Parent News

By John Leonard

Swim Meet conversation between parent and athlete can be either highly productive, or highly counter-productive. Your goal as a parent should be to contribute to a positive swim meet experience for your child. This is the same goal as shared by the coach and the athlete. It is important that all three sides of the triangle be working together on meet days, as well as the rest of the swim year.

As I travel the country talking to parents, and observing swim meets and the effects of individual athletes, a few things stand out for comment. The inter-relationship of athlete, coach and parent on the days of swim meets is one of the most important. To discuss this adequately, it is necessary to define the role of each person.

The athlete attends the meet to attempt to gain or affirm some progress that has been made in their development. This may take the form of a personal best time, or holding a stroke technique together for an entire race, or executing accurately a particular strategy for "splitting" the race, or any of a multitude of other possibilities and combinations. The role of the athlete is the active one. It is up to them to perform, and the meet day is a selected time to perform the experiment.

The role of the coach on meet day needs to be thoroughly understood. It is dependent upon how the coach has presented themselves in the athlete's swimming career. Primarily, for most coaches, they are the technical resource that a swimmer depends upon to help them improve. They also serve as a role model, and to a greater or lesser extent, as a motivator, friend, and co-author of the strategy or experiment being performed on that day.

The parent is the racing "support crew". The parent makes sure they have all their human needs attended to, and continues their parental function of supervising personal development. Their love, attention, and caring are key ingredients in creating a successful experience on race day.

Athlete, technical support, and human support. That's all it takes.

Now, back to the question of meet conversation. Lots of talk goes on at a meet, and coming and going around the meet. Let's focus on the conversations that go on around a particular swim, and see what can be learned from that item.

Sally is eleven years old, and she is about to swim the 100 yard freestyle. Sally is a pretty good little swimmer, and has a best time of 1:01.3. She'd like to go a personal best time in this event at the meet, and she and her coach have been talking all week about how Sally has to concentrate on keeping her stroke long and strong during the last 25 yards of her race. Sally knows she is supposed to stop and talk to Coach before she swims so she goes over to see her.

"Hey Kiddo, ready for the big swim?"

"Coach, I got it all under control, and I'm ready to go fast."

"What do you need to remember on this swim?"

"To keep my stroke long on the last twenty-five."

"Not just long, but...."

"long and Strong!"

"Right! Have a real good swim. Now, go get it!"

Sally blasts off, and gets out in front immediately. Mom and Dad cheer like crazy. Sally turns for home, and......

(Now, at this point let's consider two endings. We will take a look at each one.)

Sally turns for home and...... shortens her stroke bit by bit as she gets more and more tired, and struggles to the wall, with a time of 1:01.5.

Sally is disappointed, and she goes back to her coach choking back tears, and stands there, waiting for her to speak.

"Well, not quite what we wanted. How did it feel?"

"It felt awful! I was terrible! I couldn't do anything!"

"From here, it looked like you were only pushing through to your waist, and towards the end of the race maybe not even that far. Where should your hand finish?"

"At my suit line."

"And what did your arms really feel like?"

"I got all hot and my arms were burning at the end of the race."

"Do you know why that is? I think you haven't had enough good fast pace work yet. Next month, we'll work on that, and by the next meet you'll be much better!"

Sally leaves happy and feeling much less like the Ugly Duckling. Now, she heads to see Mom and Dad.

Most parents I talk to think that this is a tough time to deal with their children. It isn't! (The tough one is next.) All Mom and Dad have to do in this case, is two simple things:

First, deal with human things.

"Are you warm enough, honey?"

"Put on your warm-ups, and your towel"

"Do you need something to drink?"

Then, if all is well, STOP. Do not get into the race unless the child wants to. That is not your role. You are there to support.

But let’s say that Sally comes back and says....

"I Stunk!"

Mom and Dad say, "Stunk? Stunk means you smelled badly. All that chlorine is kind of nasty, but I wouldn't say you stunk. What do you really mean?"

After Sally has a chance to get rid of her emotional response, you should ask, "What did Coach say?"

Now is a good time to explore this. What you are trying to do, as a parent, is duplicate the same mind-set the coach is trying to re-instill. Analyze what went wrong with the experiment. You don't have the technical expertise to offer the answers that her coach does, but by asking questions that require a technical response, you shift Sally out of the emotional context. This is nothing more than an experiment that did not turn out the way Sally and her coach wanted it to. This is perfect swim parenting. You reinforce the message that the coach is sending.

If you will simply take care of the human needs, and shift the emotional disappointment to an analytical response, all will be well in Sally's world.

Concern: The coach leaves the team for a whole week just to take one swimmer to nationals. It is not fair to the team and a poor use of money.

Response: It is an important milestone in the development of the swimmer, of the coach, and of the team when the first national qualifier is developed. This swimmer represents the current "peak" of the program. All parts of a program are important but the peak is of special importance because it is a point that all younger developing athletes can look forward to and work towards. It provides direction in the program.

It is difficult for newer swim parents, especially parents of young age group swimmers, to understand the importance of sending the coach away to nationals at great expense and while all the other swimmers on the team stay at home without their head coach. The situation is sometimes made worse by the fact that local junior Olympic meets are held at about the same time as nationals.

What are the choices and what are the consequences?

1. Swimmer attends nationals without coach. This is not fair to the athlete or to the coach. The athlete has worked for and deserves the attention and professional guidance of the coach. The coach also deserves the reward of developing such a fine athlete by being involved in the national experience. Attending nationals is also a very important educational experience for the coach. By not sending the coach to nationals with the swimmer the club is also sending a message to the athletes that the club is not interested in elite athletes.

2. Swimmer and coach stay home. This cuts the peak of the program and removes incentives for athletes and coach to become the best they can be. It is the mark of a team that does not include growth as part of its long range goals, or perhaps does not have any goals at all. It is a program that will always have young and relatively inexperienced coaches because few coaches will be satisfied working in a situation where they cannot grow.

3. Swimmer and coach attend nationals with the support and good will of the entire club. This is the mark of a program that looks to the future, believes in growth, and believes in rewarding the good work by both the athlete and the coach. When the coach and athlete attend nationals it is a celebration of team success. The athlete can return home as the hero and "tell the story" of nationals that will inspire the rest of the team.

What then of the younger swimmers who have workouts and possibly a meet to attend while the coach is at nationals? It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors and coach to 1) educate the families as to the needs of the whole program, and 2) prepare assistant coaches and swimmers for the opportunity to be their best during this time. These things should not be thought of two weeks before nationals, but should be part of each seasonal plan.

We are hopeful that parents will look at the larger picture. When the coach goes to nationals it is not just for one swimmer, it is for the whole team… and, it’s for your age group swimmer.

Concern: “My daughter was able to do a 50 meter freestyle in 32 seconds from a push off in practice while at camp, which is her best time. Now that she is back home, she can't even do a 32 in a swim meet.”

Response: A coach we know took two nationally ranked age group swimmers to a USA Swimming elite training camp several years ago. He told us how amazed he was to observe and time with his own watch these young swimmers perform sets in times they had never done at home.

Was it better coaching? The swimmers told him that it was a matter of competition and a matter of pride. They worked so hard in six workouts over three days that it took them over a week to recover once back home.

Too often swimmers fall into a niche at home where they EXPECT to out-perform some swimmers and EXPECT to be out-performed by other swimmers. Going to swim camps gives swimmers a chance to be a star away from home. Many swimmers will do exceptional things that can take them several weeks or in some cases, a whole season to duplicate at home. This is not a problem with coaching, it is a problem with what swimmers expect of themselves in a given environment.

If the swimmer can return home and break out of the EXPECTED, they have learned a great lesson.

