​Swimmers and Parents,

Just a quick note as we head into the meet this evening and the holiday break. First, attached to this email, you will see a meet lineup for tonight, as well as a meet lineup for those swimming at the Highland Park Pentathlon on 12/27. Hopefully this will help with watching the meet, and also planning for next week.

Tonight - 12/22 - Niles North - 9800 Lawler Ave, Skokie, IL 60077 - 5:30 Start Time - 3:00 Bus
This meet will run as a 3 level meet, JV2, JV, V. It is a great chance to see some of our city competition, as well as see some of the fruits of all the training we have put in.

Wednesday - 12/27 - Highland Park Pentathlon - 433 Vine Ave, Highland Park, IL 60035 - 10:00 Meet Start - 8:00 Bus
This is also a 3 group meet with 18 of our swimmers competing. The list of swimmers participating in the meet is attached to this email. Each swimmer will race five times (a 50 of each stroke and a 150 free) and their places will add up to points. Top 6 in each group will medal. This should be a fast, fun, and different experience.

Practice Change!!!
12/26 we are no longer at UIC. I was able to secure space at Fosco Park - 1312 S. Racine Ave Chicago, IL 60608- for free as opposed to what UIC was charging. This cash savings is great and we will still run practice from 2:15-4:00. This practice is still only for those competing in the meet on 12/27.

Remaining winter schedule - 12/28, 12/29, 01/2, 01/3, 01/4, 01/5 we will have practice at Jones from 8-11:30 for all levels. There will not be security to let swimmers into the building, so all swimmers must arrive between 7:45 and 8:00. Swimmers that arrive late will not be allowed to enter the building! We will be in the water for 2 hours, and will then do dryland so plan accordingly.

12/30 We will practice with Whitney Young at Whitney Young (varsity only), time TBD but likely 7-10. 12/31 we will swim at Jones from 8:30-10:30 for all levels.

All of these dates and times can be found on the calendar at jonespaytonswimming.com please use this calendar as your source of information. The calendars put out by the schools are out of date and tend to be off on events. If there is a discrepancy on the jonespaytonswimming.com calendar then reach out.

Fund Raising:
If you take a look at the attached flyer, you will see we have our first fundraising opportunity set up. Shred 415 in the Roosevelt Collection is running a donation only class that will support the team! Any parents or friends of the program are welcome to sign up, and please share the flyer with anyone you can. The boys will not be participating in the class, but will be there to cheer everyone on before and after!

Apparel:
As a team we have a small number of Grey and Blue JP shirts available for sale. The shirts are mostly mens mediums and smalls, but any fan of the team can order one for $10. If interested either email me, or have your son bring $10 to practice. First come, First served.

Also, I have organized more apparel through a company called Lansing Sports. Apparel can be purchased through the following link https://goo.gl/forms/KTBBWKHYK6ku7ScI2 via google forms. I will place an order for merchandise 12/29 so you must fill out the form by then. Payment can take place any time between now and January 6th.
Again I rambled on longer than intended but hopefully the information is beneficial. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and please enjoy the time with loved ones and friends alike. Boys, I appreciate all of your hard work and dedication. Parents, thank you for the support of your sons, this team, and for believing in this great program.
 
All the best and go Jones-Payton!
 
Paul


What sense is most closely related to memory?

Swimmers and Parents,

Let me again say thank you for all of the hard work and effort the past few days. Thursday was a real rollercoaster against NCP but it sure did feel great to come away with the first win against them in program history. Also, Saturday was a blast for everyone involved and I am incredibly excited with how well the team performed. Hopefully both meets are just signs of things to come. With that said, this may be a long email so please read everything and bear with me.

This Week:
Friday we swim at Niles North against NN, Lane Tech, and Whitney Young. This is a great meet for us to see some city competition in a great pool. The bus will again leave at 3:00 and Payton Boys are already released based off of the permission slip from last week. Jones boys will have an email sent to their teachers on Wednesday. The meet starts at 5:30 and should be a lot of fun!

Because of the meet, we will not have JV practice Friday morning, however all other practices and times are as usual. Varsity swimmers must remember to make it to at least two mornings. We have had the illness bug pop up, but please plan ahead.

Fund Raising:
If you take a look at the attached flyer, you will see we have our first fundraising opportunity set up. Shred 415 in the Roosevelt Collection is running a donation only class that will support the team! Any parents or friends of the program are welcome to sign up, and please share the flyer with anyone you can. The boys will not be participating in the class, but will be there to cheer everyone on before and after!

