Archive for November, 2009
November 17th, 2009 | 
Author: News For
SWIM PARENTS
Published by The American Swimming Coaches Association
5101 NW 21 Ave., Suite 200
Fort Lauderdale FL 33309
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Swim Meet Basics For Parents.
Ideas to help you and your child be better prepared and “happier” at Swim Meets
By John Leonard, ASCA Director
1. Be on time. On time means 15 minutes before warmup begins.
2. Know the seating arrangements. Bring folding chairs to most outdoor pools. Bring drinks and snacks as appropriate. Sit with your child if that’s the team “thing.” Sit in the stands if that’s the way the team does it. Let the swimmers be with the swimmers. They don’t want to be with you in most cases. They want to be with their friends.
3. Encourage your child to get immediately to the coach for warmup. (See following article about warmup.)
4. Be a parent. Help them keep track of heats, events, etc. But remember that the main idea is to teach them to handle the environment of a swim meet themselves. This helps them “grow up.” It’s never too early.…
5. Cheer for other people’s children on the team. Don’t embarrass your own by standing behind their blocks screaming. Let other parents scream for your child.
6. Let the coach coach. Unless you’re the coach. Then let someone else coach your child. So you can parent.
7. Sometimes a child will “miss an event”. This happens, it’s a learning experience. Don’t freak out. Don’t handhold them to the next event. Expect responsibility. If they can’t handle it, maybe they are too young to be there. Let them rely on teammates for help.
8. Sometimes a swimmer will false start and DQ a relay. Similarly, it’s a learning experience. Don’t freak out. The appropriate response by the swimmer to their teammates? “Sorry guys.” Everyone does it. Everyone needs to forgive. See, “Everyone Does It.” Reread that. Twice.
9. Sometimes a swimmer DQ’s for swimming an event incorrectly. Do not address the official. Ask the coach what they did wrong. Make sure the swimmer understands how to do it correctly. End of story. It IS NOT a big deal. Learn from it.
10. The child should have a goal for every swim. Sometimes a time, sometimes a technique. Ask what their goal is. Don’t help set it. That’s for the coach and swimmer.
11. The coach will likely speak to your child before and after the event. The “before” is to remind them of their goals and needs, and the “after” is to review the successes and weak spots of the swim. Great feedback is great coaching.
12. Make sure they drink in hot weather. Drink in all weather. Water, Gatorade, etc. NO SUGAR. NO CANDY. NO SUGAR, NO CANDY.
13. If you have questions, ask the Coach. Try to do it when the Coach is not doing 12 other things. Get real answers. Asking another parent may not get you the right answer.
14. When the meet is over, the meet is over. Forget it on the way home. Help the swimmer remember the lessons for the next time, but don’t dwell on the meet. Meet over.…move on…next!
15. Most coaches will say “it’s not about winning, it’s about improvement.” Know what is being improved, and measure it and help your child focus on the process and not “just” the result. What does it take to go faster?
16. Keep it light. Have a sense of humor. An age group swim meet, taken at face value, is a pretty silly thing.….don’t overplay the “importance” of it …it’s just an opportunity to test what you’ve been learning in practice. We repeat experiences that are enjoyable and avoid experiences that are not.
There are thousands of other ideas to add to this list. This is “just the basics”. Add to your own list.
And now, to the concept of WARMUP.
What is Warmup?
Warmup is what happens before a competition. Its purpose is several:
PHYSICAL:
1. Literally warm and lubricate the muscles for “action”.
2. Increase the heart rate in preparation for race action.
3. Getting in touch with your feel for the water and ability to swim the strokes correctly.
And MENTAL:
1. Get into focus. We’re at a swim meet to compete.
2. Get rid of distractions.
3. Focus on process and good technical swimming.
4. Prepare to Race.
Most warmups at most meets are crowded and appear chaotic.
Typically the coach will put all swimmers in one or two lanes, together.
The swimmers will do an easy swim. (“easy 500 free”)
Then some gentle kicking. (“10 x 25 free kick on 30 seconds”)
Then some drills.…(“200 IM Drill”)
Then a “start your heart” set…(“8 x 50 free, descend 1 – 4, 5 – 8”)
Then some pace work relating to the specific event.…
And a little more easy swimming.
