The start of each season can seem a bit hectic, with many new swimmers and families experiencing new situations within our team. Whether it be a new lane, a new coach, or a new group. With that, there are a few items that all parents should be aware of regarding conduct around the pool deck.
Coaching From The Stands
Everyone gets excited during their child's sport. However, please let the coaches do the coaching with the kids. Please do not lean over the balcony to speak to your swimmer during practice. Parents should not signal their swimmer during the practice. It is distracting to everyone involved and sends the wrong message to the swimmer(s). Let us work with your children and understand that we have the knowledge to help them progress in the sport. Without that trust, the swimmer/parent/coach relationship cannot work.
The Pool Deck - Practice
Parents cannot be on the pool deck during practices unless sitting in a designated sitting/viewing area of that facility (bleachers, stands, etc.). At no time should a parent be on deck unless it is an emergency. Replacing equipment (goggles or fins) is not an emergency. The swimmers can handle those issues with the coaching staff. Please do not speak to the coaches during the practice, unless it is an emergency, as we want their complete focus on working with your children. If you need to speak to a coach about anything, please wait until after practice. Speaking to them before can sometimes cause practice to not begin on schedule.
The Pool Deck - Swim Meets
Parents cannot be on the pool deck unless they are working at the meet in some capacity. All facilities and meet hosts have rules regarding parents entering the pool deck that are not there working. It is also a strongly enforced rule by USA Swimming. As a coaching staff, we take this very seriously and will enforce these rules with all meet hosts.
Coaches at Meets
We do our best to have all of our swimmer's group coaches at the sessions they are competing in. Unfortunately, that is not always possible. The coaching staff communicates with one another to be sure all the swimmers are watched and receive feedback at meets, even if their specific coach is not there. If a particular group coach is absent from a session, the coaching staff will speak to those swimmers in warm-ups and let them know who to see after their races. If your swimmer still isn't sure, they can speak to any of our staff and we will help them. We are all One Team with the same goal for our kids...having fun.
Questions About What's Going On
We encourage our parents to communicate with us. If you ever have questions about what is going on at practice, how your swimmer is doing, etc., please contact us. We are more than happy to answer any questions you may have. The more we all communicate, the better the environment is for your swimmers.
