Freeloading swim team parents suck

[Anonymous]

I commented earlier as a team rep, and I want to add for those who ask if we could cut back on volunteers:

For MCSL A meets certain things are mandated so no, not a possibility.

For B meets- sure, we could nix concessions, have one timer per lane, not do times through automation, not give kids ribbons, etc. But then no other teams would want to swim against our team. Then we would have parents crying that they paid their $160-200 (or whatever) and their kid didn't get the full experience.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I show up to meets but am in the back on my laptop catching up on work. Sorry. That’s the price I pay because the hours of practice are during normal working hours.

Geez. You work like every other parent?

<shrug>. Our team is 90% SAHM or PT families. I don’t think that’s coincidence.

I’m calling BS on this. This isn’t the 1950s.

Many of ours are teachers. They work, just not in the summer. Most other sports have evening practice, poster makes a good point.

Not really. Meets are in evenings and weekends, just like all other sports. Those are when the volunteer hours are needed. Or, as another parent pointed out, there are plenty of other volunteer jobs that a parent can do "behind the scenes" on their own time, whenever they can fit it in. All you have to do is email your team's volunteer coordinator.

Yes, there are more SAHM and PT moms at practices, and I also see grandparents and nannies taking care of drop-off/pick-up for practices for FT working moms/dads. Again, that has nothing to do with volunteer hours.

Oh, and before some smart ass responds with "your privilege is showing" or something to that effect, it's quite cheap to pay a HS or college kid to take care of running your kid to practice a few days per week. That, or share a carpool with another working parent. Super cheap and easy.

PP just sounds like a slacker looking for excuses.

You are demonstrating how exclusive summer swim is with the daytime practices and volunteering. If you are fortunate enough to work for home hiring help might work, but it's an added expense and strategizing.

There are afternoon practices for those that can’t come during the day. Let’s be real…it’s a summer swim team associated with a private pool club. If you belong to that pool, you’re already part of an exclusive club and are privileged.

If you can’t volunteer, don’t do the team. Period.

Maybe your pool is private and members only, but a lot of suburbs have community swim teams that use the HOA pool. We are by no means an exclusive club and neither are the many teams we play.

As far as exclusivity goes with the timing, yes it isn't ideal. But we have plenty of working parents on our team. They take turns carpooling, or their kid only comes to some practices, or they ask grandma to handle practice drop off/pick up, or they hire a cheap nanny or mother's helper to cart their kid to/from swimming practice. It's not ideal, but they arrange it so that they can work their normal(ish) hours for the six weeks of summer swim AND volunteer some at the meets.

I'll say it again, the previous poster is full of excuses. As the subject says, freeloading swim team parents suck.

[Anonymous]

When things are "mandated" -- push back. If parents pushed back, rules would change eventually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When things are "mandated" -- push back. If parents pushed back, rules would change eventually.

Wow, you’re wise. Do tell what we should specifically push back on and demand changes for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When things are "mandated" -- push back. If parents pushed back, rules would change eventually.

Your kid will just be kicked off the team. Sure you could appeal to the board, I’ve never seen a pool without a large overlap between board and swim team thou. The majority of parents and kids like things the way they are. You could launch your revolution against concessions, but most people like the sunny-d and chic-fil-a

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When things are "mandated" -- push back. If parents pushed back, rules would change eventually.

Your kid will just be kicked off the team. Sure you could appeal to the board, I’ve never seen a pool without a large overlap between board and swim team thou. The majority of parents and kids like things the way they are. You could launch your revolution against concessions, but most people like the sunny-d and chic-fil-a

Those things are raise a little money for the pool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When things are "mandated" -- push back. If parents pushed back, rules would change eventually.

Your kid will just be kicked off the team. Sure you could appeal to the board, I’ve never seen a pool without a large overlap between board and swim team thou. The majority of parents and kids like things the way they are. You could launch your revolution against concessions, but most people like the sunny-d and chic-fil-a

Those things are raise a little money for the pool.

Most swim teams charge very little given the amount of pool time and coaches and they NEED the things like concession stand to make funding to keep swim team more affordable. Our pool people ask for the concessions but only a few families has stepped up to really do it so it isn't open much as there are only so many hours they can do. What do parents expect for $100-200 for 8 weeks?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I show up to meets but am in the back on my laptop catching up on work. Sorry. That’s the price I pay because the hours of practice are during normal working hours.

Geez. You work like every other parent?

<shrug>. Our team is 90% SAHM or PT families. I don’t think that’s coincidence.

I’m calling BS on this. This isn’t the 1950s.

Many of ours are teachers. They work, just not in the summer. Most other sports have evening practice, poster makes a good point.

Not really. Meets are in evenings and weekends, just like all other sports. Those are when the volunteer hours are needed. Or, as another parent pointed out, there are plenty of other volunteer jobs that a parent can do "behind the scenes" on their own time, whenever they can fit it in. All you have to do is email your team's volunteer coordinator.

Yes, there are more SAHM and PT moms at practices, and I also see grandparents and nannies taking care of drop-off/pick-up for practices for FT working moms/dads. Again, that has nothing to do with volunteer hours.

Oh, and before some smart ass responds with "your privilege is showing" or something to that effect, it's quite cheap to pay a HS or college kid to take care of running your kid to practice a few days per week. That, or share a carpool with another working parent. Super cheap and easy.

