Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Dual Against Fond du Lac


Hi Team,

See that group of (mostly) smiling guys who are all totally looking at different cameras and pointing in 852 different directions?  That's Nice Nation.  Those guys show up every day ready to work, and they do it with some of the best attitudes I've ever encountered.  They support each other.  They tease each other.  They make each other laugh.  They encourage each other and push each other.  They compete for each other.  I'm not afraid to say that this group of guys is the best group of guys I have ever coached.  Period. 

Last night started like most meet nights start for us, except for the fact that the guys were all dressed up in super hero costumes per the captains' request.  Before they tumbled out of the bus sporting their Antman and other various costumes, we had our team meeting.  I said a lot of words.  I passed out captain visors and Keegan got a "Cheer Officer" visor.  We discussed the theme of the night, "Individually we are a drop, together we are an ocean."  The guys grabbed a Gummy Bear bag with the quote stapled on it as they left the bus. 

The meet started quickly.  Keegan got out there with his new pompoms and cheered for the Fondy JV Medley Relay.  He got some weird looks, but he just kept waving his pompoms anyway.  By the time we were done with diving, we were ahead in the meet.  The guys were throwing down some fantastic swims--there were several best times, which is quite unusual for this part of the season.  Everyone was excited about the 200 FR, because every single diver was set to help the swimmers out by swimming on a relay.  Soon after the 200 FR, though, I heard that a Fondy swimmer had said a homophobic slur to one of our relays.

The guys got a play-by-play of everything that happened from that point on (and I know you all had front row seats to all of the excruciatingly slow action), so I'm not going to go into it all here.  What I do want to let everyone know is that I will always confront inappropriate behavior.  In this case, it was something that falls under "hate speech," and the athlete admitted he did it and the other coach admitted he did it.  No one was disputing that the Fondy swimmer broke the sportsmanship rules.  The problem came in when I tried to get the rules enforced.  Because here's what else I want you to know:  so many of life's lessons are learned through high school athletics.  High School athletics is supposed to be about growing skills that will help our athletes succeed later in life.  There is a zero tolerance plan in place for hate speech/bad sportsmanship/bullying.  There are consequences for bad behavior.  I knew the rules, and I knew what the right thing to do was.  I also knew that my guys deserved to have someone fight for them.  I will always fight for these guys.  It matters. 

I wish I could say that everyone was on the same page with the rules and enforcing the rules.  That was not the case.  I stood my ground.  I'd still be standing behind block 8 if I needed to be.  In the end, the Fondy coach pulled his relay (which he had to do according to the rules), but he would not stipulate to voiding the points that athlete had earned in the meet (which was supposed to happen according to the rules).   We finished the meet.  The head official said he would contact the WIAA to have them make the call.  That is why the varsity score was not announced.

A little over an hour ago I found out that the WIAA ruled in our favor.  So, we won the meet.  More importantly, the right message will be sent to the athletes.  Winning meets is fun.  Winning meets will never be as important to me as leading a group of guys who are respectful and encouraging to others.

One last thing:  after the deck cleared last night, a Fond du Lac swimmer approached me.  He looked me right in the eye and thanked me for fighting for what was right.  He said it meant a lot to him to know that there were coaches out there that did the right thing. He then apologized on behalf of his team.  I thought about that swimmer a lot last night.  Doing the right thing is not always easy, but it is so important.

I am so proud to coach Nice Nation.  I love coaching AW-K.

With all kinds of AW-K Pride,

Coach Vicki

PS  I'd like to respectfully ask that we keep all social media posts about this incident positive.  We can be very happy about our victory without ever saying anything negative about Fond du Lac.  Thank you so much for your help with this.

PPS  Here is the letter I received from the Fond du Lac Athletic Director:

Jim, Coach Terlap, and Coach McBride

I was made aware of a situation that took place tonight during the Boys Swimming and Diving Dual Meet at the Fond du Lac Aquatic Center regarding a statement that was made by one of your student/athletes before the 4X400 relay. From my understanding, the student/athlete stated, "Good luck gays, I mean guys." This comment is obviously inappropriate and unacceptable. Also from understanding, after discussion with the officials and the coaches, the relay team that the student athlete was competing on was removed from the competition. The situation was then addressed directly to the student/athlete, as well as the entire team after the event had concluded. After speaking with Coach McBride, I also believe the student/athlete attempted to apologize for the statement. 

