newsletter_April

TNT NEWSLETTER

The New Team on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay

APRIL 2007

THE LITTLE TEAM THAT COULD

TNT capped off a successful Short Course Season by finishing first place in the small team division at the 2007 Southeastern Swimming Championships, held March 15 – 18 in Nashville, TN. TNT's 14 swimmers scored 281 points, the most by any team with less than 15 swimmers entered in the meet, earning the team - high point trophy. The team also placed 18th overall, out of more than 50 teams, to earn its highest SES Championship finish to date.

The annual Spring Championship meet drew the fastest swimmers in each age group from Alabama, Tennessee and the Florida panhandle.

The meet's championship format required swimmers to compete during the morning preliminary sessions with the top eight finishers returning in the evening for finals competition.

TNT was led by its group of 11-12 boys, including Will Anderson, J.D. Powell, Kyle Simpson and Boyd Turnipseed, who scored a combined total of 270 points.

Kyle Simpson, 12, had an outstanding meet, qualifying for finals in all seven of his individual events. He earned six individual and two relay medals, finishing first in the 100-yard backstroke, 100 butterfly and 50 butterfly. He also finished second in the 50 backstroke, third in the 100 individual medley and fifth in the 100 freestyle.

Kyle's times in the 100 backstroke (58.60) and 100 butterfly (57.72) were both National Age Group Top 16 Consideration Times and will be submitted for inclusion in USA Swimming's annual National Age Group Top 16 Times listing, due out next August.

J.D. Powell, 12, also had a great meet, qualifying for finals in five of seven events. He earned five individual and two relay medals, finishing second place in the 50 butterfly, fourth in the 50 breaststroke, fourth in the 100 individual medley, sixth in the 50 backstroke and seventh in the 100 breastroke.

Will Anderson, 12, earned two individual and two relay medals. He qualified for finals in two events, finishing fourth in the 50 backstroke and fifth in the 100 backstroke.

Turnipseed, 11, joined Anderson, Powell and Simpson as a member of the TNT's 11-12 boys relay teams. Turnipseed earned two medals, leading off the 200 freestyle relay to a fourth place finish. He also anchored the 200 medley relay team that finished third.

Madison Scharles, 10, qualified for finals in the 10-and-under girls 50 backstroke, earning an eighth-place medal. She competed in five individual events and set four new team records.

Also contributing to TNT's championship winning performance were Savannah Ekelund, Griffin Fisk, Gabrielle Horst, Gracey Kahn, Lauren Kinsey, Adele Mantiply, Tyler Powell, Kelsie Quale and Ryan Simpson.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCKS

A warm welcome to four new TNT teammates; John Cox, age 8, Emily and Olivia Smith, both age 6, and Danielle Schmidt, age 8. You are all going to have a lot of fun and learn to swim really, really fast.

SCHOLAR ATHLETES

The TNT swimmers listed below achieved A or A/B Honor Roll status at their respective schools for the third academic marking period. Special thanks to parents who submitted their swimmer’s names for inclusion in this listing.

BIRTHDAY GREETINGS

Congratulations to those swimmers who celebrate birthdays during the month of April: Gabrielle Horst, 11 on 4/1. Tyler Powell, 10 on 4/5. Cameron Grant, 13 on 4/6. Anna Ramsey, 12 on 4/10. Christian Stacey, 9 on 4/10. Josh Smith, 10 on 4/13. Emi Rudat 9 on 4/19. Another year older and another year faster.

EXTRA SPECIAL

We are proud of our children for their accomplishments both in and out of the pool. Thank you to parents of TNT who provided extracurricular highlights of their swimmers for inclusion in this month’s newsletter.

Adele Mantiply was selected as a student representative of Christ the King Catholic School to meet with the Accreditation Committee of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools during the 5 year update visit.

Andrew Szydel is playing for the Fairhope Youth Baseball Minor League on the Braves team. Practice is in full swing as they prepare for their first game on April 2nd.

Nicholas Szydel is also playing for the Fairhope Youth Baseball Peanut League with the Pirates team. Opening Day is March 31st and they are practicing hard to be ready.

It was show time for CKCS Students, Ashley Szydel, Jordan Doucet, Sarah El Hamaki and Will Anderson who participated in Dancing thru the Decades, on Thursday, March 28. The annual 6th grade class project includes singing and dancing.

Gabrielle Horst has been chosen to participate in the Duke University TIPS program for her high achievement on the SAT/ARMT tests.

Daniel Doucet received the Sacrament of Confirmation on March 26.

Jordan Doucet performed 3 pieces and theory for the Alabama Music Teacher Association District Auditions on March 31, at the University of South Alabama.

Will Anderson is on the Christ the King Golf Team and parred 2 holes in his 1st match of the year.

Simon Boles participated in the Spring Fever Chase 2 mile fun run, Saturday March 17th.

Jordan Simison made head cheerleader for next year at Daphne Middle School.

Thomas Kinsey was inducted in the National Honor Society at Fairhope High School. He also was selected as a member of the 2006 All - County Boys Swim Team.

