Mustang Monthly- Internet Edition

October 2005

 Meet News

 

Little Splashers

 

The 10 & under Dallas Mustangs swimmers started off the 05-06 short course season with the 6th annual Little Splashers meet. This meet was held in the familiar confines of Loos Natatorium on October 8th-9th. Because it was unclassified, young swimmers of all levels (A, BB, B/C) were able to compete in this meet, swimming up to 3 events and one relay per day. The Mustangs placed a strong 4th place out of 20 North Texas teams with a total of 336 points! Those who scored points for DM are listed below:

 

Virginia Tiernan, Emma Pieroni, Mikaela Johnson, Bianca Bowring, Anna Crowling, Annalyse Zotos, Tiffany Futscher, Caroline Blaylock, Boni McVey, Annelyse Tullier, Andrea Scheer, Caroline Florence, Charlotte Rolfe, Lucy Stuart, Natalie Rathjen, Laura Rathjen, Courtney Nichols, Gabi Jackson, Elizabeth Crowling, Parker Capron, Conner Mullen, Max Zotos, Eric Futscher, and Jake Watters.

 

Four Mustangs won at least one of their events at Little Splashers. Congratulations to:

            Bianca Bowring, who won the 7 year-old girls 25 freestyle,

            Courtney Nichols, who won the 9 year-old girls 100 fly and 200 IM,

            Jake Watters, who placed first in both the 10 year-old boys 50 and 100 flys,

            Eric Futscher, who placed first in both the 10 year-old boys 50 and 100 frees

 

11 & Over ‘A’ Invitational

 

While the 10 and under swimmers swam in the morning, the 11 and Over “A” swimmers competed during the afternoon at Loos. The Dallas Mustangs finished 2nd place out of 20 teams, with COPS being the only North Texas team with more points. Over 60 Mustangs raced at the first short course competition, with 38 of them scoring points! Those who helped their team achieve 2nd place by scoring points were:

 

Caitlin Koranda, Julia Cuaderes, Kendall Williams, Miyo Malouf, Megan Ernst, Spin Beck, Hannah Ferrin, Hadley Trautman, Keegan Watters, Jordan Newman, Alyssa Landino, Molly Bollen, Lauren Roth, Maddie Steiner, Amanda Benson, Erin Smith, Catia Weickgenant, Meredith Monroe, Steph Futscher, Alicia Stevens, Bailey Thompson, Stephanie Martin, Melanie Futscher, Grace Kittle, Scott Weeks, Andrew Tran, Nicholas Saliba, Fernando Lara, Jack Beckwitt, Malin Kenny, Greg Hoffman, Max Murphy, Jack Dwyer, John Bannon, Clint Hallum, John Kalivas, Nick Kalivas, Kyle Savage, and Lamar Weeks.

 

In addition, 9 Mustangs won at least one of their events. Congratulations to:

            Kendall Williams—1st place in 11-12 girls 100 free and 100 breast,

            Spin Beck—1st place in 13-14 girls 100 and 200 breast and 200 IM,

            Hannah Ferrin—1st place in 13-14 girls 100 fly,

            Lauren Roth—1st place in 15 & over girls 100 free

            Meredith Monroe—1st place in 15 & over girls 100 bk

Andrew Tran—1st place in 13-14 boys 200 free, 500 free, 200 bk, 200 br, 100 fly, 200 fly, 200 IM, and 400 IM.

            Max Murphy—1st place in 15 & over boys 200 back.

John Bannon—1st place in 15 & over boys 100 free

Clint Hallum—1st place in 15 & over boys 200 free and 100 breast.

 

 
Hotel Information for Kerr McGee Swim Meet

 

Many of our older swimmers will once again compete at the Kerr McGee Elite Swim Meet to be held from December 15 – 18th.  The team has secured 20 rooms at the Hampton Inn in Oklahoma City.  The group block of reservations will be held until December 1, 2005.  Hotel information is as follows:

 

Hampton Inn

1905 S. Meridian,

Oklahoma City,

OK  73108

(405)682-2080.

 

The rooms are reserved in our block under the name “Dallas Mustangs Swim Team” and the Group Code is “DMS.”  The rooms are either double/double or king suites. The double rooms are $69 per night plus tax and the king rooms are $79 per night plus tax.  Any questions can be directed to Larry Thompson, our travel chairperson, at larry_thompson@msn.com

 

 

Supply Room News

 

The supply room at Loos will be open every Tuesday and Thursday from 6:00-7:30pm and at Highland Park on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:30 – 7:00pm. We keep basic equipment in stock such as goggles, fins, pull buoys, team caps, suits, t-shirts, etc.

