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by Rose Snyder, Managing Director
Coaching Division, USOC
Former Director of Club Services, USA Swimming
I. Thou shalt not impose thy
ambitions on thy child.
Remember that
swimming is your child’s activity. Improvements and progress
occur at different rates for each individual.
Don’t judge your child’s progress based on the
performance of other athletes and don’t push him based
on what you think he should be doing. The nice thing about
swimming is every person can strive to do his personal best
and benefit from the process of competitive
swimming.
II.
Thou shalt be supportive no matter what.
There is only
one question to ask your child after a practice or a competition -
"Did you have fun?" If meets and practices are not fun, your child
should not be forced to participate.
III. Thou shalt not
coach thy child.
You are
involved in one of the few youth sports programs that offers
professional coaching. Do not undermine the professional coach by
trying to coach your child on the side. Your job is to provide love
and support. The coach is responsible for the technical part of the
job. You should not offer advice on technique or race
strategy. Never pay your child for a performance. This will
only serve to confuse your child concerning the reasons to strive
for excellence and weaken the swimmer/coach bond.
IV. Thou shalt only have positive things to say
at a swimming meet.
You should be encouraging and never criticize
your child or the coach. Both of them know when mistakes have been
made. Remember “yelling at” is not the same as
“cheering for”.
V.
Thou shalt acknowledge thy child’s fears.
New
experiences can be stressful situations. It is totally
appropriate for your child to be scared. Don’t yell or
belittle, just assure your child that the coach would not have
suggested the event or meet if your child was not ready.
Remember your job is to love and support your child through all of
the swimming experience.
VI.
Thou shalt not criticize the officials.
Please don’t criticize those who are doing the
best they can in purely voluntary positions.
VII.
Honor thy child’s coach.
The bond
between coach and swimmer is special. It contributes to your
child’s success as well as fun. Do not criticize the coach in
the presence of your child.
VIII.
Thou shalt be loyal and supportive of thy team
It is not
wise for parents to take swimmers and to jump from team to team.
The water isn’t necessarily bluer in another team’s
pool. Every team has its own internal problems, even teams that
build champions. Children who switch from team to team find that it
can be a difficult emotional experience. Often swimmers who do
switch teams don’t do better than they did before
they sought the bluer water.
IX.
Thy child shalt have goals besides winning.
Most
successful swimmers have learned to focus on the process and
not the outcome. Giving an honest effort regardless of what the
outcome is, is much more important than winning. One Olympian said,
"My goal was to set a world record. Well, I did that, but someone
else did it too, just a little faster than I did. I achieved my
goal and I lost. Does this make me a failure? No, in fact I am very
proud of that swim." What a tremendous outlook to carry on through
life.
X. Thou shalt
not expect thy child to become an Olympian.
There are
250,000 athletes in USA Swimming. There are only 52 spots available
for the Olympic Team every four years. Your child’s odds of
becoming an Olympian are about .0002%.
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