Miller Swim Team

Age Range: 6 & Up
Cost: $79/month
Prerequisites: Level 5+
Class Length: 1 hour
Course Duration: Twice a Week/ Month
Season: Year Round
Location: Tulsa, OK

Team FAQ's

Please make sure and take care of any tuition or meet fee pay- ments at the beginning of practice
We highly recommend that students who have not completed Level 5 remain in group lessons until the time of completion
We also recommend participation in a Stroke Development course one night a week to allow for more pool time, technical skill training and a more intent focus on the execution of each stroke and skill
Swim Team Cost for Two Practices/Week : $70.00/month
To add a third practice on Wednesday or Saturday, the cost is: $105.00/month for all three practice days
MSC Requirements for Try Outs: 40 yards Freestyle, Back- stroke, Breastroke, 20 yards Butterfly
Try Outs: Wednesday at 7:30-7:45

Practices and Fees

Practices: Miller Swim Team must attend at least TWO practices a week, with the option of adding a third day.]

Tuesday and Thursday 12:30-1:30pm OR Wednesday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 7:30-8:30pm, OR Saturday 8:00-9:00am
Please arrive in time to be dressed and ready to swim by the beginning of practice. Late arrivals complicate practice for others and reduces your swimmers quality of workout.
We want to highly encourage parent participation and communication among the team. It is very important that you stay for practices in order to hear announcements and any changes in schedules.

Fees: Competition is not a required aspect of Swim Team, however, most participants do compete. Competition schedules come out several times a year and will be distributed as the Coach receives them.

Competition fees are separate from and in addition to practice fees. They are $25 per swimmer, for each season, which includes the official t-shirt of the Miller Swim Team. The fees cover each individual season and payment will be required at the beginning of each season. Only one t-shirt per swimmer is covered by the fees.
A season is comprised of about three dual meets and a championship. The fees are due prior to the first meet of a season.

Equipment/Gear

The exercise equipment is mandatory as it gets used on a regular basis. All equipment may be ordered through our Pro Shop at the Front Desk

Suit/Jammer
Goggles
Kickboard
Pull Buoy
Hand Paddle
Fins
Gear Bag
Cap

Swim team participants receive a 25% off discount on all gear except goggles.

Meets and Meet Schedule

The majority of meets are on Monday or Tuesday nights with the notable exception of the Championship Meet which end up on a Tuesday/Thursday night.
Championship days are divided by age: 10 yrs and younger will swim on Tuesday night and 11yrs and up will swim on Thursday night.
Warm ups begin at 5:30pm and the meets being at 6:00pm. We highly encourage you to arrive early to make the most of the warm up time as it is vital for performance and injury prevention.
In the event that the meet is held on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday, we WILL NOT be holding afternoon or evening practices.
Typically the meets will take place in the Tulsa area and Claremore, sometimes they get changed to Ft Gibson or Muskogee. Directions to the pools will be provided.
To Register for Meets:
- You MUST fill out a stroke form prior to the Friday before the meet season begins. You can do this at the Front Desk when you pay your meet fees for that season. If a stroke form is not filled out, your swimmer will not be put in any races for the following meet.
- You must also register your swimmer with Active, our online Swim Team Portal. You will only need to register your swimmer once per season
- You can login to you your Swim Team Portal here: https://swimportal.active.com to sign up for meets.

Meet Directions

Claremore:
595 S. Veterans Parkway
Claremore, OK 74017
From Miller Swim School: Take 169 North, past Owasso. Turn right (east) on Hwy 20. As you follow Hwy 20 into Claremore, the highway curves left (north). The Claremore Recreation Center is on the right immediately after the curve.
Muskogee Swim and Fitness Center:
566 N 6th St
Take Muskogee Turnpike east, merge onto South US 69 via exit 26, turn left onto US 62/OK 16 E (west Shawnee St), turn right onto North Main Street/US 62 BR S, Turn right onto Martin Luther King St, Turn left onto N 6th St.
Ft Gibson:
500 S. Ross St.
Fort Gibson, OK 74434
Muskogee Turnpike to the Ft. Gibson exit. Circle around and go over the overpass (Hwy 62). Go approx. 5 miles to the stop-light. Turn left at the light (Hwy 80). The high school sign is on the right…immediately after the left turn at the light. Follow the “paw prints” painted on the road for ½ mile. High school is on the right, go to the second parking lot and go down the stairs to get to the pool.
Pryor Recreation Center:
1111 SE 9th St – Follow Highway 412 East to Highway 69 and go North about 8 miles. Turn right on 9th street in Pryor for about 1.5 miles.
Oologah High School:
Head north on Highway 169. It is 15 miles north of Owasso. The school is on the left…off of 169.

