July Banter 2023

[CAPE]

27 minutes ago, alexderiemer said:

Anyone know why the Dover, DE radar is down, or a link to where I can check radar statuses?

Sent from my SM-F711U using Tapatalk
 

Down for planned maintenance.

[CAPE]

Bradish is dealing today. He has been so solid lately. Os going for the sweep.

[Stormpc]

O's just need to figure out that middle infield situation.  Pick up few more BP arms. Should be active at the deadline. 

[vastateofmind]

17 hours ago, mattie g said:

Fun final dual meet of the season today. Lost to our local friendly rivals, but it was a relatively close meet, despite our missing some significant swimmers. 3-2 after moving up a division for a team like ours is a damn good result. Now it’s up to the NVSL gods to determine if we move up again next year!

 

3 hours ago, H2O said:

We won our last meet by a surprising margin. All week the numbers said it would be close. Like 5-10 points one way or the other. But they had a few kids missing for a big meet in stafford. By the start of breast we had a bigger lead than expected and it seemed like the other team just gave up. By relays half their team had left. Our coaches noticed it and commented after the meet. 

Our record and margin of victory will really make for a tough call if we stay where we are or get moved up. I REALLY don’t want to move up. We just aren’t a pool for that level of NVSL. Mainly due to how old our facility is. We just don’t have the niceties one would expect. 

Still a darn good season and we got payback against one team that drubbed us a couple years ago. Just divisionals left to go and then FREEDOM!!! Mel Gibson style 

You both give voice to the conundrum that most of us upper (or is it actually lower?) NVSL-affiliated pools face at this point in the season...we want to be competitive, but PLEASE don't move us too far up in the NVSL divisions!!!   

And @H2O is being far too modest. His pool, and the entire community of families that comprise their pool membership, have always been GREAT to work with, and to do swim meets with. It's a bit sad that he, or anyone from his pool, would ever be made to feel that their pool (and "pool" of officials/volunteers) would be somehow "less than" or not have the "niceties" when it comes to NVSL "standards" -- because I always loved when we went to his pool, and worked with their families. His pool is one of the BEST....both facilities-wise AND people-wise.

Unfortunately, those kinds of crap attitudes come from the pools comprising the top two divisions in NVSL...and I know that, because our neighborhood pool volunteers and officials (which hosted league-wide IM and Relay Carnival meets a decade or so ago) heard first-hand the nasty, vulgar and judgmental comments that came from those 10 or so pools that comprise the top two NVSL divisions. That's about the time when my attitudes on NVSL soured. But again, for you younger parents....I'm glad and hopeful that your experiences and community-building remain untinged from that kind of nastiness.   

[CAPE]

One game out.

[nw baltimore wx]

27 minutes ago, CAPE said:

One game out.

Incredible. Tough week coming up but looking forward to it.

[WxUSAF]

1 hour ago, CAPE said:

One game out.

Grayson back tomorrow. Has his work cut out for him, but the team is really clicking right now. 

[snowfan]

11 minutes ago, WxUSAF said:

Grayson back tomorrow. Has his work cut out for him, but the team is really clicking right now. 

Timing of the return is right though. He needs to prove he has command of his ball against good competition….possibly the dodgers AND rays or they need to get an arm before the deadline to fill that void. 

[snowfan]

1 hour ago, nw baltimore wx said:

Incredible. Tough week coming up but looking forward to it.

If they play .500 or just above that in the next two weeks they’ll be in a great spot. Really tough stretch into early August.

[09-10 analogy]

Santander and Hays have really stepped up this year. For all the hype about Adley and Gunner, the two "leftovers" have been the heart of this offense. 

[mattie g]

23 hours ago, H2O said:

We won our last meet by a surprising margin. All week the numbers said it would be close. Like 5-10 points one way or the other. But they had a few kids missing for a big meet in stafford. By the start of breast we had a bigger lead than expected and it seemed like the other team just gave up. By relays half their team had left. Our coaches noticed it and commented after the meet. 

Our record and margin of victory will really make for a tough call if we stay where we are or get moved up. I REALLY don’t want to move up. We just aren’t a pool for that level of NVSL. Mainly due to how old our facility is. We just don’t have the niceties one would expect. 

