Kate started swim team a couple weeks ago, and let me tell you one thing:
We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.
They’ve been practicing daily for three weeks and have had one mock meet and two real ones. There’s a huge learning curve… not so much for Kate, who is learning to swim at an amazing rate, but for her parents.
We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.
For the first practice, we showed up with a swim suit and a towel. Promptly after practice, we went out to buy goggles and a swim cap. Who would have thought? For the mock meet, we thought we were being well-prepared by bringing Sammy a baggie full of Cheerios. Never did it cross my mind that swim meets required a three-course picnic meal – not to mention that they necessitate multiple towels, games, changes of clothes, blankets, lawn chairs and coolers.
In addition to the sheer amount of stuff we have to bring, we’ve also been quickly brought up to speed on the requirements of the parents. When we registered her for the team, we had to sign up to work half of most of the meets, but we didn’t know what the jobs entailed and so we just randomly signed up for stuff. On Tuesday, before the first real meet, several of the other parents asked me what my job was that night, and when I said “Something called ‘clerk of course,'” they all laughed and said some kind thing that meant “Better you than me.”
Clerk of course, for those of you as unfamiliar with swim meets, is the person in charge of getting the kids lined up and ready to swim prior to their events. In other words, it’s herding cats. And in addition to me being completely clueless about what the heck I was supposed to be doing on Tuesday, it was pouring down rain. The entire time. That made the meet run slowly, and by the time they called it quits after the first half was complete, it was way past my the kids’ bedtime. In fact, we didn’t pull into our driveway until almost 10 p.m.
Last night we had it a little bit easier – Andy had to write kids’ names on ribbons for the first half and I had to help with the concession stand during the second half. We were somewhat more qualified for those jobs, as he knows how to write and I know how to make change. But still, it was a marathon night, and while Andy took the kids home for baths and bed after the first half, I didn’t get home until after 10.
Really, though, my complaining is my lame attempt at humor – Kate is having a ball with swimming, and Andy and I have been hugely impressed with the parent volunteer orchestration that goes on in order for these events to take place. If every parent didn’t chip in, they wouldn’t happen, and it’s been great to see everyone working together. I’ve also been impressed by the tech savy-ness of the team – they have their own blog and we get automated voicemails when an announcement needs to be made.
Now if only they were on Twitter. Hey, maybe that could be my new job. Germantown Gators Social Media Director. That has a nice ring to it.
Anything but that Clerk of Course.
