Fox Cities YMCA Swim Team

Mission Statement

Our Mission is to provide all members the opportunity to reach the full potential of their goals and aspirations through the experiences gained by being a part of our team. By providing a safe environment, promoting the core values of the YMCA, and our dedication to teaching the life long skills of commitment, work ethic, and patience, we offer our members a direct path towards continual personal growth.

Team Philosophy

It is the goal of the Fox Cities YMCA Swim Team to provide an environment in competitive swimming which will give athletes an equal opportunity to develop as individuals of character and prepare them for all the successes and challenges they may face in their lives.

Throughout the program we will promote:

·           Hard Work: Giving your all both mentally and physically at all times

·           Commitment: Dedication and recognizing the power of our choices are the roadways to becoming successful

·           Excellence: Strive to reach your maximum potential in all that you do

·           Sportsmanship: Acknowledge that you need your teammates and competitors in order to achieve your maximum potential and therefore treat them with the utmost respect and courtesy

The process of setting and striving towards a goal is the key to developing the values and positive self-image that we are seeking for our athletes. It is our goal that through participation in the Fox Cities YMCA Swim Team our athletes regardless of their level or ability acquire:

·           The importance of a healthy lifestyle

·           How to place value in teamwork, team unity, and team pride

·           The development of high self-esteem through setting and achieving challenging goals.

·           A life-long love of swimming

The Fox Cities YMCA Swim Team (FCYST), as a member of USA Swimming and YMCA Swimming, seeks to foster the growth and development of young people through participation in age group and senior swimming. FCYST provides and environment in which swimmers of all levels may develop to their fullest extent. The process of development and achievement is designed to carry over into personal development outside swimming:

FCYST will promote conditioning, nutrition, good health, and good sportsmanship as lifetime priorities.

Coaching of the new and/or young swimmer is oriented towards the development of the basics in swimming including the four competitive strokes, starts, and turns. Our emphasis in the early development is to foster an enjoyment of the sport and will include, along with technique work, a certain amount of fun and games. The more experienced swimmer will be exposed to coaching that becomes increasingly oriented toward conditioning and advanced training concepts covering areas that include mental preparation and nutrition. A balance between technique work and conditioning is struck by gearing the pre-season to a greater degree of technique with a gradual shift to conditioning trainings as the season progresses.

The FCYST coaching staff is composed of people with a great deal of enthusiasm, dedication to the sport, and a continuing desire to learn. The staff is currently comprised of many coaches with many years of age group and senior coaching experience. Frequent staff meetings are designed to knit together a cohesive approach to coaching and to generate a meaningful exchange of ideas that will benefit both coaches and swimmers.

With the development of swimmers as competitors comes the growth and maturation of an individual through discipline, hard work, trial & error, and success & failure. It is important to realize that:

While swimming can consume much of a family's schedule, it must be only a part of an individual’s life. The most successful swimmers have a good deal of positive support from parents, who realize that a true commitment to this sport is a family adjustment but can allow for other activities to compliment the development of their child. The experience of swimming is most beneficial if the goal setting process is carried out by the swimmer, the training and development is carried out by the coaches and the emotional support and encouragement comes form parents, especially when the athlete is unsure of themselves. It is from this perspective that the most lasting value is realized from the FCYST program. Viewed in this respect, swimming can be a most enjoyable sport that has a lifelong impact on all who participate.

History of the Team

The Fox Cities YMCA Swim Team (FCYST) was founded in the 1960’s to provide a competitive swim program for our community. FCYST is a self-sufficient program born from the merger of the Neenah-Menasha YMCA and the Appleton YMCA Swim Teams. There have been many triumphs and challenges throughout our existance that have created the team you see today.   

FCYST swims under a dual representation of YMCA and USA Swimming. Both programs offer local, state and national level competitions.