Following is a list of questions commonly asked of coaches.  Please mail additional questions to highlanderaquatics@lhps.org so that we can post those too.

1.  How do I register my child for a meet?

In order to sign up for a meet a parent or swimmer must sign the swimmer name, age and indicate the days they are able to participate.  The Meet Registration Binder will be located outside the coach’s offices.  Please sign up by the deadline, which is usually 3-4 weeks prior to the meet.  The meets usually last 2-4 hours and are preceded with a 1 hour warmup period.  Meet entry fees range from $5.00 to $15.00 per swimmer per meet.  Upon signing up for a meet, a swimmer is liable for those entry fees regardless of whether or not the swimmer attends the meet. 

2.  What do I do before the meet starts?

1. Arrive at the pool at least 15 minutes before the scheduled warm-up time begins. This time will be posted with the meet information. Also look for this information in the team newsletter.  
   

2. Upon arrival, find a place to put your swimmer's blankets, swim bags and/or sleeping bags. The team usually sits in one place together, so look for some familiar faces.
   

3. Check in with your coach, let them know you are ready to "GO!"
   

4. Once "checked in", purchase a heat sheet.  A heat sheet is usually available for sale in the lobby or concession area of the pool.  Heat sheets generally sell for $5 to $10 per competition.  It lists all swimmers in each event, heat and lane.  When the team entry is sent in, each swimmer and his/her previous best time in that event is listed. If the swimmer is swimming an event for the first time, he/she will be entered as a "no-time" or "NT". A "no-time" swimmer will most likely swim in one of the first heats of the event.  
   
   Look through the program and make sure your child is in each event he or she was scheduled.  Please report any discrepancies to your coach immediately.  
   
   Parents of younger swimmers you might want to write each event-number, and heat and lane assignment on your swimmer's hand in ink. This helps him/her remember what events he/she is swimming and what event number to listen for.
   

5. Your swimmer now gets his/her cap and goggles and reports to the pool and/or coach for warm-up instructions. It is very important for all swimmers to warm-up with the team.  Warmup includes swimming some easy laps, some fast laps, and going over some of the meet procedures. Swimmer's bodies are just like cars on a cold day-he/she needs to get the engine going and warmed-up before he/she can go all out.
   

6. After warm-up, your swimmer will go back to the area where his/her towels are and sit there until the next event is called.  This is a good time to make sure he/she goes to the bathroom if necessary, gets a drink, or just gets settled in.
   

7. The meet will usually start about 10-15 minutes after warm-ups are over.
   

3.  What do I do during the meet?

4.  What do I do after a swim?

5.   What do I do after my child is finished swimming for the day?

When a swimmer has completed all of his/her events he/she and their parents get to go home. Make sure, however, you, as a parent, check with the coach before leaving to make sure your swimmer is not included on a relay. It is not fair to other swimmers who may have stayed to swim on a relay where your swimmer is expected to be a member and he/she is not there.

6.  What do I do if my child has a disappointing swim?

If your child has a poor race and comes out of it feeling bad, talk about the good things. The first thing you say is, "Hey, that is not like you.  You're usually a top swimmer." Then you can go on and talk about the good things the child did. You never talk about the negative things. If your child comes up to you and says, "That was a bad race, don't tell me it wasn't," there is nothing wrong with a swimmer negatively evaluating a race. The important thing is for the child not to dwell on it. You should move the swimmer on to something good. "All right, you have had a bad race. How do you think you can do better next time?" Immediately start talking about the positive things.

7.  What do I take to a meet?

1. Most important: Swim Suit and Highlander Swim Cap--and goggles (if your swimmer uses them).

2. Baby or talcum powder--To "dust" the inside of swim cap. This helps preserve the cap and makes it easier to put on.

3. Towels-Realize your swimmer will be there awhile, so pack at least two or more.

4. Something to sit on. Example: folding chair, sleeping bag, old blanket, or anything that will be comfortable to sit on. The swimmers will be spending a lot of time on it.

5. Sweat suits: bring one. Each swimmer may want to bring two because they can get wet.

6. T-shirts: Two or three. Same reason as above.

7. Games: travel games, coloring books, books, anything to pass the time.

8. Food:  It is better to bring snacks. They usually have snack bars at the meet, but most of the time they only sell junk food. Suggestions for items to bring: Drinks: Hi-C, Fruit juice, Gatorade Snacks: Granola bars, Fun fruits, yogurt, cereal, jello cubes, sandwiches.  Once you have attended one or two meets this will all become very routine. Please do not hesitate to ask any other Highlander Aquatic Club parent for help or information! These meets are a lot of fun for the swimmers! He/she gets to visit with his/her friends, play games, and meet kids from other teams. He/she also gets to "race" and see how much he/she has improved from all the hard work he/she has put in at practice.

9. Sunscreen
   

8.  How do I find out what events my child is swimming at a meet, and when to be where?

The meet entry for the team is posted inside the pool house along with order of events, warmup times and meet specifics. The HighlanderAquatics.org website will have the capability to communicate the events, session data, warmup times and meet specifics in the near future.

9.  How often should my child practice?

10.  What is the pool temperature?

We try and maintain the pool temperature at a constant 82 degrees throughout the year.

11.  When is it "too cold" to swim?

As far as AM workouts are concerned if the temperature dips to 32 degrees the coaches will cancel the water workout and we would do dryland activities instead. As far as afternoon workouts are concerned we will always have water workouts unless there is lightning. It will be the parents decision whether or not a young swimmer trains on any given day due to inclement weather.

12.  When and where should my child go to complete the prescribed tasks for moving from groups? (i.e. moving from Age Group Silver to Age Group Gold)

A child should convey to his or her group coach that they would like to challenge the prescribed tasks for moving up. After practice is completed or if a specific set is given during the course of a workout, the group coach will test the swimmer. Upon successful completion of the prescribed tasks a meeting will be set up will the group coach, the swimmer, their parents and the head swimming to discuss moving to the next group.