Peace, Love and Swimming!
The 60's theme meet proved to be a lot of fun. Thanks to all that participated. The costumes were great! Congratulations to the winners of the contest, Samantha Nino, Olivia Giuliani, Jonathan Peters and Zakery Holzapfel. Also, the best dressed parents, Leslie Hoffman (Go-Go Momma) and Martin Utt (Hippie Rocker) were a big hit at the meet.
Pictures from the meet have been posted. Enjoy!
Three In A Row!
Nice! Three wins back to back. Every should be very proud of this accomplishment. Every week swimmers are getting faster and qualifying in more strokes. Keep it going all the way to Divisionals Ducks!
Pictures from the meet have been posted. Thanks to Corey Brown for helping to capture the moment with his great photographic skills. As always, if you have pictures that you would like to add to the site, please let me know and I will give you admin rights to do so. Remember, these are the pictures that will be used to create the memory book and we want to make sure that everyone is included.
If you have a request for a special picture, please shoot me an email or come see me at the next meet and I'll do my best to get a pic for you.
Way to go Ducks!
Nice win today! It's always nice to win but to win at home is even better. Despite the heat, everybody seemed to enjoy the meet. Southbridge was an especially nice team to swim and with a few more swimmers they could be a team to contend with. The pictures from the meet have been posted, enjoy!
Next week I'd like to get pictures of as many heat winners as possible. Please send your child (with their ribbon) to find me near the 8 and under clerk of course so they can be added to the "heat winner" archives.
Too Close For Comfort!
Well, somehow we managed to pull it off. The first win of the season against Lake Manassas was a nail biter. Every point counted and every swimmer was needed for this close win. Only 8 points separated us from our opponent but in the end, we came up victorious! Nice job everybody. The pictures have been posted from the meet. The majority of these pics were taken by Ariadna Sanchez and Corey Brown who did a great job capturing the event. I have also posted pictures from our first spirit night at Cici's. Most of these pictures were taken by Olivia Giuliani, a budding photographer for certain. Hope you all enjoy them!
1st Meet of the 2011 Season Down
Well, we have the first meet of the season under our belt. It's not easy swimming against a team with almost twice the number of swimmers. Despite our loss, we had many great swims and a lot of time drops. Most importantly, the kids had fun which is what summer swimming is all about. The pictures from the meet have been posted. If anyone took pictures that they would like to share with the team, please send me an email and I'll add you as a administrator so you can upload directly to this site.
Time Trials Kick Off The 2011 Season
Thanks to everyone that showed up to help out with the time trials today. We saw a lot of great swims and some huge improvements over last years times by many of our younger swimmers. The pictures have been posted. If you have any pictures that you would like to add to the site, please email me and I will give you administrative privileges. Looking forward to another great season!
3rd Annual BLST Yard Sale
Our 3rd Annual BLST Yard Sale was held on Saturday May 14 from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Despite the drizzly rain and overcast day, the sale was a success. Over $1,000 was made from the sale. Thanks to all those families that donated items to sell and those that came out and braved the wet weather to setup, work and cleanup. I understand our fearless leader, Coach Karri, ended up with a nasty cold afterwards......thanks for the sacrifice Karri and we hope you get well soon! Thanks also for all the tables and tents that were delivered for us to use for the day.
Don't forget the annual ice cream social will be held on Thursday May 19th from 6 to 8 pm. A lot of help is needed around 5:30 to help carry in all the apparel and get everything set up. Volunteers are also needed to help sell apparel and scoop and serve ice cream. Just show up a little early and we'll find something for you to do.
Thanks,
Connie
Behind The Scene For The 2011 Season!
Happy Spring!
It's definitely time to start gearing up for Summer 2011. Many families have been hard at work all winter preparing for the upcoming season. A few pictures have been posted of the winter clinic. Participation is double that of the 2010 clinic. This leads us to believe that we should expect an increase in the number of summer swimmers, as well. In order to meet the needs of all our swimmers, we ran a sponsor drive all winter. We were able to raise over $2,000 in cash for the the team. In addition, we had several businesses step up and offer in kind donations in the form of copying services and plaques for our sponsors. Please be sure to check the BLST website and note all the generous sponsors and remember to thank them.
