Everything but the Kitchen Sink

First, athletes should get me their attendance numbers for the four (4) workouts swum while I was out of town.  Thanks in advance for getting that to me ASAP!

Next, ShAC is having some pool issues.  If you plan to drive up to swim Saturday, please check with Gilbert or Karol before making the trip.

If y'all haven't taken care of August lap swim fees, please do that right away.  I write checks to the City of Bay City each time and include the month on the memo line.

Now for the "dad" talk:

In the past, I've discussed social media, bullying, etc. with my high school swimmers.  Now that it's become very common for younger student-athletes to have greater access to the digital world than ever before, we need to address issues with them as well.

For many years, USA Swimming did a rather poor job of protecting athletes from predatory a) coaches, b) volunteers, and c) other athletes.

Thankfully, that has changed!  Misbehavior hasn't gone away completely, but things are much better now than twenty or thirty years ago.

Please visit USAS's Safe Sport page (here) and review policies and procedures with your child.

A recent addition to the program focuses on adult athletes (18 & up) on clubs with minor athletes.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the focus begin to shift downward to our HS-aged athletes within the next couple of years.

When it comes to Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, chat rooms, emails, texts, etc., our young people aren't always aware that this "stuff" doesn't go away.

If y'all don't believe me, just Google "recovering Snapchat messages" for some "how to" help!

College recruiters check social media accounts and do not pursue athletes who display poor judgement in their posts.  Read Five Social Media Tips for Student-Athletes here

It’s no secret that college coaches are active on social media. According to a survey released by Cornerstone Reputation in 2017, 85 percent of college coaches pull up athletes’ social media profiles during the recruiting process. Of these coaches, who represent over 200 DI, DII and DIII schools across the country, 87 percent use Facebook, 79 percent use Twitter and 65 percent use Instagram to screen recruits and determine whether they would be a good fit for their team.

We must remind our athletes to pause and think before hitting "send" or "post"!

Also, they should take advantage of "block" or "unfollow" features to keep unwanted/inappropriate content at bay.

If Twitter awards medals for using "block", I should have a great shot at making the podium...

Finally, a quick butterfly turn tutorial: