Swimming Parents: Gold Medal Parenting.
Swimming Parents: Gold Medal Parenting.
There are sporting kids.
There are sporting coaches.
But the critical people in the sporting equation are sporting parents.
This presentation helps every parent understand how to be a Gold Medal Sporting Parent and how to help their child realize their full potential.
SPECIAL FEATURE: Swimming Parents VIDEO Presentation – Click here.
Swimming Parents – A Training Manual for Every Swimming Parent
There’s a training manual for most professions and vocations.
Pilots wanting to learn how to fly and safely land a plane have a training manual.
People doing driver’s education programs have a training manual which teaches them all they need to know about safely operating a motor vehicle.
Even swimming coaches have training manuals which detail all the information they need to coach and lead a swimming program.
Many swimming clubs will provide swimmers with training manuals which outline all the important things they need to know about practice times, equipment requirements, Meet qualifications and training etiquette.
The one thing that’s missing is a Training Manual for Swimming Parents.
What might a Training Manual for Swimming Parents look like………
Why Bother Educating Swimming Parents?
Talk to swimming coaches about their views on Swimming Parents.
Many will say things like:
“I wish the parents were more supportive of my program” or
“I wish the parents would stop interfering in what we’re trying to do” or
“I wish the parents would stop placing so much unnecessary pressure on their children when it comes to Meets and Practices”.
The only people who use “wishes” to get what they want are Disney Princesses, Shrek and people who kiss frogs!
Want parents to be more supportive? ENGAGE with them and share your program vision, values and coaching philosophies with them.
Want parents to stop interfering? CONNECT with them and ask them to commit to playing a specific role for the team – a role which carries some specific responsibilities focused on helping every swimmer in the program get better.
Want parents to stop placing unnecessary pressure on kids? EDUCATE them about junior athlete development, about the importance of their role in shaping their kids’ values and attitudes and about how they can teach their children the importance of self-responsibility and so on.
Swimming Parents….What DOESN’T WORK!
Parents are your partners! They play a vital role in helping the swimmers in your team realize their potential, achieve their goals and become remarkable human beings.
Yet, some coaches and swim clubs keep making the same silly mistakes when it comes to working with parents including:
1. Ignoring them: This only makes things much, much worse.
2. Banning them from practice and / or Meets: “Banning” is a terrible way to build positive, effective, understanding relationships with swimming parents: it is the exact opposite of what successful swim teams do around the world.
3. Being unclear about expectations: If there’s one thing that creates unity and harmony in swimming it’s this…ROLE CLARITY! Where everyone knows and understands what it is they’re expected to do and also knows and understands what everyone else does, everything runs very, very smoothly.
A simple but effective strategy to engage with, connect to and educate the parents of the swimmers in your team is through the development of a Swimming Parents Manual.
This is a helpful handbook given to every swimming parent when their children join your program that provides all parents with the tools they need to play an important part of the success of your team.
Putting Together a Swimming Parents Manual: What To Place in It.
There are a lot of different ways you can go about compiling a Swimming Parents Manual. A few chapter suggestions and content ideas include:
CHAPTER 1: Basics and Fundamentals of the Sport of Swimming. Some simple definitions, a few of the rules of competitive swimming and a little about the sport’s history and structure.
CHAPTER 2: What to expect as a Swimming Parent. How children improve, the concept of Personal Records and progression, the possibility of plateaus and why they happen.
CHAPTER 3: The responsibilities of a Swimming Parent. An important section outlining what is expected from swimming parents in terms of behavior, support, fee payments, conduct at Practices and Meets.
CHAPTER 4: Training and Practices. How training is organized, how swimmers progress throughout the program to different squads, what training equipment is required, basic training and practice safety guidelines.
CHAPTER 5: Meets and Competitions. An essential chapter covering how the team prepares for and competes at Meets, team uniform requirements, entry forms and fees, travel to and from Meets, warm ups and swim downs at Meets, the organization of the “Team” area in the stands during Meets.
CHAPTER 6: Dry-land training and Gym work. Why dry-land and gym work is important, dress-code for dry-land and gym workouts, safety information about dry-land and gym training.
CHAPTER 7: Diet and Good Nutrition. What constitutes a healthy nutritious diet for swimmers, the importance of hydration, a few ideas on supplements and some suggestions for pre and post Practice and Meet Day meals.
CHAPTER 8: Illness and Injuries: A list of common swimming Illnesses and injuries with some guidelines on how to manage them, team rules around pre-existing conditions and some simple policies around the use of medications at Practices and Meets, e.g. asthma inhalers.
CHAPTER 9: Communication with the coach: A vital chapter outlining how to best communicate with the coach and detailing the coach’s availability for phone and in person meetings when required. This chapter could also include details of how the Coaching team provide feedback to swimmers and parents about progress.
CHAPTER 10: Rest and Recovery: Including details of the importance of sleep and how parents can help their kids rest, recover and recuperate between Practices.
Then at the end of the manual, “Common Questions And Answers”: A list of ten of the most commonly asked questions from parents including:
- How many times each week should my child be training?
- Does my child need a special diet?
- Will strength training harm my child?
- When should my child specialize in a stroke or event?
- How do swimmers balance their study and swimming commitments?
- More Information and Important Contacts: The names and contact details of the Board or Committee, the Coaching Team, Team Captains and other relevant information.
Summary:
- Swimming Parents are vitally important members of every swimming team. Sure they do the mundane, day to day essential things like drive kids to and from Practices and Meets, pay the bills, make sure their children eat, sleep and go to school but their role and their responsibilities are far, far greater than just these seemingly ordinary things.
- Try to think of parents as non-swimming swimmers! And like swimmers, they will respond well to coaches who listen to them, who engage with them, who connect with them and who take the time to help them learn and improve.
- A Swimming Parents Manual is a great first step in your swimming parent education program. However, in all good teams and organizations, nothing takes the place of building strong, effective, working relationships with every involved in and around your program. Find time to get to know every swimming parent connected with your team.
