Families that never volunteer - swim team

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's clear that the volunteer requirements are more than many bargained for and are the cause of a lot of resentment. Rah rah parents who spend the most time and run the whole thing seem more sympathetic than the proles who crowd three deep behind a lane and leave the meet with wet sandals. Parents who pay to belong to the club think they get a pass from volunteering because they are really super busy like you wouldn't believe.

Asking for a hefty volunteer deposit doesn't really solve the problem because no one wants to show up for a 2 hour shift. It just alleviates the guilt of the people who are happy to pay and squeezes the rest of the suckers who now have to assume those shifts.

Since timers put the biggest burden on the meet, I don't think it would ruin the fun by going down to one or two timers per lane. And for those who say, "but we have always had 3 timers per lane", no you haven't. It used to be one timer and a starting gun. Times change. Three crappy stopwatch times are not much better than one crappy stopwatch time. Have those would be timers pass out popsicles or sit at a cupcake decorating table instead. I guarantee kids would appreciate that more than another timer at the end of the lane. Or better yet, let them watch their kids swim.

Just stop it already. You are in a small minority in favor of this. Most people are very happy with the way NVSL meets are run and don’t want this aspect to change. Besides, timing is a relatively enjoyable volunteer experience. I would do it every meet if our pool wasn’t short on certified judges. You should just find a pool in a league that does it the way you suggest.

PP's post was spot on. Clearly, people don't want to volunteer, and so things SHOULD change.

Those who don’t want to volunteer should simply quit swim. I suppose if there is enough that do, maybe there will be impetus to change but that seems highly unlikely

Swim teams can penalize those families who don’t volunteer holding out swimmers from A meets ..unless they are really fast of course

The coaches want to put in the fastest swimmers, they don't really care about their volunteer status

Yep. The coaches have no idea or really care who volunteers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So the no volunteer- no swim is fine if it’s fairly applied. But this where it gets tough, for all you posters who are so black and white about this.
You know at some point there will be an awesome swimmer whose family isn’t able to volunteer for whatever reason. Will this kid be denied participating? How about the other non-volunteering kids? What if they show up to all practices and work hard? Are they just flagged and not allowed to sign up next season? Or off the team mid-season?
What volunteer wants the job of being the volunteer police? Awful, plus creating more work.
I’d vote for figuring out how to do with less volunteers vs baring swimmers who show up and practice from participating.
Things are never fair in terms of volunteering- on other sports teams, in offices, in churches, in schools.
I get swim is unique in that it needs soooo many volunteers.
But focusing on policing parents and kicking kids off the team seems like a waste of energy and difficult to enforce.

I’d sign up to be volunteer police. Just saying. Most teams have a system in place for recording hours—ours doesn’t, and needs to have one. Even the busiest families should be able to figure out how to fulfill their hours. Without any requirements and enforcement people just skate by and the families that are continually stepping up burnt out and step back—to be replaced by a new crowd of rubes who wonder why the parents of older swimmers are never around and why the team shrinks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TBH post COVID less and less families esp w younger kids help out. We see the same group of people pitching in
No one hides it that we need volunteers but it is frustrating to watch the same families do nothing while everyone else is stepping up. These are also the same people who don’t read emails and require tons of handholding from very exhausted team reps. I say make them pay

What is the “old guard” doing to welcome these families in? I’m sure plenty of them would help. No need to generalize. Maybe they are unsure, or intimidated, or lazy. Maybe the old guard is taking all the good shifts and tasks, leaving the new people with the crap.

Spoken like a true millennial!

I can't like this enough!!! Welcome them in? No one needs to do a deep dive (pun intended) into why these people aren't volunteering - they aren't and therefore they should not have kids on swim team.

I assume there was a parent meeting/new parent meeting that should be enough for every single adult looking to have their kid on a swim team. In 2018 I was a new swim parent, I had a 6U and a toddler. They told us what was expected and how to sign up online to volunteer. 5 jobs and 3 food items. The only question I needed to ask was where to I put the cut watermelon?

It'd be one thing if this thread was about teams being cliquey or rude to B swim families or whatever...but not feeling welcome to volunteer? Give me a break - the other term for that is lazy and entitled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TBH post COVID less and less families esp w younger kids help out. We see the same group of people pitching in
No one hides it that we need volunteers but it is frustrating to watch the same families do nothing while everyone else is stepping up. These are also the same people who don’t read emails and require tons of handholding from very exhausted team reps. I say make them pay

What is the “old guard” doing to welcome these families in? I’m sure plenty of them would help. No need to generalize. Maybe they are unsure, or intimidated, or lazy. Maybe the old guard is taking all the good shifts and tasks, leaving the new people with the crap.

Spoken like a true millennial!

I can't like this enough!!! Welcome them in? No one needs to do a deep dive (pun intended) into why these people aren't volunteering - they aren't and therefore they should not have kids on swim team.

