Tuckahoe Swim Team - Weekly Update 6/15/2025
We are officially into the heart of the season with Time Trials and our first Saturday meet in the rear view mirror! Did you know that Tigers favorite season is Monsoon Season which typically extends from June to September? The lush vegetation at Jungle Tuckahoe allows us to hide in the vegetation and attack our prey when they arrive at our watering hole! We have a ton of activities and events coming up so PLEASE, as busy are you are please read to the bottom of these announcements. For all the Tucka-Dads, this Fathers Day is a celebration of YOU, and we all appreciate how much you do for your kids, both in and out of the water.
Coaches Note from Coach Torey
Winning at the division 1 level takes a lot of hard work and a little luck - we are grateful for each victory we can score because it signifies hundreds if not thousands of little victories along the way in training and planning. We are so grateful for the energy and commitment we have had to this point in the season and hope to have more growth in the coming days and weeks.
While our team goal is to win on Saturdays, we do not aim to run up the score as high as possible. When we can predict a potential lopsided result, we typically try to spread things out by having athletes swim different events and get more kids into the meet where it makes sense. Regardless of the setup or mismatch, the sportsmanlike thing to do on gameday is to give your opponent your best effort every single time you are in the pool, and shake their hand congratulating them on the competition. I am proud of our kids for swimming hard in all 52 races yesterday and cheering only for Tuckahoe before, during, and after each event. These are all healthy signs of a strong team with great culture.
One area that I need parent support for helping us improve is to keep our kids in the team area during the entire meet, until the last relay is finished. There were far too many kids finishing their last race and leaving with their bags to change or leave entirely. That does not happen in any other sport - if you are on a team you come at the beginning and stay until the end. We all - athletes, coaches, parents - play a role on this team - for our athletes that role occurs both in and out of the water. If there is an urgent reason for needing to leave a meet early that needs to be communicated to the coaches in advance. Otherwise, my expectation is clear where the athletes should be from start to finish. It is the sportsmanlike thing to do for both your fellow teammates and the other team as well - let's all endeavor to teach our kids to understand this bedrock principle to athletics and Tuckahoe swimming!
~Torey
Swim Practice Weekly Schedule
We start our in-season summer practice schedule this week with daily practices held each morning. Note - There are no more Saturday practices with meets on Saturdays moving forward.
- 9 - 10 - 7:45 AM - 8:45 AM
- 8 - Under - 8:45 AM - 9:45 AM
- 11 & Up - 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM
- LT Group 1 - 8:15 AM - 9:00 AM
- LT Group 2 - 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM
- Make-Up Practices - 7:00 AM - 7:45 AM [Mon | Tues | Wed] See signup below.
- Schedule Exception - No practices on Thursday due to Picture Day, Pancake Breakfast and the Tuckahoe Moving Outing.
Morning Make-Up Practices
As the team transitions to morning practices next week, we understand that some swimmers will have conflicts with camps, sports, etc. now that school is out. The coaches are offering 7 AM morning make-up practices on selected dates for those members of the Swim Team who are not able to attend practices later in the morning. Please note this does not apply to Little Tigers. Please sign up for the dates your swimmers plan to attend as we will need a minimum of five (5) swimmers to host an early morning practice. Please note a 7 AM practice has been added for tomorrow due to the cancelled practice on Thursday.
Monday Night Meet vs. High Point – Monday, June 16th TOMORROW!!
Registration Deadline Approaching: Register HERE for Tuckahoe's Monday Night Meet against High Point. YOU MUST REGISTER your Swimmer no later than 3pm TODAY!!! in order to be able to swim in this meet. All members of the Swim Team are eligible to swim in this meet.
Swim: The meet will be swum in regular order (Free, Back, Breast, Fly and IM). Swimmers may choose TWO (2) strokes (FREE, BACK, BREAST, FLY ) plus IM as a bonus event, if legal in all four strokes. Swimmers that participated in the Saturday meet at Donaldson Run will not be allowed to swim any event that he/she swam on Saturday.
