Dear Briarhills Dolphins,

Welcome to the 2021 Dolphins swim team! Can you feel the excitement? We are getting very close to our first day of practice and the official start to our 2021 season. We hope all of our Dolphins are eager and ready!

We are happy to announce our Head Coach this year will be Coach Jason Schmidt, Head Swim/Dive & Water Polo Coach at Bellaire High School. We are very fortunate to have Coach J lead our Dolphins team this summer. Here is a link to his profile where you can read a little more about Coach J and his qualifications: https://www.bhs-swim.com/coachs-corner.html#/

In addition to Coach J, we also will be welcoming back Coaches Hazel Sinclair (starting in June), Anne McKay and Hannah Dvorachek. First year coaches Estela Nino and Sabrina Nino will be Assistant Coaches. High school swimmers Adam Aly, Lance Brewster and Megan McKay will be Jr. Coaches and helping out with the younger age groups.

The coaches are ready to meet all of our new and returning swimmers at our first day of practice at the Briarhills Pool on Wednesday, May 12^th.

*Please note, due to large enrollment numbers in the 11/12 age group, we will be making slight adjustments to our practice times again. The board is meeting this Thursday to rework the schedule. An email with the modified schedule will be sent to the team by the end of the day on Friday.

The Newcomers Meeting is this Saturday, May 8^th. The meeting will start promptly at 9:00 a.m. and will finish by 10:30 a.m. We will be meeting at the Briarhills Park – 14300 Briarhills Parkway. This is a mandatory informational meeting for first year parents only. Returning parents do NOT need to attend. Children are welcome to play on the playground during the meeting. Please bring a lawn chair for yourself so you do not have to stand for the entire meeting.

New swimmer try-outs will be held on either Saturday, May 8th or Monday, May 10th. If you have a swimmer that is new to the team (first year to swim as a Dolphin), please click the below sign-up genius link and register for a try-out time slot. Try-outs are in 15 minute increments and are intended to be a very quick assessment. Swimmers should be able to demonstrate swimming a lap of freestyle in under 75 seconds. The purpose of this try-out is strictly to make sure new swimmers know how to swim unassisted and can swim in a group setting. Please do not put pressure on your swimmer. As long as they are able to swim one length of the pool in 75 seconds, they will make the team. We will work throughout the season on speed and endurance.

Sign Up Genius Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050F49ABA728A7FF2-2021

Lastly, if you know of a swimmer that is wanting to join the team but has not yet signed up, please reach out and encourage them to do so today. We are full in the 7/8 and 11/12 age groups but have a few spots left in the other groups.

We are looking forward to a fun season and can't wait to see you all very soon. Be on the lookout for more team emails coming soon.

Go Dolphins!

Stephanie Brewster - Briarhills Dolphins, Team Director