Hi OBST families,

Let’s take a moment to recognize five of our tremendously hard-working and dedicated female athletes that attended this last weekend’s Southeastern Short Course Championships in Huntsville, AL. These ladies—Kinsey Carden (14), Amelia Chiseev (11), Emma-Wyn Hang (13), Emma Kahler (10), and Rosalie Lester (12)—really raised the bar.

Southeasterns typically contains up to 1400+ athletes who reside in our LSC (Local Swim Committee) that earn qualifying times in order to compete with top athletes in the area and advance to Sectionals, Zones, etc. Our swimmers accomplished a great deal both in sport and character.

As a club team that is less than two years old, to bring 5 athletes to Southeasterns and have a couple final each night and place in the Top 20–even Top 10–is pretty significant! Chiseev and Lester even earned Age Group Sectional cuts allowing them to compete at an even higher level in Cary, NC. For Chiseev, the 50 yd butterfly and 50 yd backstroke. For Lester, the 50 yd butterfly.

The pressure as you climb the competitive ladder only builds and often that pressure is self-inflicted. This weekend provided a reality check as to what the next level of swimming is like and how we cope with results whether they are in our favor or not. In the swimming world, timing is everything, but regardless of swimming a personal best, securing a certain time standard, or adding hundredths of a second and noticing what needs improvement, these girls have done the work. Our biggest lesson of the weekend was if you always give your best effort, there’s no room for doubt. 

There is no family quite like a swim family. The day in and day out of hard work, the hours of staring at black line or counting strokes, the indescribable feeling of achieving something you’ve more than earned… together. Swimmers are built differently, and our makos are no exception.

Achieving the time standards required for larger, higher-ranking competitions outside of Southeastern Swimming lately is extremely motivating! I will definitely plan to incorporate these competitions into the 2026-2027 shortcourse season!

PLEASE, we are in the third month of this season. If your swimmer does not yet have the required equipment per their respective group, please make every effort to do so! At this point, we are continuously utilizing gear in practice. To order, follow the instructions in the handbook for accessing the Swim & Tri team portal.

Besides the above, the month of March is pretty light in terms of news and happenings, but please continue reading the below content.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
We do not have any March babies!

IMPORTANT DATES

TUES 3/10 - WELCOME BACK DRY-LAND WORKOUTS!
Orange, Junior and Senior groups will all begin dry-land workouts again this coming Tuesday after the time change. Please have your athlete prepared with a water bottle, towel, extra clothes AND SNEAKERS for dry-land work. We typically involve our 30 min of dry-land post pre-swim within their designated practice time, however, if we need to adjust to post-swim for smoother group transitions, we will adjust.

LOOKING AHEAD...
4/1 Summer Registration opens at 8 a.m.
4/13-4/17 Spring Break
4/25 Ready, Set, Bloom! @ Home
5/2-5/3 GPAC Flip Flop Invitational

SWIM & TELL
Curious about the levels of competition surrounding our sport? Take a look at the pyramid charts below to gain a better understanding.

MAKO OF THE MONTH
Congratulations to March's Mako of the Month, Kinsey Carden! This young lady is a true leader in the way she brings teammates together. Whether it’s helping a 10&U athlete with technique or holding older swimmers accountable to intervals during main sets, Kinsey makes an impact. Kinsey is a recent first-time Southeastern qualifier due to her recent efforts in the pool. She loud, proud, and personable; Someone who stands to make a positive change in this world.

Best,

Coach Dakota