Still a darn good season and we got payback against one team that drubbed us a couple years ago. Just divisionals left to go and then FREEDOM!!! Mel Gibson style 

Unreal that kids would up and leave by the time relays started. I mean...it sucks that they had kids missing to start, but you just have to suck it up and do your best. If you lose, then you lost knowing you gave it what you could...but to pack up and leave? Nah, not having it.

Looking at your record and total points, and I can't see you guys not moving up. The only thing that could be done is that your reps make known in the post-season seeding survey that the final meet didn't reflect the actual quality of both teams. They definitely take those surveys into account, but sometimes they're going to do what they want.

We host Divisionals this weekend, so we have a hell of a week coming up. I just don't know what I'm going to do with myself when it's all done!

19 hours ago, vastateofmind said:

that, in the 

You both give voice to the conundrum that most of us upper (or is it actually lower?) NVSL-affiliated pools face at this point in the season...we want to be competitive, but PLEASE don't move us too far up in the NVSL divisions!!!   

And @H2O is being far too modest. His pool, and the entire community of families that comprise their pool membership, have always been GREAT to work with, and to do swim meets with. It's a bit sad that he, or anyone from his pool, would ever be made to feel that their pool (and "pool" of officials/volunteers) would be somehow "less than" or not have the "niceties" when it comes to NVSL "standards" -- because I always loved when we went to his pool, and worked with their families. His pool is one of the BEST....both facilities-wise AND people-wise.

Unfortunately, those kinds of crap attitudes come from the pools comprising the top two divisions in NVSL...and I know that, because our neighborhood pool volunteers and officials (which hosted league-wide IM and Relay Carnival meets a decade or so ago) heard first-hand the nasty, vulgar and judgmental comments that came from those 10 or so pools that comprise the top two NVSL divisions. That's about the time when my attitudes on NVSL soured. But again, for you younger parents....I'm glad and hopeful that your experiences and community-building remain untinged from that kind of nastiness.   

You hit on something that we've been discussing a lot the last few weeks. A lot of parents, my co-Rep, and one coach really don't want to move up next year, especially since we only came up to D15 this season. At 3-2, tying for 2nd in Relay Carnival, having two pretty close meets against the other top teams in the division, and in running virtual meets against other teams in the few divisions above ours, I have a feeling we'll go up to D14. If it happens, I  personally think we should see it as a reward for the hard work the coaches and kids put in this season, and the way we age next year we should be even stronger than this season (and we are normally stronger in even years).

I absolutely understand teams not wanting to go up but, looking at it objectively, if you think you might be relatively strong, then it's not fair for the other teams you might be grouped with should you stay in the same division. If it goes well, then great! If not, then you go back down and try again!

The pools we swim against have generally been awesome. Even the team that came down from D11 this year (and got smacked this season) was a lot of fun! H2O and I have discussed this before, but I wouldn't want to be in a tier where we couldn't just have fun on an A Meet day and not worry about a protest or asshole pools or whatever. We want to grow and get better, but NOT at the expense of the culture we have now! 

[H2O]

@mattie g I agree that with a record like ours it will be a hard sell NOT to get moved up.  So I expect it.  I get that if we are strong(which we can be at times) to stay could mean a lot of unfair meets next year given that some will be dropped down who might still be struggling.  But other good teams will move up so it could be a wash.  

For me its just that it really does feel that in these upper Ds its gone from people wanting to have fun and parents be social and jovial to the exact opposite.  So far in the D we've been in for two years I've seen a LOT of snooty parents and some really poor sportsmanship by some swimmers.  Older kids talking trash more, slapping the water if they lose, throwing stuff.  And the parents just seem to think that they are supposed to win because of who they are and how long they've been in the upper Ds.  

And that feeds back in to comments I made and the very kind words @vastateofmind said about our pool.  He's being very generous  hahaha.  We aren't a total dumpster fire pool  Our pool itself is nice and we have lovely shade for the deck and the hill to one side gives an awesome view.  But our bathhouse is old and small, the grounds itself aren't super great to look at and our parking lot is tiny.  Inevitably when we host meets, unless a team is familiar with us and accepts our warts some of the reactions we get from visitors are "oh, this is.....nice."  Or "wow, what an unusual pool.  Its old."  The comments only have gotten worse with each move up in the standings.  When we visit other pools in McLean and Chantilly and so on its like we are a Howard Johnsons and they are the Ritz Carltons.  It really is that stark a difference.  I'm a Miller Lite guy having to be around Stella Artois drinkers.  Thats what it feels like.  And if we beat them they get extra salty McSaltface.  

