VJO's October-November 2009 Shark Attack Newsletter

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Vallejo Aquatic ClubP.O. Box 5846

Vallejo, CA 94591(707) 553-swimwww.vallejoaquatics.org

October -November 2009

2009 - 2010 VJO Board

Angelynne Yee, President

Brian Rodinsky, Vice President

Dove Butler, Treasurer

Kathy Lau-Nelson, Secretary

Diane Powell, Membership

Debbi Tucker, Officials

Debbie Rodinsky, Meet Director

Debbie Cameron, Newsletter

Coaches

Coach Tuffy Williams

Coach Aaron Jon Toch

Coach Lesley Ruszel

Shark Attackhe Official Newsletter of the Vallejo Aquatic Club

Presidential Proclamation

I wanted to start off bythanking all our volunteers(parents and swimmers)for helping at ourNovember meet. We hadan outstanding meet and

thats all due to your hardwork. I would like to alsothank those who donateditems for our snack bar andhospitality. Our next swimmeet is on February 5, 6

and 7, 2010. I hope to seeyou all there. Remember,even if your kids are notcompeting that weekend,as Vallejo Aquatic Clubparents, it is our duty to do

what we can to make surewe volunteer and work atour meets. Our swimmeets are our biggestfundraiser.

As President, I am lookinforward to working withmany of you to help makthis team, not only asuccessful one but a funteam that our kids will

enjoy to be part of. TheCoaches and the Board wcontinue to schedule asocial event once a monStay tuned!

Angelynne

This years Witches vs Warlocks raised a total of $141.27 in the fight against breast cancer.Unfortunately for the witches, the warlocks won this years battle. Thanks to all whocontributedand to those who spent countless hours rolling coins!

Totals: Witches $28.72 Coins Warlocks $76.55 Coins

- $24.00 Bills - $12.00 Bills4.72 64.55

Theres a New Sheriff (OK, Captain) inTown

Welcome Laurie Tucker:VJOs New Team Captain!


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Coach Tuffy

that are great at what they do. So what and how can it help you become a betterswimmer and person?

Critical thinking is to engage in thepresent, or the momentaneous, with thinsight to discern between the one importhing and the other things that aredistractions, the imagination to conceive one thing in many different ways to learnnew, astonishing things, and the couragepursue where those revelations take us.

The next time youre at the pool, wheyour coach asks you to swim a set, do a -practice--think critically about that task.How will improving this skill make you abetter swimmer? What can you do to getbetter at that skill? Can I change my hanposition? My attitude? Engage in what yodoing by thinking about it--dont just doNot only will you become a better swimmyou will enjoy the process of swimming smuch more!

Reflections from the Deck

families for making these months as muchfun as they were--we hosted a meet, had aHalloween party, went to the Exploratorium,and had a special Thanksgiving breakfast! Inever cease to be impressed by the qualityof people who are involved with ourorganization, and I know that our CoachingStaff feel truly privileged to have you on ourteam.

When I was younger, during my gradeschool and high school years (back in theStone Age as my swimmers lovingly refer to

it), I can remember always having a sectionof critical thinking questions in eachsubject at the end of every unit. At the timeI dreaded coming to these because theyrequired something more than spitting backmemorized facts--you know, actual work!Im sure all of you have these questionstoday in your homework. And heres whyyou should appreciate them:

Critical thinking is a skill shared by theheroes and role models in our lives, those

Coach Aaron Jon

Our October and Novembercertainly flew by! Id like start bythanking all our swimmers andtheir

NOTES FROM THE TUFFGUY

The start of the new year ishere. Now is the time for you to startthinking about what you want to

accomplish in swimming this year. Makethe goal doable, something youcan accomplish in a short time. MakingOlympic Trials would be a great goal,but would be long term. Think in termsof smaller steps.

You might want to think ofattending more practices, workingharder in practice, entering more swimmeets, making a new C, B or A time;swimming strokes you are still learningor longer distances instead of swimmingthe same stokes and distances at every

meet.If you don't know what a good

goal would be for yourself, ask yourcoach. Then work hard on the goal toaccomplish it. In swimming its aboutthe journey, not the destination.

We do have two meets comingin February. We have our meet (5,6&7) and the Napa Meet (26, 27 & 28).You should enter both of these meetsand start working on your goals.

