Ivy Hills Stingrays
Orientation Session
What to Expect from the
“Stingray Experience”
Chuck Herrington – Parent Coordinator
Tom McTernan – Head Coach
www.IvyHillsStingrays.com
Ivy Hills Stingrays
Orientation Session
Agenda
Tom McTernan – Head Coach
Chuck Herrington – Parent Coordinator
www.IvyHillsStingrays.com
What are the Stingrays?
League
Key Dates
Swim Meets
Meet Sign-Outs
Practice
The Coaches
Coaching Philosophy
Parent Expectations
Communication
Swimsuits
Merchandise
Ivy Hills Stingrays – What is it?
• The Ivy Hills Stingrays is a social, yet competitive Summer swim team whose
mission is to develop the swimming skills of our membership’s youth—while
promoting goodwill, sportsmanship, and fun for all of our swimmers and
parents!
• Anyone ages 5-18 can be a Stingray, regardless of swimming skill level.
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We had 85 swimmers in 2012, ranging from ‘Learning to Swim’ to ‘National Level Athletes’,
and look to have over 100 in 2013!!
• Wonderful opportunity for the kids and parents to meet and socialize with
others in the Ivy Hills community!
• FUN, SOCIAL, SUPPORTIVE,
₋ with a little bit of WINNING sprinkled in!!
Ivy Hills Stingrays – Our League
• The Stingrays participate in the 14-member “Greater Cincinnati Country Club
Swimming & Diving League” (GCCCS&DL), and follow the league’s By-Laws and Meet
Guidelines.
• The GCCCS&DL is divided into 3 Divisions based on Team Size and Championship
Meet Results at the end of the previous season.
Each season the top team in each division ‘moves up’, while the lowest scoring team ‘moves down’. Because we won the 2012 White
Division championship, we are moving up to the Red Division this year!
Ivy Hills Stingrays – Key Dates
SEASON OVERVIEW
Wednesday, May 1st:
Tuesday, May 7th:
Thursday, May 30th:
Wed, June 5th – July 10th:
Thursday, June 27th:
Saturday, June 29th:
Tuesday, July 16th:
Thursday, July 18th:
Orientation Session
Registration/Suit-fitting event
Practice Begins
Weekly Swim Meets (every Wednesday night)
Picture Day
“King of the Hill” Meet
League Championships
Award Banquet
SWIM MEETS
Wednesday, June 5th:
Wednesday, June 12th:
Wednesday, June 19th:
Wednesday, June 26th:
Saturday, June 29th:
Wednesday, July 3rd:
Wednesday, July 10th:
Tuesday, July 16th:
at Summit Hills Country Club
vs Hyde Park Country Club
vs Coldstream/Camargo Country Clubs
at Highland Country Club
‘King of the Hill’ Meet (voluntary at Anderson YMCA)
vs Terrace Park Country Club
at Maketewah/Clovernook Country Clubs
CHAMPIONSHIPS at Highland Country Club
Ivy Hills Stingrays – Swim Meets
Our Swim Meets are the highlights of the Stingray season!
They are essentially a weekly, pool-side party happening
every Wednesday, with parents and swimmers all socializing,
eating, drinking, and cheering on our Stingrays!
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Swim Meets start at 6pm and last roughly 3 hours.
Swimmers must report 30 minutes before the meet for warm-ups.
Swim Meets have 68 events, where each event is a different race for each
stroke type, by age group, by gender. Each event could have multiple
‘Heats’ if there are more than 6 swimmers entered in the event (since we
only have 6 lanes in the pool).
Swim Meet entries will be determined every Monday by the coaches, and
emailed out to all parents early Tuesday. Swim Meet entries are the listing
of which events each swimmer will be swimming for that week’s meet.
Girls
Event/#
Boys
Ivy Hills Stingrays – Meet Sign-Outs
Q: What if we can’t make it to a meet?
A: No Problem!! Just let us know no later than the Monday prior to the Swim Meet!