I want to take this opportunity to apologize to the entire Appleton West/Kimberly Boys Swim team, Coach Terlap, and the Appleton West community as these types of statements do not reflect the values and beliefs of the Fond du Lac School District.

I will be investigating this further tomorrow, and any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated. This type of behavior and actions are not tolerated and we will be handling them swiftly and appropriately. 

Thank you and Go Cardinals!


Dave Michalkiewicz
Fond du Lac High School
Athletic Director

Sunday, December 9, 2018

Team Dinners

Hi Team,
  
Tomorrow night is our very first team dinner.  As I said at the parent pot luck, the team dinners are definitely one of the highlights of the guys' week.  Nothing is more exciting to a high school boy than knowing there will be food available right after practice!  We ask that each AW-K parent team participates in one team dinner.  Here are all the details:

The guys have practice until 6:00 on Mondays, so they usually get down to the cafeteria by 6:10ish.  They will be extremely hungry.  :)   We hold team dinners in the cafeteria.  The dance team uses the cafeteria until 6 pm, but you can set up on the far wall of the cafeteria while they are practicing.  We will ask the guys to be quiet until the dance practice is over.

There are  27 athletes + 5 coaches

Past Team Meals (but you can plan anything you want!): 

Pasta and red sauce and garlic bread
Meatballs in brown gravy with potatoes
Taco bar
Lasagna
Make-your-own subs
The guys LOVE bread of all kinds.  There is usually some kind of dessert.  Most groups bring milk and water as the beverage.  Chocolate milk is always a hit. Please plan on providing plates, cups, utensils, and napkins.  

Here are the dates of all of the upcoming meals and who has already signed up to help.  If you are not on this list, please sign up through the link LeeAnn Fraser will post on the Facebook page.    

12/10  Courtney Seibers, Kelly Broehm, Cindy Cole, Lesli Vogel, Deb Fitzpatrick



12/17  Adam Galambos, Shelby Weber, __________, ____________, _________


1/7/19  Megan Woolf, Greg Hawley, Bethany Swanstrom, Nicole Stevens, __________


1/14/19 Courtney Seivers, Jame Young, ____________, ___________, __________


1/21/19  Kathy Daniels, Amy Froehlich, ____________, __________, ___________

As you can see, there are plenty of great opportunities left open!!  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you so much for supporting the team!

With AW-K Pride,

Vicki

Friday, November 23, 2018

The First Two Weeks and The Next Two Weeks!

Hi Team and Families,

The first two weeks of our season are *almost* in the books!  We have one more big practice tomorrow morning (Saturday) to wrap up week 2.  I'm asking that all swimmers and divers attend tomorrow morning (we've got to keep blurring that line!).   Please make sure you are in the pool doors by 6:00 am.  Practice goes until 8:00 am.  After practice, we will head to Mary's on Richmond Street to have breakfast together.  Please bring enough money to cover the cost of your meal.  We will make sure that everyone has a ride over to Mary's.  Please have your ride pick you up at Mary's. We will be done by 9:30.  We will be taking individual pictures tomorrow to put on the team bulletin board.  We will have a team warm-up jacket for you to wear for the picture.

On Sunday, we will hold our second Study Table from 1-3 at Your Daily Grind in Menasha on Main Street.  Last week we had 9 guys show up, which was awesome.  We studied for an hour, played The Game of Things for about 20 minutes, and then studied until they closed at 3.  Ryan had me edit his paper, which was cool.  Don't forget that each of the coaches is ready and willing to help you out on Sunday afternoons.  We will not be going out to eat after this week's study table, since we have team breakfast together on Saturday.

On Monday (the 26th) at practice, we will take formal team pictures.  Swimmers should have brought home their order forms on Wednesday.  The divers will get theirs tomorrow at practice.  Please bring your completed order form and money to practice with you on Monday so that the photographers know whether or not they need to take individual pictures of you. 

