Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I Join?
Contact Coach Luke to schedule a tryout.
[email protected]
- How do I determine if Lobo Aquatic Club is right for me?
First, check out our website. Contact Coach Luke at [email protected]. You can also inquire about our FREE trial week, which is a great way to see if year-round swimming is something your child is interested in pursuing.
- Do I need to be an elite swimmer to join Lobo Aquatic Club?
No. Lobo offers a variety of levels in which swimmers can begin. Elite swimmers are the result of great coaching and consistent training. Each swimmer, no matter how elite, has started at the beginning where they have learned the basic fundamentals of swimming and a general love for the sport. Lobo provides each of its athletes the opportunity to start from the very basics and advance to the most elite level. No matter what your child’s current ability level is, you can rest assured that there is a place for them within Lobo Aquatic Club.
- What is the difference between Short Course (SC) and Long Course (LC)?
Very simply,short course takes place in a 25 yard or meter pool whereas long course takes place in a 50 meter pool. Short Course is normally noted as SCY for Short Course Yards or SCM for Short Course Meters. Long Course is sometime noted as LCM for Long Course Meters. Short Course season normally runs from late summer/early fall through winter. Long Course usually begins in the spring and extends through the summer months. NOTE: When the pool is set up to begin practice for Long Course, there are fewer lanes available for each group's practice. Therefore, during this period, practice schedules may be adjusted to allow the appropriate number of swimmers/per lane.
- What are the benefits of year round swimming?
Lobo Aquatic Club recognizes that each of our swimmers must learn great stroke technique at every stage of their development. We believe that swimming correctly needs to be taught before athletes move on to training. We also find that swimmers who learn better stroke technique, will inherently swim faster and smarter races. Naturally, year round swimming will improve swimming ability, but it will also carry over to other aspects of an athlete’s life. Swimmers tend to take the listening, discipline, organization, work-ethic, time management, and goal setting skills they learn in our program with them to the classroom and thereafter to the real world. In addition, swimmers learn to handle successes and failures, which in turn creates superior sportsmanship and self-confidence.
- What does my child need to swim?
Every swimmer needs a competitive swim suit (one piece for girls and jammer or speedo for boys), two good pair of Goggles (example: Speedo Vanquisher, or Speedo Boomerang's) that they know how to tighten and loosen, a water bottle, and a towel. They also need a set of fins, a pair of paddles, and if they are over 10 a swim snorkel. All of these supplies can be purchased at the Lobo Store (located at SWIMWEST next to Swim Labs on the NE corner of Paseo and Ventura), or ordered off line at our team store Under swimwestusa.com passcode: golobo. A more in-depth equipment list will be sent to you upon request through [email protected] Swim meets will be posted online under EVENTS. Each swimmer is encouraged to attend meets. Please discuss this with your coach. Fees are due on the first of the month, and late after the tenth of the month. All fees not paid by the tenth will be charged a $10 late fee.
- Our child had a successful tryout and has been registered. Our first practice is tonight, what do we wear?
Boys: Wear a racing swimsuit, either jammer or brief styles, not the traditional trunks that are worn to the pool during public swim.
Girls: Wear a one piece swimsuit with secure straps and no ties.
- Where do I purchase swim gear?
Team gear can be purchased at swimwestusa.com under Lobo Aquatic Club under team store. Passcode is golobos. You can also go to your local Big 5 for more swim gear.
- How are monthly dues broken down?
We have worked with the pool to make pool entry easier by collecting pool entry fees as a team and then paying the pool in one payment. The rest of the dues go towards paying for coaching. As each swimmer advances to the next level they receive more advanced coaching and skills.
- Is there also an annual fee?
Yes. Part of this goes towards purchasing training equipment team registration fees. The other part is for USA/New Mexico Swimming Registration Fees. Like the pool entry fees, we are required to collect all fees and pay as a team. This registration also includes insurance for your swimmers while they are training at practice. These fees are usually at the beginning of September. However if you join the team at a later date you can register then as well.
- Are there meet entry fees?
Yes. Once your coach, child, and you decide your swimmer is ready to attend a meet, the coach will discuss the entry process. There are fees that the host teams charge per swimmer. The amount of fees that are due depend on the amount of events swum and or the overall surcharge that the host team sets. Like the pool entry fees and registrations we are required to collect these and pay the host team with one payment. Once the entries have been sent off to the host team we will post the fees associated with your swimmer(s) to your account and it will show up on your next monthly invoice.
- Which strokes will my child will be learning?
The swimmers are learning and perfecting Freestyle (FR), Backstroke(BK), Breaststroke(BR), and Butterfly (FLY). The event called the Individual Medley (IM) gives them the opportunity to swim each stroke in this order: FL, BK, BR, FR.
- Does my child REALLY have to go to ALL of these practices?
It is not mandatory that they go to practices, but it’s important to attend as many scheduled practices as possible. It is a factor in decision-making for group advancement. Swimmers who attend only sporadically tend to fall behind in training as the others progress, which can be frustrating for a young swimmer. Another important aspect is the bonding and friendship building that happens in the practice pool, as these teammates are likely to advance together through the various levels over the years.
- Are there practices and meets in the summer? What about during holidays?
