Ep 56 - Coaches Retreat with Morgan Cordle

This week we talk to Morgan Cordle the CEO/Head Coach of 757swim in Virginia. In this episode Morgan shares how over the last two years they have been focused on their culture, how the organization runs with their massive growth, and she shares how she held a successful coaches retreat this year to kick off the season. The retreat information alone is GOLD. Listen up!

Transcript

00:00:03 - Introduction

This is the Your Sports Resource podcast, where each week you'll learn actionable strategies that you can implement so the operations of your club support your coaching staff and the direction of your organization. We are committed to excellence in youth sports leadership. Let's get started.

00:00:29 - Renata

Hello, and welcome to Your Sports Resource. My name is Renata Porter, and today I'm going to be talking to Morgan Cordle, who is the head coach and CEO of 757 Swim, located in Williamsburg, Virginia. Now, Morgan has been the CEO/head coach since 2015, is a recipient of the Virginia Swimming Senior Coach of the Year Award and a member of the Virginia Swimming Board As a coaches Rep, she previously served as a member of USA Swimming Senior Development Committee as well. All right, Morgan. Welcome. We really appreciate you being here.

00:01:06 - Morgan

Thanks so much for having me.

00:01:08 - Renata

Yeah, I'm really excited. We have a lot to talk about, so we're going to cover the vision, values, and behaviors. We're going to cover a little bit about your organizational design, some strategic planning, and then we're going to talk about your coaches retreat you did this year, 

00:01:22

which I'm really excited to share with everybody. But before we get there, can you just give us a bit of an understanding of who is Morgan and how did you get started in your career, basically, your progression to 757 Swim?

00:01:38 - Morgan

Yeah, absolutely. Grew up swimming, loved it, and kind of through a crazy series of events, got into some Division III college coaching, and then headed down to Houston, was with Fleet, and then came back to Virginia and kind of through a series of events, 757 started about 9 years ago. So never thought I'd be sitting in this spot, but it's been a really exciting journey and glad I jumped on board with the opportunity.

00:02:11 - Renata

Great. Okay, so let's get into the two areas that where we came together to work, and that was oh, my gosh. Do you remember what year that was? So, we're in 23, 22, 21 is when we started.

00:02:25 - Morgan

I think it was actually 22, march 22. Yeah.

00:02:29 - Renata

Okay, so the first thing we worked on together was the vision, values, and behaviors. So, what I kind of would like to understand is why did you guys reach out and why did you feel like that this process was really important for you.

00:02:47 - Morgan

Yeah, absolutely. So, a little bit of background about 757 Swim. We started in 2015 with about 50 swimmers. We swam outdoors year-round in Virginia before Tide even started doing that, and their amazing facility down in Virginia Beach. 

00:03:03

So, we're a little bit off the beaten cuff, and we have grown now over to 300 plus swimmers. We own our own facility, and so our organization has exploded, and we had a lot of growth through COVID, and those members stayed on. We had different divisions within our organization now owning our own facility from a swim lessons program, a lap swimming fitness element, rental pieces. 

00:03:33

So, our structure just and everything didn't fit who we were anymore. And you really started to see that through kind of our culture, too. Right? And I think we all know that culture makes us or breaks us. But in my humble opinion, there's not a lot of X's and O's out there on how to evaluate your culture, how to implement where you want to go. 

00:03:55

And so, this is where we landed with you. And I'm so grateful for that opportunity, but it really helped us kind of pull everything back in and still have that small team vibe and that piece but be able to do it within a much larger scale organization.

00:04:15 - Renata

You know, I tell everybody when I'm talking to potential clients, I tell everybody about you. And I'm going to share a little story that may come across a little negative at first, but it doesn't end up being that way. So, for everybody listening. So, we showed up to do vision, values and behaviors and also organizational design. 

00:04:34

And when I showed up on day one to start doing that facilitation work for the vision, values, and behaviors, Morgan was sitting in her chair slouched with her arms crossed, which is how I'm I hate to say it, I'm typically met by head coaches, right? Like a lot of doubt, a lot of like, why are you here? How's this gonna go? 

