Coaches Newsletter from U.S. Masters Swimming

Greetings!

U.S. Masters Swimming continues to work hard and move forward from a successful 2009 Convention. We are excited to announce new opportunities for coaches and to provide you with even more information for growing your program. Are you ready to host a meet? We also offer you a great critique from one of our knowledgeable Masters coaches.

Swimming for Life!
Your friends at U.S. Masters Swimming

Are We Ready To Host a Meet?
by Kris Houchens

Are we ready to host a meet? How much time really goes into hosting a meet? Can we host a meet even if our program is small? How can we prepare ourselves to host a meet?

Many of us use this time of year to recover from the long-course swimming season, get our calendars ready for the upcoming school year, and re-energize and refocus on the year ahead. So, do your busy life and the busy lives of your club members have room for a meet?

Kris Houchens, YMCA IndySwim Fit Head Coach, served as the 2009 Long Course National Championship Meet Director. She has hosted meets of various size and scope in the past and has now tested her meet director skills at one of the largest events held within U.S. Masters Swimming. Houchens has outlined her critique of IndySwim Fit's performance in handling the championship meet, as well as offered a few pointers to anyone thinking, "I think my program could host a meet ..." Read more

Reminder: Add the USMS Join/Renew Button to Your Website and Link Up!

new join renew button Encourage your swimmers to become U.S. Masters Swimming members by copying and pasting the Join/Renew button to your club website. Link the graphic to http://www.usms.org/reg/ so that your swimmers can register with one easy click.

Yoga for Swimmers: Coaching Your Swimmers to Overall Health
by Barbara Won

We have all heard it a hundred times ...Yoga is good for you. Whether you are young or old, a world-class athlete or a couch potato, the physical and mental benefits of yoga can help anyone with just about anything. OK, but let's get specific. How can it benefit your swimmers? And, how can you seamlessly incorporate into your workout to help your swimmers feel better and prevent injury? Read more

Have you ordered your FREE USMS Marketing Materials Yet?

Spread the word in your local community and grow your program!

U.S. Masters Swimming Coaches are encouraged to order FREE USMS marketing materials such as stickers, swim caps and brochures. Marketing materials are free, however coaches will be asked to pay for shipping. For more information regarding shipping costs and available materials, and to place your order, please contact Kyle Deery at kdeery@usms.org or (941)556-6274.

New Opportunity for U.S. Masters Swimming Coaches

The U.S. Masters Swimming Coaches Committee is committed to the education and support of Masters coaches. The Committee's big push for 2009 and 2010 is the development of a new curriculum for Masters coaching certification. The program, which will be developed in partnership with the American Swimming Coaches Association and administered by ASCA, strives to improve the knowledge, professionalism, and credibility of our coaching ranks with a common standard for evaluating and certifying Masters coaches. The goal of the Coaches Committee is to have the curriculum completed in time for the 2010 ASCA World Clinic, so it can be offered as part of the Masters track. All coaches who are members of U.S. Masters Swimming will be eligible for certification using the new curriculum and guidelines at that time. If you would like to find out more about the program, or if you would like to contribute to the curriculum project, please contact the Coaches Committee Chair, Chris Colburn, at coaches@usms.org.

Your Online Team Store:
Link Your Swimmers to the Gear You Want Them to Use

Coaches, do you have a recommended list of equipment for your swimmers? Wouldn't you love to be able to sell all your favorite swim tools and gear? With a Club Assistant account you can. Club Assistant can assist you in creating a virtual store - an online boutique offering the brands you like and the specialized equipment you prefer that your swimmers use.

How about selecting products from some of the USMS corporate partners? A Finis snorkel, a pair of TYR paddles, a Kiefer kickboard, a Total Immersion video - all may be displayed in your online shop.

Offer your favorite merchandise for sale 1) during online club registration, 2) during online meet registration, or 3) within your Club Assistant secure member portal. Send out member email announcements easily through your Club Assistant, informing swimmers of new training tools for sale and items with special discounts. Give out store coupons to swimmers who refer a new club member. You can also have a link to your online store right on your team's website, making it easy for your swimmers to buy the gear they need at any time.

Fundraising for your club may also be tied into your Club Assistant online swim store. Most vendors offer incentives to clubs for promoting their merchandise. Fulfillment, credit card processing, and direct shipping are all handled by the vendors. Your percentage of sales is deposited right into your merchant account.

The friendly and knowledgeable Club Assistant staff is available at 800-SWIM-638

On Deck: October/November

OCTOBER 2009
8th

Deadline for Coaches Committee to submit announcements to SWIMMER Magazine for Mentor Coach and SWIMMER Clinics, NIKE Clinics and Coach of the Year Award

10th-18th

World Masters Games-Sydney, Australia

15th

Editorial information/copy due to USMS Editor in Chief for January/February issue of SWIMMER (Laura Hamel - editor@usms.org)
Approximate mailing date for November/December issue of USMS SWIMMER

20th

LMSC LCM Top 10 reports due to National Swims Administrator (Mary Beth Windrath-topten@usms.org)

25th

Deadline for submission of information to be included in the fall issue of Streamlines ... from the National Office

28-November 1st

Pan American Swimming and Open Water Championships-Veracruz, Mexico

31st

End of the 2009 registration year. All registrations after November 1st are for 2010.

Other deadlines this month

Newly Elected USMS President appoints committee chairs and committee members

NOVEMBER 2009
1st

2010 registration year begins
Minutes of House of Delegates, 2010 Budget and FOG e-mailed to all who attended 2009 convention

2nd

Final copies of Rules, Open Water/Long Distance, Zone and Legislation changes due to Rule Book Coordinator (RuleBook@usms.org) from appropriate committee chair (Rules -Rules@usms.org, Open Water/Long Distance-LongDistance@usms.org, Legislation-Legislation@usms.org, Zone-zone@usms.org)

15th

2010 Guide to Operations section updates due to Membership Coordinator (Tracy Grilli-USMS@usms.org)

30th

All registrations received as of today's date will be included in the mailing of the Jan/Feb issue of SWIMMER

Support U.S. Masters Swimming partners because they support you!

Click here for a complete list of partners

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"
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