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June 13, 2003/Sivan 13 5763, Vol. 55, No. 42
Summer swim team forms at VOSJCC
JESSICA BARBER
Staff Writer
School is out for the summer and the temperature has climbed to well over 100 degrees. How can children stay cool, entertained and in shape? The Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center may have the answer.
The VOSJCC has formed a competitive swim team for children ages 5-18 under the direction of Head Coach Joe Zemaitis, an Ironman Triathlon World Cham-pionship competitor and a USA Swimming certified coach.
Zemaitis, a graduate of Lake Forest College in Illinois, plans to focus his teaching on the four basic competitive swim strokes - the freestyle (front crawl), backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly stroke. The competitive aspect of the program, however, should not be a deterrent to swimmers who may not consider themselves at the competitive level.
"People can get scared off by competing," says Zemaitis. "But there are a lot of different levels and there really is something for everyone."
Swimmers interested in participating should be able to swim one length of the pool unassisted, explains Zemaitis.
Participation in meets is not required of summer swimmers, but it may serve as a fun way to measure individual improvement, says Zemaitis.
"The meets are not required, but they are encouraged," he says. "Every kid gets a ribbon at each meet and it's really fun for the kids to see their own improve-ment. They are really competing against them-selves. You know what your best time is and if you swim faster, you know it's a great meet - even if you place third or fifth."
Zemaitis also stresses the physical improvements one can make by becoming a good swimmer.
"With basketball or baseball, it's harder to quantify your improvement," he says. "But with swimmers, you know when you're improving because it takes less time to get across the pool."
In addition, says Zemaitis, swimming can help children develop skills that can be useful in all sporting events.
"I was a competitive swimmer all through high school and college, and I was good, but I wasn't great," he says. "There was no chance of making it to the Olympics. But when I found my sport, the triathlon, I was able to take things to the next level. You get a really good chance to build endurance and that can be carried into any sport."
The summer program, for members and nonmembers of the VOSJCC, presently accommodates about 50 children ages 5-14. So far, no 15-18 year olds have signed up for the program.
The teams' season will culminate in mid-July with a championship meet, in-cluding relay and individual events. All swimmers in the program are encouraged to participate. Zemaitis plans to continue the competitive swim program in the fall.
Practices will be held 8:45-9:30 a.m. Mondays-Thurs-days for 5- to 8-year-olds and 9:30-10:30 a.m. Mondays-Thursdays for 9- to 18-year-olds at the VOSJCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Meets will be held once or twice weekly on Tuesday or Thursday evenings either at the VOSJCC or at other locations in the Phoenix metro area.
Cost is $140 for VOSJCC members and $160 for nonmembers. Sibling dis-counts may apply.
Call 480-483-7121.
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