MISSION MARLINS NEWSLETTER

Welcome, officially, to the 2026 swim season with the Mission Marlins! It's been a great week - despite losing a day with a broken pool pump! Other than that, we've been very lucky with some decent temperatures and water temps that were bearable this first week! Everyone did amazing and we are so proud of what we were able to accomplish during this first week! Next week brings us our first week of swim meets. As we prepare for week 2, please keep in mind the following:

- Communicate with the coaches when your swimmer will miss a meet or be absent for a prolonged period of time. You can email Coach Katie at swimmissionmarlins@gmail.com or send her a text in Remind. PLEASE be sure to let her know when you're going to be absent. Meet preparation begins about a week or so in advance, so the earlier you let Coach Katie know, the better!

- Did you know you can mark your availability for meets? Please use the Swimtopia app or website to "declare" your child's availability for each swim meet. We are really encouraging you to utilize this tool as a way to communicate with us about availability for swim meets. Not sure you remember how to do this? Check out the resources at the bottom of this newsletter for the "2026 Mission Marlins Kick-Off Information" and find the slide that discusses marking availability in Swimtopia.

- Save the dates:

• Picture Day is scheduled for Wednesday, June 17th. Details will be coming soon!
• NO PRACTICE Friday, July 3rd! Enjoy the holiday weekend!
• Pre-competitive Swim Meet (For GREEN Teamers Only) is Monday, July 6th at Homestead Country Club.
• Championships are Tuesday, 7/14, and Thursday, 7/16 (during the day). Please keep these dates open. These will be day meets, not evening meets, so letting you know now to plan accordingly.
• End of the Season Picnic/Awards ceremony is Friday, July 17th at 7pm! More details to be announced.

As for our coaching staff, Katie Dearing is returning to the coaching staff for her 20th year, and her 4th year as head coach. Jennifer Schleicher and Maryn Ruffin are returning as assistant coaches, and we're excited to welcome Jonathan Guild & Alice Brandt to our staff this year. All coaches are former Mission Marlins, with extensive swim and coaching experience committed to helping your swimmer improve this season. With such a strong team of leadership, your child is certain to receive outstanding instruction this summer.

As coaches, our philosophy is to teach not only how to swim, but also what it means to enjoy the sport of swimming. To try and teach everything at once can become frustrating to kids if they do not have some success. We know we would love to have everything perfect by the end of the first week, but as the season continues, more and more improvements will be made. We are excited to see all of the individual achievements during this swim season!

Tuesday, 6/9: Regular Practice; 10 & Under Swimmers compete against Woodside AT Mission.

Wednesday, 6/10: Regular Practice

Thursday, 6/11: Regular Practice; 11 & Older Swimmers compete AT Woodside

Friday, 6/12: Regular Practice

Tuesday, June 9, 2026: 10 and under swimmers compete against Woodside Health & Tennis at Mission Family Aquatic Center

**Chick-fil-a will be at this meet, starting at 5:30pm!**

Thursday, June 11, 2026: 11 and older swimmers compete against Woodside Health & Tennis at Woodside (2000 W 47th Pl, Westwood, KS 66205)

For all swim meets, please arrive no later than 5:15 P.M. – Warm-ups begin at 5:30 P.M.

The meet begins at 6:00 P.M. – Please be on time!! Parking is always an issue…please consider carpooling and head to the meet with plenty of time.

Things to keep in mind for swim meets:

- Consider keeping your belongings in a trash bag or water-resistant bag.

- Bring extra towels, as swimmers will be entering and exiting the water throughout the meet.

- Bring warm clothing. Even during the summer, when the sun starts to set, the temperatures start to drop.

- Bring a water bottle and a healthy snack. Keep in mind that trash should not be left in the team area.

- Eat a light dinner no later than 4:30.

- Try to limit your time in the sun on meet days.

- Label EVERYTHING!

- Do not bring anything to the swim meet that cannot get wet. Swimmers are responsible for lost or damaged belongings.

- Please notify Katie ASAP if you are unable to attend the meet.

- Meet entries are posted during practice on the day of the meet. Swimmers will check their events and Coach Katie will send out meet entries via Remind, as well.

- PLEASE do not leave the swim meet early without checking out with Coach Katie. This is super important so that swimmers can participate in relays and we don't have to declare a last minute scratch because someone left early.

When trying to find parking for the meet on Tuesday this next week (or Thursdays when we have home meets), please be respectful of the "No Parking" signs that are posted on side streets for our swim meets. These are put up by the police, so it is obviously not recommended you park there. There is an overflow lot just east of City Hall near Martway. There are neighborhood side streets you can park on, but it's further south towards Shawnee Mission Parkway. As we maintain a positive relationship with the city, this is something easy we can do. If there's a sign--no parking. Thank you!!!

