End of Year Banquet Questions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ours has varied over the years. The last couple have been at the pool and the team buys pizza. Nobody really uses the terms “A meet swimmer” and “B meet swimmer”. If you can swim you are probably going to be needed in an A meet.

Must be a small pool. We were at a pool like this. It sounded good in theory but they always never ordered enough food and many of us went without food and it sucked.

[Anonymous]

Our banquet is bring your own dinner, and we also have a food truck come. Club provides cake for everyone. It's casual and fun.

What do other teams do for awards? Our team every swimmer gets a trophy- size depends on star times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our families have to pay to attend. This year it’s $200 for our family of 4.

Same. It’s a per person charge but not quite that expensive! Like $100 for a family of 4.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Flashback. Every year as a mediocre swimmer I would get so irrationally hyped before the banquet would just hope and hope that I would win a real award. The coaches would push coming to the last practices even if you didn’t qualify, and I was always there like an eager fool hoping to put in the last bits of work before the banquet.

Maybe it would be the year a coach finally noticed my hard work even if my times sucked? Maybe there would be new award categories?!

Our pool awarded trophies to everyone with a base size that reflected how well you did. I always got the flat plain base participation trophy with the swimmer statue glued directly on it. Some years they did away with that and just did participation certificates. I hated my brother and the girls who got the super tall colored trophies for high points and stuff. The worst were the years when one kid would get both high points and most improved. I know trophies are a dime a dozen now and kids get them for breathing, but back then kids actually displayed and compared them and they were rare. My team wasn’t the best but somehow my age group had girls who went on to D1 and top D3s.

I quit the year after I was a 13-14 and they gave me a made-up trophy because there were only 3 girls in my age group and I didn’t get high points or most improved. For many years after 9-10s my brother was the only boy in his age group and also did dive and would be given a box for his awards at the end of the night. My parents would make me wait while they took a million photos of him on the pool steps with his hardware.

I remember crying in my bed after those stupid banquets!

As a mediocre swimmer, I remember feeling the same way as you (maybe not the tears though, definitely the disappointment), except I kept going through graduating as a 15-18 for my MCSL team. Why? I don't really know. Probably because I was at the pool anyway.

Then I was inexplicably hired as an assistant coach the year after I graduated because the head coach knew how hard I worked despite being a mediocre swimmer.

Then after two summers as an assistant coach (and time as a PVS coach), I was hired as a head coach of another team.

I vividly remember, after my experiences as a swimmer, that nothing brought me greater joy than giving out the discretionary coach's awards for the most spirited boy and girl and hardest working boy and girl. I intentionally avoided giving them to the kids who were getting the massive high point trophies and long course plaques. I anguished over those awards. And a few years I convinced the reps to let me give out more than I was allotted. That's what keeps the buy-in from the kids who are not club swimmers and never will be.

And I also limited paper plate awards to 15 minutes. Because yeah, those can get a little out of hand.

Summer swim is supposed to be fun. I wish more coaches came from the same place you and I were.

It’s not just the B swimmers who feel dejected at these awards banquets. We’ve had to prep our A meet swimmer, who went to all the practices and all the meets, that he’s unlikely to get a trophy bc he’s the second highest points scorer, not the first - and because it’s not his rookie year, he’s unlikely to get a prize for being the most improved or for team spirit, which I think they do generally reserve for the non-A meet swimmers. He loves the sport, so not that it’s all about the prizes, but I can appreciate how it can feel really crummy not to be recognized when you’ve worked so hard, particular for the 10U kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Flashback. Every year as a mediocre swimmer I would get so irrationally hyped before the banquet would just hope and hope that I would win a real award. The coaches would push coming to the last practices even if you didn’t qualify, and I was always there like an eager fool hoping to put in the last bits of work before the banquet.

Maybe it would be the year a coach finally noticed my hard work even if my times sucked? Maybe there would be new award categories?!

Our pool awarded trophies to everyone with a base size that reflected how well you did. I always got the flat plain base participation trophy with the swimmer statue glued directly on it. Some years they did away with that and just did participation certificates. I hated my brother and the girls who got the super tall colored trophies for high points and stuff. The worst were the years when one kid would get both high points and most improved. I know trophies are a dime a dozen now and kids get them for breathing, but back then kids actually displayed and compared them and they were rare. My team wasn’t the best but somehow my age group had girls who went on to D1 and top D3s.