In addition to the above explanation, coaches are concerned that some camps give swimmers times that are not altogether accurate. Swim camps are businesses and they thrive by bringing swimmers back year after year for positive experiences and by having swimmers spread the good news of their positive experience. One of the most positive experiences a swimmer can have is going a life time best time. Parents and coaches should be wary of best times reported during practice swims or "time trials". Accept only times done in sanctioned swim meets.

Concern: My child learned stroke techniques she never learned at home and trained differently than she does at home. Why doesn't the coach teach this way?

Response: Keep in mind several things:

1. Communicate with the home coach. Ask about the "new" techniques and training the swimmer learned at camp. Often times "new" techniques or training are not new at all, but are simply taught with different words.

2. Swimming performance is not produced by a direct cause and effect relationship. There are many ways to teach a given technique and there are many techniques that can produce a given result. Techniques used at camp may simply be a different, though not better, attempt to produce the same result which can be produced at home.

3. Children are very impressionable by their temporary new coaches at camps. As an example, imagine how you, a parent, feels when your child returns home from home practice one day and announces that he is now going to drink three glasses of milk each day because the coach said it is a good idea, even though you have been trying to get your child to do this for years! Swimmers go to camp and often hear the same things the coach at home has been trying to teach but because it is being said by a new camp coach, it is now important and the child will enthusiastically accept this advice as the best way.

4. Just because it is done at camp a certain way, does not mean it is the only way or the best way. Staff members at camps are often times less experienced and less knowledgeable than your home coach.

5. Be open and cooperative with your home coach. Many coaches do not like swimmers going away to swimming camps because swimmers return home tired, out of synch with the season training plan, and full of "new" ideas that may not be very new or very helpful. When selecting a camp for your child, ask the coach to help you select a good camp. There a many very good camps.

6. If you have a young and relatively inexperienced coach make sure that you turn your child's experience at camp into a POSITIVE one for the coach and team and not a NEGATIVE one for the coach. Share thoughts with the coach rather than demand changes based on something experienced at a camp that is perceived as being the right and only way. Help your coach grow, send your coach to camp! You can make sure your coach has every opportunity to be up on the latest in technique, training, administration, and sports psychology by sending your coach to the ASCA World Clinic in the fall!

By Coach Bryan Davis

Your swimmer has a multitude of things that they could improve technically to get just a little faster. You know it, your swimmer knows it and your child’s coach knows it. The coach however knows which techniques are the priorities at any given time. The swimmer should have a pretty good understanding of what they are supposed to be working on. Although, your swimmer will not know what the coach has possibly not brought to the swimmers attention yet. The coach may omit technical corrections if there is a technical focus of high priority at the time. It may be that the swimmer is struggling with another high priority focus, then the coach may feel the need to not overload the swimmer with too many technical corrections.

If there is something specific that your swimmer does not understand, is struggling with or just curious about, you should encourage your swimmer to ask the coach to explain it better or for extra attention in that area. When a parent brings the request straight to the coach outside of the presence of the swimmer, it cuts the responsibility of the swimmer out of the equation. The goal of the coach is to get their swimmers to need the coach as little as possible. This frees up more time for the coach to focus on the finer details of your swimmer as an athlete. If you want to help your swimmer become more self-sufficient, then encourage your child to take the responsibility of approaching the coach personally on all aspects of the sport. If you know your swimmer is apprehensive about this type of interaction with the coach. Please stand there with your swimmer and support them as they speak with the coach. With this approach the swimmer will be practicing the skill of speaking up for oneself. The sooner your child takes the wheel the better. Remember, youth sports are about personal growth competitively but also for growing up in general, not always just about getting a little faster.

By T.J Liston

Many times senior swimmers get to the end of the season and look for great swims and great time drops due to the “Magic of The Taper.” Often, swimmers expect these things to materialize because they have in the past, because other swimmers on the team have done well, because it is an important meet, or because they just want it to. But in reality, the reason why swimmers swim fast is because they have prepared to. Good performance is preceded by good preparation. To swim fast, swimmers must train hard and must swim fast in practice.

The coach lays out a season plan before the season even begins. The season is divided into several different training cycles. These macro cycles are then divided into smaller mini cycles. These all add up to a season’s training. Each mini cycle must be swum with effort and focus or a key part of the swimmer’s training will be missed. Each cycle is in itself very important and each mini cycle sets up and enhances the next training cycle. The successful athlete approaches each cycle with great effort and focus realizing that every cycle, indeed every practice, is dependent upon the one before it.

As coaches, we are often able to detect strengths and weaknesses in an individual’s training by how well they are able to hold on to a taper or by their endurance and ability to go from one race to the next with equal success. To perform well, it is important that early season training is successfully challenged. To put together smart races and have good splits, the successful athlete will need a strong and focused middle part of the season. Good fine tuning in later cycles will help the swimmers set up their races correctly and have the necessary speed to race. Every cycle in a season is important to the success of the next cycle. Successfully challenging and completing each cycle helps swimmers perform faster and to be able to meet the demands of even more challenging sets at practice. Swimmers who are able to perform during physically demanding practices, the ones whose repeats hurt, are the swimmers who are preparing for success at the end of the season.

We establish guidelines for what we expect and want at practices for each cycle. We may make some minor adjustments to intervals and sets, but we don’t make changes to the performance parameters of the cycle’s focus. Many times we use key individuals as markers to determine the effects of the overall training. These individuals are the ones that best represent the work offered and the groups’ expectations and abilities. These swimmers have near perfect attendance and have fulfilled the challenges of the workouts we have given. These athletes understand that the training curve is well ahead of the performance curve, and that practice efforts from weeks before the championship meet are impacting the swimmer’s ability to race. The season’s results are dependent on the season’s efforts. The taper will highlight the work done during the season, and the swimmer whose efforts and attendance have been consistent is usually the swimmer who performs well at the championship meet.

So, before swimmers expect “Taper Magic,” it is important that they put in the work during the early months of training and all the way through the season. Their attendance needs to be as near to perfect as health allows. Their efforts and focus have to be 100% every day. They have to eat, sleep, and hydrate properly throughout the season and all the way through their big meet. They should not gain weight on their taper. They should not use up all their extra energy that begins to emerge as they are tapering by staying up late, spending all day playing in the sun, etc.. What they do away from the pool is as important as what is happening at practices. Rest, rest, and more rest are in order. Save up that energy. Save it for racing. Successful swimming is not magic. Successful swimming is part of the plan.

“I Went To The Results Board To See How I Did…”

By John Leonard

It was a great teachable moment. Out of the mouths of young people come things that “set up” the coach for an opportunity to do some great education. When an athlete came over to me and started with the sentence at the top of the page, here was my response.

“Really? You didn’t already know how you did?”

“Well, I was sixth the 100 fly and 5^th in the 100 back and….”

“ No, really , you didn’t already know how you did?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, what did you do incorrectly in the 100 fly and what do you need to do to improve?”

“You said I have to keep my hips up on the back 50 and make sure I keep breathing every second stroke…”

“and so….??”

“Huh?”

“and so, THAT is “how you did”. Not the place. The place means nothing. I can take you to plenty of swim meets where you can finish first….and can take you to even more where you’ll finish dead last……where you finish depends on what others have done, not on how you have done…..You need to measure two things…your time versus your best time (which is you against the previous best you) and how you did compared to the assignment I gave you before you headed for the starting blocks. How was your time?”

“Well, I don’t know, I never swam long course before.”

“Of course you haven’t, so now you have a time to measure yourself against…congratulations. And do you need a results board to tell you how you did?”

“No, I guess not.”

“Don’t guess. Know that you don’t. If you go to the blocks with clear goals, you know how you did without anyone else needing to tell you. You can evaluate the race for yourself, and “know how you did”.

