The Armada is happy to welcome our 2009 swimmers and families to the pool!

We are excited to have Elisa Chapa join the team as head coach. Elisa has a wealth of experience coaching swimmers, recently for the Forest North Stingrays and previously for her club team in San Antonio. Elisa is a middle school teacher by day, and brings excellent teaching skills and leadership to the team. Welcome Elisa!

We have a strong assistant coaching staff this year as well. To read biographies and see pictures, please click here .

Daily afternoon practices start Monday, May 4. Meets start early again this year since the league is taking July 4th weekend off. The Red, White, and Blue practice meet will be on May 16. To see the full meet schedule, click here.

The first Meet Attendance Forms (MAFs) are due on May 11. That’s next Monday. There will be a file folder with blank MAFs and a folder to return the completed MAF. If you’re new, you might sign your swimmer up for the short free, their best stroke (back, fly, breast) and one other event. That will ensure that your swimmer establishes a seed time for both the freestyle and the medley relay.

There are folders for both the coaches and the board located in the front of the filebox. Please put any questions or concerns into the folders and we will respond as soon as possible. Include your name, phone number or email address. You can email me whenever you like at board@wbarmada.org. Looking forward to another fun and rewarding season!

For more team information, check our website at www.wbarmada.org for the latest information.

Hey Armada! Are you ready for summer to be here?! I'm the new head coach, Elisa. I'm counting down the days until our first practice! I'm really excited and hope that you are ready to get the ball rolling on day one.

A little bit about me...I'm was born in Chicago, and mostly raised in San Antonio. I started swimming summer league when I was 7 all the way until I was 18. I also swam club for the San Antonio Wave until I was 17. My favorite events were 100 and 200 backstroke and 200 and 500 freestyle. I started coaching when I was 17, and coached there in San Antonio a small team for 3 years. Then I went onto the great Texas A&M University where I studied elementary and middle school education. I decided on middle school language arts and history with my certification in ESL. I graduated in December 2006, and was hired at Deerpark Middle School. I worked there for a year and half, then went with my principal to a new school in RRISD, Walsh Middle School. I've been coaching summer league the past couple years with Forest North in the same circuit! Someday I hope to get my high school certification and coach swimming.

You can read up on me, and all the other coaches here. We have a fantastic staff and board this year, and we are all very excited to see new and old swimmers. This year I really want to focus on fun, and improvement. I want you guys to be going the fastest times of your life by the end of the summer, and I have no doubt we will be.

Remember our first afternoon practices start on May 4th at 4:30. We will practice after school until June 5th- that's when the morning practices start! Try and come to as many practices as you can, because as you know, practice makes perfect! If you have any questions at all, do not hesitate to ask any of the coaches. If you need to email me directly, my email address is coach@wbarmada.org.

The Armada Coaching staff is looking forward to every practice, and every meet. We have wonderful kids and supportive parents, and can't wait to see you guys on May 4th! Coach Elisa
 

Welcome parents—new and returning—to the WB Armada’s 20th season! I'm delighted to be your new volunteer coordinator and look forward to working with all of you. Please feel free to contact me with any questions about the volunteer positions at the meets. Due to my work schedule, I’m unable to attend many practices, but feel free to leave notes for me in my family folder or email me at volunteers@wbarmada.org.

Saturday, May 16th is our Red, White & Blue practice meet. For each meet, don’t forget to fill out the volunteer information at the bottom of Meet Attendance Form (MAF). This information will let me know which parent is volunteering and whether you have any scheduling restrictions for that specific meet. Feel free to write additional information you’d like me to know for a specific meet in the bottom area. I use the information from the MAF to develop a volunteer schedule for the upcoming meet, which I will send to you via email by Wednesday before the meet.

If you didn’t sign up for volunteer positions at registration, please contact me. It takes between 70-80 volunteers per team per meet and we need everyone to pitch in to make the meets a success for the sake of our children.

I look forward to a fun summer with you!
 

These times are subject to change following registration. Practice groups and times will be based on enrollment numbers. Check www.wbarmada.org for current information.

Two large file boxes with a folder for each Armada family will be set out at each practice. These folders are a key tool for team communications, so check your folder every day. You will get notices, newsletters, and meet ribbons via your folder, and this is where you will turn in the forms each week for participation in that week's swim meet. If your folder is missing or a name is mistyped, please let us know and we'll get it corrected. Note - please tell swimmers to dry their hands before checking the box.

Our annual practice swim meet - The Red, White & Blue Meet - will take place Saturday, May 16. Families need to arrive at 7:10. This is an important meet for both swimmers and volunteers. It will be run as a regular meet and gets us ready for the season opener the following weekend.

Photo Days - Prior to the start of the meet, we will take the large group team photo. We will do the team photo on this day and the individual and age group photos during regular practice on May 18. We hope this will make it easier for parents.