In May I was notified of the 1st annual Stratten and Bond meet being held @ McMaster University by the Greater Horseshoe Aquatic Club. It is a meet for those not going to provincials, yet over qualified for central region team champs (and in our case, the 15 and overs that were too old for Halton Cup). I really wanted to use this meet as a good way for those athletes to end the season and for those who don't usually qualify for finals to end their season with that opportunity. HHBF faired quite well at Stratten and Bond this weekend. I think every individual over the age of 13 qualified for a final. Amongst those who were able to make it back for finals were Kelly and Ryan Smith, Tatyana Austrie, Erin Troughton and Arielle Sabourin. Well done coming back and finishing your season strong, guys. In the years to come, the goal is that everyone going to a meet is prepared, if required, to swim again at finals. In in turn, we will start making more finals. We must be prepared to compete and be our bests at every opportunity: thats what a competitive team does. Unfortunately, this year the meet happened to coincide with exams, family summer plans, etc. We will continue to go in the future and it will likely become a fixture on our meet schedule. I think it is a great way to finish a long season.
T-minus 5 days until the start of Ontario Junior Provincials in Napean, ON. We have our largest team in HHBF history traveling to compete (not just to participate) against the best Ontario has to offer. Please stay tuned to my blog for details.
Great news for HHBF, MATT FOX made it onto the Ontario Summer Games team and will be joining Mitchell Krafczek and Karl Massey and myself to Sudbury, ON this summer. This is pretty impressive, not only because this is the first time that HHBF has had people on the team... not because I will be the Head Coach of this team and 3 of our athletes will be going (and another 3 declined)... but because Matt is 12 and has been chosen to compete in the 14 and under category.... and he's only 12. Did I mention that he's only 12?
If I don't see you again this season (my schedule has been busy to say the least and I have been away from the pool for various reasons lately), PLEASE have a safe and happy/relaxing/exciting/fun summer! I hope to see you all again in September. As always, I can be reached in the regular ways if you need me. Don't be afraid to contact me at any time.
Mike Thompson
Head Coach
HHBF
