Member Update – December 23, 2024
Season’s Greetings from Overlee! As we take time during the Holiday season to relax and celebrate with family and friends, I wanted to share an update on what has been going on since we last gathered at Overlee to watch some of Arlington’s four legged friends enjoy the last swim of the season in the main pool. Hard to believe that it has been over 100 days since we gathered for the Doggie Swim.
As soon as Extended Season wrapped up in October, work started on getting the pool ready for the 2025 season. In addition to standard maintenance work, we endeavored to make several improvements, some of which will be more obvious than others, each of which I and the Board are excited for membership to enjoy next season.
Pool Upgrades
It has been over 12 years since the big Overlee pool renovation. Since that time, a lot of settling occurred in Snack Shack Park and walking from one end to the other without rolling an ankle was more challenging than getting an on-the-fly bullseye in cornhole. In October, we had Snack Shack Park regraded and re-sodded. In addition, uplighting was added to the trees. We are thrilled with the results and are certain you and your ankles will enjoy Snack Shack Park 2.0 next season! Below are some pics of the work and outcome:
You may be wondering what happened to the big shade structure against the fence by the parking lot. That has been moved to the grassy area by the volleyball court and will serve as a shade structure for volleyball players who seek refuge from the summer sun as they wait for next game. It will double as shelter for the kids sitting at clerk of course during swim meets. A new, larger shade structure is being built specifically for Overlee and will be installed in Snack Shack Park this Spring. The new structure will be larger than the last extending closer to the grills.
Speaking of shade structures, two new moveable umbrella canopies will be installed by the baby pool prior to next season. These umbrellas can cover most of the baby pool when they are up and can be collapsed when not needed.
For the lap swimmers amongst us, you may have noticed some cracking in the foundation corner (far right when facing the front of Overlee). Well, you are not alone as Arlington County also noticed so this was a top priority to address in the offseason. After assessment, the issue was determined to have been due to water getting into cracks in the cement which led to shifts in the foundation. Given the circumstances this was as good of an outcome as we could have hoped for. The cracks have been fixed and the deck around the pool has been updated as well. It will be ready to go when extended season starts in the Spring.
New Swim Team Coaches
For those unaware, after three years, Coach Aimee stepped away as Head Overlee Swim Coach to focus on her growing family (Congrats Aimee and Enz!). We thank her for the last three amazing seasons. While we are sad to see her go (but expect to continue to see her poolside), I am thrilled to announce the leaders of our swim team coaching staff for the 2025 Overlee Swim Team.
Ryan York – Head Coach
Ryan York will be returning to Overlee and taking on the new role of Head Coach for the 2025 season! Ryan has been a part of the Overlee swim family since 2009, first as a swimmer and most recently as an Assistant Coach during the past two summer seasons. His homegrown spirit, relentless support of our swimmers, and dedication to the Overlee community make him the perfect leader for our team.
In addition to his year-round work with Overlee, Ryan has been a full-time age group coach at Machine since 2022 and served as the Assistant Swim Coach for Meridian High School during the 2022–23 swim season. Ryan is excited to continue fostering a spirit of sportsmanship, inclusivity, and excellence across all age groups at Overlee.
Emily Warren – Head Assistant Coach
We are thrilled to announce that Emily Warren will be joining the Overlee Swim Team as our Head Assistant Coach for the 2025 season!
Emily brings nine years of swim coaching experience, including roles as Head Coach at Virginia Run (2022–2023), Assistant Head Coach at Donaldson Run (2024), and Graduate Assistant Coach at Marymount University. She has also coached with Centreville Swim Club, Machine Performance Center, and Nation’s Capital Swim Club, where she still coaches today.
Emily is looking forward to helping a new group of swimmers achieve their goals, fostering personal growth in and out of the pool, and creating a positive, supportive environment at Overlee.
We are excited for the energy, expertise, and leadership Ryan and Emily will bring to the Overlee Swim Team this summer!
Changes Coming to the Intersection at John Marshall and Langston Blvd
The crosswalk at Langston and John Marshall causes a lot of heartburn. As someone who lives on the other side of Langston from Overlee, attempting to cross four lanes of traffic to get to the pool feels like a real-life game of Frogger (IYKYK!). Well, for those unaware, the Langston-John Marshall intersection is targeted by Arlington County for traffic calming. Information on the project can be found on the Arlington County website under Upcoming Quick-Build Safety Projects (https://www.arlingtonva.us/Government/Projects/Project-Types/Transportation-Projects/Quick-Build-Safety-Projects) where you can also view the original design:
Planned improvements include wider medians and Rapid Flashing Beacons which was noted in a communication from Arlington County to one of our Overlee members after another pedestrian incident this Fall:
With any luck, we will have a much safer pedestrian crossing by the start of the 2025 pool season.
See You Next Season
As you can see, a lot has happened in the 100+ days since we’ve last seen you! In this season of thanks, I have a few people that I would like to recognize for their service to Overlee. Thank you to last year’s president Liz Crescioli for her leadership. Thank you to Bob Neuman for his help coordinating all the offseason improvements and a special thanks to Greg York. Greg is easy to spot on deck in the summer ensuring that Overlee is the best run pool in Northern Virginia (possibly the state and country?!). Even though we are technically in the offseason, Greg’s assistance and oversight has been crucial to the execution of the pool upgrade projects I listed above.
Please note that we will have our General Membership Meeting in February when the budget for next year will be discussed and approved. Membership renewal notices will go out shortly afterwards.
Membership fees are due March 1, 2025. We also expect to have an update on preliminary findings from our Membership Survey (thanks to those that responded!). Keep an eye out for that meeting notice in the New Year.
Happy Holidays and here’s to a great 2025!
Mike Busen
2024-2025 President