I quit the year after I was a 13-14 and they gave me a made-up trophy because there were only 3 girls in my age group and I didn’t get high points or most improved. For many years after 9-10s my brother was the only boy in his age group and also did dive and would be given a box for his awards at the end of the night. My parents would make me wait while they took a million photos of him on the pool steps with his hardware.

I remember crying in my bed after those stupid banquets!

As a mediocre swimmer, I remember feeling the same way as you (maybe not the tears though, definitely the disappointment), except I kept going through graduating as a 15-18 for my MCSL team. Why? I don't really know. Probably because I was at the pool anyway.

Then I was inexplicably hired as an assistant coach the year after I graduated because the head coach knew how hard I worked despite being a mediocre swimmer.

Then after two summers as an assistant coach (and time as a PVS coach), I was hired as a head coach of another team.

I vividly remember, after my experiences as a swimmer, that nothing brought me greater joy than giving out the discretionary coach's awards for the most spirited boy and girl and hardest working boy and girl. I intentionally avoided giving them to the kids who were getting the massive high point trophies and long course plaques. I anguished over those awards. And a few years I convinced the reps to let me give out more than I was allotted. That's what keeps the buy-in from the kids who are not club swimmers and never will be.

And I also limited paper plate awards to 15 minutes. Because yeah, those can get a little out of hand.

Summer swim is supposed to be fun. I wish more coaches came from the same place you and I were.

It’s not just the B swimmers who feel dejected at these awards banquets. We’ve had to prep our A meet swimmer, who went to all the practices and all the meets, that he’s unlikely to get a trophy bc he’s the second highest points scorer, not the first - and because it’s not his rookie year, he’s unlikely to get a prize for being the most improved or for team spirit, which I think they do generally reserve for the non-A meet swimmers. He loves the sport, so not that it’s all about the prizes, but I can appreciate how it can feel really crummy not to be recognized when you’ve worked so hard, particular for the 10U kids.

That's because he will feel foolish because he allowed himself to be used by his coaches to help the team win. If I were his coach, I'd reach out to him personally and let him know that I saw how hard he worked for the team, etc... then tell him I planned to give him a special shout out at the banquet.

Coaches that don't recognize effort of their solid swimmers will eventually lose those swimmers to other sports (which often happens when kids hit high school). The kids that are left in the 15-18 range are the club swimmers and a few non-club swimmers who don't put up All Star times. This is why that age bracket is double the size of the lower brackets.

[Anonymous]

Our team forgot my 9-10 DD during paper plate awards last year even though she went to every swimmer. They have the kids sit by the coaches separate from the parents for awards. It was so hard when they got to the next age group up and then the next and I had to watch my DD's face as she first was confused and then crushed. She was at every practice and meet but wasn't a standout.

At the very end when everything was breaking up, an assistant coach saw my DD, realized her mistake, and tried to give her one of the little gag gifts that were for special shoutouts. To DD's credit, she said no thank you, thanked the coaches, and we left.

Banquet season sucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Flashback. Every year as a mediocre swimmer I would get so irrationally hyped before the banquet would just hope and hope that I would win a real award. The coaches would push coming to the last practices even if you didn’t qualify, and I was always there like an eager fool hoping to put in the last bits of work before the banquet.

Maybe it would be the year a coach finally noticed my hard work even if my times sucked? Maybe there would be new award categories?!

Our pool awarded trophies to everyone with a base size that reflected how well you did. I always got the flat plain base participation trophy with the swimmer statue glued directly on it. Some years they did away with that and just did participation certificates. I hated my brother and the girls who got the super tall colored trophies for high points and stuff. The worst were the years when one kid would get both high points and most improved. I know trophies are a dime a dozen now and kids get them for breathing, but back then kids actually displayed and compared them and they were rare. My team wasn’t the best but somehow my age group had girls who went on to D1 and top D3s.

I quit the year after I was a 13-14 and they gave me a made-up trophy because there were only 3 girls in my age group and I didn’t get high points or most improved. For many years after 9-10s my brother was the only boy in his age group and also did dive and would be given a box for his awards at the end of the night. My parents would make me wait while they took a million photos of him on the pool steps with his hardware.

