News For
SWIM PARENTS
Published by The
American Swimming Coaches Association
5101 NW 21 Ave.,
___________________________________________________________________
Three Variables of a Swimmer’s
Performance That Parents Contribute To
By Jack Maddan,
Head Coach and CEO of Hilton Head Aquatics.
As we
approach the midpoint of the short course season the athletes are realizing
that they are on the path to reaching their goals or they need to make some
wholesale changes. Each season presents another mountain to climb for each
swimmer. The climb they have to make will depend on the level of success they
achieved in the previous season. Success is a relative term and is different
for each athlete and training group in the program. For one swimmer it might be
to qualify for the State meet and for another it might be to make Olympic
trials. Whatever the goal might be, each swimmer has to be willing to do more
work than they did in the previous season. And parents can help.
Parents put
a lot of time, money and commitment into the sport. You assist in providing the
best opportunity for your children to be successful in the pool. Coaches
appreciate that. There are certain variables that you have a direct impact on
that do affect the swimmers’ level of success.
One
variable is practice attendance. As a parent, we are asking you to
support the coaching staff and encourage your swimmers to be at the number of
practices required by the coach. If the swimmers are not making that
requirement it is hard for them to benefit from the whole seasonal plan. This
is critical because each coach has a daily, weekly and seasonal plan and
missing out on that will hinder the overall success. This is different with
each group, but as each swimmer moves within the program, the expectations
become much greater.
Another set
of variables are nutrition, rest and body changes. This is, for some people,
the most sensitive area, but it is significant and should be addressed
seriously. As parents, if you are not providing your children with good
fuel on a daily basis then over time they will not excel in practice. This
starts the moment they enter the program. If you start with good
nutritional habits it makes it easier for them to sustain over the course of
the season and to establish a healthy lifestyle in the long term.
It is also
imperative that each swimmer is getting adequate rest. When a swimmer is
burning the candle at both ends this is where injuries and illness set in. When
we have a day off, all swimmers should be wise about the decisions made so
their bodies can recover properly.
The
physiological factors that take place in athletes can impede or accelerate
their progress. When a swimmer is growing, depending on how much they are
growing, this can be a good or bad thing. Many swimmers struggle physically and
mentally during this time. The growth can make them stronger in the water
or can cause them to be awkward because of growing too quickly. This is usually
more typical in boys between the ages of 13-16. For the girls,
going through puberty affects body composition and proportions and can really
mess up stroke techniques especially in butterfly and breaststroke. , especially on the girl’s side. In addition, girls go
from an 11-14 year old with a lean body that recovers very quickly to a young
woman’s body that takes longer to recover between workouts. This is where
plateaus sometimes take place and can last up to several years. Parental
support in a positive manner is a key component in helping them to wade through
these waters. There are two specific things a parent can do. First,
never allow a young swimmer to be identified as a stroke specialist – Be
cautious in saying things like, “You’re my perfect little butterflyer,”
or “You’ll be swimming the breaststroke in the 2020 Olympics.” Secondly,
focus comments on continual, long term improvement in all strokes.
One more
variable: parental support of the swimmer and coach. This should be the
easiest one to control, but it is not always the case. Parents have only one
role at a swim meet: support the swimmer and the coach to achieve the athlete’s
goals. I think this is important to remember because sometimes the athlete and
parent have different goals.
These are
the comments a coach would most appreciate a parent to say to their child
before and after a swim: Before the swim - “Good luck and have
fun.” After the swim -- “Good Job,” and “What did your coach say?” and
“I’m proud of you,” or sometimes, “I am sure you will do better next time.”
If your
dialogue is different then this, then you are not supporting the coach and
swimmer relationship. The most detrimental thing you can do for your child is
compare them to another swimmer, coach them before or after a swim, or give
them negative feedback after a race.
So what I
recommend is to make sure that you are communicating with your son or daughter
on how they are doing in practice on a daily basis. Periodically check in with
their coach and ask him or her how you child is doing, so there are no
surprises when it comes to competition time.
Remember,
swimming is a sport where we look at long term progress. Some athletes
have to work for 6 months to drop one second in an event. If you can really be
aware what the contributing variables are for success (and remember that means
having some patience to reach the process), then I stand behind the belief that
your children will be better prepared for anything that comes their way in life.