I assume there was a parent meeting/new parent meeting that should be enough for every single adult looking to have their kid on a swim team. In 2018 I was a new swim parent, I had a 6U and a toddler. They told us what was expected and how to sign up online to volunteer. 5 jobs and 3 food items. The only question I needed to ask was where to I put the cut watermelon?

It'd be one thing if this thread was about teams being cliquey or rude to B swim families or whatever...but not feeling welcome to volunteer? Give me a break - the other term for that is lazy and entitled.

Ok bomer, check your privilege of low housing s d low college costs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TBH post COVID less and less families esp w younger kids help out. We see the same group of people pitching in
No one hides it that we need volunteers but it is frustrating to watch the same families do nothing while everyone else is stepping up. These are also the same people who don’t read emails and require tons of handholding from very exhausted team reps. I say make them pay

What is the “old guard” doing to welcome these families in? I’m sure plenty of them would help. No need to generalize. Maybe they are unsure, or intimidated, or lazy. Maybe the old guard is taking all the good shifts and tasks, leaving the new people with the crap.

Spoken like a true millennial!

I can't like this enough!!! Welcome them in? No one needs to do a deep dive (pun intended) into why these people aren't volunteering - they aren't and therefore they should not have kids on swim team.

I assume there was a parent meeting/new parent meeting that should be enough for every single adult looking to have their kid on a swim team. In 2018 I was a new swim parent, I had a 6U and a toddler. They told us what was expected and how to sign up online to volunteer. 5 jobs and 3 food items. The only question I needed to ask was where to I put the cut watermelon?

It'd be one thing if this thread was about teams being cliquey or rude to B swim families or whatever...but not feeling welcome to volunteer? Give me a break - the other term for that is lazy and entitled.

Ok bomer, check your privilege of low housing s d low college costs

Da fuq? PSA: the vast majority of swim parents at this point are not boomers. It’s a tired trope to trot out to begin with, but it doesn’t even apply here.

[Anonymous]

The best is the parents with 2, 3, 4 swimmers who NEVER volunteer!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TBH post COVID less and less families esp w younger kids help out. We see the same group of people pitching in
No one hides it that we need volunteers but it is frustrating to watch the same families do nothing while everyone else is stepping up. These are also the same people who don’t read emails and require tons of handholding from very exhausted team reps. I say make them pay

What is the “old guard” doing to welcome these families in? I’m sure plenty of them would help. No need to generalize. Maybe they are unsure, or intimidated, or lazy. Maybe the old guard is taking all the good shifts and tasks, leaving the new people with the crap.

Spoken like a true millennial!

I can't like this enough!!! Welcome them in? No one needs to do a deep dive (pun intended) into why these people aren't volunteering - they aren't and therefore they should not have kids on swim team.

I assume there was a parent meeting/new parent meeting that should be enough for every single adult looking to have their kid on a swim team. In 2018 I was a new swim parent, I had a 6U and a toddler. They told us what was expected and how to sign up online to volunteer. 5 jobs and 3 food items. The only question I needed to ask was where to I put the cut watermelon?

It'd be one thing if this thread was about teams being cliquey or rude to B swim families or whatever...but not feeling welcome to volunteer? Give me a break - the other term for that is lazy and entitled.

The attitudes on this thread are appealing. Yeah, real wonder why new families aren’t jumping in with 2 feet to volunteer when people are snarky and rude. And to the poster who wants to be the volunteer police… get a life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TBH post COVID less and less families esp w younger kids help out. We see the same group of people pitching in
No one hides it that we need volunteers but it is frustrating to watch the same families do nothing while everyone else is stepping up. These are also the same people who don’t read emails and require tons of handholding from very exhausted team reps. I say make them pay

What is the “old guard” doing to welcome these families in? I’m sure plenty of them would help. No need to generalize. Maybe they are unsure, or intimidated, or lazy. Maybe the old guard is taking all the good shifts and tasks, leaving the new people with the crap.

Spoken like a true millennial!

I can't like this enough!!! Welcome them in? No one needs to do a deep dive (pun intended) into why these people aren't volunteering - they aren't and therefore they should not have kids on swim team.

I assume there was a parent meeting/new parent meeting that should be enough for every single adult looking to have their kid on a swim team. In 2018 I was a new swim parent, I had a 6U and a toddler. They told us what was expected and how to sign up online to volunteer. 5 jobs and 3 food items. The only question I needed to ask was where to I put the cut watermelon?

It'd be one thing if this thread was about teams being cliquey or rude to B swim families or whatever...but not feeling welcome to volunteer? Give me a break - the other term for that is lazy and entitled.

Ok bomer, check your privilege of low housing s d low college costs

Da fuq? PSA: the vast majority of swim parents at this point are not boomers. It’s a tired trope to trot out to begin with, but it doesn’t even apply here.

