Hey there Piranha parents,

Yesterday I promised three messages, and here is #3, finally! I know you were getting anxious wondering where it was… ;)

This is a brief personal note to share some thoughts and some news.

In 2022, after two years of Covid cancellations, my son Jude and I, as well as Jude’s other mom, Kim, were really hoping the Glenwood Park Piranhas would start up again. I reached out to all the former leaders and heard that they had all moved on to other things. After a short period of thinking, I decided to try to resurrect the team. My career involves coordinating curriculum for a large public school system, teaching teachers, and managing programs. I used to be a high school English teacher. I figured my skill set would lend itself to running a swim team. I was sort of right. LOL.

Coach Nate hopped back on board, the Glenwood Park Pool agreed to host, and we were back in business. The 2022 season was a huge learning curve for me. I found that I could run a bullpen for 10 year old boys but not a meet! Oops! Sarah Foster ran the first meet and I learned a lot that night (it’s still not easy for me- she’s a natural).

For 2023 and 2024, the Piranhas team has grown in all age groups and now, there’s a waitlist. We draw people because we are one of few intown teams, but I’ve also heard people say they like our energy. I am so proud of that! We have so many more pool member swimmers than we used to, and so many younger kids. This team will thrive for years (as long as we don’t keep raising the frustrations of the condo owners with our parking choices… not joking).

I’m really proud of the team and the community it is building. Read the Facebook post about Zahava Bailey’s son and his relay swim last week- you’ll know what I mean. These things make my heart soar.

Now, after three years, I have decided that it is time to pass the Team Rep torch. Or as Nate says, “hand over the keys to the car.” Therefore, this summer will be my last in the Team Rep role for the Glenwood Park Piranhas. If Jude decides to stay on the team for a few more years, I will happily volunteer for a 7-8 year old boys’ bullpen shift (I actually love that age group even with all my gray hair).

So here you go… 

Dear New Team Rep,

I’ll teach you everything I know and share all the google docs. I’ll explain how to find the refund page in Swimtopia and how to schedule an event. You will have awesome ideas I never thought of or maybe never had time to pull off. I’ll admit that actually, May and June are my job’s busiest months, so if that’s true for you, too, this is not the optimal volunteer job. I’ll also reassure you: you don’t need to know that much about the sport of swimming to do this gig, and it’s very, very rewarding. You should like kids--and lots of them, all at once-- trying something hard and having fun doing it. And sometimes you’ll have to send emails asking people to stop doing stuff that pisses off people whom we need to like us. You’re going to do a fantastic job!

New Glenwood Park Piranhas Team Rep, I am looking forward to hearing from you soon!

All the best, everyone. Stay tuned for news about the ASA Championship meet!

Martha