To have a successful program there must be understanding and cooperation among parents, swimmers, and coaches. The progress your youngster makes depends on this triangular relationship. It is with this in mind that we ask you to consider this section as you join the Fondy Swim Club and reacquaint yourself with this section if you are a returning Fondy Swim Club parent.

You have done a great deal to raise your child. You create the environment in which they are growing up. Your child is a product of your values, the structure you have provided, and the model you have been. Human nature, however, is such that a parent loses some of his/her ability to remain detached and objective in matters concerning his/her children's athletics. The following guidelines will help you keep your child's development in the proper perspective and help your child reach his/her full potential as an athlete.

• The Coach is the Coach!: We want your swimmer to relate to his or her coach as soon as possible concerning swimming matters. This relationship between coach and swimmer produces best results. When parents interfere with opinions as to how the swimmer should swim or train, it causes considerable, and oftentimes insurmountable, confusion as to whom the swimmer should listen to. If you have a problem, concern, or complaint, please first contact your child's coach.  If the issue is not resolved, then involve the head coach.

• Best kind of parent: The coach's job is to motivate and constructively criticize the swimmer's performance. It is the parent's job to supply the love, recognition, and encouragement necessary to make the child work harder in practice, which in turn gives him/her the confidence to perform well in competition.

• Ten and Unders: Ten and Unders are the most inconsistent swimmers and this can be frustrating for parents, coaches, and the swimmer alike! Parents and coaches must be patient and permit these youngsters to learn to love the sport. When a young swimmer first joins Fondy Swim Club, there may be a brief period in which he/she appears to slow down. This is a result of the added concentration on stroke technique, but this will soon lead to much faster swims for the individual.

• Not every time: Even the very best swimmer will have meets where they do not do their best times. These "plateaus" are a normal part of swimming. Over the course of a season times should improve, but it is not always about the times.  Sometimes a new technique is being used and the accomplishment is in a new breathing pattern, a tweak in the way the arms are entering the water, or a different kick.  Maybe your swimmer is entered the water tired after a long day of school, had a poor night's sleep, didn't eat the right food for fuel, or had trouble focusing for some other reason on the meet. Please be supportive of these "poor" meets.