Ashton Prouty had 2 pieces of her art work chosen to be displayed; one at Thomas Hospital and one at Baldwin County Library in Robertsdale.

Patrick Parish was awarded the 60 mile foot bead for running a total of 60+ miles in PE class. He also received a picnic in the park with Principal Beasley and other recognized students for reaching 100+ Accelerated Reader Points. Patrick recently ran his first 10K race at the Spring Fever Chase, and also the following 2 mile fun run. Patrick is also a member of the Fairhope Youth Soccer Revolution Team.

Anna Ramsey will be playing a duet and performing a solo on the clarinet in the Solo and Ensemble Festival in Montgomery on April 28.

Savannah Ekelund recently performed 14 pieces memorized for the National Piano Guild Audition and she received the highest rating of superior plus. This was her 4th consecutive year to perform 14 pieces and to receive a superior plus rating each year. Savannah was also a state qualifier at the District Piano Auditions held at the University of South Alabama, and will now proceed to the Alabama State Piano Auditions held at the University of Montevallo on May 11. Savannah has also been selected to be a Music Student of the Month for both February and March by the Baldwin County Music Teachers Association.

It was recently announced that Killian Kahalley is the top reader in kindergarten at Rockwell Elementary School.

Sarah Meehan competed in the Tri for a Cure Triathlon in Orange Beach on March 24 in the 7-10 age group. She was the 1st 7 year old to finish.

GETTNG TO KNOW YOU

This month begins a regular addition to the newsletter featuring short biographies of swimmers from each TNT practice group. Swimmers are selected through random, monthly drawings. This month however, Adele Mantiply received one of the few perks of being the loving step daughter of TNT’s head coach, Jan Mittemeyer, and was chosen to be featured without her name being drawn at random.

Level 4/5: Adele “The Baby” Mantiply is 13 years old, is an original member of TNT and her favorite stroke is breaststroke. She was born in Mobile and has lived the rest of her life in Baldwin County. Her mom, Mary Beth is married to Coach Jan. Adele’s father’s name is Mallory and he lives in Virginia. She is in 7th grade at Christ the King Catholic School and her favorite subjects are science and math. Adele loves to dissect things and recently dissected a frog. Her hobbies include swimming, reading, art, school, shopping and goofing off with her beloved friends. Her favorite book is, Gone With the Wind. Her favorite animal is a Caviler King Charles Spaniel. Her pets include two dogs; Sydney, a black lab, and Rosie, a German Shepherd. She also has a bird named Crackers, and a fish won at the CKCS Pumpkin Festival named Ping.

Level 3: Ryan Simpson is 9 years old, turning 10 in May. He has been a member of TNT since December, 2005. He was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, lived in Marietta, Georgia for 4 years (where he first started swimming), and moved to Daphne in December, 2001. His mom is Laurie, from Meridian, Mississippi, and a Southern Miss Grad. His dad is Allen, from Orlando, Florida, and a Miss State Grad. He is a 4th grader at Daphne East Elementary, and his favorite subjects are Alabama History and Science. He has two brothers: Kevin (4) and Kyle (12).

Ryan’s hobbies include reading, computer games (he’s a seasoned Runescaper), baseball, swimming, and he has enjoyed archery since getting a bow for Christmas. Ryan is currently a top reader at Daphne East Elementary School and loves all the Lemonony Snicket Books. He has read all the Harry Potter Books and marked his calendar and is waiting for the last one to be out in July. He is currently playing baseball with the minor league team A's at Lott Park.

Level 2: Annabelle Kahalley is 7 3/4 yrs old. She is in the 2nd grade at Rockwell Elementary. Her favorite subject is Social Studies. She was born in Huntsville, AL. She has one younger brother, Killian who is 6. She has been swimming with TNT for 2 yrs and her favorite stroke is breaststroke. Her hobbies include sketching, reading, swimming, gymnastics, and making her friends laugh. Her favorite book is Princess Academy and the Harry Potter Series. Her favorite movie is School of Rock. Annabelle would like to be an Olympic swimmer when she grows up.

Level 1: Seth Young is 8 years old and was born in Gulf Breeze, FL. He and his mother, Jackie, and sister, Colleen, age 7 have lived in Daphne since September 2006. He has a yellow lab named Dixie and a chocolate lab named Annie. Seth is a 2nd grader at Daphne East Elementary school and enjoys science, math and social studies. He loves the water, whether it be swimming, fishing or floating down the river in an inner tube. He is also an avid fan of computer game and enjoys inventing things like paper airplanes, boats that float, etc. Seth joined TNT in August 06 and knew right away that swimming was very important to him.

A REWARDING EXPERIENCE

Thank you to Debbie Anderson and Terry Kinsey and for making our 3rd Annual Short Course Awards Dinner a successful and enjoyable event. More than 130 swimmers and family members attended the program, held March 13 at Christ the King School’s gymnasium. TNT swimmers and parent volunteers were recognized as TNT closed the books on the 2006 – 2007 short course swimming season. All currently registered swimmers of TNT received team membership trophies, while those who qualified for the Southeastern Short Course Championship Meet also received commemorative towels. We look forward to doing it again for Long Course. See photos of the evening HERE.