Meet Flow

Arrival – Swimmers will need to check in with the Coaches and they will be guided to the team location and parents will be directed where to sit.

Warm-Ups – The host team will provide what time and what lanes the warm-ups will be held in. Coach Logan will then direct the swimmers to the appropriate lanes. During warm-ups swimmers are to swim a warm up that is approved by coaches

Team Meeting – After swimmers finish their warm-ups they are to return to the team location. Coaches will then gather up the team, take roll and have a brief motivational speech. Then the Coaches will get the relay teams staged for the start of the meet.

Beginning of Meet

Relays – At approximately 6pm the relays will begin and the meet will start. All races follow the same flow. Younger age division goes first and then the older kids follow. After the swimmers get done with the relay race, they are to return to the team area and get the swimmers ready to compete in Freestyle.

Freestyle – Once the relays are over the Freestyle portion of the meet will begin. Again it will start with the 6 and under division with the girls competing before the boys. After the 6 and under go then the 7 & 8 division, then 9 & 10, etc. After the Freestyle event swimmers are to return to the team area and get ready for Backstroke.

Middle of Meet

Backstroke – Once the Backstroke begins the flow of the meet has been established and swimmers begin to know where to go. Backstroke follows the same order as freestyle

Breaststroke – Same as the other strokes

End of Meet

Butterfly & IM’s – These races are usually the last events of the meet and they follow the same order as the other events. Once the swimmers have completed their 3 events they are free to go. Coach Logan would like for the swimmers to come and tell him good-bye and give them the last bit of coaching advice from their evening.

Ribbons and Times – Depending upon if the meet is done electronically or by hand, that will determine when Miller will get the Results and Ribbons. Once Coach Logan receives the information we will post it and print off a couple of copies of the results and they will be on the front desk for viewing. Swimmers and parents are responsible for keeping up with their own kid’s times. If there are any discrepancies or changes that need to be done to the results please bring it to the coaches attention and he will try to resolve the situation. As soon as we receive the ribbons they will pass them out at the end of practices. Again, if a swimmer has not received their ribbons please inform Coach Logan

What to do at Swim Meets…

When Planning For a Swim Meet:

Bring some cash. Some meets charge for programs or “heat sheets”. These are useful for you personally in order to follow the meet and find where and when your child will be swimming.
Bring a Sharpie marker, pen, or pencil to write times on your heat sheet. A highlighter is also useful to mark where and when your child is swimming.
Spectator seating at swim meets are mostly in bleachers. If you want some cushion or back support, bring a stadium seat.
Do not plan for your child to sit with you and your family. Swimmers belong with their team during the meet.
Do not plan on going over to the team area too often. Only coaches, timers, officials and swimmers are allowed “on deck” (the area around the pool and behind the blocks where swimmers prepare to swim) during meets.
If you want to take pictures, keep in mind that the flash from cameras interferes with timing and starting equipment so they are prohibited during starts. (It is a good idea to figure out how to avoid using a flash during the whole meet, to keep things simple.)
Swimmers need to stay hydrated and eat during meets. Pack protein and high- quality carbs, not junk. Water bottles are necessary. If your child absolutely insists on Gatorade or juice, water it down.
You may be walking on tile floors, wear shoes that will help keep you sure- footed. Your swimmers will need appropriate shoes as well.
It can get very warm and humid at indoor swim meets. Wearing layers is a good idea for you and your swimmers. Your swimmer should have warm up clothes to wear in between their events, too. Swimmers will also require at least more than one towel to get them through a swim meet.
Be prepared for some down time between events. If you have children and other people that need to be entertained consider brining blankets for them to sit on outside the pool area. Plan on needing more entertainment than you think.
If you are going to be late or can’t make it to the meet for any reason, call the Miller (918-254-1988)! Miller will then contact the coach. You may also post on the Miller Swim Club Facebook page

Once You Are At the Meet:

