Behold, a well-run organization with inspiring leadership. It is somewhat of a supernatural experience, don’t you think? I love seeing messy humans working together toward something good and common to all. Even (or maybe especially) with all of the leadership and self-help and organizational methodology books out there, the rarity of inspirational leadership and effective organizations is striking. In their book, Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, Chip and Dan Heath remind me to look for “Bright Spots” to encourage change in specific areas where change is needed. The Carefree Crocodile swimming program is a community bright spot that is too good not to share!
The Crocodiles have been around for well over a decade, operating out of a large-ish neighborhood just a few miles from our home. I have been looking for an effective swim program to get our 5 little people happy and safe in the water. I grew up going to the beach, body boarding, and love to kayak—all enabled by knowing how to swim because my parents sent me to a summer swim program for several years. We have tried several programs, large and small, and had never found one that we were happy returning to. But the Crocodiles, with their basic website and vinyl banner we drove by year after year, seemed worth a shot!
Inspiring Leadership
Marcie Colwell, the head of the program, is a cheerful petite woman who greeted every swimmer on day one. With a bright smile she made the gaggle of children feel welcome from the first minute we arrived. She clearly set the example of conduct for every other person there. I don’t know if she formally expresses this to the other coaches, but they were all upbeat as well, even the ones who weren’t naturally so.
She efficiently got 40 children into neat rows. She cheered the students on. She was the keeper of The Bell (more on that later). And throughout the course of the lessons, Marcie would move around the pool’s edge, giving tips and providing needed help to both the students and the young coaches (ages 15-18). She was always enthusiastic and obviously loved swimming and teaching it. She didn’t stay still for long, but always seemed present in the moment as she helped each student along.
Right sized structure
Good leadership puts right-sized structure in place. On the first day, students are evaluated and placed in a level. This provides a baseline for each student’s proficiency in the water. The classes were 3-4 students apiece, leaving enough time for individual attention as well as healthy interaction within a class. Every student could “level up” at any time during the session, even mid-lesson! No bureaucracy or excessive structure held any student back from moving forward at his own pace.
Right sized bins
Some educational methodologies seek to level the playing field by not acknowledging the differences between students. Others attempt to ultra-granulate the differences, essentially creating a completely individualistic outlook for its students. The Team Unify program used by the Crocodiles splits swimmers into 10 levels, with several clear competencies for each level. The length of the program (2 weeks, 4 days per week) matched up with the level bins perfectly. Just about every child moved up one, if not more, levels during the session. No matter how old you are, making measurable progress feels good!
Demanding, in a good way
My 2 big boys stalled out between levels 4 and 5, apparently where many students stall out. Instructors teach key muscle movements and body/ breathing mechanics in level 4 and a lack of physical mastery of these competencies causes form problems in the future. Marcie was very particular and very clear about what it took for the students to pass the requirement for bilateral breathing in this level. The boys happily rose to the occasion. They saw their own progress day by day. They strived and worked hard in and out of the pool. And when they finally passed level 4, they knew their achievement meant something.
Social proof: ring my bell!
Effective leaders use the power of social proof. A small ceremony is held at the end of each 30 minute lesson, when every student’s progress is showcased, even when getting your ears wet is measurable progress. The individual instructors report out and the crowd claps and cheers for every student. Special gold stickers are awarded to each swimmer who passed a level that day. Students could stick these onto a waterproof certificate, indicating where he stands in the program. I appreciated the clear tracking of progress and public recognition of it.
The bell is another neat aspect of the program: each time a student was deemed ready to pass a level (which happened nearly continuously!) Marcie would be summoned. She watched to see if the student met the level objectives, and if he passed, he would get to ring a large bell she carried around. Adults and children alike cheered at the sound of the bell. Social proof is a powerful motivator for big and little people alike.
A good leader knows her limits
Don’t let me give you the impression that Marcie does it all, though. When I initially signed the children up for the program, I worked with Marianne, the administrator, to get a website sign-up glitch solved. We happily texted back and forth, and she was a huge help. On the first day, I went to give Marcie a check for our remaining balance and she said, “I hope you know how much it’s supposed to be, because I don’t!” While some may be put off by that, I wasn’t. Every team member operated in her own wheelhouse with healthy boundaries. Clearly each coach and instructor and administrator knew his place and didn’t feel the need to control every little thing.
Don’t let them sit there
Over and over I saw Marcie help shivering little people release their stranglehold on the pool’s edge. She would smile and encourage as she pried their little fingers from the rolled metal ledge and send them off with a trusted instructor. Great leadership never lets follower sit there shivering. I appreciated her kindness and firmness in those moments, and who hasn’t needed that kind of care at some point or another?
An equipping organization
It was clear that the older coaches were training the younger instructors moment by moment. If an instructor needed help, Marcie or her deputy, Holly, were readily available. In one instance, my oldest son’s instructor couldn’t find a way to convey to him the motion required to execute bilateral breathing. He called Holly over, who called my son out of the pool and showed him how to get his body to do it outside of the water. The instructor was watching the whole time she helped, and I’m certain he put that 1-minute tool in his pocket.
The coaches were constantly and actively leading, training and equipping the young instructors without hovering or pressuring them. And the instructors were expected to instruct. But the safety net of a decades-experienced coach was never far off if it was needed on a spot basis. I loved seeing the older believing in the younger to rise to the mark. These young adults learned to work with (sometimes really difficult) little children, effectively and joyfully. The Crocodiles were equipping then for more than instructing swimming.
Undoubtedly the Crocodiles gave me more than swimming kids. You’ll see that the proof is in the pudding: every one of my 4 participating children made measurable progress in the Carefree Crocodile Team Unify program and felt great afterwards. The big kids are interested in improving their swimming technique, possibly continuing on with swimming as a sport of choice. Thanks, Marcie and all of the good people behind the Crocodiles. We’ll see you next year!
As I was reading this, I could see it all in my head, happening with Abby, in the early days. She did lessons the second, 3 Rd and 4 the summer. She loved that bell. She was so terrified when we brought her there after 3 other programs, but when she left Carefree, she was doing back handsprings in the pool and a solid freestyle, backstroke and underwater swim. She completed level 8. She still doesn’t love the water, but she is safe in it. The whole system kept her wanting to progress forward, and mindset is everything to achieving a goal, isn’t it? I’m so glad the kids loved it!