It just my cautionary tale of how everyone's goals might be to move up in the standings every year but I would be happy as a pig in doodie back down in D10.  

[vastateofmind]

1 hour ago, mattie g said:

Unreal that kids would up and leave by the time relays started. I mean...it sucks that they had kids missing to start, but you just have to suck it up and do your best. If you lose, then you lost knowing you gave it what you could...but to pack up and leave? Nah, not having it.

<SNIP>

The pools we swim against have generally been awesome. Even the team that came down from D11 this year (and got smacked this season) was a lot of fun! H2O and I have discussed this before, but I wouldn't want to be in a tier where we couldn't just have fun on an A Meet day and not worry about a protest or asshole pools or whatever. We want to grow and get better, but NOT at the expense of the culture we have now! 

I missed the kids departing at start of relays discussion up above....and I'm with you all. That's unacceptable. There were plenty of times when my guys did NOT make relays...but we made them stay to the end. Demonstrating good sportsmanship is as important on the deck and in the team area, as it is when you're in the water.

And, well...again, you guys get it. Too many parents don't. Summer swim should be developmental AND fun....I think that concept is completely lost in the top three divisions in NVSL, having been replaced by draw-blood, cutthroat levels of competition. Who the hell wants to compete in THAT kind of division???

[mattie g]

30 minutes ago, vastateofmind said:

I missed the kids departing at start of relays discussion up above....and I'm with you all. That's unacceptable. There were plenty of times when my guys did NOT make relays...but we made them stay to the end. Demonstrating good sportsmanship is as important on the deck and in the team area, as it is when you're in the water.

And, well...again, you guys get it. Too many parents don't. Summer swim should be developmental AND fun....I think that concept is completely lost in the top three divisions in NVSL, having been replaced by draw-blood, cutthroat levels of competition. Who the hell wants to compete in THAT kind of division???

Exactly. I was a pretty competitive athlete, and I couldn't imagine being in intense training and competition nearly year-round and then coming out for what's supposed to a fun summer and being that competitive over the course an incredibly intense 5-6 weeks. I'd want to do well, but man...I'd need a break!

We have a few kids who have made/make All Stars pretty regularly, but you would never know they were fairly accomplished swimmers based on how they conduct themselves. We're not perfect and we have our share of...difficult...kids and parents, but I like to think that we keep most of that from bubbling up.

[mattie g]

47 minutes ago, H2O said:

@mattie g I agree that with a record like ours it will be a hard sell NOT to get moved up.  So I expect it.  I get that if we are strong(which we can be at times) to stay could mean a lot of unfair meets next year given that some will be dropped down who might still be struggling.  But other good teams will move up so it could be a wash.  

For me its just that it really does feel that in these upper Ds its gone from people wanting to have fun and parents be social and jovial to the exact opposite.  So far in the D we've been in for two years I've seen a LOT of snooty parents and some really poor sportsmanship by some swimmers.  Older kids talking trash more, slapping the water if they lose, throwing stuff.  And the parents just seem to think that they are supposed to win because of who they are and how long they've been in the upper Ds.  

And that feeds back in to comments I made and the very kind words @vastateofmind said about our pool.  He's being very generous  hahaha.  We aren't a total dumpster fire pool  Our pool itself is nice and we have lovely shade for the deck and the hill to one side gives an awesome view.  But our bathhouse is old and small, the grounds itself aren't super great to look at and our parking lot is tiny.  Inevitably when we host meets, unless a team is familiar with us and accepts our warts some of the reactions we get from visitors are "oh, this is.....nice."  Or "wow, what an unusual pool.  Its old."  The comments only have gotten worse with each move up in the standings.  When we visit other pools in McLean and Chantilly and so on its like we are a Howard Johnsons and they are the Ritz Carltons.  It really is that stark a difference.  I'm a Miller Lite guy having to be around Stella Artois drinkers.  Thats what it feels like.  And if we beat them they get extra salty McSaltface.  

It just my cautionary tale of how everyone's goals might be to move up in the standings every year but I would be happy as a pig in doodie back down in D10.  

I think NVSL does a great job, in general, of putting teams in the right divisions. There are some bad choices (some teams have been absolutely mauled week-in and week-out this season), but overall they get it right.

