Quincy swim team helps connect community

QUINCY — Communities big and small are held together with lots of little connections, groups that get together to do - well, whatever, from a service club project to a program at the museum. The Quincy swim team teaches children how to swim, of course, and gives its participants a chance to get a taste of competition. But it also is one of those little connectors that plug back into the bigger community.

Kirsten Escure, taking over the coaching duties on a Friday morning, said the program is returning in 2022 after a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think we’re right at 40-ish (participants),” Escure said.

Escure and her family have been participating in and volunteering for the program for about 11 years, she said, and the 2022 team is slightly smaller than it was when they first got involved. The coronavirus pandemic did have an impact, with some children dropping out due to the cancellation of two seasons.

“And then kids were out of the water for a couple of years, so there’s been more leeriness about being in the water,” Escure said.

The team is open to children five to 18 years of age, with a six-week season and 90-minute practices every weekday. Anna Wells - a swim team alumni - is the head coach, and Escure’s son Quinn is the assistant.

“(Wells) teaches the younger ones and our assistant coach works with and teaches the more advanced,” she said.

Quincy is part of a recreational league including seven teams from Cashmere to Waterville to Ephrata. Meets are held each Thursday throughout the season, with a league meet as the season finale.

The swim team, however, is not really about the swim meets, or the ribbons. The goal is to help the participants learn some skills, in and out of the water.

“The goal is, number one, to help them become better swimmers,” Escure said. “Because this is definitely a recreational league.

“They do earn (awards), but our focus is not on the ribbons. Our kids get little cards that tell them how fast their times are, and if they’ve improved from their fastest time. That is our goal - it’s called a personal record. We really focus on (improvement),” Escure said.

Jennifer Snyder said she is a team parent, and added that her daughter has derived a lot of encouragement from learning skills and improving on them.

Her daughter started in the lane at one end of the pool, and as her skills have improved, has progressed from one side of the pool to the other.

“‘Mom - I’m in lane 6,’” Snyder quoted her daughter as saying.

The experience they get also teaches participants leadership skills, Snyder said, whether they know it or not.

“The big kids are definitely in the eye of the little ones,” Snyder said.

“It’s really great because it’s ages five to 18, The little guys can see the big guys, and they have that goal, to reach where they want to be,” Escure said. “The big guys do a pretty decent job of supporting and encouraging the little guys. It’s a very positive environment.”

Troy Lambert’s children are on the team, and he said swim team provides enough benefits that he had to stop and think about them all.

“It gives them a sense of community,” Lambert said. “A sense of camaraderie.”

Swim team gets the children outside and away from electronic devices, he said. His children - and the whole family, actually - have met people they didn’t know previously.

“The list is endless,” Escure said.

“Yeah. There are just so many darn good things,” Lambert said.

Julianna Lambert, 13, said she’s been on the swim team since she was six years of age.

“It’s fun to be in the water, and it’s fun to get to know new people,” she said. “I know I really like it.”

Keeping the team running takes some time and effort, Escure said, and that’s supplied by volunteers, including many parents and some people from the community.

“Very much volunteer-based,” she said. “Almost all of our coaches are past summer swimmers. Parents bring doughnuts every Friday after the (weekly) meet, so (the participants) have something to look forward to.

“We do have a great community. Like our swim meet (June 30) went so well. And it was because the parents know what to do, they step up, they’re willing to take the leadership,” Escure said.

Swim team provides training that participants can use in other ways, she said.

“Our little league does a great job feeding into our lifeguarding program and those kinds of things. They have to be good swimmers to be lifeguards, and it takes quite a bit of time in the pool to make that happen. So six weeks of an hour and a half, five days a week - that’s a lot of water time,” Escure said.

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.