This weekend, the JETS Swim Team will host its annual Summer Classic Swim Meet at Lake Central High School in St. John, Indiana. In honor of the 50th Anniversary of this beloved event—formerly known as the Dr. Pepper Super Swim Meet—we’ll be sharing stories and memories from JETS swimmers, volunteers, coaches, and families.
Today, we shine the spotlight on Lee Rakoski. Lee, a former JETS parent, longtime Friends of Swimming volunteer, and YMCA supporter, says his connection to the program dates back to 1977 when his oldest daughter started swimming.
“My wife and I were newbies. There were other parents whose kids had been swimming for some time. But my daughter took to water like a fish to the sea so we wanted to make sure we had her back the whole time,” he said.
Lee first got involved with Friends of Swimming, a volunteer group responsible for transporting and operating the electronic timing system used at meets, because of a fortuitous set of skills.
“I taught with electronics so I felt comfortable making any fixes if needed. Every once in a while, I’d get the alert ‘Hey we heard a bad beep’ or ‘We didn’t get a touch on that pad’ and I was the repairman for it,” he said.
Lee said serving as a parent volunteer at events like the Summer Classic was sometimes hard, but always rewarding.
“I jokingly say misery loves company. It would get extremely hot at Inwood on that Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in June. But everybody worked together. Any time you needed help you could find a volunteer. The parents weren’t afraid to help out to make the meet run smoothly,” he said.
Lee also said the meet didn’t pass up on any opportunities to make an impression.
“First of all, you have to have teams willing to come. And in order to have teams willing to come, the coaches have to have respect for everything in the operation. We always said the quickest way to a coach’s heart was through their stomach. The parents were always good about putting on a hospitality room with food. We were never short on teams,” he said.
And fun JETS experiences weren’t limited to the Summer Classic.
“There are so many good memories. Everything sticks with you. It’s not just a hit or miss thing. But I do remember when the team went down to Y nationals in Ft. Lauderdale. My daughters won a couple events and there was another swimmer that was seeded something like 60th in an event and she ended up winning it,” he said.
Lee credits the teamwork displayed from all leaders in the program for the continued success of the JETS.
“We had a great relationship with the coaches. We recognized how good they were and they always recognized the help they were getting,” he said.
The Y would like to thank Lee for all his contributions to the JETS program and wish the best of luck to all the swimmers and families getting ready for this weekend’s 50th Anniversary Meet!
Click below to read more JETS stories from our #TimeLaps series.
Sunday, June 8 – Mark Broucek
Monday, June 9 – Jeff Rubocki