On April 24, if you work hardand accomplish your goal, you couldqualify for the 10 & under Championshin Sunnyvale.

Start working NOW - don't waiTuffy

Coach Lesley

Maybe Its the Chlorine

by Coach LesleyHello VJO! With some

encouragement from Debbie Cameron, ourwonderful Shark Attack editor, I figured itwas time to stop letting Tuffy and Aaron Jonhave all the fun writing for the newsletter.

For my first entry, Id like to tell youwhy I accepted my coaching position with

VJO about a year ago. As many of you mayknow, I grew up swimming for VJO. In fact,Tuffy taught me to swim! As it usually goes,my big brother, Aaron Jon, joined first and,after some coaxing from Tuffy, I was closebehind. I was in first grade when I joined

and swam through most of high school.

To be honest, I was never thefastest swimmer in the pool, but I kept at i

for other reasons. I met my best friends onVJO. Three of my six bridesmaids were VJOswimmers. Besides meeting people my owage who became my friends, I also grew uwatching my parents and other adultsvolunteer their time to make our teambetter.

Growing up surrounded by friendswho became like family and learning that tonly way to create a successful program isgive freely of your time; when I was askedto return to coach, I happily said yes! Maybits the chlorinebut theres somethingspecial about swimming, especially VJO. Im

happy to be here. Thanks for welcoming mback to the family.


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SHARK PROFILESOctober - November 2009

Favorite Strokes: IM and Breastroke

Favorite Meet Events: 400 IM, 200 IM, 200 Breast, 100Breast

Role Model: Her friends

Future Goal: To go to college and hopefully swim or playwater polo

Hobbies: water polo, swimming

Favorite Song: Remember the Name

Favorite Movie: Up!

Favorite Book: The Outsiders

When Patricia grows up, she wants to be a biologist.

Something interesting about Patricia that she wouldlike to share: She almost ran over a squirrel the first timeshe drove.

Mitchell Zia Age: 11

Patricia Welton Age: 15

Favorite Strokes: Breastroke

Favorite Meet Events: 200 Breast

Role Model: His Parents

Future Goal: To go to a university in California

Hobbies: Swimming, playing piano

Favorite Song: Piano Man by Billy Joel

Favorite Movie: Get SmartFavorite Book: The Percy Jackson Series

When Mitchell grows up, he wants to get a job that pays well.

Something interesting about Mitchell that he would liketo share: He speaks Mandarin.


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Meigan Dutcher Age: 11

Favorite Strokes: Breastroke & freestyle

Favorite Meet Events: 50 Breast

Hobbies: Reading

Favorite Movie: Star Wars & Harry Potter

Favorite Book: Harry Potter Series

When Meigan grows up, she wants to be a teacher.

Something interesting about Meigan that she w ould liketo share: She and her sister share the same birthday.


Favorite Meet Events: 100 Breast, 50 Free, 100 IM

Role Model: His parents

Future Goal: To become a great swimmer and do well inschool

Hobbies: Collecting, skateboarding

Favorite Song: Im Still a Guy by Brad Paisley

Favorite Movie: Race to Witch Mountain

Favorite Book: Warriors: Firestars Quest

When Jake grows up, he wants to be an environmentalscientist.

If Jake could change one thing it would be to eliminatelittering.

Something interesting about Jake that he w ould liketo share: He likes the study of entomology.

Jake Everett Age: 11


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Lupita Castaneda Age: 8


Favorite Meet Events: 50 Free

Hobbies: Playing DSI

Favorite Song: Big Time Rush

Favorite Movie: Where the Wild Things Are

Favorite Book: Diary of a Wimpy Kid

When Lupita grows up, she wants to be a doctor andswim coach

Naomi Pepper Fetty Age: 7


Role Model: Her parents and grandparents

Future Goal: To become an Olympic swimmer

Hobbies: Dancing, reading, video games & swimming

Favorite Song: Anything by Alicia Keys & The JonasBrothers

Favorite Movie: Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure

Favorite Book: Anything Pokemon

When Pepper grows up, she wants to be an astronaut orOlympic swimmer.

If P epper could change one thing it w ould be to makebedtime later.

Something interesting about Pepper that she wouldlike to share: One day she would like to be on a gameshow. Also, she likes to draw & write in her journal and hastwo dogs, two chinchillas, one guinea pig and four cats.


