SWAT, Midseason Championship Meets Begin This Weekend, Vandal Ind Entries, Winter Invite Deadline Tomorrow
Hello SWAT,
This weekend marks the beginning of our Midseason Championship Meets. Over the next three weekends our athletes will be racing against teams in the greater Washington area at Prelims/Finals competitions.
While these competitions are primary focusses of the Short Course Season, they still only mark the halfway point in the process and training of the athletes. These meets give coaches a lot of information moving forward into the back half of the season. For our younger swimmers the Winter Invite provides the experience of competing at a Prelims/Finals meet and allows the coach to see the progression in age group stroke development, maturity/composure when it comes to meet management, and of course who is coming to practice regularly. The older swimmers have some different focuses midseason including but not limited to the aforementioned bullet points. For many Senior Level swimmers, the midseason championship meets serve as a “Practice Taper” for the end of the sean in March/April.
The developmental (cognitive and physical) differences in the athletes from year to year vary greatly. The swimmers are growing at a rapid pace which means each year the athletes will need rest differently based on increased volume and intensity in training, weight to strength ratios and of course coachability. The December championship meets give coaches the chance to see how quickly athletes recover, rest, and how well they manage their own taper process outside of the pool.
What can parents can do to help athletes perform to their potential
Keep the process simple, Eliminate external anxiety as much as possible: The pressure the athletes put on themselves is enough. Most want to swim well at the meet, so any more external pressure to swim “faster” can produce more stress than necessary and lead to performance anxiety.
Having things prepared ahead of time allows the athlete to remain focused on the task at hand and eliminates unnecessary stress. Extra Goggles, Suits, Racing Caps, towels and dry clothes; Meet snacks, Water Bottles, and swim meet games to keep their mind occupied in between events.
Teaching parents and athletes not to stress about the outcome is a difficult task: With many athletes the focus is too much about the end result, the most important part of racing is the process and preparation. You can only control you. Remember you can’t predict the future, so don’t try. Instead focus on what you can control. Athletes should be focused on their warm up and warm down routines, staying warm, snacking and having fun. If they are dwelling on the outcome it tends to work against them.
Eliminate the “He beat Him, She beat Her” mindset: The desire to improve should be intrinsic. The athletes already want to swim faster. We should fuel that desire, not create an extrinsic force that is unreliable. The pressure to “just beat the competition” is anxiety producing and can hinder performance. In many cases the athletes are capable of swimming faster than we realize but become satisfied with just beating the competition. At the National Level athletes focus on “Just seeing how fast they can go today.”
Don’t become the source of anxiety for your athlete:
A national poll was taken with age group athletes and the number one stressful moment for them was the conversation in the car ride home. Sports psychologists state that the best thing to say to your athlete after competition is “Where do you want to go eat?” This simple question alleviates stress on the athlete immediately and lets them know regardless of the outcome in the end everything is ok. If you’re looking for a reward for performance, ice cream after the meet keeps the motivation intrinsic and based on the individual accomplishments of the athlete. If you’re looking for consolation for a not so glorious weekend, ice cream at the end of the meet does the trick. After all everything is better with ice cream.
Remember that %55 of communication is Body Language, 38% is Tone of Voice and 7% is Words Used. If you are upset or disappointed with your child’s performance, they will read your non-verbal cues and react to it subconsciously. It is difficult to know what to do as a parent when it comes to high performance and/or disappointment. The easiest thing to do is recognize whether or not you yourself are anxious and remember that this belongs to the swimmers not us as parents or coaches and that disappointment should be turned into a learning experience not the end all be all. There is always another meet around the corner.
Click Here for Vandal Individual Meet Entries
The Registration Deadline for the Winter Invite is Tomorrow November 29