If your swimmer will not be swimming in a Swim Meet, you will need to “sign out” your
swimmer by the Monday before the Swim Meet!
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There is a “Sign Out Book” always at the pool that has a page for each meet during the season.
To sign out of a particular meet, simply write the names of the swimmers that will not be able
to attend that Swim Meet! It’s that easy!
Except the swimmers who have been “signed out” of a meet, all other Stingrays will be
entered into events for the meet per the coach’s discretion on Monday night. To eliminate
rework in preparing the Meet Entries, please make sure to sign-out swimmers by Monday.
Ivy Hills Stingrays – Practice
• Practices are every weekday from Thurs., May 30th through Mon., July 15th.
Ages 9 and over (age as of June 1st): Every weekday from 8:30am to 10:00am
Ages 8 and under (age as of June 1st): Every weekday from 10:00am to 11:30am
• Practices are split by age group to better meet the different needs/abilities of each
swimmer. Times are determined to not conflict with the Club’s other summer sports programs.
• Attendance to all practices is recommended, but not required. Attendance awards
are given at the end of season award banquet.
• Swimmers must attend at least one practice (Thurs – Wed) in order to swim in that
week’s Swim Meet.
• Thursday practices end with donuts and giving out awards from the previous night’s
Swim Meet.
Ivy Hills Stingrays – Head Coach
One of the key contributors to a solid and successful swim team is consistency in
coaching and teaching swimmer development throughout the years. The Stingrays have
had this consistent, high-quality coaching with the same Head Coach for the last 4 years!
Tom McTernan – Stingrays Head Coach
This will be Tom’s fourth season as the Head Coach of the Ivy Hills Stingrays. Tom has
over 30 years of swimming and coaching experience, and developed a passion for
swimming in High School, placing second in the 50 Free & 100 Free at the Cincinnati
District meet. Tom is a ‘Master Swimmer’, and has held many coaching positions in the
local Cincinnati area, most recently serving as the Head Coach for the Clark Montessori
Jr. and Sr. High Swim Team, the Head Coach for the Beckett Ridge Barracuda swim team,
and coaching the M.E. Lyons YMCA Special Olympics team. Tom has a passion for
teaching swimmers, and recently developed and implemented new stroke clinic
programs at the Beckett Ridge swim club.
Ivy Hills Stingrays – Assistant Coaches
Helping Tom, we have two excellent Assistant Coaches who will be instrumental to
developing our Stingrays!
Brian Hefele – Stingrays Assistant Coach
This is Brian’s third full season as an Ivy Hills Stingrays coach, but fourth season working with the
Stingrays, as he was a volunteer instructor with the team three years ago. Brian swam for four years
at St. Xavier High School, one of the top high-school swim teams in the state. While breaststroke is
his specialty, he is accomplished in all four strokes. Brian is dedicated to swimming development especially age group swimmers. He works very well with younger swimmers in a calm and patient
manner, and provides individual lessons for local competitive swimmers throughout the year. Brian
is a great asset to the team.
Temarie Tomley – Stingrays Assistant Coach
This will be Temarie’s first season as an Ivy Hills Stingrays coach, but she has many years of
swimming experience. Temarie actually got her start swimming for the Stingrays at the age of 5, and
has gone on to swim competitively for the Mercy HealthPlex SeaWolves and her current high-school
team (Ursuline Academy). Just two months ago, Temarie finished 2nd in the state in the 50-Free—
while also being a part of the state champion 400-Free and 200-Medley relay teams. Her
performances were key enablers to Ursuline Academy winning the 2013 Ohio Division I state
swimming championship! Temarie works wonderfully with age group swimmers, and will be an
outstanding addition to the Stingray team! Welcome back, Temarie!
Ivy Hills Stingrays – ”Philosopher Tom”
Ivy Hills Stingrays – The Parents!
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Parent Involvement is CRUCIAL to making the “Stingray Experience” awesome for everyone!
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Our children depend heavily on all parents investing their time into the team to ensure the season
flows smoothly and is enjoyable to everyone. This means:
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Making sure our swimmers are at practices and meets on time!
