Frequently Asked Questions

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1. Why should I consider swim team for my child?
2. What makes the Marlins special?
3. What can I expect if my child joins the team?
4. Do I have to be a Rafael Racquet and Swim Club member?
5. How can my child join the team?
6. Does my child have to try-out for the team?
7. Can my kid just participate in one session or does he have to swim all year?
8. Are meets mandatory?
9. How many practices a week should my child attend?
10. Do I have to participate in any fundraisers?
11. I want to be an involved parent on the team, what are my options?
12. How come the Marlins do not belong to Marin Swim League?
13. How do the coaches coach the team?
14. How do the coaches decide which group my kids will be in?
15. How will the coaches communicate with me?
16. What kind of equipment will my child need?
17. Are private lessons available from the coaches?
18. For More Information

1. Why should I consider swimming for my child?
   

    

   Swimming lessons provide the most efficient platform to learn the basic swimming skills that all of us should know. Our ability to become a proficient swimmer is within all of us and is best supported by a swim team format. Moving freely in a 3 dimensional world where your weight is only a fraction of what you are used to, is nothing less than fun! As we teach kids to let go of their earth-conditioned functions, they discover a world with new rules to which they adapt rapidly, boosting their sense of self and pushing the limits of the impossible. Swimming offers an opportunity to learn about many lifelong skills like courage, acceptance, perseverance and respect.

   Most parents initially show an interest for the sport by the fact that their children will learn a life saving skill. However, active participation will bring so much more. Swimming also helps your child understand the physical benefits one receives from regular exercise, and is one of the very few sports that offers professional coaching staff five days a week.
   

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2. What makes the Marlins special?
   

   The team is a very inclusive program that focuses on bringing swimming to everyone, because one does not need to be a fast swimmer to reap the benefits. We offer each swimmer a gradual approach to competition by keeping track of specific skills performed during practice; measuring improvement helps goal setting. We provide beginner friendly home meets to help kids feel part of a team, and eventually we offer them the opportunity to participate in more serious away meets when they are ready. We focus on helping kids understand what they are doing and why they are doing it and we are careful not to let competition solely define what the program is about.

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3. What can I expect if my child joins the team?
   

   As most things in life, you get as much as you put in. The Marlins swim team is no exception. The highly qualified coaches are committed to making a difference for your child, but for this to happen it requires a minimum level of participation. The coaches expectations vary with the different groups but it also takes in consideration the swimmer’s goals. Regardless, our approach to swimming is through technique. We often tell our swimmers that they are what they practice and therefore to be an efficient swimmers, one must repeat correct strokes and drills.

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4. Do I have to be a Rafael Racquet and Swim Club member?
   

   No. The Marlins team is a program of the Rafael Racquet and Swim Club.  The club’s bylaws allow its programs to be attended by both members and non-members.  The Marlins benefit from this privilege. The Club’s 500 memberships cannot provide enough swimmers for a team; therefore, non-members are given a "Limited Member" status, granting team members limited use of the facility during scheduled Marlin activities.  The team appreciates your support in fostering good relations with the Rafael Racquet and Swim Club.  With this in mind, here are a few reminders:

   • Swimmers will not be allowed in the water before practice time unless they are club members.
   • Swimmers need to exit the pool promptly at the end of practice.
   • Swimmers must respect the club’s property.

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• How can my child join the team?
  

  The first thing you should do is call Coach Marc at 456-1153 or e-mail him. You will be able to discuss your options and make sure that the program is the right fit for your child. Then you will need to follow the registrationprocess and choose the practice group for your child based on your conversation with the coach. This registration process focuses on collecting all the administrative information prior to try-outs.

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• Does my child have to try-out for the team?
  

  You must attend try-outs  in order for the coaches to confirm that your child is ready for swim team and that you chose the most appropriate group. If you decide to continue after try-outs, payment is due at the next attended practice. If you have chosen to pay by check, please bring a check made out to "RRC Marlins" for the full amount (session dues, team and USA registration). If you have chosen to pay by credit card, your account will be invoiced the full amount after the first week of practice. Your child will get a feel for what will be expected of them during their first 3 practices of the session. If you decide not to continue after that period you will receive a full refund. If, however, after 4 practices you realize that your child is no longer interested in swim team, you will receive a refund minus $100.00. And after 6 practices there will be no refund.

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• Can my kid just participate in one session or does he have to swim all year?
  

  We have broken our season, which goes from September to July, into 3 sessions. Fall (Sept - Dec), Winter (Jan - Apr) and Spring/Summer (Apr - Jul). We strive to make our program accessible to all levels of commitments so that an older swimmer who wants to train hard and get ready for high school swimming has the ability to practice all year, but also so that a younger swimmer who is still unsure about the sport can get a meaningful experience for a session while being able to continue exploring other sports the rest of the year.

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• Are meets mandatory?
  

  No! That said, the coaches will encourage all swimmers to at least check one of home meets out. Ultimately, we see meets as a mean to an end, one of the many tools we have at our disposition to help the swimmers measure their progress.

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• How many practices a week should my child attend?
  

  The more the better. New swimmers on the team are more likely to quite the sport if they do not attend a minimum of 2 swim practices per week. Not only this will enable the coaches to get to know them faster and better, but it will give your kids a better chance to feel part of the team. No matter what the coaches try to do to make swimming fun, do not let this fool you, swimming is hard work! The consistency and frequency of your child exposure to swim practice is the biggest factor in their ultimate choice to continue with swimming or not.

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• Do I have to participate in any fundraisers?
  