Warmups can vary from Senior Swimmers who take an hour or more, to eight and unders, who can warmup in 20 minutes in some cases. In every case, it’s important to be ON TIME. Typically an hour before the meet. This allows time for the physical and the mental work to be done. The coach will commonly hold a short meeting to make sure all swimmers are accounted for, organized, know their events, and get last minute reminders.
Being LATE to warmup means your child will be inadequately prepared for their competition. Not a good thing. You ask them and the coach asks them, to work hard to learn in practice every day. Then the day of the meet, you do things incorrectly. What does that teach the child?
Be On Time, Do Things Correctly. Have a Great Meet!
Posted in Behind The Blocks-Parent Corner, News for Swim Parents (Weekly), Swim Meets | 
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Goal setting: One step at a time — how to raise your game through effective goal-setting
Anyone interested in athletics will be aware of the achievements of the US 200m and 400m sprinter Michael Johnson. In the course of a spectacular career, Johnson rewrote the record books when he became the only man ever to win both 200m and 400m Olympic gold medals, at the 1996 Olympics. At times he was, quite literally, ‘in a class of his own’.
However, according to the man himself, his achievements were based not purely on talent but on hard physical conditioning, mental strength, a clear vision of where he wanted to go, and a plan of how to get there. Michael Johnson’s book Slaying the Dragon is not just a record of his achievements but an insight into how one man mobilised his extraordinary talent through effective goal-setting. Not everyone has the talent to be a Michael Johnson, but anyone can achieve significant improvements in performance by means of effective goal-setting.
Many people associate goal-setting with new year resolutions, and are quick to dismiss goal-setting as ineffective, since most well-intentioned, if vague, resolutions have failed before the end of January. Let’s get one thing clear straight away: most such resolutions are perfect examples of how not to set goals!
Research on goal-setting in the worlds of business and in sport and exercise has consistently shown that it can lead to enhanced performance. In fact, a recent meta-analysis (statistical technique used to evaluate the data from a whole series of experiments) showed that goal-setting led to performance enhancement in 78% of sport and exercise research studies, with moderate to strong effects(1).
Goal-setting is a powerful technique that appears to work by providing a direction for our efforts, focusing our attention, promoting persistence and increasing our confidence (providing we achieve the goals we set ourselves).
But, while goal-setting is an easy concept to understand, its application needs more thought and planning than most people realise. One of the main problems is that not all coaches are aware of the principles of goal-setting and how to apply them effectively(2). So a key purpose of this article is to give coaches and athletes a better understanding of how to use goal-setting to enhance performance and avoid disappointments.
It’s always good to have a vision of what you want to achieve – whether this is related to fitness, weight loss, winning an Olympic medal or achieving a set standard of performance; but you also need a plan for how you are going to attain this goal. Dream goals inspire us and give us a target to aim for, but in order to deliver the goods they must be specific and realistic. Most new year resolutions are dream goals that will never be realised because people fail to plan realistically the day-to-day process required to make such dreams into reality.
If you only focus on your dream goal, you can easily become overwhelmed when you think about what it’s going to take to achieve it. Research suggests that focusing only on long-term dream goals does not lead to enhanced performances(3).
Short-term goals – the key to success
Top athletes like Michael Johnson and Steve Backley have understood that, although dream goals such as Olympic gold medals are important in helping to direct our efforts, it is the day– to-day ‘short-term’ goals that provide the key to success. I like to classify goals into three types:
- Dream goals are the ones that seem a long way off and difficult to achieve. In time terms, they may be anything from six months to several years away;
- Intermediate goals are markers of where you want to be at a specific time. For example, if your dream goal was to lower your 400m PB by one second over 10 months, an intermediate goal could be a half second improvement after five months;
- Short-term or daily goals are the most important because they provide a focus for our training in each and every session. Past research on Olympic athletes found that setting daily training goals was one factor that distinguished successful performers from their less successful counterparts (4).
For every week and each training session you should decide what you need to do in order to take another small step towards the next intermediate goal, and ultimately towards your dream goal. Don’t just set goals for competition: we all spend more time practising and training, so set targets for these periods too.
Breaking down the ‘impossible’ task
To demonstrate how goal-setting and goal-achievement can aid performance, let me describe my experiences of learning to ski. Having spent some time on the nursery slopes learning the ‘snow-plough’ turn and other basic moves, I and the rest of my group were both excited and apprehensive when the instructor announced it was time to make our way up to the higher slopes and ski all the way down. To a novice skier, this moment presents a real challenge to confidence. En masse, my group decided that we couldn’t do it: we were not ready to ski all the way down; after all it was a long and difficult slope for novices to ski!
Our instructor then did a very clever thing by distracting our focus from the apparently ‘impossible’ task of skiing all the way down and breaking the task down into a series of smaller stages. We didn’t feel confident enough to ski to the bottom, but could we ski to that tree 50m away to the left? Yes, we agreed – and off we went, following the instructor. On reaching the tree, the instructor picked a new target, and these small stages eventually led us all the way to the bottom. The next attempt involved fewer targets with increased distance between each target. In this way, our main objective of skiing continuously all the way down, which at first seemed impossible, became easily attainable. Focusing on one small step at a time – and achieving that goal – developed confidence, and confidence allowed us to move on to more challenging targets. This simple story encapsulates the need for short-term goals to direct our immediate focus.
According to sport psychologist Terry Orlick, there are four prerequisites for successful goal-setting (5). First, you need to decide what you want – develop a vision; secondly, you must be committed, so your goals must be worth striving for; thirdly, you have to believe that the goals you set are achievable. Goals that are too easy to achieve provide little motivation; but, on the other hand, unrealistically difficult goals can lead to loss of confidence and eventual rejection of the goal. To avoid these kinds of problems, coaches and athletes should work together to reach an agreement on goals and should not be afraid of adjusting goals to optimise their potential effect. The fourth pre-requisite for successful goal-setting specified by Orlick is to focus on one step at a time.
In beginning the process of setting goals, it’s important to be specific and realistic about what you are striving to achieve. Ditch such vague goals as, ‘to get fit’ or ‘to do my best’ for more objective alternatives. Objective goals allow the sports performer and his/her coach to measure progress and re-evaluate the goal if targets prove either too difficult or too easy. The types of goals set in sport and exercise typically reflect what psychologists have identified as outcome, performance and process goals. All three are valuable in guiding athletes towards higher standards of performance, although you need an awareness of some of the potential pitfalls with these goals.
I will use the example of a 100m sprinter to demonstrate the differences between these three types of goal. If the coach and athlete agree a goal of winning a medal at the European Indoor Championships, this is an ‘outcome goal’. Outcome goals tend to focus on an objective competitive result, such as winning a medal or beating an opponent, but they can never be completely under your control since the ability and form of your opponents on the day can influence the result. You might even run a PB but still fail to achieve your specific goal and so damage your confidence. Outcome goals can provide motivation, but focusing purely on the result can lead to increased anxiety.
Performance goals are more flexible
Alternatively you could set a ‘performance goal’, such as running under 10.5 seconds for the 100m, whose achievement is independent of other athletes. As such goals are set in the context of comparisons with your own previous performances, they tend to be more flexible and within your control. In the event of injury, performance goals can be easily readjusted to provide meaningful and realistic targets.
‘Process goals’ are to do with the actions or techniques that are required to achieve success. A sprinter who has a tendency to become overly concerned with the position of his/her competitors during the final 20m of races might set a process goal of focusing on a point beyond the finish line to ensure focus is retained until the line has been crossed.
Coaches have a preference for performance and process goals, since these can be more easily and precisely adjusted than outcome goals, although all three types of goal should be used as appropriate to the athlete and situation. One recent study found better results when using a combination of goal strategies (outcome, performance and process goals) than either one alone (6).
In the planning stages of a goal-setting programme, you should think carefully about factors that may hinder your progress. For example, most people set goals that are too difficult rather than too easy, which commonly leads to the rejection of those goals. Once rejected, the goals no longer direct our efforts or our focus. It is also important to avoid setting too many goals. Instead, focus on one dream goal, perhaps two or three intermediate targets and two short-term goals for today’s session. That’s enough to start with, but be sure to give your short-term goals the highest priority. Through achieving these you will naturally progress towards the intermediate targets.
I recently set myself a goal of reducing my resting heart-rate from 75 to 65 bpm. In order to achieve this, I decided to chose an exercise mode that I enjoy (jogging) and to exercise three times per week over the next six months. As my fitness increases and my resting heart rate becomes lower, I will adjust the frequency, intensity and duration of training to suit my needs. However, I initially identified one major barrier to the achievement of my goal – time. My work schedule means that I have little time to spare during the day, while in the evening I often feel tired and want to relax. Because I value my fitness goal, the way around this problem has been to get up early on two days a week and to run before my working day starts. At the weekend I am more flexible and can make time for exercise during the day. The point is clear: you must consider potential barriers to your goals and plan around them if possible. If you can see no way around your barriers, your targets may be unrealistic. You should always evaluate your goals, and charting your progress can be an effective way to do this and to boost your confidence and motivation as you see progress being made.
