Designing Programs for High Performance — and Building a Better Experience for Every Family

For nearly 50 years, Nashville Aquatic Club (NAC) has been one of the most respected programs in the United States. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a deep legacy highlighted byUSA Olympians Tracy Caulkins, Ashley Whitney, Alex and Gretchen Walsh. NAC remains a model for how thoughtful program design, intentional parent communication, and a mission-driven culture create long-term success.

We sat down with Doug and Sarah Wharam, two of the leaders shaping NAC’s modern era, to discuss their philosophy on program structure, swimmer development, and why the right technology has become essential to serving families and supporting staff.

Swimming as a Product

From the outset of our conversation, Doug and Sarah framed their work in a way that more teams are starting to adopt:

“Swimming is a product  and every touchpoint is part of the experience.”

For NAC, this means treating the athlete's (and parents') journey with the same clarity, intentionality, and structure you’d expect from the best-run organizations in any industry. Rather than simply offering “groups” and “practices,” NAC designs a progression pathway, a system where every detail supports a clear mission:

NAC’s North Star

Help every athlete go as far as their talent and desire will take them.

Every programming decision flows from this. Whether a child enters through lessons, non-competitive programs, or competitive team, NAC ensures:

• Clear standards for advancement
  
  
• Defined paths to success
  
  
• Multiple doors in for swimmers of all ages
  
  
• Consistency across coaches and training groups
  
  

Swimming, in their view, is not simply a sport — it’s a service that must be designed intentionally.

A Program Structure Built With Purpose

 NAC’s structure can be described as two parallel towers that meet swimmers where they are and elevate them as far as they want to go.

Each tower has:

• A clear progression
  
  
• Transparent expectations
  
  
• Purposeful programming
  
  
• An athlete focused, coach driven approach
  
  

This clarity does more than help athletes. It makes NAC’s internal operations stronger:

“This… the way we have it set up, it's reverse-engineered from the top down. We know the end product that we want…. when you think about it from working backwards, you have to provide a variety of avenues for kids to work their way up (as far as their talent and desire will take them)”

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By thinking like product designers, NAC ensures that every family understands:

• Where their swimmer is
  
  
• Why they’re there
  
  
• What comes next
  
  
• How NAC supports their long-term growth
  
  

This eliminates friction, builds trust, and creates a more cohesive community.

Managing the Parent Journey With Intention

A major theme for Doug and Sarah is that parents are not just observers — they are customers with their own journey. As a swim team you serve two customers: the athlete and the parent. 

They work intentionally to:

• Reduce confusion during registration
  
  
• Make group placement predictable
  
  
• Communicate & Educate proactively
  
  
• Reinforce progress and purpose at every level
  
  

Sarah put it simply:

“If parents understand the story we are trying to write, they’re less likely to make up their own story and the whole program runs smoother.”

Parent satisfaction accelerates retention. It stabilizes the team. It strengthens culture. And most importantly, it ensures swimmers stay engaged long enough to reach their potential.

Communication as a Competitive Advantage

If there is one area Doug and Sarah emphasize above all else, it’s communication.

To them, communication is not a support function it is the means to building trust with athletes and parents. .

“We really want is.. we want parents to trust us..the more people that we can get to trust us at the earlier ages, the more success we're gonna have”

Swimming is complex. It involves long seasons, evolving schedules, meet logistics, group changes, and countless touchpoints. When communication is unclear, anxiety rises — and anxiety drives attrition.

NAC instead treats communication as a designed experience, rooted in:

• Proactive updates
  
  
• Assume nothing and teach everything
  
  
• Explaining the “why,” not just the “what”
  
  
• Consistency across coaches and groups
  
  

Clarity reduces questions. Consistency builds trust.

And trust keeps families engaged for years.

This is also where Captyn’s platform has had an enormous impact.

How Captyn Strengthens NAC’s Communication

One of the features the NAC staff raves most about is Scheduled Communication, a tool that allows emails or SMS messages to be triggered automatically or scheduled in advance.

Captyn enables NAC to:

• Automatically send onboarding messages as soon as a family registers
  
  
• Trigger communications based on group movements, milestones, or first-time actions
  
  
• Schedule date-based messages for future reminders, season announcements, or holiday schedules
  
  
• Decrease repetitive, manual communication that once overwhelmed inboxes and staff time
  
  
• Maintain a unified tone and consistent message across the entire organization
  
  

Doug summarized the impact clearly:

“Scheduled communication is a game-changer. We can plan ahead, automate what used to be repetitive, and make sure families never feel left in the dark.”

Thanks to Captyn, NAC now communicates with precision, clarity, and consistency — at scale.

Captyn’s Broader Impact: A Platform Built for the Way NAC Operates

Beyond communication, Captyn supports NAC across several core operational pillars.

1. A Modern, Intuitive Parent Experience

Captyn elevates the family journey with:

• Clean, mobile-first registration
  
  
• Simplified parent portal
  
  
• Reduced friction around meets and volunteering
  
  
• A single platform for for every aspect of the business
  
  

Parents feel informed, confident, and cared for.

2. A System That Fits NAC’s Program Structure

Captyn allows NAC to reflect its tower system without compromise:

• Each program, group, and progression can be represented accurately
  
  
• Group transitions become cleaner
  
  
• Internal consistency improves across departments
  
  
• Families experience a more coherent journey
  
  

3. Reduced Administrative Load for Staff

Captyn streamlines:

• Billing
  
  
• Registrations
  
  
• Reporting
  
  
• Group management
  
  
• Communication
  
  
• Onboarding
  
  
• Seasonal rollovers
  
  

This gives coaches more time to coach — and gives staff more time to support families.

4. A Partner, Not Just a Platform

Doug and Sarah repeatedly emphasized Captyn’s human side — the support, responsiveness, and willingness to listen.

Captyn has become a strategic partner in NAC’s growth:

• Helping modernize administrative workflows
  
  
• Reducing friction across the entire organization
  
  
• Providing tools that adapt to NAC’s evolving needs
  
  
• Building new features driven by real team feedback
  
  

“Captyn understands our mission — and they’re building with teams like ours in mind.”

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