Alexandria Masters: Getting to Know You
By Ray Novitske
Alexandria Masters Swimming is a relatively new team compared with most in the Washington area. Located in the southern and eastern area of Fairfax County and Alexandria, the team works out at George Washington and Mount Vernon Recreation Centers in early mornings and evenings.
After starting three years ago with a core group of six people, we have now grown to about 25 members. This assumes we can get everyone to turn in their renewals for 2000. The lessons of our new club may be of value to other groups or individuals who are, or are considering, starting a new team.
We learned that coaching is important - very important. During the first year, we had great difficulty finding a coach for our small group. After a year, we found and hired a good coach who soon moved away after the team was up and running. For the next year, membership remained stagnant. Although the core group had fun during workouts and away from the pool, convincing new people to join without an on-deck coach running a workout program was next to impossible.
We began searching again or considering joining an existing team. Fortunately, no other team would have us, and our efforts to find a coach paid off. Energetic and enthusiastic Todd Maceira now leads the workouts, which are spread over three mornings and four nights a week.
With a small close-knit group, team unity was not a problem. Staying in touch and getting together for dinner and drink after the evening practices was easy. As the membership numbers grew, we realized that the cohesiveness and friendliness of a small team was what attracted members and was something we wanted to preserve. To that end, we actually began to plan. Although we did not know it at the time, our team culture was taking hold.
People joined Alexandria Masters to swim and have fun. To keep all members of the many different workouts informed, we considered and rejected the idea of a newsletter. Any printed news would be old by the time it reached members. Postage also cost too much. We opted instead for the new technology of a web site containing news, events, and resources which are updated instantly.
Socials and happy hours are held after workouts on a monthly basis at the local restaurants and "pool halls." We can see teammates without caps and goggles and converse without gasping for air.
Not everyone is interested in meets or swimming fast, so we are running the USMS Checkout challenge as a team event during our practices. In this postal event, accomplishments are based not on fast times, but on the number of events completed. Results are kept of each participant's progress and are accessible on our web site.
We are close-knit, sociable, and have fun. We have no yearly dues, bylaws or officers, and have not gone corporate (yet). All people on the team are treated equally by everyone. We have novices, triathletes, and incredibly fast swimmers training for Nationals. For new teams, the trick is to stay together, have fun, and offer opportunity for improvement and accomplishment. Get to know yourself and why people join your team, and build on that. The membership growth will then be easy.
Alexandria Masters Swimming:
http://members.aol.com/swimsite