Goal-setting is a smart move for athletes who want to develop their self-confidence, increase their levels of motivation and achieve higher standards of performance. Remember that time spent in preparation is worth it and can prevent disappointments. Take the advice of athletes like Michael Johnson and use goal-setting to change small steps into great feats. To help remember the key principles of goal-setting you need to think SMARTER. That is, your goals should be:
- Specific
- Indicate precisely what is to be done. Avoid vague alternatives;
- Measurable
- You should be able to quantify your goal;
- Accepted
- Goals must be accepted as worthwhile, realistic and attainable;
- Recorded
- Write your goals down. This is the basis of a contract with yourself;
- Time-constrained
- Set specific time-limits;
- Evaluated
- Monitor your progress regularly;
- Reversible
- In the event of injury, or failure to achieve over-difficult goals, reset your goals accordingly.
Lee Crust
References
- Singer, R, Hausenblas, H, & Janelle, C (Eds), Handbook of Sport Psychology, Wiley, New York, 2001
- The Sport Psychologist, vol 15, pp20-47, 2001
- Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, vol 17, pp117-137, 1995
- The Sport Psychologist, vol 2, pp105-130, 1988
- Orlick, T, In Pursuit of Excellence, 4th edition, Human Kinetics, USA, 2000
- Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, vol 11, pp230-246, 1999
Source: http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/goal-setting.html
Posted in Behind The Blocks-Parent Corner, Sports Psychology/Mental Training, Swimmer Scoop |
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News For
SWIM PARENTS
Published by The American Swimming Coaches Association
5101 NW 21 Ave., Suite 200
Fort Lauderdale FL 33309
___________________________________________________________________
Competition and Children
Here are some thoughts on competition and children from Rainer Martens, founder of modern sports psychology. Martens, Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois, founded the American Coaching Effectiveness Program, and is one of the leading authorities on children in sports.
The Early Years
According to Martens: “Competitive sports evolve out of the process of social evaluation.” Children begin competing with each other from a very young age, but focus mainly on their own efforts. Each can happily claim to have “won,” simply meaning they have done something well and are satisfied. These games are very healthy growth experiences because there are no “losers.” At 5 and 6 years of age they begin to compare their efforts with others. In other words, they learn to keep score. Martens says this process of competing and comparing is part of what helps kids “find out what they can and should be.”
Problems emerge when winner/loser comparisons overshadow the importance of competing with oneself to do things better than they have been done before. At this point, competition stops building character and confidence and begins to tear it down.
Can Competitiveness Be Taught?
All coaches are familiar with the idea that some youngsters thrive on competition, while others shrink from it, but Martens thinks that in the right environment, children can learn competitiveness by being taught to concentrate on mastering specific techniques. This not only improves the mechanical aspects of performance, but is also the best way to reduce competitive stress. “If people focus on mastering specific acts they can learn to control their performance.” On the other hand, the thing over which a young swimmer has the least control – how fast competitors swim – is the greatest source of anxiety in competition.
Martens advice to coaches and parents of young athletes is to concentrate on how to improve performance rather than on what happens if the child wins or loses. “Focusing on smaller, more solvable technical challenges increases physical efficiency, and reduces anxiety and stress,” Martens says. “This increased the number of potential winners because skill instead of the final score has become the immediate objective.”
Every Child Is A Winner
In this scenario, an age group swimmer’s final instructions before a race would focus on successfully doing something he or she previously had difficulty with – keeping the hips up on the last half of a butterfly race; or pressing through to the hips in the freestyle stroke — rather than on “beating that kid in lane 5.” After the race, the child could then be congratulated on his or her technique improvement, no matter where he or she placed. In this way, a race with 30 contestants could potentially yield 30 winners rather than 1 winner and 29 “losers.” This gives life to the credo “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game that counts.”
Martens thinks the competitive climate for youth athletics is steadily improving as more youth coaches learn to teach mastery of sports skills, and understand why it is advantageous to do so. “At the recreational level there is more and better, more useful and pleasant competition going on than ever before.”
