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

Forum Index » Swimming and Diving

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

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=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. [/quote]

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.[/quote]

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.
[/quote]

OP, I'm sorry this didn't work out as you had hoped.  But what would a more inclusive version of this situation look like to you?  Applications for lifeguarding jobs are going to be separate from swim coaching, so your eligible DC might still want to do that, and it would certainly help them integrate further into pool culture.

Others have also suggested that your DCs start trying to help the summer team in leadership areas more around the edges, and that sounds to me like the best strategy.  Your DC who needs SSL hours can surely be accommodated as a volunteer doing _something_ with or for the pool or the team.  It sounds like what you are wishing for is that some of the most desirable positions (junior coaches) would be made available via some kind of non-biased process, but at our own pool, I've watched the teenagers slowly ascend through the ranks over a period of several years, and that was after they had been swimmers on the summer team themselves.  If your DCs continue their involvement now, maybe junior coaching will become more of an option for them over time.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics