Hi everyone, I'm a new swim parent.
My daughter just wrapped up her first season of swimming (8 years old, will be 9 very soon). She has been moved up to the next training group. I'm wondering if it's very common and normal for the training groups to be 18 or more kids with one or maybe two coaches.
Her current training group was the same, often maybe 25 kids with only one coach sometimes. It was a crap shoot most days - kids constantly bumping into each other in crowded lanes. My daughter made some good progress this year but has a LOT of room for technique refinement on each stroke, plus could use work on her dives and turns. So basically everything, lol. My point is - I don't see how she will be able to improve her technique while training in such a large group with basically no individual attention. During most workouts she might get one individual comment from the coach. Is this normal?? Do I need to sit back and relax? Or should I plan to sign her up for some private lessons?
I know in the gymnastics and dance worlds, private lessons are par for the course. It's something most everyone does once they reach the competitive levels. Is swimming the same way? How often should a kid in the 9-10 age group be doing a private lesson?
Hi there, thanks for posting this and welcome to the swim parenting community! You're asking some very important questions in terms of age group swimming and coaching. I'm a coach who provides private lessons, consulting and individualized workouts to all levels of swimmers, including age groupers.
My first recommendation (if you have not already done so) would be to approach the coaches on your team. Have a conversation with them, share your concerns to see what their approach might be, and inform yourself. It could be that they have options in place for additional attention to swimmers on the team. If you still have doubts, you can always consult with a private coach for a second opinion - or even just a video analysis of your daughter's stroke to see what areas of her stroke might need more attention.
Otherwise, I don't find private lessons for young swimmers to be any different than hiring a tutor to help your child fine-tune their math, reading, or other skills at school. Swimming is a highly-technical and very individual-oriented sport and it's essential to teach and reinforce an excellent technical foundation, especially when the swimmers are young, so that they can have that foundation to build upon in the future. Having a good technical foundation will also help the swimmer to develop more efficiency in the water and avoid injuries, thus paving the way - in many cases - for a longer and more enjoyable swimming career.
Even coaches who are technique-oriented might not be able to pay individualized attention to all of the swimmers on the team. This means that learning new skills can be hit-or-miss. The struggle for survival on some teams means that speed is emphasized to the detriment of technique, and kids who are taller, stronger or more naturally adapted to a more efficient way of swimming will often emerge at the top of the pack, while others - regardless of how determined and driven they are - might have less success and become discouraged.
There is no reason not to enroll your child in private lessons if she loves the sport and you feel that she would benefit from some individualized attention. I elaborate more on this topic here: www.swimspire.com/.../
Good luck to both you and your daughter!
Hi there, thanks for posting this and welcome to the swim parenting community! You're asking some very important questions in terms of age group swimming and coaching. I'm a coach who provides private lessons, consulting and individualized workouts to all levels of swimmers, including age groupers.
My first recommendation (if you have not already done so) would be to approach the coaches on your team. Have a conversation with them, share your concerns to see what their approach might be, and inform yourself. It could be that they have options in place for additional attention to swimmers on the team. If you still have doubts, you can always consult with a private coach for a second opinion - or even just a video analysis of your daughter's stroke to see what areas of her stroke might need more attention.
Otherwise, I don't find private lessons for young swimmers to be any different than hiring a tutor to help your child fine-tune their math, reading, or other skills at school. Swimming is a highly-technical and very individual-oriented sport and it's essential to teach and reinforce an excellent technical foundation, especially when the swimmers are young, so that they can have that foundation to build upon in the future. Having a good technical foundation will also help the swimmer to develop more efficiency in the water and avoid injuries, thus paving the way - in many cases - for a longer and more enjoyable swimming career.
Even coaches who are technique-oriented might not be able to pay individualized attention to all of the swimmers on the team. This means that learning new skills can be hit-or-miss. The struggle for survival on some teams means that speed is emphasized to the detriment of technique, and kids who are taller, stronger or more naturally adapted to a more efficient way of swimming will often emerge at the top of the pack, while others - regardless of how determined and driven they are - might have less success and become discouraged.
There is no reason not to enroll your child in private lessons if she loves the sport and you feel that she would benefit from some individualized attention. I elaborate more on this topic here: www.swimspire.com/.../
Good luck to both you and your daughter!