I remember crying in my bed after those stupid banquets!

As a mediocre swimmer, I remember feeling the same way as you (maybe not the tears though, definitely the disappointment), except I kept going through graduating as a 15-18 for my MCSL team. Why? I don't really know. Probably because I was at the pool anyway.

Then I was inexplicably hired as an assistant coach the year after I graduated because the head coach knew how hard I worked despite being a mediocre swimmer.

Then after two summers as an assistant coach (and time as a PVS coach), I was hired as a head coach of another team.

I vividly remember, after my experiences as a swimmer, that nothing brought me greater joy than giving out the discretionary coach's awards for the most spirited boy and girl and hardest working boy and girl. I intentionally avoided giving them to the kids who were getting the massive high point trophies and long course plaques. I anguished over those awards. And a few years I convinced the reps to let me give out more than I was allotted. That's what keeps the buy-in from the kids who are not club swimmers and never will be.

And I also limited paper plate awards to 15 minutes. Because yeah, those can get a little out of hand.

Summer swim is supposed to be fun. I wish more coaches came from the same place you and I were.

It’s not just the B swimmers who feel dejected at these awards banquets. We’ve had to prep our A meet swimmer, who went to all the practices and all the meets, that he’s unlikely to get a trophy bc he’s the second highest points scorer, not the first - and because it’s not his rookie year, he’s unlikely to get a prize for being the most improved or for team spirit, which I think they do generally reserve for the non-A meet swimmers. He loves the sport, so not that it’s all about the prizes, but I can appreciate how it can feel really crummy not to be recognized when you’ve worked so hard, particular for the 10U kids.

That's because he will feel foolish because he allowed himself to be used by his coaches to help the team win. If I were his coach, I'd reach out to him personally and let him know that I saw how hard he worked for the team, etc... then tell him I planned to give him a special shout out at the banquet.

Coaches that don't recognize effort of their solid swimmers will eventually lose those swimmers to other sports (which often happens when kids hit high school). The kids that are left in the 15-18 range are the club swimmers and a few non-club swimmers who don't put up All Star times. This is why that age bracket is double the size of the lower brackets.

That's an oversimplification....older kids leave summer swim (or other rec sports) for all sorts of different reasons. Could be friends, other interests, etc. etc. There's been countless threads on this.

At the end of the day, don't take rec sports awards too seriously. From what I see at our pool, except for a few parents who seem to excel at resentment (at all things...), their kids move quickly on as do other parents whose kids were not recognized.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our team forgot my 9-10 DD during paper plate awards last year even though she went to every swimmer. They have the kids sit by the coaches separate from the parents for awards. It was so hard when they got to the next age group up and then the next and I had to watch my DD's face as she first was confused and then crushed. She was at every practice and meet but wasn't a standout.

At the very end when everything was breaking up, an assistant coach saw my DD, realized her mistake, and tried to give her one of the little gag gifts that were for special shoutouts. To DD's credit, she said no thank you, thanked the coaches, and we left.

Banquet season sucks.

Very proud of your daughter. She was disrespected by being forgotten. Absent an apology from the coaches and team reps, I would have looked to switch teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our team forgot my 9-10 DD during paper plate awards last year even though she went to every swimmer. They have the kids sit by the coaches separate from the parents for awards. It was so hard when they got to the next age group up and then the next and I had to watch my DD's face as she first was confused and then crushed. She was at every practice and meet but wasn't a standout.

At the very end when everything was breaking up, an assistant coach saw my DD, realized her mistake, and tried to give her one of the little gag gifts that were for special shoutouts. To DD's credit, she said no thank you, thanked the coaches, and we left.

Banquet season sucks.

Very proud of your daughter. She was disrespected by being forgotten. Absent an apology from the coaches and team reps, I would have looked to switch teams.

Um...how about explaining to her that people make mistakes? The week of divisionals is absolutely insane in terms of behind the scenes preparations for divisionals itself, regular practices, and all the prep that goes into the awards ceremony. I did not appreciate what a gigantic effort it entails until a few summers ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our team forgot my 9-10 DD during paper plate awards last year even though she went to every swimmer. They have the kids sit by the coaches separate from the parents for awards. It was so hard when they got to the next age group up and then the next and I had to watch my DD's face as she first was confused and then crushed. She was at every practice and meet but wasn't a standout.

