THE MIGHTY MISSION VALLEY Y
TEAM BEAT
MISSION VALLEY • TOBY WELLS • HAZARD CENTER • DOWNTOWN • SKATE PARK
AUGUST 2014 • VOLUME 1 • ISSUE 4
Ch...ch...ch...changes!
Polly Dong, Fitness Department Head
I am amazed by our Mission Valley
Y and how we are constantly in the
flux, yet we refuse to allow that to
interfere with our positive community
impact and service to our members.
Summer is winding down and change
smells stronger in the air! Each part
of our community is adjusting as the
days begin to get shorter! Before you
know it all our department teams
will be changing the season: child
development and HR will be finished
with back-to-school hiring, skate
park will be refreshed following the
Clash at Clairemont, and facilities will
be taking down camp tents. Youth
sports is winding down the summer
season and Cymer is bidding farewell
to our first Youth Institute grads.
Membership is gearing up for a fall
promo, gymnastics is preparing
for compulsory season, aquatics
is shifting their schedules for fall
lessons, and your health and wellness
offerings are being refreshed!
exercise studio at Friars Road. We
are opening the doors to kids 7+ and
offering more family-friendly classes.
We will be introducing Team Challenge
2.0 and other programs that better
support our members’ goals. We are
hiring your next favorite coaches,
instructors, and trainers, – and
ensuring that our current team is up
to date with continuing education
credits at our Fall Fitness Palooza.
And after all that, we’ll
be done — for the
moment of course.
Then, it will be January
(the busiest fitness season of all).
And we will start again – with new
changes and adjustments of anything
that happened along the way.
“The secret of change is to focus all of
your energy, not on fighting the old,
but on building the new.” –Socrates
I am pleased to share that your
Fitness Department (in partnership
with many others) has been working
hard behind the scenes and unveiling
a variety of new changes! We have
installed new equipment at Toby
Wells and are building a new group
So now I remind myself, with respect
and credit to Robin Williams, “You’re
only given a little spark of madness.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Page 1
Opening Note
Pages 2 - 3
Department Updates
Page 4
Program Spotlights
Facilities Q&A
Page 5
Department Updates (Cont.)
Guess Who?
Page 6
Shout Outs
News to Know
Page 7
Nutrition Tips
Staff of the Month
Page 8
Upcoming Events
You mustn’t lose it.” So to you, I
offer thanks for keeping my madness
alive through our ongoing change.
I feel fortunate to work alongside
you as a single team member of this
amazing nonprofit community center,
within a goal-focused, county-wide
association, as part of an initiativebased national organization, which
helps to make an amazing impact
within an international movement!
— Polly
Have something to add? Email [email protected] or [email protected]
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DEPARTMENT UPDATES:
What’s going on in every corner of your Y
ADMIN
• The move, what??? This
means amazing things like
Stacey Walker commuting
via scooter.
• Josh Law has flown the coop and
is now wearing a suit and working at
THQ. Way to go Josh!
• Marketing just received a $1,000
donation from Thrivent. Great job
guys!
• Justin Nietes spent a week at
Camp Marston with 150 amazing kids
and Marketing’s new camera. Way to
go Justin!
• Best wishes for Holly Hinkley
on her surgery! We hope you have
a speedy recovery and can’t wait to
have you back.
AQUATICS
• Aquatics held the
First Summer Swim Academy at Toby
Wells July 21-25! During the Swim
Academy, swimmers had 3 daily
water sessions that included stroke
development, introduction to water
polo, water safety and free time
to splash in the water,
and slip and slide down
the waterslide. Aquatics
would love to give a
BIG THANK YOU to the
swim instructors, Nick
Delos Reyes, Andrew
Rodriguez, and Coryn
Simons for doing an
amazing job instructing
their swimmers; Jenn
Best (camp) and her camp
team for supporting the
SAFETY FIRST Unlike Stacey here, please use
aquatics department in
the crosswalk when you are traveling to Rick
this new camp territory;
Fricek Rodriguez (sports) Engineering.
for getting the swimmers
accepted and government-recognized
moving out on the soccer field
standards. The ACA standards are
everyday with various sports; and
focused on health, safety and risk
Sara Spechtenhauser (aquatics) for
management, however, there are
getting the swimmers all checked in
multiple individual marks that we
bright and early every morning. Thank are required to meet in order to
you to everyone who had a part in
retain our accreditation. The camp
making Swim Week a success. The
department is excited to share this
kids had a great time!
news with you, and we appreciate
CAMP
• Congrats Camp! Our
Summer Camp program
scored 100% for
our accreditation
renewal. Camp
is accredited
through the
American Camp
Association (ACA).
