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Dear PST Swimmers, Parents, Family and Friends: I would like to invite ALL PST SWIMMERS to Swim for MS on Monday, June 21, 2010 @ Plantation ’s Central Park Aquatic Center . It’s easy to earn while you train . What is MS? Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common neurological disorders diagnosed in young adults. It is an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and the spinal cord. We know that our brain acts like a computer that sends messages to your body telling it what to...
Courtesy of USA Swimming UNDERSTANDING YOUR PHYSICAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT Did you know? Athletes follow a predictable pattern of physical growth but the rate at which you go through this growth varies by individual. Consider… You typically grow about 2.5 in/yr and gain about 5 lb/yr. Your growth spurt occurs during puberty/adolescence. This means that someone the same age as you can vary by as much as 5 biological years, meaning with two 11-year-old swimmers, one may be 10 and the other 15, biologically. What can you do? Be aware...
FAQs Q: My child seems to be bouncing off the wall during "taper." What is that? A: Tapering is a gradual reduction in training workloads in preparation for major competition. Some Age Groupers do not need to taper at all: a little rest and they are ready to go. As training increases, swimmers need more rest and the process of tapering is introduced. Swimmers taper only a couple of times a year, for their major competitions. Taper is not something that occurs for every meet! “Taper time” is an exciting...
Courtesy of USA Swimming THE FOUR STROKES The four competitive swimming strokes are freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. The combination of all four strokes is called individual medley. In freestyle events, the competitor may swim any stroke. The stroke most commonly used is sometimes called the crawl, which is characterized by the alternate stroking of the arms over the surface of the water surface and an alternating (up-and-down) flutter kick. Backstroke consists of an alternating motion of the arms with a flutter kick while on the back. On turns, swimmers...
Training and Workout Questions for Athletes What type of commitment is needed for higher levels of competition? While your performance is influenced by numerous factors, there are three that exert the greatest influence: physical, technical and mental. As you progress through the sport, a greater commitment, of both time and energy, is needed to enable you to address all of these factors. Additionally, you will be asked to take more responsibility for and ownership of your practice and competition performance. One way of doing this is by accepting responsibility for...
TRAINING FOR AGE GROUP SWIMMERS Many parents have lots of questions about swim practice, especially when their children are new to the sport. It is sometimes difficult to know what to expect of your child. Your child may talk about swim practice, but you may not even understand the new "swimming vocabulary" your child is using. Many children improve rapidly during the developmental stages due to growth and improved technique. It is difficult to resist the tendency to push young athletes at this stage. However, the emphasis should be placed...
More than 10 U.S. Olympians, including Olympic gold medalists Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo, Calif.) and Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Calif.), will compete at the Swimnetwork.com Santa Clara International Grand Prix, June 17-20 in Santa Clara, Calif. The meet is the second-to-last stop of the eight-meet USA Swimming Grand Prix Series. The strong field of swimmers expected to compete in Santa Clara includes Olympians Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas), Nathan Adrian (Bremerton, Wash.), Julia Smit (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.), Christine Magnuson (Tinley Park, Ill.), Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Ill.), Megan Jendrick (Tacoma, Wash.), Elizabeth...
FAQs Q: It looks like my child has too much fun, shouldn't she be working harder? A: Be happy that your child is having fun! According to a recent study conducted by USA Swimming children who experience fun while participating stay in sports longer (Tuffey, Gould, & Medbery, 1998). At this stage of the game, the most important aspect of development is the mastery of skills, which means learning to swim the strokes with proper technique. Fundamentals must be established prior to true “training” taking place. And, if she is...
UNDERSTANDING THE COACH A HEALTHY PARENT-COACH RELATIONSHIP A key component to an athlete's healthy swimming experience is the building of a positive relationship between a parent and a coach. Both the parent and the coach have important roles in supporting a swimmer. A coach is there to teach and judge a swimmer's performance and technique while a parent should love and support the child regardless of the outcome. It's helpful for a parent to realize some key things about a coach. A lot more comes with coaching than the athletes,...
