Welcome Letter 2011

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 04/09/2009 - 08:05

Dear Stonegate Stingrays,

Welcome to the Stingrays 2011 summer swim season! On behalf of the entire coaching staff, we are so excited to begin this season of growth and fun with each and every one of you. We see amazing potential for the team as a whole and each of our swimmers individually this season. Your families are what make our team so special and we are grateful that those returning families keep coming back to the Stingrays each summer. We are also thrilled to welcome those of you that are joining our team for the first time. You will soon see that through summer swimming your children and family will build relationships that will transcend the pool. We look forward to watching our swimmers individually improve and grow while getting to know you all better and having a lot of fun!

My name is Meghan Ammon and I am looking forward to spending my first summer with you all as the Stingrays Head Coach. While I do not know many of you yet, I want you to know how excited I am to be your new Head Coach and to get to know each of you personally. A little about me, I have basically spent my life in the pool. Most recently, following moving to Colorado when I was 13, I swam for the Colorado STARS Swim Team and Chapparal Summer Swim Team for 8 years. I also swam in high school for the Grandview Girls Varsity Swim Team for four years, acting as captain my senior year, before graduating in 2009. I was an Assistant Coach for the Chapparal Sharks for 5 years and have worked with the Colorado STARS swim team as well. I am currently attending the University of Southern California as a sophomore business administration major. I can honestly say that my experiences with summer swim team have been some of the best times of my life. I believe that summer swimming is not only an opportunity for your child to become a better swimmer, but also to grow as individuals and make memories that stay with them for the rest of their life.

This season I have the pleasure of working with a group of amazing and talented assistant coaches, who I would like to introduce to you as well. Sam Kannawin has been a Stingray since she was five years old and is returning for her third year as an Assistant coach. She is graduating this year from Regis Jesuit High School after swimming on their varsity swim team for four years as well as competing on the Denver Swim Academy swim team. Returning for her second year as a Stingrays Assistant Coach, Bailey Slocum, is also graduating this spring. After being a member of the Stingrays team for many years, Bailey swam for Chapparal High School for four years and is getting ready to attend CSU this coming fall. Gannon Faul will also be one of your Assistant coaches, retuning for his second year. He is going into his senior year at Regis Jesuit High School and swims on the varsity team there. He also swims on the Denver Swim Academy swim team and has been a member of the Stingrays team since he was young. We are pleased to add three new coaches to our staff this year. Annie Graves, Ellie Claxton, and CJ Kannawin were all Junior Coaches last year, and are excited for their first season as a Stingrays Assistant Coach. Annie is currently a sophomore and swimming on the varsity swim team at Chapparal High School. She has been a Stingray since she was five years old and also swims competitively for the Denver Swim Academy swim team. CJ swims for the Denver Swim Academy team as well and is a sophomore at Regis Jesuit High School where he swims on their varsity team. He lifeguarded last summer at the Stonegate pool and has been on the Stingrays since he was five years old. Ellie is just finishing up her junior year at Chapparal High School and swims both on her high school varsity swim team and for the Colorado STARS swim team. Like all our Assistant Coaches, Ellie has been a long time member of the Stingrays team, joining when she was five years old.