When the YMCA aquatics programs in Canada decided to restructure in 2005, they were already walking the asset-building walk. They were already encouraging leadership development in youth and giving positive reinforcement for good things done in the pool. But what they did in 2005 was make everything explicit- the language, the actions, the intentions behind the swim programs- so that now parents, students and staff clearly know that the YMCA is an organization that builds assets in the community.
For starters, the asset language is now embedded in the swim instructor trainings and in some job descriptions. Now when the instructors are trained they know that building assets in six year old swimmers means catching them doing things right and celebrating every success. Now they consciously work to do these things in all of their programs.
The important thing for YMCA Canada was that they didn’t have to change the entire swim program to reflect their adoption of the asset framework. “We wanted to put the asset language in there so it was explicit,” says Carolyn Tyner, manager of YMCA aquatics in Toronto. “What the language actually does is enhance what we were already doing. The language has changed but our actions haven’t.”
