Vallejo Aquatic Club: Newsletter

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May 1999

Message from the President
To all VJO members,
I would like to begin with the usual - A WHOLE BUNCH OF THANK YOUS!
To all VJO members who helped at our swim meet April 10-11: Thanks for helping us through the monsoon! The meet actually ran very smoothly despite the weather problems. It is a huge tribute to our dedicated parent group. To top it all off, we had a fantastic buffet feast in the clubhouse on Sunday.
Once again, thanks to all. It was a great team effort. I wish I had the time and space to list you all individually.
Moving on....more thanks are in order to those who attended the Zone III Official's Clinic on April 17. Mario de Senna, Winnie de Senna, Mike Reay, Rebecca Kearney, Mark Kearney, Janet Mata, Angeli Stanwick, Ray Lynskey, Marian Fernandez, Valente Fernandez and Alfredo Ladao. The clinic was very well attended, and VJO had the largest single contingent! Please congratulate these folks when you see them on deck!
It is really getting exciting now! We are finally seeing better weather and our summer season is upon us. Lots of activities are planned. Let me provide a brief outline of some of the highlights. On May 15, from 10:00 - Noon, we will hold our annual tryout day at Cunningham Pool. If you know anyone who is interested in joining our swim team, please encourage them to attend. As in the past, our best advertising is done via word-of-mouth by our parents. Please help us help our club grow!
On May 26, we will have our first "30 Minute Swim" at practice. For this we encourage all parents to attend to count laps for our swimmers.
On June 25-27, VJO hosts the Zone III Summer Championships. As the host club, we have been asked to be in charge of set up and take down. All parents who can help, please contact Ray Lynskey, Noah Kalama or myself. The major set up will be Thursday night, June 24.
Once again, VJO will be participating in the Fourth of July Parade. All VJO swimmers are encouraged to march in the parade behind the "SHARK MOBILE".
..... Continued on 2nd column >>>>>
Calendar:
May 23 -- Bob's Group Walk On @ IVAN
June 6 -- Vacaville long course at Solano College (Sunday only)
June 12-13 -- Petaluma Invitation at Petaluma
June 25-27 -- Zone III Summer Championships at Cunningham
July 4th -- Parade and Marshalling
July 10 -- Long Course at Woodland
July 16-18 Age Group Championships at Terrapins
July 28- August 1 -- Far Westerns at Carson City
August 7-8 REAL Championship at Petaluma
August 12 -- Swim-a-Thon
August 14 -- VJO Family Picnic
August 16-30 Break

Message from the President (cont'd) .....
Some of our VJO parents have already made some great plans. Please consider helping in the construction of our float. We will hold a series of brief meetings in the near future as we prepare for this event. Also, VJO parents have been asked by the Chamber of Commerce to once again serve as parade marshals. This has become a tradition for many VJO parents. Please plan on participating.
On July 8, we have a dual meet at Fairfield. On July 10 at Woodland, we have a team meet. All swimmers should attend. We will attend this meet on Saturday only. On July 24 through August 1, the Far Westerns will be held in Carson City. Many VJO swimmers have already qualified! On August 7-8, The REAL meet will be held in Petaluma. All VJO swimmers should attend.
The week after REALs, we will have a fun-packed week. We will hold our Swim-A-Thon fund raiser on August 12. Otis Parker and JoJo Crescines, in conjunction with Coach Tuffy, have agreed to run this year's event. Our goal is to raise $10,000 for the club. Please be sure to thank Otis and JoJo for taking this on. Much more information about the Swim-A-Thon will be coming shortly.
Just a few days after the Swim-A-Thon, we will hold our Family Picnic. This event will be held on Saturday, August 14. Add to all this, various other activities planned by the VJO coaches and parents: miniature golf, team potlucks, dual meets - what a summer! See you at the pool! -- Ken Toch

Welcome to New Team Members

Congratulations and welcome to our new swim team members: Jennifer Carkin; Jeremy Rhodes, Raque; Bataller-Hodge; Brian Harris; Justin Payandeh; Ian Cabalse; Vincent Bicomong; Maurice Simpkin.

