TAQ will have Dave Thomas a guest speaker come to practice June 11th at 5:00PM to discuss two very important topics: parent volunteering and corporate sponsorships. Mr. Thomas is our regional liaison for USA Swimming.  We need to have a large turnout of parents to show USA Swimming that we are the best club in the state!  ALL PARENTS SHOULD ATTEND!!!

If you have any questions please direct them to Coach Matt.

For those athletes interested in applying for the 2008 Louisiana Zones team, see the 2007 Zones Results here.

The Summer Classic Meet will be limited in terms of number of athletes that will be allowed to participate.  There are several teams that will be traveling to participate in our meet and we don't want to hold spots for TAQ Athletes that don't have any intention to participate.  We encourage all TAQ athletes to sign up for this meet and to do so Tiger Aquatics athletes are required to complete a sign-up form if you plan to swim instead of a scratch form.  If TAQ athletes intend to participate in this popular meet, they must submit a sign-up form available here in order to guarantee participation.

This form is due to the athlete's coach by June 2.

The Summer 2008 TAQ Practice Schedule will be as follows beginning May 26th:

Paws: Same Schedule (600-6:45pm)

Cubs: Same Schedule (5:00-6:00pm)

Junior Tigers: Same Schedule (5:00-6:30pm)

Tigers: 4-6pm M-F, T/Th 7:00-8:30AM, Sat. 9-11am

Pre-Senior: MW 6-7:30PM, T/Th/F 4:00-6:00PM, T/Th 7:00-8:30AM, Sat. 9-11am

Senior: M,W,F AM 7-9:30 AM (w/dryland), M-Th PM 3-5:00 PM, Sat, 7-9:00

Any athlete NOT intending to swim in the TAQ Spring Invite must turn in a Scratch Form.  Download Scratch Form here or Scratch On-line here.  YOU MUST SCRATCH BY MONDAY, APRIL 28th.

The Competition Pool at the Natatorium is now back in service and team practice has resumed as scheduled.

Important Team Travel Information

Club Makos Meet Information

Tiger Aquatics athletes performed exceptionally well this past weekend and took 1st place in the Mutual of Omaha Break-out Meet hosted by Swim Louisiana.  TAQ had 92 best times posted and racked up plenty of points to put the meet away by Saturday night!  There were 92 best times

Congratulations to all athletes that participated in this meet - WELL DONE!!

Click here for Results.

TAQ Team Manager On-line has been updated with this meet's results.

Tiger, Pre-Senior and Senior Groups:

The current morning schedule will be changing due to LSU's changing morning schedule.  Starting NEXT WEEK (April 21st) the Tigers and Preseniors morning practice will be moving from Tuesday and Thursday to Monday and Wednesday 5 - 6:30am.  A flier will be in each athlete s box in the Natatorium to remind them of the change.  If you have any questions please contact Coach Matt Leach
 

Our program will be taking on a new dynamic turn and create a special look from this point forward. The coaching staff decided that our program is moving in a direction to further enhance the education, performance and overall design of Tiger Aquatics. The coaching staff is extremely excited to be putting their “stamp” on the program.  These changes will be noticed in such areas as group names, group development, and athlete development and motivation.  The purpose of the “new” group names and assignments is to put young athletes together into groups that will foster a positive, motivational, and competitive environment.  We are trying to bring back into the program it’s overall theme with LSU swimming and its Head Coach, Adam Schmitt.  We are gearing these groups toward the “Tiger” in Tiger Aquatics!  Next week, we will be mailing out the following group descriptions as well as your athletes group assignments.  If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the Head Coach Dave Geyer at headcoach@swimtaq.com . As with any transition, there will be some adjustment period but we are pretty sure that once we establish this format and implement the advancement incentives that it will enhance your child’s experience in the sport of swimming.  Thanks in advance for your patience and we look forward to some great group dynamics and coaching to happen this upcoming year.

Tiger Aquatics Programs:

Tiger Swim School:  A lesson program to introduce children to the sport of swimming and for learning to swim for safety.  It is imperative that parents feel that this is a positive experience for their children and becomes and leaping point into the Tiger Aquatics year round program.

Tiger Paws (Pre-comp): An introductory group for water-safe swimmers (comfortable swimming laps) seeking to develop stroke technique and endurance.  Swimmers are educated and coached on the fundamentals of the four competitive strokes, kicking, and proper breathing techniques.  Participation in swimming meets is not required but preparation will be taken for the group to be ready to.  Participation in meets is encouraged to help swimmers see their personal swimming growth and development.

Tiger Cubs (Bronze): A group designed for swimmers with a solid understanding of the four competitive swimming strokes.  Swimmers in this group will continue to focus on the technical aspects of the sport including breathing, flip turns and starts and also learn to make goals.  Education of the sport is emphasized here as well.  Athletes will learn how to use a pace clock, the beginning of interval training, and the language that is associated with the sport.  Meet participation is strongly encouraged, as it will provide opportunities to learn about meeting self-initiated goals and personal best times.

Junior Tigers (Silver):  This group is designed with more refinement of the strokes with the addition of learning about and building aerobic training.   A large focus of this group is on competition and improvement of times and skills.  Swimmers in this group should look at becoming a better athlete and teammate. 

