Buchholz High School Swimming and Diving

Hello Bobcats!

We are excited to welcome Robert Pinter as the new Head Coach of Buchholz Swimming and Diving! Coach Pinter has been coaching swimming for many years and most recently has been, and continues to be, the Head Coach of Gator Swim Club. Coach Pinter has extensive experience working with athletes of all ages and all abilities. We are fortunate to have a coach of this caliber leading our Bobcats!!! Coach Pinter will lead Bobcat swimming practice beginning tomorrow morning, Friday, 9/4.

We are fortunate that Fondren DeLoach will continue to coach the Bobcat divers. We are excited about another successful year for Bobcat diving.

We thank Coach Tina Bates and Coach Brandon Sedgley for their years of leadership and amazing success of Buchholz Swimming and Diving over the past years. We are fortunate to have Coach Bates continue with the team as a Volunteer Assistant Coach this year.

Please help us give our new and returning coaches a warm Bobcat welcome!!!

As always, GO BOBCATS!!!!!

2020 Forms Packet!

Hello Buchholz Swimming and Diving families!

We are looking forward to seeing you at the pool and excited to get going with the 2020 Swimming and Diving season. While challenges were plenty this year and our start of season has been delayed, we believe we are in a good position to finally start practices and, more importantly, to help our kids work hard and have some fun.

Coaches
As you know, Coach Sedgely made the very difficult decision not to coach BHS Swimming and Diving this year. He is going to miss working with all of you, and the team will miss his energy and passion for the sport and for his drive to achieve success for all of the athletes! Fondren DeLoach will return as the diving coach, and we are in the final stages of hiring a new head coach and assistant coach for swimming. We will make those staff announcements (hopefully) by the middle of next week, so stay tuned. Coach Tina will be a volunteer coach for the team this year.

Potluck
We are not going to be able to hold an in-person potluck to kick-off the season this year. We are working on plans to have a start-of-the-season Zoom meeting so coaches, athletes, and parents can meet each other, even if only virtually for now.

Practices
We want to announce that the first practices will be Wednesday, September 2:

· Swimmers: Northeast pool from 5:45 am to 7:15 am
· Divers: Mickle pool from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm

Unlike in past years, the first practice is not mandatory for all participants. This year the high school and club teams in Gainesville have agreed that athletes need to choose whether they will practice with their clubs OR their high school teams, as crossover will not be allowed as it has been in the past. This is to minimize the potential of any outbreaks of coronavirus on the club teams from impacting the high school team or vice versa.

Barring any forced changes, our season schedule for those practicing only with Buchholz and not with a club will be:

· Swimmers: Northeast pool from 5:45 am to 7:15 am Monday/Wednesday/Friday
· Divers: Mickle pool from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm Monday through Thursday

We may expand practices if the coaches feel it is advantageous to the athletes.

Forms and Fair-Share Payments
The forms packet that needs to be completed and turned in by each athlete is available on TeamPages under the Documents tab. Attached to this message is a PDF containing BHS Swimming and Diving’s practice protocol as approved by the city, and the district’s new COVID-19 waiver form that must also be completed and turned in.

If you already turned in the form packet, please complete and submit the COVID-19 waiver form.

If you are a club swimmer and will be training with your club, please e-mail scans of all completed forms to buchholzswimanddive@gmail.com or mail them with your fair-share payment to Buchholz Swim & Dive Team Boosters, PO BOX 358594, Gainesville, FL 32635.

If you are going to be attending in-person practices, please turn in all forms and your fair-share payment at your first practice.

COVID-19 Precautions
It is very important to follow the team practice protocol and to inform the coaches of any illness and exposure to someone with COVID-19 so they can follow district and FHSAA guidance to keep other athletes and staff as safe as possible.

Still Deciding Whether to Join BHS Swimming and Diving?
We know that the past 5 months have been challenging for everyone, and for BHS Swimming and Diving with the closing of schools and the coaching changes and delayed start to the 2020 season. That said, we are very excited for this year and want to encourage all swimmers and divers interested but not yet sure about the season to speak with the new coaches. We believe that our staff is very knowledgeable and welcoming to all swimmers and divers regardless of experience or background. I was told they look forward to “doing good work” with all willing participants. Again, please talk to the coaches before you decide not to swim this year.

Go Bobcats!

George Atohi
Athletic Director

Hello Bobcats from the booster club!

The school is committed that all fall sports will have a season, and that includes Swimming and Diving. A new head coach has been hired, and will be announced by the school when all of the administrative details are complete. Stay tuned and watch your email closely as we will release important details as soon as we know them.

It is currently expected that the BHS swim practice group will have practice on weekday mornings before school at one of the city pools, as has been done in past years. Details are not yet known to the booster club for diving practice.

This year, the high school and club coaches have agreed that the various practice groups will not mix for practice. This is in the best interest of safety for all involved. Additionally, there are group size limitations and limitations on number of athletes allowed in the pool at one time. For this reason, we are attempting to gather information on group numbers for the BHS coaching staff. With this in mind, please email the booster club at buchholzswimanddive@gmail.com with your intent to participate on the team this year. Please include this information:

1. Athlete’s first and last name
2. Grade in school during the 2020-2021 school year
3. Swimmer or Diver
4. If you intend to practice with a club or with BHS
5. If practicing with a club, which club

We haven’t heard from everyone regarding the size questionnaire. If you intend to participate please complete the size questionnaire as announced previously. This is the last call for sizes. Please respond by tomorrow if you have not already.

Thank you to everyone for your patience and understanding while the new BHS coaching staff works to prepare a safe but exciting and successful season for all of the athletes.

Go Bobcats!

Hello Bobcats from the Swim and Dive Booster Club! A few updates:

Although FHSAA met today and approved an amended version of “Option 1,” allowing fall sports to start as early as 8/24, some schools might start later, depending on what is happening in the county from a COVID-19 standpoint. We don’t have a start date and continue to await further information. Because of this, we don’t have any schedule updates as of yet.

The school is going through the process of finalizing the coaching staff.

If you have not yet submitted your gear sizes, please click on the link below and do so now. We haven’t finalized the gear selection for this year and are just collecting sizes, but we would like to be able to submit gear orders quickly once we have a start date.

https://forms.gle/whRAu4RHYoFHbAgX6

If you have any questions or concerns, you can reach the booster club or Janet Caruso at buchholzswimanddive@gmail.com.

Stay safe and have a wonderful weekend!