Sherwood Oaks Swim Team

POOL LOCATION: 

• Home Meets are at Sherwood Oaks Swimming Pool 11200 Timberline Rd, Houston, TX 77043. 
• Away Meets locations are listed on the calendar. 

ARRIVAL TIME & CHECK-IN: 

• Please arrive at the pool on time (or a few minutes early preferrably) for all meets.
• The start time of the meets can be found in the Meet email sent out that day. 
• For home meets, Dolphin's Age Group areas/tents will be located on the far side of the pool over near the playground. 
• Please sign in with the Volunteer Coordinator as you enter before you proceed to your child’s age group tent.

COACHING: 

• During the meet Coach Robin will be on deck observing each child. 
• These observations will be used in upcoming practices to help swimmers improve.
• The assistant coaches will be helping swimmers get set up for starts, reminding swimmers of specifics for each race (stroke type, sequence, etc...). Please allow them to focus on these activities. 
• No parents should be in the ready bench area, start or finish areas that are not working a volunteer shift.

What to Bring (Also See 'Meet Prep: Checklist')

• Team swimsuit, cap, goggles (an extra pair of goggles is a good idea!), team tshirt, towel, and sunscreen. 
• Extra towel to sit on in Age Group area
• Make sure all items are well labeled with your child's name.
• Snacks/drinks to keep your swimmer hydrated and energized!
• Games for your child for time in between meets. (travel games, books, ds etc)
• Folding camp chairs to sit on
• Event reports/heat sheets printed from the website
• Black sharpie marker for marking up your child
• Print out your heat sheet and bring to the meet. Coaches will let us know via email when Heat Sheets are available. Extras will be available for volunteers ONLY at the meet and none for sale.
• *For our new parents, the heat sheet is the master key to the meet. All the events and swimmers are listed on the heat sheet. For our new swimmers, they will have NT next to their name which means NO TIME. Our returning swimmers will have their time from the previous races on the sheet.

Upon Arrival

• Be on Time! Warm-ups begin well before the meet start time.
• Ensure your swimmer has sunscreen on and is marked up with his/her event information. (Shepherds will also help with marking up their swimmers).
• SWIMMERS:
  • Report to age group area and make sure you are checked in by Shepherd(s).
  • Once you have signed in with the volunteer coordinator, please take ALL SWIMMERS to the appropriate Age Group Parent/Tent to sign him/her in.
  • YOU MUST SIGN YOUR SWIMMERS IN with the age group tent. If your swimmer is not signed in they will be scratched from their heats by the coaches.
  • The same goes for the end of the meet, PLEASE inform the age group parents you are taking your swimmer home especially our 6 and under parents.
• VOLUNTEERS: 
  • If you have signed up to volunteer NO MATTER WHAT SHIFT, PLEASE check in with our volunteer coordinator as soon as you get to the pool. 
  • We LOVE our volunteers and like to know we have all our bases covered. Volunteer descriptions can be found here.

During the Meet....

• WHAT YOUR SWIMMER SHOULD KNOW: 
  • First and foremost have fun!
  • Do their best and enjoy the meet.
  • PLEASE leave the coaching to our amazing coaches and just encourage your swimmers. 
  • If you are volunteering and leaving your swimmer (especially our younger swimmers), please make sure they know where all their "stuff" is (for example, snacks, goggles, money and entertainment) and where you will be.
  • Please remind your swimmers to stay with the Shepherd parents and not wander off as this can create chaos when time comes to swim. 
  • Please lather your swimmers with sunscreen prior to arriving at the pool but AFTER they have had arm marking.
• FOOD AND REFRESHMENTS:  
  • You can bring in food and drinks, but we ask that people do not bring in glass.
• READY BENCH: 
  • Shepherds are responsible for getting our swimmers to the ready bench so if you choose to take your child out of the age group tent during a meet, you are responsible for informing the age group parent and getting them to the ready bench on time. 
  • Failure to get to the ready bench will mean your swimmer is scratched from the race! 
• RELAYS: 
  • Please don't cancel on relays, especially last minute
  • If your swimmer is signed up to swim a relay and for some reason you cannot stay, or make it, PLEASE INFORM the Shepherds immediately. 
  • A relay is 4 swimmers and if one isn't there, the whole relay team has to forfeit :( It makes everyone sad when this happens.
  • When signing up for a meet, Swimtopia allows you to note your relay preference: Please indicate if your child won't be available for early or late relays. 
• HEAT RIBBONS: In an effort to allow more kids have a chance, we give out ribbons for every heat.

• DISQUALIFIED: Swimmers can be DQ'd (disqualified) for improper strokes. If your child is DQ'd please assure your swimmer that it is okay and how proud you are of them for trying. The coaches do get a list of what the swimmer was DQ'd for and they will go over with the swimmers in practice!

• SPORTSMANSHIP: Dolphins swimmers stay in the water at the end of their races until all swimmers have touched the wall, it's respectful to other swimmers. Once all swimmers have finished the race, we encourage shaking the swimmer's hand next to you and then they may exit the pool.

Additional Thoughts.....

• Please MARK EVERYTHING with the swimmers name so we can avoid lost shirts, towels, caps, bathing suits, etc. If you are leaving early please tell the age group parent. We encourage all parents and swimmers to stay until the end of the meet to cheer on all of our Dolphins.
• Wear sunscreen!
• Bring cash and small bills for concession stand purchases.
• Have fun watching all the kids experience summer swim. 
• Most of all, the  DOLPHINS want to be known for our good sportsmanship. Please congratulate the winner no matter what team they are on, please encourage all swimmers and please encourage your swimmers to do the same. Our swimmers will follow our example.
• T-SHIRTS: Wear Dolphins or Red t-shirts or spirit gear to meets, if you would like to buy a t-shirt, it's super easy to purchase one during registration. 
• Ear Drops: To keep your swimmer healthy, it's a good idea to invest in swimmer's ear drops to prevent any ear infection. Swimmer's ear is NO fun!

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Our coaches and our parent leads will also be able to answer questions you might have at the meet. Most importantly HAVE FUN and ENJOY the day!

GO DOLPHINS!