Posted in Behind The Blocks-Parent Corner, News for Swim Parents (Weekly), Swim Meets |
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On competitive swimming:
Value and role of competitive swimming as a sport…the Head Coach’s Thoughts
by Caroline McDermott
As a current swim coach and a former competitive swimmer, I have started my professional career already involved in the administrative side of the competitive American sport. I have had the opportunity to coach and work administratively with a wide-range of competitive swimming, from the collegiate level down to the beginning swimmer.
In the course of my professional career, I have chosen to focus on the youth aspect of competitive swimming. I am passionate about competitive swimming and feel it is one of the best sports in which an individual can choose to participate. I have focused mainly on the value and life skills it provides for America’s youth. It is here I feel I can be most influential.
Although competitive swimming is not as widely recognized as other sports such as football or basketball, it has been gaining more and more recognition within the United States and is typically given positive publicity. The role models for swimming are highly athletic, avoid illegal drug use — both with narcotics and performance enhancing drugs — and are seen in a positive light — breaking records, defying obstacles, and above all showing extreme perseverance.
These values are essential for today’s youth to see in role models and experience for themselves. From the first day of practice, these athletes experience the development of life skills such as work ethic, promptness, setting goals, accepting personal responsibility, leadership, self-confidence, and self-reliance, as well as challenging themselves to accomplish feats previously thought impossible.
One of the best parts of competitive swimming is that anyone can participate. As long as a child knows how to swim, they can compete on the team. Progression at an individual rate is emphasized, and achievement is purely individualized. Individual success is celebrated — a best time, refining stroke technique, making a national cut, or even just learning how to dive.
Competitive swimming has health benefits as well. The United States is plagued with the childhood obesity epidemic and swimming offers a positive role in this battle. Practices are held daily. Trained, professional coaches create workouts that are carefully calculated to improve aerobic and anaerobic development, and the risk of injury is low. Increased physical activity combined with a positive learning environment helps develop a positive self image. Additionally, swimming is one of the few sports where you can participate for life.
In this unique sport, no one sits the bench — it is a completely individualized sport that encourages teamwork, unity, and a positive environment conducive for learning. Our coaches are trained professionals, and we expect excellence from our athletes. The values and roles taught through the sport of youth competitive swimming will stay with our athletes for the rest of their lives.
Posted in Behind The Blocks-Parent Corner, General Swimming Articles, Latest Team News, Swimming and Health |
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News For
SWIM PARENTS
Published by The American Swimming Coaches Association
5101 NW 21 Ave., Suite 200
Fort Lauderdale FL 33309
___________________________________________________________________
Thoughts on Age Group Development
We do not need to give all the available meets, awards, training time, or even training techniques to all levels and all ages of swimmers. Life is progressive. We cannot drive until we are sixteen, we cannot vote until we are 18. Just because we have seniors swimming at prelim and final meets doesn’t mean that age group swimmers need to also. Age group swimmers do not need the same kind of awards which seniors receive. Our system gives too much too soon and sets up for a serious problem because every level looks the same. Let the swimmers grow through the sport rather than giving it to them. Let them experience racing, winning, and losing but they do not need twelve solid years of these things to become effective prelims-finals swimmers.
- Peter Malone
ASCA Level 5
K.C. Blazers
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Sometimes young swimmers perform exceptionally well quite simply because they are “big for their age” and, or, they are capable of working harder. They do not need to depend on technique and they may, or may not have better technique than slower swimmers. If we could go back and get a physical description of all the 10 and under swimmers who were nationally ranked, I think we would find that these young athletes were all more physically developed than the average 10 and under.
Most of these children will not continue dominating their age group into the senior years as other swimmers catch up in size and ability to work. Unfortunately they may not have developed the quality of skills other swimmers have. Too often the result is a young senior swimmer who becomes frustrated at losing when he had been so used to winning.
There are two important points for parents to keep in mind:
1. Skills need to be the basis of an age group program, not distance.
2. It is a mistake to seek a distance oriented age group program to place your child in so that he can keep up with other faster swimmers.
Age group swimmers should concentrate on fundamentals and not senior oriented yardage so that they can learn correctly. There is a proper time and place for athletes to take part in a serious training program but it is not for our younger swimmers. We must accept the fact that we are not dealing with miniature adults.
- Jim Lutz
ASCA Level 5
Posted in Behind The Blocks-Parent Corner, News for Swim Parents (Weekly), Swim Training |
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