There's so much teamwork needed to pull off a successful swim season, and much of that teamwork comes from the parents, not only from our swimmers and coaches. (And, when I say "successful," I'm not talking about how many meets we win or lose.)
When I look around this season, I see parents pitching in to make this an enriching experience for our children. Take Steve Koons, who's been a swim-dad for over 10 years. Instead of sitting back and retiring after already serving many years as an official, he's volunteering as Clerk of Course. He's applying his years of swim-team experience -- and his imposing presence -- to running an efficient clerk of course area. Speaking of Clerk or Course, Monday night we had two 'newer' parents, Len Farrell and Alba Zalzman, step up for that position too. Arguably, clerking a B meet is one of the toughest jobs on deck, and these two lovely ladies did a stellar job. Meanwhile, we've got a team of parents who fill in at key positions - referee, stroke and turn, chief judge, starter - and who keep each other in line with good humor and respect for the swimmers: Tim Smith, Matt Murray, Margaret von Kolnitz, Mike Lambert, Jim DeSatnick, Deanie Larson, Sean McLaren, Lon Pribble, Don Gray, Rick Wilson, Lisa Ververs and, of course, our newest parents, "Deanie McLaren" and Uncle Sam. A well-run meet allows our swimmers the opportunity to do their best, and our team of officials works hard to make that happen.
Our head timer, Steve Redhead, lends a bit of class to our deck, not only with his pleasant British accent, but also with his faithful attendance at meets, even when his daughter isn't swimming that day.
Speaking of working when your child isn't even swimming, I'm personally grateful to Daria Bergin-Hill who offered to help with the computer work this season. She's done a great job, and even showed up Monday night when her children weren't swimming; one of them was home with a 103 fever! Many of the behind-the-scenes table workers have done the same thing: Martha Barber, Pat Curtis and Paula Knizner often have done their scoring and ribbon work faithfully, even when their swimmers were unable to make the meet.
And, there's teamwork outside of meets, too, that's making this season enriching and fun for our families. Hats off to Susan Grunder (and all her helpers, Sandy Graf, Michelle Freese, Kim Wilson, more?) for the fun and entertainment at our pep rallies this year. I don't know about you, but watching our kids in the team watermelon eating contest last week was pure joy! The creative costumes -- from our young Statue of Liberty to our 15-18 Ninja Girls -- were mighty impressive (or should I say, "super" impressive?).
Usually, I'm moved to try to assemble a list of "thank-you's" at the end of the season, and, usually, I feel I'm doing a woefully inadequate job of it, because there are so many people worthy of so much thanks. This season, I'm going to try to spread the gratitude as we go along. (And yet, I still feel there won't be enough chances to give all the thanks that are due!)
So, if you're timing a meet, writing a ribbon, grilling a hot dog, selling a t-shirt, baking some cookies, filling a soda machine, or helping in any way, THANK YOU! Your efforts are making this a successful season for our families.
(If you think of someone who deserves special thanks, please stop me and let me know. I'd love to share the gratitude! Or email me at hayfieldswim@gmail.com)
