Group Placement Policy
The overall goal of the LAC staff is to develop skill proficient athletes who are able to advance their training and competitive swimming career through consistent practice and competition events. The integration process builds upon a prerequisite skill set that must be in place before advancement is pursued. The following guidelines are in place for the best interest of the athlete, the athlete’s family and the integrity of the various training groups in our club. They are also in place to allow the LAC coaching staff the ability to maintain group integrity and allow a thoughtful athlete driven advancement curve that ensures long term athlete development. Coach Lott and Coach Fredenburg are responsible for all group move-up decisions.
Factors that weigh into group placement and group move-up decisions:
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Level of commitment to practice attendance and competition expectations
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Training group effort and behavior
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Psychological maturity level
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Physiological needs
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Competitive maturity
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Independence and self-reliance
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Age
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Coachability
Any group move ups will be carried out by the coaching staff and will require a meeting of the swimmer and the head coach (and in some cases also a parent and/or assistant coach). The coaching staff will carefully consider four Readiness factors in assessing the swimmer’s daily attitude, effort, progress, and choices at practice. If a group move up is agreed upon, then the swimmer will transition to the new group over a period of a few weeks.
The athlete will only be moved IF they meet the requirements of:
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Physiological Readiness
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Psychological Readiness
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Technical Readiness
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Tactical Readiness
If the athlete still needs to develop in any of the categories after their “trial” period in the new group, they will remain in the previous group and continue to work on the developmental factors.
DEFINITIONS:
Physiological Readiness: The ability to meet the physical demands of the practice group.
The swimmer is able to make the slowest intervals for the higher group, sustain themselves for the length of the workout, and is excelling beyond their current group’s physiological readiness standard.
Psychological Readiness: The mental maturity to participate in their practice group.
The swimmer is able to self-regulate their thoughts and emotions and communicate effectively with their coaches and teammates to the level necessary for the higher practice group.
Technical Readiness: The technical skills and consistent, daily application of those skills.
The swimmer has the known and body awareness of the strokes necessary for practice in the higher group. They consistently work to improve those skills at every practice.
Tactical Readiness: The ability to assess the demands and challenges they face at practice.
The swimmer is able to use their skills, knowledge, and experience to assess the difficult, risk, and reward of an outcome. In short, it is your ability to make decisions. Your tactical readiness is closely tied to your physiological, psychological, and technical abilities.
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS:
I have a MAGs / Ultra time, so I can swim in a higher group.
Obtaining a MAGs time or an Ultra time is super exciting and awesome, but it is one piece of physiological readiness. Equal weight is given to times one does in practice, effort in practice, and attitude/behavior in practice and at meets.
One week of "good" practices means I am ready.
One week of "good" practices is a start. We want to see 2-3 months of sustained effort and attitude to ensure the correct habits are being formed. We are reminded of the Will Durant quote, "We are what we repeatedly do. So excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."
Today is my 13th birthday, so I am ready for the Senior Plus Group.
First, happy birthday, time for a birthday swim! Second, similar to obtaining a specific time cut, your age is one piece connected to physiological and psychological readiness that a coach is using to weigh your readiness for group placement.
