Are all teams so hard for teens to get volunteer hours?

[Anonymous]

We weren’t able to join summer swim until my kids were older because it’s only been in the last couple of years that my job has been flexible enough to allow for it.

Now I have teens that want to volunteer and/or coach. But there are a lot of kids on the team who have been on the team for years and have parents who are super involved and know all the ins and outs, and neither of my kids have had any luck even getting to help volunteer coach. Half the reason we joined is because I hoped my kids would be able to do these things, but we seem to be out of luck.

Is this typical for NVSL teams? Would my kids have a better shot if we joined a less competitive pool, or should I just suck it up?

I feel so stupid.

[Anonymous]

Yes.

[Anonymous]

Can they teach swim lessons? Sometimes there are less cool jobs that teens need to do to prove themselves.

And, a smaller less competitive team has more opportunities.

[Anonymous]

You're not stupid. However, it's naive to think that kids who are brand new to the team could compete well for (precious) volunteer coaching spots against kids who have been on the team for years. We're a mid-range MCSL pool and it's still very competitive to get volunteer coaching positions.

[Anonymous]

I don't think you should feel stupid! But yes. These mega teams there are kids/families that have been locked in since they were 6. Plenty of other places to be a counselor in training though or to get these kinds of leadership opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Our team rep only wants her kids and their friends. The better teen are working elsewhere as they don’t pay well and drama.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our team rep only wants her kids and their friends. The better teen are working elsewhere as they don’t pay well and drama.

This could be true - but usually you want coaches that have been swimming a while and swim club/teach lessons. This usually means a lot of swim experience so that they can teach streamlines, breakouts, and help with technique/drills.

[Anonymous]

I think you have to kind of earn your way into those (leadership) positions by putting in time and building up familiarity and trust over the years. Of your kids need SSL hours there are other ways to get them, and if they want to work with littles, they might stand a better shot as camp counselors. But before giving up I'd ask the team rep whether your DCs can start pitching in in support roles and maybe climb the ranks a bit in the next year or two. Personally, I've never seen any junior coaches on our team who weren't long-term team members with active parents, although they weren't all swim stars.

[Anonymous]

Why are you wanting your kids to volunteer so badly? SSL hours? At our pool the coaching is a job and it's usually pretty competitive to get. I mean, I don't want less experienced swimmers coaching my kids and it's usually the year round swimmers who coach (which is totally fair).

I think your expectations are not reasonable. Teen volunteers still need to be managed. It's like anything else that you have to invest the time in to get the positions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are you wanting your kids to volunteer so badly? SSL hours? At our pool the coaching is a job and it's usually pretty competitive to get. I mean, I don't want less experienced swimmers coaching my kids and it's usually the year round swimmers who coach (which is totally fair).

I think your expectations are not reasonable. Teen volunteers still need to be managed. It's like anything else that you have to invest the time in to get the positions.

OK, so, first of all, both kids have been club swimmers for years; they are not dabblers. And this is not the first summer team they’ve been on, but now we are on the one in our neighborhood that they can get to themselves and is overall more fun and competitive for them.

My older kid is a competitive year round swimmer and really wants to coach but now realizes he’s unlikely to get to at this stage in the game, and it’s disheartening. At this point it’s probably going to pay off better for him to focus on other things, but I’m not sure what yet. He doesn’t need service hours or money, he just wants to coach and needs to stay busy.

My other kid is the one who needs the service hours and wanted to do it by volunteer coaching.

[Anonymous]

Oh yeah and some of the paid coaches at our pool aren’t year round swimmers, but like PP said they’ve been plugged in for years and their parents pretty much run the pool.

I just wish I’d learned this up front instead of getting our hopes up.

[Anonymous]

It just sucks because we were FINALLY able to do this a couple of years ago in terms of resources and flexibility, but now it’s too late to reap what I perceive to be some of the better rewards of joining a summer swim team.

[Anonymous]

OP, do your kids swim club?

If you've just joined and people have club and more years experience under their belt, it would make sense it would be harder for your kids.

Every pool we know it is hard to get slots. our pool had more than double the applicants for the slots.

In addition, once a kid gets the job, they usually stay on for several years. So one year there may be many openings, and one year only 1 for a new coach.

Do your kids cheer, help with the littles at B meets, be good teammates? That is where to start. Also talk to the coach and rep this year about next year and see if they can assist in any way. Most pools have winter swim during the school year and they need volunteer coaches for that. That would make them a more attractive candidate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh yeah and some of the paid coaches at our pool aren’t year round swimmers, but like PP said they’ve been plugged in for years and their parents pretty much run the pool.

I just wish I’d learned this up front instead of getting our hopes up.

With all due respect, this is how life works in general right? The people who show up and give their time are going to be plugged in and have built the community to get the perks and benefits. You don't show up at the 11th hour and have that happen. There are things for the kids that are 100 percent merit-based, but no a community and volunteer-driven activity is not going to be it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh yeah and some of the paid coaches at our pool aren’t year round swimmers, but like PP said they’ve been plugged in for years and their parents pretty much run the pool.

I just wish I’d learned this up front instead of getting our hopes up.

With all due respect, this is how life works in general right? The people who show up and give their time are going to be plugged in and have built the community to get the perks and benefits. You don't show up at the 11th hour and have that happen. There are things for the kids that are 100 percent merit-based, but no a community and volunteer-driven activity is not going to be it.

Obviously it’s fully reasonable and good to expect volunteering and commitment during participation, and we have been doing our part since we were able to join. But no, I don’t think having to be plugged into something for years, in this case more due to parents’ decisions, resources, and connections is “how life works in general”, and where that might be true in some places, I don’t see that as positive in this day and age that is supposed to be more inclusive. That is why this is all new to me.