**If you did not get your team t-shirt this week and you were present, OR you haven't made it to practice yet for one reason or another, your t-shirts have been put aside with your name on them and are ready for pick up on Monday!**

**If you're not sure if you ordered an "extra" t-shirt during registration, and want to double check before submitting an order below, shoot Coach Katie a text or email and she'll let you know!**

**If you registered after 5/3/2026, your preferred size t-shirt is not included in our first bulk order. Our 2nd Team T-Shirt order will be placed on Monday, June 8th.

Now that you've seen the team shirts, are you interested in purchasing one for yourself, grandparents or other friends/family cheerleaders & supporters? A 2nd order will be placed on Monday, June 8th. Please fill out the order form below to order your extra shirts and select your payment option. Orders are due by Sunday, June 7th at 11:59pm. Late orders will not be accepted.

If you ordered a team suit or other spirit wear swag from the team store back in April, those orders have been passed out throughout the week. If you don't have yours yet, be sure to check with a coach to ensure you get your order before next week's swim meet!

1. Girls Size 28 Suit - This year's team suit. Shoot Coach Katie an email and she'll get you in touch with the seller. FCFS. Thanks!

You can sign up for meets via Swimtopia. Be sure, when signing up, you're double checking you're signing up for the correct meet. Remember, 10 & Under are Tuesdays; 11 & Up are on Thursdays!

Thank you to those of you who have gotten a jump start on filling the volunteer spots up and also to those of you who have stepped up to attend the stroke judge & officials trainings.

• @swimblue26 (for Blue Team swimmers and families)
• @swimred26 (for Red Team swimmers and families)
• @swimora26 (for Orange Team swimmers and families)
• @swimwhi26 (for White Team swimmers and families)
• @swimyel26 (For Yellow Team swimmers and families)
• @swimgre26 (for Green Team swimmers and families)

Each Friday, the coaches recognize swimmers from each practice group for their outstanding weekly attendance, hard work, and positive attitudes. It is always a VERY hard decision, as we are full of AMAZING young people! These swimmers were recognized as this week's Top Tankers:

- BLUE: Joseph Beecher, Leah Kroening, Caroline Nissen, Blake Thompson

- RED: Gus Beecher, Clare Nissen, Matthew Pate

- ORANGE: Gracie Beecher, Thomas Breneman, Beau Connell, Rose O'Hara, Aiden Schraeder

- WHITE: Scout Fausset, Ethan Guidry, Hart Knop

- YELLOW: Edmund Chestnut, Elias Govindan, Emmy Hilleary, Caleb Meyer, Scarlett Null

- GREEN: Elsie Connell, Noah Loney, Jack Myers, Eleanor Sutton, Rivers Tyler

Top Tanker recipients need to return the shirt they were given next Friday CLEAN so we can award more Top Tankers. Thank you!!!

**We are working on getting new top tanker shirts ordered. Our supply has dwindled. That being said, if you by chance have a Top Tanker shirt laying around at your house from previous years, if that could be brought back to the pool clean, that would be amazing. Thank you!!**

Top Tankers are sponsored by: Gabrielle Morris Real Estate with Compass Realty 🏠

Blue Team: I Believe I Can Fly Club - Members of this club are able to swim a 25 butterfly without taking a breath.

Emily Atchity, Joseph Beecher, Annika Berg, Tyson Boyer, Elli Brunsvold, Dominic Cara, Cassidy Carter, Ella Clutter, Ian Gonzalez, Maddox Harvey, Charlie Holloway, Darcy Kroening, Leah Kroening, Quinn Laing, Abe Nissen, Caroline Nissen, Zoey O'Keefe, Curtis O'Laughlin, Dakota Rominger, Declan Rydzel, Calvin Sawyer, Landon Solenberger, Eileen Smith, Blake Thompson, Lauren Trost, Ella Tylicki, Mirah Wade, Dale Williams, Hazel Williams, Alex Wingert, Zachary Wingert

Red Team: Super Duper 50 Free Club - We did not do this club this week. Stay tuned for next week's newsletter for our newest members!

Many of you have asked how you can help out the team. I've started this Amazon Wish List for this year. There is absolutely NO pressure for any of this, but wanted to create it for those who have asked. We did this last year and it was a huge hit. Thank you in advance for supporting the Mission Marlins!

Gabrielle Morris Real Estate with Compass Realty (They're doing a rebrand...thank you for your patience!)