VJO Board Highlights
Our long course swim meet earned $1,800; great job with food donations; scrip earned $230 from $6,000 worth of sales; thank you to Times Herald for great coverage of local swimming; we are up to 99 swimmers; 12 VJO parents were trained at the officials clinic -- VJO had the most of any team; the awards banquet is tentatively being scheduled for August 25 or 26; good weather is bringing out swimmers to practice; long course practice will begin again in the morning during the third week in June; space will be a problem to solve when lessons begin; the Jeanne Favaro Scholarship applications went out -- $500 from VJO matched by $500 from the Favaros; second coach for Tuffy's group was discussed -- depends on the number of new swimmers; May 26th set as 30 minute swim with BBQ or potluck -- to be arranged.

May 26th, 30 Minute Swim and BBQ
Mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 26th, when we will hold a 30 minute swim (a 20 minute swim for some members of Tufty's group). The idea is for participants to swim freestyle as far as possible in the allotted time period, from which we'll figure out the average time per 100 yards for each swimmer (valuable for Chris and Bob). We will need parents to count laps for us. We plan to make this day a short one; the swim should begin around 5:45 p.m. After a short time period for swim down (mandatory for every participant) we'll have a barbecue. Thank you in advance for your help and participation.

Swim Results from High School Sections
VJO swimmers were amazing at the high school sections. The following is a summary of the finals: Jesse Ford Ford -- 5th in 100 back at 56.05 (personal best), 12th in 200 IM at 2:02:92; Karlo Felix -- 9th in 200 IM at 2:11:80, 8th in 100 fly at 59.28 (Karlo did a 57 in a swim off to get to finals!!!); Andrew Allison -- 5th in 500 free at 5:00.62 (did 4:49.73 in prelims!), 4th in 200 IM at 2:06:44; Aaron Toch -- 8th in 500 free at 5:11:50, 8th in 200 IM at 2:11:49; Thomas deSenna -- 9th in 500 free at 4:56:99!!; Toni deSenna, 11th in 100 fly at 1:01:66; 200 medley relay was 13th (Karlo, Aaron, Mario deSenna and James Recto); 400 free relay was 11th (Karlo, Aaron, James, and Brett Bennett).

From Coach Chris
I sat down at work recently, when I had plenty of time to ruminate about everything and nothing. I'm a coach. I look at things from a coach's perspective. I also participate in a sport. I still compete in swim meets, and this year's training has sharpened what I look for as a spectator of sports. I like to see individuals give everything they have, the highest levels of concentration, focus, effort, knowledge, skill and will, plus passion, to help their team, or themselves, win.
You know what concentration, focus and knowledge are. Skill is the ability to perform the various tasks in a coordinated fashion that the sport demands. In a team sport your skills must mesh with the skills of others to perform at high levels. "Will" enables a participant to use the concentration, focus, effort, knowledge and skill when they are needed most, usually under "pressure" situations.
In the 90's, Michael Jordan "willed" himself to prepare and perform better than anyone in professional basketball. You may have heard about how the Green Bay Packers imposed their "will" on the San Francisco 49ers in a playoff game a few years ago. Same thing, but from a team standpoint. In baseball, David Wells pitched a perfect game last year, retiring all 27 batter who faced him; not a single hitter reached base!! The only feat more rare in the four major spectator sports (baseball, football, basketball, hockey) is scoring 100 points in a basketball game (achieved once).
But, this is not about accomplishments. I write this because I am drawn to sports by something deeper, richer, more satisfying. It's the passion for the process. For without the process--the training of the mind, body and spirit--no achievement, no amount of accomplishment draws much satisfaction. Do you think the winner of the Masters Golf Championship, Jose Maria Olazabal, cried just because he won? I believe he drew upon all the work and passion he put in for years leading up to the victory; that each step along the way he nurtured his skills (driving, chipping, blasting, putting), passion (love of the game, preparation for excellence) and spirit to help him achieve one of sports greatest accomplishments. One doesn't cry for a single moment. He cries for all that leads up to the moment. One doesn't cry upon reaching a destination...but for the journey that gets him there.

