Guidelines For Swim Parents
Following are some articles regarding being a swim parent. We understand it is sometimes hard to watch your children and think they are not participating to their highest level, or to want to get involved if they are struggling.
But, please keep in mind that your coaches have a plan for your children that is appropriate to their development and age. We have seen countless athletes burn out after a couple of years and no longer want to swim, when they feel too pressured. We build in a balance of hard work, variety and fun to keep athletes developing and engaged.
Rather than provide critical feedback to your athlete, we prefer you address concerns with your coach in private. Conversely, when Coach provides you with feedback regarding your athlete, keep in mind we are doing this to HELP them. If it is met with denial and deflection, the athlete will not benefit from the support.
Parents love to keep an eye on the times and how far the athlete is from the next cut. We get it. But keep in mind that athlete's aren't going to drop time at every meet. Talking to them continually about their times only puts more pressure on something they don't have much control over. We talk to our athlete's about their race plan. We ask them to think about the details we work on in practice and understand how they will apply this to their race. We only talk about times in a strategic manner. For long races, we implement pacing. For short races we talk about negative splits. But we don't emphasize "get X time to make X meet." They are aware, we don't have to talk about it. It only serves to add pressure and to put a thought in their head that isn't constructive. So we encourage parents to focus more on telling them how great they are, than dangling numerical carrots in front of their children.
It is very tough on the athletes when there is no relief from the rigorous sessions. Our athletes are not World Class Athletes yet, but could be if they have the space to thrive. As parents, you only need to be their biggest positive supporters. This is a safe space for our athletes to develop and accomplish their goals.
Ways Parents Can Support Their Athletes
- Be Involved. When you participate and support team events, it models team behavior and also shows them that their activities are prioritized by you.
- Be Positive. Focus on their strengths. There is no need to critique them. That is the coach's job.
- Be Proud. No matter what level swimmer your child is, they are working hard during practices. Tell them you are impressed and proud of them and encourage them to be proud of themselves as well. This is a key component to developing strong self esteem.
Coach TC
Sources:
http://m.thepostgame.com/blog/more-family-fun/201202/what-makes-nightmare-sports-parent?
https://coachrickswimming.com/2015/09/17/6-rules-for-becoming-a-better-swim-parent/