Parents of past swimmers have no voice or any reason to attend this meeting. Parents of coaches should also not be heard from. If these people are intrested in the team, they should come to a meet, buy some food, cheer for the team and go home....it's that simple. These parents time has come and gone. Move on.

The by-laws have been in place for 22 years. Read them and act accordingly.

It is sad day when a handful of dissatisfied parents try to create such KOS within a organization for area children to learn how to be part of a FUN summer swim team.

I write as a past 15 year member of the team holding every spot on the swim team board. I had many issues with parents and coaches during my tenure. Cool minds, with the childrens best interest at heart will come up with reasonable solutions. If these soultions do not make you happy move to another team, do not return.

My best wishes for a productive meeting and setting the stage for a successful 2013 season Lake Forest Swim Team. There is a long history of great swimmers and families at Lake Forest, all my best.

Glenn De Santis

I can be easily found if someone wants to discuss this further in person.

Thought I might go a little further here:
During my years on the board there was plenty of turmoil and problems.
***I went toe to toe with another family from Lake Forest who was insistent that the coach had a perpetual job. My view was we needed to have a committee to interview and select the best coach/candidate each season; their view was their child should automatically get the job if they desired. This caused quite a stir, in the end the parents agreed to interview different candidates each season and hire the best applicant.

***Times during the years I was on the board, coaches did not receive a bonus. This was a board decision, not based on a win/loss record but other criteria. Were the coaches happy…. no. Did the board act in a responsible manor given the circumstances, I believe yes.

***I had parents come to me aggravated there son/daughter was not swimming any events. This was during a period of time when they were supposed to be away on vacation but plans had changed! At times parents complain there son/daughter was not swimming any events but had not made a practice in a week or more!

***As President during one meet I had to remove a parent and forbid them to return for the rest of the season. This was vary unpleasant as their spouse was a board member. The person who I removed is a very dear friend’s brother who I still see multiply time each month. This was quite a serious allegation and I needed to deal with it head on and fast.

***Prior to committing to League to host trials and finals at LFYC - part of the parents were against the idea of trying to host it a Lake Forest because of all the obstacles. It has never been done; it could not be done, too much effort, etc. We hosted a very successful event and earned some serious $$$ for the team.

The bottom line is that there are always going to be difference of options. As most organization I have been involved with - a minority percentage of members do most of the heavy lifting.

A few items worth mentioning that may be some source of contention:
*Each year candidates are interviewed and hired without any personal interest/conflict of the interview committee. The coach is hired based on experience, ability, skill set, knowledge, etc. In the past we have had most good coaches, some not so good. Every time coach changes, some parents are happy, some are not. It’s just the way it is.

*The coach is supported by the board and families. We had 2 times per week after specific practices when the coach would be available for personal discussions with parents regarding their children. (events child is swimming, likes, dislikes problems, etc.) This was the window. No other times during the week was the coach to be approached. Period.
The meet sheets are extremely time consuming and fitting the swimmers into 54 events is not easy. It is very easy to criticizes saying my child only swam 1 or 2 events and some else swims 3 or 4.

I know every meet, every season, all the coaches strive to be fair with the swimmers, give everyone an opportunity. The LFST is paying the coach, this is part of their responsibilities, let them do their job.

Past parents and parents of coaches have absolutely no stage or reason to voice an opinion. The coaches are adults, hired and must deal with the board/parents as adults. This is all part of life. Everyone who had a child who used to swim on Lake Forest - their time has pasted.They must keep their comments & remarks to themselves as they have no stage. If they do not have a swimmer on the team they have no right to have any impute or voice. It is really is that simple. These past parents really need to focus their energy somewhere that it will make a positive difference.
Time will tell if another team is added to the league. If the league adds another team and another team is formed how many swimmers will depart Lake Forest….this also remains to be seen.
There is a very long history of dedicated swimmers and families from within Lake Forest and the surrounding area that have produced quality swimmers and winning teams.

As you meeting progresses Friday keep in mind nothing that has happen this past season is unique. Different levels of dissatisfaction have been prevalent during most seasons. Cool minds, reasonable discussion and a desire to find a solution should prevail.

