November 2025 Newsletter
SAVE THE DATE:
Nov 1 to 30 - See’s Candies Fundraiser
Nov 3 - New Parent Orientation @ 6:30pm (all new families to attend)
Nov 12 - Board Meeting @ 8pm on Zoom (anyone is welcome to attend)
Nov 21 - Friday Feast @ Pizza Baron with Silent Auction fundraiser
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Hello from the Coaches
Volunteer Info
Fundraisers
Swimmer of the Month
November Birthday’s
Thank you to our official team sponsor Arena
RESOURCES:
Volunteer Hours / Event Sign Up / OSI Time Standards / USA Swimming / DDAC Facebook
Translated versions: RUSSIAN SPANISH VIETNAMESE
FROM THE COACHES
COACH JIM
November brings a change for the senior/high school group. Water polo ends and high school swimming begins. I want all high schooled aged swimmers to participate and excel during the high school season. However to reach your full potential older swimmers need to stay dedicated to the club schedule. High school meets are very fun, but they are limited in event choice and often do not challenge our more advanced swimmers.
Club meets challenge our kids both competitively and in the opportunity to swim an array of events.
So as high school swimming approaches go represent your high school and yourself to the best of your ability but remember the club meets are where the opportunity to better yourself is at.
Coach Jim
COACH BOBBY
Be Purposeful with Your Movements: Build & Grow Your Myelin
In the water, every movement matters—and the more intentional your movements, the more efficient and effective they become. As swimmers, we often think about physical strength, endurance, and technique, but there’s another powerful component at work in our training: the nervous system.
Myelin: The Brain's Secret to Speed
The way we move, how quickly we adapt, and how fluid our strokes become over time are all connected to myelin. Myelin is the insulating layer around nerve fibers in your brain that allows electrical signals to travel faster and more efficiently. The more often you practice a stroke, the thicker the myelin gets around the nerves controlling that movement, leading to faster, smoother, and more automatic execution. This is why practice truly makes perfect.
Build Myelin Through Purposeful Repetition
Just like with any form of training, building myelin requires purposeful repetition. The key to improvement isn’t just doing more laps, but doing them with intention. Focus on each stroke, each movement, and each breath. The more consciously you perform these actions, the stronger and more refined your myelin becomes, enhancing your neuromuscular efficiency.
Grow Through Consistency
Every time you practice, your brain gets a little bit better at the skill. Myelin grows and strengthens with consistency, so it’s not about how many hours you spend in the pool, but how purposeful those hours are. Slow, controlled movements today will create faster, more precise strokes tomorrow.
Myelin and Performance
As you continue training, think of myelin as the "muscle" of your nervous system. The more purposeful your movements, the more myelin you build, and the faster and more fluid your swimming will become. It’s like building a smoother, faster highway for your brain to send signals to your muscles.
Purpose Drives Growth
To unlock your full potential in the water, focus on more than just physical power. Pay attention to the details in each stroke. Be intentional in every move you make. Through consistent, purposeful training, you’ll build and grow, improving not just your physical strength, but your brain’s ability to coordinate those movements—powered by your growing myelin.
Together, let’s train smarter, move with intention, and watch the results build over time
COACH BRAYDEN
November Focus: Building Tolerance and Grit
Hi DDAC,
We are now going into our third month into our short course season, and this is the perfect time to check in with yourself.
Take a moment and reflect:
How are you feeling about where you’re at right now?
What’s something you know you could be doing better?
What’s something you’re already doing great?
We’ve had a few meets already this season, and it’s very clear who’s been giving their full focus and effort in practice. That dedication is showing in early results and that’s no coincidence. Effort in practice always finds its way into performance.
November Focus: Tolerance & Training Harder
As we move into November, our focus shifts toward increasing endurance and tolerance for longer swimming across all squads.
Practices may feel tougher and that’s a good thing. Growth only happens when we challenge ourselves.
Coach Bobby says it best:
“You either suffer the pain of regret, or the pain of success.”
Let’s make sure the pain we experience in practice is the pain that leads to success.
In high school, Coach Jim addressed the team with this analogy, and it truly makes sense after being a swimmer who has gone through the club and its process:
“If the shower is hot and you get out and back in, it’s still going to be hot but the longer you stay in, your body adjusts.”
This is true in swimming and in life. Staying in that uncomfortable zone helps it become your new normal.
Think about the swimmer you want to be at the end of the season and ask yourself:
What are you willing to focus on week by week?