Little Tigers please reach out to your coach if would like to see if you are eligible to swim in a Monday night meet.
Theme: We don't have separate A Meet and B Meet teams here at Tuckahoe. We are all Tuckahoe! This meet will serve as our B "A" meet of the season. We will have John Guion on the microphone, music playing and our senior swimmers leading our team in Tuckahoe team cheers. Captain Tuckahoe may even make an appearance! Make sure everyone comes out and gives our swimmers the full Tuckahoe NVSL experience.
Our B Meet theme for the evening is going to be ALIENS. Let's get weird people! Feel free to dress up like green Martians, wear antennae or whatever costume you can think up!
Food: We are planning on having Chick-Fil-A sandwiches and nuggets as well as pizza available for purchase during the meet. The Tuckahoe Grill will also be open for business! Preordering food for purchase is always weather dependent.
Volunteer: Please sign-up HERE to volunteer for this meet.
Timeline:
5:00 PM - Warmups
5:30 PM - Freestyle Start
7:30 PM - Estimated Meet End Time
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR ALL STAR RELAYS
All Star Relay Volunteers Still Needed! Tuckahoe is co-hosting this event Wednesday July 9 and we need 30 more volunteer slots filled. The shifts are about 90 minutes each ranging from swimmer drop off marshal, concessions sales, set up and clean up duties. We will not be asked to provide officials for this meet so we can manage the other aspects of this huge event. You will get a free parking pass in the pool lot (a big bonus!) and will not miss your child swim. We need to get our volunteer commitments locked down in the next week so the NVSL can see where we need to fill the gaps. Please use the link below to sign up.
All Star Relays Volunteer Opportunities [July 8th and July 9th]
Dual Meet – Saturday, June 21st vs. Old Keene Mill @ Tuckahoe
The coaches will select the top three swimmers for each event in every age group. An email will go out every Wednesday with selected Saturday A Meet swimmers and meet details. The meet sheet will be sent out every Thursday and the meet results on Saturdays. If selected and unable to attend, you need to email the reps ASAP so that the coaches can fill that space.
Meet Theme: Day at the Beach (beach attire)
Post Meet Lunch: Chipotle at the Tuckahoe Pavilion
Post-Meet Lunch on Saturday 6/21 - Chipotle Burritos! Please join us immediately following the home meet against Old Keene Mill for burritos from CHIPOTLE. Use the link below to reserve and prepay for lunches for each family member who plans to attend - choose chicken, steak or veggie burrito. The cost is $15.00 per meal. The burrito will include protein of choice (chicken or steak)or veggie, and cilantro-lime white rice, black beans, cheese, and fresh tomato salsa. Sides will include chips, green chili salsa, guacamole and sour cream. Meet on the lower grill patio after the meet. Water will be provided. The deadline to reserve your lunch is Thursday, June 19th at 5:00 pm.
Please sign up at the following link: Post-Meet Lunch - CHIPOTLE
Picture Day - June 19th
Picture Day will be held on Thursday morning, June 19th. See attached flyer for information. PLEASE HAVE YOUR SWIMMER WEAR A BLACK BATHING SUIT!!
Timeline
Arrival - 7:50 AM
Individual/Sibling Photos - 8:00 AM
Swim Team Photo - 8:45 AM
The Annual Pancake Breakfast - June 19th
The Tuckahoe chefs have been hard at work prepping to feed almost 300 Tigers and their parents at the Annual Pancake Breakfast. As Tigers like to be lazy after a big meal, the coaches have graciously given our swimmers the day off from practice so they can carb load at the Tuckahoe Patio on Thursday after Picture Day. Please head over towards the Tuckahoe Grill immediately after the team photo for some fluffy pancakes and all the breakfast sides you can eat. No payment necessary, this is a team sponsored event.
Tuckahoe Swim Team Movie Day - June 19th
We are so excited to announce the details of the swim team movie outing!