“So what is the race for?”

“Two things…first, it’s always easier (and more fun) to swim fast when you are racing someone next to you. And second, as you mature, there is a purpose to “winning races”, but in the developmental stage, it’s a terrible way to evaluate yourself…….racing is stimulation, not measurement of you as an athlete, a learner, a person….anything…..Enjoy the race, but measure against your own best self.”

Please everyone take that lesson to heart and mind.

All the Best, Coach John

“My 13 Year Old Son Has Just Started Swimming Competitively. What Are His Chances Of Succeeding Having Begun At Relatively Late Age For A Swimmer?”

Answered by: George Block, Aquatic Director of the Northside Independent School District, San Antonio, Texas.

The word “chance” reflects the disparity between possibility and probability. There is a long history of late beginning male swimmers doing very well, from George Breen to Rowdy Gaines, but the “possibility” doesn’t matter. We’re talking about your son.

First of all, he has to have certain basic physical abilities. Can he float with his lungs inflated? Can he streamline and glide when he pushes off the wall? Does he have normal strength and flexibility? Is he in good health?

You also have to find if he has some basic psychological abilities. Is he attentive? Is he a good listener? Does he follow instructions well? Will he persevere?

A little higher up the ladder, I would consider his athletic background, his extracurricular activities and his academic performance.

After this evaluation, the parent needs to work very closely with the child’s coach. The coach can tell you if your son has “talent”. Does he have the “feel” of the water? Does he learn quickly?

Finally, you must look at the team and the environment. Are swimmers performing well on the local level? The state level? Are they doing well at the Junior Nationals? Senior Nationals?

None of those things can explain the short, uncoordinated kids who try out as freshmen in high school and go on to become superstars in college. That is explained by perseverance. Coaches see perseverance beat talent every day. Perseverance in its most tangible form is “being there” and it is what changes the odds from possible to probable.

In swimmers who take up the sport “late”, the effects of training are always more “acute” (short term) than “chronic” (long term). Since your son won’t have the chronic training history of some of his teammates, he will need to train more effectively, have better attendance, and learn more from each competition than they do.

This may seem like a full order, but actually it’s great opportunity. In the long haul, the “process” is more important than “the product”. If your son decides to commit himself to excellence in competitive swimming, he will have taken a major step out of the crowd that seeks only mediocrity. He will be one of the few “committed” in an age of “dilettantes”. He will have to plan, organize and work for long term goals. He will have to arrange for the cooperation of those around him; parents, siblings, coaches, teammates, teachers, and friends. He will also have to measure his own success. Yes, your son can be successful, and, yes it will be difficult…but that is what makes it worth doing.

Growing recognition that many American children are neither developing sufficient fitness, nor learning appropriate lifetime health habits has caused leading physical educators to re-evaluate their long-time methods and shed the traditional coach/drill sergeant image for an educational approach that gives young students the tools for lifetime fitness.

Ron Feingold, Ph.D. of Adelphi University in N.Y., and one of the leaders in this movement explains,”To me, what's relevant is what they learn about fitness, and how do they feel about physical activity. The goal should be to get them to enjoy fitness and physical activities and to understand their benefits."

Accordingly, progressive P.E. teachers are exchanging their former emphasis on teaching competitive sports skills and administering competitive fitness tests for an approach that encourages students to adopt "appropriate lifelong exercise behavior," and a healthy appreciation for physical activity. The proverbial "ounce of prevention" will help children improve their long term health prospects by developing healthy lifestyle habits from an early age.

The new priority is that kids should know how their bodies work after they've had 12 years of physical education. As one teacher said: "It's more important that they understand how to develop strength and cardiovascular fitness, how to train safely, and to have a basic understanding of what happens when you move, than to know how to shoot a basketball."

The changing focus of thinking about youth fitness is also leading to a re-examination of fitness testing methods. Such competitive tests as the Presidential Physical Fitness Test tended to discourage those children who needed help the most. Kids who performed poorly were embarrassed both by taking the fitness test and by their results, while better athletes were rewarded for their performances.

That test has now been adjusted to make it an educational process and to focus on personal improvement rather than performance level with rewards and recognition to those making progress from previous tests. "We want kids to buy into the idea that it's the activity that's important and the performance score is secondary," says Dr. Marilu Meredith, director of youth fitness programs for the Institute of Aerobics Research. "If we can impart an activity habit - and keep it fun - they'll stay active and they will be fit."

What actions can both parents and age group coaches take to import these ideas into age group swimming?

1) Consciously communicate to kids the importance of aerobic fitness and "healthy hearts" by raising their level of awareness of swimming's aerobic benefits.

2) Be more conscious of the importance of your own role modeling in maintaining good health through personal fitness programs.

3) Balance emphasis on achievement and performance for age groupers with emphasis on the simple values of participation for the long term and communicate swimming as simply the first step in a lifelong fitness habit.

4) Tie in the value of good nutritional habits, not simply for better performance, but for health's sake.

If we adopt a health-related outlook for age group swimming we'll be giving the kids in our programs a form of lifelong health insurance that can't be purchased at any cost.

It’s clear to anyone observing a swimming meet that some swimmers are much faster off of the blocks. Differences in starting ability from one swimmer to the next are easy for parents to observe. Unfortunately, it is one part of the race that is not always mastered equally well by all swimmers. There are two contributing factors to the success of the start: learned skill and natural ability.

The simple fact is that not all swimmers are built the same. Some will always be better starters because they are born with a higher percentage of "fast twitch" fibers making them more explosive and capable of getting off the starting block faster. It is an hereditary factor and cannot be significantly changed through training.

But start ability is not all heredity as proper mechanics also contribute. Coaches teach these mechanics several times a week and can help the swimmer make significant improvements over time. It is important to remember that swimmers learn at different paces. Despite the best efforts of coaches, some swimmers will take longer to learn a good start than others.

Before judging a swimmer’s ability to get off the block, either as very good or as needing a lot more coaching, look at where and when the swimmer surfaces after the start. After the starting signal, who gets to the 10 meter mark first? It’s not always the first swimmer off of the block. A study done several years ago examined the relative importance of the initial quickness off the block versus the swimmer's ability to enter the water, streamline, kick, and breakout properly. According to the study, how the swimmer hits the water and what they do in the water are of far greater importance than speed off of the block. This ability is a complex skill requiring a lot of practice, mixed with the right body type. Some argue that it is more dependent on body type which is a factor a swimmer cannot control. The fact is, that because of body type and buoyancy, some swimmers streamline better than other swimmers and with proper kicking an breakout mechanics will surface in front of other less able swimmers.

So what can we make of all this? Answer: always look at the larger picture. Is the swimmer improving and is she or he happy? That’s the larger, larger picture. Looking at the “smaller larger picture” one needs to consider all aspects of the race including good approaches to the walls, good turns, proper breakouts, good stroke mechanics, proper race management, and a great finish. It all adds up. If the swimmer has not yet developed a great start, entry, and break out, there are many other areas of the event we can look to for success.

Parents can help their kids feel that they can reach goals they've set for themselves with effort, perseverance, and just a little patience. From PARENTS magazine, here are 7 ways to help your youngster do their best.

1. Support their efforts. Listen to your child's dreams, goals, and ideas and help him to work out the steps of those that seem attainable by organizing them into do-able parts.

2. Encourage follow-through. Praise task completion and encourage them to carry on when the initial excitement fades. Relate your struggles to complete tasks and your satisfaction at having achieved a goal.

3. Offer reinforcement or reward. Give incentive for better efforts, not just accomplishments. Keep a chart with stars tracking progress and reward the task's completion, not its grade. Younger children need quicker rewards and briefer tasks.

