Norwalk Swimming Facility Offers Unique Fitness Experience: Pics

NORWALK, CT — If you walk into Velo-CT late on a weekday afternoon, the first two things you will notice is the smell of chlorine and the kinetic energy that seems to permeate throughout the building. Amid the sounds of splashing from children taking swim lessons and teams practicing in the 50-meter pool, Executive Director Russell Stidolph points out his three daughters in various locations.

They are all swimmers, and they are the sole reason he is standing here today.

"They needed a place to swim," Stidolph said, referring to his daughters. "If this place closed down, Norwalk would have lost what is a pretty important resource."

Located at 8 Willard Road, just a stone's throw away from the movie theater on Westport Avenue and about a mile down the road from Stew Leonard's, Velo-CT was built about four years ago under the name Swim Seventy. The concept was envisioned as both a recreational and competitive swimming pool and a triathlon training center. (To sign up for Norwalk breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

"Unfortunately halfway through the build out, the owners and developers hit some pretty big snags," Stidolph said. "This whole facility went into bankruptcy in May 2017 and was going to shut down...we decided to buy the place out of bankruptcy in 2017."

After taking over, Stidolph rebranded the facility as Velo-CT, pronounced 'velocity,' and made massive improvements.

"Last year was an investing year, where we spent a million and a half [dollars] fixing up the facility," Stidolph said. "The reason why we’re doing this is just to make sure Norwalk has an aquatic resource, that kids have a place to swim and that this just takes off."

According to Stidolph, who is also the founder and a Managing Director of AltEnergy, a private equity firm focused on alternative energy investing, Velo-CT is never going to be a money-making business, nor is it intended to be one. Still, he envisions the facility may be able to break even by the end of the year, his only goal.

"If we can give back to community, that’s great," Stidolph said. "The most important thing right now is to let people know we exist."

Downstairs

The highlight of Velo-CT is its 50-meter pool, which is used by the Zeus Swim Team. According to Stidolph, there are not many pools of that length in the area, which makes Velo-CT the most convenient option for residents of Norwalk, Westport and beyond. Though located in Norwalk, the facility is open to residents of any community.

"Everywhere from up to Bridgeport down to Stamford, we’re pulling customers in," Stidolph said. "Part of it is the 50-meter pool, because there are not a lot of them out there, and part of it is that we are very swimming focused. We’re not a large facility that offers everything to everyone. We don’t have an ice skating rink, we don’t have a ball pit, we don’t have gymnastics; we have swimming and training that revolves around swimming."

The facility also houses a warm water lesson pool, where the water temperature is always in the 80's.

"Instructors can spend hours in here," Stidolph said. "Kids can spend 30 minutes in here and nobody complains. If [the water temperature] is in the 70’s, people get really cranky."

It is here where Director of Swimming Instruction Rob Polley spends much of his day.

"This really is the best lesson pool I have ever seen," Polley said. "We have four hours every day, seven 30 minute lessons. We have a very clearly defined curriculum. There’s 10 levels, and we sort of want mastery from every level, not expert, but just to know they can accomplish that level every time."

Pictured: Director of Swimming Instruction Rob Polley

Polley also emphasized that the facility has all 10 levels at every single class.

"A lot of programs don’t offer certain levels on every day, but we have all 10 levels at every time so we can see the progress," Polley said, "and [students] switch teachers during the class. As soon as they graduate level one, we start level two immediately; not next time, now. We don’t ever want to waste anyone’s time."

In January, Velo-CT launched a Master Swim Program, which is competitive swimming for adults. Also offered is a "rec team" for people who like two swim but do not want to do it competitively.

While the competitive team practices about six days a week, the rec team allows participants to swim 1-3 times a week, have fun and compete against each other without the same level of intensity as a competitive team.

"Our rec swim program is one of our most popular programs," Polley said. "It is more like advanced lessons than it is like a team. There’s no training; it’s all technique. You sign up once a week or more, and it’s all really sort of lighthearted fun. You just have to want to come and swim. If you have the right technique, you can be casual about it."

The same care that goes into every individual swimmer at Velo-CT also applies to the pools themselves, which receive constant and daily care.

"It’s tough because the pool is like a living organism," Stidolph said, "so it depends on how many bathers go in one day, how many chemicals you need to add or subtract, water temperature, water clarity."

The facility currently has three certified pool operators [CPOs] on staff who "know their stuff," according to Stidolph.

"It’s good to know that [the pool] is well taken care of and to feel like you’ve got the best set up going on around you," said Director of Aquatics Mark Sedlak, who is also the Lead National Team Coach for Zeus. "It's a dream."

Upstairs

The second level of Velo-CT offers a number of fitness facilities, and is typically buzzing just as much as the lower level in the late afternoon and early evening.

"We spent a lot of time building out our facilities upstairs," Stidolph said. "We call that our 'dry land' facilities, which are basically our fitness areas. That’s where all the stuff that swimmers need to do outside the water is, whether that’s lifting weights, doing Pilates, strength training or aerobic exercise."

As Stidolph checks in with Strength & Conditioning Coach Timothy Taylor, he is surrounded by representatives of nearly every high school sport, including basketball, soccer, football, lacrosse and field hockey players, as they lift weights and test their endurance in the Training Gym.

"Russ and I have partnered up, really going after fitness for kids. I’m very concerned, as is Russ, about what’s going on today," Taylor said. "Kids just have so much sedentary time, so what we’re trying to do is make fitness fun. There's a lot of energy, a lot of safety in here, and it’s a good atmosphere that works."

With that goal in mind, Taylor has designed a program for the facility that is not only fun, but is focused on the sports kids are participating in.

"A lot of athletic teams or sports teams will just go to the gym and lift weights," Stidolph said, "not a lot of specific exercises that are specific to the sport. Tim has taken it to a higher level where if a girl’s soccer team comes in, we figure out what type of exercises we need to do with a girl’s soccer team to make them better on the field today."

Nearby the gym is a lounge area with desks, WiFi access and snack machines, the perfect area for a parent, sibling or guardian who is waiting for their child to finish their swim lesson or practice. There is also a barre studio and a large window that overlooks the pool area.

"[The facility] is predominantly swimming," Stidolph said, "but upstairs we get a mix of everything."

Amid everything, Stidolph has found himself thinking about the future. While he does not think Velo-CT will be any bigger in a few years, he does think it will be even better. He would love to see something for physical therapy in the water and thinks their teams will be even better, winning more awards.

He would also like to see some senior care and assisted living community organizations use the pool during times when the facility is less crowded, typically during the day when kids are in school.

"So three years from now, where do I see us? One of the top swim teams in the state and in the region, happy healthy kids and more program offerings for the community," Stidolph said.

It is at this point he points out one of his daughters swimming in the pool and waves to her.

"I told you," Stidolph said as he watched his daughter swim by, "there’s one reason why I did this."

For further information, check out the Velo-CT website here.

Photo credits: RJ Scofield