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• 2008 Menlo Masters Seasonal Plan

2008 Menlo Masters Seasonal Plan

2008 will mark the 14th season for Menlo Masters.  We have grown from a small, fun, close-knit group of swimmers to a large, fun, close-knit, unique and outwardly focused team that has broken new ground and established something that has never been accomplished by a United States Masters Swim Team.  I am talking about the inception of our Building Futures Now foundation that will begin to assist underserved youths in Menlo Park for the next 20 years.

Our original Menlo Masters mission was to enhance our swimmer's lives  through the positive connection to the masters swimming community.  This mission has nicely evolved to include many individuals outside of our swimming pool who will also benefit from our strong and vital masters community.

Our home here at Burgess Pool has continued to allow our team to expand and we have welcomed nearly a 20% growth in team membership in 2007.   This increase has steeled Menlo Masters as one of the eight largest masters teams in America.  We have acquired many budding swimmers as well as many veteran swimmers while each and everyone has adopted the soul of the team.

My goal as a coach for 2008 is to keep every swimmer engaged in the team and their personal swimming by offering unique, inspiring, and accessible activities that keep each swimmers motivation and desire to participate high.  I will attempt to organize a team event about every 5 weeks so there is always something on the horizon to point to.  This year the team events will be located close to home.  I have selected team events on that criteria because I want a higher participation rate than in the past and I think that along with changing our team competitive mindset and the way "competition" is presented our team involvement will increase.  I also aim at having the activities fit nicely into the family schedule and lifestyle with minimal drama.

For instance:
1. We will host 2 small dual meets here at Burgess Pool, where another master's team is invited to our pool on a Saturday morning for a 2 hour friendly but competitive swim meet.
2. We will be host our own sanctioned long course swim meet at Sacred Heart.
3. We will focus on 2 local open water swims. (San Mateo-Parkside and Los Gatos-Catfish)
4. We will focus on 2 local swim Pacific Masters sponsored meets. (Rinconada and Mountain View.

Menlo Masters will also continue to conduct Intramural events:
1. Hour swim weekend -Jan 26-27
2. February Can-Do-All Month
3. February Carbo-Load Breakfast-Feb 23
4. Blue/Gold Intramural Swim Meet-March 8
5. Duathlon Swim/Run-April 19
6. Dynamic Duo-September 27
7. 2 by 4 Relay-4 swimmers relaying for 2 hours. All the same level swimmers. (New event in 2008)
8. Killer Quad-Hour Swim, 50x100, 75x100, 100x100's-Oct-Dec.

The parties/celebrations will be:
1. Swimmer of the Year/Killer Quad Award Afternoon- Sunday Jan 27
2. Summer BBQ hosted by swimmers of the year- Sunday July 27

Last year, in an attempt to have all Menlo Masters truly adopt Burgess as their home pool, I instituted a program where a master's swimmer could add unlimited use of the pool through lap swimming for an additional $10 per month. 

Well, it has successfully accomplished the goal and more than 30% of the team chose this option and use both the pools at their convenience year round.  We will continue to offer that program in 2008 and will continue to promote the use of the pool at times other than scheduled master's workouts.

This year, in an attempt to increase the awareness and participation in our women's masters water polo program, and to increase the options for our women to mix fun and fitness together we are offering a full 12 week session of water polo for FREE to any registered Menlo Masters swimmer who would like to try our water polo for the first time.  We offer 3 coached workouts each week and we have a super fantastic coach in Lindsay Holland, a Menlo Masters swimmer herself.  Just check the times and show up.

Finally, in an effort to create more connectivity between our swimming, water polo and laps we will offer a handsome financial savings ($500) for those who choose swimming and water polo and laps.  (Aqua Fit can also be substituted for polo) 

An email message will follow with details for 2008 Menlo Masters registration details.

Here's to moving full speed into the New Year.

Tim Sheeper

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