Swim At Sea Star

Underwater Photo Session this Sunday

seastar — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:07:13 +0000

Capture a Special Moment...Underwater!

Mike Provencher of ImprovPhoto is having another underwater photo shoot this Sunday, February 21st. You’ve all seen Mike’s work in our lobby, on our website and in our Pro Shop–now you have a chance to capture a special moment with an underwater photo of your child. To see more of Mike’s impressive portfolio, check his website: www.ImprovPhoto.com/seastarpics. These pictures are great for gifts–just think of how much grandparents would enjoy seeing this milestone! Or just think of how impressed your co-workers will be when you put this picture of your swimmer on your desk!

Mike still has a few appointment times remaining, but these will go quickly. Call him today at 264-9059 to reserve your space. Don’t miss this chance to record this special moment in your child’s history… and if he/she ever makes the Olympic team, you’ll remember where it all started…Sea Star Swim School, where you will find excellence in aquatic education!

Jumpstart your Summer–Enroll in our Spring Quarter!

seastar — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:44:31 +0000

Sometimes when you look out the window, it’s hard to imagine that spring is just around the corner. Summer will be here before you know it. Will your kids be ready for summer fun?

At Sea Star, we will begin our Open Enrollment for our Spring Quarter on Monday, February 8th. Call early to reserve your space…this quarter is one our our busiest! It runs from Monday, April 19 - Saturday, June 12, and we have classes at all levels available. We want your swimmers to be safe and enjoy family time at the lake and at the pool, so call us today at 822-8800 to guarantee your space.

Speaking of spring, Spring Break is on our radar, and we have some special activities planned for families who will be at home during the break. First of all, we will be running our first ever Spring Break Mini Quarter. This is an intensified two week session; classes meet on Monday - Thursday for 1/2 hour each class session. It’s a great way to build skills quickly! Because of their intensity, these classes will be limited to children age 4 and older.

Our Gym and Swim Spring Break Camp is just the thing to keep your kids off the couch and away from the video games! This fun filled special session will run from April 5th-9th, and is geared toward campers from kindergarten age to age 13. Check our YouTube video on our website (www.swimatseastar.com) to see what happens in our Gym and Swim camp! Deadline for enrollment is March 1st, so make your campers happy–reserve your space today! Call Coach Amy at 456-8202 to sign up!

There’s always a lot going on at Sea Star Swim School. Jumpstart your summer by enrolling today! Call us at (615) 822-8800 for …excellence in aquatic education!

2010 Calendar–The Quarter is BACK!

seastar — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:35:45 +0000

Because of unanticipated changes to the Sumner County Schools calendar for 2010-2011, Sea Star Swim School has reverted back to shorter sessions for the Spring, Summer and Fall of 2010. Our Holiday Quarter will be longer; it will be a 9 weeks session.

Let us take this opportunity to thank our Sea Star parents-we greatly appreciate your support through the years, and we look forward to continue to be your resource for…Excellence in Aquatic Education!

2010 Schedule

Spring Break Mini Quarter: April 5-15 (Monday-Thursday for 2 weeks)

Spring Quarter: April 19 - June 12*

Summer Quarter: June 14 - August 7**

Sea Star closed August 8-22.

Fall Quarter 2010: August 23-October 6***

Holiday Quarter 2010: October 11 - December 18****

SUMMER MINI QUARTERS 2010

Mini Quarter I: May 31-June 10*

Mini Quarter II: June 14-24

Mini Quarter III: June 28-July 8**

Mini Quarter IV: July 12-22

Mini Quarter V: July 26-August 5

*Spring Quarter planned makeups: Sea Star closed on Saturday, 5/22–makeup on Sunday, 5/16; Memorial Day (Monday, May 31 makeup on Friday, June 4.

** July 4th is on SUNDAY; No makeup available

***Labor Day (Monday, September 6) makeup is Friday, September 10.

****Sea Star will be CLOSED Thanksgiving Week (November 22-28–NO MAKEUPS WILL BE SCHEDULED!)

Get Ready to Enroll–Spring Quarter 2010 is almost here!

seastar — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:48:56 +0000

Sea Star Parents:

Believe it or not, spring is right around the corner! Here at Sea Star, we are ready to help you JUMPSTART your summer!