What are you willing to push through each day to get closer to that goal?
Final Thoughts from Coach Brayden
If you give it your all, truly 110% each day and leave no room to question your effort, you’ll finish this season proud of where you end up.
Be your biggest supporter. Celebrate your progress. Notice the positives in your training, and don’t let the negatives overshadow everything you’ve accomplished.
Find the balance that keeps you loving the process. The results will come.
Keep pushing forward,
– Coach Brayden
VOLUNTEER INFO
Become an Official for Our Swim Team!
If you are interested in becoming an official, please let us know so that we can support you through the process and track how many people are actively going through training. Email andrea.guillet@ddacswim.org with any questions.
Please review this info document for detailed information on the roles, benefits, and steps required to become an official.
Volunteer Hours:
Thank you to everyone who has volunteered at the recent swim meets and have been working behind the scenes to support Club activities. This is your reminder to log your hours here, so that you get credit for them.
Fundraising Updates:
Thank you to everyone who supported our Chipotle fundraiser! We raised $200 to go towards our scholarship fund. Hurray!
FUNDRAISING UPDATES:
See’s Candies Yum Raising Fundraiser
The annual DDAC Yum-Raising Fundraiser has begun!! Treat yourself to some See’s Candies AND support our swimmers at the same time! Shop the DDAC storefront online to help us reach our fundraising goal.
Share our storefront link with friends and family near and far. All orders are shipped directly to the supporter so anyone across the states can participate. Items will be shipped as soon as the order is placed. The storefront will be open the entire month of November; with the last day to place an order being 11/30/25! See's Candies treats make great gifts that everyone is sure to enjoy, so stock up and get a jump start on the holiday season!
Please feel free to email andrea.guillet@ddacswim.org if you have any questions or comments. Here's to achieving sweet success together!
SAVE THE DATE
Friday, November 21st
7-10pm
Pizza Baron
30% of ALL PIZZA purchased goes to the fundraiser!
ONGOING FUNDRAISERS
Fred Meyer’s Community Rewards
Link your Fred Meyer community rewards to support DDAC! Every dollar you spend at Fred Meyer helps support the DDAC swim team. Sign into your Fred Meyer account and choose to support the David Douglas Aquatics Club. Don’t have an account? No worries! It is quick and easy to set one up. It’s a win win! You earn points and give back to the club at the same time! It’s effortless fundraising! Share with friends and family!
Bottle Drop
You can help raise money for David Douglas Aquatics Club by recycling your bottles and cans. It's easy! Fill up a BLUE bag with empty Oregon deposit containers. When full, cinch the bag securely and drop off at any Bottle Drop Center. There is a square white sticker already on the bag that labels it as part of the DDAC fundraiser and can also be used to open the drop box door when you scan it. Pick up bags at the front desk. Friends and neighbors can do it too so spread the word and take them a blue bag!
Check out the new system and sign up here: https://ddac.as.me/
If you have any questions, please email andrea.guillet@ddacswim.org. Feedback is welcome.
SWIMMER’S OF THE MONTH
Senior - Tierney King
Gold - Andrew Nguyen
Silver 2 - Allie Lei
Silver 1 - Kevin Nguyen
Bronze 2 - Bella Zhao
Bronze 1 - Aiden Tsang
NOVEMBER BIRTHDAY’S
11/29/2015 Mila Khyungra Silver I
11/06/2017 Valeria Ralios Pre-Comp
11/06/2015 Ruiyang Su Pre-Comp
11/01/2013 James Thompson Gold
11/19/2010 Eva Aschoff Senior
11/15/2015 Sailor Bray Pre-Comp
11/12/2009 Andrew Do-Ngo Senior
11/21/2014 Emmett Hadsell Bronze
BOARD MEMBERS
Jennifer Robinson – Member Representative
jennifer.robinson@ddacswim.org
Halle Cisco – Marketing & Communications
halle.cisco@ddacswim.org
Jamie King – Member Representative
jamie.king@ddacswim.org
Coaches:
bobby.deroest@ddacswim.org
brayden.franzke@ddacswim.org
James Bowe – President
jim.bowe@ddacswim.org
Crystal Mandery – Vice President
crystal.mandery@ddacswim.org
Jennifer Lindeman – Secretary
jennifer.lindeman@ddacswim.org
Heather Franklin – Treasurer
heather.franklin@ddacswim.org
Andrea Guillet – Volunteer Coordinator
andrea.guillet@ddacswim.org