00:04:56

That kind of but I tell you what, by 2 hours in, you were sitting forward, and you were upwards. So what I'd like for you to do is just really kind of share not really so much how the workshop changed you, but when it came for you to take it to being more than just words and you guys started putting it into play and embedding that work, what are the shifts that you saw? 

00:05:21

And I know nothing changes overnight, right? So, it's a long progression, but just kind of give the audience an understanding of the shift that happened through that process.

00:05:30 - Morgan

Yeah, absolutely. And not to completely back up, but Renata, she's probably even being kind in her description. I think as all of us know, we're trying to fit everything into a schedule. I think we had just wrapped up championship season and we were trying to get ready for long course and it was just like, here's another thing that we knew we needed to do, and it was getting everybody on the same schedule.

00:05:54

And so, I was so skeptical and it felt a little woo woo to me in the moment too. And it was like, I'm not here to talk about feelings and I have a horrible poker face. But again, I'm so grateful for the work that we did, and I think, you know, Renata, what you're saying is once we got things on paper that felt like, hey, this is like a compass now. 

00:06:15

Like, this is what's going to really help steer us. And I'm such a visual person, especially if I'm implementing changes or trying to learn something new, like, I really need to see some words in front of my face and constant reminders. So that's where we started, right? We're like how are we going to introduce this? And it was as stressful as the timing was when we were doing some of this work. 

00:06:36

Like I said, it was in the springtime, and you were starting to try to really dive into this and then get things set up for the following year as well. We knew that's when we wanted to introduce that in 2023. So, I think you were right with that, 2022. And so, we started with, okay, branding is really important to our organization. 

00:06:56

How do we incorporate this into things that we utilize day in and day out? So, we revamped our entire website, and our values were front and center of it. Our behavior statements were listed right underneath it in like, a really kind of catching way. We worked with a graphic designer to do that, and then we had banners designed as well, so those were put up in the facility, and we were able to rotate those in and out. 

00:07:20

Now they're kind of permanently hung. We had just started a new partnership with Tier as well, and so we were doing some equipment stuff with them. We were able to put our values on kickboards for all of the workouts that we print. We were able to have them listed not just on the bottom, but we were able to list them on the top. 

00:07:41

And what we do is we have a value assigned every single month. And so, this is a way for our members, our staff, our community to recognize what our value is and what we're really focusing on it. And I almost describe it now as kind of going along with our season plan. Right. So, for example, one of our values is connection. 

00:08:00

September is a huge month for connection. We're kicking off the season. You might be in a different group, new coaches. And so that's really our focus there. Then we go into October and growth, right. We just came off our IMR/IMX meet with a lot of swimmers, trying different events and things of that nature. 

00:08:18

So, it was really cool that we were able to map that out within kind of the ebbs and flows of our season and both service opportunities and things of that nature. So, I think it really started with getting all those visuals in front of us from again, our Dry Side newsletter has whatever value we're focusing on and maybe a story too, associated with it.

00:08:39

Yeah. And Renata, I think you helped really bring this out too, right? These visions, your values, and behaviors. Yes, they're the compass, or I call them the compass, but we tend to use them when we're recognizing behaviors that we don't want to be a part of our culture. 

00:08:55

But you were so great at reinforcing saying, hey, but also remember this is a way to call out behaviors that, you know, we want to be a part of your culture. And I think for me, when I see culture, I'm like, I want that to be a part of our culture. That's something I want to hang on to. So, it was also a way to reinforce things. I give a really simple example. 

00:09:15

One day a swimmer dropped their swim bag outside of the facility before practice, and they ended up not coming or something of that nature. And another swimmer, it was starting to rain, just grabbed it. And I was like, hey, do you know where that person is? And he's like, I don't know, but the bag doesn't need to be outside. Like, simple things. That was service, right? 

