[cst_2014_board] Re: FAST Summer Tune Up
- From: "Andy and Heidi Mechtenberg" <mechtenberg@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "'Thatcher, Aaron - FCH'" <athatche@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <mtcoupe@xxxxxxxxxxx>, "'Amy Casady'" <amy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "'Robert Work'" <robert.work@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "Lance Holter" <lholter@xxxxx>, <cst_2014_board@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2014 16:48:49 -0600
Just to be clear, the new Collindale parent board has signed a coaching
agreement with FAST for coaching services. This is a contractual agreement
that we have decided to enter into in order to stabilize our team and
provide qualified coaches period. We are entering into this contract for
one year as a trial. We are not a FAST "farm" team. I believe that in at
least one past summer, a FAST coach went to coach for a Horsetooth League
team. We are just formalizing the relationship. We are excited about the
relationship and if it works well, could be a model to other teams in the
future should they desire to go that route. We were very privileged to have
Cam and Barry Gentry as coaches for Collindale for so many years, and we are
just trying to regain that equilibrium.
As to hosted clinics - I have no problem with FAST (or Vortex) holding these
- nor teams having their own. It seems to be perfectly voluntary with no
obligation to participate. Perhaps there could be a shared clinic between
teams in the future?
As an aside, this was my first year attending the "organizational" meeting
where meets were scheduled between teams. I know that this has worked in
the past, and I've certainly not got any significant insight, however, I
found the meeting to be very chaotic. I commend the team that developed a
matrix as a scheduling alternative, but it still seemed hard to follow
because of the variety of HOA time and hosting limitations, pool size
differences etc. (I had no idea so I learned a lot!). I'll just throw this
out, but the Horsetooth League just seems very loosely organized. As an
example, we had questions as we were developing our new parent board as we
tried to insure we weren't breaking any Horsetooth League rules, but didn't
know who to contact. Would there be any desire/need to create a Horsetooth
League Board with representatives from each team? I'm not sure this cuts
down on the number of attendees - but perhaps formalizing ourselves more
would be a good idea? Could this be an avenue to a less chaotic meet
scheduling format?
That also being said, only three teams host City Meet. At the very least it
seems wise to coordinate a subcommittee between those teams to insure that
knowledge gets passed down each year. I'll also ask, would there be any
desire of the smaller teams to group together and host City Meet together -
at an agreed-upon pool? There would be financial benefit to doing so since
the City Meet can bring a team some much needed revenue. This might give
the larger teams a break on coordinating the massive effort/volunteer
coordination that City Meet takes - though the revenue loss may not be
attractive. I think everyone desires to have a good City Meet experience
for the kids, but it's more like controlled chaos for the parents.
Just some thoughts. I've been involved with my kids swimming for 11 years,
with summer club, FAST and high school. I know there are people out there
with far, far more experience though too. All our goals are towards kids
learning to swim and compete with good sportsmanship, fun and goodwill. I
am looking forward to the season and working with you all for the next few
years!
Thanks for your time.
-Heidi Mechtenberg
President - Collindale Advisory Parents (CAPs)
From: Thatcher, Aaron - FCH [mailto:athatche@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2014 9:34 AM
To: mtcoupe@xxxxxxxxxxx; Amy Casady; Robert Work
Cc: heatherkeaten@xxxxxxx; Alex Prigge; Amber Anderson; Amy Reynolds; Ashley
Sprouse; Ashley Steranka; Colleen Reyes; Deidre Locke; Denise Welting; Heidi
Kremer; Heidi Mechtenberg; Karrie Brown; Bailey, Kelsey; Kerri Yockey; Kim
Richardson; Kristal Wilson; Kyle Steitz; Lara Muzydla; Mackenzie; Mark
Higgins; Nick Anziano; Nicole Warnygora; Patrick Sullivan; Rob Huey; Robert
Brazeal; Lauren Ross; Sammie Guay; Shawn Muscott; Steve Henning; Tony
Schumacher; Trish Engelhart; VG Swim Team; Wendy Mader; Westfield Swim Team;
Windsor Swim Team
Subject: RE: FAST Summer Tune Up
Hi all-
Isn't FAST also 'sponsoring' the coach for Colindale this summer? Seems to
be some club intervention or influence? Someone said they will be hosting
clinics for Horsetooth league teams at their pools? Is this accurate?
Is it possible for Horsetooth League teams to host their own Summer Tune Ups
prior to our season? I believe Horsetooth League coaches and teams always do
an outstanding job of blending technical expertise with a real fun
environment for area summer swimmers.
apt
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