4. Recognize his success level. When a child reaches a point of frustration, learning specialists advocate you help him return to a level where he feels successful. Then his enthusiasm will return.

5. Involve others. Tell teachers and coaches that it's more important to you that your child feel successful than to come out on top. Making your values clear to them can make them more effective in helping your child.

6. Point out effort in others. Make your child aware of how others work hard at their daily activities, so they know they're not alone in trying, overcoming discouragement, meeting challenges, and succeeding.

7. Praise him for trying. Point out how much you appreciate your child's doing something that may be difficult for him.

Applied to schoolwork, swimming, or other pursuits, these devices can help kids develop a "can-do" attitude.

Answered by: Robert T. Scott, M.D.

Most competitive swimmers have been bothered at one time or another by what is known as “swimmer’s ear”. There seems to be many ways of curing the tiresome disease but it often requires a swimmer to stop swimming for a week or two. Swimmer’s ear can reoccur weeks, months or years later for no apparent reason. For some individuals, it becomes a chronic painful inflammation of the skin inside the outer ear canal. There are multiple symptoms of varying intensity. Itching and pain are mild to intense, depending on the degree of inflammation and swelling of the skin. The amount of the discharge (pus), which causes blockage of the air column leading to the eardrum, determines the severity of the interference with hearing. A dull fullness may exist for weeks to months with mild skin inflammation. However, a canal with maximally thickened skin will exert pressure on bone and cartilage, resulting in extreme pain and complete clogging of the air passage. This leads to clogging of the air passages and will result in temporary hearing loss and is a common sign of swimmer’s ear.

To help prevent swimmer’s ear, the ear canal should be kept as dry as possible. This will help maintain the natural protective action of the earwax. A thin mantle of wax prevents maceration (softening) of the skin surface and its acid pH inhibits the growth of bacteria and fungus. Some individuals have very little wax, and just the water that enters the canal from normal bathing of showering becomes trapped and prepares the skin for infection ensuing inflammation. A snug-fitting bathing cap will help prevent the headaches associated with cold water swimming and will also help keep water from washing in and out, taking ear wax with it.

Using comfortable earplugs while swimming will help keep ears dry. A good fit will keep water from washing back and forth through the canal. The constant traffic of water in and out of the canal will remove the protective layer of the ear wax and the more one swims, the more wax is washed out. After a workout most swimmers can clear moisture from their ears by tilting the head and shaking it to the side. Warm hair dryers are also very useful in drying the ears after a swimming session. A warm blast of air will effectively dry out the canal in five to ten minutes and enable the ear wax to reform and do it’s protective job.

If a swimmer loses his earwax easily, then a couple of drops of acidifying eardrops can help prevent the growth of bacteria. Eardrops can be used without a prescription or two drops of household vinegar will also work for most swimmers.

Each case of swimmer’s ear is individual and a physician should supervise treatment. Most swimmers will be required to stop swimming for a few weeks but then again; it depends on the individual. If you can wear a well-fitting earplug that will keep water out and also keep in the drainage from your ears so that it will not infect other swimmers, then I believe it is safe to continue your training. However, if the ear plug itself is causing an irritation by touching irritated skin, then the ear plug is not the answer and some time out of the water may be necessary. A sport minded doctor will usually give you a reasonable answer.

Ben Franklin once commented, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” For swimmers everywhere who hope to avoid swimmer’s ear, his words are quite literally sound advice.

The benefits of team travel for age group swimmers are often talked about in terms of such matters as building responsibility, developing self discipline, and gaining independence from home -- in other words, life skills. However, let's not forget that our sport is competitive swimming. Age group swimmers who swim continually within the state or Local Swim Committee area begin to fit into the same type expectations mentioned in the article on camps -- they EXPECT to beat some swimmers while EXPECTING to be beat by others. Even parents are often overheard stating that they expect their child to lose to a specific swimmer. More experienced age group swimmers need to travel outside their immediate area and compete with new faces. They need to learn how to break out of the EXPECTED.

By Keith B. Wheeler, Ph.D.

And Angeline M. Cameron

QUESTION: Many young swimmers eat powdered Jello at swim meets. Will this give an athlete "quick energy" for the meet and improve performance? Are there any true sources of quick energy that can be taken just before a meet?

ANSWER: No, ingesting powdered sugar (ie Jello) immediately before a swim meet will not supply the body with a quick source of energy and will not improve performance. In fact, it may reduce performance. The best way for swimmers to nutritionally prepare for a meet, is to eat a meal or snack that is high in complex carbohydrate, 4 hours before the competition begins. This meal will help ensure that energy stores in the body, especially those in the liver and circulating blood, are adequate. Consuming too much simple sugar 15 to 30 minutes before a swim competition may cause blood sugar levels to be reduced, thus reducing performance.

There is no such thing as a quick energy source that can be taken immediately before a swim competition. Athletes and parents should be careful about using food sources or products that make this claim.

Yes, sometimes some of the things we do are “hard.” I prefer the word “challenge.” Part of what we do in practice is to challenge swimmers to extend themselves beyond what they thought they are capable of doing. We do this with care and in a systematic and progressive manor. We do not attempt to drive weaker age group swimmers from the sport. Nor do we attempt to make each swimmer an Olympic swimmer. I have long term patience for each swimmer’s development.

How much “challenge” is enough? The answer depends on the age and level of swimmer. In our age group program less than 15% of the available time (on a weekly basis) is set aside for “challenge sets.” (Three 15 minute blocks of time per week.) We record and track times on these test sets and coach the children to higher levels of performance each week. For some swimmers with the desire and ability, challenge sets will eventually make up 30 to 40 percent of the available workout time. It may take some swimmers two or three years to get to that point.

All the facts and figures do not matter to a swimmer who says “It’s too hard.” This is where helpful support from parents can be of great assistance. Parents can remind children that some exercises push children into zones of uncomfortableness with good reason. We do not adapt without some workout overload or stress. It is a basic principle of training applicable to all ages. It is also a basic principle of life that sometimes things get uncomfortable and we work a little harder to bring about a change.

With the change in coaching and in coaching styles the practices are indeed very different. We do far more stroke work now and we also challenge a bit more. With patience and support I am hopeful that all the children will adapt and eventually enjoy the practice session. In my 27 years of coaching I have rarely lost children from the program because they did not have fun or felt it was too hard. Indeed, in the past the most common complaint about my age group programs has been that I did not give enough work and that I was holding swimmers back. (I was guilty of preparing swimmers for the future rather than my own and the parent’s own immediate gratification.)

At the age group developmental level our primary goals are to teach swimming skills, learn good practice habits, expose the children to life skills, set the aerobic conditioning foundation for senior level swimming, introduce competition opportunities, and to have fun.

“Fun” is an interesting word. One day at age group swim practice I asked 12 very exhausted swimmers aged 10 through 12, “How many of you had fun today?” This I asked after they had completed their first ever 3000 yard workout in a 75 minute period. Of course I was expecting none of them to say they had fun. What I was hoping to do was create a teaching moment where we could talk about the difference between fun and satisfaction. To my surprise every child wearily raised their hands and said that they had had fun. When I asked them to explain, they all said they felt that way because they had never done 3000 yards before. Eventually, three years later, 4 of the 12 swimmer completed 6000 yard in a 90 minute period and the other 8 completed between 4000 and 5000. All those swimmers are still swimming and still loving the sport because the challenge is the fun and the fun is the challenge.

Many parents wonder what differentiates the great athlete from the average one, and whether their kids have what it takes to be great athletes. We'll let Dr. Jack Daniels, an exercise physiologist at State University of New York at Cortland, and an influential figure in developing the U.S. Swimming Sports Medicine Program, enlighten us.

