1. Thou shalt not impose thy ambitions
on thy child.
Remember that swimming is your youngster’s
activity. Improvement occurs at different
rates for each individual. Do not judge
your child’s progress on the performance
of other athletes and don’t push them
based on what you think they should be doing.
The nice thing about swimming is youngsters
can strive to do their personal best and
therefore benefit from the process of competitive
swimming.
2. Thou shalt be supportive no
matter what.
There is only one question to ask your youngster
after a practice or a competition –
“Did you enjoy it?” If competitions
and practices are not fun, your youngster
should not be forced to participate. Plus,
your youngster should be applauded and praised
for any good effort… 2nd,3rd, 4th,
even 34th – they are all a case of
“WELL DONE”.
3. Thou shalt not coach thy child.
You are involved in one of the few youth
sports that offer professional coaching.
Do not undermine the professional coach
by trying to coach your youngster on the
side. Your job is to provide support and
love and a safe place to return at the end
of the day. Love and hug your youngster
no matter what. The coach is responsible
for the technical part of the job.. You
should avoid offering advice on technique
or race strategy or any other area that
is not yours. Above all, never pay your
youngster for a performance. This will only
serve to confuse your child concerning the
reasons to strive for excellence and will
weaken the swimmer – coach bond.
4. Thou shalt say only positive
things at a swim - meet.
If you are going to show up at a swimming
meet, you should be encouraging, but never
criticise your youngster or the coach. Both
of them know if mistakes have been made.
And remember “yelling at” is
not the same as “cheering for”.
5. Thou shalt acknowledge thy child’s
fears.
A first swimming competition, 1500m free
or 200m I.M. can be a stressful situation.
It is totally acceptable for your child
to be scared. Do not shout or belittle,
just assure your child that the coach would
not have suggested the event if they were
not ready to compete in it. Remember your
job is to love and support your child through
all of the swimming experience.
6. Thou shalt not criticise the
officials.
If you do not care to devote the time or
do not have the desire to volunteer as an
official, do not criticise those who are
doing the best they can.
7. Honour thy child’s coach.
The bond between coach and swimmer is a
special one, and one that contributes to
your child’s success as well as enjoyment.
Do not criticise the coach in the presence
of your child as this will only serve to
hurt your child’s swimming.
8. Thou shalt be loyal and supportive
of thy team.
It is not wise for parents to move their
children from club to club. The water is
not necessarily bluer in another pool! Every
team has it’s own internal problems,
even teams that build champions. Children
who switch from team to team are often ostracised
for a long time by the team mates they leave
behind and are slowly received by new team
mates. Indeed, swimmers who switch teams
often do no better than at their previous
club.
9. Thy child shalt have goals besides
winning.
Most successful swimmers are those who have
learned to focus on the process not the
outcome. Giving 100% effort is far 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 – 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”. That is THE outlook
to carry through life.
10. Thou shalt not expect thy child
to become an Olympian.
There are 250,000 registered competitive
swimmers in G.B. and another 150,000 in
learn to swim lessons. There are only a
maximum of 52 places available for the Olympic
Squad….. every four years. Your child’s
odds of becoming an Olympian are less than
0.04%
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