Makos Newsletter
May 21, 2025
New News!
Hello Makos families, I'm so excited to start the 2026 swim season with all of the Makos! We are all excited to kick off the season and continue the strong community traditions of the Makos. There will be lots of learning new swimming skills, excitement and fun this season and the coaches can't wait to get things rolling. You will get a newsletter from me every Thursday with updates, information about upcoming meets and meet results. The best way to stay on top of all team news, information, updates and announcements (including cancellations or rescheduling due to weather) is to download the Swimtopia app. It is free to download and use with the same login information as the Swimtopia website. When you download the Swimtopia app and login please turn NOTIFICATIONS ON, as this will be the main way we send out any last minutes practice changes or updates. We no not have the ability to text updates anymore, but we do have the ability to push notifications though for important last minute information. We will still also email and post to facebook as well, but the push notificaitons via the app will be our first form of communication for last minute weather changes.
Thank you for your patience the first few weeks as we get going into the season. It's always a hectic time full of fun and excitement when a new season starts! The first few weeks are always fun, busy and exciting leading up to our first meet. It may look and feel a bit chaotic as we get all of the kids into the right lanes within their practice group, but the chaos of doing that pays off so we can move more quickly through practices in upcoming weeks. You may see us moving kids around during practices, this is so that we can give each individual swimmer an opportunity to learn and master some new skills this year. During practices, please sit away from the edge of the pool so coaches have the room to work with swimmers. Please also refrain from chatting with coaches or swimmers currently at practices. We know that sometimes kids can be overwhelmed with learning new things in new situations, but we will work with the swimmers to help meet them where they are to overcome those situations. If you have something that you need to speak to a coach about, please wait until after practices have concluded for the day or before they begin. This helps keep the coaches' attention on the water and the kids in the water during practice times. If you still have t-shirts, caps and other things to pick up those will be available during some practices next week.
It's hard to believe that we are already starting to plan for our first meet! For each meet, you will need to log into Swimtopia to do Meet Entry for your swimmer (mark them as attending and pick their events) and to do Job Signups. Both will open two Wednesdays before the meet and close the Thursday before each meet. This ensures that coaches have time to plan entries and get them turned in on time on our end. You should be able to see Meet 1 in Swimtopia so you can do the Meet Entry as soon as you would like. Please do not Unsubscribe from Swimtopia emails, as they are the primary form of communication for team information and updates.
Coming Soon!
Coming Soon!
Coming Soon!
Each week we will pick a swimmer from the experienced practice group to spotlight!
Important Info!
- Please make sure that your swimmer has goggles for swim practice. This helps them keep their eyes open, which helps everyone in their lane stay safe! This is a safety measure so that everyone can see what is going on in the lane. If your swimmer is new to wearing goggles, we can help with the fit and adjustment. It also may take a few tries to find a kind that fits their face the best.
- Caps are optional for practice but are required at the swim meets. At practices, if they choose to wear one, your swimmer must be in a Makos cap, as that is a part of being on the team. At meets all swimmers need to be in a Makos cap since it is a part of the team uniform.
- It is recommended that swimmers wear some type of competition suit to practice. For boys, this means avoiding board shorts (or baggy style swim shorts), as they can make it hard to learn proper swim technique. For girls, this means one piece suits with no fancy extras (ruffles, beading, long sleeves, etc.) because these can add extra resistance which is not needed. Swim shirts are not recommended, as it can be hard to learn and use correct technique with them on. For meets your swimmer should either be in a Makos team suit or a solid black suit.
- The first few weeks you may want to have sweatshirts or fleeces on hand after practices and evening meets, as it can get chilly more quickly than you'd think!
Coach Carrie Jones
Head Coach
Email: carriejones@brandermillmakos.org