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April 22, 2015 |
Notes from Parent Meeting with USA Swimming
General Announcements:
- Reminder of 12 News visit tomorrow. We will meet at the pool at 4:30 and leave at 4:45. I am in need of parent drivers so please let me know if you can help. We will return to the pool immediately after. Kids should bring their suits to practice. We will swim if we return in time. For those not attending the 12 News visit tomorrow, we will hold normal practices.
- Swim Meet May 16-17 we are hosting! Hosting meets is important to us financially and we need parents to help. Please sign-up for jobs on the web site. No training is required for most roles. Many teams require $350-400 bi-annual or annual assessments if you don’t work swim meets. We can do that but we are holding off for now and asking everyone to participate.
- Team Unify Web site (arizonaaquaticclub.com). Let me know if you have any trouble logging into the web site and I can address the issue. Please declare your attendance at all posted swim meets. We plan to move to billing through the new site May 1st. Please include your CC information. I plan to send invoices for review on April 25th to give you 5 days for review. Invoices will run through the new system on the 1st of each month.
Bill Krumm USA Swimming
USA Swimming serves 3 main purposes
- Build Base for teams and athletes
- Promote sport
- Sustain competitive success
How we fit within USA Swimming
340,000 athletes, 59 LSC (local branches – i.e. Arizona Swimming) and 2800 club teams (AZAC)
10 teams in the US now over 1000
47 teams in Arizona covering about 5000 athletes
Coaches in swimming are professional, trained and certified. They must maintain certifications to remain active.
Focus is on long term athlete development. Swimmers really develop into amazing young adults
Learn many great life skills – time management, reliability, teamwork….
Swimming is a healthy activity and is safe. Other sports are declining (i.e. football) but swimming is increasing in membership
Swimming is a lifelong activity
We promote self improvement
Cultivate positive mental attitude and building self esteem
Understanding Swimming Careers
Growth and development vary
Difference between early and late maturation
Early success not indication of long term success
Kids often get away early with size but don’t always last in the sport
Focus should be on development not winning of losing
6-10 year olds Focus on Fun
11-14 year olds – Focus more competitively
15-18 year olds – Specialization
19+ year olds – High Performance
2012 Olympic Games only 1 college aged male on the Olympic Team – all others were post graduates.
Your best swimming can be later in life.
Parent focus should be on fun, enjoyment, love of the sport
Seek coach input before making changes to your child’s schedule (ie. 3 month break to play soccer) Develop a plan together will help coaching, parents and swimmers feel better
Being a full time athlete in a full time job – leading to talk on nutrition
Nutrition (As a team, we would like more focus in this area)
Food is functional fuel
Athletes need to think of themselves as a race car – would you put non premium gas in a race car?
Why would you put junk food in your body?
Carbohydrates are the main source of fuel. All the time not just the day of the swim meet. Complex carbohydrates are necessary.
Fruit (whole fruit)
Vegetables
Whole grains
Whole grain cereal
Beans, lentils
Whole grain Bread, pasta – not white / processed
Shared Ryan Lochte’s story. Took him 3 months after changing diet to feel better and a full year before he saw real results in the pool. Now he will never go back to eating junk food.
Protein
Help repair and recovery
Lean meats, fish, chicken, cheese, milk, yogurt, nuts, soy products, peas, beans
Rule of thumb: Less or no legs on the animal the better for you
Fats
Fuel low intensity workout
Good for you in moderation
Tuna, salmon
Handful of nuts, no more
Avocado
Watch Portions carefully
Hydration
Walk into practice dehydrated – you will accomplish nothing in practice
First thing in the morning drink 2-3 cups of water
Drink before you are thirsty
Monitor fluid loss – weigh yourself before and after practice. Look at urine color
Electrolyte drinks are good for you. Need them >90 min
Water is top priority
Stay away from energy drinks and stimulant drinks – dangerous
Danger of dietary supplements
No regulation
Labels are misleading
Athletes are responsible for what goes into your body
Shared Jessica Hardy shorty – tested positive for banned substance, got her sentence reduced when she proved her supplement was contaminated.
Not just what you eat but when you eat
Do not go more than 2-3 hours without a snack
5-6 small meals
Never skip a meal – ever!
Breakfast is critical
Chocolate milk < 30 min after practice is recommended
Eat to train not train to eat!
Recommended sites choosemyplate.gov. Find supertracker (I found a App as well)
www.usada.org/supplements to help you
Being a Great Swim Parent
Provide a stable, loving, supportive environment
Swimmers want you to be present but only to support
Never criticize
Never coach
Encourage dreams
Understand this is a process and is challenging but goals should be realistic
Coaches instruct and give feedback to swimmers
Parents encourage and support swimmers
Coaches and Parents communicate to support swimmers
Encourage parents to help at swim meets. You can still watch your swimmer compete but it reduces the stress on you and your athlete.
In a typical team
2% of parents are leaders
5-10% of parents are doers
15-20% of parents do something
68-78% of parents are belongers
Roles for parents include:
Officials
Timers
Helping the LSC
Maintenance
Chaperone
Refreshments
Newsletters
Team equipment
Etc…
Be involved but not overly involved
Parent section on the USASwimming.org web site.
High School swimming
Season is Aug-Oct (championship 1st week of Nov)
AZAC coaches try to partner with high school coaches to develop a plan
Most high school coaches will work with us, a few won’t
High school swimming is fun but not necessary to enter college swimming
Please talk to your coaches before starting a new high school program
College Swimming
Everyone can swim in college
All of Bill’s information was consistent with our college talk documentation
It is all about finding the right fit
Focus on great academics and fast swimming
High character kids are really important
College coaches talk the club coaches word in their decision process
We talk to college coaches very often
We need to schedule a college talk soon with focus on the sophomore and Jr classes