2010 Calendar Now Available

Many of you asked for shorter summer sessions because of vacations and other commitments. We heard you! Now that Sumner County Schools has officially approved the school calendar for 2010-11, we have posted our full 2010 calendar on our website, www.swimatseastar.com. We hope this makes it more convenient for you to plan your swim sessions.

Spring Quarter Priority Signups begin MONDAY

Our Spring Quarter Priority Signups will begin on MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1st. This session will run from Monday, April 19th – Saturday, June 12th. As you know, Priority Signups are for our currently enrolled students to continue to keep their current class day and time for the next session. Open Enrollment will begin on Monday, February 8th; this is for class changes and for new and returning students who are not enrolled in our Winter Trimester. Be sure to take advantage of Priority Signups; our Spring and Summer sessions are very, very busy and we already have waiting lists for some classes!

Spring Break Options at Sea Star

Are you planning a “stay-cation” for Spring Break? No worries—Sea Star has plenty to keep the kids active during these two weeks. For the first time ever, we are offering a Mini Quarter during Spring Break. A Mini Quarter is a special session where class meets four days a week (Monday – Thursday) for two weeks. This Mini Quarter will run from Monday, April 5 – Thursday, April 15; cost for the session is $105, plus the $20 family fee if you are not enrolled in our Winter session.

Want your swimmers to be “happy campers”? Then how about a Spring Break camp? Our Gym and Swim Spring Break Camp will run a special week long session from April 5-9! This camp is designed for kids ages kindergarten through seventh grade. The enrollment deadline is March 1st, so reserve your space today! For more information, call Amy Caldwell at 456-8202.

Underwater Photos at Sea Star

Many of you have asked when we will do another underwater photo session. We asked our good friend, Mike Provencher of ImprovPhoto, if he could do another shoot and he said YES! You’ve probably noticed Mike’s photos in our lobby, our Pro Shop and on our website; we think you’ll agree that he does amazing work! If want to see more of his work, visit his website: http://www.improvphoto.com/index.php/seastarpics/.

This session is scheduled for Sunday, February 21st from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. by APPOINTMENT ONLY. There are only 20 appointments available, so don’t miss this chance. What a great gift for Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or any reason!
To set up your appointment, call Mike at 264-9059.

Enroll in our Spring Quarter and JUMPSTART your summer! Be ready for all the fun that the warm weather brings by joining us at Sea Star Swim School, where you will find excellence in aquatic education!

Sea Star Swim School is Changing from Quarters to Trimesters!

seastar — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:57:14 +0000

Effective January 4 2010, Sea Star Swim School is changing its enrollment period from 8 week quarters to a Trimester system approximately 12 – 13 weeks in length. Class fees will be adjusted to reflect the addition of weeks to the quarter, and because of the 30% increase in municipal water fees, there will be a slight increase in fees. Based on our current quarter system, this utility based increase is just $5 for the eight week session, or $100 for 8 weeks instead of $95.

Why are we doing this? First of all, we are sensitive to our parents’ and our swimmers’ busy schedules. Parents–you will have to deal with fewer enrollment periods. Because of increasing demand for classes, we have had to push our Priority Signup period up each quarter. With the Trimester system, you will enroll your child with the knowledge that he/she will keep the same class for three months.

Changes to the Sumner County Schools calendar have impacted everyone’s schedules. As a business that deals primarily with children, Sea Star is especially affected. Our new Trimester will break during the scheduled school breaks. However, with the periodic two week breaks, Sea Star is able to meet the needs of our customers by adding Mini Quarter sessions and other activities that we have only been able to implement during summer vacation months.

Our Winter Trimester 2010 will run from Monday, January 4th until Saturday, April 3rd. The cost for the trimester will be $170 for the 13 week session. We will run our first Mini Quarter from April 5-15. The cost will be $105 for this session. Our Spring Trimester will run from April 19 – July 3 at a cost of $170. We will announce the remaining trimester dates and prices as soon as the Sumner County Schools calendar for 2010-11 has been approved.

To start our Trimesters off with a bang, we have a SPECIAL for you–if you enroll your swimmers by Saturday, December 19th, the cost for the Winter Trimester will be based upon our 2009 prices with no increase: $155 for the 13 week session. To get this price, you MUST pay in full at the time you enroll, and don’t forget that the $20 family fee will be due at the time of enrollment.

Based on customer feedback, we feel this change is very positive. With fewer, longer sessions, there will be fewer enrollment periods. We are also examining other enhancements to our enrollment system to make it easier for our parents to stay on top of the enrollment process at Sea Star.

