Swim
Meet Basics For Parents
Ideas to help you and your child be better prepared
and “happier” at Swim Meets
By John Leonard, ASCA Director
1. Be on
time. On time means 15 minutes before warmup
begins.
2. Know the
seating arrangements. Bring folding chairs to most outdoor
pools. Bring drinks and snacks as appropriate. Sit with
your child if that’s the team “thing.” Sit
in the stands if that’s the way the team does it. Let
the swimmers be with the swimmers. They don’t want to be
with you in most cases. They want to be with their
friends.
3. Encourage your child to get
immediately to the coach for warmup. (See following article
about warmup.)
4. Be a
parent. Help them keep track of heats, events, etc. But
remember that the main idea is to teach them to handle the
environment of a swim meet themselves. This helps them
“grow up.” It’s never too
early....
5. Cheer for
other people’s children on the team. Don’t embarrass
your own by standing behind their blocks screaming. Let other
parents scream for your child.
6. Let the coach
coach. Unless you’re the coach. Then let someone
else coach your child. So you can parent.
7. Sometimes a
child will “miss an event”. This happens, it’s a
learning experience. Don’t freak out. Don’t
handhold them to the next event. Expect
responsibility. If they can’t handle it, maybe they are
too young to be there. Let them rely on teammates for
help.
8. Sometimes a
swimmer will false start and DQ a relay. Similarly, it’s a
learning experience. Don’t freak out. The
appropriate response by the swimmer to their
teammates? “Sorry guys.” Everyone does
it. Everyone needs to forgive. See, “Everyone Does
It.” Reread that. Twice.
9. Sometimes a
swimmer DQ’s for swimming an event incorrectly. Do not
address the official. Ask the coach what they did
wrong. Make sure the swimmer understands how to do it
correctly. End of story. It IS NOT a big deal. Learn from
it.
10. The child
should have a goal for every swim. Sometimes a time, sometimes
a technique. Ask what their goal is. Don’t help set
it. That’s for the coach and
swimmer.
11. The coach
will likely speak to your child before and after the
event. The “before” is to remind them of their
goals and needs, and the “after” is to review the
successes and weak spots of the swim. Great feedback is great
coaching.
12. Make sure
they drink in hot weather. Drink in all weather. Water,
Gatorade, etc. NO SUGAR. NO CANDY. NO SUGAR, NO
CANDY.
13. If you have
questions, ask the Coach. Try to do it when the Coach is not
doing 12 other things. Get real answers. Asking another
parent may not get you the right answer.
14. When the
meet is over, the meet is over. Forget it on the way
home. Help the swimmer remember the lessons for the next time,
but don’t dwell on the meet. Meet over....move
on...next!
15. Most coaches
will say “it’s not about winning, it’s about
improvement.” Know what is being improved, and measure
it and help your child focus on the process and not
“just” the result. What does it take to go
faster?
16. Keep it
light. Have a sense of humor. An age group swim meet,
taken at face value, is a pretty silly thing.....don’t
overplay the “importance” of it ...it’s just an
opportunity to test what you’ve been learning in practice. We
repeat experiences that are enjoyable and avoid experiences that
are not.
There are thousands
of other ideas to add to this list. This is “just the
basics”. Add to your own list.
And now, to the
concept of WARMUP.
WHAT IS
WARMUP?
Warmup is what
happens before a competition. Its purpose is
several:
PHYSICAL
1. Literally
warm and lubricate the muscles for
“action”.
2. Increase the
heart rate in preparation for race action.
3. Getting in
touch with your feel for the water and ability to swim the strokes
correctly.
MENTAL
1. Get into
focus. We’re at a swim meet to compete.
2. Get rid of
distractions.
3. Focus on
process and good technical swimming.
4. Prepare to
Race.
Most warmups at most
meets are crowded and appear chaotic.
Typically the coach
will put all swimmers in one or two lanes,
together.
The swimmers will do
an easy swim. (“easy 500 free”)
Then some gentle
kicking. (“10 x 25 free kick on 30
seconds”)
Then some
drills....(“200 IM Drill”)
Then a “start
your heart” set...(“8 x 50 free, descend 1-4,
5-8”)
Then some pace work
relating to the specific event....
And a little more
easy swimming.
Warmups can vary from
Senior Swimmers who take an hour or more, to eight and unders, who
can warmup in 20 minutes in some cases. In every case,
it’s important to be ON TIME. Typically an hour before the
meet. This allows time for the physical and the mental work to
be done. The coach will commonly hold a short meeting to make
sure all swimmers are accounted for, organized, know their events,
and get last minute reminders.
Being LATE to warmup
means your child will be inadequately prepared for their
competition. Not a good thing. You ask them and the coach
asks them, to work hard to learn in practice every day. Then
the day of the meet, you do things incorrectly. What
does that teach the child?
Be On Time, Do Things
Correctly. Have a Great Meet!
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