I guess once you get high enough up in the league the prospect of moving can be something of a deterrent. It's easy for me to sit here and say I wouldn't want to be in a much higher division, but I think once that kind of momentum starts (see: certain teams who have rocketed up the league in the past few years) even I might find it hard to say "well...we used to be pretty bad but now that we're good I'd rather be bad again."

[mdhokie]

Little surprised at the lack of action re: Canada fires. I'm guessing most are in really remote areas and difficult to get to? The latest I've been reading is they are just now mobilizing military and other resources? Its also hard to find a lot of news about it with details. 

[Rhino16]

7 minutes ago, mdhokie said:

Little surprised at the lack of action re: Canada fires. I'm guessing most are in really remote areas and difficult to get to? The latest I've been reading is they are just now mobilizing military and other resources? Its also hard to find a lot of news about it with details. 

Also just a lot a lot a lot of fire. A lot.

[H2O]

1 hour ago, mattie g said:

I think NVSL does a great job, in general, of putting teams in the right divisions. There are some bad choices (some teams have been absolutely mauled week-in and week-out this season), but overall they get it right.

I guess once you get high enough up in the league the prospect of moving can be something of a deterrent. It's easy for me to sit here and say I wouldn't want to be in a much higher division, but I think once that kind of momentum starts (see: certain teams who have rocketed up the league in the past few years) even I might find it hard to say "well...we used to be pretty bad but now that we're good I'd rather be bad again."

I think I didn’t explain myself well enough. I don’t want my team to be bad. I’m really proud of the climb we’ve made since my kids joined. What I mean is that the teams and parents and pools were much nicer and fun at D10 and thereabouts. 
 

I would much rather have THOSE teams and families and kids with us. Being up high just carry more arrogance and attitude and lower Ds were much more fun. that fun attitude is what I miss and wish would be up where we are now. Not the snootiness from some teams and people who just make it less fun. 
 

That’s what I fear the most about being moved up. We want to be a fun team and try to be. Some of how competitive these top teams are is rubbing off on a few of our kids/parents  and I hate seeing it infect our culture despite the best efforts of our coaches and team reps

[nw baltimore wx]

Hour 420 of the 12z GFS kills the drought for the region. 

[vastateofmind]

31 minutes ago, H2O said:

I would much rather have THOSE teams and families and kids with us. Being up high just carry more arrogance and attitude and lower Ds were much more fun. that fun attitude is what I miss and wish would be up where we are now. Not the snootiness from some teams and people who just make it less fun. 

That’s what I fear the most about being moved up. We want to be a fun team and try to be. Some of how competitive these top teams are is rubbing off on a few of our kids/parents  and I hate seeing it infect our culture despite the best efforts of our coaches and team reps

The "culture infection" can certainly be a concern. As I said, my younger son tended to qualify for all-star meets as he grew older...and I despised going to them, because of the arrogance, the cockiness, the outright unsportsmanlike conduct that (often, not always) reared its ugly head once you started competing with swimmers and their families from, say, the top 5 divisions in NVSL. Absolutely hated it.

[toolsheds]

18 minutes ago, vastateofmind said:

The "culture infection" can certainly be a concern. As I said, my younger son tended to qualify for all-star meets as he grew older...and I despised going to them, because of the arrogance, the cockiness, the outright unsportsmanlike conduct that (often, not always) reared its ugly head once you started competing with swimmers and their families from, say, the top 5 divisions in NVSL. Absolutely hated it.

I'm really enjoying the the read on the swim teams and am happy to see that all of kid's sports are a mess and not just the ones my kids participated in.   I can tell that you all are in it for the right reasons and your children will be better because of it. 

The sad thing is that so many people put a focus on succeeding in sports over the benefits of learning how to work hard and be part of a team.  Realistically, there is no career path for almost all of these kids within their selected sport and it makes me sad to see that this attitude exists.  Even if you are able to play a sport in college, there is a good chance that you won't play a lot , especially in your first year or two.  I have seen so many of my children's friends go to a school for a sport and lose interest after freshman year.   

