Congratulations Stingrays! Hard work works -- and with just a few weeks left, we've got to keep working hard, refining strokes, getting stronger, faster starts, turns & finishes to get through (and win) these last three meets.

It's very easy for a team to rely on a few people to help us win. But if everyone on a team isn't working to get better, it leaves us weaker overall. We cannot rely on a few people to win meets. We need everyone getting stronger, faster, working to be the very best they can to be a truly strong team.

Three years, when we started with the Stingrays, the team was sure we couldn't win because we didn't have enough Coast Guard swimmers. It was a common comment on the pool deck.

Currently, our team has 6 year-round club-level swimmers. We have about twenty who swim during the high school season, winter swim, or for one session at a time, and still others who only swim during the summer. Believe it or not 17 out of our 25 City Meet qualifiers do not swim anywhere most of the year. They play baseball, soccer, softball, hockey, run track, play volleyball -- they are not all dedicated to swimming.

So, these last few weeks of summer, don't let anything hold you back from dreaming big, and doing your very best to work to achieve those dreams. Every coach on this team wants you to succeed. 

Moving on...

There were some incredible time drops Thursday night -- 76 improved times, 46.34% of our swims! This is really good (especially when you consider we're having about 2 meets every week). I've attached the improvement labels so you can see how our swimmers did in each event. Keep up the great work!

A special congratulations to the following swimmers on their City Meet achievements:

• Lucas Isaac -- Freestyle (first City Meet Cut)
• Kaylin Scalzi -- Freestyle (first City Meet Cut)
• Dominick DiCarlo -- Breaststroke (5th and final City Meet Cut)

We now have 25 swimmers qualified for City Meet, and 23 within about a second (or less) in at least one event, as well as a smattering of quickly improving swimmers dropping time every meet inching their way ever closer.

I'll be sending out the alternate schedule for next week no later than Sunday afternoon.

Have a great weekend, and if I don't see you next week -- a Happy 4th of July!

Coach Lisa