Answers for Swimming Parents
EXCERPTS FROM: The Swim Coaching Brain by Wayne Goldsmith
Q: My child is 10 and is a great freestyler. What does he/she have to do to make it to the top?
A: The first thing is to accept that
there is no such thing as a champion ten year old freestyler. Swimmers who experience success during their 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 strokes also changes - this year's backstroker could be next year's freestyler and the 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 P's:
- 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 skill 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!
Q: What should I expect in terms of results at a swim meet from my Age Group swimmer?
A: 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 learnt in terms of swimming technique... dives, starts, turns and 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 teammates and supporting other members of the team.
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.
Q: What can I do to the best swimming parent I can be?
A: Giver you 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 natural abilities that define them or make 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.