"There are really only four ingredients for success in athletics. One is genetic ability. Some genetic differences are easy to see (7-foot-plus Kareem Abdul Jabbar's basketball endowments), while others are physiological and internal differences that can't be seen. In America we have a hard time accepting those differences and we think that everyone who trains hard enough can be a champion.

The second thing besides genetic ability is intrinsic motivation. If you have a seven-footer and the coach wants him to play baseball, but he wants to be an artist, you won't get too much basketball out of him.

The third ingredient is opportunity - providing our athletes with good facilities, good weather, and competition against good athletes.

The final ingredient is direction. Direction means a good coach and a good program to follow.

Direction is the area where parents and coaches really have an opportunity to help the athlete. With the fragmented nature of our national swimming community, we have to put aside our personal concerns and desires and focus our efforts on helping our athletes attain their potential. Here is the part age group coaches can play:

* Teaching outstanding biomechanics to build the base for all future swimming successes and fulfillment. Stroke education in both learn-to-swim, novice, and advanced age group programs must be primary.

* Teaching values that reflect the best of our sport. Swimmers must be educated in their own careers, positive image building of themselves as athletes and people, and on their part in the national swimming effort. Values and attitudes again shape the future for our sport.

* Provide the aerobic training base from which science tells us great athletes develop.

* Educate parents, our athletes' primary support system, to the needs of their athletes. Swimming careers are lifelong pursuits, and parents of young athletes need a vision of the rewards attainable by their youngster.

The high school coach can also contribute by recognizing the needs of both the elite and developing athlete in their programs, and by instilling in their athletes the knowledge that good swimming demands near year-round participation in YMCA, USS, or community programs. The high school coach also needs to cooperate with the club coach to ensure a coherent individual training and competition schedule for each athlete."

The prototypical swimming mother, renowned for devoting herself wholly to her children's swimming careers is nearly an extinct species. With both parents working in 70% of households, the old swimming mom is now a career mom, with all the stresses and complications that brings. And that means everybody in the world of age group swimming must adjust - from coaches who will have to be more reasonable in enforcing rules on practice attendance and punctuality...to parents who must plan more thoroughly to arrange kids transportation from school or home to an afternoon practice session...to the demands the sport makes on families who must give up now-precious weekends to attend meets.

Making time for kids, jobs, and the personal needs of every family member is the greatest challenge in the two-career family. A child who feels neglected by busy parents will feel resentful. Here are some hints adapted from PARENTS magazine on how to prevent kids from feeling neglected.

It's important for kids to feel they're not competing for attention with their parents' careers. Dr. James Comer, professor of child psychology at Yale University suggests putting your child's practices, competitions, and special events on your work calendar and trying to plan work requirements around them. If one parent has a more flexible schedule than the other at particular times, that parent would take on greater responsibility for involvement in swimming activities. Whenever schedules permit, both parents should attend the kids' activities. When neither parent is available, make arrangements for the children to call on neighbors or nearby relatives.

Dr. Comer also suggests parents should be willing to receive a call at work from their children at any time. If an ethos of cooperation and teamwork evolves through honest and open communication of the reasons for both parents working, children will be unlikely to abuse the privilege. This can also be an opportunity to give children added responsibilities and a meaningful role to play in achieving family goals. Parents who actively plan for and show a clear interest in their children's activities will find that the kids, in return, respect the needs of their parents.

Above all, Dr.Comer stresses the importance of listening to the children's concerns and being willing to acknowledge the shortcomings of the situation to address the kinds of plans and cooperation needed for all family members to have their needs met.

There are many things a coach is looking for in a swim performance. In general, a coach is looking for these four things: proper attitude, a best time, proper technique, and winning. Few swimmers achieve all four aspects in a single race. When they do, that is a job well done -- but it is not a "great job" or and "unbelievable job" or a "fantastic job." To use those terms can make a performance greater than it really was and therefore make it more difficult to repeat. We use "mild praise" because we know, and we want everyone else to think and to feel, that there is always room for more improvement. Doing three of the aspects, or two, or even one is cause for some level of praise.

Proper attitude: Coaches look for the "I want to be coached" attitude. Coaches look for swimmers ready to express themselves about their swim in analytical fashion and then be eager to listen to advice. Coaches look for athletes to say "I'll try to do better next time." Sometimes a performance is less than what the athlete was hoping for and the emotional response can be a factor that inhibits looking at the swim objectively and analytically. I such cases the coach may ask the swimmer to warm down for an extended time or to simply take some quiet time before looking at the race. When this happens we look for the athlete resolve to make appropriate changes that will lead to a better performance next time.

A Best Time: A best time usually represents an improvement in endurance, strength, and technique. It measures the swimmer first against themselves and second against the rest of the world. Intermediate through more advanced swimmers above the age of 11 should strive to know their best times.

Proper Technique: How was the start, the strokes, the turns, the pace, the race strategy?

Winning: Winning means racing with someone and finishing ahead. In some cases that means winning the event. However, in every heat there are several races -- there is a race for 1st, there may be a race for 3rd, there may be a race for 5^th or even for seventh. Coaches look for swimmers to be in a race, whether it is for 1st or 7th, and to try their best to "win."

The coach expects to speak with each swimmer before and after each swim. Parents, please be sure to direct your child to the coach before the event. When you see your child after the event ask them if they have spoken with the coach about their race and if not, direct them to the coach as soon as possible. The coach should be the last person to talk to the swimmer before the event and the first to talk to the swimmer after the event.

Before the swim the coach will talk to swimmers about technique, pacing, race strategy, and best times. Younger aged swimmers and less experienced swimmers will need direct reminders from the coach but as they age and grow in experience the coach will expect more information coming from the swimmer. Ideally, the coach would like to have the swimmer tell the coach what they plan on doing in their event as a quiz to see how well prepared the swimmer is. After the event the coach will ask them how they viewed their swim, listen to their responses, and then review the swim as the coach saw it.

In this process it is important that parents play the role of emotional support -- give warm towels, and hugs, a "good luck, darling" to your swimmer and ask them to check in with the coach before and after their swim. When the swimmer returns from their post race discussion with the coach it’s appropriate to ask them how they thought their swim was as well as to ask what the coach thought of the swim. Please leave the race strategies, breathing patterns, stroke, start and turn reminders, time analysis and race analysis to the coach. Any questions or comments parents have for the coach should be addressed directly with the coach at an appropriate time when the coach is not watching other swims.

Answered by: Keith B. Wheeler, Ph.D.

The pre-competition meal is really a “mini nutrition period” that occurs in the 4 or 5 hours before the start of the meet. Unfortunately, many swimmers don’t understand the exact role of the pre-competition meal. It has little effect on increasing muscle glycogen levels. It is foods eaten 3 to 4 days before a meet that help establish glycogen levels in the muscles. By Meet days, glycogen levels are mostly “set” and there is little that one can do to increase them in the hours before competition.

The pre-event meal is important for maintaining the blood glucose and liver glycogen stores, key energy sources used in the early stages of competition. By maintaining blood glucose levels at the start of the meet, the dependency on muscle glycogen will be delayed, and that helps prolong endurance. To avoid stomach upset, nausea or that “stuffed” feeling, consume the meal 3 to 4 hours before the start of the meet. Avoid spicy, fatty, and high fiber foods, too. These are difficult to digest and may cause intestinal distress or nausea later during the meet. You’re child will swim more comfortably when he’s eaten easy-to-digest foods, and his stomach is relatively empty. Nutrition conscious athletes now avoid traditional food such as the steak dinner, as well as other high fat, high protein foods like hamburgers, French fries, chips and mayonnaise. These foods remain in the stomach too long and slow down the digestion process. Foods that are rich in complex carbohydrates are generally easier to digest and empty from the stomach faster than high-fat, high protein foods. That’s important, because not only do you want to swim on a relatively empty stomach, you also want the foods you eat to be efficiently converted to energy. Cereals, pasta, baked potatoes and muffins are good carbohydrate sources that are easily digested and converted into glucose.

