Youth sports programs offer volunteer opportunities
By Kelli Nesbitt, Parks & Recreation Marketing Coordinator
Without dedicated volunteer coaches, our local youth recreation programs couldn’t grow and prosper. Coaches teach fundamentals and help kids develop skills while instilling the time-tested value of hard work, practice, sportsmanship, and teamwork.
College Station Parks & Recreation offers more than 20 youth sports programs – with over 1,200 participants – throughout the year. If you’ve ever considered coaching, we provide opportunities for you to encourage, guide and train young athletes in flag football, basketball and girls volleyball. (more…)
Tsunamis a gateway to fun, fitness and memories
By Melissa S. Daigneault, College Station Tsunamis Coach
In 2013, my two oldest kids became eligible to join the College Station Tsunamis summer swim team. But until I attended the parent meeting, I didn’t realize I’d been waiting 30 years for this to happen.
It wasn’t as if my life has been built around competitive swimming. Except for one year in high school, I was a summer league swimmer myself for only six years. If you asked people back then, most probably didn’t even know it.
Still, from the time I was four years old until the summer I turned 11, the best thing about the end of the school year was the beginning of summer league swimming.
The first swim meet of the season was always the first Saturday after the last day of school. The night before, I’d diligently pack my duffle bag with goggles, towels, books, playing cards, and especially the 1980s version of a Game Boy that featured Snoopy and Woodstock. I’d lay out my team suit, team t-shirt and flip flops, then crawl into bed anxious and excited.
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I don’t remember any of my race times or where I placed, but I do remember competing and wanting to improve. Sometimes I tasted the sweetness of victory, and sometimes I faced a disappointing outcome.
When I was old enough, I’d ride my bike to swim practice feeling very grown up. I’d laugh and giggle with my friends while the large pace clock on the deck taunted and encouraged us to work harder. Every week, the coaches would tell us the next meet was the biggest of the season, and we all had to swim our best. We always believed it, too.
When I wasn’t competing, I’d sit with my friends under a team tent, learning card games and cheering on the other swimmers. Through all the laughter, I made friends I wouldn’t have met otherwise — older and younger kids as well as those from different neighborhoods and schools. I was an introvert, and being part of the team helped me learn to develop friendships.
We had plenty of playdates, sleepovers, and parties with snow cones and popsicles. I also got to know many of my friends’ parents, who were always volunteering to work the meets and helped make those Saturdays so magical.
While I have only vague memories of the summer league races, I vividly recall the fun and my friends. We’ve all grown up and live in different places, but I still stay in touch with many of my former teammates.
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From the time I was 11 until I was in my 30s, swimming wasn’t a big part of my life. But as I reflect on my summer swim team days while watching my kids participate, I realize how often I apply the lessons I learned. Summer league swimming has changed, but the things that matter — friendships, fun, family involvement, and fitness — have stayed the same.
My summer swim team experience taught me about dedication and hard work, and to enjoy swimming as a sport and a way to keep fit. I also learned how to win and lose gracefully and to appreciate the amazing energy teams can create — something better than the individual parts.
Every day, I saw parents, families and communities working together to help kids grow, relate, dream and achieve. Without consciously realizing it, I’d yearned for my children to enjoy the same experience.
That’s why I’m honored to be part of the College Station Tsunamis team as a coach this summer. With the 2016 season just around the corner, my goal is for every swimmer to have a positive and memorable experience.
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Registration is underway and runs through July 8. The cost is $125 per person. Swimmers between the ages of 5-18 who can swim one lap (25 meters) unassisted are invited to participate.
To register, go to rectrac.cstx.gov or drop by the Parks and Recreation Office at 1000 Krenek Tap Rd. For more information, visit cstx.gov/swim or call 979.764.3486.
About the Author
Melissa Daigneault is in her first year to volunteer as Tsunami swim team coach. She is vice president of business and legal affairs at Lockard & White in College Station and was previously a lecturer and undergraduate program coordinator at Texas A&M. Melissa earned a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M in 1999 and graduated from the Wake Forest School of Law in 2003.
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Community programs help all ages expand horizons
By Dana Albrecht, Southwood Community Center Recreation Supervisor
Every day offers us a fresh opportunity to discover and learn.
That’s the appeal of a new series of Community Programs for all ages offered this spring by College Station Parks & Recreation Department. We’ve created a full range of creative and educational activities for the young — and the young at heart.
Preschool adventures
The building blocks of learning begin by experiencing the world first hand. Our Preschool Science Adventure Series introduces young children ages 3-5 (with parents) to the marvels of the world of science.
Youth tennis program stirs up a racket
What would happen if your 5-year-old wanted to play soccer, but had to play with adult-size soccer balls, on adult-size fields, with adult-size goals?
What if your 8-year-old chose softball and had to play with the same size bat as an Olympian?
They probably wouldn’t have much fun.
For many years, kids have tried to learn the game with adult equipment, but thanks to 10 and Under Tennis, that’s no longer an obstacle.
Are you ready for some (youth) football?
In countless backyard football games across Texas, kids dream of catching the game-winning touchdown in the Super Bowl.
When I was a kid, we played football in the street or in an open field. We’d wear our favorite team jersey with our favorite player’s number. Sometimes, fights would break out over who got to be what team or pretend he was a certain player. Then, we’d go out and try to duplicate the great play we saw on TV the day before.
Southwood Center: One of CS’s Best-Kept Secrets
Here’s a typical conversation I have just about every day:
“Kelly, where do you work?”
“I work at Southwood Community Center.”
“What’s that? Isn’t that a place for kids?”
Yes, it is a youth center, but it’s also a senior center and a rental facility. Southwood has so much to offer that it’s quickly losing its status as one of College Station’s best-kept secrets.
