Swim Parent 101

• Encourage your swimmer to find the fun in practice.

  
  

• Don't criticize the coach. Like everything swimming changes through the generations. New rules, new techniques, & new ideas make even those who grew up swimming out of the loop. If you have issues you want to address- take them directly to the coach. They are there to help your swimmer. Remember you picked your program for a reason. Trust your decision.

  
  

• Allow your swimmer to fail & then teach them to how to learn from it. Resilience is important, not just in athletics but life. If we shelter & protect our kids from failure, they will never feel they earned their success.

  
  

• Don't reward success with bribery. Extrinsic motivation is short term. Motivation that comes from within helps athletes develop healthy habits and teaches them the skills they need to achieve their goals.

  
  

• Do not make your swimmer's teammates the enemy. Friendships in sports are important motivators for participation & personal success. Teammates will naturally be competitive with each other. Encouraging rivalries takes the focus off of what they are doing in the pool and creates unnecessary resentment & hostility.