OREGON CITY SWIM TEAM IS A COMPETITIVE SWIM TEAM THAT PROMOTES LIFETIME FITNESS, CHARACTER GROWTH, AND PERSONAL EXCELLENCE THROUGH HARD WORK AND CHALLENGES BOTH IN AND OUT OF THE POOL.

While OCST provides a service (teaching swimming), OCST does not focus on the product (places, winning, etc.). Instead OCST focuses on the processes that are learned while receiving the service. There are no guarantees for success in the sport of swimming; however, by focusing on the process through which excellence can be pursued, OCST helps give individuals the tools necessary to pursue excellence for their entire life.
By joining the Oregon City Swim Team, you become a member and receive all the benefits entitled to you. Some benefits are obvious such as swimming instruction, physical exercise, and enjoyment. Other benefits may not seem as obvious such as interpersonal skills, time management, and dedication. While these things you receive from OCST are important, the ways in which you help contribute to the team are viewed as just as important.
The mission statement is integral to the OCST program. It describes who we are, what we do, and why we do it. The following section describes the mission statement in more detail so all members understand what OCST is all about.

                                The Oregon City Swim Team is a TEAM!

The OCST program is a collaborative effort from swimmers, parents, and coaches – a triad. Therefore, OCST is a team; not just of swimmers but of parents and coaches too – all working together. OCST’s goal: provide personal excellence through competitive swimming. OCST is aware that each individual has a different reason for swimming and encourages individuals to have their own goals. Yet despite these differences, everybody has the same goal which is to support the mission statement. The mission statement helps each individual accomplish their personal goal and at the same time strengthens the team as a whole. The parents and coaches understand that their support is needed to help the swimmers.

                                                 Success is a process

OCST believes that success is measured by what you do not by what you achieve. The mission statement describes a process by using the word "building" which describes an ongoing project. Without the word "building", the mission statement describes a state which already exists: "a positive, exciting team, etc." While this would be great to get by just being a member of OCST, it does not exist without everyone "building" it. Without individuals contributing to the building of the mission statement, OCST is not positive and exciting.
The mission statement also describes a process by using the word "developing" which describes a logical sequential order of advancement, like a developing living organism. Without working on developing skills we cannot master them. There is no end to developing skills in swimming; even Olympic swimmers have skills they have not mastered and are trying to improve.
The mission statement specifically shows what you do while on the team rather than on what you get from being a member. It will take everybody’s contribution to reach our goal. OCST believes success is mastering the "process of successful achievement" rather than the "achievement of an award."
         
                           We create our own Culture and Environment

OCST wants everyone’s experience with swimming to be positive and exciting. Swimmers are encouraged to say positive things to each other or to come up with solutions to problems when they arise. By creating an environment where everybody is positive and exciting, each member has a greater potential to perform at a greater level. Having a positive and exciting culture on the team is the responsibility of each member. Responding to a challenge positively will be more beneficial to everyone rather than complaining about it. Excitement comes from having fun and achieving goals that are hard.

Throughout the Oregon City Swim Team program, an individual is challenged through the development of character traits. Every team member is taught respect, edification (to build others up), honesty, work ethic, responsibility/accountability, and consequences for the choices one makes through their own participation. Swimmers are encouraged to be the best person they possibly can—not just in swimming but in everything they do in life. A successful swimmer from OCST is also a successful person in the community.

                             Competitive Emphasis toward Excellence

 Through competitive swimming, OCST teaches swimmers the values, lessons, & processes of excellence (simply, becoming a better individual). OCST does not limit the mission statement to competitive swimming. Competitive swimming is not an end in itself, but a vehicle we use to teach children life skills and how to reach their potential. Everybody knows that swimming is a life long sport. We use swimming to demonstrate and measure one's abilities against themselves.

                                                  Mastery of Skills

 The Oregon City Swim Team uses the United States Swimming Athlete Development Progressions (USSADP). USSADP develops the swimmer physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially in a systematic fashion. By using USSADP, the swimmers can focus on the skills needed to achieve a specific accomplishment (such as a new level, goal, or dream). A well-defined, long-term approach of gradually increasing degrees of commitment is essential to reach peak performance levels during a swimmer’s physiological prime. The early stages of participation emphasize development of technical skills and a love for the sport. In the later years, a more demanding physical and psychological challenge is introduced to the training program. The USSADP is used as a lattice upon which athletes developing individually can grow in their own time and direction.

                                     Shared Spirit of Commitment

By joining OCST you have made a commitment to the team. The commitment to OCST is not just from the athlete but is also from the family. Your commitment is to support the mission statement in theory and in practice. OCST has designed a program where a member’s expectations are shared based on their commitment to the program, despite different reasons for joining. In this way individuals who swim the same amount of time are expected to have the same financial and fundraising commitment.
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