News For
SWIM PARENTS
Published by The American Swimming Coaches Association
5101 NW 21 Ave., Suite 200
Fort Lauderdale FL 33309
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Stunned, Shammed, Thankful, and Finally… Helpful
[Editors
note: a letter from a club’s newsletter]
My Fellow
Parents:
The word
“ignoramus “ comes to mind, but then I realized I wasn't sure what an ignoramus
was. After consulting Webster’s, I confirmed that I was one. You see
an ignoramus is a person who simply doesn't know.
My wife
and girls have been involved with the team for almost two years. With all
their coming and going, I occasionally found myself tagging along, usually
reluctantly, timing a race, helping out at the snack bar for a few hours, but
not much else. It wasn't until our last home meet when I offered to help
cook at the concession stand and do some prep work Friday night before the meet,
that I realized how much of an ignoramus I really was.
I was
amazed at how much work went into simply setting up the concession stand, and
the shade areas for timers and judges. That night I got home at 10:30 p.m.
After the meet on Sunday, all the stuff that got set up had to come down.
I spent at least 3 more hours helping there as well as all day cooking and
selling at the concessions.
That
weekend left me stunned, shamed, and thankful all at once. Stunned because
of the tremendous amount of man hours required to put on an event like that.
Shamed, because where was I in the past when a dedicated few could have used
some help to shoulder the load? I was also thankful for these people who
were fun to work with and who had quietly and diligently served my children
those past two years.
Well
those of you who were like me, you can't be an ignoramus anymore because I just
blew your cover. Maybe you'd like to come along at our next home meet and
pitch in? There'll be plenty to do and there's a chance we could have some
fun doing it.