Silver Sharks keep growing
By Melissa Piche Times Contributor
Photo Courtesy of the Strathmore Silver Sharks Swim Club
2024 is looking like a monumental year for the Strathmore Silver Sharks.
With a new president to the association, Karl Dean, some fresh ideas with hopes of growing the club to its pre-COVID19 numbers are on the horizon.
Dean took on the role as president in October although his two daughters have been a part of the club for a number of years.
“I work with a great team – the other board of directors are invaluable,” he said. “The club runs quite a few age groups and the goal here was to sort of develop into the next level, to allow them to compete on a much bigger scale.”
Dean explains that along with this bigger picture comes implementing new programs to not only improve swimmer performance, but also to support them mentally.
Dare to Care is a bully prevention in sports program that the Silver Sharks will host for all its members.
“It teaches the kids the right way to act in sport,” said Dean.
He said that many youth programs have antibully programs already in place and make it mandatory. He is excited to be able to offer this to all the swimmers, parents, board members and coaches.
There is an in-person workshop where the Dare to Care coordinators come out to Strathmore to host the event.
Other programs that will be offered this season that are new to the club will be nutrition workshops and advanced swim technique clinics with Todd Melton (Global Swim Coach for Olympian Finlay Knox) and SwimX Community.
The association is also bringing in a new and revamped logo to the club – it’s a bit more simplistic in its design and it will be showcased in the new online store.
“Swimming, I find, is fairly individual driven,” said Dean. “It’s so much easier to perform better when you have a group backing you. To have that togetherness is really helpful for the kids to perform better and makes it easier for them to swim harder.”
Coaches make all the difference in team sports. To have a solid coaching staff is something the Silver Sharks take great pride in.
“We have some amazing coaches who each bring something unique to the club,” said Dean. “Our head coach Lexi Sidorenko was a past swimmer with the Strathmore Silver Sharks and is going on her sixth year as a coach with the team. We have a registered dietitian and a professional kinesiologist as a coach as well.”
The club had a very successful swim meet in December at the University of Calgary Swim Club (UCSC) Holiday Classic where they took home 22 ribbons and numerous medals.
“It was a fantastic meet; there were a lot of our smaller kids,” said Dean.
The club is home to over 100 swimmers, welcoming any newcomers to the group with open arms. The club runs from October until June where they practice 2-5 times a week out of the Strathmore Aquatic Centre.
The club is actively seeking volunteers from the Strathmore community. If anyone is interested in a volunteer opportunity with the Silver Sharks, they are encouraged to contact Dean via email (president@strathmoresilversharks.ca).