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Top Ten Questions from Swim Parents
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The Top Ten Questions Every Swimming Parent Wants to
Know -- August 30,
2009 - Swiminfo.com
PHOENIX, Arizona, August 30. TODAY, we are
offering our online readers a free preview of some of the content
that is available to Swimming World Magazine subscribers. In
a never-before-published article, Wayne Goldsmith and Helen Morris
present questions that every swimming parents has probably
asked.
The Top Ten Questions Every Swimming Parent Wants to Know
By Wayne Goldsmith and Helen Morris
You see them every day. They are everywhere. At every pool. Every
swim meet. Every school swimming practice.
There they are. Sitting at the side of the pool. Watching every
lap. Counting every breath. Analyzing every stroke. Studying every
move you make.
Coaches? No.
Swimming media? Uh-uh.
Officials? No way.
Who are these people who go to the pool and watch you swim laps
day after day after day? Who are these folk sitting there in the
wind and rain for hours and hours watching you practice? Who are
these strange humans who love nothing more than getting out of bed
at 4 a.m. just to sit in the cold and watch you train?
Your Parents!
Ever wondered what they are thinking sitting there at the side of
the pool studying every stroke and counting every kick?
They are desperate to find out the answers to these important
questions..............................
1.How many training sessions should my child do each week?
There is no magic number of training sessions for every swimmer.
Even at elite level, some swimmers swim 7 sessions a week, some do
nine, others 11...there is no magic number.
It all comes down to the FLAG principle:
Fatigue – if a swimmer is swimming 3 sessions a week
and as a result is always tired, irritable and their grades are
falling, then doing more swimming does not make sense. So the
optimal number of sessions for any individual swimmer is largely
based on their ability to adapt to and recover from their training
load.
Level of performance – training sessions should also
be based on the level of performance being targeted. Chances are
swimming two sessions a week will not get you selected on the next
Olympic team and similarly 14 sessions a week is a little too much
just to achieve a PB time at the under 9 state championships meet.
As a broad benchmark, world class swimmers spend one day per week,
i.e. 24 hours per week training and the rest of the time eating and
sleeping so the higher you want to go, the harder you have to
work.
Available time – if your child is in junior high,
playing basketball, learning piano, doing special projects on
weekends for extra credits, playing tennis and in the school
choir...and......swimming five sessions each week, then it is safe
to say, adding more swimming sessions is not going to do anything
other than make them tired and fatigued. Keep in mind your
child’s total commitments across all areas of their life
before adding more training time. And – never, ever forget
that some days they need to just hang out with their friends, play
and enjoy life. They are only kids once!
Goals – if your child sets high swimming goals, then
naturally the time, effort and energy to achieve them must also be
high. As a general rule, as kids progress through each level of
swimming they need to add an extra pool session or gym workout to
learn the skills, develop the fitness and build the technical
abilities to be successful at the next level. For example (Note:
this is a guide only):
Swimmer level/ Sessions per week
Water safety / Learn to swim - 1-2
Mini squads / School swimming programs - 2-3
District / Country Swimming Championships level - 3-4
State Swimming Championships level - 4-6
National Swimming Championships level - 6-8
International Swimming level - 8 plus
2.My child is 10 and is a great freestyler. What does she have
to do to make it to the top?
The first thing to accept is that there is no such thing as a
champion ten year old freestyler. Swimmers who experience success
pre-teenage years generally do so because of accelerated growth,
i.e. they are bigger and stronger than the other kids!
Another common situation is that as kids grow, change and develop,
their ability to swim the competitive swimming strokes also changes
– this year’s backstroker could be next year’s
freestyler and then the following year they are great at swimming
fly.
In the long term, the factors which determine success as a senior
swimmer are the 5 Ps:
Perseverance – the ability to try and try and try and
try – and to never give up;
Patience – it takes time to become a great swimmer
– about ten years of consistent hard work;
Physical training – great swimmers are usually the
best prepared. It takes a high level of physical fitness, technical
development and skills refinement to make it to the top;
Personality – world class swimmers demonstrate some
common personality traits – none the least being
determination, commitment, the ability to overcome adversity and
the capacity for accelerated learning;
Passion – Swimming is like anything else in life: you
have to love it to do it well!
3.When should my child specialize in a stroke?
Kids need to grow into their specialist stroke! That is, when
swimmers grow and develop physically and mentally, they will be
naturally drawn to a particular stroke. It is common for a
child’s best stroke to change from year to year but once they
hit middle to late teens, the nature of specific events will become
more appealing. Real talent in any one stroke is harder to hide
than it is to find! There is no need to encourage kids into one
stroke or another – it will just happen!
4.Do swimmers need a special diet?
No. Not unless they have a medical problem or diet related
condition that has been diagnosed by a nutrition professional. As a
general rule, top swimmers follow a "4 MORE 4 LESS, 4 ME" diet:
More – complex carbohydrates like rice, bread, pasta.
More – lean quality protein like chicken, meat, fish.
More – water, fresh juices.
More – fresh fruit, nuts and vegetables.
Less – take away food.
Less – saturated fats and oils.
Less – processed and pre packaged foods.
Less – sodas.
Lots of parents want to know about supplements like vitamins,
minerals and special substances like Creatine, Glucose and so
on.
The five golden rules about these products are:
1.They may be of some use to some swimmers in some situations and
on some occasions but consult a sports nutrition professional to
help determine what might work for your child;
2.Nothing takes the place of consistent hard work, good technique
and a great attitude;
3.If something sounds too good to be true, "Miracle Sports
Performance Powder – Improves Endurance by up to 60
percent..." it probably is too good to be true!