At the very end when everything was breaking up, an assistant coach saw my DD, realized her mistake, and tried to give her one of the little gag gifts that were for special shoutouts. To DD's credit, she said no thank you, thanked the coaches, and we left.

Banquet season sucks.

Very proud of your daughter. She was disrespected by being forgotten. Absent an apology from the coaches and team reps, I would have looked to switch teams.

I actually was the team rep and no, we didn't switch teams. I don't know what the lesson was other than people make mistakes. She can be a quiet hard worker and that's caused her to be overlooked at school, too, so she used that experience to start a conversation with us about how that bothers her and what kind of setting would help her be a little bit more seen. She's stayed with the team but added water polo and is going to a new school next fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our team forgot my 9-10 DD during paper plate awards last year even though she went to every swimmer. They have the kids sit by the coaches separate from the parents for awards. It was so hard when they got to the next age group up and then the next and I had to watch my DD's face as she first was confused and then crushed. She was at every practice and meet but wasn't a standout.

At the very end when everything was breaking up, an assistant coach saw my DD, realized her mistake, and tried to give her one of the little gag gifts that were for special shoutouts. To DD's credit, she said no thank you, thanked the coaches, and we left.

Banquet season sucks.

Very proud of your daughter. She was disrespected by being forgotten. Absent an apology from the coaches and team reps, I would have looked to switch teams.

Um...how about explaining to her that people make mistakes? The week of divisionals is absolutely insane in terms of behind the scenes preparations for divisionals itself, regular practices, and all the prep that goes into the awards ceremony. I did not appreciate what a gigantic effort it entails until a few summers ago.

Make a frickin checklist with all the kids names. It’s not that hard.

[Anonymous]

Ours is at the pool and it’s a great event for all the swimmers and divers. Yes there are high point awards, but also awards for working hard etc, paper plate awards that are silly, slideshow etc. We get bbq catered (paid by team) and then potluck for sides and desserts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our banquet is at the pool on Saturday evening. Pool closes early for everyone but the swim team.

No cost. Food and drinks are covered by the swim team budget. Every 8&U gets a trophy. For each age group, there are also awards for most points, most improved, best sportsmanship (and maybe a few others). The junior coaches also do a fun award that goes to every swimmer in an age group -- dollar store toys, etc., but with a story behind it.

It's a fun and late night.

I’m on our club’s board and I’m sure that wouldn’t pass muster at ours. The team banquet is at the pool and it gets busy, but the space is shared.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ours has varied over the years. The last couple have been at the pool and the team buys pizza. Nobody really uses the terms “A meet swimmer” and “B meet swimmer”. If you can swim you are probably going to be needed in an A meet.

Must be a small pool. We were at a pool like this. It sounded good in theory but they always never ordered enough food and many of us went without food and it sucked.

It’s probably on the smaller side, or at least the team size is if not the actual club membership.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our team forgot my 9-10 DD during paper plate awards last year even though she went to every swimmer. They have the kids sit by the coaches separate from the parents for awards. It was so hard when they got to the next age group up and then the next and I had to watch my DD's face as she first was confused and then crushed. She was at every practice and meet but wasn't a standout.

At the very end when everything was breaking up, an assistant coach saw my DD, realized her mistake, and tried to give her one of the little gag gifts that were for special shoutouts. To DD's credit, she said no thank you, thanked the coaches, and we left.

Banquet season sucks.

Very proud of your daughter. She was disrespected by being forgotten. Absent an apology from the coaches and team reps, I would have looked to switch teams.

Um...how about explaining to her that people make mistakes? The week of divisionals is absolutely insane in terms of behind the scenes preparations for divisionals itself, regular practices, and all the prep that goes into the awards ceremony. I did not appreciate what a gigantic effort it entails until a few summers ago.

Make a frickin checklist with all the kids names. It’s not that hard.

I agree. Offering a joke award to cover for such a lapse just amplifies the mistake. Someone should have a list of names that corresponds to the paper plate awards. A genuine apology from the head coach was owed, but it sounds like that didn't happen.

If that happened to my kid, I would have an unkind word with the head coach, especially if I was a team rep.