Truxtun Park Penguins slide into success
Swimming program aims to develop, refine youngsters' skills
By WENDI WINTERS, For The Capital
There aren't any penguins in this area, unless you count the 130 members of the Truxtun Park Penguins and their enthusiastic parents.
In their sleek black Speedo swimsuits, the youngsters on the county's only public pool-based swim team easily evoked their namesakes as they dipped and flipped in the sparkling waters of Truxtun Park Pool last week.
Truxtun Park boasts the only public outdoor pool in the city or county - a hidden gem.
The Penguins were celebrating the end of their short swim season with a pool party and cookout at the pool.
Penguin parent Tim Whisted, owner of Little Havana Restaurant in Baltimore, catered a large, savory spread for the event.
The Penguins were also strutting and crowing, just a little. They'd trounced the other county swim clubs with a 5-0 record.
The king fish behind the Penguins is Coach Jennifer Bistrack, 35, who's been swimming so long, chlorine must run in her veins. The Broadneck Peninsula resident is a native of Stone Mountain, Ga. She is also a product of the small southern town's public outdoor pools.
Recently employed with the county to develop programs to prevent disease through exercise and nutrition, she begins a job later this summer with the City of Annapolis as its Health & Aquatics director. Her mission is to get more city residents away from their TVs and video games and into the water to shape up, slim down, and reduce heart disease and stress on body joints.
"Stone Mountain has 12 outdoor summer pools in our parks, this county has zero," said Ms. Bistrack, shaking her head sadly. "The only public outdoor pool here belongs to a city park."
Stone Mountain's population hovers at 7,500.
A University of Maryland grad with a master's degree in public health, Ms. Bistrack first stumbled across the Truxtun Park pool several years ago.
"I thought it was beautiful but under utilized," she recalled. "I've been a swim coach since I was 16. Since '99, I've coached for the Naval Academy Aquatic Club."
She is also a U.S. Master Swimmer and a member of the notoriously fun Annapolis Breakfast Club. Several ABC members swam the English Channel round-trip last year in relays.
With the blessing of LeeAnn Plumer, director of Annapolis Recreation and Parks, Ms. Bistrack started a small intramural team in 2005 with 20 kids. "We didn't compete but we had some timed trials."
"My niece couldn't swim across the pool two years ago," said astonished (and proud) Annapolis resident Tracy Gill. "She broke two records at the Gold meet this month! The coaches are amazing."
For the 2006 season, 63 kids, ages 14-18, turned out to learn how to swim and compete against the other 17 teams in the Greater Annapolis Swim League. They finished the season 1-4.
Hilary Yager, a fellow Naval Academy Aquatic Club coach, came aboard this year as Ms. Bistrack's coaching partner, handling the 5- to 6-year-old and 7- to 10-year-old swimmers.
Word spread and this year and 123 kids participated, driving the team to its 5-0 record.
Membership is $60, plus the cost of a swimsuit, for area residents in the 21401 and 21403 zip codes. From other county zip codes, the fee is $66 - $28 goes directly to Maryland Swimming, a chapter of US Swimming, to handle liability coverage.
The club holds fundraisers for scholarships for children whose families cannot afford the membership fees.
The summer Penguins season begins the first week of June. They have two weeks of daily evening training sessions to get ready for 5 Dual Meets and 3 Championship Meets - a swimmer generally only goes to one Championship Meet, plus the big end of season party.
Four of Bob Hoods seven children have been Penguins: David, 12; Billie, 10; Mary, 8; and Joey, 6. Another chick from his brood will dive in next year.
"We've been involved since the start," he said. "I read about a swim clinic and lessons in the paper." "Coach Jenn took all our kids that didn't know how to swim and taught them how. It's been great! The coach is outstanding and wonderful with kids. It's a wholesome environment, great exercise and a great sport."
He added that it's great to have the activity, especially in the evenings because parents can come.
"Parents help out at meets, they're organized as starters and timers for lanes. When a team hosts a meet, it puts together a concession stand, which is a fundraiser. Some parents are 'kid finders' - they make sure kids are ready for their race."
Carole Forsyth of Annapolis has three Penguins on the team, Syndey, 10; and 7-year-old fraternal twins Allison and Geoffrey.
"We've been involved two years. Syndey had been coached by Jenn at the Naval Academy in the off-season and came here. The twins have decided to keep swimming on teams all year 'round."
The swim-mom has become a Penguin, too. "I've taken training to be a 'Stroke and Turn' judge. I had to take four tests to get certified." She smiled wryly, "I'm not a good swimmer and my kids tease me that Coach Jenn needs to teach me how to swim."
Mrs. Forsyth said her family couldn't afford to belong to a private pool.
"It's neat to watch these kids get so excited about a sport!" she said. "All it takes is a spark to get them active."
Twelve-year-old Dominic Gonzalez was a second-year Penguin. Five of his 11 siblings were on the team with him. "It's fun. I never swam on a real swim team before. I wasn't really good before, but I've won one heat. My fastest time was 35.91 seconds in a 50-yard pool. I'm doing this again next year!"
Karsten Skogsholm, 11, completed her third year on the team.
"The growth is nice," she commented, "because the first year we didn't have enough people for meets. The second year, we lost all but one meet. This year we won all the meets and did pretty good in the Silver and Bronze."
"You'll see me here again next year!"
