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News from the Deck
For Masters Coaches, By Masters Coaches,
About Masters Coaches
...presented by U.S. Masters Swimming
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Visit www.usms.org today!
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Greetings!
Many clubs and workout groups are growing at an amazing rate and often times growth leads to uncharted waters. As your Masters program grows, U.S. Masters Swimming is here to support you. Club & Coach Service Coordinator, Mel Goldstein, is available for questions and we will continue to provide you with helpful information and tools as you expand.
Swimming for Life!
Your friends at U.S. Masters Swimming
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2009
U.S. Masters Swimming
Nominations
Are Due!
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U.S. Masters Swimming Executive Committee Nominations are due April 30, 2009. Click here to learn more about the qualifications and criteria for nominees.
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Have you sent us your swim cap?
The U.S. Masters Swimming headquarters will be decorating it's walls with your swim cap! If you have not already sent us a cap from your team or workout group you may send a swim cap to:
U.S. Masters Swimming
500 East Morehead Street
Suite 220
Charlotte, NC 28269
or you can bring it to Nationals!
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More Than a Coach
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Dick Shoulberg's swimmers share what made him so special and much more than a coach.
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Click here to read more about this famous coach...
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Call for On-Deck Coaches
Are you a coach who's planning on making the trip to Clovis for Short Course Nationals? If so, we need your help!
The USMS Coaches Committee, through the On-Deck Coaching Program, offers on-deck coaching assistance for swimmers during warm-ups at USMS National Championship Events and at the annual United States Aquatic Sports (USAS) Convention. Coaches monitor the sprint lanes during the early morning warm-ups at USMS Nationals, giving swimmers start commands and timing sprints or pace repeats if requested. All participating coaches are given a special USMS Coaches T-shirt, great for being recognized on deck.
We can always use more help, so sign up soon! Signing up is easy.
Click here to sign up online
Click here for more information about the program
A link to the above online registration and a PDF with expectations for coaches can be found there. Click here to email Chris Colburn, Coaches Committee Chair, any additional questions you may have regarding On-Deck Coaching.
We're always looking for coaches! Please sign up soon. You don't need to volunteer all four days. Just pick a day or days when you can help and sign up! Those of you who volunteer will receive more details via email before you arrive at the meet.
Thanks in advance for your help, and we'll see you at the meet!
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501(c)3 FAQs
by Jeane Ensign
"If they aren't splits, records or intervals, I don't care." But, it is important for every coach and program director to understand his or her finances. Are we a nonprofit? Should we become a nonprofit? What the heck does nonprofit mean anyway?!
Jeane Ensign, experienced accountant and member of the U.S. Masters Swimming Board of Directors, answers a few questions to help us better understand 501(c)(3) status... Read more
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Enhance Your Training Through Swim Technology
by the professionals at FINIS
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"With the Swimmer's Snorkel I accomplish in 20 minutes what used to take 3 full sessions."
-David Amato, Swim Coach, Triathlon Academy
We see the pros using snorkels regularly, but how does a Masters coach convince his or her athletes that everyone can benefit from this tool? The professionals at FINIS have collaborated to provide information, drills and even example sets to incorporate into any Masters workout for fun and fast swimming using a snorkel... Read more
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Connecting the Dots:
Coaching Tips and Tricks
by Mel Goldstein; Club and Coach Services Coordinator
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Coaching swimmers at swim meets is actually the easy part. Preparation before the meet is where coaches earn their stripes: making sure swimmers are well trained, tapered and are focused on their goals. However, coaching at a meet requires a well-organized coach to be able to connect the dots for his or her swimmers. Here are a few tricks I've picked up through the years.
When I arrive at a meet I...
- Look at the meet program and highlight all of our swimmers in their individual events.
- I make it a personal goal to see at least one or two of their swims (depending on the size of the meet and the number of swimmers we have entered, this sometimes is a very difficult task, and very challenging).
Coaching swimmers of various levels of experience can be challenging, so I...
- Try to be present during warm-up for the newbies or first-timers. It is important to make them feel comfortable in the warm-up, diving off the blocks or something as simple as understanding the heat sheet.
- Rely on experienced swimmers to mentor newbies.
After each swimmer's race I...
- Always look for the positives in their swim, and do very little stroke correction at the meet.
- Remember the sandwich rule -Praise, Correction, Praise-so that each swimmer walks away feeling proud of his or her accomplishments.
Throughout a swim meet I...
