Saw one of the more interesting articles about the past, present, and future aspects of competitive swimming on SwimInfo's website the other day from Wayne Goldsmith..
www.swiminfo.com/.../7720.asp
I think it provokes a great deal of thought in this arena and specifically within this group since many of us either participate, have friends/relatives who participate, or remember participating in competitive swim meets.
I particularly appreciate the parents perspective provided in the article. While I have little children (5 and almost 3 years old), the thought of going through what my parents did with me makes me hesitate to sign up for the first set of SwimAmerica lessons or summer club swim team to introduce them to swimming. While I swam through my school age years, I didn't really consider just what my parents had to go through right along with me.. I was always thinking about what i was going through. Wow!
Check out the article and see what you think...
Rob
Parents
Former Member
Originally posted by Dennis Tesch
Swimming there is only one winner. We tell a great majority of our swimmer that they are losers, just by making them compete for place.
I am totally going to disagree with this comment. With this kind of thinking you are setting your children up for failure. I am in the process of teaching my child that it is not coming in first that makes you a winner, but getting in the water and doing your best is what makes you a winner. The only losers out there are those who don't give it a try and the parents who think that their child is a winner only when they come in first. Yes it is great when you come in first and yes it can be disappointing to not place first. You can teach your children to enjoy swimming and be proud of their accomplishments even if they come in last all the time. Everytime I swim or run a race my daughter always ask me if I came in first. Because I am slow I have to tell her no but that I am still happy with what I have accomplished that day. I hope she learns by example that being a winner is not always coming in first.
Originally posted by Dennis Tesch
Swimming there is only one winner. We tell a great majority of our swimmer that they are losers, just by making them compete for place.
I am totally going to disagree with this comment. With this kind of thinking you are setting your children up for failure. I am in the process of teaching my child that it is not coming in first that makes you a winner, but getting in the water and doing your best is what makes you a winner. The only losers out there are those who don't give it a try and the parents who think that their child is a winner only when they come in first. Yes it is great when you come in first and yes it can be disappointing to not place first. You can teach your children to enjoy swimming and be proud of their accomplishments even if they come in last all the time. Everytime I swim or run a race my daughter always ask me if I came in first. Because I am slow I have to tell her no but that I am still happy with what I have accomplished that day. I hope she learns by example that being a winner is not always coming in first.