00:09:34

That was connection with your teammate, just looking out for them in that nature. There are so many different examples of our swimmers going out and working a food pantry or something of that nature. So, it really became a way that we could shine lights on positive spots as well and then also recognize, hey, this is getting a little bit off the beaten path of where we want to be. 

00:09:56

This isn't falling into our behavior statements that we've agreed to. So, as I think the more time that we're spending with it and now that we're going into year two, there's a few more tangible items. I think year one, the challenge is how do you get the words to leave the paper and how do you really just highlight and execute on it.

00:10:14 - Renata

 Yeah, I think that's the biggest thing. And I do talk about the fact that sometimes conversations when you're trying to introduce it and get it out to being action-oriented instead of just words on paper, it feels a bit forced and uncomfortable when you're having those conversations. 

00:10:30

But as you move through it, then it just becomes part of your terminology, how you talk to people, and then your kids pick it up. I just have one last question about this. Now that you're past a year on, are you seeing these celebrations and corrections as far as your values and behaviors are concerned? 

00:10:50

Are you seeing that in your parents and your coaching staff and maybe even the board as well? Is it carrying through the entire organization? And it's okay if it's not yet.

00:11:02 - Morgan

Yeah, I would say we're starting to see it, right? And you're starting to hear people bring it up, like unprovoked and like, oh, hey, that was way to one of our statements is be kind in everything you do. So, we'll hear swimmers say that if maybe there's some sort of comment that's a little off the beaten cuff and stuff of that. 

00:11:17

So sometimes it's in a joking, but there is a little bit of a purpose way. And then the language has become more and more familiar with our parents especially, we're able to reinforce it during our annual team meetings and things of that nature.

00:11:31 - Renata

That's beautiful. The other thing that we did was the organizational design. Tell us a little bit about that and how did it help you and where are you at today with that structure?

00:11:45 - Morgan

Yeah, absolutely. So growing pains, right? It has so many facets to it. So, we have more employees now of 757 Swim than we did swimmers of the first year. And so, we needed an outside set of eyes to look and say, hey, here are the strengths and how do we overlap folks' weaknesses with other strengths? 

00:12:06

And so, I think for me, both personally and professionally, this was the game changer. And so, there was just so much that was on my plate that we were able to kind of move around and really put in other folks' kind of direct line and two that fell really into their strengths. And so, I could focus a little more on what my strengths were and kind of true job description. 

00:12:30

I say at this point I've had probably four jobs within my time at 757 given how much we've grown and changed. But I think just taking the time as coaches and taking the time as a board and staff, depending on what you're in an organizational setup, is to evaluate what's going well, what's not, and how do you plan for the future, right? 

00:12:49

We wanted to get out of being a reactionary organization and it was like we just kept having all this growth and we're like, this has got to be it. There's not going to be anybody else coming. There's not going to be anybody else coming. And so now it feels like, okay, if more folks come, we have the groundwork to be sustainable and really give our members the best product that we're capable of giving them day in and day out.

00:13:10 - Renata

One of the things that we face that's very common when I work with clubs is that a lot of the coaches reported to the head coach, and that's a byproduct of growth. Right. But the problem is, when you grow, you don't kind of change that. 

00:13:25

And then you have less and less, I call them touch points or just opportunities to work very closely with all your coaches, and things kind of fall off, and then you end up having coaches that are they feel like they're on their own island, so to speak. I'm not saying that's what happened with you, but we did have the conversation about, okay, listen, you can't get everything accomplished. 

00:13:47

Something has to give. We need to kind of divide up who reports into who and we establish that head age group coach, that kind of thing. And I believe you can correct me if I'm wrong, it was probably a little nerve-wracking to give up a bit of control as far as that's concerned. 

00:14:07

So can you walk everybody kind of through that process as far as, okay, I'm going to let go of some of the staff members are going to report over into Amy. Now. How did that make you feel and how is it working?

00:14:18 - Morgan

Yeah, absolutely. So always nerve-wracking, right, to give up some of that control. And we had had a head age group coach and we had had some turnover in staff when we were bringing on some new folks and we knew that we would be hiring more full-time folks in the future. So, it was really looking at who was in place, what their strengths were.