                                

 

 

3rd Annual Poinsettias Sale

 

We will be having our annual poinsettia sale again this year.  If you or your friends are decorating your homes for the holidays, please buy your poinsettias from the Dallas Mustangs.  In addition to being beautiful, seasonal and long lasting, they make perfect gifts!   Just follow the instructions below!

 

 

Ordering Instructions

Fill out the order form below and place the completed form in an envelope along with your check (keep a copy for your records), and leave it at any pool in the folder “Poinsettias Orders” or mail it to: Paul Malouf, 3114 Drexel Dr.,   Highland Park, Texas     75205.

 

Order Form

Name:

 

Home Number:

 

Cell Phone:

 

Email:

 

Pool

 

Number of Poinsettias

 

@$10 each =

 

 

Orders must be received by November 28, 2005.

 

 

 

Delivery Information

All poinsettias will be delivered to Loos pool on Monday, December 5th. Highland Park orders and CFB orders not picked up on Monday will be delivered to those pools on Tuesday, December 6th.  This date may change but we will keep you informed once we have confirmation from our supplier.

 

 

 

Publicity

 

This year the Dallas Mustangs will launch a new publicity strategy.  As our team has grown, our athletes represent larger and larger geographic areas.  And this has happened at the same time that the Dallas Morning News has eliminated 11 local newspapers, and nearly all youth club team coverage for every sport.  Thus, it is challenging to get the word out about our swimmers’ achievements.

 

We need your help to get our athletes press coverage in their local newspaper.  There are numerous small newspapers throughout the Metroplex.  Many of these papers devote space to stories about local athletes in neighborhood schools but it is nearly impossible for any one person to know which local paper covers the precise school or neighborhood that your swimmer represents. The Mustangs need your assistance to submit stories about our swimmers.  The process is simple.  Below are some guidelines that have worked well in the past.  It takes patience, persistence, and a little luck. Here’s how to start.

 

Read and subscribe to your local newspaper(s).  Regularly check out the sports section.  After reading it for a few weeks you will begin to learn which writers cover youth sports, high school sports, etc.  Most writers list their email address at the end of the article.  Save the articles that are written about local athletes.  Then find a hook.

 

What’s a hook?  A hook is a reason to write the story.  What has your swimmer, or your kid’s relay team, or your kid’s friend accomplished that makes them unique?  Reporters want to know about winners, high point scorers, and record setters. They also like to know about state meet qualifiers, (TAGS, Sectionals, High School State, Nationals, the U.S. Open, etc.) and how those same kids performed at those meets. School award winners are also good hooks for reporters. (Most Valuable Swimmer, Swimmer of the Year, etc.)   And since our older Dallas Mustangs swimmers frequently swim for their high school team, don’t ignore high school awards as a hook for a story.  School swimmers have an advantage in winning publicity because they represent a larger portion of the newspaper’s readers than an individual club swimmer represents. So don’t be afraid to submit information about your school swimmer that gives credit to the fact that they’ve been training year round with the Dallas Mustangs.

 

Parents sometimes ask me how to approach a reporter with a story idea.  I got great advice once from a local TV newscaster.  He told me to compliment the reporter on a story he/she recently wrote and then suggest an idea the reporter might like for another story.  This is why subscribing to your local paper is helpful.  You learn which writers publish favorable articles and you can converse with them about what a great job they’ve done. Reporters are just like you and me.  They respond better to praise than criticism!

 

I use email to initiate contact with local sports reporters because many of them are freelance and do not have a permanent office at the newspaper’s main headquarters.  However, after you initiate contact with a reporter, you can ask how he/she prefers to be contacted, and follow those instructions. Here is an actual example of an introductory email I sent last fall that resulted in a local newspaper article. I’ve edited out the identifying factors and I’ve highlighted the hooks to make it easier to apply this style to your submissions.

 

Hi Mr. Reporter,
Thanks for the great article and photo about [a local high school] swim meet! I'm sure it will be much appreciated by the coaches and swimmers throughout the school district. It’s great to read an article by a reporter who really understands the commitment it takes to succeed in the water! 
 
By the way, all the girls you named in the article, with the exception of XXXXXXX XXXXXXX, are club swimmers for the Dallas Mustangs Swim Team. It's a great club team that finished second among all club teams at this year's U.S. Open, {Hook!} Many of the kids who swam for the Dallas Mustangs at the U.S. Open also compete locally in 4A and 5A high school swimming. {Another hook!}
 
I'd be glad to provide some background for you if you need more information about the U.S. Open, the Dallas Mustangs Swim Team, or which Dallas Mustangs compete at which local schools. Please feel free to contact me by return email or at the phone number below. 
 
