This August, the West Coast Wind Swim Club wrapped up its 2024/2025 season and is preparing for the start of the 2025/2026 season in less than a month.
According to a media release from lead coach Marissa Schweitzer, in this period of winding down, the club has reflected on what has made this season such a success.
“Having nearly doubled in registration numbers for the fourth season in a row, the club has added multiple new training groups for a broader range of athletes, now welcoming ages six to 90, having hired multiple lead coaches and adding multiple new training sessions,” stated Schweitzer. “Altogether, the club has excelled in growth, but also in its effort to see a higher level of commitment to success as lead coach Megan Greig completed her NCCP 201 coaching certification this year, making the two lead coaches of the club 201-certified.”
Schweitzer stated that these improvements have allowed coaches to implement weekly goal setting meetings, more consistent data tracking and monthly recognition of swimmers for their progress, as well as sportsmanship. From there, the club has seen standout competition results, as for the first time since its inception, two athletes, Levi Vodola and Ewan Naylor, made divisional standards and attended divisional championships, which in the Swimming Canada world is no simple feat, stated Schweitzer.
To cap off the season, a handful of Wind athletes decided to dual affiliate with both Powell River Recreation Complex-based swim clubs and saw significant success. Four of the dual-affiliate swimmers qualified for British Columbia Summer Swimming Association (BCSSA) provincials this August, two of whom, Hailey Jenkins and Ewan Naylor, achieved multiple top 10 finishes at the provincials. Having two swim clubs provides a unique option for the community as it allows swimmers to compete in both BCSSA and Swim BC organizations.
These positive outcomes have left Schweitzer and Greig to consider how they will continue building momentum in the coming season. Together, they have come up with three core steps for success they believe will not only continue bolstering West Coast Wind, but could help to build up other community clubs as well.
“The first step is to create a program for our developing youth to shine in leadership positions,” stated Schweitzer. “This season, the Wind mentored four of their senior athletes (13 years old-plus) in a volunteer coach program. These four coaches: Saphire Mitchell, Adianta Cocksedge-Hamilton, Oliver Coatta and Gabriel Chartier, were able to gain work experience, use their volunteer hours toward high school credits, and see what having a consistent job working with youth in sport looks like.
“Through this program, the club gets to build up the skill set of its older athletes, while also providing an incentive to stay in club sports during the older teenage years. Programs like this foster community relationships while developing good role models for younger generations.”
The second step is recognizing and accessing community resources that allow clubs to meet youth where they are at, according to Schweitzer, who works as a school teacher, so she has seen how the younger generations have become increasingly tech savvy and inclined toward visual learning strategies.
“By harnessing community resources and applying for a community forest grant this season, the club was able to purchase an underwater camera,” stated Schweitzer. “Having this equipment has allowed these youth to engage with a resource they find exciting, but that also provides immediate visual feedback to their technical development.”
The underwater camera allows swimmers to see their strokes immediately in the moment, the coach can provide advice, the swimmer can then put the advice to work, and rewatch the video to see the changes.
“This also allows the coaching staff to catch any problematic techniques happening beneath the surface before injuries can occur. Being able to harness the community support to give these swimmers the feedback that suits their learning styles has led them to achieving their goals at a faster rate.”
The third step is intentional coaching and mentorship. This season, coaches have put in a concentrated effort to reinforce positive behaviour and teamwork, which has led to a more vibrant atmosphere, with less time spent in behavioural management and more time spent intentionally coaching.
“This makes a huge difference, especially when given less training time than other clubs in the region,” stated Schweitzer. “Since the club was created in 2021, it has often faced questions and concerns about lack of pool time and training time. Compared to other clubs, the Wind trains far fewer hours, but in seeing the results of the swimmers, it is clear that perhaps high-capacity hours may be secondary to the dedication of swimmers, families and coaches.
“This coming season, the club is looking forward to continually implementing what they have learned, building on their success and doing it in a way that looks different.”
Beginning this September, the club has decided to form a distinct competitive program run by Grieg, and a pre-competitive/recreational program run by Schweitzer.
“The intention is to give the base of the club and beginners to the sport full and educated attention,” stated Schweitzer. “Most clubs put their most experienced coaches at the top of development, leading the high achieving competitors, while the assistant coaching staff leads the novice/developmental base.
“We are lucky to have two equally educated coaches leading our club, so we figured we would do what has rarely been done, and put one of them in the water with the new swimmers. We are excited to see what this new shift will do for our club and what results we can pass along to other programs in the community.”
West Coast Wind Swim Club will be present at the Peak Community Connections Expo Fair in September. Anyone with questions about the upcoming season can visit the booth on September 14.
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