Let us take this opportunity to thank our Sea Star parents—we greatly appreciate your support through the years, and we look forward to continuing to be your resource for …Excellence in Aquatic Education!

A Note from the Coach–Taking A LEAP to Stay Motivated!

seastar — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:43:48 +0000

A Note from The Coach

For most of you, the summer racing season is already a distant memory. Some athletes have already returned from a post-season “break”. So what’s next? How do I keep my motivation? What do I do now?

Much of the feedback I hear during this time of year is driven by our tendency to get caught up in a time crunch… “I can’t workout now because it’s ‘THE HOLIDAYS’!” Sure, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas seem to hit us in rapid fire order, but if you want to improve your life and your health, why break for the holidays? Why would you deny yourself improvement for even a few minutes if it means feeling better, looking better, or being better? Don’t put it off, start right now!

At MTSC Masters, I take your training and fitness very seriously and constantly try to incorporate various fitness, competitive and social dynamics into our yearly training cycle. Our 2010 training cycle has just started and now we begin to develop a foundation for the upcoming season. Our first intramural challenge begins this Saturday October 24^th with the first stage of the QUANTUM LEAP series. This challenge is designed to steadily and systematically increase your aerobic ability into the NEW YEAR!

The Challenge:

Saturday, October 24^th – 25 x 100’s
Saturday, November 8^th – 50 x 100’s
Saturday, December 19^th – 75 x 100’s

Saturday, January 2^nd – 100 x 100’s

The best part of swimming with a masters’ team is developing relationships with healthy positive people who have like minded goals that can help to motivate you. Face it – we all need motivation and inspiration to help us achieve success. Last week I had the opportunity to go back to Santa Barbara and swim with some of my old club team members. It was fun to jump into a lunch time workout with 84 swimmers in attendance – that was a huge motivation to push me back into the training routine.

While in Southern California, I also had the opportunity to visit with my niece, who works for Coach Pete Carroll at USC. We were able to visit his closed workout on the Thursday evening prior to the Notre Dame game. What fun it was to see his connection to the players and his different techniques for motivating them. While it “never rains in Southern California” (especially in October), the area received a torrential downpour during the practice. Coach Carroll took a break from practice to play “slip and slide” along the sidelines of the field. The players ran, launched, slid and glided across the field. The spirit was relaxed and upbeat—with a new found motivation to move on toward game day with an enhanced attitude.

Motivation can come in many different forms. For some, visiting You Tube to watch their favorite athlete in a gold medal winning Olympic performance is motivating. For others, it can be working with a new trainer in the gym who helps to “tweak” your dry-land routine. One of our age-group swimmers, Olivia Been, had an inspirational time attending a clinic during fall break where she met Olympic Gold Medalist Rebecca Soni. What a thrill for a young swimmer to meet an Olympian in person – and what great motivation!

As we switch gears and begin to enter into the beginning phases of our new training cycle, I encourage you to continue to jump into workouts. It’s amazing how we can find motivation from our lane mates in the nitty-gritty of the daily routine. The challenge in the off season or “base building” phase is to begin to look forward to exercise as a special time of the day – not a chore. By doing this, it helps make the workout exciting and enjoyable.

Congratulations to Scott Chlasta & Jean Mainland who designed and maintain our MTSC Masters website. They were honored by the USMS national newsletter in October for having the REALLY COOL WEBSITE of the month. What a great honor to be selected from all clubs throughout the USA!! Now that provides Motivation!

In other team news, MTSC selected Shane Scott and Leah Fisher as our October Athletes of Month. Watch next week’s Star News and our website, www.mtscmasters.com for a profile of these athletes.

See you on deck!

Sea Star is Changing from Quarters to Trimesters in 2010!

seastar — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:40:44 +0000

Our Priority Signups for Winter Trimester 2010 will begin on Monday, November 2nd for our currently enrolled students. Open Enrollment for new and returning students will begin on Monday, November 9th. We have an enrollment special for our first ever Trimester of 2010—if you enroll your swimmers by Saturday, December 19th, the cost for the Winter Trimester will be based upon our 2009 prices with no increase: $155 for the 13 week session. To get this price, you MUST pay in full at the time you enroll, and don’t forget that the $20 family fee will be due at the time of enrollment.