But millennial bashing is fair game?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TBH post COVID less and less families esp w younger kids help out. We see the same group of people pitching in
No one hides it that we need volunteers but it is frustrating to watch the same families do nothing while everyone else is stepping up. These are also the same people who don’t read emails and require tons of handholding from very exhausted team reps. I say make them pay

What is the “old guard” doing to welcome these families in? I’m sure plenty of them would help. No need to generalize. Maybe they are unsure, or intimidated, or lazy. Maybe the old guard is taking all the good shifts and tasks, leaving the new people with the crap.

Spoken like a true millennial!

I can't like this enough!!! Welcome them in? No one needs to do a deep dive (pun intended) into why these people aren't volunteering - they aren't and therefore they should not have kids on swim team.

I assume there was a parent meeting/new parent meeting that should be enough for every single adult looking to have their kid on a swim team. In 2018 I was a new swim parent, I had a 6U and a toddler. They told us what was expected and how to sign up online to volunteer. 5 jobs and 3 food items. The only question I needed to ask was where to I put the cut watermelon?

It'd be one thing if this thread was about teams being cliquey or rude to B swim families or whatever...but not feeling welcome to volunteer? Give me a break - the other term for that is lazy and entitled.

Ok bomer, check your privilege of low housing s d low college costs

Da fuq? PSA: the vast majority of swim parents at this point are not boomers. It’s a tired trope to trot out to begin with, but it doesn’t even apply here.

But millennial bashing is fair game?

I find that tiresome as well, but at least there are current swim parents who are millennials. The boomer insult isn’t even accurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TBH post COVID less and less families esp w younger kids help out. We see the same group of people pitching in
No one hides it that we need volunteers but it is frustrating to watch the same families do nothing while everyone else is stepping up. These are also the same people who don’t read emails and require tons of handholding from very exhausted team reps. I say make them pay

What is the “old guard” doing to welcome these families in? I’m sure plenty of them would help. No need to generalize. Maybe they are unsure, or intimidated, or lazy. Maybe the old guard is taking all the good shifts and tasks, leaving the new people with the crap.

Spoken like a true millennial!

I can't like this enough!!! Welcome them in? No one needs to do a deep dive (pun intended) into why these people aren't volunteering - they aren't and therefore they should not have kids on swim team.

I assume there was a parent meeting/new parent meeting that should be enough for every single adult looking to have their kid on a swim team. In 2018 I was a new swim parent, I had a 6U and a toddler. They told us what was expected and how to sign up online to volunteer. 5 jobs and 3 food items. The only question I needed to ask was where to I put the cut watermelon?

It'd be one thing if this thread was about teams being cliquey or rude to B swim families or whatever...but not feeling welcome to volunteer? Give me a break - the other term for that is lazy and entitled.

The attitudes on this thread are appealing. Yeah, real wonder why new families aren’t jumping in with 2 feet to volunteer when people are snarky and rude. And to the poster who wants to be the volunteer police… get a life.

I have a life, which includes 3-4 hours a week volunteering to support summer swim for five weeks. It’s not a heavy lift. Get over it or get out. And pools need to have systems instead a free for all so that none of the snark or resentment exists in the first place. Set expectations and manage things. My personal opinion is that pools that have volunteer issues have terrible team reps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TBH post COVID less and less families esp w younger kids help out. We see the same group of people pitching in
No one hides it that we need volunteers but it is frustrating to watch the same families do nothing while everyone else is stepping up. These are also the same people who don’t read emails and require tons of handholding from very exhausted team reps. I say make them pay

This is an interesting observation and it does fit with what I am seeing at our pool. This was the first year we had very young kids swimming B meets that absolutely shouldn’t be, endless 8U breast and fly heats where the S&T judges were dq’ing so many it slowed down the meets and parents standing in area’s reserved for coaches screaming at kids to “beat” other kids. Yet there was a definite increase in the desperate pleas at the beginning of the meets for timers, clerks etc. and it was the rest of us fools stepping in so we could get the meets going.

Yes! This might be our pool except I live on the west coast. We have kids who shouldn’t even be in minis getting dropped off at 8&u practices and when coaches pushed back, the parents said “my kid is doing 8 & unders because lessons don’t work for us.” Meanwhile practice is disrupted by kids who cannot get themselves out of the flags without grabbing the lane line. The kids literally cannot swim safely. Then these same parents are in the coaches’ zone taking videos during the meet in spite of announcements looking for additional volunteers. When asked to volunteer, the parents said “my work schedule is really unpredictable so I didn’t know if I could be here.” Ok, but you’re here. Do something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TBH post COVID less and less families esp w younger kids help out. We see the same group of people pitching in
No one hides it that we need volunteers but it is frustrating to watch the same families do nothing while everyone else is stepping up. These are also the same people who don’t read emails and require tons of handholding from very exhausted team reps. I say make them pay

This is an interesting observation and it does fit with what I am seeing at our pool. This was the first year we had very young kids swimming B meets that absolutely shouldn’t be, endless 8U breast and fly heats where the S&T judges were dq’ing so many it slowed down the meets and parents standing in area’s reserved for coaches screaming at kids to “beat” other kids. Yet there was a definite increase in the desperate pleas at the beginning of the meets for timers, clerks etc. and it was the rest of us fools stepping in so we could get the meets going.

