Globe Miami Times Connecting you to the Pulse of Globe Miami
Having a community pool says a lot about what a community values – fitness, safety, self-confidence, joy. After a 9 year closure, the Globe Community Center Pool came back to life in the summer of 2023 and now hosts a broad range of programs for a water-loving public. On an average late afternoon open swim, there are over 200 people enjoying the pool.
“We’re seeing a lot of families coming in,” says Lisa Fletcher, Pool Manager and Deputy Clerk for the City of Globe.
With approval from the City Council, she expanded the open swim hours, added lap swimming in the morning, and announced the start of a water aerobics class in mid-July. Plans are underway for a back-to-school event at the end of the month.
The facility includes a splash pad, zero-entry area, new decking, shower rooms and a heater to lengthen the swim season. It has become a venue for 25-meter competitive swim meets, community group pool parties and a place for Globe Hotshots to cool off and stay fit.
Safe, Cool Place to Play
“My father was in the military, so the swimming pool was always the place we found community,” says Chelsea Webb, a full-time nurse and mother of four.
After working the night shift, she drives her kids, ages 9-12, to the Globe Community Center Pool for morning swim practice. Swimming improves muscle strength, coordination, and cardio-vascular. It leads to lifelong healthy habits, says Chelsea. Her grandmother is 86 and swims laps every day at a community pool.
As pool manager, Lisa Fletcher’s main responsibilities include hiring lifeguards, getting them what they need, and ensuring everyone’s safe. This summer, she oversees 37 employees. All but two are Red Cross-certified lifeguards, and soon they will be too. There are three lifeguard leads. They help with the lifeguard station rotation schedule as well as the cleaning schedule for the restrooms and changing rooms.
“It’s a great group of kids,” says Lisa, proud of her staff. “Helpful, considerate, great customer service.”
Safety is the top priority. The slide has a lifeguard at the top and one at the bottom. There are always at least three lifeguards on deck and a typical shift employs 12-16. To ensure kids are safe when they leave the pool, a parent or guardian must pick up any child age 10 or under.
“It’s important to give kids something to do in the summer, a way to play in a controlled environment,” says Lisa, herself a mother and grandmother.
She has lived here her whole life. Mr. Marine was one of her swim teachers, at the Central Pool, in the 1980s, where the bus barn is now.
“He was a legend,” she recalls. “He probably taught most of the town how to swim.”
There are no swimming lessons offered at the Globe Community Center Pool, but Lisa is seeking an instructor. Due to great interest, Cobre Valley Recreation Center has opened a final session in the second half of July.
Lifeguard Training
There is a nationwide shortage of qualified lifeguards, in part due to pool closures during the pandemic. 18 of 29 City of Phoenix pools have not opened due a lack of lifeguard managers and pool managers.
“To be a good community partner, we have made our pool available for lifeguard training whether they are going to be employees at our pool or not,” says Linda Oddenetto, Economic & Community Development Director for the City of Globe.
Ted Quinn is a Red Cross-certified instructor and has been responsible for training dozens of young people from Globe-Miami and the surrounding communities to become lifeguards.
“Water safety is always an important issue,” Ted says.
Like many of the youth he trains, Ted earned his Basic Swim Instructor (BSI) certification and worked as a lifeguard during his college years. He’s happy that three pools will soon be open to provide recreational opportunities for this community.
“It allows people to enjoy themselves in the summer and practice swimming, which is a necessary skill in life,” he says.
Most of the lifeguards serving the Globe-Miami community developed their strength and self-confidence in the water as Globe Piranhas.
Growing Strong Swimmers
The Piranha Swim Team has been a part of the Globe community for 30 years. Swimmers range from 5-18 years old and all skill abilities. They all practice at the same time – Monday through Thursday mornings at Globe Community Center Pool.
“We spent 10 years keeping the team alive without the pool,” says Leslie Parker, a longtime Piranha parent volunteer.
When the Globe Community Center pool closed in 2014, the team swam in Miami’s Hostetler pool for 6-7 years and when it closed due to maintenance issues, the Piranhas went to Cobre Valley Recreation Center for a few summers. Due to the small pool size, only 23 kids could participate. There was no swim season in the summer of 2020.
This year the Piranha coaches are Lena Parker and Tabatha Voelker, both 18 years old.
The team competes in the Central Arizona Swim Association Invitational Summer League against the Eloy Otters, Florence Sharks, Coolidge Dolphins, Parkside Piranhas, Tucson Aquabears, and SM Sea Lions. Many of these teams are sponsored by their cities. The Globe Piranhas operate under the Copper City Youth Sports (CCYS) for insurance coverage and receive funding from United Fund of Globe-Miami via CCYS.
The projected costs to run the team this year is $173 per swimmer. This year, the United Fund will contribute about a third of those costs. Parents pay only $65, and fundraising is required to make up the difference. This year the team is selling hats. There is also a link on the CCYS website with an option to donate directly.
“We want it to be a low cost for our local community,” says Leslie, “but our costs keep going up – swimsuits, caps, ribbons, championship fees.”
The biggest expense the team incurs is the lifeguard fees. During swim practice and meets, they cover the cost of two lifeguards on deck and a pool manager. The Piranhas capped the team at 60 swimmers this year to avoid the additional expense of another lifeguard, as required by the City.
Despite the financial challenges, communication and appreciation between the City and the team has been strong. The City has purchased lane lines and backstroke flags for competitive events and swim meets are open to the public.
“I love the swim community,” says Linda. “They take pride in the facility. They leave it as clean as they find it.”
Through parent involvement, the Piranha program thrives. Leslie teams up with Adrea Ricke to cover the club’s administration. All of the swim parents are enlisted to help out with the home and away meets.
“Our children benefit from it,” says Chelsea Webb. “Kids get more excited and more involved because they see their parents helping.”
Leslie Parker has volunteered for the Piranhas for 15 years since the oldest of her three daughters was six years old. She’s also a parent booster organizer for the Globe High School swim teams, which now have a boys’ and girls’ swim team, thanks to the Globe Community Center Pool.
“I help out because I want not only my kids to be strong swimmers, but I want the community to have a lot of strong swimmers,” she says. “We recreate in the lakes and the rivers. It’s important for our kids to be strong swimmers.”
A traveler, Patti Daley came to Globe in 2016 to face the heat, follow love, and find desert treasure. She writes in many formats and records travel scraps and other musings at daleywriting.com.