Please keep in perspective the big picture….the swimmers. All this emotion, frustration and negative energy are detrimental to the children. Focus on getting back on course. Reach out to local high schools and YMCA’s for coaching candidates early. I have a very good rapport with the Pope John Coaches, I am sure there would be a good candidate for the interview process. Let me know if I can help. I do not know the Jefferson Swim Coach any more, surly someone on this teams swims for Jefferson. Bring back the fun next summer.
Respectfully,

Glenn De Santis

Mr. De Santis, I enjoyed reading your comments and hearing the history of the LFST from an elder. Although, I feel you would have made a much bigger impact had you left out the insults and put downs to certain individuals. I agree with most of what you said, minus the derogatory insults, but the issue is not what you addressed. This is the reason why I would like to see the Friday night meeting open. It would be wonderful to have past Presidents, Board Members, or whoever has a love for LFST to come and give advise, experience, and history! I also want to see the coaches there. There are 3 sides to every story....yours, theirs and the truth! Hearing both sides will allow us to arrive at the truth! The main issue boils down to our current Board. They keep everything private from us. My children have been on the team for many years and not once did I see a financial, bylaws, contracts between LFYC and LFST. Any of us could have demanded it, but we trusted the board to work in our best interest. This all started because we wanted to know why the coaches were terminated and bonuses withheld. I am the elected President of my local beach, who follows bylaws and volunteers my time on the Board, and work in the best interest of all its members.

Our current LFST Board doesn't do this. The more questions we asked, the less they told us. The more we dug for history and information, the more suspicious we became. We no longer trust this board to act in OUR best interest. We asked for a parent/board meeting and it was scheduled a month later! Gossip started to spread, which always happens when something isn't addressed immediately. I was personally told, by LFST board members, disturbing demands to show favoritism, and much more. I tried to have a private conversation with the President to resolve all this, but all I received in response was sarcasm. Would you want someone to manage your team when you are treated this way? Neither do we! We would love to speak with you....

What it comes down to is that this team is open to the public, and pays for use of the club. Many of the people who belong to the club who had kids on the team for some reason thought they were superior, and that their kids should swim more, even though there was far better talent on the team. On top of that, the fake and somewhat creepy around kids Jim Brown would spend all day making sure nobody not associated with the club put a toe in the water or went on the playground. This is not the club at Mountain Lakes folks...get real. This is a fairly run down corner of a weed infested lake, that would get almost no usage if the swim team was not there.
It is always the case with a few bad apples. It is just a shame the board not only didn't see this, but was part of the issue.

Sounds like Glenn Desantis is spending a lot of time at the newly constructed "counter" in the galley along with the rest of the drunks that are running or rather ruining what once was a nice club.

Hello, I would like to bring to light some issues that are not being addressed. First I would like to say that accusation, speculation and name calling is not helping. The real issue is what is going on with the board and how is the influence of the yacht club affecting its performance. (Conflict of interest and such) First the meeting has come and gone. I was at the meeting and it was apparent to me that none of the issues were dealt with. Originally the meeting was for the membership to get answers to questions about the actions of the board. Then at the last minute it was changed to the meeting that was supposed to be held in August after the season. There were requests for minutes of meetings and copies of the by-laws and it was said that this meeting would be about these issues. At this meeting we were told about the issue of the coach firing that we didn’t need to know and we were being shielded for our own good. (Really?) Since when, as an adult first off and parent of two children on this team, am I, and my spouse as well as the rest of the parents, on the team not capable of dealing with issues that directly affect our kids? There was mention of a meeting held to discuss the firing of caches. Where are the minutes of this meeting and why were we not invited? Not to dwell on the coach issue although this was the catalyst for questioning the board’s actions to begin with. Why did it take a month to supply the by-laws to the membership?

There is a question if these are really the by-laws. There have been changes made as far as paying rent to the yacht club. When did this happen? Where is the vote from membership to approve this? There is supposed to be a raise in rent how much do we pay now and when is the vote going to be to approve this? There should be minutes for all of these decisions and signed documents pertaining to any changes regarding these issues. Also if we pay rent to the yacht club, they are our landlords not a part of the team. We are a separate entity from them. We have our own tax id number. If this is not true why are our children not allowed on the playground during meets? If we are one unit then why are we not allowed on the beach? I hope you see what I mean here. When did the yacht club become responsible for our money held in trust? Does the yacht club buy us supplies for improvements? When was it decided that we are a booster club? Who voted on this? Again where are the minutes of vote and all that? I ask these and other questions to make a point. We as members are well within our rights to view these. This is a sports club with appointed members to represent the wishes of its members not to shield us from the hard uncomfortable decisions and to make them for us for our own good.(?) Majority rules here. Being part of a club, there are going to be decisions made that are not going to be ok with all members, however, if the majority of members want it, they have to live with it.

The truth needs to be found out and then appropriate actions need to be taken here. It was stated at the meeting from a member, that when you elect a president to the country, you don’t ask questions or second guess them. This is not accurate. If an elected official acts outside his powers or in an illegal way they are removed from office or at the very least sanctions are imposed on them whatever they may be. Transparency is crucial in governing bodies of any kind. So I would ask that we find out the truth and when the facts are in front of us make the decisions that need to be made. I do also not wish to minimize the efforts, hard work and time given to be on the board. Respect is due and should be given. That being said this is our and our children’s club. We need to be active in the decisions that affect it. Please step up and make your important voice count. Change must come from within. We need your help.