Hello everyone!
i have a 14 yr old daughter who has been swimming with a USA swimming club for about 2yrs 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”. Given she is not in the top swim group at her club, I’m get the sense her times about average for her age or perhaps a bit below. So anyways, 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 yards times below.
100fly: 1:02.51
100back:1:02.35
100free: 56.32
200free: 2:00.59
200back: 2:13.15
200IM: 2:18.87
200fly: 2:24.11
50free: 26.15
Her times are pretty darn solid for only having swum for a couple of years. Just encourage her. Talk to her coach, have her set up goals and a plan to get there. Try to help her along, and if you are like me, you'll just have to have the coach tell her that eating 700 calories in Twizzlers before a 400IM isn't smart (because at that age, Dad knows squat). Being a swim dad to 13-14 y/o girls is freaking HARD. But just support. Make sure she knows you are there to support her. If she moves to a group that has 5AM practice times, make sure she knows that you'll support her enough to suck it up and get up to take her. If she is practicing 4 times a week, but wants to improve, let her know you'll take here to 6, or 8 or 9....however many. Just make sure she knows you (and presumably Mom) are there for her.
On adds and drops. At that age, don't expect her to drop at many meets. Mine are at a meet this weekend, and I'm watching the times, and watching my good swimmer having a rough meet (+5.2, +2.7, +5.5 in 2Fly, 1Back, and 2Free with the 4IM still to go). She has only dropped in 3 events from this time last year (and 2 of them are 200's of stroke, which she had only done once since she was 12 last year, and those weren't normal events). But their bodies at that age are much more affected by a hard training regimen, and they respond pretty well to a taper. Any drop is good. My other swimmer is a little tapered, trying to make our LSC Championship meet, and she is dropping a little.
Her times are pretty darn solid for only having swum for a couple of years. Just encourage her. Talk to her coach, have her set up goals and a plan to get there. Try to help her along, and if you are like me, you'll just have to have the coach tell her that eating 700 calories in Twizzlers before a 400IM isn't smart (because at that age, Dad knows squat). Being a swim dad to 13-14 y/o girls is freaking HARD. But just support. Make sure she knows you are there to support her. If she moves to a group that has 5AM practice times, make sure she knows that you'll support her enough to suck it up and get up to take her. If she is practicing 4 times a week, but wants to improve, let her know you'll take here to 6, or 8 or 9....however many. Just make sure she knows you (and presumably Mom) are there for her.
On adds and drops. At that age, don't expect her to drop at many meets. Mine are at a meet this weekend, and I'm watching the times, and watching my good swimmer having a rough meet (+5.2, +2.7, +5.5 in 2Fly, 1Back, and 2Free with the 4IM still to go). She has only dropped in 3 events from this time last year (and 2 of them are 200's of stroke, which she had only done once since she was 12 last year, and those weren't normal events). But their bodies at that age are much more affected by a hard training regimen, and they respond pretty well to a taper. Any drop is good. My other swimmer is a little tapered, trying to make our LSC Championship meet, and she is dropping a little.