Also on Monday, we will pull all of the athletes out of the water at 5 pm and have them change into workout clothes.  Then the whole team will go to a very special dryland activity together from 5:30-6:30.  All swimmers and divers need to bring shorts, a t-shirt, gym shoes, and $8 to practice on Monday after school to cover the cost of the very special dryland activity.  After our activity, anyone who wants to can walk across the street to have dinner together at Tom's.  The dryland activity is mandatory, but the dinner is optional.  There will be coaching staff at both activities.

I met with the Varsity squad last week, and they voted to change the days of morning practice, which is completely fine with me.  I will get the practice calendars updated.  Varsity morning practices will now be Tuesday and Thursday mornings, instead of Monday and Fridays.  Full-team Wednesday mornings will remain the same until Christmas break.  I apologize if this causes scheduling problems for anyone.  So, here's what the morning schedule will look like this week:

Tuesday 5:15-6:45am Varsity
Wednesday 5:15-6:45am Whole Team
Thursday 5:15-6:45am Varsity

Varsity practices will be open to the entire team.  The guys who are required to attend know who they are.  Dana Reese and Trevor should have an order form ready very soon to get the breakfast bags up and going for Tuesday morning.  You don't have to do the breakfast bag service, but you DO have to make sure you are eating enough food throughout the day.

Friday night, November 30th, our divers will compete for the first time at the diving portion of the Oshkosh West Invite.  The swimmers will compete for the first time on Saturday for the swimming portion of that same invite.  Meet info will be posted on Tuesday.

Finally, if you have not turned in your suit and t-shirt money, it is past due.  All money must be turned in before you can wear your team suit next Friday/Saturday.

Whew!  I think that is all the announcements for the next week or so!  Want to see some highlights from the first two weeks?
Last Friday, a lot of the Kimberly guys were gone at the State football game.  The guys who were at practice lobbied to change the workout from what I had planned to doing a Challenge Day.  Challenge Day is a team tradition, and it's...challenging.  It's definitely not something I ever plan to do during the first week of practice, especially with new swimmers.  Three of the new guys, Lee, Adam, and Andras, all stepped up to the Challenge Day challenge!  I am incredibly proud of all three of them for showing some real grit at the end of their first week!
Week two featured a parade of AW-K alumni who came back to swim and be with the team.  Brady Malcomson (above) even swam with us on his birthday!  I absolutely love that so many of the guys made a point to come back and meet the new guys and swim with them over their Thanksgiving breaks.  Each of the guys who came back played an important role in changing the culture of AW-K Swimming and Diving. 
And last, but not least, Keegan paid off his (mom's) bet, and let me shave his head during week 2.  Keegan did not believe I could finish the Parent Potluck meeting by 7:10.  It was lots of fun to prove him wrong!
It's hard to believe that in a little over a week, we will have our first meet under our belt and we will be looking ahead to the Terror Relays!  Things are going to start rolling soon!  Buckle up!

With lots of AW-K Pride,

Coach Vicki

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Parent Pot Luck/Meet the Team!


Hi Team!!


This Thursday night, November 15th, is our big Parent Potluck/Meet the Team celebration. We will meet in the Appleton West cafeteria right after practice at 6 pm to have dinner together, go over a few details, sign up for volunteer opportunities, and meet this year's team.  I hope to have everything wrapped up by 7:30 at the very latest.

We are asking that each family brings a main dish to share (one that serves 6) and one of the following:


Freshmen:  fruit or veggies
Sophomores:  desserts
Juniors:  desserts
Seniors:  water bottles (12) or drinks (no soda) to serve 12


We will provide plates, napkins, plastic ware, and cups.  Please bring your own serving utensil, if needed, for your dish.  In the past, families have brought meatballs, pizzas, sub sandwiches, pulled pork, etc. for their main dish.  I'm pretty sure the guys will appreciate whatever you bring!


I'm looking forward to seeing everybody on Thursday night!


With lots of AW-K Pride,


Coach Vicki



Saturday, November 10, 2018

Ready, Set, Go!


Hi AW-K Athletes and Families!