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Braeden Yee Age: 7

Favorite Strokes: Freestyle

Favorite Meet Event: 100 IM

Role Model: His Daddy

Future Goal: To go to college

Hobbies: Playing basketball & football

Favorite Song: Down by Jay Sean

Favorite Movie: GodzillaWhen Braeden grows up, he wants to be aprofessional basketball player.

If Braeden could change one thing it w ould be tochange everything thats wrong in the world.

Something interesting about Braeden that hewould like to share: He was born on 2-02-02 atalmost 2pm (well 15 minutes earlier).

My name is Doug and I have been swimming a long time. Howlong, you ask? Well, lets just say that I can remember whenCoach Tuffys hat was new! Mostly I swim to keep in shape,though over the years I have competed in lots of differentevents. I even swam under the Golden Gate Bridge from SanFrancisco to Marin. I stopped racing in pools over 20 years ago,but this year a friend suggested I try racing again and I did. It

was great. Actually, it was many things including hard andscary. But it worked out in the end, which came in my last meetof the season. It was the Pacific Coast Short Course (meters)Championship in Walnut Creek. It was a great meet; I even sawan ex-Olympian break a worlds record! I did pretty well too,winning a first, 2 seconds and a fourth. Swimming is a supersport, something you can do for your whole life. I hope you allkeep it up.

Best wishes,

Dr. Doug Cort

HONORARY SHARK PROFILEOctober - November 2009


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On August 3, 2009, I went to a very important meet called Westerns, or WZCT's (Western Zone Consideration Times). Thisyear it took place in Hawaii. It moves every year and this year it just happened to be in Hawaii, so for my first year in Western's, itwas a pretty awesome place to be. In order to get into this meet, you normally have to have 5 or more Western times, in longcourse. I had 7 WZCT times, so I got picked. There were nine other 9-10 girls from Pacific Swimming.

The 14 zones attending this year were Hawaii, Alaska, Colorado, Arizona, Central California, Inland Empire, Montana, NewMexico, Oregon, Pacific Northwest, San Diego-Imperial, Utah and Wyoming....and TeamPacific. At first I was a little nervous because I was not going with my mom, but I went with the whole Pacific Swimming Westernteam, and there were about 60 kids and 10 coaches for all the age groups.

I got to meet a lot of other swimmers and I got to be coached by a lot of other coaches, so it was good for me to learnhow other coaches taught us different things, and it was great to meet swimmers that were not just from my home team. Weplayed games to help us learn about our teammates. When I was at Westerns, we were told that it didn't mater what our hometeam was.............we were all now Team Pacific, and we helped each other to get to our events, put our caps on, lend them ourcap if someone lost theirs, and to cheer for our teammates from Team Pacific.

The girls from the 9-10 group were from all different teams in Pacific Swimming...........DACA, Santa Clara, SFRays,

Alameda Islanders, Pleasanton, Otter Swim Club, Monterey Bay, Almaden, and of course, Vallejo Aquatics Club. It was such a greatopportunity to make friends from other teams. Now, when I go to one of our PacSwim meets, I see lots of other swimmers andother coaches from Westerns, and our friendships still stay strong.

I remember when each of our age groups was supposed to make up cheers, we would call each other up on our roomphones and meet in someone's room, and we'd make up cheers and have lots of fun together. While we were making the cheers,we would each tell how our home team was, what our hardest set was that we ever did, we'd talk about our coaches and how theyteach us, how long our practice was. Sometimes we'd listen to someone's IPod and sing to the songs and laugh and have a goodtime.

It was a great experience for me to be on my own, to have so much responsibility for myself, to be in charge of my ownthings, and to help other people if they needed help.

I swam in 5 individual events and 2 relays. I got to bring home 3 medals, one for each of the relays, and one for myindividual event in the 200 IM. I was happy with what I swam. I wish I could have done a little better and maybe finaled in moreevents, but it was still a great opportunity and I was happy with my results.

The last night there, we got to trade shirts with the other zones, so I got shirts from Hawaii, Colorado, New Mexico, and

Utah. At the end of the week, no one wanted to go home because we had such a great time. We all hugged and gave each otherour phone numbers so that we could stay in touch after WZCT's were over.

