Parent Guidelines and Pool Deck
Policy
We understand that many parents will sit and
wait for their children to complete their practice due to driving
distances or time, but ask that you do not interact with your
swimmer or swimmer’s coach during the
workout.
We
all do a great deal for our kids. We create the environment
in which they grow and mature. Our children are products of
our values and beliefs. Human nature, however, is such that
we sometimes lose our ability to remain detached and objective in
matters concerning our children. The following guidelines
will help all of us keep our child’s development in the
proper perspective.
- Every individual learns at a
different rate and responds differently to the various methods of
presenting skills.
- It
takes a great deal of the swimmer’s attention to master the
skills of proper stroke technique. These new sets of habits
are the basis for later improvement.
- Plateaus will occur at one time or
another in every swimmer’s career. Plateaus can be both
in competition and in training. A plateau signifies the
swimmer has mastered lower order skills, but they are not yet
sufficiently automatic to leave their attention free to attack
newer, higher-order skills.
- Swimmers under 10 are the most
inconsistent. This can be frustrating for the parent, coach
and swimmer alike! We must be patient and permit these
youngsters to learn to love the sport.
- It is
the coach’s job to offer constructive criticism of a
swimmer’s performance. It is a parent’s job to
supply the unconditional love, recognition and encouragement
necessary to help the young athlete feel good about
themselves.
We certainly support your presence
on the pool deck, but ask that you do not interact with your
swimmer or the swimmer’s coach
during the workout (if you need to speak with the coach do it
before or after workout). It is best to be a distant observer
during workouts. Our children need to develop a bond
of trust and confidence with the coaches. This is difficult
if not impossible to do if we (the parents) are close
by.
With
that in mind, please do not sit on the south or west side of the
pool. The south end of the pool is the opposite side of
the pool from the locker rooms. The west side of the pool is the
side with the SAC office (deep end). We recommend sitting on the
east end of the pool deck under the permanent shade structures by
the steps end of the pool (shallow end). If you feel it
necessary to sit on the north end of the pool (locker room side and
fitness room side), please sit on the bleachers that face the
diving well or behind an imaginary line that joins the light poles
around the pool. This will give our coaches the space they
need to interact with your swimmer without having to compete for
their attention. Parents are expected to remain in the
designated area throughout the practice
session.
If you have questions about your
child’s training or team policies, contact the coach.
Please refrain from criticizing the coach in front of the swimmers
as this undermines the coach’s authority and breaks the
swimmer-coach support necessary for maximum success. It is for this reason that we ask parents not
to actively participate in coaching their
child.
Remember, particularly in the case
of younger swimmers, attitude and behavior of the parents in regard
to their outlook on the sport has an important effect on the
child. In swimming, as in life, nobody can “win”
or succeed all the time – there will always be some
disappointment. The important thing is to keep on striving to
do better the next time. Building on that idea, we all know
that it is important as a parent to provide healthy encouragement
for a child’s interest with recognition that a child’s
interests might change. If your child expresses a desire not
to participate in the sport of swimming anymore, open a discussion
with your child about why they might be feeling that way.
Given all the positives that the sport can teach such as time
management, perseverance, discipline and confidence, there could be
dynamics (e.g. a new coach, an interaction with a teammate) that
might just seem too stressful but will change in time. Self
motivation is the stimulus of all truly successful swimmers but
there are times when such motivation may lag and parental support
is crucial for persistence.
At
any time questions or concerns need to be addressed, we extend the
offer to our membership to contact the Head Coach for swimming
related topics or the president (or any board member) for board
related topics. We wish for our organization to be united and
strong, free of the related problems that may arise from the lack
of communication.
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