Camp programs
that have this
accreditation
establish
guidelines for
needed policies,
procedures, and
practices. They
also assist the
public in selecting
camps that
SWIM ACADEMY Campers play water polo at the first
meet industry2 Summer Swim Academy.
your continued support!
• We gave awards to stellar staff
(voted on by their peers). High fives
for these three outstanding leaders:
Stellar Unit Leader - Daniel Arreola
Stellar Camp Leader - Amanda Lyon
Stellar Overall Staff - Tyler Hardrick
FITNESS
• Toby Wells YMCA:
We have opened the wall
between Fitness Center
and the Personal Training
Studio, allowing for expanded space
for new, specialized equipment. Come
check it out! The fitness center will
be closed August 14 - 15 so we can
swap the old equipment with the
new equipment. Join us for a Grand
Reopening, Saturday, August 16.
• Mission Valley YMCA: Look for
a new group exercise studio at
Mission Valley. We’re renovating the
space near the building’s entrance
to accommodate a additional group
exercise studio.
• Welcome to new Group Fitness
Instructors: Chelsi Turner-yoga
(transferring after working as a Site
Supervisor for PrimeTime), Miriam
Rodriguez-Zumba. Also new
Wellness Coaches: Hodge Patterson,
Ken Ballard, Marco Anzures
• Congrats to Laura May for
starting her personal training career
at the Y with her first clients in
August!
GYMNASTICS
• Our Boys and Girls
Gymnastics Teams have
their Team Exhibition
Saturday, August 16, at the Toby
Wells Gymnastics facility. This is a
performance to showcase all the
awesome skills both teams have
been working
on all summer.
Admission is
$3 for children,
$5 for adults,
and is open to
friends, family,
members, staff
and anyone
who wants
NEW SPACE The old PT Studio at Toby Wells is undergoing
to see what
a transformation to a functional workout space for our
our team is all
members.
about!
• Good luck to our compulsory (level Gymventures clinic on August 2.
The clinic was specially tailored for
3-5) Girls Gymnastics Team, who will
families of children with special
be starting their competition season
needs, to get these kiddos moving
in September. Big shout out to the
around and learning some cool
coaches, Natalia Barclay, Crystal
gymnastics skills. Led by certified
Gunter, Taylor Pass, Emily Daniels
and Staci Schwitkis, for all your hard Feldenkrais practitioner Kristi Kohn,
the class helps participants problemwork to get these girls ready!
solve through physical challenges,
• Great job RaeAnne Grabowski
such as climbing, sliding, balancing,
for putting on a successful Adaptive
swinging and jumping, to successfully
complete obstacle courses. The class
was open to all families of children
with special needs, including, but not
limited to, autism spectrum, cerebral
palsy and Down syndrome.
MEMBERSHIP
& KID’S PLACE
• Congrats to Erine
Heffernan for getting the most
birthday cakes this year! HBD!
• Welcome to the front desk, Tanya
Collins!
• It’s been a great month, with tons
of member appreciation events, great
job staff!
• Adriana Rodriguez over in Kid’s
Place is sharing her talent with
Alvarado Hospital a volunteer.
• On June 20, Dylonnie is now Mrs.
Dylonnie Bailey!
• Congrats to Gabby Meadows on
her transfer to Point Loma Nazarene
University.
• Savannah Rhoads is completing
her student nursing in the OBGYN
unit, which mean she is pretty much
ADAPTIVE GYMVENTURES This program gives kids with special needs a
chance to grow, explore and have fun!
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
3
SPOTLIGHT ON OUR PROGRAMS
a week
at CAMP
MARSTON!
Mission Valley
YMCA took
150 campers
up to Camp
Marston for a
life-changing
week that
campers are sure
to remember.
From archery to SUMMER FUN Even water breaks are fun at camp
marksmanship,
(above). Four of our counselors get together (right).
night hikes and
the trip. Ivanna shares her
singing camp songs, to the new
friendships and memories that will be experience by saying, “This
has been a life-changing
cherished, Camp Marston is a place
week, not only for the
where kids really step out of their
campers, but for myself as
boundaries. Robin Anderson, Kyle
well. I saw kids do things for the first
Brandon, Ivanna Ames, and Janay
time and overcome the emotions of
Taylor are all camp staff who were
lucky to experience the week and had being away from their family, which
made me very proud of them.”
nothing but positive feedback about
The week at camp was funded for
more than half of the campers,
thanks to the Community Outreach
Campaign.
