Park District ousts star swim coach
By April
Galarza
For the seniors at the McGuane Chicago Park District pool, swim coach Victor Dapkus has given them the support they need to go for the gold. Dapkus knows how to relate with all people—but especially senior citizens—and the trust his athletes have in him is so complete that many of his new students jump into the deep end of the pool on their first day.
Much to the dismay of his loyal students, the Chicago Park District recently forced Dapkus to resign because he could not work the 20-hour minimum it now requires of all swim coaches.
Dapkus has coached part time at McGuane Park Pool for the last five years in addition to his full-time job as a chiropractic physician. His senior swimmers said the number of hours the coach works is not as important as the quality of work the coach does.
According to Adele Kiel, captain of the Senior Swim Team, just six and a half hours of Dapkus’s time a week is worth more to them than the full time presence of young lifeguards and coaches. Between the younger coaches to whom the seniors have a harder time relating, and Dapkus, who gently encourages them to succeed, the seniors feel there simply is no comparison.
“The 17-year-old lifeguards don’t have the experience to interact with seniors or don’t believe we can do what we’re doing," Keil said. "Granted they can swim and know CPR, but they just don’t add enough warmth and encouragement, as well a pushing us to our limits.”
After working with Dapkus over the past five years, many senior swimmers have advanced from novice swimmers to competitive athletes. Some have gone on to compete in state meets, and 13 even qualified for the upcoming National Senior Olympics in Louisville, KY, in 2007. This is not the average “low-impact” senior swim class.
In fact, the McGuane group is the only official senior swim team in Illinois, and if they were to go to the Senior Olympics, they would be representing the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois. Without their favorite coach, this goal would be much harder to achieve.
“Our 40 swimmers are quite distressed that the only senior team in the State of Illinois is about to be dissolved,” said Kiel
Besides becoming competitive athletes, the swimmers under Dapkus’s care lead much more healthful lives than before they joined the team. As a chiropractor, Dapkus originally had started teaching swimming as a sideline to help older patients achieve better health.
“I try to enroll my patients into water aerobics/swimming because it is good for total health," Dapkus said. "It is good for the joints and strengthening muscles. There is less gravity in water, so it is easer to rebuild muscle mass during water aquatic exercise.”
The team started five years ago when six volunteers agreed to learn to swim under Dapkus’s instruction. He told them their goal would be to compete at the state competition. At the time none of the seniors believed that was possible. Today, team members can do 100 yards of the butterfly stroke, and they have competed in local Chicago meets and all over the state.
From its original six, the team grew to 40 members. Until Nov. 8, they practiced three times a week for an hour, completing an average of 40 links (laps) and up to 72 links, which is about a mile.
Having a team of their own and the chance to work toward goals is a dream come true for the seniors. The oldest person on the team is 80. Most are in their 70s. They come from diverse cultural backgrounds but have one thing in common: they agree about the importance of Dapkus and say the cohesiveness he provides is immeasurable.
“The senior
population is the most expanding population," Dapkus explained. "For many of
the women when they were young there was no opportunity for them to
participate in competitive sports; now, they have an opportunity they never
had and never expected to have.”
To keep Dapkus as their coach and keep the swim team together, Kiel and her teammates started a petition and sent the signatures they gathered to the Chicago Department of Aging; the Chicago Park District; City Director of Human Resources Joseph Vetrano; City Chief Program and Recreation Officer Randy Ernst; and the Superintendent of the Chicago Park District, Timothy Mitchell. They even spoke to Mitchell in person and were informed that due to new policy all lifeguards and swim coaches must work at least 20 hours weekly, with no exceptions.
Dapkus understands the need to follow policy but wishes the Park District could have made an exception based on how much seniors benefit from his efforts. “Many of my students couldn’t move or walk well when they first came into my office, but now with chiropractic therapy and swimming, they’ve turned their lives around,” Dapkus said.
The seniors hope the Park District can create a new position for Dapkus allowing him to continue achieving the extraordinary results he has produced with the McGuane Park Seniors. For example, if he were hired specifically as the Chicago Swim Team Coach, perhaps different requirements for working hours could apply.
So far, the team has not heard any positive responses to their request. Dapkus officially resigned Nov. 8 and has applied to volunteer at McGuane so he can continue working with the team. Also, the Valentine Boys and Girls club on 34th Street and Emerald Avenue has offered its facility to the seniors if no other solution is found.
According to Kiel, many people, especially those who can make decisions about whether the swim team gets the recognition it deserves, seem skeptical of what the seniors are capable of. Their skepticism, she said, is holding the swim team back. “Can’t the City of Chicago help us, or are seniors not that important to Chicago?” Kiel asked.
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