4.Never introduce a new product – no matter what it is
promising – within 7 days of an important meet. Many parents
have fallen for the trap of giving kids a "special" breakfast or
all new "miracle" supplement on the morning of a big meet only to
find their kids spend more time in the toilet than in the pool.
5.Read rule 2 again – no supplement can turn mediocrity into
magnificence. Teach kids to believe in themselves and to take
responsibility for their own swimming performances rather than to
rely on the promises of a supplement advertising campaign.
(editor’s note: As swimmers progress into the drug-testing
parts of the sport, they are 100 percent liable for anything that
goes into their bodies. Supplements, at least in the United States,
are not regulated and can contain banned substances.
5.How do I find the best coach for my child?
The best swimming coaches demonstrate the FIVE Cs:
Calm – they remain calm and composed on and off deck
and set a great example for the kids they coach;
Confident – they display a "humble confidence"
– they believe in themselves and coach because they love
coaching – not for any ego stroking reason;
Close – the pool where they coach is close to home or
at least on the after school "route" – e.g. Pick up the kids
from school, drop them to basketball practice, pick them up and
take them to swimming, pick them up and drop them to music
lessons.....
Caring – they are interested in kids becoming great
human beings – not just fast swimmers.
Credible – they have the appropriate experience,
qualifications and understanding of swimming.
There is an old saying in coaching..."kids don’t care how
much you know, they want to know how much you care!"
In swimming, this means asking the coach four questions:
Will you inspire a lifelong passion for the sport of swimming in
my child?
Will you engage my child’s heart and mind and respect them
as an individual?
Will you teach my child the importance of swimming skills and
technique?
Will you encourage my child to learn, be patient with them when
they fail and above all help them to develop a real sense of self
confidence and self belief?
Think about your own sporting career. Remember that coach who took
a real interest in you as a human being and changed your life
– whose lessons you still remember even now 20 years later?
That’s the type of coach you want to find for your kids!
6.School, swimming, social life.....what’s the right
balance for my child?
Your child is not a swimmer....they are a child first and
foremost: a child who just happens to swim. But they are also a
student, a brother or sister, a son or daughter, a member of a
youth group, maybe someone who players another sport – they
are a young person who has the potential to be anything they choose
to be.
Kids are drawn to the things that:
1.They enjoy;
2.They have friends;
3.They are learning by because their hearts and minds are engaged
in the activity.
So if your kids are having fun with their friends and love what
they are doing, chances are the balance is right. If your kids
start finding excuses not to train, don’t want to get out of
bed to go to the pool, show poor training habits and want to avoid
going to meets, they are telling you, "mom and dad – the
balance is not right and I want to change it". Listen to your
kids.
7.What should I expect in terms of results at Meets?
You should expect to see:
Your child enjoying swimming with his / her friends;
Your child learning to love challenging him / herself and taking
pleasure in competition;
Your child demonstrating all they have learned in terms of
swimming technique, dives, starts, turns, finishes, underwater
kicking.
Your child showing some self responsibility in their warm up,
recovery, meet day nutrition and personal management.
Your child showing a sense of "team" by cheering for team mates
and supporting other members of the squad.
In terms of results...expect nothing. Where kids are
concerned....Medals are meaningless and times are tedious unless
they are accompanied by LLL – a love of the sport, learning
new skills and life lessons.
8.Does my child need to be doing strength training in the
gym?
No. Not unless they have an injury or weakness or imbalance or
other physical condition that has been identified by a professional
sports physical therapist / medical practitioner.
The three key areas – what we call the "ABILITIES" of
non-pool training to focus on are:
FLEX - ability: Improving their flexibility in important
swimming muscles and muscle groups;
MOB – ability (mobility): Improving their mobility
around joints;
STAR - ability (stability): Developing a strong stable
"core" – abs, back muscles and important stabilizing muscles
in their shoulders and hips.
Kids don’t need to lift heavy weights – work on the
"abilities", technique, skills, attitude and self confidence and
leave the lifting to the Governor of California!
9.What can I do to be the best swimming parent I can be?
Give your child that which only you can give! Unconditional love,
total support, compassion and unwavering belief in them as human
beings. In the long term, whether your kids become world record
holders in swimming, lawyers, doctors, teachers...it is not their
talent that defines them or makes them successful – it is who
they are. And no one helps kids to develop values, virtues and
characteristics like their family. 6 feet tall 12 year old kids
with large feet and strong muscles are great, but give me
intelligent, honest, hard working kids with a real sense of self
belief, courage and integrity any day! Develop the person first
– then the swimming power!
10.My son is 11 years old and wants to play basketball two
afternoons a week? Is playing other sports ok?
Yep! Pre-teen kids should be out enjoying life, being fit,
learning skills and being active. Sure – once they get to mid
– late teens and make the commitment to be a great swimmer,
then some of their other activities will need to be cut back but at
11 the "more the merrier". A lot of sports have several cross over
effects on swimming including:
Basketball – leg power, co-ordination, speed, endurance.
Gymnastics – balance, timing, flexibility, power,
co-ordination.
Martial arts – balance, timing, flexibility, power,
co-ordination, self confidence.
Running – aerobic fitness, leg strength.
Soccer – aerobic fitness, leg strength, co-ordination,
speed.
Look at the obesity epidemic in kids in all developed nations. It
would be great to have every kid in the world swimming laps, but
just having them outside playing sport and moving their bodies
instead of seeing them inside eating junk food while watching
television has got to be good!
About Wayne and Helen:
Wayne is one of the world’s leading experts in elite level
swimming and high performance sport. Helen, is a former world class
swimmer and a passionate campaigner for kids and adults learning to
swim. To read more about Wayne and Helen visit their web site
www.sportscoachingbrain.com and their new swim site
www.swimcoachingbrain.com
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