I learned a lot of things when I was there at Westerns, but the most important thing I learned was that all my hardwork at practice paid off and I got to go somewhere where I could represent my team, and swim against amazing swimmers. Ilearned that they all work just as hard as I do, and they all have the same passion and dedication for swimming that I feel. I alsolearned that if it wasn't for VJO and the coaches who taught me how to swim and pushed me to do things that I never thought Icould do, I would never have had the chance to go to Hawaii, and to swim at the 2009 Western Zone Championship.

PS: Out of the 14 teams at this year's Western Zones, Team Pacific came in 2nd. Go Team Pacific!!!

Alyssa Powell

A Small I sland A Big Deal!A Swimmers Perspective of the WZCTs

by Alyssa Powell


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Welcome to the Deck

New Swimmers

Lupita CastanedaJim Yaniger

Amber RichardsNaomi Fetty

Valentina QuintanaXavier QuintanaValentina Zarco

Carlos Zarco

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Whats a swimmeet without a

little hospitality

and a littlesomething to snack

on?

EXPLOR ORIUM

A

VJOS NOVEMBER MEET


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Volunteer Central

THE A TEAM:San Jose Jr. + MeetBrandon Miguel: 50 Free, 200 Free

Santa Rosa MeetJohn Bayotas: 100 Free, 200 Free,100 FlyAlex Chan: 100 BackSarina Chang: 50 BreastRegina Horder: 200 Free

Ricki Liang: 100 Free, 100 BackBraeden Yee: 25 Free

Napa Valley Halloween MeetEvan Augst: 100 BackAlex Chan: 200 I.M.Izzy Fouad: 50 FreeAshley Sotelo: 100 I.M.Marshall Zia: 100 Back

VJO November Meet

Jalen Aquino: 50 Free

Mirelle Augst: 100 BreastAlex Chan: 100 FreeRegina Horder: 500 Free, 400 I.M.Tim Man: 50 Breast, 100 I.M.Brandon Miguel: 1,000 FreeGabriel Tomboc: 50 FreeBraeden Yee: 100 I.M.Marshall Zia: 50 Free

Life in the Fast Lane

The following swimmers achieved new time standards at the following meets:

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:

At away meets, please make sure to sign up to do some timing. We typically need 3 timers ata time and try to get enough parent volunteers to sign up so that no one has to time for m orethan 2 hours at any meet. Look for a sign up sheet in the VJO Village.

At home meets, there are plenty of opportunities to volunteer many, if not most of them,need no training, just enthusiastic parents w illing to help the team shine!!!!

JOOOOOOOOO Times:San Jose Jr. + MeetAres Elmore: 100 FlyDylan Powell: 400 I.M.Marble Welton: 500 FreeMarshall Zia: 200 Breast

Napa Valley Halloween MeetRebecca Sabio: 100 BreastMarble Welton: 100 Breast

VJO November Meet

Evan Augst: 1,000 FreeAndrew Butler: 200 Free, 200 I.M.Ares Elmore: 100 BreastMilton Lau: 100 BreastWill Rodinsky: 400 I.M.

Far Out W estern Times

VJO November Meet

Ares Elmore: 200 Free, 500 Free,1,000 Free

B TIMES:San Jose Jr. + MeetJose Martin: 50 Free

Santa Rosa MeetFrankie Liang: 200 Breast

Napa Valley Halloween MeetJalen Aquino: 50 Free, 50 Breast,50 Fly, 100 I.M.

Meigan Dutcher: 50 BreastKim Celine Goyena: 100 BreastAmlia Keilholtz: 50 FreeGabriel Tomboc: 100 Free, 200Free, 200 BreastJack Unger: 50 BreastSabrina Yee: 100 Free, 50 Back,100 I.M.

VJO November Meet

Taylor Castro: 50 BreastMel Chaewsky: 100 FlyIzzy Fouad: 100 Breast, 200 I.M.

Arnold Imperial: 100 BackKyle Tang: 50 BreastAlex Yee: 50 BreastSabrina Yee: 200 I.M.

PRT Times

San Jose Jr. + MeetAlyssa Powell: 100 Free, 100 Back,200 I.M.

VJO November Meet

Ares Elmore: 100 FreeSamantha Man: 50 BreastAlyssa Powell: 500 Free

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VJO's October-November 2009 Shark Attack Newsletter