FACILITIES UPDATE: Q&A WITH RICK WILSON
There are lots of changes going on
around our facility right now, so
Team Beat talked to Rick Wilson, who
manages all our facilities, to find out
what’s really going on behind that
yellow caution tape.
TEAM BEAT: There’s a lot of
construction going on at Friars Road.
What happening?
RICK WILSON:We’re creating more
space for our members by adding a
1,700-sq.-ft. group exercise studio.
The demand is there, and we vetted
a lot of different options to see what
we could do to meet our member’s
demands at Friars Road. Ultimately,
this is the best option for our
members.
TB:
So that studio is going to
4 displace a lot of our staff. Where
will they go?
RW:
In addition to the new
group exercise studio, there will be
13 workstations in that building.
The current admin building will be
redesigned. There will be smaller
offices and more workstations. That
building will hold 35 workstations for
our staff. It’s going to be an active,
shared workspace to encourage
engagement with our members,
programs and sites.
TB: Why haven’t we built up to
create more workspace for our staff?
RW: We wish we could, but
under our conditional use permits
from the city, we are not allowed to
build a building tall enough to allow
for the height of a second floor.
TB: Ok, so why don’t we build
on the lower field?
RW: The lower field is in the
flood plain. During heavy rains, the
river washes over this field. Water
even flows through the west parking
lot. Fortunately, we do have a special
permit as part of our conditional use
permit that allows us to use the lower
field for three months for camp. We
cannot put permanent structures
there.
TB:
Currently a lot of our
staff are working across Friars
Road at Rick Engineering during the
construction. When will they be able
to return to our facility?
RW:
Everyone should be back
and working by the first week in
October.
DEPARTMENT UPDATES: CONTINUED
always around babies!
SPORTS
• The sports
department is looking
for Peewee Sports instructors and
youth basketball referees.
• Way to go Susan Gould for doing
a great job with another season of
Pee Wee sports. Several kids have
started and stayed with Y sports
because of you! One parents shared a
photo, Allie was 4 when Coach Susan
started with her, now she is 9 and
still going strong. Another athlete,
Matthew was 2 when he started and
is still playing at age 5!
• We are at the halfway point of
our youth sports season. Our youth
soccer program this summer has been
fortunate enough to bring in 14 new
teams, in addition to our 16 teams,
as part of our collaboration with the
Peninsula Y, Copley Y, and Monarch
and Karen Club.
• Our young football athletes are
running back kick offs, intercepting
balls and making amazing plays every
Sunday morning at the Toby Wells Y.
• Youth basketball season is going
great; we are working with the
Peninsula Y and Rancho Y to provide
a great experience for kids across the
PEEWEE CHAMPS Susan stopping for a photo after Allie’s PeeWee league.
county.
YAA
• Karen Barry has been
doing a great job at growing
the YAA department and increasing
the number of program participants
at Toby Wells! She recently ran a
successful workshop on balance that
had 29 participants!
• YAA has been encouraging more
Baby Boomer members to get active
by offering fun activities like kayaking,
hiking and walking trips. If you walk
past our activity room, you may
notice our members are getting more
engaged in games like Mahjong or
cards, and morning socials and movie
time.
YOUTH
DEVELOPMENT
• We would like to congratulate
Ashley Gay on becoming the
Coordinator II for the PrimeTime/
PRYDE department.
• Please welcome Alex Espiritu
from the Copley YMCA, as he teams
with the Mission Valley branch as one
of the PrimeTime Assistant Directors.
GUESS WHO?
These kiddos are now members of our incredible staff team. Can you guess who each person is?
Answers are on page 7.
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2
3
4
5
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CONSIDER THIS SHOUT OUT A BIG HIGH-FIVE
FOR THE GOOD THINGS YOU’RE DOING!
STAFF RECOGNITION CARD
WINNERS
who had been in a serious accident.
Kathleen recalls riding in a Lyft car on
Caitlin Earley, fitness, was recognized her way home from a kickball game.