00:14:41 

And so really, we promoted someone from head age group coach to associate head coach Amy Corey. Huge plug for her. Amazing, great balance to me, all things that you don't want me touching, she is running with and doing a fantastic job. Yeah, she's really helped streamline all of our time. Right. 

00:15:01

And so, I think you go back to those meetings, and I feel like we have so much more individual time that we can do things on our own and then so much more productive meetings and so many more of those connection points. So really looking at our division within we call it more of like, our elementary school division, our middle school division, our high school know if you want to say novice developmental senior age group. 

00:15:26

But having those key people in place and then having those coaches below them report directly. And then we're going to Amy, and then me and Amy are overseeing our departments. And so it's really created this sweet spot where there's a lot of connection happening, but also not a lot of wasted meetings and things of that nature. 

00:15:46

And you know, it took us a little bit of time. We really said, hey, we're going to commit to this structure and these meeting schedules. And it was a little bit daunting at first. And I was just telling someone this morning, I'm like, this was the best thing that could have happened to us. 

00:16:01

Like, we all have so much more time in our day and we're so much more productive with our meetings. And it's not just what administrative task hasn't been completed, right? It can be more visionary at time, more teaching moments at times, and continuing education.

00:16:18 - Renata

I love that you changed your meeting structure, too. I forgot about that because it is a big push. I feel like a lot of teams waste a lot of time just talking about administrative items in their meetings and you could be using that time more wisely. So that's really good to hear. 

00:16:31

All right, so this year I came out and facilitated a strategic planning session with your coaching staff and your board and we came up with a list of items on that list. So, tell us about that experience. And listen, it's only been a few months, but how are you guys progressing? Do you feel like? I felt like when I walked away, even though it was pouring and I was trying to run out for my mother's 80th birthday.

00:17:03

But, that I loved is being able to see the interaction between all your staff and the board. And it felt really good in the room for me as a bystander watching everybody. But you tell us, how did that day go? Was it helpful to have everybody together? Did it create really good strong bonds between everybody and then kind of where are you at now in the process?

00:17:28 - Morgan

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I know for so much of us professional coaches that work for a board or work with a board run organization, right, it can be a bit contentious at times and we get nervous. And so, I think there are these moments that really bring everybody together to get them on the same page and they're able to hear from the staff and those perspectives and then we're able to listen to the board and hear their strengths. 

00:17:52

So, I would say that was number one. I mean, for me it felt like very open dialogue that folks weren't holding back, and you could kind of see where their mindset was with everything. But also, again, we had just been in this place where we were so reactionary, we wanted to make sure for the next five to seven years that we had plans in place, right, with whatever was going to happen. 

00:18:14

And so, this really allowed us to dream big, but also get down into what was on that short-term to-do list, like what were some things that people had a skill set in the room or connections in the community that we could really tap into. And so, I think that was a huge takeaway, right? Like what's on that 60-day list and what's past that 60-day list and then getting all of that on our Google Drive where we're able during our staff meetings and board meetings, go back to that document. 

00:18:41

So, we did that in May, I believe. And so, we were going into the summer, kind of crazy stuff, but we knew we had some facility updates that we wanted to do, some things that we wanted in place before the new season. So definitely within that 60-day window and then also some big picture stuff that was going to really needed to start planning then and there. And so, finding that sweet spot between what's on the to do list and what's still an action item, but it's a little bit bigger picture.

00:19:13 - Renata

 Yeah. And how are you guys progressing now? Where do you think you're at?

00:19:16 - Morgan

Well, I mean, we definitely still have a couple of open tasks from September, but I think the fact that we're able to kind of hold each other accountable and see what tasks haven't been completed and maybe someone else has shifted some of the responsibility if they got through their list a little bit earlier. We color coded everything and put whatever staff member or board member was in charge of it.

