Joliet Jets YMCA Swim Team

May 5: Practice cancelled for Red/Blue
For reasons unknown, the Smith pool had no chlorine this morning and it is still very cloudy. Measures have been taken to correct the problem but the pool will remain closed for this evening. Therefore, practices for Red and Blue groups will be cancelled on Monday, May 5.

Not too late to join!

If you missed our Spring Swim Clinic, it is not too late to join. Contact Coach Dave Hedden at 815-726-3939 or dhedden@jolietymca.org to arrange a time to meet and be evaluated for a group placement. We have lots of great things planned for the summer; don't miss out!

May 5: Yellow groups begin Mon/Wed Galowich schedule
On Monday, May 5, all Yellow swimmers will begin having regular practices on Monday and Wednesday evenings at the Galowich YMCA, in addition to Saturday mornings at Smith. Please view the practice schedule for times.

May 12: Pre-Senior, Senior & National groups begin Smith schedule
On Monday, May 12, all PS/SR/NAT groups will no longer use the Lewis University pool. View the practice schedule for Smith practice times.

May 16-17: Morris May Meter Madness and PS/SR practice
The JETS will compete in the Morris May Meter Madness on May 16-17. This meet is good for beginners as it is small, low-key and takes place in a 25 meter pool. PS/SR/NAT groups will not be entered on Friday, May 16, but instead will have a special practice at the Smith YMCA from 4:00-6:30pm (dryland outside from 4:00-4:40pm and then swim until 6:30pm). If you would like to enter this meet, contact Coach Dave as soon as possible.

May 31: Flight School Intrasquad Meet
On Saturday, May 31, we will hold another Flight School meet at the Smith YMCA. Warmups for all Flight School, Yellow and Green swimmers will begin at 7:30am. The meet will end by 9:00am. Blue, Pre-Senior, Senior and National swimmers will start at regular times on Saturday morning and then help work the meet at 7:30am. Red swimmers will begin practice at 6:30am and help work the meet at 7:30am. If you would like to enter this meet, please fill out your meet sign-up form or contact Coach Dave by May 30.

June 1: Swim-for-Charity Event
On June 1, the JETS will host a swim-for-charity event. Last year, the team collectively swam over 1,400 laps to raise more than $2,000 for the American Cancer Society. This year, the swimmers who make up our JETS Outreach and Leadership Team discussed and voted on which charity to raise money for. The kids voted to swim for the Childhood Trauma Treatment Program, a United Way agency that provides testing, treatment, counseling, and other support services to children and families, especially those in the foster care system, who have suffered maltreatment and abuse. To learn how to donate, contact Head Coach Dave Hedden at 815-726-3939 or dhedden@jolietymca.org.

June 3-26: Water Polo Clinic
On Tuesdays and Thursdays through the month of June, we will once again offer a Water Polo Clinic for kids ages 10 and up. The clinic will be at the Smith Family YMCA from 6:00-7:30pm. This year, we hope to arrange a scrimmage game against another area team.

June 6-8: 36th Annual Dr. Pepper Super Swim Meet

On June 6-8, the JETS will host our 36th Annual Dr. Pepper Super Swim Meet at UIC. Parent worker sign-up sheets and concessions donation lists will be posted at the Smith YMCA.

June 9: First day of Joliet Country Club practices
We will begin our morning practices at the Joliet Country Club on Monday, June 9!

June 16-27: Central City Swim Clinic
In June, the JETS will team up with the Central City YMCA Summer Camp to teach kids water safety and how to swim better. The clinic will take place at the Smith YMCA from 12:45-1:30pm on Monday through Thursday from June 16-19 and June 23-26. On Friday, June 27, the Central City Swim Clinic will culminate with a small swim meet for the kids with ribbons and certificates of achievement presented to them. We will have a cookout at the YMCA for lunch after the meet. This clinic is only open to kids who sign up and participate in the Central City Summer Camp. I am looking for JETS swimmers and parents who are interested in helping with this clinic. Contact Coach Dave for information.

June 29 - July 6: Olympic Trials TV Schedule
Tune in to watch the best swimmers in the country battle for spots on the Olympic team. The U.S. Olympic Trials for swimming will be aired on NBC every night from Sunday, June 29 through Sunday, July 6 from 7:00 to 8:00 PM central time.

August: Olympic Watch Party
In collaboration with USA Swimming, on a date to be announced in August, we will host an Olympic Splash Bash at the YMCA. Members from the community will be invited to come on in, have fun, and watch some Olympic swimming. Details will be provided later. Stay tuned for information in the newspaper and on the website!

Summary: 2008 Illinois-Missouri Area YMCA Championship
Congratulations to all 31 swimmers who qualified and competed at the Illinois-Missouri Area YMCA Championships on March 15-16, 2008, at the Kishwaukee YMCA in Dekalb, IL. Overall, our swimmers did well. We saw a lot of great swims in both our boys and girls relays. On the boys side, we had two swimmers qualify for finals on Saturday: Murphy Hebbard took 8th in his 200 IM and 6th in his 100 Breast while Youjia Wang placed 8th in his 50 Breast, which is great for his first time qualifying for Y Area Champs in an individual event. On the girls side, we had three individual swimmers and a relay qualify for finals on Sunday. Carly Breitbarth took 8th in her 200 Free after dropping 3 seconds in prelims to qualify for finals. Laura Cempel took 6th in her 200 IM and Savannah Rubocki placed 6th in her 100 IM and 4th in her 100 Free. Our 9-10 Girls Free Relay (Allie Yanello, Kirsten Breitbarth, Maria Papes, and Savannah Rubocki) had great swims to place 6th in finals. Great job, JETS!