Vegetables and fruit juices are also good pre-vent meal items, as well as some dairy items like low fat yogurt, ice milk and low fat milk.

Swimmers, who prefer a light, non-filling pre-competition meal often, substitute a sport nutrition beverage. EXCEED nutritional beverage is an ideal choice for your pre-competition meal: it’s nutritionally complete and well balanced, so you won’t sacrifice essential nutrients if you use it in place of solid food.

Once your child’s competition is under way, his body still needs fluids and nutrients to sustain physical effort and fight fatigue. Although many coaches and swimmers don’t realize it, dehydration can be a problem in swimming, especially if the air and water temperatures are warm. Remember, sweating is the body’s main mechanism for cooling itself; even though his practice and competition takes place in the water, he can still lose a great deal of body water in the form of sweat.

Additionally, water is also needed to aid digestion and energy production. Dehydration robs his body of the primary means to cool itself and generate energy. Your swimmer should observe good nutritional and hydration habits in the time before he competes. If there are several hours before your child’s event, then he can enjoy a light snack or refreshment if he wishes. But if he’s going to swim right away or his event is an hour or less away, he should be very cautious about what he eats and drinks. In the hour preceding competition, he should drink, fruit juices, and beverages or snacks that contain sugar in any form aren’t appropriate this close to competition. They can trigger a sudden drop in blood glucose (hypoglycemia) with the onset of intense activity. Additionally; drinks that contain high concentrations of sucrose (table sugar) tend to empty from the stomach more slowly than water. You don’t want to start swimming with a stomach full of anything, including liquids.

Once his event is underway, his fluid requirements change. His body loses water in the form of sweat, particularly in the distance events, and it should be replaced. Good nutrition is something that you apply everyday throughout the season…not just the day before the meet.

The goal of goal setting with young swimmers is to learn how to set goals. With 10 and unders it is important that they are successful at achieving the goals that the coach and parents help them set.

However, part of learning how to set goals, and also a part of growing up, is an occasional failure at achieving a goal. Failing to meet a goal can have disastrous effects, or, can be part of a healthy growing experience, depending on the support of parents and coach. While it is probably not a good idea to allow 10 and unders to set goals that they probably cannot reach, with 11 and 12 year olds, one approach is to give them more freedom in selecting goals thus allowing them an occasional "opportunity to fail".

When properly guided, a young person who fails to achieve a goal can learn that success is often built upon failure. What would be the parent, coach, swimmer relationship for goal setting for 11 - 12's? For parents this can be a very challenging time. These young people are beginning to experiment with independence. You may find that your influence does not have the immediate impact that you are accustomed. When suggesting goals to your young swimmer, regardless of how appropriate the goals are, you are likely to find some resistance. However, the emotional support a young swimmer needs at this age from you is as great as ever. While the swimmer may not want to hear your suggestions for what to do in the pool, they sure need your support for what they are attempting to do, and sometimes fail to do.

Here are some questions you might ask your goal setting young swimmer.

n Have you and Coach Andersen talked about your goals for the season?

n What are the goals you have decided on?

n Did you write them down?

n What did Coach Andersen say you needed to work on in order to reach your goals?

n Did you get any closer to your goals today?

The coach begins to take on a more influential role in the swimming development of the young swimmer at this time. Swimmers sometimes think, eat, breath, sleep, and swim according to the direction of the coach and they may respond better to suggestions made by the coach than those made by you. For example, you may be trying to improve the nutritional aspects of your young swimmer's breakfast only to find a typical bit of standard 11 and 12 resistance. However, when the coach suggest the exact same advice to your swimmer he is ready to change his breakfast routine the next day. For this reason, plus the fact that the coach best knows the swimming abilities of your child, the primary influence in goal setting for 11 - 12's is the coach.

The coach acts as a guide, asking your swimmer appropriate questions to help him decide on goals. When your child has a goal in mind and is convinced he can achieve that goal, coaches (and parents) should accept it as a goal even if it seems too ambitious.

What happens when he fails to meet the goal? From you, he needs unconditional support and careful guidance.

Let's consider a situation where 12 year old Bobby has a best time of 1:07.5 in the 100 free, a "B" time. He has several "B" times in other strokes but no "A" times. His coach feels that a good goal for Bobby would be to make an "A" time in the 100 free, 1:03.19. However, Bobby has set his own goal of breaking a minute in the 100 free in the final "B" meet of the season. He knows if he breaks a minute he will qualify for the Junior Olympics and gain a spot on the relay. Contributing to Bobby's desire to qualify for Junior Olympics this season is the fact that he turns 13 shortly after the meet and he knows it will take a 55.3 to qualify for the next Junior Olympics as a 13 - 14 year old. Bobby also set three other goals which fall within the coaches expectations so the coach allows Bobby this "opportunity to fail".

During the season, Bobby makes steady progress as he drops his time in the 100 free to 1:04.0 and he is still hoping to break a minute. At the final "B" meet he goes a 1:03.0, a new "A" time, and wins the event. The coach and Bobby's parents are very pleased with his performance. Bobby, however, is dejected because he did not make his goal of breaking a minute.

Bobby's parents, sitting in the bleachers, observe him speaking with his coach. His mood does not noticeably change despite his coaches' congratulatory gestures, smiling face, and reassuring words. Now Bobby is on his way up into the bleachers to visit his parents. What's important to say to Bobby?

n First, attend first to Bobby's physical needs, "Are you warm enough? Please put on your warm ups. Do you need something to drink?"

n Then, do not deny him the opportunity to express his disappointment and do not minimize his feelings. You know it was a best time, and you know it was a good race, but you will not be able to MAKE him feel better by contradicting his feelings. Listen to him.

n Empathize with Bobby. Say, "I know how disappointed you must be."

n Allow Bobby to find the solution to his disappointment. "Why do you think you didn't make your goal?" Bobby can respond to this question in one of several different ways and your follow up will be based on that response. It is hard to generalize a conversation here, but what is important to remember is that through your questions and his responses, you want Bobby to realize that while his goal for breaking a minute is a good goal, his timetable for breaking a minute was too short and there are more things he needs to work on.

n Support Coach Anderson. Ask Bobby, "What did Coach Anderson say?" "That sounds like a good idea, do you think you can do that?"

The desired net result of the parent and athlete relationship in this type of goal setting situation is that the athlete receives support for his feelings and he comes to realize how to adjust his goal setting in order to be more successful next time. With this result, you'll find your young swimmer better equipped to establish his next set of goals with the knowledge that he has your unconditional support.

[Editors note: a letter from a club’s newsletter]

My Fellow Parents:

The word “ignoramus “ comes to mind, but then I realized I wasn't sure what an ignoramus was. After consulting Webster’s, I confirmed that I was one. You see an ignoramus is a person who simply doesn't know.

My wife and girls have been involved with the team for almost two years. With all their coming and going, I occasionally found myself tagging along, usually reluctantly, timing a race, helping out at the snack bar for a few hours, but not much else. It wasn't until our last home meet when I offered to help cook at the concession stand and do some prep work Friday night before the meet, that I realized how much of an ignoramus I really was.

I was amazed at how much work went into simply setting up the concession stand, and the shade areas for timers and judges. That night I got home at 10:30 p.m. After the meet on Sunday, all the stuff that got set up had to come down. I spent at least 3 more hours helping there as well as all day cooking and selling at the concessions.

