Good evening, Manor Woods Swim Families! The coaches are very excited to see everyone on Tuesday to get the 2026 season started!

Fair warning, this is a long email, but it’s full of important information that needs to be shared ahead of our first practice. Please, even if you are a returning family, find some time to read all parts of this email that are relevant to your swimmers.

First, some changes to the coaching staff! We are THRILLED to introduce Addie Silvestro and Megan Kelly as our newest Junior Coaches! Each of them brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and passion to our coaching staff, and we ask that you offer them congratulations and support in their new roles. Also, to accommodate (positive!) changes in their non-swimming professional lives, Andrea and Joey will serve as Co-Head Coaches for this and future summers. This is mostly a logistical adjustment, and we do not anticipate this change affecting swimmers or families in any way. Andrea and Joey will continue to be at the pool as often as they are able (which will still be most of the time!) and, as always, are committed to keeping this wonderful team and community strong. Moving forward, any complaints can be sent directly to Coach Joey, while Coach Andrea is happy to receive any and all emails containing compliments and praise. Thank you so much :)

Second, please make sure you are familiar with the practice schedule. If any of these practice times won't work consistently for you, please let the coaches know and we can work out an alternate time. There are no changes to the practice times for 2026.

Third, recall the weather rules: practices are canceled for weather only if the pool closes. This usually means that we DO practice in rain, but NOT in thunder or lightning. Cancellations are communicated via email and by Facebook/Instagram post as soon as the decision is made, but this is still often done at the last minute. If particularly cold weather is expected at any time, we will communicate via email about the possibility of a dryland practice in advance.

And finally, please take in the following information regarding swim practices. Information pertaining to swimmers aged 13 and older is in the next three paragraphs,and then continues in the “Attendance” and “Practice Equipment” paragraphs. If you’re looking for info regarding swimmers 12 and younger, please skip ahead to the relevant section.

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Information for 13 & Over Swimmers:

Please plan to be in the water everyday, both for the weeks of after-school practices and once we transition to morning practices. We understand that, at least for the first few weeks, most swimmers are coming right from school, and we understand if anyone needs to be a little late

In general, the 13 & Over practice is designed to be more of a training session/workout than a lesson. As such, there is a good amount of knowledge that we assume swimmers will have. If coaches use any vocabulary that is unfamiliar, please don’t be afraid to ask about it before, during, or after practice. Please also know that, if a swimmer in this age group wishes to learn a skill or technique that is new to them, you are more than welcome to reach out to the coaches to set up a time to work on that specific skill.

Also, as always, we will need willing 13-18 swimmers to be PreTeam helpers. If you are interested, please start thinking about your schedules now and prepare to keep PreTeam practice times open (especially Tuesday and Thursday nights!). An interest form will go out in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out. 

Finally (and this is NEW for the 2026 season!), the coaches would like to invite willing 15-18s to assist with younger swimmers’ practices at any time throughout the season in exchange for SSL hours. Interested swimmers should come to the younger group’s normal practice time and let the coaches know they are there and willing to help. Coaches will help prepare the 15-18s for these sessions, and coaches will still be present to generally manage the practice. The goal for these days is to improve the quality of instruction for the younger swimmers, but also to increase interaction between younger and older swimmers.

13&Os can now skip to the “Attendance” section of the email :)

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Information for 12 and Under Swimmers:

May 26 - June 18: In an effort to maximize water time for the younger age groups, we are doing away with the Blue/Green water/dryland practice groups this year. Andrea and Joey have spent a great deal of time this winter discussing how to make this happen while still ensuring that swimmers remain safe and engaged.

To make this work, swimmers will often need to be divided into smaller groups and sent to various parts of the pool with one or two coaches. This change will have a few effects on the swimmers, and we are asking for your help in preparing them for the following:

• It is vital that swimmers listen to and follow coaches’ directions
• Swimmers may be separated from siblings and friends
• Swimmers should use the bathroom before practice starts
• Coaches will try to minimize the number of times swimmers need to exit and re-enter the pool, but some amount of standing around on the deck while wet will be unavoidable. We know this can be miserable, especially for our younger swimmers, but it’s a part of the sport and a great opportunity to build resilience.
• All practices will start on the deck at the deep end of the lap lanes, and swimmers should only have a suit, googles, and water bottle with them.  

We plan to get right to work on the first day of practice, so please make sure that your swimmer knows where to go and has the appropriate equipment for their practice.

June 19 - July 22: Once MCPS closes for the summer, we will run morning practices for all age groups. Once these morning practices start, everyone should be prepared for a full, in-water practice every day (see above for weather exceptions). Again, times can be found here . As a reminder, 9 year olds who would like the challenge of practicing with the 10-12s should feel free to ask the coaches if that’s a possibility!

Starting on June 19, we also begin to offer afternoon practices on most Tuesday and Thursday afternoons (exceptions will be communicated in advance via email). At these practices, we have several age groups sharing limited space and a reduced coaching staff, neither of which is conducive to the same quality of instruction as morning practices. As such, these practices are designed to maintain fitness, not to teach new skills, and are not intended to be a full replacement for consistent attendance at morning practices. Please only plan to attend afternoon practices if you cannot attend the morning practice on that day. The expectation is that all swimmers primarily attend morning practices throughout the summer.

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Attendance:

We completely understand that, especially in the weeks that school is still in session, swimmers have continuing academic and extracurricular obligations! If your swimmer needs to miss a day or two here and there, there is no need to communicate that with coaches, or to concern yourself with finding a way to make up the missed practices. It is expected, however, that swimmers attend practices as often as they are able to.

If your swimmer misses a practice, please remind them that we may have covered a new skill while they were out, and they should simply let a coach know if we reference said skill in their next practice back. We will catch them up or give them an alternative method - no pressure!

Please note that, on Juneteenth and July 4th, morning practices are optional and non-instructive, and there are no afternoon practices.

Finally, please find time in the next two weeks to go into SwimTopia and mark your swimmers as either “Available” or “Unavailable” for all Saturday “A” Meets. You can update these marks later if needed, but it’s best to get this done early.

Practice Equipment:

For pool practices, swimmers will need a cap, functional and reliable sport goggles, a fitted, athletic swimsuit, and a bottle of water. All other items (towels, shoes, clothing, etc.) should not come with the swimmer to the pool deck - please keep these at a lawn chair or deck table.

We do not recommend swimming in anything baggy or anything with sleeves as these can severely hinder movement and more quickly lead to fatigue. Please also keep in mind that the cheapest options on Amazon are usually cheap for a reason… The most reliable brands (Speedo, TYR, Sporti, Arena, Nike, FINIS, and Dolfin, to name a few) may come with a higher price tag, but are ultimately worth the money. Capitol Swim and Sport is a great local shop (in Kensington), or if you prefer to shop online, I have had good luck with SwimOutlet.com.

While the team suit is encouraged for meets, it is generally not worn at practices.

For dryland practices (rare), swimmers should wear clothing that keeps them warm, and bring a towel or workout mat, athletic shoes (not crocs) and a bottle of water. If we announce a dryland practice, we will not expect swimmers to have a swim suit on them.

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Thank you for reading everything! As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions. It’s looking to be a great season, and we can’t wait to get started! See everyone soon,

Co-Head Coaches Andrea and Joey

301-938-9112, 240-997-9821

[email protected]