Hi there all! 

I'm your head coach for the season, Abby Ciaramella! A bit about myself- I was an assistant coach last year, I'm a rising junior at Ohio State University, and most importantly- I'm an Alligator Alum! 

First I want to say how excited I am for this upcoming season! Working with the kids last year was amazing, and I'm eager to have a great summer! The assistant coaches- Anna Neiss, Anna Kohler and Sam Kohler- are amazing swimmers and people I am thrilled to be working with. While I step up into this new role, I hope you will all be patient with me... I have some big shoes to fill! 

With all that being said, here is our practice schedule! 

Session 1 - 8:00 am-9:15 am. The first 15 minutes will be a dry land warmup/pool setup, and the kids will be in the water from roughly 8:15-9:15. This session includes children in age groups 11-12 and 13-17. (We ask that if your 11-12 year old is new to swimming competitively that they attend session 2.)

Session 2 - 9:00 am-10:05 am. Again, the first 15 minutes will be a dry land warmup, and the kids will be in the water from roughly 9:15-10:05. This session includes children in the 9-10 age group as well as 11-12 year olds who have little to no competitive or prior swimming history. 

Session 3 - 9:50 am-10:45 am. Dry land warmups will begin at 9:50 and the kids will be in the water from 10:05-10:45. This session includes all 8 and under swimmers. 

We ask that your kids be ready at their designated starting times! 

We also plan on holding a time trial during the first week of practice. This will just be to assess each child's skillset. As coaches we will also be talking to your kids and getting to know them as both swimmers and people- we want to know that they're comfortable with what strokes they are swimming! We know time trials can be scary for some kids, but remind them that there is no need to be anxious! These trials are simply baselines... we are looking forward to seeing individual improvements! The growth we saw last year was amazing to watch, and even more incredible was seeing the kids take pride in their improvements. Every child will get a chance to swim, our goal is to make sure they are comfortable, confident, and most importantly having fun!

Again, on behalf of all the coaches, we are so excited to meet and get to know your kids, as well as have a successful summer season! 

In case there are any questions, my email is [email protected], and my mobile phone number is 412-523-7183. 

Thank you!