Hi everyone,

Kate, Lisa, and I are very excited to announce that we have hired a new head coach for our swim team, Catherine Kennedy. Her biography and picture are below, but we can say personally that we are very pleased to hire Catherine. Catherine is great: knowledgeable, experienced, great resume, engaging, responsible, and totally in line with our spirit at LPRC, where we want everyone to work hard, improve, learn great sportsmanship, and have lots of fun. Her most recent experience has been as assistant swim coach at O'Connell (Kate and my alma mater - Go Knights!), which is highly relevant to our team: O'Connell is a no cut team but one that has been very successful, so Catherine has experience working with swimmers from top swimmers at Division 1 Overlee all the way through kids who love swimming but are not top athletes. In other words, Catherine has plenty of experience helping both the fastest swimmers and the not-so-fast swimmers get better in a great environment. She will know how to help everyone on our team take the next step and improve at swimming. We think she will be perfect for our team. 

Some additional reminders: 

1. Our fundraiser at the Pinecrest 5 Guys is Monday, Feb. 25th from 4PM-8PM. Flyer is at this link; hope to see everyone there, and remember that only in-store orders count toward fundraising. Mention the LPRC fundraiser when ordering in person. Phone and online orders don't help LPRC. 

2. We are planning a meet-the-coach night Wed., March 6th, 6:30PM-8PM, location TBD, but somewhere near the pool. Catherine will be there, and we will make a number of very important announcements concerning the upcoming season. To entice people who are on the fence about coming out on a weeknight so far before the season, pizza, salad and desert will be served free of charge for everyone. I'll create a Signup Genius soon so we know how much food to order. (If anyone is feeling generous and wants to donate toward the cost, we'll gladly accept.) 

3. We will have another preseason meeting at the beginning of May (schedule and location TBD) for suit try-on and purchase, merchandise ordering, and to get organized for the season. This is a tradition we lost track of, but we think it will be very helpful to gain momentum heading into the season. As in previous years, ice cream will be served, and maybe we'll tie it into some sort of fundraiser. 

Here's Catherine's bio and picture. I hope to see everyone at one or more of these events soon!

Catherine Kennedy is a graduate student at Trinity Washington University pursuing a Master of Arts in School Counseling and Assistant Swim Coach at Bishop O'Connell High School. She graduated from George Mason University and Bishop Ireton High School. Catherine swam for Forest Hollow Swim Club, Arlington Aquatic Club, and the Bishop Ireton Varsity Swim Team. During her time in the NVSL she made two all star appearances and currently holds a record at Forest Hollow. Catherine has coached for the Forest Hollow Swim Team and now is Assistant Swim Coach for Bishop O’Connell High School.