In addition to the clinic and the sponsor drive, we held our first spirit night at Chick-Fil-A on March 22. We had an impressive turnout and made over $100 for the team. Our next spirit night at Chick-Fil-A will be on April 21 from 5 pm to 8 pm and I hope to see even more ducks this time around!
Last but certainly not least, we need everyone to start putting items aside for the 3rd Annual BLST Yardsale. It is scheduled for May 14th at the home of Erin and Mitch Taylor (9501 Westmoreland Avenue). We will also need people to volunteer to run a coffee and donut table and in addition to donations for the yard sale we need people to work the sale. A lot of help from our older swimmers is especially needed. Remember you can use these hours for community service.
Looking forward to seeing you all very soon!
Connie
2010 Memory Book Added To Site
It was great to see so many Duck Families at Joes for the annual holiday party. For those of you that didn't get a chance to look at the 2010 Memory Book, I have posted it on the Shutterfly site for your viewing pleasure. I will also bring the book to the winter swim clinic and it will be available the first few weeks of practice this summer for everyone to see.
BLST - Orange Division Champions!
What a great way to end a great season! Congratulations to all the swimmers for a great winning season. Thanks to all the parents for all you did to make the season a success. The last of the pictures for 2010 have been uploaded. A memory book will be available for all to see at the Big Joes Christmas Party in December. In the meantime, please take some time to tag people that you know so that we can make sure that every swimmer gets a picture in the book. Hope to see you all in December!
Last Regular Meet of the Season - and we won!
Way to go Ducks! Nice way to end the regular season. Now it's time to gear up for Divisionals. It sure would be nice to bring home the 1st place trophy next weekend. Pictures from Saturday vs Lake Manassas have been posted. Please let me know if anyone has pictures that they would like to add to the site. We welcome everyone's contributions. An electronic memory book will be created this fall and a copy will be available for everyone to view at our Christmas Party in December. Thanks to all the swimmers that helped to take pictures this summer. Your pictures are fantastic!
How Well Do You Know Your Coaches?
The answer to this weeks question, "What was the first movie that Coach Zach and Coach James saw together at the ages of 2 and 2.5?" Although Waterworld may have interested them in a few years, Toy Story was definitely the movie of the year for the preschool set. This became a frequent theme for many years to come as both boys dressed up for halloween as Toy Story characters for several years, including Buzz Lightyear, Woody and the Little Green Army Men (my personal favorite).
How Well Do You know Your Coaches?
The answer to this week's question, "What school will Coach Dieter be attending in the fall?" is none other than Virginia Tech. His sister and fellow coach, Gabi, wouldn't have it any other way. Coaches Gabi and Dieter will be heading to Blacksburg together this school year. Good luck Coach Dieter!
How Well Do You Know Your Coaches?
As much as Coach James really wanted to go to Hogwarts School, his grandparents wouldn't allow it. As a former OP student, Coach James attends Woodberry Forrest School. Coach James is a Team Captain for the Swim Team and this year was selected to be a prefect. He is a rising Senior and will be spending a lot of time this coming year deciding where he will be attending college.
BLST vs Piedmont
Pictures from Saturday's meet have been uploaded. Enjoy!
How Well Do You Know Your Coaches?
The answer to this weeks question, Besides swimming what other sport does Coach Lindsey participate in at Stonewall Jackson High School, is.....drum roll, please........Volleyball! In addition to swimming for the Ducks, Coach Lindsey swims and plays volleyball for her high school team. Next time you see Coach Lindsey ask her how many spikes she had last season.
2010 BLST at Brookside
Pictures from today's meet have been added to the site. Don't forget to vote in this weeks "How Well Do You Know Your Coaches." If anyone has pictures that they would like to share with the team please send me an email and I will grant you administrative privileges so that you can upload them.
Thanks to all the swimmers that assisted me today with taking pictures. Your pictures are great!
