Hello, Little Vikings Families!

          We are officially less than a week out from evening practices starting! With that in mind, I wanted to reach out with some important information and thoughts before the season starts. Please make sure to fully read this email, refer back to it as needed, and feel free to reach out with any questions. If you are a new Vikings family especially, this email will lay out the general info you need to know. 

          Head Little Vikings Coach, Anna Hietpas, is excited to meet all of your swimmers and kick off a great season. Anna is a graduating senior, headed to JMU in the fall. In addition to leading Little Vikings, Anna is an Assistant Coach for the rest of the Vikings, and has years of swim coach experience. I am so excited to watch her do an amazing job again this summer.

          Practice is scheduled to begin on the evening of Wednesday, May 27th, but be on the lookout for weather related updates if the cold holds out.

Village West Pool Membership: As a reminder, NVSL rules state that all families must be full members of the pool in order to participate on the swim team. Purchase your Village West pool membership here if you haven’t yet!

Team Rep Request:

• If you have one, please have your Little Viking bring their own kickboard to practice. We do not always have enough for everyone, and sometimes sharing a communal kickboard can be tough for this age group ;) It is not mandatory, but would be appreciated!

Important Things to Know:

• A responsible adult (or older teen caregiver) must remain on the pool grounds with a Little Vikings swimmer at all times. Drop-offs are not allowed.
• During practice, please stand back and allow the Coaches to handle minor behavior issues with your swimmer. The Coaches will come find you if your help is needed!
• Your child does need to be able to listen and follow basic instructions and wait their turn in order to be successful in Little Vikings. If your child does not seem ready, Coach Anna and the Team Rep will discuss this with you.
• Significant, disruptive behavior issues will need to be addressed with the team rep (Brandi) and Head Coach Anna so a plan can be put into place. Removal from the team is an option if necessary.
• Daily attendance is not mandatory, but the more your swimmer attends, the more they can learn!
• Upon Head Coach Anna and parent mutual approval, Little Vikings can be promoted to full members of the 8 and Under Vikings. Coach Anna will assess swimmers’ readiness in an ongoing manner and let you know if she thinks they are ready to be promoted!
• Swim meets are not mandatory for anyone, but we would love to see your swimmers at our Saturday home meets for the Lollipop Race (845AM) before the meet starts! Little Vikings and Littles from the other team swim/walk/kickboard etc across the shallow end of the pool and earn a lollipop at the end of the “race!”

Sign up for RainedOut Notifications:

Please sign up for RainedOut notifications to receive immediate notifications of pool closures and event delays/cancellations by text and/or email. You can receive general pool notifications and/or swim team notifications for Big and Little Vikings. (The list gets cleared out every year, so sign up again even if you did so last year.)

To sign up, go to the Village West RainedOut site by clicking HERE (or you can visit www.rainedout.com and search for Village West) to sign up for texts or emails or both. Alternatively, to sign up for just text messages, text the following to 84483:

• For general pool notifications, text VILLAGEWEST
• For regular (Big Vikings) swim team notifications, text BIGVIKINGS
• For Little Vikings swim team notifications, text LITTLEVIKINGS

General Timeline:

• Daily weekday evening practices begin May 27th (weather permitting). Little Vikings will meet from 515PM to 6PM. Stop by the table up front with me or Heidi Pappas to receive your team tshirts and caps!
• Practices often start in the grassy area behind the pool. You will hear the Coaches call “Little Vikings! [clap, clap, clap-clap-clap]” to gather everyone.
• On June 18th, weekday morning practices will start. Little Vikings will meet from 9AM-945AM every weekday morning. The last morning practice will be July 17th.
• Morning practices means Bagel Cafe! Our Bagel Cafe will be open from 815AM-10AM each morning and serves a variety of bagels, muffins, Sunny-Ds, etc for purchase. Families may pay with cash/card or set up a family tab to pay later. If you have a caregiver bringing your child to practice, setting up a tab is an easy way to handle purchases. Feel free to come eat breakfast before practice - there are always plenty of parents hanging out to chat with!
• Tues/Thurs evening practices will begin on June 23rd and run through July 23rd. These practices will be from 615PM-7PM.
• Your swimmer may attend both morning and evening practices, a mix of both, just morning, or just evening! Completely up to your schedule.

Viking Olympics, Team Picture, Pancake Breakfast - June 18th, 745AM-12PM

• Please arrive by 745AM wearing your 2026 team tshirt for the 2026 full team picture! Individual or sibling pictures can be taken by the photographer for purchase after the team picture.
• After the team picture, it’s time for pancake breakfast! All swimmers can enjoy pancakes ahead of the main event…
• The Viking Olympics! All Vikings, big and little, will be split into teams and compete in fun, team games led by one of their Coaches. Please remember to put sunscreen on your swimmer as this is often a notoriously sunny morning!

Lollipop Meet at Rolling Hills - July 16th AM

• On the morning of July 16th, our friends at the nearby Rolling Hills pool (8301 Carrleigh Pkwy) will host their annual Lollipop Meet for younger swimmers not quite ready for a full swim meet.
• While it will feel like a “real” meet, this meet is purely for fun and encouragement - no DQs! Swimmers are free to make it down the length of the pool however they are comfortable - solo, with a kickboard, with a noodle, or with a coach in the water helping them the whole way across.
• We will send a car load of our usual Little Vikings Coaches to the meet, so your swimmer will have familiar faces helping them in the pool.
• If this sounds like something your Little Viking would enjoy, please add it to your calendar now! More info will follow as we get closer.

Puputella Fundraiser - June 10th:

Support the Village West Vikings with Pupatella!

Wednesday, June 10 | All Day | 8434 Old Keene Mill Road, West Springfield

Looking for an easy dinner in June, when it feels like all sorts of activities are happening at once?! Dine or or get take out from Pupatella Neapolitan Pizza on Wednesday, June 10 and the Village West Vikings swim team will receive 20% of the proceeds! Just mention the fundraiser to your server if you dine in OR use the code "GIVEBACK" before checkout in the "Promo" field if you order online. Click here to place your online order and just bring your take out meal to the pool!

Final Thoughts:

          If you are a new Vikings family, welcome! We are so glad to have you join us and hope you continue to be part of the Vikings family for years to come. Joining the Vikings when we moved here three years ago was truly what allowed my family to become part of the community, and I hope it can do the same thing for yours.

          For our veteran Vikings families, welcome back! Bear with me as I learn the Team Rep ropes this summer.

Looking forward to seeing you all on deck soon (hopefully in warm weather),
Brandi