Apparel:
As a team we have a small number of Grey and Blue JP shirts available for sale. The shirts are mostly mens mediums and smalls, but any fan of the team can order one for $10. If interested either email me, or have your son bring $10 to practice. First come, First serve.

Also, I have organized more apparel through a company called Lansing Sports. Apparel can be purchased through the following link https://goo.gl/forms/KTBBWKHYK6ku7ScI2 via google forms. I will place an order for merchandise 12/29 so you must fill out the form by then. Payment can take place any time between now and January 6th.

Holiday Schedule:
The holidays are when the struggle of the building being closed really causes some issues. However, I think I have pulled together a schedule that makes the most sense. Here are the important points. Saturday 12/23, practice at Jones from 8:30-11:30, after that we are off until 12/26 at 2:15 at UIC. Also, 12/26 will be the only day we swim at UIC and we will swim from 2:15-4:00.

12/27 we have a meet at Highland Park High School. I hope to have the roster finished by Wednesday and can let individuals know if they are swimming. The bus will leave for HP from Jones at 8:00 am with a meet start of 10:00. This meet will be fast and we will be back at Jones by around 1:00. Those not swimming in the meet will have the day off.

12/28, 12/29, 01/2, 01/3, 01/4, 01/5 we will have practice at Jones from 8-11:30 for all levels. There will not be security to let swimmers into the building, so all swimmers must arrive between 7:45 and 8:00. Swimmers that arrive late will not be allowed to enter the building!
12/30 We will practice with Whitney Young at Whitney Young (varsity only), time TBD but likely 7-10. 12/31 we will swim at Jones from 8:30-10:30 for all levels.

All of these dates and times can be found on the calendar at jonespaytonswimming.com please use this calendar as your source of information. The calendars put out by the schools are out of date and tend to be off on events. If there is a discrepancy on the jonespaytonswimming.com calendar then reach out.

Results:
The results from York and NCP are also attached, and you can find them both under the results tab on jonespaytonswimming.com for future reference.

I said this would be a long one but hopefully it helped clear up a few things. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out with any issues or concerns that may arise.

​

Swimmers and Parents,

Welcome to Meet Week! I cannot explain how excited I am for us to finally get up and race this coming Thursday at Northside College Prep and Saturday at York High School. It is clear that our team is rounding into form and I think that both of these meets will allow us to flex our muscle. With that, here is the info on each meet. Lineups will be completed in the next day or so.

Thursday 12/14 vs. NCP at NCP. Meet Start 5:00.
There will be an early release for all swimmers and divers. Payton athletes need to get down to Jones as quick as possible for our 3:10 bus departure. Jones Students will also be excused from their classes early. Athletes should wear team apparel (shirts will be given out ahead of time) and should also bring water/necessary gear.

This meet will run as a Varsity and Junior Varsity meet. Each athlete is allowed to swim a maximum of 4 events with caps at either 2 individuals and 2 relays or 1 individual and 3 relays and every athlete will compete in at least two events. Parents, I hope to see as many of you as possible, and please come sporting your best navy blue or white.

After the meet, there will be food and snacks provided by parents for the bus ride back to Jones. I cannot thank all of you that signed up, and I greatly appreciate the work of Leslie Christo in organizing it all. If a swimmer intends to ride home from the meet with a parent, please make sure that you turned in the transportation form from the beginning of the year, and all athletes must clear their departure with the coaching staff.

Saturday 12/16 at York High School in Elmhurst. Diving Warm Ups 7:00 with a diving start of 8:30 - Swimming Warmups 10:30 with a swimming start of 12:00.
This meet is a varsity only invitational with only the following swimmers attending. Any swimmer not on this list has the remainder of the weekend off. Those on the list need to plan to attend.  

Christo, Ejzak, Franchi, Gohres, Gunn, Herbst, He, Kuo, Luskasiewicz, Maldonado, Miller, Munoz, Olson, Onate, Otto, Thakur M., Thakur W.

I have attached the meet information to this email as well that shows meet order as well as the other teams competing. This meet is a chance to get used to a sectional format meet ahead of break. There will be some great competition for not only our individuals, but also our relays. All swimmers need to arrive at Jones by 10:00 on Saturday and must take the bus to York. Hopefully, we will arrive by 10:45 and will warm up from 11:00-noon. After the meet, the bus will again, take the boys back to Jones.