A Note from the Coach: Right in the THICK of it!

seastar — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:12:04 +0000

A Note from The Coach

Being in the middle of the season feels like being in the middle of a race. When things are going according to plan, we can’t wait to blaze across the finish line. When the race plan doesn’t work (or we don’t even have a race plan), we want to go back and start over. Herein lies the problem… we can’t have a re-do because we’re in the middle-you must proceed to the finish, no matter the outcome.

As we approach the middle of summer, everything tells us that the finish line is coming quickly. In Sumner County, school begins early, thus signaling the beginning of fall. Training plans can get interrupted by many types of events … an injury, adjusting to a new work assignment, or perhaps an unexpected and unscheduled family event. So … how do I shift gears, re-direct, or make a new plan?

When an athlete gets “lost” in the middle of the season, the mountain in front of them can seem like it is impossible to climb. For others who are on task and excited about crossing that finish line, the question now is how high I can climb. When climbers attempt a new summit, they set up a base camp to assess the situation. They carefully evaluate equipment, tools, and supplies necessary for their success. A careful strategy is planned as they begin their ascent. No one should attempt such a climb unprepared.

One of our teammates, Mike Yarbrough, went on a climbing adventure to Mt. Everest this past year. At 29,035 feet, Everest is quite literally the apex of mountain climbing. Many have attempted and many have failed. Success came to those who properly prepared. Mike and his group had the goal of climbing a little more than halfway to the top. He told me about the importance of the Sherpa, or guide who directed the climb. The Sherpa was like the coach or leader who had to continually evaluate and make sure everyone was doing fine. He defined the plans to make sure that time was not wasted, and wanted to be sure that everyone was in proper condition to continue with the trek.

At about 9,000 feet, they prepared their base camp. Base camp was crucial to their success; it’s where they acclimatized and rested. They also used the base camp as a benchmark; they would ascend beyond the base camp and then back down to camp, where they could rest and think ahead about the rest of the journey. They talked about being within reach of their goal; they enjoyed the spectacular view from the top of the world and had fun. The base camp helped to re-energize them for the rest of the climb.

I asked Mike if a person can climb Everest without a Sherpa. Mike said yes, but it was a tough way to go. In fact, he met a guy from Korea who was on the descent and very proud of his accomplishment. Mike thought a lot about how he looked - Mike prayed for him often that day because he thought the guy might die.

For an athlete, the same type of strategic planning is necessary to guarantee a satisfactory result. This plan will need to be tooled and re-tooled with specific attention directed to individual needs of the athlete. Just like a climber, the athlete needs coaching and direction to develop a specific plan. I am continually fascinated by people who call me to learn how to swim in order to do a triathlon. Their fear is that they might “drown”. While I am sure they can succeed in their adventure, I am certain that with proper guidance and preparation, they will have a much easier time as they ascend to their goal. Just like the Korean guy that Mike saw on Everest, I see many people trying to grasp at anything they can to help them conquer their goal. Some go to the internet for coaching, some to You Tube. When I see them swim, I wonder if they too might die.

As the coach of MTSC Masters, my job is to insure that our training plan is on task, and that our swimmers are making steady progress toward their end of summer goals. Our team has grown tremendously this summer, not only in terms of numbers of bodies in the water, but also in our ability to conquer challenging sets, and swim fast at meets and multi-sport events. We have also seen a tremendous amount of interest in multi-sport athletes who are looking for professional coaching and direction. We will turn our attention to that task next by offering a three month coached program called ENDURANCE ATHLETE BASE CAMP. You can click here to find information about how to get involved in the program, and who will be coaching. The focus will be scientific; we will testing each participant, and then guiding them through coached sessions on a weekly basis that will produce MEASURABLE RESULTS.

For those of you who are swimming purists, we will continue to swim through this last training cycle with Masters Nationals in Indy, and Senior Games in Palo Alto. In mid August, we will begin with our “Stroke School” focusing on each of the competitive strokes along with turns and IM transitions. Whatever summit you want to climb–whether fitness or competitively related–you can find it at MTSC, where we will train smart in order to race fast!

Priority Enrollment for Fall Quarter 2009 Begins Saturday, July 11th

seastar — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:24:56 +0000

It’s that time again…Priority Enrollment time, that is! Yes, we can hardly believe it either, but it’s time to plan our fall activities. We hope that swimming will be a big part of yours!