Thanks again!
Stuart Roth
972-242-2556

 

Certainly, there are many styles to use when approaching a reporter.  And you may have a personal relationship with someone that requires a totally different approach.  I just wanted to show an example of something that worked.  This reporter happened to write something about swimming, but you can always complement an article on another sport and then mention that the reporter might be interested in the accomplishments of another athlete who is a Dallas Mustangs swimmer.

 

Regardless of how you initiate contact, the Mustangs need your help to tell our story.  When you are successful in getting something published, please email me to let me know all the details. Most local papers have the stories published on-line, and we can link to those stories from our team website.  It helps to raise our profile in the community, to recruit new swimmers, and to get the word out about our exceptional swim team!

 

If you have any questions, please email me (Stuart Roth) at press@dmswim.com and I’ll be glad to try and help.  Our season is just beginning to heat up.  Start reading your local papers now so you’ll know who to contact when your athlete excels.  It’s both fun and rewarding!

 

Directory News

 

Many of you have asked about the 2005-06 directories.  Our registration chairperson is working hard to update our database; we have over 80 new families this year that need to be processed in addition to updating the records of over 250 returning swimmers.  Once the records are completed, I will begin working on getting a directory published.  Thank you for your patience.

 

ATTENTION PARENTS

 

Parents of all groups, please help the coaches by staying in the stands during practices.  Loos and CFB parents can sit anywhere upstairs and HP parents need to stay on the diving board end of the pool in the stands.  Please do not talk to the coaches during practice—the coaches are responsible for the swimmers in the pool. If you have any concerns or questions, you may talk to them after practice. Also, when a coach is giving a private lesson, please do not interrupt them with questions. Thank you for your understanding.

 

 

 

 DM Tuition Policy Reminder

The Dallas Mustangs is a competitive year round age-group swimming program.  As such we strive to provide consistent quality coaching and workout facilities.  To achieve this goal we establish pool rental contracts and salary commitments with our coaching staff for a full 12-month period. Tuition amounts are established based on the 12-month budget and divided into monthly or quarterly amounts to provide reasonable payment options for our Dallas Mustang families.  The Dallas Mustangs Swim Team is not, and was not designed to be a swim program where swimmers drop in one month and out the next.  Flexibility has always been important to us.  We try to work with each family on the team and we will continue to do so. 

 

Tuition may be paid quarterly: September, December, March, and June, or monthly.  Tuition paid monthly includes a $5.00 per month processing fee.  (If tuition for the quarter is not paid by the due date, monthly payment has automatically been selected.)

 

·         Tuition is due from September through August.  (If you swim in July, you are responsible for August tuition.)

·         Tuition is due on the 1st of each month/quarter.

·         Leave of Absence (LOA) is available only for injury and medical reasons.

·         There will be a $10.00 per month tuition discount for the second and subsequent swimmers in the same family.  The fourth swimmer is free, but all swimmers must pay the annual registration fee.

·         A swimmer transferring from another team must be in good standing with their old team.

·         Statements are only mailed quarterly. If you have chosen to pay monthly, it is your responsibility to remember to mail or drop off tuition by the first of each month that we do not send statements.

·         There will be a $5.00 per family late fee after the 10th of the month for non-zero balance accounts.

·         The swimmer(s) may be barred from swimming if there is an aged account balance is excess of 60 days.

·         Please indicate in the memo portion of all checks what the payment is for (i.e. Dues – swimmer’s name, meet account, supplies, etc.).

·         If there is a problem with your billing, please contact the treasurer.

·         Should circumstances prevent full payment of your tuition, please contact the president.  Scholarships and alternate payment plans will be addressed on a case by case basis.  (Please Note: Lack of communication is not an option!)

·         Should you choose to leave the team – it is your responsibility to contact the treasurer or registration chairman.  (Informing the coach does not fulfill this responsibility!)

·         If you choose to leave the team for the summer, you must go through the tryout process in the fall. You may not return to workouts until you have attended the tryout, completed paperwork and paid your fees.  You are not automatically guaranteed a spot on the team. If your group is full, your name will be placed on the waiting list.  Any tuition/fee balances that were not paid when you left the team must be paid prior to re-joining the team. 

·         If you choose to leave the team at any point during the year, you MAY NOT represent the Dallas Mustangs at any swim meet or event that occurs after the date you have left the team. Should you choose to participate in a swim meet after you have left the team, you must register for the meet and swim as unattached (Team = UN).  

·         Tuition may be sent with the swimmer to the pool, or mailed to the Treasurer:

DM Treasurer – Shannon Rusch

603 Hood Dr.

Coppell, Texas 75019

.