That weekend left me stunned, shamed, and thankful all at once. Stunned because of the tremendous amount of man hours required to put on an event like that. Shamed, because where was I in the past when a dedicated few could have used some help to shoulder the load? I was also thankful for these people who were fun to work with and who had quietly and diligently served my children those past two years.

Well those of you who were like me, you can't be an ignoramus anymore because I just blew your cover. Maybe you'd like to come along at our next home meet and pitch in? There'll be plenty to do and there's a chance we could have some fun doing it.

“One of our pools is 25 yards wide by 50 meters long. Why isn't the pool 25 meters by 50 meters or 25 yards by 50 yards?”

For years the "American Standard Short Course" pool has been a 25 yard pool. Almost all high school pools and most college pools are 25 yards long and most high school and college meets are run as short course meets. USA Swimming Club teams generally swim short course meets from September through March.

The international standard is meters. The Olympics, Pan-American Games, and World Championships are held in 50 meter pools. In this country, most 50 meter pools are outdoors due to the cost of building an indoor 50 meter pool. For that reason our long course season is generally from March through August. As more and more indoor 50 meter pools are being built and as the United States focuses more on international swimming the distinction between the "short course season" and the "long course season" becomes less distinct and more meets are going to the long course standard throughout the year -- with the exception of high school and college swimming which will generally remain short course yards.

At this time (April) many teams are training short course but are preparing to go to long course when the outdoor pool is ready. Some lucky teams are located in a climate and have access to long course pools all year around. And some lucky teams have indoor 50 meter water all year around.

Eventually we all will be at swim meets during the spring and summer that are long course. This will cause some confusion about times. The times will be slower because a 50 meter swim is approximately 5 yards longer than a 50 yard swim. Another factor are turns. There are less turns in long course swimming and generally, turns are faster than swimming -- we can push off the wall faster than we can swim. (Although for some of our swimmers who have not yet mastered a turn, the turning process is slower than swimming!)

Some people attempt to "convert" a short course time to a long course time or visa versa. The conversion factors are not precise due to differences in turns, strokes, and individual's ability to swim the extra distance at speed. Conversions can lead to unrealistic expectations and disappointments, or to a false sense of achievement. For those reasons we do not convert times. We simply say that each swimmer has two sets of best times, one for long course and one for short course.

Guy Edson

(From a 2003 Newsletter)

My wife was off to a continuing ed class. My 12 year old daughter was at swim practice. I had the much needed chance to spend a couple extra hours catching up with some work at the office. That is, until my cell phone buzzed at 5:30. “Dad, can you come pick me up?” “What’s wrong?” I asked. “I got kicked out of swim practice,” she said. I was stunned! My daughter is a fairly standard 12 year old, as fully capable of getting into trouble as any other 12 year old – except at swim practice where she is unusually compliant and very coachable. I decided we would talk about it later and said, “Well, just come home with Coach Rob like you always do and we will talk about it when you get home.” “Rob said you have to come pick me up now,” she said.

The pool is 18 miles from my office by way of the most congested interstate in the whole metropolitan area. The last thing I wanted to do is drive 45 minutes out there and another 45 minutes back. My building anger focused on Coach Rob. I thought to myself, “OK, my daughter screwed up but just let her swim. It’s no big deal. Besides, why do I have to pay the price? If it really is that bad he should just make her sit out and then bring her home like usual. After all, that is what I would do.”

Important note: I am also a swimming coach and have been for nearly 30 years. Nevertheless, the parent side of me had taken over my thought process and I wanted to blame the coach for the inconvenience I was facing. “…the inconvenience I was facing.”

Looking for a way out I asked, “What did you do?” She told me she was three minutes late to practice and he wouldn’t let her in the water. “Three minutes? THREE minutes?” I asked. In my mind I was cursing at the coach. “How could you be three minutes late to practice? You get there 45 minutes before practice time!” I said. She told me was doing homework in the locker room and lost track of the time. “And he kicked Jackie out too,” she said. I asked, “Jackie was doing homework also?” “No, she was changing her swim suit and we came out together.”

At that point distant memories started coming back and with them rational thinking crept back into my brain. In my 30 years of coaching, how many times did multiples of 11-12 year old girls emerge from the locker rooms 3 minutes late and how many ridiculous excuses had I heard? Plenty. And how many times was it the same group of kids? All the time.

“If I were to ask Coach Rob if this was the first time you were late, what would he say?” I asked. I heard a faint “what?” I repeated, “If I were to ask Coach Rob if this was the first time you were late, what would he say? Have you been late before?” “Sometimes.”

And what did I do years ago with those who became chronically late by 3 minutes? I sent them back to the locker room, and told them to call their parents. This scene is all too familiar to me.

“OK,” I said, “I’ll be there in 40 to 45 minutes. I’ll be thinking of the consequences along the way.” As a last ditch effort for clemency and a play on my fatherly love, I heard my daughter faintly say, “I’m sorry.”

When I picked her up I was all smiles. And she lighted up right away. She might have been thinking I was going to be cool about this. I asked her what homework she was working on in the locker room and she told me it was math. “You’re pretty good at math, aren’t you?” I asked. “Get out a piece of paper and pencil and solve this problem: a man drives a car that gets 15 miles to the gallon. He has to drive his car 36 miles. If gas costs $1.79 a gallon, how much did the trip cost him?” She loves these kinds of problems and started dividing then multiplying and proudly came up with, “Four dollars and twenty nine cents!” “That sounds correct,” I said. That’s what it cost me to come pick you up and it’s coming out of your next allowance.” The rest of the trip home was on the quiet side.

The next day, Coach Rob reported to me that she was on the deck 15 minutes early and ready to go.

Goal setting for young swimmers is an important process that requires interaction of the parent, coach, and athlete. It is important to remember that for young swimmers the goal of goal setting is to learn how to set goals. The progression for learning how to set goals is based upon the age and competitive experience of the swimmer. In this issue we will look at one approach for introducing goals to 8 through 10 year olds.

There are many approaches to goal setting for younger swimmers. The following approach is presented because it is a little different from the "normal" routine of coach‑swimmer interaction and one that I personally find more rewarding for the parent‑coach‑athlete relationship.

With younger, inexperienced swimmers, generally ages 8 ‑ 10, goal setting needs to be carefully guided by adults. The purpose of goal setting with this age is for the young swimmer to learn what a goal is, that to achieve a goal a series of steps toward the goal must be taken, and that some amount of preparation and work is required to meet the goal. These are very powerful lifelong skills.

I think it is very important that children are successful in achieving goals at this stage. For this reason, the coach, who best knows the ability of the swimmer, should suggest goals to the parents who, in turn, guide their young swimmer to set goals well within the possibilities described by the coach. Goals should be objective and based upon time standards or performance standards. In addition, goals need to be short term goals aiming at completion in 4 to 6 weeks. A long term goal is a difficult concept for 8 ‑ 10 year olds.

Billy is a 9 year old who has been on the swim team for 18 months. He has all "B" times except for the 100 IM which he has an unofficial "C" time. He has been disqualified in his three 100 IM races because he has an illegal breaststroke kick. His best friend, neighbor, and swimming rival, John, began swimming at the same time as Billy but has achieved "A" times in the breaststroke and freestyle, several "B" times, and was recently moved to a more advanced group. Billy's ambition is to swim in the same workout group with John. Billy's dad and John's dad are friends and weekend golf rivals. Coincidentally, John's dad regularly beats Billy's dad. Billy's dad's goal is to see Billy beat John.