The main course of Spaghetti and Meatballs, and Chicken Pasta Alfredo, as well as team membership trophies were purchased through TNT fundraising efforts. The commemorative SES meet towels were presented as congratulatory gifts from TNT Head Coach, Jan Mittemeyer.

TNT BAGS DOUGH

TNT swimmers and parents raised $715.00 for Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society by bagging groceries at the Winn Dixie in Fairhope, Sunday, April 1. To date TNT has raised over $1,300 for Relay for Life. Participating swimmers were: Frances Sledge, Emily Grant, Cameron Grant, Reagan Grant, Phoenix Fisk, Griffin Fisk, Kyle Simpson, Ryan Simpson, Ashley Kinsey, Lauren Kinsey, Kelsie Quale, Megan Midkiff, Boyd Turnipseed, Ben Turnipseed, and Adele Mantiply. The adults who helped were Karen Sledge, Ellie Quale, Sue Ann Turnipseed, Mary Beth Mantiply, Coach Jan and Terri Kinsey.

TNT GETS ROWDY

Ultimate Technique Clinics and TNT Swimming will host a four hour swimming clinic featuring 3 time Olympic Gold Medalist, Rowdy Gaines, on Saturday, June 16 from 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM, at the Bounds Family YMCA.

Rowdy is considered the voice of swimming, having worked with CBS, TNT, and ESPN as a regular announcer for swimming and other events. He called his fourth Olympic telecast for NBC at the 2004 Games in Athens, Greece and will again be part of the NBC broadcast team in 2008 for the Beijing Olympics.

Once known as the fastest swimmer on earth and now known as the “Swimming’s Greatest Ambassador,” Rowdy Gaines is known world wide as a first class swimming technician and clinician.

The clinic is open to the public with swimmers from TNT receiving first consideration. Cost for the clinic is $50.00 per person, and $35.00 for swimmers from TNT who register by May 15. Registration begins on April 15 and closes on June 9. Please check family file folders for registration forms.

Visit Rowdy’s web site at: http://www.rowdygaines.com/Home/Default.aspx

TNT SUMMER PRACTICE SCHEDULE

TNT’s tentative 2007 summer practice schedule begins Friday, May 25 and is designed to accommodate participation in both summer league and USA Swimming.

Group

Days

Time

Location

Level 5

Level 4A

Level 4B

Level 4C & 3

Level 2

Level 1

TENTATIVE LONG COURSE SCHEDULE

Long Course Meters (LCM) swimming refers to the shape of the pool, or the course that swimmers compete in. LCM pools are 50 meters in length, as opposed to the short course, 25 yard (SCY) pools that we compete in from September through March. LCM meets take place on weekends and do not conflict with summer league meets.

April 20 – 22

May 4 – 6

May 19 – 20

June 8 – 10

June 16

June 22 – 24

July 6 – 8

July 19 – 22

July 31 – August 4

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

USA Swimming provides tools designed to familiarize and educate parents about the great sport of competitive swimming. Parents of TNT are encouraged to please take advantage of these valuable resources in order to help your swimmer be the best he or she can be by visiting the Parent page of the USA Swimming web site at: www.usa-swimming.org

Topics Include:

Swimming 101: The Basics

•

Everything You Wanted to Know About Swim Meets But Were Afraid to Ask.

•

Glossary of Swimming Terms

•

Basic Rules of the Sport

Role of the Parent

•

Parent and Athlete

•

Parent and Coach

•

Parent and Club

•

Growth and Development

•

Your Child’s Training

•

Health Issues

Nutrition Articles and Resources

THE GOOD GUYS

TNT thanks those supporters who advertise their business on our web site. Proceeds from advertising sales help us with operational expenses and allows TNT to provide low cost, competitive swimming instruction to children of all ability levels. Please visit http://www.swimtnt.com/advertisers_page_06-07.html to learn more about the services our advertisers offer.

Americas Home Mortgage

A-Safe Online Backup Service

Booth - Alberstadt Insurance Agency

Bounds Family YMCA

Cricket Realty and Management

Chris Myers AutoMall

Coldwell Banker, Kitty Ruzic - Realtor

Cotton’s Restaurant

E.G.M., L.L.C

GMAC Real Estate - Horst & Co., Inc.

INEOS Phenol

James M. Boles, D.M.D., P.A.

KONE, Inc. Elevators and Escalators

Mary Beth Mantiply, Attorney at Law

Primary Transportation Services, Inc

REMAX by the Bay, Judy Niemeyer - Realtor

Shannon Thomas Arndt, Attorney at Law, P.C.

Sledge’s Custom Building, Inc.

Springdale Travel Agency

Steven Kinsey, M.D. F.A.C.S.

Thomas Hospital Infirmary Health System

Threaded Fasteners, Inc.

Volkert & Associates, Inc.

Watermark Design

Waterville USA, Inc.

FEEDBACK

Please direct questions, comments, or suggestions concerning information contained in this newsletter to Jan Mittemeyr, 251 -599 - 1019

or email at swimtnt123@aol.com.

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