Every time I hear you all talk about the snootiness of some of the upper clubs, I think of one of my favorite episodes of an older British comedy I'm posting a pic from.  FOr those of you who remember the show, enjoy....."I've got a Porsche" 

 

[vastateofmind]

1 hour ago, toolsheds said:

The sad thing is that so many people put a focus on succeeding in sports over the benefits of learning how to work hard and be part of a team.  Realistically, there is no career path for almost all of these kids within their selected sport and it makes me sad to see that this attitude exists.  Even if you are able to play a sport in college, there is a good chance that you won't play a lot , especially in your first year or two.  I have seen so many of my children's friends go to a school for a sport and lose interest after freshman year.   

Thank you for your truly insightful comments. You have no idea how right you are. My oldest son tried his damndest to be a decent lacrosse player from late elementary school right up until the end of HS...and then he played on University of Mary Washington's LAX team, as a very average player. Good, not great. And his challenge was that he put lacrosse in front of all of his other sports flirtations (e.g., football, basketball, cross country) because he thought that lacrosse was the one sport that he "had a shot at." Until he went up against teammates who had played lacrosse from the time until they could literally walk with a stick in their hand. He finished out his four years of collegiate lacrosse....but because of having to compete with incredible lacrosse athletes from the Baltimore area at the time...and just poor to middling collegiate coaches....he's never returned to the sport, not even on a recreational level, since. That breaks my heart.

My younger son enjoyed a natural affinity and talent for swimming early on, which morphed into great results in summer swim, and then when he elected to go to year-round competitive swimming towards the end of elementary school, he was able to refine those skills and enjoy some success on the regional DMV level and even the national level. He recruited to a number of D2 and one D1 schools. But when he finished his performance at the HS state competition in Richmond toward the end of his senior year...he was in literal tears when he admitted to his mother and I that he didn't think he could swim in college, or maybe ever again. He was completely burnt out. And sadly, HE hasn't swum recreationally or otherwise ever since then. We felt like the shittiest parents back then...and we still do. We THOUGHT that was what he wanted to pursue.

So, yeah....would we do it differently? Absolutely. HOW would we do it differently? Well for starters, I would have encouraged both sons to stick to trying...and ENJOYING...a variety of sports and not hyper-focus on just ONE F*CKING sport for years at a time. I know my oldest son would've enjoyed a variety of intramural sports at the collegiate level, as opposed to pouring everything into lacrosse with middling results. My youngest, I don't know. But for anyone reading this, think about pushing your children to try a variety of sports. This specialization bullshit from an early age...yeah, NO. We can't do it over...but I hope someone can learn from our experience.

[Stormchaserchuck1]

Did you guys hear, Phoenix's previous record for most consecutive 110 degree days was 18 in 1974. They are expected to get to 25, at least, with 114's still showing up at the end of the 10-day. Looking at LR models, they could go 30+. 

[Stormpc]

23 hours ago, WxUSAF said:

Grayson back tomorrow. Has his work cut out for him, but the team is really clicking right now. 

Didn't quite have it. He might never be the answer. At least right now. Had flashes of brilliance but can't work out of jams. Going to be a challenge with all these young guys coming up on their career high innings pitched. Going to eat a lot of help from either down below or outside to keep things rolling. Might see a little bit of a step back during the second half. 

[Chris78]

2 hours ago, Stormpc said:

Didn't quite have it. He might never be the answer. At least right now. Had flashes of brilliance but can't work out of jams. Going to be a challenge with all these young guys coming up on their career high innings pitched. Going to eat a lot of help from either down below or outside to keep things rolling. Might see a little bit of a step back during the second half. 

That 0 - 2 pitch from Baker has to be better. Grand slam on an 0 - 2. Can't do that.

[CAPE]

 

[09-10 analogy]

12 hours ago, Stormpc said:

Didn't quite have it. He might never be the answer. At least right now. Had flashes of brilliance but can't work out of jams. Going to be a challenge with all these young guys coming up on their career high innings pitched. Going to eat a lot of help from either down below or outside to keep things rolling. Might see a little bit of a step back during the second half. 

I think grod was overthrowing in the first inning

[toolsheds]

2 hours ago, 09-10 analogy said:

I think grod was overthrowing in the first inning

things would have been different if Hicks didn't misplay that fly ball.  I knew he thought that he was closer to the wall, but but he didn't need to jump to catch it. 

[mattie g]

19 hours ago, H2O said:

I think I didn’t explain myself well enough. I don’t want my team to be bad. I’m really proud of the climb we’ve made since my kids joined. What I mean is that the teams and parents and pools were much nicer and fun at D10 and thereabouts. 

