season. As always, if you have
any concerns, questions or you simply want to chat feel free to contact me.
I'd love to hear from you!
- Natalia Chiles
Hello, my name is Jillian Engler. I've been a swimmer on this team for 11
years and I am very excited to be able to coach PreComp B this year. I have
not coached this team before but I have trained young swimmers for the Kids
Of Steel triathlon for the past 4 years. I look forward to a fun season and
welcome any and all questions you may have.
My name is Jesse Verwey, and I am thrilled to be coaching with my hometown
Marlins this year. I spent the past year at RDC, intending to eventually work my
way towards a business degree. My swimming background consists of 5 funfilled years with the Red Deer Catalina, as well as being fortunate enough to try
my hand as an assistant coach with the Ponoka Gators last year. I have been
around the pool for most of my life as my family consists of many competitive
swimmers, meaning I have also have an experience as an official in our region
as well as the Special Olympics.
I am extremely excited to be coaching with the Marlins this year. The coaching
staff looks very impressive to me, I am obviously excited to be working with such
an enthusiastic group of kids, and the passion and excitement towards the sport
of swimming from all levels of the organization was very obvious watching from
across the deck and it was definitely something I wanted to be a part of. I can’t
wait to see you all at the start of the year, and I know we are going to have a
blast!
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Coach Clint
Accomplishments:
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Top 1 (Masters Canada): 5
Top 3 (Masters Canada): 17
Top 5 (Masters Canada): 28
Top 10 (Masters Canada): 47
Certified Personal Fitness Trainer (NESTA)
Certified Biomechanics Specialist (NESTA)
Certified Functional Training Specialist (NESTA)
Certified Fundamentals Coach – Swim Alberta
Certified Level 1 Foundations for Coaching - USA Swimming
Certified Level 2 The Stroke School - USA Swimming
Fundamentals of Coaching - ASAA (Alberta Schools' Athletic Association)
Development Age Group Coach - Red Deer Catalina
Head Coach Summer Club in Kindersley, Sask. & Mount Royal College
53 Time Provincial Record Holder
2 Time Canadian Record Holder
2 Time Canada Games Record Holder
Multiple Western Canada Games Record Holder
Represented Team Sask 1989 Canada Games
Represented Team Alberta 1993 Canada Games (2 Gold 1 Silver)
National/International Rankings: 50/100/200/400/1500 Free; 100/200
Breast; 200/400 IM
16th Fastest in World 400 IM SC 1990
Dale Carnegie Graduate
Graduate from LMU training (Loyalty Management University)
Philadelphia, PA
Advanced Management Graduate of the Joe Verde Training
Member of The Canadian Swimming Coaches and Teachers Association
Member of The American Swim Coaches Association
Athlete Management Certification – Sports Management Worldwide
Coaching Philosophy:
My philosophy and approach to coaching is based on and passed on to me by
some of the best coaches I had in my career - Deryk Snelling, Mike Blondal
and Ken Olsen. I am not a big believer in the quantity of the work (meters upon
meters upon meters) but rather the quality and intensity - to me the combination
of the quality (mastering the drill, set, or stroke) with intensity (hard, fast, interval
training) will pay dividends in the overall objectives. I enjoy challenging myself to
push myself beyond my own limitations and see how far I can go until I fail.
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I learned this from Ken Olsen - train as if it were a race each and every set,
each and every meter.
I feel that in order to achieve your goals you must:
A: Understand that there is no such thing as a perfect stroke - the perfect stroke
is what will work for you
B: maximizing the efficiency and reducing the effort
C: Master the strokes and drills - PERFECT practice makes PERFECT - before
speed
D: Focus your mind with specific goals; whether it be in training or competition;
and always put forth your best effort to achieve those goals,
E: Train hard and train at race pace,
F: accept failure as it will and does make you a better athlete,
G: always be learning and be open to change, criticism, recognition and a
having positive attitude.
H: pain is temporary.
"A dream is only a goal without a deadline"
Coach Clint
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AJ Mahoney returns to the Red Deer Marlins after a short hiatus, his last
coaching duties being the Summer of 2008. AJ has been a competitive swimmer
since the age of 6, competing for the Marlins for 10 years (off and on), then for
the University of Alberta Golden Bears Swim Team for a total of 4 years, two of
which he was Team Captain. AJ had a successful Summer Swimming career,
most notably winning the Regional and Provincial Championships for his age
category 5 years in a row (undefeated in the 50 fly) and setting numerous Club
Records. In his University career, AJ gained his Senior National qualifying
standard after only one year on the team, and was the recipient of the
Outstanding Team Contribution and Team Leadership Award for 3 of his 4 years
competing.
After graduating from the University of Alberta with two degrees, a Bachelor of
Education (Specialization in Secondary Education), and a Bachelor of Science
(Biological Sciences Major, Physics/Chemistry Minor), he spent a year as the
Assistant Coach of the Golden Bears Swim Team and then a summer working
with the Edmonton HumaHuma Swim Club who placed second at Provincials
after being two time defending Provincial Champions. He continues to help
coach for the University when he can, most recently spending the Christmas
holiday in Hawaii at the team’s Training Camp. He currently teaches Chemistry
at Ecole Secondaire Notre Dame High School, and also serves as Head Coach
to the Notre Dame Cougars Senior Boys Volleyball team and the Central Alberta
Kings Volleyball Club U18 team.