00:19:38 

So that's what happens when you have young tech-savvy people on staff, I'm like, how do I make this look pretty? Don't let me make an excel sheet anymore. I think that's been good and definitely kind of shows some themes of things that have been a little bit harder to accomplish. Like, there was a couple, like, facility mechanical, bringing another pool on site that just with our kind of labor force right now, and part delays and things of that nature were some themes that we saw.

00:20:07 - Renata

Yeah, okay. All right, so I want to get into the retreat because I'm really excited about this. So, is this something that you've always done or you just kicked off this year?

00:20:16 - Morgan

So, we've always tried to do some sort of in-house retreat kind of like twice a year. We usually want in April that's a little more continuing, ed, focused, and then some sort of kind of connection launching pad for the beginning of the season. 

00:20:31

And I'll say I think our number one mistake, or my number one mistake with some of these is that I'm trying to cram way too much into a really short time period versus just recognizing, hey, what's utmost importance, who's going to be in the room and really doing our job to kind of plan things out. 

00:20:50

I know, like a lot of clubs, you've got that blend of full-time coaches and part-time staff. We still have, I believe, 17 part-time coaches. And so, making sure that we got those dates in front of them well in advance, I think we had those dates to them about three months out that they could kind of block things off. 

00:21:07

We actually pushed back practice a week to make sure that we could get all of this done because we just felt like it could be that purposeful and could have that much of an impact even on our swimmers. And so, what we did is we launched kind of a three-day professional development coaches retreat and had different breakout sessions, different things.

00:21:28

In the mornings, it was based around full time staff, and then in the evenings, it was based around all of us, including our part time staff, and really started off with that connection piece because some of us hadn't even met each other yet, and we were bringing in new staff.

00:21:44 

And so, we wanted to make sure that we had time to do our classic icebreakers but share a meal together and really get to know each other on a personal level.

00:21:54 - Renata

So, what was your main objective?

00:21:57 - Morgan

I would say day one, our main objective was to introduce vision, values, and behaviors to our new staff and kind of go back to the drawing board with our current staff of how do we think we're doing? And this goes back to how do we get the words to leave the paper. 

00:22:16

So, we took all of the values, and we did an activity where you were in small groups, and we tried to break up coaches that are typically together. So senior coaches were all over the room, age group and things of that nature. And we worked through a series of questions that really broke down to if we are living this value out, so let's start with connection, we should be doing X. 

00:22:39

So, for example, we said if we were living or fostering connection, we should be doing as in supporting, motivating, including engaging, connecting, sharing. And then we talked a little bit specifically, what did that look like? How could we implement it this year? 

00:22:56

And then we went into if this is happening, right, if we're really implementing this, what should we be seeing? We should be seeing guidance, cheering, praising, communication and partnering and then a little even kind of stretch further. We should be creating inclusiveness, unity, positivity, acceptance and safety. 

00:23:17

And so, we went through all of this kind of, what I would say, really action statements even within our values and behaviors because I didn't want them just to be like coin terms or slogans that our staff got sick of hearing. 

00:23:28

And now we take each value and for the end of the month we do a leadership meeting where all the full-time staff comes together and we put it up on the wall and we evaluate how we're doing with it from what we said we'd be doing, seeing and creating. So just really making sure that we're revisiting that as we're wrapping that value up for the month as a staff as well, then going into the next month.

00:23:53

 So that was really phase one, focus a little more kind of logistics stuff in the morning with the full-time staff and making sure that we had gotten all of our welcome letters out, our Zoom parent meetings scheduled. Just that kind of concrete stuff that we know it takes up some time and then creating some space for them in the middle of the day to get those tasks done. 

00:24:13

The next day we went into really where all of our part time staff was going to be there and broke out into divisions where our age group coaches, our developmental coaches, our senior coaches were going through our curriculum, our drills, our skills, and really working with our new assistant coaches of what we were looking for within each of those items. Right.

00:24:34

Because it's one thing to be like, hey, here's our curriculum, here's the practice, it's another thing to say when we're doing this drill, this is what we're looking for. And just so we can try to get those assistant coaches comfortable on deck from day one. And we also incorporated a coach mentor program.