Yes! This might be our pool except I live on the west coast. We have kids who shouldn’t even be in minis getting dropped off at 8&u practices and when coaches pushed back, the parents said “my kid is doing 8 & unders because lessons don’t work for us.” Meanwhile practice is disrupted by kids who cannot get themselves out of the flags without grabbing the lane line. The kids literally cannot swim safely. Then these same parents are in the coaches’ zone taking videos during the meet in spite of announcements looking for additional volunteers. When asked to volunteer, the parents said “my work schedule is really unpredictable so I didn’t know if I could be here.” Ok, but you’re here. Do something.

DP - in the case of the bolded, the coaches should hold a firm boundary, with support of team reps and other team leadership. I know exactly what you're talking about, too. It never occurred to me to even sign my 7 year old up for fly because I *know* he can't do it. It's not fair to anyone, not parents, coaches, kids, to push your kid into an event in which you know they'll be DQ'd.

But you're absolutely right: if parents are there at the meets, they can do something. Truly, this shouldn't be that hard.

[Anonymous]

If we are short on timers the team rep makes a lap around the pool deck and announces the need. We've always had the vacancies quickly filled. At our pool I am hard pressed to identify families who never volunteer. Some habitually take on seriously heavy lifting (including our A and B reps, who do WAY more than the position nationally requires) and deserve better support than I think they usually get. But I really do feel that most people pitch in. The spirit is good and mutually supportive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TBH post COVID less and less families esp w younger kids help out. We see the same group of people pitching in
No one hides it that we need volunteers but it is frustrating to watch the same families do nothing while everyone else is stepping up. These are also the same people who don’t read emails and require tons of handholding from very exhausted team reps. I say make them pay

What is the “old guard” doing to welcome these families in? I’m sure plenty of them would help. No need to generalize. Maybe they are unsure, or intimidated, or lazy. Maybe the old guard is taking all the good shifts and tasks, leaving the new people with the crap.

Spoken like a true millennial!

I can't like this enough!!! Welcome them in? No one needs to do a deep dive (pun intended) into why these people aren't volunteering - they aren't and therefore they should not have kids on swim team.

I assume there was a parent meeting/new parent meeting that should be enough for every single adult looking to have their kid on a swim team. In 2018 I was a new swim parent, I had a 6U and a toddler. They told us what was expected and how to sign up online to volunteer. 5 jobs and 3 food items. The only question I needed to ask was where to I put the cut watermelon?

It'd be one thing if this thread was about teams being cliquey or rude to B swim families or whatever...but not feeling welcome to volunteer? Give me a break - the other term for that is lazy and entitled.

Ok bomer, check your privilege of low housing s d low college costs

You caught me. I have time to volunteer for summer swim because I’ve been retired for 18 years and my kids graduated from college 25 years ago.

Or

I understand that there is a volunteer requirement so my elementary school aged kids can participate on a recreational swim team and I fulfill the requirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TBH post COVID less and less families esp w younger kids help out. We see the same group of people pitching in
No one hides it that we need volunteers but it is frustrating to watch the same families do nothing while everyone else is stepping up. These are also the same people who don’t read emails and require tons of handholding from very exhausted team reps. I say make them pay

What is the “old guard” doing to welcome these families in? I’m sure plenty of them would help. No need to generalize. Maybe they are unsure, or intimidated, or lazy. Maybe the old guard is taking all the good shifts and tasks, leaving the new people with the crap.

Spoken like a true millennial!

I can't like this enough!!! Welcome them in? No one needs to do a deep dive (pun intended) into why these people aren't volunteering - they aren't and therefore they should not have kids on swim team.

I assume there was a parent meeting/new parent meeting that should be enough for every single adult looking to have their kid on a swim team. In 2018 I was a new swim parent, I had a 6U and a toddler. They told us what was expected and how to sign up online to volunteer. 5 jobs and 3 food items. The only question I needed to ask was where to I put the cut watermelon?

It'd be one thing if this thread was about teams being cliquey or rude to B swim families or whatever...but not feeling welcome to volunteer? Give me a break - the other term for that is lazy and entitled.

Ok bomer, check your privilege of low housing s d low college costs

How many boomers have kids under 18? I can’t think of a single boomer parent at our pool.