Punctuality is a virtue. Warm ups for the majority of our swim meets begin a half hour before the meet is set to begin (i.e. a 6:00PM meet has a warm up at 5:30PM). Please arrive 10 minutes before the start of warm ups so everyone can get settled.
At this point you may take your swimmer to their team area and check in with the coach. It is useful to bring blankets/sleeping bags/ extra towels for your swimmer to sit on during the meet.
Referring back to the heat sheet and highlighter; heat sheets list the individual swim events, the participants in each event, what heat they are in, what lane each swimmer will occupy, and if the swimmer has a history of swimming that event, what his/her previous best time swimming in that event was. To keep track of when your child is swimming, going through the heat sheet and highlighting each of your swimmers events can be useful.
Now, for the Sharpie marker. Swimmers do not always have access to heat sheets. The best way for your younger swimmers to keep track of their events is to write on themselves. Most swimmers write on their hands or their arm. Below is a grid example of what your child can have on their arm. It should include their event, the heat, the lane and the stroke/distance that they are swimming.

During the Meet:

Use your pen or pencil to record the time your swimmer achieves in each event they swim on the heat sheet. Your swimmer can use this information to assess their performance in the meet. If there is a scoreboard it will show the lane number and time. It is useful to record your child’s time incase of any discrepancies
During the meet your child will be “staged” before their events. The Coaches will get your child to the right spot for their swim. It is ultimately your child’s responsibility to make it to the blocks. They will have plenty of guidance as far as getting to where they need to be.
Be prepared for hearing that your swimmer has “DQ’ed”: disqualified. The people you see walking around the pool with clipboards are swim meet officials. One of their jobs is to make sure the swimmers follow the rules, such as swimmers only are to use dolphin kicks during butterfly events. When a swimmer is disqualified, this means the swimmer is not eligible to place for the event and their time is not recorded. Hearing that they have DQ’ed can be really tough news, especially for a new swimmer. The officials will tell the coaches why your child has gotten DQ’ed . Coaches will then address the problem as well and begin taking steps to fix it during practice.
Cheer for the Miller! Keeping the teams energy up is important and it helps everyone be involved with the swim meet. Don’t just cheer for your child, cheer for your child’s teammates. Just remember that swimmers need to be able to hear the start so be sure to be quiet at this point. Once they have entered the water, go ahead and show them your support!
Results are usually posted to the Miller Swim Club Facebook page the following day after the meet. However; sometimes there are discrepancies in the results that make getting the results a longer process. Ribbons are usually distributed the following practice.

Swim Parents are Beautiful When...

You volunteer the help at a swim meet
You cheer for athletes who are not your children
You say, “What did you learn?” to your swimmer who just got disqualified.
You understand that your child may not get picked for a relay
You help new parents “learn the ropes” in a positive way
You applaud everyone’s effort and comfort those who need it
You Promote team unity
You realize that coaches are human, just like you, and feel terrible when that make a mistake… just like you
You overhear a disgruntled parent and you suggest that they speak to their child’s coach not to the other parents
You realize that one single swim is not all that is important. IT’S THE PROCESS THAT COUNTS!
You congratulate your child’s friend for doing a best time because recondition by another adult, besides a parent, is very important
You support your child’s swimming by helping support the organization that brings your child the opportunity
You emphasize the importance of the “team” and cheering for teammates
You help time or with swimmer organization so that the coach can do the coaching
You encourage your swimmer to make a minimum of 2 practices a week and get in the pool and swim the entire workout

There is a trap that many parents fall into. It works like this: A swimmer receives seri- ous coaching/training for the first time and many defects begin to be corrected. Natu- rally the swimmer will show great amounts of improvement the first and second sea- sons of competition. This is great as long as it is kept in perspective because, sooner or later, every swimmer will level off and the long normal process of working for every tenth of a second will begin. The problem, or trap, is that many parents fix their expec- tations based on these early performances so that when their swimmer does level off, they think that something has gone wrong. They begin to accuse their children of slack- ing off in practice, not trying, or even worse, of not being able to do it. The way for you to avoid this trap is to always find something to praise in your child’s performance. Your children are subjected to many negative influences today that tend to make them fee that they are less than others. It is your job to continually praise, to put them UP, and to let them know that they are unique the way they are and that they are doing a fine job, in a great sport.