Odds and Ends
We will take team pictures tomorrow a little after 4:00 with the help of Tony Gadomski. Make sure your hair is looking fresh!

The winter break calendar will shift somewhat in the next few days, but I will send an update soon. Also, please be sure to check the website for results for both of the upcoming meets.

Also, make sure you have ordered team apparel. I have heard that there were a few delays and I sincerely apologize for the issues. Further, if you have paid for caps make sure to get them from Coach Vrettos or myself. If you would like to purchase a cap please also just ask the staff.

With the holiday season and all the craziness it brings, attendance and communication are imperative. I understand that things come up, but communication with the coaching staff is key. Failure to disclose information regarding conflicts or missed practices will not be tolerated.

Lastly, I attached a document from wildkit aquatics that charts the top times in the state throughout the season. If you look at the document, or this link https://illinoisaquatics.com/toptimes/times_show/index/M you can see some of the swimmers we will race over the next few meets, as well as over the course of the year.

As always, do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, concerns, or comments. Swimmers, keep working hard. Parents, keep supporting this great group of young men.

Go Jones-Payton!

Coach Paul

​

Swimmers and Parents,
Welcome to our first Race Day! Well sort of at least… I am incredibly excited to see how the boys race this evening and hopefully this provides a barometer of what to expect at Northside a week from today. If you plan to attend this evening, we will begin around 4:25 and will still be done by our normal practice time.
With that, there are a few notes to get across regarding the next week and a half, as well as schedules, fees, and communication.

1. In light of changes such as yesterday I have set up two remind.com accounts for the team. One for swimmers and the other for parents. This will hopefully help with the dissemination of information quickly if unforeseen changes like yesterday occur. Please go to remind.com and set up your account. Also, feel free to keep checking the website for announcements.
   1. Swimmers: Class Name: Jones-Payton Swimmers - Class Code: jonespay
   2. Parents: Class Name: Jones-Payton Parents - jppar
2. Due to building issues we have a practice change for this coming Saturday. Varsity will swim with Whitney Young from 7-9 on Saturday Morning and there is a JV workout from 8:30-10 on Sunday morning. I apologize for the late notice but the building requires an admin and a security guard to open and I was just informed that Saturday that is not possible. We are incredibly lucky that WY is willing to help us out.
3. Team Fees are due. The minimum fee is $45 payable to Jones College Prep. This covers t-shirts, invites, etc. and is required unless you have spoken with me about special circumstances.
4. On 12/14 at Northside we will be competing in this year’s team suit. Athletes are required to purchase a team suit unless they have spoken to me. Think of it this way, the basketball team would look quite funny if the point guard had on a different jersey. We dress, train, and act as a team, attention to the little things matters. Suits can be purchased through the apparel section of the team website.
5. I will send out information about Northside and the York Invitational on Monday. However, for planning sake, all athletes will compete at Northside and likely York will only include the varsity team plus maybe ¾ JV swimmers.
6. Illness has been a major hindrance to the team so far. Please make sure that you are taking the necessary steps to maximize the season. Failure to train due to being sick only pushes us further back from our goals.
7. Results from tonight’s meet will be posted in the results section of the team website tomorrow morning. You should be able to see splits, times, and overall scores.
8. Best of luck to JP swimmer Jaden Olson as he competes this weekend at Junior Nationals in Iowa City before coming back to the team Monday.
9. I hope everyone is having fun, this is a great group to be around and we are only scratching the surface of what we are capable of.

I hope this update helps and please reach out with any issues, questions, or comments.
Go JP Swimming and Diving!

Paul

Just an FYI, but coach Vrettos caught what has been going around and is out sick today. Because of that we have to change things a little bit. First, both drylands are canceled in that I cannot be two places at once. Second, Varsity, we will get in the water around 3:45 and will go until 5:45. Hopefully this allows you to get home a bit earlier tonight. 


Second, Coach Vrettos should have reached out to 6-8 JV swimmers that will work with Varsity at the 3:45-5:45 slot. All other JV swimmers get the day off. I know this is not ideal right before our Blue vs. White meet tomorrow but it is the best we can do with the space we have. 

The belly flop contest will still take place near the beginning of practice. 

Have a great day and Go Jones-Payton.