- Look at coaching at a swim meet as an opportunity to build a stronger relationship with each of my swimmers. It is the coach's responsibility to help swimmers reach their desired goals, regardless of their ability levels. Swim meets provide an opportunity to motivate and determine a level of fitness.
Meets can be busy, so sometimes I...
- Cannot get every split, but make it known to my swimmers that after the conclusion of the meet that I will review each and every swim. I will look at the splits and discuss swimmers' swims with them at the next practice. This is yet another opportunity to build a strong relationship.
It is our job to make a meet an enjoyable experience for the beginners and seasoned competitors alike. Remember, these swimmers are not swimming for you, they are swimming for themselves. When a swimmer decides upon a goal, he or she overrides the failure mechanism, which can change the direction of their life. As a coach, it is our responsibility to assist and support our swimmers as they set, work toward and accomplish their goals.
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Why and How I Started My Own
Masters Programby Mark Canterbury
With experience as a coach and an undeniable passion for the water, Mark Canterbury decided to start his own Masters club. Building a club from the ground up can be intimidating, but Mark welcomed the challenge with open arms. Mark provides his personal account of why and how he started his own Masters program and offers you a checklist of "to-do's" to start your own Masters program... Read more
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Online Club Management: Email Management
by 
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 Coaches, you rely on email to communicate with your club members, so you need an easy and reliable system of emailing sub-groups of your membership.
Set up your own Club Assistant with all the sub-groups and programs offered by your clubs such as: - Early Bird Swim
- Competitive Group
- Dryland Group
- Triathletes
- Volunteer Coaches
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Add new member contact info to Club Assistant with boxes checked for applicable sub-groups, or allow members to sign themselves up for your club online by choosing their own sub-groups. Your email address book is then updated with new contacts and all of the special categories you will use to send out targeted communications.
Your administrative emails will be highly efficient with filters such as the following, and others you may chose to assign in your database:
- Date Joined
- Birth Date
- USMS Member ID
- Payment Method
- Payment Cycle
- On Hold Date
In your Club Assistant, select categories you wish to contact and compose and email. Each email greeting will be personalized with members' name. Emails are delivered successfully with no spam or junk folder issues. Email messages are also stored in your Club Assistant for future reference. Bounce-backs may be reviewed and resolved easily.
Pull a report of credit cards that will expire in the next billing cycle and quickly shoot an email to those members reminding them to update their credit card before your club's next billing. Save this email template in your library of frequently used notifications for easy reference and use next month.
Prepare an HTML email containing your club logo, club colors or with all of the graphics you'd like to display for a special event. Then select the group to which you wish to email the special notice.
Boost membership by emailing members you have not seen in a while. Marketing to inactive members and potential members is effortless. Send your club fee structure and workout schedule as attachments pulled from your storage of frequently used files.
Getting started can be as simple as importing email addresses from a Yahoo Group or Outlook database, or by having your members sign up online. Get step-by-step email system training from our friendly and knowledgable Club Assistant staff at 1-888-794-6638.
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Calendar Update: May
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May
05/07/09-05/10/09
U.S. Masters Swimming Short Course National Championship
Ransom Arthur Award Winner announced
05/15/09
Deadline for swimmers to be registered to receive the July/August issue of USMS SWIMMER
05/15/09-05/31/09
Election Committee accepts nominations for any positions without candidates
05/20/09
Deadline for newsletter inserts to DMC for the Jul/Aug issue of USMS SWIMMER
05/22/09-05/24/09
SwimFest '09
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About U.S. Masters Swimming
U.S. Masters Swimming, founded in 1971, is a membership-operated national governing body that promotes adult health, fitness and wellness through aquatics. It does so by partnering with more than 1,000 adult swim clubs across the country that offer swim/fitness programs, promoting information via a bimonthly member magazine and www.usms.org, and sanctioning and promoting pool, open water and virtual competitions. Nearly 50,000 adults are registered members of U.S. Masters Swimming.
About "News from the Deck"
U.S. Masters Swimming encourages all U.S. Masters Swimming coaches to subscribe to "News from the Deck", however if you would rather not receive this update, please do not click the unsubscribe button, as that will remove you from all other U.S. Masters Swimming National Office mailings. Rather, please click on the "Update Profile/Email Address" link at the bottom of this email. Here you can select to discontinue your "News from the Deck" service.
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Support U.S. Masters Swimming partners because they support you!
Click here for a complete list of partners
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