  Not actively. The team’s registration, as well as our home meets (entry fees and snack bar) and the sell of Marlins swim cap and clothing contribute towards the funds necessary to run the team. You will not be asked to sell wrapping paper or cookie dough!

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• I want to be an involved parent on the team, what are my options?
  

  There are 4 areas for parent to be involved with the team. One is social activities. Any fun events that bring swimmers and parents together is very important for the team. If you have an idea and it does not conflict with swim meets, training or another social event at the club, then the coaches will help you with the logistic.

  Another is any jobs required at away meets. Typically, we would have to provide enough timers to cover a lane. This usually depend on how many swimmers we would take to a meet. Once a year, when we attend our July Championships, we will be required to sell meet programs, announce and provide timers for one lane.

  An important job that will benefit the team is Stroke and Turn Judge. This position requires a certification from our Zone, but is becoming essential for the zone to run its meet. Because of the shortage, plans are being floated to require team to provided certified judges based on the number of swimmers registered. Last but not least, is any jobs necessary to run our home meets:

  • Announcer. This person announces the events and names of swimmers for each heat, during the course of the meet. This also includes other pertinent announcements.
  • Computer Data Entry. These persons are responsible for the entry of swimmers times during the course of the meet.
  • Ribbons and Posting. These persons are responsible for labeling and filing ribbons in their appropriate folders. This job can be done during the week following the meet.
  • Lane Runner. Responsible for collecting lane sheets from the timers and carrying those sheets to the desk for computer entry.
  • Head Timer. Responsible for organizing timers into their lanes with stopwatches and lane sheets. This job also includes being a back-up timer for each race.
  • Timers. The responsibility includes recording the time of the swimmers in your lane onto the appropriate lane sheets.
  • Starter. The starter’s responsibility is to announce the event being swum and to appropriately start each heat of the meet.
  • Snack Bar Staff. The snack bar worker’s responsibility is to sell food and drinks during the course of the meet. This also includes helping in preparing the snack bar prior to the meet, cleaning up after the meet, and preparing and purchasing food and materials.
  • Set-Up Crew. This group of people are responsible for arriving early to the meet and preparing the deck so it is ready for the meet to commence.
  • Clean-Up Crew. This group of people are responsible for staying after the meet to put everything from the deck back to its storing place.

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• How come the Marlins do not belong to Marin Swim League?
  

  In 2000, the team left the Marin Swim League to join USA Swimming. The MSL does not provide a format that served the majority of the swimmers on our team, it boils swim meets down to a rigid dual meet format with lose / win outcome that gives little flexibility to ease our swimmers into competition. In addition it restricts the events offered to sprints only ignoring the fact that longer events help set the proper training base for the future of the kids who decide to make swimming their sport.

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• How do the coaches coach the team?
  

  In general, the coaches get involved with all the swimmers on the team. Junior Marlins, Group 1 and 2 are focus on stroke development with an increase in volume as the kids go up in level. Group 3 and 4 have planned practice rotating the theme everyday (free / back / Medley, etc.). Some practice focus on specifics like turns or if the weather permits it dives. All practices have a "warm-up" which typically stays the same for the younger groups and varies with the theme for the older groups. Kicking is a big part of what the kids do at all level of swimming. Anywhere from 30% to 50% of swim practice can be done kicking. Freestyle is the main stroke practiced follow by backstroke. Fly and breastroke are usually practiced during individual medley days.

  The coaches try to talk to every swimmer at every practice .... it’s not always doable, but that’s the goal. We love the kids to be on time and we forgive occasional tardiness. We strongly recommend that you speak with the coaches if you know your child is going to be late consistently because of a schedule conflict. We do have favorites amongst the kids like the one who have mastered the 3 words "hello", "goodbye" and "thank you", the kids who try, who show respect to their teammates and their coaches, but we don’t hold grudges and we will give your kids chances until they get it .... and they all get it, eventually.

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• How do the coaches decide which group my kids will be in?
  

  The obvious is skill and maturity. Ideally we want the kids to be challenged in way that create achievable short and medium term goals for them. We also try to balance the equation technique / volume. Typically, a lesser volume and a lower speed help set-up the proper stage for great learning. One of the question we ask ourselves as we consider moving a swimmer up into the next group is how much will the increase in volume and speed affect the technique? If the affect is minimal and can be addressed as a short term goal then we have a successful move.

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• How will the coaches communicate with me?
  

  All of the general communication to the swimmers and their families is done by e-mail (announcements or newsletters). Our website allows us to define specific targets so as to not overload you with non-relevant e-mails. Coaches will call you or e-mail you specifically if they need to contact you regarding your child. We strongly suggest you make appointment with the coaches if you would like to discuss anything with them. We hold a new parent orientation in the fall and the spring.

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• What kind of equipment will my child need?
  

  It depend on the group your child will be swimming in. We would like ALL our swimmers to use goggles. Some of the younger swimmers have a hard time with goggles, but we will keep encouraging them to try. If you child has hair long enough to fall in their eyes or mouth when wet then he/she must wear a swim cap. During swim practice any swim suit will do as long as it stays on during dives and is not too baggy (boys surf shorts). UV shirt are OK if the shirt is snug on the swimmer’s body. The team provided kick board, but for group 3 and 4, the swimmers will need to get a pair of fins. An order is placed early each session, let the coaches know if you need fins.

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• Are private lessons available from the coaches?
  

  Yes. 30 minutes lessons are available with Jeff or Marc before swim practice. Because practice starts at 3:40 pm this limits the options for swimmers to minimum days.

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• For More Information
  

  Please do not hesitate to contact the head coach Marc Detraz at 415-456-1153 or detraz@comcast.net.

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