Volunteering for meets to make the season flow smoothly and be enjoyable to everyone!
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We’re one big happy family, so don’t be afraid to ask for help from fellow parents (especially for
carpooling to practice/meets or swapping volunteer positions)!! A contact list will be sent out right
before the season starts to help everyone be able to contact each other.
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Parents need to sign-up for various ‘positions’ for each Swim Meet in order for the meets to be run
smoothly (and on time!). Each position is easy to execute, and most positions change at halftime.
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Volunteer positions include Timers, Runners, Scorers, Starting Block Organizers, Ribbon Writers, and
Stroke Judges. Each position will have a simple ‘training session’ before each meet. Sign-up for
preferences to your volunteer positions in your Registration Packet for each meet.
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Chuck needs to make sure all volunteer positions are filled the Sunday before each Swim Meet, so
expect your Parent Coordinators (who are volunteers themselves!) to ask you for help!! 
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Most importantly, have fun! The best thing about volunteering at Swim Meets is that all positions
can be worked with a cold beverage in your hand!! Ask someone to fill in for you for a few minutes
if you’re child is racing. Remember, the “Stingray Experience” is all about having a good time!
Ivy Hills Stingrays – Communication
Before and during the season, there are various methods for Stingray information to get
out to Parents and Swimmers. These are highlighted in the Registration Packet’s Team
Communication sheet – so please reference that in more detail.
• The vast majority of your communication will come via email from your Parent
Coordinators or Head Coach—so it is critical that you provide correct email addresses
in your Registration Packets. If you have more than one email that you wish to get
these communications, list both on the registration packet!
• The website will contain all important documents, schedules,
meet entries, meet results, and other formal Stingray
information. www.IvyHillsStingrays.com
• The Stingray Facebook page is where all photos and videos will
be posted throughout the season, as well as quick news items.
• The Stingray Twitter account will pretty much tweet out similar
information that is posted on the Facebook page.
Ivy Hills Stingrays – Swimsuits
The 2013 swimsuit is the TYR Finals Cabana Plaid suit, the same suit we used last year!
Girls ($41.60 +tax)
Boys ($28.80 +tax)
• Regional swim retailer “Kast-A-Ways” will be at the Club on Tuesday, May 7th from 5:30pm-7:30pm at
our “Stingray Registration and Suit Fitting Event” to help with ordering and sizing our Stingrays into
the correct suit.
• Note that these suits are not required to be members of the Stingrays, but are the recommended suit
for the 2013 Season to maintain a unified team ‘look’.
• For those families who are not able to make the May 7th Suit Fitting event, arrangements can be
made to order their suits directly from Kast-A-Ways. Their contact information is below:
Kast-A-Ways National Headquarters
9356 Cincinnati-Columbus Rd., Rt. 42
Cincinnati, Ohio 45241-1197
Toll Free: (800) 543-2763
Local Calls: (513) 777-7967
Retail Store Hours:
Monday - Thursday - 9:00am - 6:00pm
Friday - 9:00am - 5:00pm
Saturday - 9:00am - 3:00pm
Sunday - CLOSED
Ivy Hills Stingrays – Merchandise
• You and your swimmers will be able to show off your Stingray Spirit through various
Stingray Merchandise items being available during the season: everything from swim
caps, towels, t-shirts, sweatshirts and adult golf shirts, and more!
• We should have the 2013 offerings and order forms at the May 7th registration event.
• All proceeds from Merchandise sales go directly back into the swim team to continue to
make the Stingray Experience an awesome one!
• Look for upcoming announcements on 2013 Stingray Merchandise availability and
ordering processes!
Ivy Hills Stingrays
Orientation Session
Agenda
Tom McTernan – Head Coach
Chuck Herrington – Parent Coordinator
www.IvyHillsStingrays.com
What are the Stingrays?
League
Key Dates
Swim Meets
Meet Sign-Outs
Practice
The Coaches
Coaching Philosophy
Parent Expectations
Communication
Swimsuits
Merchandise