Last weekend, I was at a USS swim meet and heard parents and coaches complaining about the "distraction" of many swimmers now. They blame this distraction (in addition to the rise of the boy/girl crazy period) on the advent of cell phones and IM-ing, etc. Apparently, at meets, and I've seen it, the kids spent scads of time on their cells phones, phoning friends, phoning kids across the pool, texting constantly (even to kids 5 feet away). Then they go home and IM for hours, checking and gossiping over the instant meet results and who beat who. Now, all the swimmers seem to know each other because, even if they're not on the same team or live in different states, they now can communicate easily via IM-ing and texting. I heard one coach say he's not sure how to get his swim kids to focus in this new techo-age. Obviously, some kids are focused like lasers, but I see an abundance of chatting and cell phone use too. Would kids do better without cell phones at meets? And is technology distracting them? Some seem to be swimming blazingly fast, but are others not swimming up to their potential because of this?
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I don't think they are appropriate at a meet, likewise on the sidelines at a game--you should be paying attention to what's going on.
I.
:laugh2::laugh2::laugh2::laugh2::laugh2:
OK, I will stop laughing now. You obviously have never coached Junior High girls. Pay attention to what's going on?:laugh2::laugh2::laugh2: Only if there is a cute boy in the vicinity.
My kids have cell phones. It makes it easier when they are on the bus coming home from a school function late at night. I don't have to sit in the parking lot waiting because the band bus was 2 hours late from a competition. Instead, they call when they get close and I go get them. When my son played soccer, they often had games 2-3 hours away, and were sometimes uncertain if games would continue after dark because small rural schools sometimes did not have lights on their fields. So the coaches could not tell us what time they were getting back. That is why I got my kids phones, too many long nights in parking lots waiting and waiting.
:
I don't think they are appropriate at a meet, likewise on the sidelines at a game--you should be paying attention to what's going on.
I.
:laugh2::laugh2::laugh2::laugh2::laugh2:
OK, I will stop laughing now. You obviously have never coached Junior High girls. Pay attention to what's going on?:laugh2::laugh2::laugh2: Only if there is a cute boy in the vicinity.
My kids have cell phones. It makes it easier when they are on the bus coming home from a school function late at night. I don't have to sit in the parking lot waiting because the band bus was 2 hours late from a competition. Instead, they call when they get close and I go get them. When my son played soccer, they often had games 2-3 hours away, and were sometimes uncertain if games would continue after dark because small rural schools sometimes did not have lights on their fields. So the coaches could not tell us what time they were getting back. That is why I got my kids phones, too many long nights in parking lots waiting and waiting.