PP just sounds like a slacker looking for excuses.

You are demonstrating how exclusive summer swim is with the daytime practices and volunteering. If you are fortunate enough to work for home hiring help might work, but it's an added expense and strategizing.

We only have evening practices - two earlier ones, one much later one so what is the excuse. Kids over a certain age can be dropped off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When things are "mandated" -- push back. If parents pushed back, rules would change eventually.

Your kid will just be kicked off the team. Sure you could appeal to the board, I’ve never seen a pool without a large overlap between board and swim team thou. The majority of parents and kids like things the way they are. You could launch your revolution against concessions, but most people like the sunny-d and chic-fil-a

Those things are raise a little money for the pool.

Most swim teams charge very little given the amount of pool time and coaches and they NEED the things like concession stand to make funding to keep swim team more affordable. Our pool people ask for the concessions but only a few families has stepped up to really do it so it isn't open much as there are only so many hours they can do. What do parents expect for $100-200 for 8 weeks?

Not unnecessary things like swim-team exclusive events every week that require parent volunteers during work hours. I don't expect or need ribbons for 80 kids. I don't expect volunteer coordinators to treat the volunteers like crap from time to time or the martyrdom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When things are "mandated" -- push back. If parents pushed back, rules would change eventually.

Your kid will just be kicked off the team. Sure you could appeal to the board, I’ve never seen a pool without a large overlap between board and swim team thou. The majority of parents and kids like things the way they are. You could launch your revolution against concessions, but most people like the sunny-d and chic-fil-a

Those things are raise a little money for the pool.

Most swim teams charge very little given the amount of pool time and coaches and they NEED the things like concession stand to make funding to keep swim team more affordable. Our pool people ask for the concessions but only a few families has stepped up to really do it so it isn't open much as there are only so many hours they can do. What do parents expect for $100-200 for 8 weeks?

Not unnecessary things like swim-team exclusive events every week that require parent volunteers during work hours. I don't expect or need ribbons for 80 kids. I don't expect volunteer coordinators to treat the volunteers like crap from time to time or the martyrdom.

This isn’t about what you expect or need. The ribbons and other “unnecessary things” are about the kids and creating an enjoyable experience for them. If you don’t think it’s a necessary part of the swim team then there should be no issue with your kid not participating. I find it hilarious that all these parents want to opine on what is or isn’t necessary from their perspective, but none of them will do the easiest thing which is just not sign their kid up for swim team. Tell your kid all this stuff isn’t necessary and that’s why they aren’t doing swim team. And if you’re not willing to do that, volunteer and stop effing complaining about it. No one is forcing your kid to be on the swim team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When things are "mandated" -- push back. If parents pushed back, rules would change eventually.

Your kid will just be kicked off the team. Sure you could appeal to the board, I’ve never seen a pool without a large overlap between board and swim team thou. The majority of parents and kids like things the way they are. You could launch your revolution against concessions, but most people like the sunny-d and chic-fil-a

Those things are raise a little money for the pool.

Most swim teams charge very little given the amount of pool time and coaches and they NEED the things like concession stand to make funding to keep swim team more affordable. Our pool people ask for the concessions but only a few families has stepped up to really do it so it isn't open much as there are only so many hours they can do. What do parents expect for $100-200 for 8 weeks?

Not unnecessary things like swim-team exclusive events every week that require parent volunteers during work hours. I don't expect or need ribbons for 80 kids. I don't expect volunteer coordinators to treat the volunteers like crap from time to time or the martyrdom.

This isn’t about what you expect or need. The ribbons and other “unnecessary things” are about the kids and creating an enjoyable experience for them. If you don’t think it’s a necessary part of the swim team then there should be no issue with your kid not participating. I find it hilarious that all these parents want to opine on what is or isn’t necessary from their perspective, but none of them will do the easiest thing which is just not sign their kid up for swim team. Tell your kid all this stuff isn’t necessary and that’s why they aren’t doing swim team. And if you’re not willing to do that, volunteer and stop effing complaining about it. No one is forcing your kid to be on the swim team.

This. Or step up and be team rep and overhaul your pool’s swim team experience.

[Anonymous]

Easier to surf phone in the shade.

[Anonymous]

I’ll admit to not reading all 35 pages but I assumed most teams required a volunteer deposit at the beginning of the season that gets returned at the end of the season if you volunteer the required number of times. It’s several hundred dollars so I’d assume most everyone volunteers instead. We typically don’t have an issue with not enough volunteers so it seems to work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Easier to surf phone in the shade.

Lol, except I will say I generally enjoy timing because it makes the hours of B meets go faster. I also like timing the A meets because they are faster and the kids are generally pretty good and the races competitive. There is only so much scrolling I can do! Someone earlier in the thread asked about a job for introverts, and I enjoy timing as an introvert. It gets me out of hours of socializing 😀

[Anonymous]

Also it has been this way forever for summer swim. My parents did it when I was a kid. My friends in other areas of the country joke about which jobs are the best and which are the worst. This is one of the least volunteer intensive activity my kids have so I guess it about perspective. The idea that you write a check and you are done is pretty vile. Who do you think is picking up your slack when they announce they don’t have enough timers to start the meet? Who’s coaching your kid in basketball/soccer/football? It’s ppl like my spouse and me. You should be thankful we were taught to give back to our community so we can cover for ppl like you.