Riding over the 805 on the Adams
for her flexibility and willingness to
Ave. bridge, she looked over to see
sub for multiple shifts as a Wellness
an unconscious man lying naked on
Coach. Thank you for being such a
the ground. There were a few people
great member of the fitness team!
around the injured man, but Kathleen
Kailee Lindahl, membership, was
had the Lyft driver pull over to see
recognized for being a great team
if they could help. When Kathleen
player and working so hard for the
walked up to the man on the ground,
Welcome Center.
she realized the person who had been
performing CPR was wearing a YMCA
David Berry, gymnastics, was
lifeguard uniform. This guard had
recognized for always being aware
already asked another woman to call
of his program and really paying
911, so when Kathleen asked what
attention to what is happening.
she could do, the lifeguard asked her
Way to recognize your peers ­— we
to find a first aid kit. She thought
received over 100 cards this month.
she remembered seeing a first aid kit
Congrats to Caitlin, Kailee, and David
when she first entered the Lyft car,
— you each get to pick which prize
and luckily enough, she was right.
you want. Choices: Y Swag Bag, meal
Kathleen ran back to retrieve kit from
for your shift, or lunch with a director.
the car, which the lifeguard was able
Just let Claire or AJ know what you
to use to start bandaging up the
select, so they can make it happen!
severely injured man. The ambulance
arrived shortly after to take the
HOW TO SAVE A LIFE
unconscious man away. Nice work
Roughly three weeks ago, one of our
Kathleen! Our hats are off to you
membership staff, Kathleen Dore,
and this mystery lifeguard for being
and a lifeguard from the Copley
truly kind and socially responsible
YMCA were instrumental resources
community members!
in providing aid to a gentleman
SNAKES IN A BOX!
On Friday, August 1, Stacey Walker
and Tanya Collins helped corral a
baby rattle snake who wanted to go
to camp, too! The snake was in a pipe
outside of the admin building. Camp
staff came and alerted Tanya to its
presence. Tanya and Stacey grabbed a
box and went outside. Stacey helped
the snake into the box and drove it to
a new home. Great work guys!
goooooaaalllll!
The YCup soccer team is undefeated.
Their record is 5-0.
MOVIN’ ON UP
Congrats to Kari Logan who was
recently offered and accepted the
position of Associate Executive
Director overseeing Membership and
Aquatics.
news you should know
FAMILY FIT
Did you know all Y employees (both
full and part time) now have Family
PLUS memberships that allow you
to go to any Y in the county? For
staff to take advantage, their family
needs to live at the same address
and they need to come the front
desk and add their family to the
membership. Staff need to make any
change to their account and
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get membership cards at the front
desk. After that they are welcome to
visit the Y of their choice. Seasonal
staff for summer camp have branch
memberships.
New Policy Change
Kids ages 7+ can use our wellness
center after taking a family
orientation. We’ve also added 23
classes to the Family Friendly Group
Exercise schedule. Those classes
welcome those 7+, all other classes
are 13+.
PADRES TICKETS
Y members and staff can purchase
tickets for the 2014 San Diego
Padres season at the corporate
partner rate - 20% off all single
game tickets (promotional code:
YMCASD2014). Discounted tickets
are available to purchase now!
Nutrition Tip of the Month
What is a whole grain?
All grains start life as whole
grains, which are the entire
seed of a plant. This seed is
made up of 3 key components:
the bran, the germ, and the
endosperm. Whole grains or
foods made from them contain
all the essential parts and
naturally-occurring nutrients
of the entire grain seed. If the
grain has been processed, the
food product should deliver
the same rich balance of
nutrients that are found in the
original grain seed.
The benefits of whole
grains most documented by
repeated studies include:
• Stroke risk reduced 30%-36%
• Type 2 diabetes risk reduced
21%-30%
• Heart disease risk reduced 25%-
28%
• Better weight maintenance
Other benefits indicated by recent
studies include:
• Reduced risk of asthma
• Healthier carotid arteries
• Reduction of inflammatory
disease risk
• Lower risk of colorectal cancer
• Healthier blood pressure levels
• Less gum disease and tooth loss
What counts as a serving of 100%
whole grain foods?
• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/2 cup cooked 100% whole grain pasta
• 1/2 cup cooked hot cereal, such
as oatmeal
• 1 ounce uncooked whole grain
pasta, brown rice or other grain
• 1 slice 100% whole grain bread
• 1 very small (1 oz.) 100% whole
grain muffin
• 1 cup 100% whole grain ready-
STAFF OF
THE MONTH
Congratulations to our Staff of
the Month who represent our
three areas of focus. These three
individuals really shine when it
comes to supporting the mission
of the YMCA.
to-eat cereal
Easy Ways to enjoy whole grains:
• Substitute half the white flour
with whole wheat flour in your
regular recipes for cookies,
muffins, quick breads and
pancakes.
• Replace one third of the flour
in a recipe with quick oats or
old-fashioned oats.
• Add half a cup of cooked
bulgur, wild rice, or barley to
bread stuffing.
• Add half a cup of cooked wheat
or rye berries, wild rice, brown
rice, sorghum or barley to your
favorite canned or home-made
soup.