Yes to both. As a USA Swimming team, Lobo Aquatic Club practices and competes year round. Practice schedules vary during holidays, swim meets, and school breaks; watch for changes on the website calendar or through emails.
- May I watch my child practice? Where…….?
USA Swimming insurance and safety specifications dictate that no one is allowed on the pool deck at any time during work-outs unless directly involved in the practice. The Seidler Natatorium has seating in the bleachers, giving all waiting parents a great opportunity to meet each other and ask questions. As a Lobo parent, please remember that it is your responsibility to ensure that your swimmer is properly supervised before and after practice.
- Can I get in and swim at the same time as my child?
Yes! We have a dedicated lane just for the evening masters club and a practice set. Ask Coach Luke questions regarding sign up and dues by emailing [email protected]
- I’ve got a few questions for my child’s coach; if I can’t go down on deck during practice, how do I get in touch with him/her?
For everyone’s safety, please do not approach the coaches while they have swimmers in the pool; their attention needs to be focused on the swimmers at all times. The best way to contact a coach is through email. You can access their contact info on the website. Click the “coaches” link at the top of the page.
- How does the team communicate general information to its members?
Our most effective way to communicate with all of our swim families is through email. Please be sure we have a correct email address for anyone who should be receiving Lobo information; please check your email regularly for updates. We will email any last-minute changes (such as pool closures or snow days)
- The website is also a great resource.
We will also tweet updates from meets, practice updates and other quick updates
- I’m feeling very lost and overwhelmed. Who can help me?
If you stay to watch practice, get to know the other parents in your group; many of them have been in the program for years and are very knowledgeable in the ways of the swim world. This is NOT, however, a time to engage in rumor, gossip or complaints regarding any aspects of the team or other swimmers. If you have specific questions regarding your swimmer or any aspects of their training, please contact your coach directly through email.
USA Swimming web site section for Swim Parents
- All my swimmer talks about is being an Olympic Swimmer. Should I discourage this since it may not be realistic?
Most kids will have long-term or “dream” goals of making the Olympic team or winning Nationals. Dream goals can be beneficial by helping motivate your athlete to go to practice and to train hard (and there is no way of knowing if it is realistic or not). While it is okay to have dream goals, there are several problems with athletes only having dream goals. These problems include not knowing if they are making progress towards their goal, not experiencing little “successes” along the way, and losing motivation when the goal seems so distant. To combat this, it is important to also talk to your child about setting short-term or even daily goals. Ask him what he is working on in practice this week (just as you ask him what is going on in school), get him to identify skills he needs to improve on, and follow up with him to help him recognize successes along the way. Be sure to ask your son to speak to his coach if he needs help seeking some practice or short-term goals.
- My child gets nervous before a competition. Is this natural? What can I do to help her reduce this competitive pressure/stress.
To a degree, nervousness is part of the competitive experience and can be used as an opportunity to teach the young athlete specific strategies or skills to help her manage this arousal or nervousness. A simple skill that young athletes can learn to help manage the “butterflies in their stomachs” is belly breathing. The athlete is taught to take slow, deep breaths into her belly, hold it briefly, and then exhale slowly. Words can be included to help the athlete focus her thoughts on something besides worry. This is a quick strategy that helps calm the body and mind and only takes a few seconds to do. Another skill to help the athlete deal with muscular tightness brought on by nervousness is progressive muscle relaxation. In this procedure, the athlete goes through the major muscles in her body and first tenses and then relaxes each muscle. This teaches athletes to learn the difference between a tense and relaxed muscle, to learn where different muscles are located, and to eventually be able to relax specific muscles as necessary. Remember that these skills must be taught and practiced before the athlete will be able to use them effectively. We also know that excessive anxiety can be damaging to both performance and to the athlete's desire to enter such situations in the future. Two factors which have been found to play a role in the level of anxiety experienced are the importance of the event and the uncertainly of the outcome. Greater importance and greater uncertainty lead to increased anxiety. Parents, this suggests that you can play an active role in reducing competition anxiety by de-valuing the outcome of the event and by focusing on the individual performance over which the swimmers have control. Symptoms of anxiety: - increased heart rate - rapid breathing - sweating - negativity - jittery - frequent ‘pit stops’ - excessive worry - doubts - talk of failure - low confidence Strategies to Manage - Deep belly breathing - positive self-talk - relaxation exercises - think of successes - stretching - visualize race - listen to music - focus on goals - light massage - distract by talking with friends, family.
- What should I tell my child when he or she says it's not fair that I have to swim against Suzy, she is so much bigger than I am?
Look at a classroom full of school children. The diversity in size and shape is remarkable. Even though these children are similar in chronological age (calendar age) they may be very different in biological age (physical/sexual maturity). Puberty is a critical point in the developmental process. It is well known that girls mature more rapidly than boys do. In fact, the average girl matures 2-2.5 years earlier than the average boy (see sidebar on next page). However, these values are merely averages and the range can be several years within each gender. It is important to remember that “early bloomers”-children who move through biological maturation more rapidly than average- tend to be more physically developed. This can sometimes be an advantage for them in the swimming pool. “Late bloomers” tend to catch-up over time and will often become even more proficient at the sport. Regardless of the maturational pace of your child, she needs to focus on her personal improvements over time.