Tigers (Gold):  The final age group program within Tiger Aquatics, this group places almost an equal amount of focus on conditioning as it does on technique.  The commitment level within this group is paramount to the success of the higher-level groups.  This group is the primary stepping-stone into the Senior training programs at Tiger Aquatics.

Pre-Senior (High School):  A developmental group designed for older athletes to continue their stroke development and increase their aerobic training.  This group will be designed primarily for athletes that are getting into swimming a little bit later in their young lives or may need further development in an age appropriate surrounding before advancing to the final Senior training group. 

Senior  The highest training group within Tiger Aquatics.  All athletes are required to have state qualifying times in their current age group as well as the following age group.  Technique to training ratio is between 1:4 and 1:5.  Increasing aerobic training levels, developing land based strength and endurance, defining of swimming and life goals, and sense of individual and team development is emphasized.    There is a strict control on attendance, attitude, and performance within this group.

We will still be open for MWF mornings (5am-6:30) and T/TH daytime (11am-12:30pm)

It’s been a while since we have updated any top performances within our club but heading into our champion meet we figured it was about time for some recognition.

Grant Grenfell just came off one of the most successful years of his young career. In the short course season of 2006-2007 he accomplished 6 Top 16 swims in the 11-12 age group with his highest ranking being 5th in the 200 fly. He continued his trend into the long course season this summer and once again accomplished 6 top times. Not only was he in the Top 16 rankings but all of his time put him in the top 6 in the country and he held the FASTEST 400 IM for 11-12 year olds in the country this past summer. WAY TO GO GRANT!

This winter, Smacker Miles was selected to attend the USA Swimming National Zone Select Camp. She will be heading to a training camp this summer in Chapel Hill, North Carolina along with 55 other athletes in the zone. There are four of these camps being held across the country so Smacker is one of about 200 year round swimmers that are selected for this camp. Smacker was chosen because she obtained the fastest 400 IM in the zone this summer by any 13 year old girl. USA Swimming seeks to identify the emerging young athletes in each Zone, offering them a unique motivational and educational experience. The Zone Select Camps are viewed as an integral step for athletes to move from the local and Zone level onto to the national scene.

Just this past weekend at the Sectional meet in College Station, Texas , Gisele Calderon layed down a best time in the 200 fly during her prelims swim. Her time of 2:06.75 qualified her to attend the NCSA Junior National Championship held yearly in Orlando, FL the week of March 18-22. This is a great step for Gisele and the Tiger Aquatics program. Once one athlete accomplishes a certain level or time more athletes begin to see that they are capable of doing the extraordinary as well. Coach Dave and Gisele are looking forward to their trip and will be updating from the meet as well.

In addition to Gisele’s swims. Top times were posted by the following athletes at the Sectional meet as well: Chris Dilldine, Alex Welsch, Gabe Landry, Laura Furr, Smacker Miles and Grant Grenfell. The group of seven did a great job representing our club. Gabe, Laura, Smacker, and Gisele all made it back for second swims at night and were able to produce best times in a long course format with NO long course training since this summer.

Also this past weekend our little troopers headed to the 8 and under championships across town. While we are proud of the accomplishments of all of our participants we wanted to highlight Abigail Cazes. In the 7 year old division, Abigail had 5 top 3 performances with finishes of 3rd in the 25 back and 100 IM, 2nd in the 25 free, 25 back, and 50 free and Abigail pulled in a first place finish in the 25 fly. WAY TO GO ABIGAIL!

This weekend we head into our District Championship meet. The format has changed a little bit this year. Winners of each event receive and automatic birth into the state championship meet the following weekend…speaking of

REMEMBER, Tiger Aquatics is hosting the Louisiana Short Course State Championships next weekend. The meet will begin Thursday evening and then we will have prelims and finals sessions on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. While we are hosting the meet our responsibilities are eased from assistance throughout the state. Our main obligations will fall under the following: Running the timing system and computers for the meet, hospitality, heat sheet/t-shirt sales, and CLEAN-UP. If you are interested in helping please email Head Coach Dave Geyer at headcoach@swimtaq.com

Masters practice will be open swim during this time.

Many thanks to all that contributed during the food drive!  Every can or noodle made a difference!

Things to watch for in the near future...

1.  Look for the TAQ Swimmers "Guess who the baby is..." Poster in the glass case at the side entrance!

2.  Christmas Party - Ice Skating at Leo's December 15th 5 - 7pm.  Watch your home mail for invitation with RSVP for the annual coveted Handmade TAQ Tree Ornament!!

3.  Mardi Gras - we need help with bead donation, collection, bunching and boxing for the meet as well as volunteers to help with the roll of the parade without a hitch.

Please contact Kathy G. at katggo@gmail.com to help out!

13th Gate

Friday October 19th - swimmers enjoy the haunted house after practice at 832 St. Phillips Street $15 admission fee (Cash or Credit Card), must provide own transportation.  Food will be provided after practice!  This is scary and not necessarily for the younger swimmers!

Corn Maze

Same time and date - food provided after practice.  Then it's off to Cajun Country Corn Maze.  Off La Hwy 1 in Port Allen 3.5 miles North of the MRB.  WAFB Sponsored - look for the giant ear of corn.  $10.75 for 12years and up, $8.75 for ages 6 - 11.

Click here to go to the LA Sr Olympic Games Meet Page