View videos from Y Area Champs here:
Wang - 50 Breast Hebbard - 100 Breast Rubocki - 100 Free 9-10 Girls Free Relay

Here is our 2008 State Team:

Hillary Bengtsson	Sarah Cryer	Kaitlin Milburn	Ryan Skarnulis
Kim Bernhard	Charlene Dundek	Austin Miller	Meghan Sweet
Mike Bernhard	Nathan Fairbairn	Maria Papes	Emily Thomas
Carly Breitbarth	Sophia Galounis	Savannah Rubocki	Youjia Wang
Kirsten Breitbarth	Murphy Hebbard	Alex Rubocki	Zach White
Sean Broucek	John Kosirog	Ellen Shepherd	Allie Yanello
Laura Cempel	Shane McEvilly	Keegan Shepherd	Jonathon Yanello
Trisha Covarrubia	Jessica Milburn	Will Sims

Summary: 2008 Town & Country District YMCA Championship

Congratulations, JETS, on another job well done. We hosted another great meet. Many thanks to all the parents who helped. We'll be sending 30 swimmers to the meet, 6 more than last year. Congratulations to Hillary Bengtsson, Mike Bernhard, Carly & Kirsten Breitbarth, Sean Broucek, Laura Cempel, Trisha Covarrubia, Sarah Cryer, Charlene Dundek, Nathan Fairbairn, Sophia Galounis, Murphy Hebbard, John Kosirog, Shane McEvilly, Jessica & Kaitlin Milburn, Austin Miller, Maria Papes, Savannah & Alex Rubocki, Ellen & Keegan Shepherd, Will Sims, Ryan Skarnulis, Meghan Sweet, Emily Thomas, Youjia Wang, Zach White, and Allie & Jonathon Yanello for qualifying for Y Area Champs. Those 30 kids will swim on March 15-16 at the Kishwaukee YMCA. Go JETS!

Summary: 2008 ISI Senior State Short Course Championship

On February 28 - March 2, Laura Cempel and Jessica Milburn represented the JETS at the ISI Senior State meet at UIC. Laura swam the 100 Breast, 100 Fly, 200 Fly, 100 Free, 500 Free, and 400 IM. Her strongest swim was her 400 IM, where she placed 10th. Jessica swam the 1,000 Free, 200 Back, and 1,650 Free. She had strong races in her distance events and re-qualified for this meet in her 1,650. Good job, girls!

Summary: 2007 JETS Christmas Training Camp
Over the Christmas school break, ten swimmers chose to do our annual Christmas Training Camp: Hillary Bengtsson, Laura Cempel, Sophia Galounis, Jessica Milburn, Kaitlin Milburn, Alex Rubocki, Angela Sims, Jasmine Smith, Lauren Sweet, and Elizabeth Thomas. Make sure to congratulate these kids when you see them for showing the dedication to swim 5 hours a day for most of their 2 week vacation, including early morning practices. They are setting the example for kids who want to stretch their potential and reach higher performance levels. Sophia, Alex, Angela, Lauren, and Liz each made more than 80% attendance throughout the camp. Besides training hard, the kids also had some fun. We had 2 more participate this year than last year, and hopefully we'll see even more next year.

Summary: 2007 Flight School Winter Intrasquad
Fantastic job to all the swimmers competing in the Flight School meet on December 15! The kids swam some great times and the JETS swimmers ran the meet very quickly and smoothly. Special congratulations to Emily Cryer, Jack Duffy, Ryanne Gorman, Lucy Londergon, and Mike Molchin, the Flight School swimmers who competed.

Summary: 2007 Flight School Fall Intrasquad Meet
Congratulations to all who participated last Saturday morning. The meet ran pretty smoothly--the kids seem to get better each time--and the swimmers did great. We had a lot of fun in the gym afterwards. Also, thanks to everyone who donated food for the occasion!

Summary: 2007 Ghostly Gathering

The first meet we hosted this season was a big success. Great job everyone, and thanks for contributing! The kids swam great. 85 out of the 87 JETS who swam got at least one best time. We had a total of 68% best times. Nine kids picked up at least one new champ cut of some kind: Hillary Bengtsson (4 new Regional), Carly Breitbarth (2 new Y State, 3 new Regional), Trisha Covarrubia (3 new Y State, 1 new Regional), Maria Papes (1 new Y District), Savannah Rubocki (1 new Y State, 1 new Y Top 16 consideration), Erin Sweet (1 new Y District), Emily Thomas (2 new Regional, 2 new Y District), Allie Yanello (1 new Y District), Jonathon Yanello (2 new Y State). We can't leave out all the kids who swam events for the first time, which were too many to name. For many, this was their first meet, and I thought they swam with a lot of courage and did great. I really liked seeing the kids loudly chanting and cheering on their relays! I look forward to seeing us progress even more.