Hi All!
i have a 14 yr old daughter who has been swimming with a USA swimming club for about 1.5yrs now. She is the only person in our family to swim, so naturally I feel in a bit over my head at times, though she seems to fit in well in the swimming world. I’m not sure how my daughter ranks against her peers, or her just others in her age group for that matter, nor what is a “good time” or “bad time”. So I’m wondering what I can do to be a “good swim parent”, how far do I go when she adds time and how happy should I be when she drops a little time? Thanks for all your help! I’ve put a couple of her short course times below.
200 freestyle: 2:03.11
100 freestyle: 57.51
50 Freestyle: 26.19
100 backstroke: 1:04.03
200 backstroke: 2:15.90
100 Butterfly: 1:03.13
200 butterfly: 2:22.78
100 ***: 1:17.66
200 IM: 2:20.12
Jayrowan -
her times are good, but there are a "million" other girls with times just like your daughters. That is not meant to be a negative - just the reality of swimming.
Your question is how to be the best swim parent you can be. Based on 40+ years and lots of conversations with swimmers, coaches, parents, my response is you should forget times and place. That should be between your daughter and her coach. Your job is "Best darn cheerleader" you can be. After every swim, no matter what the time or place, you should tell your daughter "You looked great out there, honey/dear/etc.." If she comments about adding time, just say "So what, you looked great. Are you having a good time? What do you want to do after the meet?" If she is excited cuz she dropped time, just say "That is great, honey. I don't totally understand all that, but if you are happy, so am I! What do you want to do after the meet?"
In reality, the less you know about the sport, the better parent you can be. Be happy that she is doing something that leads to many great things in her life.
Just my two cents worth.
Paul
Jayrowan -
her times are good, but there are a "million" other girls with times just like your daughters. That is not meant to be a negative - just the reality of swimming.
Your question is how to be the best swim parent you can be. Based on 40+ years and lots of conversations with swimmers, coaches, parents, my response is you should forget times and place. That should be between your daughter and her coach. Your job is "Best darn cheerleader" you can be. After every swim, no matter what the time or place, you should tell your daughter "You looked great out there, honey/dear/etc.." If she comments about adding time, just say "So what, you looked great. Are you having a good time? What do you want to do after the meet?" If she is excited cuz she dropped time, just say "That is great, honey. I don't totally understand all that, but if you are happy, so am I! What do you want to do after the meet?"
In reality, the less you know about the sport, the better parent you can be. Be happy that she is doing something that leads to many great things in her life.
Just my two cents worth.
Paul
