Hey Marlins!

At mid-season, we are 3-0...WOWSERS!!! Such great effort deserves serious accolades! The swimmers are doing awesome; the coaches are doing a superlative job working with the swimmers; as hoped, some of the Mini-Marlins may be competition ready by our final meet on July 1; furthermore, parents are showing such tremendous support for the team! Let's keep riding this wave of awesomeness to go into the second half of the season even better than the first and keep having fun! 

As with all things, the mid-season point is a time to address some issues we've experienced of late. Ergo, please excuse the length of this post/email, but to paraphrase Shakespeare in Arkansas dialect: "Friends, Marlins, country folk--ah need'ta talk at'cha'll fer a minute": 

• Some parents have either not signed up or not shown up for volunteer duties. Work schedules are tight, vacations are planned, and situations arise that may make it difficult/impossible to report for duty on time. However, the team depends on parents volunteering. Anything is better than nothing, and if you can't make it one night, volunteer for another. If you have not signed up for a duty, or if you run late to a meet for which you volunteered, please contact Tonya Oliver: 770-355-4026, [email protected]. 
•  Comments have been made about other swimmers on both opposing teams as well as on our own. Whether you're a first year or fifth year swimmer, year round or summer swimmer, we are a TEAM. Ask any swimmer, and he/she will tell you that he/she is doing his/her best not only for him/herself, but for the team as well. Anyone who says swimming isn't really a team sport hasn't been part of a dedicated, supportive, and storied team like the Edinburgh Marlins!  We need to continue to maintain integrity by encouraging each other to swim our best and being amiable with our guest teams. We continue to receive compliments for being excellent sportsmen/women, and younger swimmers look to the older swimmers for inspiration. So, let's show everyone, including ourselves, how a team truly works! 
• No alcohol is permitted on the pool deck, be it in a container or in a circulatory system. Anyone who is noticeably intoxicated will be removed from the pool deck by security.  

Okay--enough of the "Negative Nick" stuff! Let's get back to what we do best: swim! We host Richland this Thursday; they're about the same size team as us as well as our recent competitors, and they are 2-1 with wins against Berkshire and Rivershyre. Using Rivershyre-- our most recent competitor-- as comparison, Richland won 738 to 706--a spread comparable to our win of 738 to 698. With that in mind, let's keep striving to do our best and HAVE FUN in every aspect as swimmers, swim parents, and coaches! Thank you all for such hard work and effort in what is proving to be a phenomenal season! 

Let's do this, Marlins!

Jake Edwards