Dear Med City Families,
One of the most common questions I hear at the beginning of a
season is in regards to swim meets for new swimmers. The question usually
addresses the idea of a swimmer's level of preparedness to swim in a meet,
the desire to not push the swimmer too hard, or the concern that a swimmer
is excited about trying the meet when the parent does not think the swimmer
is ready. Usually the parent who addresses this question to me wants to get
my opinion as the professional. So, what are my thoughts?
At their very core purpose, swim meets are intended to provide
swimmers with a FUN opportunity to display the skills they have acquired and
refined in their practices. In other words, the swimmer gets a chance to
show the fruits of their labors. For some swimmers, the fun will come in
displaying a brand new skill (i. e. one of the competitive strokes they have
recently learned, a new flip turn, a new start, etc.). For more advanced
swimmers, the fun will come in seeing the race times they have established
in earlier meets come down as they move through the water more efficiently
and more quickly. For still more advanced swimmers, the fun will be in
making a qualifying time for a certain level of meet. On the other hand,
some swimmers find their joy in seeing their friends, both teammates and
swimmers from other teams, succeed.
With this core purpose in mind, the decision to participate in a
swim meet really becomes a simple matter. Once a coach has confirmed that a
swimmer has the minimum required skills to participate in a meet, the
decision is based solely on this question:
"While a swimmer might experience some nervousness about
swimming their first race, do they still want to do it because they think it
is fun?"
If the answer is "yes", then the swimmer should enter a swim meet.
If the answer is "no", then the swimmer should continue to practice.
Someday, that "no" will probably become a "yes".
However, some athletes never decide to say "yes", and that is
perfectly OK. These swimmers are still valued members of the team.
It is important to notice the things that I did not mention in
making this decision. I did not mention the desire of the parent. Just
because a parent wants their swimmer to try a meet does not mean the swimmer
should do it. Just because a parent is worried that the child might not
enjoy a meet, that doesn't mean the swimmer shouldn't take on this new
challenge if they so desire. Parents are in a position where they must
avoid their own egos, desires, etc. If a parent is unable to do this, the
swimmer will never fully enjoy the sport of swimming (or any other
activity).
What happens if the swimmer wants to attend a meet, goes, swims a
race, and then gets disqualified? Or what if they get last place? Aren't
these bad experiences that will turn the swimmer off to the sport forever?
Well, those are good questions for another parent education e-mail, so stay
tuned for next week's edition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sincerely,
Coach Billy |
Should my swimmer participate in a swim meet?
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