• Use whole corn meal for corn
cakes, corn breads and corn
muffins.
• Add three-quarters of a cup
of uncooked oats for each
pound of ground beef or turkey
when you make meatballs,
burgers or meatloaf.
• Stir a handful of oats in your
yogurt, for quick crunch with no
cooking necessary.
Youth Development
Jennifer Best - Camp
Healthy Living
Kari Lorriane Scott – Fitness
Social Responsibility
Shelby Iacometti - Membership
GUESS WHO? ANSWERS 1. Leah Dadich, Membership 2. AJ Buckner, Membership 3. Kari Lorraine Scott, Fitness
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4. Kerrissa Thompson, Membership 5. Linda Soule, Human Resources
EVENTS CALENDAR:
Here’s when all the fun stuff is happening
august 16
GYMNASTICS TEAM EXHIBITION
Boys and Girls Gymnastics Team
Exhibition takes place from 1:30
– 3:00 p.m. in the Toby Wells
Gymnastics Facility. Admission: $3
for children; $5 for adults
august 16
toby wells fitness center
grand reopening
We’re replacing equipment in the
Fitness Center at Toby Wells next
week. The center will be closed
on Thursday and Friday, August
14-15, with a grand reopening on
Saturday, August 16.
AUGUST 21, 28
BABY’S NIGHT OUT
We have joined Ultra Star Mission
Valley Cinemas to help sponsor
“Baby’s Night Out.” This is an
opportunity for new parents to
go see a grown-up movie without
leaving baby behind! Baby’s Night
Out is every Thursday at 7 p.m. at
UltraStar Mission Valley CinemasHazard Center. Admission is $6, and
the theatre is equipped with stroller
parking, dimmed lights, reduced noise
and changing stations.
like Spider Man in the gym at Toby
Wells Y, 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.,
Saturday, August 23. Show up in
your best superhero, villain, or
sidekick costume! Children ages 3
to 12 are welcome to participate.
Siblings ages 3 to 12 are $8
(sorry, sibling price is not available
online; please register siblings
over the phone or at the Welcome
Cdenter.) Parents and children
under 3 are free. Contact Rachelle
Mack, [email protected], for more
information.
and to find out the location of the
meeting!
september 19
october 19-26
adaptive gymventures
This movement class for kids ages
6 months to 7 years with special
needs meets from 11:15 a.m. to
12 p.m., Friday, September 19 at
Toby Wells. Session fees are $8 for
members, $12 for non-members.
The class is open to all families
of children with special needs,
including, but not limited to, autism
spectrum, cerebral palsy and Down
syndrome.
deluxe mexico spa trip
Join us for eight days of pampering,
good nutrition, daily exercise, and
health and beauty treatments in
the relaxing environment of the
picturesque village of Ixtapan de
la Sal, with the majestic Sierra
Madre mountains as a beautiful
backdrop. Please visit our website
or contact Ivona Kolevska for more
information at [email protected].
coming soon
september 19-21
learn the in’s and Out’s of
repairing and building credit
Presented by California Coast Credit
Union. Date TBD.
color me rad 5k
The Color Me Rad 5K is Saturday,
August 23 at Qualcomm Stadium.
Y members can save 25 percent
on registration by using coupon
code YMCA25. Check out www.
colormerad.com/race/san-diego for
all the details.
women’s wellness weekend at
camp marston
Enjoy a weekend of wellness, great
food, camp activities, fitness
classes and fun! The whole weekend
costs $150, but you can use your
staff discount! Polly will even work
you a deal if you promise to bring
friends! Contact Simon Hansen
at [email protected] or 760765-0642, ext. 16003 for more
information.
AUGUST 23
september 23
august 23
SUPERHEROES & VILLIANS
Calling all superheroes, villains,
and sidekicks! We have challenges
and games, obstacles to overcome
and opportunities to swing
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all-staff meeting
Save the date! Our next all staff
meeting will be held from 6:30 8:30 p.m. Please check with your
supervisor for more information
october 11
the spirit of san diego
Save the date for this roaring ‘20s
gala to benefit Mission Valley
YMCA. Our annual event raises
lots of money each year that
goes directly into our community
outreach programs. Find out more
at www.missionvalley.ymca.org/
news/events/spirit-of-san-diego.
html.
LET’S HEAR IT!
Do you have something to share
with our Mission Valley Y Staff
Team? We’re always looking for
events, shout-outs, department
news, stories or anything else.
Send an email to Claire (chiller@
ymca.org) or AJ (abuckner@
ymca.org) and
we’ll try to get it
in the next issue!