What should Billy's goals be and who should set them? Billy's goals must not be based upon John. At this point in time John is a more accomplished swimmer. Perhaps he will always be more accomplished for a variety of reasons which will frustrate Billy if Billy's goal is always to beat John. On the other hand, maybe John is temporarily bigger and stronger than Billy. As the boys reach and pass puberty Billy may become the bigger and stronger and more skilled of the two and beating John may not present an adequate challenge.

The coach should suggest several goals for Billy to Billy's parents. These goals are based upon the coaches' assessment of Billy's ability to improve in the next two months. One suggested goal might be for Billy to make an "A" time in the 50 free. Currently, Billy is only 4 tenths of a second from an "A" time. A second goal might be to swim a legal 100 yard IM. The coach has been working on Billy's breaststroke kick several times each week and is confident that Billy will have a legal kick in time for the next swim meet.

Why suggest these goals to the parents? Two reasons: 1) It is a good way for the parents and coach to communicate on the progress and future expectations for the young swimmer, and 2) the most important and most influential people in the young swimmer's life are Mom and Dad. What better source is there in guiding the young swimmer towards setting goals?

How should parents discuss goals with young swimmers? I think the best way is to ask the young swimmer a series of questions designed to bring him to the goals suggested by the coach. A conversation may go something like this:

Parent: "Billy, our team is hosting a meet in six weeks. Do you have any goals for our meet?"

Billy: "What's a goal?"

Parent: "A goal is something you want to do that you have never done before."

Billy: [without hesitation] "I want to swim in John’s group!"

Parent: "Someday I think you will. What does it take to move up to that group?”

Billy: “Coach says I need an A time.”

Parent: "Do you know what your best time is?"

Billy: "No"

Parent: "Coach says you have 32.2 and that's only 4 tenths of a second from an "A" time which is a 31.8. Would you like to make an "A" time?

Billy: "YEA!"

Parent: "Do you know how short 4 tenths of a second is?" [Demonstrates with stop watch.] "Coach says you can knock off those 4 tenths of a second just by streamlining better off the start and turn and by finishing with a long arm and strong kick. What are you going to work on in practice to help you make your goal?"

Billy: "I'm going to work on streamlining and finishing with a long arm and strong kick."

Parent: "Great! I KNOW you're going to make your goal! There is a dual meet with Fairport in three weeks. What do you think you would like to do in the 50 free in that meet?"

Billy: "An "A" time?"

Parent: "Right! Now let's write down your goal."

The next step is for Billy to write down his goal(s) on two pieces of paper. He should write his current best time, his goal, target date, and things he needs to work on in order to accomplish his goal.

His goal statement may look like this:

My Goal: 31.8 "A" time in the 50 free

When: February 17 home meet

Best Time: 32.2

Every day in practice: streamlining and good finishes

Billy should keep one at home in his room where he can look at it every day. Mom and Dad should ask Billy once every week or so how he is doing on his goal. The second copy he takes to swim practice to review with the coach. Then he can keep it in his locker or swim bag and look at it every day before practice.

Of course, it's a wonderful thing if a young swimmer is aware enough of times, both his own and qualifying times, to set his own valid goals in addition to those suggested by the coach. If a swimmer sets a reachable goal it should be accepted by coach and parents. Most young swimmers however need the expert guidance of coach and parents to set obtainable goals. Remember, at this age it is vitally important that swimmers are able to accomplish their goals.

The Marginally Motivated Swimmer
Guy Edson
ASCA Staff

The other day I was remembering a time when I was a much younger coach and the day I asked a swimmer to leave practice and “not to come back.” In recalling and thinking about this incident I believe there is a message for parents of older, aged 13 and above, lesser committed swimmers.

What was this swimmer doing that was so terrible? Nothing. He was doing nothing; and that was the problem. For whatever reason, he simply decided he wasn’t going to do the set I had prescribed and decided he was going to leave practice.

This 13 year old had a dismal attendance record making just a couple of workouts a week and when he did come there was minimal communication with me. He would arrive seconds before we began the first set and he would immediately leave after the last set. I only saw the mom one time; the dad, never. Quite simply, it appeared that he didn’t want to be there.

I thought about the incident throughout that evening and it was the first thing on my mind when I woke up in the next morning. I hated kicking a swimmer out of practice. I asked myself these questions:

Did I need to permanently dismiss him from the team?

Should I have just let him go without comment at the time or should I have taken the time to find out what was bothering him?

Should I have had a discussion with the parents long before the incident about what my expectations were and to find out what their expectations were?

Before I tackle those questions there are a couple of concepts I would like all parents to consider. First, one of the primary duties of the coach is to provide adversity for the athletes. That may sound like an unusual way to describe it but the reality is that a workout is not meant to be easy. It is meant to be a physical and mental challenge. Good coaches throw the challenge out there and then attempt to provide the environment where the athlete’s will to meet the challenge is high. At older ages and upper levels, say 13 and over at sectional and above level, coaches sometimes design entire workouts meant to make the athlete fail – temporarily fail. At lower levels, right down to novice level swimming, swimmers need to be exposed to sets that are difficult, perhaps so difficult that no one can achieve the set. Good coaches use these sets to build a desire in the athletes to achieve higher levels of physical and mental toughness. Good coaches know that being successful requires a combination of challenge and success in the workout environment and that the relative amount of each will change as the swimmer ages.

The second concept has two parts: the coach’s time and effort; and the athlete’s submissiveness – best described as the athlete’s willingness to release themselves to the coach. To whom should the coach give their time and effort? Answer: to those athletes who give themselves to the coach. The coach has limited time and energy and the fairest behavior of the coach is focusing on those who are ready to meet the adversity. Coaches simply do not have time to coddle and convince reluctant swimmers to do work while there are other swimmers willing and ready to go.

Now, back to the questions at hand. Did I need to dismiss him from the team entirely? In this case, Yes. But it should have been discussed with the parent the next day rather than shouted to him across the pool. Why dismiss him from the team? He had a poor history of effort, bad attendance, and it was not worth the team’s time to try change his work ethic. In a case where a swimmer had a history of good effort, and had shown a high degree of coachability – well, this situation wouldn’t have been an issue in the first place.

Should I have let him go without comment at the time? Yes. Running a workout where emotions are high is not the time to get into it with an athlete or the parent. It is better to discuss such things in a different environment at a different time.

Should I have take the time to find out what was bothering him? No. That would have been taking time from those in the water who were doing the work and that is where the coach’s focus needs to be.

Long before the incident should I have had a discussion with the parents about “expectations”? Absolutely Yes. This was a failure on my part – and the parents.

The bottom lines: There are adolescent swimmers who are of marginal ability who come to practice for a variety or reasons. Sometimes it’s friends. That’s a pretty good reason, but there has to be the willingness to work as well.

Sometimes it’s Mom and Dad making the child go to practice. There are good reasons and bad reasons for this. Good reasons include a sincere desire for the child to be involved in a wholesome activity. Bad reasons include a parent’s desire for the child to be a champion swimmer and earn a swimming scholarship when the child doesn’t have that talent.

Whatever the reasons, it is important for parents and swimmers and coaches to discuss their respective expectations with each other. Frankly, sometimes expectations just do not match up with what’s being offered or what is being done. And then it is time to think about moving on to another program or another activity.

Guy Edson is a Level 5 Age Group Coach and has enjoyed 5 years as a part time age group coach, 2 years as a full time age group coach, 8 years as a full time head coach, and 20+ years coaching novice/intermediate swimmers. (In that order.) And, 7 years as high school coach mixed in with the above. He has served as an ASCA staff member since 1988 where his favorite role is helping young coaches with everything from teaching techniques to designing workouts. He also manages ASCA’s Job Service program helping both coaches and employers with a wide range of needs including contract reviews, interviews, and relational and club structural issues.

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