2010 Time Trials
Thanks to everyone today for a very successful Time Trials. Hope everyone had a good time. Pictures from the trials have been posted. Also, I've posted pictures from the spring Yard Sale which I just realized were still on my camera. Please feel free to download and/or purchase any pictures on this site. Also, if you have pictures that you would like to share, let me know and I can give you authorization to upload to this site. Enjoy the pictures and don't forget to check out and vote in the weekly "How Well Do You Know Your Coach?" I'm looking forward to an exciting season.
Connie
2010 Winter Clinic Has Huge Turnout
The 2010 BLST Winter Clinic began Sunday, February 21st. We had an especially impressive turnout with a wide variety of ages and skills. The coaching staff consists of Grace Purnell, Abbie Purnell, Lindsey Cornelius, Aaron Romanowski, Dieter Seltzer and Zach Goulet. It's apparent that we are going to have a lot of talent in the pool this summer. A few slots still remain if anyone would like to get in on the action. The swimmers all enjoyed getting back in the pool with their summer team mates.
Pictures from the first night have been posted for all to enjoy. I will try to take pictures on and off for the next 10 weeks and post them here and on Facebook.
How Well Do You Know Your Coaches?
The answer to this weeks question, "Other than swimming, what is Coach Matt's favorite sport," is football. Coach Matt is a huge Redskin fan and loves to engage in game talk with fellow football fans.
Don't forget to go to Potbelly's on Wednesday night for our last spirit night of the season. I hope to see you all there.
BLST at Kingsbrooke
Pictures from Kingsbrooke have been posted. Also, I have made several of you administrators on this site so that you can upload your own pictures. If anyone else has pictures that they would like to upload from this season, let me know and I'll make you an administrator, as well. My only request is that you make sure to upload them to the correct folder. I will be placing a picture order for the yearbook no later than Wednesday. Sooo, if you want any of your pictures to be included in the yearbook you will need to get them uploaded ASAP.
How Well Do You Know Your Coaches?
The answer to this weeks question, "What does Coach Gabbi plan to major in at
Virginia Tech," is Philosophy. Who knew we had a future Socrates walking among us. A new question has been posted so don't forget to vote!
How Well Do You Know Your Coaches?
Move over Steven Spielberg, Coach Luke is ready to give you a run for your money! The correct answer to this weeks question, "What does Coach Luke want to be when he grows up," is a Film Maker. Get his autograph now before he gets too famous.
The next question has been posted and will focus on Group 1 Coach Gabbi. Don't forget to cast your vote. The answer will be revealed next Tuesday evening. If you're having difficulty, remember that you must sign up for a free Shutterfly membership. You will then sign into the Duck site using the password (posted on the main Duck Website). After you're in the "Duck" shutterfly site you can sign into your personal shutterfly account at the top right hand side. You should then be able to vote one time for each email address registered.
Putt Putt Golf/Nathan's Dairy Bar
Despite the rainy evening, a number of swimmers and their families came out for the Ducks annual Putt Putt Golf outing. After all, it was perfect "Duck" weather! Everyone that showed up had a great time, except for maybe Mrs. Purnell who looked like she needed to drip dry by the end of the night. Pictures have been uploaded to the Spirit Night folder.......enjoy!
New pictures have also been added to the Practice and Duck of the Week folders.
BLST vs Braemar
Pictures from the Braemar meet have been added. Today (Tuesday) is the last day to vote for this weeks "How Well Do You Know Your Coach?" A new poll will be posted Tuesday evening. Don't forget Putt Putt Golf this week; fun is guarateed to be had by all!
Urbanna Pictures Are Posted
Sorry for the delay in getting the Urbanna pics posted. I ran into some unexpected issues with the number of pictures that I tried to upload at one time. Anyhow, they are on here now and ready for your enjoyment. I'd like to thank Abbie Purnell for contributing a lot of the pictures from this meet. She has done a super job! Also, don't forget to register as a Shutterfly member so that you can gain full access to all the cool stuff on this site. It is free to join and you may find that it's a great place for you to share all your memories with your friends and family.