AJ is excited at the prospect of coming back to work with Squad IV to help them
reach their goals, and was honoured to have his former coach, Amanda Halford
(although she hates to remember him being that young), ask him to join the
team. Though it will be a segmented season for him, he looks forward to a
successful and fun Summer with the swimmers and with the exceptional team of
fellow coaches that Amanda has gathered.
Swimming is a great sport that one can do for life, as evidenced by AJ’s already
long history with the sport, and he is excited at the prospect of creating a
passion for the sport in each of his swimmers that he has gained through the
years.
Marlins Swim Camp - July 9 - 13th 2012
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Committee members needed! We are still looking for someone to step forward and take
on the Volunteer Coordinator position. If interested please contact Amanda Halford
ahalford@scottsville.com asap.
Thank you very much in advance for your help and support!
BOTTLE DRIVE & MEET THE COACHES :
May 12th, please meet @ 11:00am @ Michener Curling Rink Parking Lot to begin. Ian
will have maps of areas to cover. When done collecting, simply take bottles to Cosmos 2
(over by Tim Horton's on 67th street where they will sort). THIS IS AN EASY AND
GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CLUB TO MAKE SOME MONEY!
After, from 4:00pm to 7:00pm, we will have a social gathering @ Rotary Park, shelter has
been booked for our use. This is for all members to get together, meet the coaches,
athletes and one another. Info on potluck to follow by Dawn Isaac.
Social Committee
To kick off the Marlin's season we will be hosting a "Meet the coaches" evening on
Saturday May12th from 4:00-7:00pm at Rotary park. If you are able to attend,
please bring your own hot dogs and fixings (including paper plates) and we will do
a potluck for salads and desserts. Last names ending in A-M please bring a salad
large enough to serve 8 people, and last names ending in N-Z please bring a
dessert large enough to serve 8 people.
Also please be advised that our club is hosting our annual Red Deer swim meet
this year as well as the Regional swim meet (dates now updated on the website).
We require each family to provide a raffle item for one swim meet and food for
officials at the other. You are welcome to donate cash instead, and the social
committee will purchase food or raffle items on your behalf. Details to follow in the
next newsletter.
We hope to see you all on the evening of May 12th.
See you all at the pool......
Dawn Isaac :)
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The Marlins Newsletters will be available through email and from the Marlins
website. The newsletters have information about the clubs events, group socials,
coaches comments, bingo dates and swim meet information.
If you would prefer to receive your newsletter in a hard copy form please let me
know via phone call (403) 342-0208 or e-mail reddeermarlins@hotmail.com
Thank you,
Lisa Driesen
Communications Director 2012
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Equipment Report
Marlins suits should be in about mid-May hopefully. There will be an email out
when they come in and pick up times posted.
Ed Driesen
In the World of Bingo!!
Welcome back to our returning families and new ones.
Bingo is our main fundraiser, covers pool time, swim meets registrations, and so
on.
For families who haven't paid out their bingos nor signed up yet, please do so as
soon as possible as it filled up very quickly at registrations.
Take a look at the Bingo schedule on www.reddeermarlins.org to pick your dates
and send them to me by email or give me a call to confirm that there is still some
spots available.
A "Friendly Bingo Reminder" is sent via e-mail a few days prior to your sign up
Bingo.
It is the responsibility of each family to find a replacement for their signed up
bingo. A "No show" will result in the club depositing your $150 cheque per
swimmer per bingo.
Have a great swim season.
Brigitte Bouchard
Bingo Manager
Unraudarren@shaw.ca
403-392-6867
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2012 Marlins Executive
President
Ian
Bettenson
(403) 348-0777
imbettenson@shaw.ca
Vice President
Amanda
Halford
(403) 309-8829
amanda.halford@scottsville.com
Registrar
Kathy
Stalwick
(403) 341-4403
klstalwick@hotmail.com
Equipment
Manager
Ed Driesen
(403)342-0208
edriesen@telusplanet.net
Bingo Manager
Brigitte
Bouchard
(403) 347-8533
unraudarren@shaw.ca
Coaching
Committee Chair
Amanda
Halford
(403) 309-8829
amanda.halford@scottsville.com
Coaching
Committee
members
Ian
Bettenson
(403) 348-0777
imbettenson@shaw.ca
Meet Manager
Louise
McMurray
(403) 755-4763
l.mcmurray@shaw.ca
Treasurer
Leslie
Morrison
(403) 358-8069
leslie.morrison@scottsville.com
Communications
Director
Lisa
Driesen
(403) 342-0208
reddeermarlins@hotmail.com
Social Committee
Chair
Dawn Isaac
(403) 309-4659
dawnisaac@shaw.ca
Social Committee
Tara
Monaghan
(403) 343-7215
taram@xplornet.com
Social Committee
Angela
Coutts
(403) 346-9529
tandac@telusplanet.net
Secretary
Lynn
Armstrong
(403) 341-4345
armstrongwoodcraft@gmail.com
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