Holy cow!  Our season begins in two days!  I am seriously giddy just sitting here thinking about all the adventures I already know we are going to go on together in the next 13 weeks.  The coaches and captains are ready.  The theme for the season has been chosen.  The locker decorations are made.  Workouts are written.  Activities have been planned.  The parent board has met.  Team suits are sitting on my dining room table just waiting for you to try on.  We are ready.  Are you?  Is your paperwork all turned in?  Is your fee paid?  It's not too late--you can bring all of that with you on Monday, but you will not be able to get in the water on Tuesday until all of that is taken care of.

In the meantime, here's what I need you to do in the next two days:

1.  Spend some time thinking about what you want out of this season.  Some of you are club swimmers and will come in with a big bunch of specific swim-related goals, but a lot of you are not.  Each of you will contribute to the team in very specific and important ways.  Please spend some time this weekend thinking about how you can contribute to the team's success.  

2.  For some of you, this will be your last season swimming for AW-K.  What do you still have left to accomplish?  We are going to talk a lot about legacy this season.  I'd like all of you to arrive on Monday with an idea of what you want to do this season that will contribute to your AW-K legacy.

3.  Be ready to do some things you might not have been asked to do before.  Here is the truth:  I am the corniest coach in the FVA.  You will sit in Feeling Circles this season.  You will be asked to do crafts and community service projects and hold each other accountable.  You will do goofy stuff and challenging stuff.  I might even write your goal time on your face.  And yes, I'm going to push you like crazy in the pool, too, don't worry about that.  

Here are a few last-minute reminders:

The ENTIRE team (swimmers AND divers) will be together for the ENTIRE practice on Monday.  Please be sitting in the bleachers on the pool deck by 3:45.  Do not change.  No one will get in the water on Monday.  

Kimberly athletes have been cleared to leave their classes 5 minutes early each day.  Please remind your teachers at the beginning of class on Monday.  Your teachers will NOT remind you to leave early.  You just need to pack up and quietly leave class at 2:55.  Get down to the cafeteria as quickly as possible.  ALL KIMBERLY SWIMMERS AND DIVERS should meet in the cafeteria on Monday to make sure that everyone has a ride to West.  Check in with captain Trevor Reese--he will have a list and will make sure no one gets left behind.

Get ready, AW-K Swimmers and Divers, your season begins on Monday!

With all kinds of AW-K Pride,

Coach Vicki







Friday, December 1, 2017

The Team Clothing Store is OPEN!

Hi Team!

Our team clothing store is OPEN for business, but you've got to act fast--it closes on Sunday at 11:59 pm to ensure that all of the orders are delivered in time for Christmas.  You can purchase long and short-sleeved t-shirts and crew-neck sweatshirts in both black and gray with our signature AW-K Swim and Dive screen-printed on the front.  You can personalize the back of any of these items for an additional fee.  There are also new beanies available with AW-K embroidered on the front.   

Here is the link to get into our team store:  https://awkswimdive.itemorder.com/sale

I will pick up the orders when then are done and pass them out at practice.  If you are ordering a special gift as a surprise, please let me know.  I will be happy to pull your order aside. 

Please note that everything in the store is OPTIONAL team clothing--athletes are not required to purchase any of this additional clothing.  Having said that, I hope to see a whole bunch of shirts, sweatshirts, and beanies on the guys and on our friends and families at meets.  Nothing makes me happier than looking into the stands and seeing a big bunch of AW-K fans in the stands!

Have fun shopping!

With AW-K Pride,

Coach Vicki

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Meet the Team/Parent Potluck/Team Meeting Info!

Hi Team!

The 2017-2018 season begins tomorrow!  I am so excited to get things started!

On Monday we will meet at the pool at 3:45.  We will not be getting in the water--we will go over team rules, set some team goals, and get to know each other a bit.  On Tuesday we will get in the water, for sure.  Please bring a practice suit, goggles, and a water bottle. 

Thursday night (November 16th) is our big Meet the Team/Parent Potluck/Team Meeting.  We will meet in the Appleton West cafeteria at 6 pm.  Nancy Hendel will be sending out an email about food sign-ups via SignUpGenius.  Please be on the lookout and respond as soon as you can so we can be sure we have the food covered for Thursday night.  Parents can park by the pool or on the street and head to the cafeteria. I hope to have everything done by 7:30 at the very latest.

Get ready -- I just know this is going to be an amazing season!

With AW-K Pride,

Coach Vicki