Priority Enrollment for our Fall Quarter 2009 (August 17 - October 10), will begin on Saturday, July 11th and will run through Thursday, July 16th. Just a reminder–Sea Star will be closed on Friday, July 17th and Saturday, July 18th for Janet Corley Day!

There are two ways to enroll during Priority or Open Enrollment: you may stop by the Pro Shop and reserve your class in person, or you may call us at 822-8800 to reserve your class with a Visa or Mastercard over the phone. Be sure to leave a message on the voicemail if you don’t get through the first time you call; our phones ring like CRAZY during these enrollment periods. We will return your call as soon as we can!

If you are new to Sea Star, priority enrollment occurs each quarter the week before our open enrollment begins. Priority Enrollment is a great way to plan a schedule and not have to worry about how to fit in a swim class in an already busy schedule. It allows our students who are enrolled in the current quarter to keep their same class day and time for the Fall Quarter. Remember, you MUST enroll during the Priority Enrollment week to keep your class day and time; once open enrollment begins on Monday, July 20th, all classes will be considered open and available.

If you wish to change your swimmer’s class day or time, or if you’d like to enroll a brother or sister in class, you must wait until Open Enrollment on July 20th. You must pay in full at the time you enroll; we cannot hold a class without payment. For your convenience, Sea Star takes cash, check, Visa or Mastercard as forms of payment.

As you have probably noticed, Sea Star made adjustments to its schedule this summer to synchronize with the new Sumner County Schools calendar. Summer Quarter II will end on Saturday, August 1st. We will not resume our fall class schedule until August 17th. This gives our swimmers a chance to adjust to the new school year before beginning a new swim session.

By the way, there is still time to donate to Swim Across America to support Team Janet in our fight against cancer! Saturday, July 18th is Janet Corley Day, in honor of our own “Miss Janet”, a great teacher and friend. If you bid on an auction item, we will be contacting you very soon if you offered the winning bid, so be ready to cash in those bids!

Keep up with everything happening here at Sea Star on our website: www.swimatseastar.com! For example, our Pro Shop is having a FUNKY sale—our TYR Funkies swimsuits are on clearance at an unheardof price: Sizes 22-38 suits are $26, Girls’ sizes 4-6 are $18. You’ll want to move quickly on this before they are all gone!
We look forward to a busy and happy Fall Quarter, and we hope all of YOU will be here to help us share in the fun!

Saturday, July 18th is Janet Corley Day at Sea Star Swim School!

seastar — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:19:58 +0000

Sea Star Swim School Staff

What does it take to survive cancer? It takes a great medical team and years of research to find the best treatment. It also takes the love and support of family, friends and coworkers. Just ask Janet and Dan Corley– Janet is a two time breast cancer survivor, a swim teacher and a mom to three lively teenagers.

MTSC Masters and the staff at Sea Star Swim School are so inspired by Janet, they will celebrate “Janet Corley Day” on Saturday, July 18th. (Note to our Saturday class parents: Sea Star will be CLOSED on July 18th; your class fees have been pro-rated, so there will be NO MAKEUP CLASS!)

And how does a swim team honor one of its members? By swimming, of course! Janet, Dan, their children, coworkers and teammates will travel to Chicago, and “Team Janet” will swim in an event called “Swim Across America ”. Swim Across America, Inc., [SAA] is dedicated to raising money and awareness for cancer research, prevention, and treatment through swimming- related events.

Janet was first diagnosed in 2000. Even with a recurrence of cancer last fall, she continued to teach her classes at Sea Star–even though she was undergoing an arduous course of chemotherapy, never missing a day.

Please support Janet and everyone else who has been affected by cancer: give generously to Swim Across America. To donate, visit our website at www.swimacrossamerica.org/MTSCMasters_TeamJanet!

Our teachers at Sea Star have sweetened the pot a bit by offering a silent auction. Each teacher has donated a 1/2 hour private lesson, which will go to the highest bidder. The auction information is located in the lobby at Sea Star, and the bidding is fast and furious. Bidding closes on Thursday, July 2 at 5:00 p.m., so don’t miss this chance to get a private lesson with your favorite teacher!

We are also offering a commemorative T-shirt for $15. Profits will go to Swim Across America. These shirts are great! It’s a black shirt, with the MTSC logo in pink and white on the front and the Chicago skyline and “Swim Across America 2009″ on the back. We are taking orders now until Thursday, July 2nd. Support our team and buy a shirt. You can download an order form on www.mtscmasters.com or stop by the Pro Shop for details!