00:24:51 

So, with our kind of growing staff and we're now in three different sites, we wanted to make sure that all of our coaches were having access to the full-time coaches and that new lead coaches were having opportunities to partner and mentor, or we just had a good pulse on everything. 

00:25:06

So, we explained how that was going to work within all the divisions of our program and then went into a little logistics piece. So, we use something called the Connecteam App. Not paid, not partnered. If they want to sponsor me, let me know. But this is a scheduling app that we use that really brings everything in house. Pull up my phone. 

00:25:28

And so all of our schedules, all of our sub requests, any important documents are done through this app. And so again, I think a lot of us struggle when we've got those full time and part time folks of getting everybody on the same page. And this really saves us from sending 10,000 emails out a day, but we're able to do some different announcements, our practice Halloween schedules and just friendly reminders.

00:25:52 - Renata

We can't quite see it. There we go.

00:25:56 - Morgan

Like, here's our employee of the month and things of that nature, but it really just puts everything in one house. But we knew that we needed spend some time with our new staff going over that.

00:26:07 - Renata

 And what's the name of that app again?

00:26:08 - Morgan

Connecteam app.

00:26:10 - Renata

Connecteam. Nice. And what'd you do on the last did you have three days, you said?

00:26:15 - Morgan

Yep, three days. And so, the last day we wanted to make sure that we left some time for anything that we did not cover the first two days. So, we just cushioned that a little bit. And then there was one topic that we wanted really everyone to brainstorm around. We do evaluations for our swimmers at the end of December and the end of our short course season and we wanted to revamp that. 

00:26:38

And so, we put everybody in front of a whiteboard and really did some brainstorming with that. And so, then the full-time staff could take that back and kind of develop our new form that we're going to use this year. And so just to make sure folks had a voice in it. 

00:26:54

And then as we're starting these groups, they know what we're evaluating on what we're looking for. This was also a time for us to go over some policies from our handbook Discipline, say Sport. We went through our facility with just general updates and kind of procedures that we wanted to change.

00:27:12 

And then at the end of it, we wrapped it up with like, personal goal setting. So, each coach spent some time to kind of reflect on what their goals were going to be for the year and then shared with one another.

00:27:22 - Renata

Wonderful. That's awesome. Yeah. And there was a little bit of fun activities as well, right?

00:27:29 - Morgan

Yeah, we had a lot of icebreakers, kind of traditional and untraditional food was at everything and a lot of us were just hanging out afterwards. We just enjoyed being in each other's company. And I think that's the really cool thing about our staff is we love spending time together and we want everyone to know that they're important. They've got a big voice in this organization.

00:27:51 - Renata

So, what's key about this, too, is you took it off site and you canceled practices. So, it removed everybody from having all these obligations and showing up on a pool deck. You removed them from the scene and it kind of encouraged or framed that collaborative and attendance, high attendance for you to have a really good quality session. 

00:28:15

So, tell me about the feedback that the coaches gave you right after. And then do you, as the CEO/head coach, do you have anything that you've noticed or any learnings that have come out of that or anything that you've witnessed that you are so happy that you did your program this way? So, start from the immediate feedback from staff and then talk about what you've seen since.

00:28:38 - Morgan

 Yeah, absolutely. I think the first feedback was that it was so nice we actually got through the agenda, right. And that we weren't like, oh, wow, we've got to follow up with a lot of emails because none of this was accomplished and I think purpose. Right. 

00:28:51

We do value each other's time, especially those part time employees. Right. And some of them are teachers and they're coming off of a long day of teaching and so they saw a lot of purpose in what we were doing and a lot of resources and just that kind of shared thought process of, hey, maybe think about doing it this way or try this. 

00:29:10

I go back to that relationship piece. So, one of the icebreakers we did was a Minute to Win It contest. So, we brought some previous members of our club in, and they're known for hosting these Minute to Win It games. 

00:29:25

So, there's ridiculous challenges where you're like balancing pasta and all sorts of things, but it was a time where you were able to laugh and connect with coaches that maybe you're not always sharing the deck with or they're going to be with you on the first day and you've never really met them before. 