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Back to Newsletter Main page


May 1999

Message from the President To all VJO members, I would like to begin with the usual - A WHOLE BUNCH OF THANK YOUS! To all VJO members who helped at our swim meet April 10-11: Thanks for helping us through the monsoon! The meet actually ran very smoothly despite the weather problems. It is a huge tribute to our dedicated parent group. To top it all off, we had a fantastic buffet feast in the clubhouse on Sunday. Once again, thanks to all. It was a great team effort. I wish I had the time and space to list you all individually. Moving on....more thanks are in order to those who attended the Zone III Official's Clinic on April 17. Mario de Senna, Winnie de Senna, Mike Reay, Rebecca Kearney, Mark Kearney, Janet Mata, Angeli Stanwick, Ray Lynskey, Marian Fernandez, Valente Fernandez and Alfredo Ladao. The clinic was very well attended, and VJO had the largest single contingent! Please congratulate these folks when you see them on deck! It is really getting exciting now! We are finally seeing better weather and our summer season is upon us. Lots of activities are planned. Let me provide a brief outline of some of the highlights. On May 15, from 10:00 - Noon, we will hold our annual tryout day at Cunningham Pool. If you know anyone who is interested in joining our swim team, please encourage them to attend. As in the past, our best advertising is done via word-of-mouth by our parents. Please help us help our club grow! On May 26, we will have our first "30 Minute Swim" at practice. For this we encourage all parents to attend to count laps for our swimmers. On June 25-27, VJO hosts the Zone III Summer Championships. As the host club, we have been asked to be in charge of set up and take down. All parents who can help, please contact Ray Lynskey, Noah Kalama or myself. The major set up will be Thursday night, June 24. Once again, VJO will be participating in the Fourth of July Parade. All VJO swimmers are encouraged to march in the parade behind the "SHARK MOBILE". ..... Continued on 2nd column >>>>>		Calendar: May 23 -- Bob's Group Walk On @ IVAN June 6 -- Vacaville long course at Solano College (Sunday only) June 12-13 -- Petaluma Invitation at Petaluma June 25-27 -- Zone III Summer Championships at Cunningham July 4th -- Parade and Marshalling July 10 -- Long Course at Woodland July 16-18 Age Group Championships at Terrapins July 28- August 1 -- Far Westerns at Carson City August 7-8 REAL Championship at Petaluma August 12 -- Swim-a-Thon August 14 -- VJO Family Picnic August 16-30 Break Message from the President (cont'd) ..... Some of our VJO parents have already made some great plans. Please consider helping in the construction of our float. We will hold a series of brief meetings in the near future as we prepare for this event. Also, VJO parents have been asked by the Chamber of Commerce to once again serve as parade marshals. This has become a tradition for many VJO parents. Please plan on participating. On July 8, we have a dual meet at Fairfield. On July 10 at Woodland, we have a team meet. All swimmers should attend. We will attend this meet on Saturday only. On July 24 through August 1, the Far Westerns will be held in Carson City. Many VJO swimmers have already qualified! On August 7-8, The REAL meet will be held in Petaluma. All VJO swimmers should attend. The week after REALs, we will have a fun-packed week. We will hold our Swim-A-Thon fund raiser on August 12. Otis Parker and JoJo Crescines, in conjunction with Coach Tuffy, have agreed to run this year's event. Our goal is to raise $10,000 for the club. Please be sure to thank Otis and JoJo for taking this on. Much more information about the Swim-A-Thon will be coming shortly. Just a few days after the Swim-A-Thon, we will hold our Family Picnic. This event will be held on Saturday, August 14. Add to all this, various other activities planned by the VJO coaches and parents: miniature golf, team potlucks, dual meets - what a summer! See you at the pool! -- Ken Toch