I would much rather have THOSE teams and families and kids with us. Being up high just carry more arrogance and attitude and lower Ds were much more fun. that fun attitude is what I miss and wish would be up where we are now. Not the snootiness from some teams and people who just make it less fun. 

That’s what I fear the most about being moved up. We want to be a fun team and try to be. Some of how competitive these top teams are is rubbing off on a few of our kids/parents  and I hate seeing it infect our culture despite the best efforts of our coaches and team reps

I totally get it - I think my post came across a little differently than I wanted to.

I agree with what you say completely. Where I was coming at it was from the vantage point of how part of being in a lower division is because your team isn't all that good, relative to the other teams in NVSL. When the team gets better, it moves up, and with that comes a little more pressure, a little more snootiness, etc., and while the prospect of seeing our team get better is really enticing, I (like you) would fear losing the truly fun aspect of summer swim. HOWEVER, if we somehow rocketed up the table (which isn't going to happen anyway), I would find it tough to accept that "I wish we weren't as good now" even if deep down inside I knew that to be true.

I know what I'm trying to say, but I don't think it's coming out right  

18 hours ago, vastateofmind said:

The "culture infection" can certainly be a concern. As I said, my younger son tended to qualify for all-star meets as he grew older...and I despised going to them, because of the arrogance, the cockiness, the outright unsportsmanlike conduct that (often, not always) reared its ugly head once you started competing with swimmers and their families from, say, the top 5 divisions in NVSL. Absolutely hated it.

Last year was my first at All Stars. Our team had four kids there, so we went to support them, and it was a pretty cool experience simply because it was the first one for me. I didn't really follow a lot of other races except for the heats our kids were in, but if we go back again this year I'll keep an eye open for it.

[H2O]

23 minutes ago, mattie g said:

I totally get it - I think my post came across a little differently than I wanted to.

I agree with what you say completely. Where I was coming at it was from the vantage point of how part of being in a lower division is because your team isn't all that good, relative to the other teams in NVSL. When the team gets better, it moves up, and with that comes a little more pressure, a little more snootiness, etc., and while the prospect of seeing our team get better is really enticing, I (like you) would fear losing the truly fun aspect of summer swim. HOWEVER, if we somehow rocketed up the table (which isn't going to happen anyway), I would find it tough to accept that "I wish we weren't as good now" even if deep down inside I knew that to be true.

I know what I'm trying to say, but I don't think it's coming out right  

Last year was my first at All Stars. Our team had four kids there, so we went to support them, and it was a pretty cool experience simply because it was the first one for me. I didn't really follow a lot of other races except for the heats our kids were in, but if we go back again this year I'll keep an eye open for it.

I understand what you mean.  A team can get better thru good coaching and just being lucky when some new kids move into the area and help make the team better.  Thats when a team can start that rise up.  Sometimes a team being down low isn't always a sign they have been bad for years.  It could have been a sudden loss of one age group or people moving and so on.  We have gone from D17 to where we are now thru great coaching and just a good group of kids that listen and swim hard.  We have some kids that swim year round but a lot don't.  Mine don't.  What I've noticed is how many kids from D8 up DO swim year round.  Thats what happens with the rise up.  These teams and kids and parents are ALL about swimming.  I'll take wherever we get put but the NVSL should warn the pools we will face that we are a janky pool with janky facilities and one janky ass chief timer as well.  

 

A story i heard from my pool's coach that happened at this years all star relays.  For warm ups the rule is that kids dive in, swim down, get out, and walk around and repeat.  You aren't allowed to practice starts and all that.  They are just trying to let kids get in to warm up.  There was one D1 team that rhymes with Buckatoe that their kids started to work on starts and turns and all that.  Our coach saw it cause we were next to them and said to the coach they weren't allowed to do it.  Their coach's response?  "Oh I don't care.  We will do it the way we want."  The kids for that team were told not to do it.  Their response?  "Coach said we could so we will."  A formal protest was filed against them because of it.  I'm sure nothing happened.  But thats the shit that happens at all stars.  The D1s just act like they own the place because they have over half the kids swimming.  

I have a loud voice.  I have made it a point to go to all stars to root four our kids and make sure these parents and coaches HEAR the name of our pool.  Just so they know.