Del Prado Stingrays

What a wonderful championship meet today. I cannot thank everyone enough for everything each of you did today to make the day so special. I really don’t care what the score says, Del Prado is #1 and the best team in the league. I may sound biased, but I’m not. All of us should be so proud of our team.

Swimmers, what great races today. Del Prado didn’t have one single scratch or change in the meet. Very impressive. You all showed up on time (and it was sooo early) and ready to swim. We watched great races. It was so exciting to see some of you swim your very best ever today. We had so many new swimmers to our team who dropped so much time today in their races. You’ve come so far since your first practice back in may. I love to see that growth and success. Congratulations. We also had one pool record broken today–the 13-14 girls’ free relay team of Lindsey DeWilde, Elaine gates, Laura Klein, and Stephanie Doi broke a two-year-old record with a time of 1:51.67. Great race, girls.

Parents, I know I say it all the time, but thank you so much for helping run a great meet today. Did you see Del Prado’s representation?– Terry Beatty, Jay Strom, Ralph Costa, Martin Gates–just to name a few–held key positions in today’s meet. Thank you to the dawn patrol ( you know who you are) who came early (4:00 a.m.) to set up pop-ups for the team so we’d have shade and a nice spot to call home for the day. Thank you to Beth Borchers and her crew of parent helpers who did above-and-beyond in helping get the swimmers in the right places and all those other volunteer positions. What an amazing group of people you are.

Coaches, you make us proud. You seeded us a great meet and provided instruction and encouragement to help us reach our goals. Thank you for putting your heart and soul into our team these last 8 weeks or so. You are the very best. Just in case you were wondering split times on their relay, it went something like this: Jamie 31. something; Julianne 39.something; John 29.something; and Tom 27.something. Very good indeed!

Tomorrow is our team awards party and potluck BBQ. We will start serving dinner at 5:00 p.m. please bring something to share and your swim team board will provide the burgers, dogs, and drinks. The awards part of the evening will begin about 6:00 p.m. unfortunately, Coach Jamie will not be able to attend our party. She has a “real job”- related conference that she must attend before she begins her new job at Foothill. She will be on her way to Vancouver in the morning. Jamie, be safe, learn lots, and we’ll miss you.

Well, it’s been quite a week–from practice to pancakes, swim buddies to new friendships, chalk fairy visits to fantastic races–it’s been a pleasure to be part of this team all season. Thank you.

Go Del Prado!
Joan