When is the Stonegate Serpent season?
Meet the Coaches is on May 23, 2026 at 10 am. The season officially begins the day after Memorial Day with daily after-school practices (May 26). Time Trials is on June 6 and is considered the first meet. Everyone on the regular swim team (excluding the pre-team) should plan to come to Time Trials! The summer practice schedule kick off at the end of the MCPS school year, and the season wraps up at the end of July.
What’s the difference between pre-team and the “regular” team?
The goal of Pre-Team is to engender a love of swimming and to prepare swimmers for participation on the Swim Team once they have acquired the necessary skills. The Pre-Team practices start on June 22, after MCPS lets out. They do not attend meets, but can practice daily in the shallow end of the pool with incredible coaches! Pre-Teamers are those who can’t yet swim across the 25 meter pool without assistance.
What are practices like for those on the regular team?
At practice, swimmers may be grouped based on skill level. Practice sessions will address stroke work, endurance and speed. Swim Team members will receive instruction in all four strokes (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly). Given the diversity of experience and skill level, some swimmers may have a goal to learn to swim at least one new stroke legally, while others may strive to participate in the league-wide All-Star meets. A successful season may best be measured by improvement in one area of a swimmer’s own performance.
What happens when there is inclement weather?
According to Montgomery County regulations, we are unable to swim for 30 minutes after the sound of thunder. Please use common sense, and if in doubt, call the pool. Do not drop off your child without confirming there is practice.
Regarding meets, we never want to have to cancel a meet! We do everything we can to ensure the meet goes on. But, there are circumstances in which the meet has to be cancelled. The head coach will decide if/when the meet will be cancelled. Stay tuned on Swimtopia for updates if the weather is inclement on a swim meet day.
What are Time Trials? And who attends?
Time Trials are held at Stonegate on the Saturday one week before the first A meet of the season. This is a Serpents-only event where all swimmers on the regular swim team (not pre-team) will be timed in the events the coaches put them in. Time Trials provides the coaches and swimmers with a baseline or “seed” time in each event and helps the coaches determine which meets and events to put which swimmers in. The rest of the season primarily consists of Wednesday night B meets and Saturday morning A meets, some taking place at Stonegate and some at the opponent’s home pool. Coach Brian determines which swimmers compete in which meets and events, and those swimmers are then grouped in heats for each event according to their seed times.
What are “B” meets?
At Wednesday night B meets, all Stonegate swimmers on the regular team get to compete against swimmers from nearby pools. And although these meets are not officially scored, the swimmers who participate are recognized for best times and earn ribbons for their swims. Wednesday night meets also provide swimmers with the opportunity to work their way into the more competitive A meets on Saturday mornings. The lineups for Wednesday night meets are posted on the team bulletin board on Mondays. Each meet has a theme, and swimmers are encouraged to dress accordingly. The Wednesday B meets start at 6pm, and swimmers are typically expected to be there by 4:45pm/5pm for warm-ups (but always double check the report time once the lineup is posted).
At “B” meets, there are as many heats of each event as there are swimmers. Meaning, we are not limited to the top 6 in freestyle or the top 3 in the other strokes like we are for “A” meets. (Read more below about “A” meets.)
What are “A” meets?
A meets are official MCSL competitions between teams within each division. The meets are scored, and the result of each dual meet helps determine the team’s ultimate standing within the division at the end of the season. A Meet results are posted here. Scores from boys’ and girls’ events are combined to add up to the team’s overall score, and each place in each event counts the same (i.e., 1st place in 8 & under boys freestyle equals the same amount of points as 1st place in 15-18 girls breaststroke).
Who swims at the “A” meets?
Coach Brian determines who swims in which events at A meets, and typically the swimmers with the fastest times swim on Saturday mornings. According to MCSL eligibility rules, in any given A meet, swimmers may only enter three of the four individual stroke events (freestyle, backstroke, breasstroke, butterfly), and no more than five events in total, including individual medley (IM) events and relays.
Many factors go into the coach’s decision-making process, but generally the swimmers with the top six times in freestyle and those with the top three times in the other strokes in each age group will be selected to represent the team in A meets. However, because swimmers are permitted to swim only three individual events, sometimes swimmers with the fourth- or fifth-fastest times will be chosen to swim.
The lineup for Saturday morning meets is posted on the team bulletin board by Thursday morning before the meet. Each meet has a theme, and swimmers are encouraged to dress accordingly. If the meet is away, the team usually meets at Stonegate so families can caravan.
We NEVER want to swim empty lanes at an A meet since that means an opportunity lost to another swimmer and zero points for the team. It is critical that the coaches know by the Wednesday before (at the latest) if a swimmer will not be available for the Saturday meet.
Are there any social events during the season?
Definitely! It just wouldn’t be a swim team if there were no celebrations. Here are some of the events that happen during the course of the swim season:
Team Tuesdays: Swimmers enjoy time with their teammates and coaches that doesn’t involve swimming and often takes place away from the pool. Past activities have included craft-making and tie dying, a trip to the movies, bowling, laser tag, mini golf.
Thursday Donut Breakfasts: Swimmers get donuts and juice on Thursday mornings after practice. Often, the ribbons earned on Wednesday night are distributed at these breakfasts.
Friday Night Potluck Dinners and Pep Rallies: All team members (including PreTeam) and their families get together for a themed potluck dinner/event to celebrate, socialize, and get pumped up for the Saturday morning meets.
Saturday After-Meet BBQs: After each home Saturday meet, there is a cookout at the pool. Food is available for a nominal fee. All team members, whether or not they are swimming on Saturday, are encouraged to attend. Bring the whole family! When not at our home pool, the team often goes out to lunch at a nearby restaurant after the meet finishes.
End-of-Season Team Banquet: This is a fun family celebration of the swim season and the Serpents’ accomplishments. All swim team members and their families are welcome to join in the festivities, which include awards, dinner, fun in the pool, and a slide show. Please refer to the website and Serpent eNews for up-to-the-minute information regarding the team social events.