Date: June 19th, 2024 after Picture Day and the Pancake Breakfast!
Please wear your swim team shirt!
Location: Regal Ballston Quarter, 671 North Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22203. Theater TBD.
Movie: How to Train Your Dragon [Rated PG]
Time: 1:00 pm, please plan to arrive between 12:30pm and 1:00pm.
Ticket Price: $15; tickets will be purchased via link below and attendees checked off at the theater door.
Swimmers attending MUST sign up and pay for a ticket via the following Sign-Up Genius link:
Please sign up and pay no later than Wednesday June 18th. Please note this is NOT a drop-off event for 10&unders. A parent, older sibling, babysitter is needed for 10&Unders attending. Non-swimmer siblings are welcome to join! Little Tigers are absolutely invited to attend this event - it is a fun experience that has been a huge success in recent years and gives the kids an opportunity to bond out of the water!
Fun Fridays
Do you enjoy hunting for treasure, water balloons, piñatas, making bracelets and eating donuts (without using your hands)? If you answered yes to these questions, or are curious to find out more, then join us for this year’s epic line up of Fun Friday games & prizes! The first Fun Friday is this week!!!
Who: All 10 & Unders and Little Tigers
When: June 20th 10:00-11:00 a.m. (*Bring a Super Soaker, if you have one)
June 27th 10:00-11:00 a.m.
July 11th 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Where: Meet under the Fun Friday Banner on the hill, after Team Cheers
Questions?: Contact Fun Friday Coordinators Amanda Parikh ([email protected]) & Laura Hamm ([email protected])
Swim Team Late Night - June 28th
Come join the Swim Team on the Hill on June 28th for fun, laughter and special talents! This is a fun family event with some fun night swimming after Dark!
Tuckahoe Outdoor Pool and Hill: 6:00 – 10:00 PM
A night of talents, night swimming and more. A fun family event (not a drop off event).
Progressive Dinner Saturday - July 5th
Every year the Tuckahoe community creates a memorable night for our 13 and over swimmers by hosting a progressive dinner. The dinner will take place on Saturday July 5th. We rent buses and the swimmers are transported to different homes for appetizers, main course, and dessert. We are looking for 2 more families who would be willing to host the swimmers at their homes and/or backyards, for appetizers and dessert (The Kelly family will host the entrees this year). The swimmers are at your home for maybe an hour and other families provide all the food for the event. We appreciate all who have hosted in the past. Please consider continuing this tradition by hosting at your home!
If you have any questions or are willing to host please contact either Karen Growney (Collin Moore’s mom), [email protected] or Elaine Kelley [email protected]
We need to get a general head count to reserve the buses. Please use this link to choose yes, no, or maybe for attendance. https://forms.gle/
The Tuckahoe Ball [End of Season Banquet]
Theme: Gold Rush
Don't miss this year's epic Tuckahoe Swim Team Ball! All Tigers, big and small, are invited to our Gold Rush celebration and dress to impress in your best black and gold!
Date: Saturday, July 19th, 5:30pm - 10:00pm.
Location: Knights of Columbus, Arlington, 5115 Little Falls Road, Arlington, VA 22207. Parking to the left of the Columbus Club - we will be in the main ballroom in this building. Adults will have access to a tented area outside the ballroom with an adult dinner buffet and a cash bar.
For full Ball details and to register, please use the following link and see the attached flyer:
Join Our New WhatsApp Group
We’ve created a Tuckahoe Swim Team WhatsApp group for quick updates and easy information sharing throughout the season. We have over 100 swimmers and coaches that have joined where you can share quick questions, photos, etc.
Click here to join: https://chat.whatsapp.com/
Meet Photography
Thanks are due to our parents who create some outstanding memories for us through their photography skills. Please see the link below for photos of Black & Gold and our first A Meet at Donaldson Run!!
Have a lovely Sunday and see you this week! Go Tuckahoe!
GO TUCKAHOE!!
