How do I Join

Contact Coach Jeremiah Stanton to schedule a tryout. 463-9339 or email at

[email protected]

Do I need to be an elite swimmer to join MAKO Aquatics?
No. MAKO 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. MAKO 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 MAKO Aquatics.

Your kids will LOVE our coaches, the coaches will LOVE your kids, and you will LOVE this team!

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 Streamline Swim Store (located just south of the Paseo Del Norte and San Pedro intersection), or ordered off line.  Some great sites are:  our team store (see website), www.swimoutlet.com, and www.sportwide.com.

For swim meets each swimmer will need a team suit, and a team cap (available for sale from Coach Jeremiah).  For practice any practice suit and cap is acceptable. 

Swim meets will be posted online.  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.

Where do I purchase swim gear?

Team gear and workout gear can be purchased at the MAKO STORE at GoTimeAthletics.org/MAKO 

What do my dues cover?

Your dues can be broken down like this.
Regular Monthly dues

• 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.

• 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.

• These are fees that 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 if possible, 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, MAKO 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 Rio Rancho Aquatic Center has seating in the bleachers, giving all waiting parents a great opportunity to meet each other and ask questions. As a MAKO parent, please remember that it is your responsibility to ensure that your swimmer is properly supervised before and after practice. 

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 left of the page just above the shark logo.

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 MAKO 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.

  Please ask questions! Most parents didn’t know what they were doing when they joined either!

   

  USA Swimming web site section for Swim Parents

• 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.

• 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

• 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.