Welcome to New Team Members Congratulations and welcome to our new swim team members: Jennifer Carkin; Jeremy Rhodes, Raque; Bataller-Hodge; Brian Harris; Justin Payandeh; Ian Cabalse; Vincent Bicomong; Maurice Simpkin.
VJO Board Highlights Our long course swim meet earned $1,800; great job with food donations; scrip earned $230 from $6,000 worth of sales; thank you to Times Herald for great coverage of local swimming; we are up to 99 swimmers; 12 VJO parents were trained at the officials clinic -- VJO had the most of any team; the awards banquet is tentatively being scheduled for August 25 or 26; good weather is bringing out swimmers to practice; long course practice will begin again in the morning during the third week in June; space will be a problem to solve when lessons begin; the Jeanne Favaro Scholarship applications went out -- $500 from VJO matched by $500 from the Favaros; second coach for Tuffy's group was discussed -- depends on the number of new swimmers; May 26th set as 30 minute swim with BBQ or potluck -- to be arranged.
May 26th, 30 Minute Swim and BBQ Mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 26th, when we will hold a 30 minute swim (a 20 minute swim for some members of Tufty's group). The idea is for participants to swim freestyle as far as possible in the allotted time period, from which we'll figure out the average time per 100 yards for each swimmer (valuable for Chris and Bob). We will need parents to count laps for us. We plan to make this day a short one; the swim should begin around 5:45 p.m. After a short time period for swim down (mandatory for every participant) we'll have a barbecue. Thank you in advance for your help and participation.
Swim Results from High School Sections VJO swimmers were amazing at the high school sections. The following is a summary of the finals: Jesse Ford Ford -- 5th in 100 back at 56.05 (personal best), 12th in 200 IM at 2:02:92; Karlo Felix -- 9th in 200 IM at 2:11:80, 8th in 100 fly at 59.28 (Karlo did a 57 in a swim off to get to finals!!!); Andrew Allison -- 5th in 500 free at 5:00.62 (did 4:49.73 in prelims!), 4th in 200 IM at 2:06:44; Aaron Toch -- 8th in 500 free at 5:11:50, 8th in 200 IM at 2:11:49; Thomas deSenna -- 9th in 500 free at 4:56:99!!; Toni deSenna, 11th in 100 fly at 1:01:66; 200 medley relay was 13th (Karlo, Aaron, Mario deSenna and James Recto); 400 free relay was 11th (Karlo, Aaron, James, and Brett Bennett).
From Coach Chris I sat down at work recently, when I had plenty of time to ruminate about everything and nothing. I'm a coach. I look at things from a coach's perspective. I also participate in a sport. I still compete in swim meets, and this year's training has sharpened what I look for as a spectator of sports. I like to see individuals give everything they have, the highest levels of concentration, focus, effort, knowledge, skill and will, plus passion, to help their team, or themselves, win. You know what concentration, focus and knowledge are. Skill is the ability to perform the various tasks in a coordinated fashion that the sport demands. In a team sport your skills must mesh with the skills of others to perform at high levels. "Will" enables a participant to use the concentration, focus, effort, knowledge and skill when they are needed most, usually under "pressure" situations. In the 90's, Michael Jordan "willed" himself to prepare and perform better than anyone in professional basketball. You may have heard about how the Green Bay Packers imposed their "will" on the San Francisco 49ers in a playoff game a few years ago. Same thing, but from a team standpoint. In baseball, David Wells pitched a perfect game last year, retiring all 27 batter who faced him; not a single hitter reached base!! The only feat more rare in the four major spectator sports (baseball, football, basketball, hockey) is scoring 100 points in a basketball game (achieved once). But, this is not about accomplishments. I write this because I am drawn to sports by something deeper, richer, more satisfying. It's the passion for the process. For without the process--the training of the mind, body and spirit--no achievement, no amount of accomplishment draws much satisfaction. Do you think the winner of the Masters Golf Championship, Jose Maria Olazabal, cried just because he won? I believe he drew upon all the work and passion he put in for years leading up to the victory; that each step along the way he nurtured his skills (driving, chipping, blasting, putting), passion (love of the game, preparation for excellence) and spirit to help him achieve one of sports greatest accomplishments. One doesn't cry for a single moment. He cries for all that leads up to the moment. One doesn't cry upon reaching a destination...but for the journey that gets him there.