00:29:42

So here we are, the first day of practice and we're laughing with a coach about you were the butterflyer in our land relay with toilet paper or something like so absurd. But those are to incorporate some of those fun relationship-building moments that you really start the season off well.

00:30:01 - Renata

Yeah. So, you had good feedback immediately and then what have you seen since? I'm going to assume you're happy with the fact that you did the work, but do you feel like it really was a strong, how was it a jumping-off point for your season? And how is everybody working together because of it?

00:30:25 - Morgan

Yeah, so I think it created a lot of momentum, a lot of energy, and a lot of cohesion, like right off the bat. Right. And I think in a time where coaches are just typically more tired than not and drained and where maybe some of us were really, like, having to put 1 foot in front of the other to get the next season started. 

00:30:44

It was kind of a fresh breath of air. And I know we get a lot of those experiences from our aspect clinics and things of that nature, but it was a way to be in your hometown, sleep in your own bed, and still feel like you are learning and growing and then know I'm always a believer. 

00:31:02

It's like who you're doing work alongside with, right? If we're all on one sheet of music and we're all excited to be with each other, we don't have to be best friends, but just the work that you're going to do combined is going to be a game changer. 

00:31:15

And so I think we took and I give Coach Amy so much credit for this, she had a lot of the logistic pieces already put together so that when we got to this point, we weren't focused on all the emails that we needed to be sending to our membership. 

00:31:30

We weren't focused on practice schedules or meet schedules. All of that was done. This was a really unique time, which I don't think we get a lot of this type of work throughout the season.

00:31:40 - Renata

Yeah. So, you pre-planned all the extra work, your day-to-day work, so you could focus on that. That's awesome. All right, so out of everything we talked about, so that's vision, values, behaviors, organizational design and structure, your strategic planning, and then how you let everybody in a different type of coaches retreat out of these experiences over the last couple of years. What do you feel like is a key takeaway or a big learning for you in your role as the CEO of the organization?

00:32:16 - Morgan

That's such a good question. The first thing that pops into my mind is just the ability to reevaluate your structure. And I know we spend a lot of time thinking about our group structure and things on the performance side, but I think sometimes we also need to be looking at the operations side of our clubs. 

00:32:38

And really the work that we did on the operation side of the club I think has made us all much better on deck and really kind of shined the focus and created some new space for that to happen. I think it's easy to recognize, hey, I don't necessarily like this about our club or organization.

00:33:00 

There's some negative chatter within our culture and things of that nature, but we also have to do something about it. And so, I think this is a really tangible way to put some X's and O's in front of us and create a compass that we could circle back.

00:33:14 - Renata

Amazing. Amazing. All right, anything? Any last comments? Any parting statements you want to make to anybody?

00:33:23 - Morgan

Renata, thank you for your work and your time. For someone that was slouching in a chair and very skeptical, I'll be the first to say you may be a huge believer out of it, but our organization is so much stronger for it, and I think it's having a direct impact on our swimmers. So, again, thanks for you and your staff and the time that you put into us. I think it's been a game-changer, to say the least.

00:33:46 - Renata

Thanks for that. I really appreciate it. And I really enjoy you guys as a client. I mean, you keep bringing me back and you stay in touch with me, and I get to ask you questions, too, because I don't know everything. And sometimes clubs hit me up with questions that I have no way how to answer. So, I reach out to my client base and go, what are you guys doing? So, I appreciate you giving me feedback there as well.

00:34:12 - Morgan

 Absolutely.

00:34:13 - Renata

 All right, well, thank you for being on with us. And everybody in the audience, thank you for listening. Please subscribe, rate, and review the podcast so we can reach a bigger audience and help others, such as yourself. And don't forget to visit the website yoursportsresource.com, where you can find articles and tools, as well as more information on how we can work with you directly. Finally, remember “what is common sense isn't always common in practice. Put what you learn into action. Don't just be good, be good at it.” Thanks, everybody. Bye.