Late swimmers!

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 05:55:00 GMT

I appreciate your desire to hear from the swimming community. I have all the respect in the world for swim coaches. Swimming is certianly not a sport for those who want to use it to become wealthy and it flies under the radar except once every four years. Yet, I love the sport and those who care about it. Swim on, I say! Rob

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:21:33 GMT

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:06:09 GMT

I don't think you would be unreasonable to have rules such as: --If a swimmer comes in late, and there is an empty lane, he will be asked to warm up in that empty lane. When he is ready he can join his regular lane at whatever place they are in the workout. --If there isn't an empty lane, the swimmer may get into his regular lane, but he must not impede the set in progress. If he needs to warm up he needs to make sure he stays out of the way of the swimmers who are in the middle of a set (by going last, for example). --If possible the swimmer should notify his lanemates that he has joined the lane. I like those suggestions! Flexible, but conforms to the needs of the overall group!

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:10:31 GMT

If our coach started laying down rules due to the perceived transgressions of one or two, that would not go down well at all. We are all grown up adults and we are doing something that very few are willing to do by throwing ourselves into a pool and swiming hard. In my book, that by itself is enough to allow the extra latitude and respect that makes Masters such a fun choice and not a chore. Rob Rob, I definitely agree. At this point I have put a "self-start" section into practice for the late-comers. The self-start area tells them what to do for warm-up(s). It has worked this past week very well, and haven't gotten any complaints yet which is a good thing!

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:06:58 GMT

My work location and schedule are such that I have to cut it pretty close and I'm doing well to get in the pool for our practice by the beginning of warmup. In the summer I can only make it on time if I sneak out of work about an hour early. Life would be easier for me if I was consistently arriving to work early. I have a few options: * Swim on my own in the morning at a health club if I know I'll be very late. * Pursue another form of exercise that day (ie, bicycle) * If I'm really late, ask the coach if I should swim or if I "missed practice" * If I swim, I do my first few repeats at the back of the lane. They are either just a warmup staying out of everyone's way or jumping into whatever the group is doing (depends on the set). We don't normally have a spare lane but that would be preferable. Thanks for your comment(s)! Since our practice is in the morning, I do have swimmers leaving a bit early to make work/drop kids off at school, etc. We will see if we run into issues with regard to late/no-shows when we open up practices at night. I will bet my last dollar that no matter what we do we will always have a couple of late swimmers in the mix.

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:31:30 GMT

On my team, most of us hit the pool on time and at most are only few minutes late. If one misses the warmup, they stay at the back of the lane until they are ready to crank it up in a set. We all know each others speeds and make room when appropriate. We also appreciate the friendships that have been forged. Thus, we would all rather have someone show up rather than miss. That being said. If we had a newbie who stated showing up 45 minutes late for a one hour workout and then got in everyone's way, that is a problem. But I have never seen that happen. All of us are adults and know what is reasonable and what is rude. And we genuinely like each other. Realistically, each lane seems to have its own culture and set of expectations. The slower swimmers are not out to set the world on fire and seem more relaxed about their wrkout and in a learning mode. As the lanes get faster, with more college level experience etc., there is less talk due to the added intensity of the sets and a greter level of seriousness with the swimmers. So, in a way, the behavior in the lane conforms to the speeds of the swimmers. If our coach started laying down rules due to the perceived transgressions of one or two, that would not go down well at all. We are all grown up adults and we are doing something that very few are willing to do by throwing ourselves into a pool and swiming hard. In my book, that by itself is enough to allow the extra latitude and respect that makes Masters such a fun choice and not a chore. Rob

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:09:59 GMT

This is my biggest concern with this. If I am running a full practice and someone jumps in late I will have them swim a warmup which throws off the rest of the group, or throws off the tempo of the practice. I guess I could say that it's just Master's but I hold the program in higher regard than that....expecting too much?? I don't think you would be unreasonable to have rules such as: --If a swimmer comes in late, and there is an empty lane, he will be asked to warm up in that empty lane. When he is ready he can join his regular lane at whatever place they are in the workout. --If there isn't an empty lane, the swimmer may get into his regular lane, but he must not impede the set in progress. If he needs to warm up he needs to make sure he stays out of the way of the swimmers who are in the middle of a set (by going last, for example). --If possible the swimmer should notify his lanemates that he has joined the lane.

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 12:43:54 GMT

I would not be on a Masters team that had a late policy. Life happens, it's nothing personal. Ditto. We're adults, we have kids and jobs and other things. I pay $40 to have a place to workout. If I need to be 10 minutes late and leave 15 early that's my business. I do feel bad for the people in the lane I jump into to, but on the other hand they can look at it like this, at least I wasn't there for the whole practice, so they got more room for about 1/2 the practice.

RE: Late swimmers!

smontanaro — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 12:18:36 GMT

I am getting that impression from my swimmers, but showing up almost 45 minutes late for an hour and a half practice is sort of ridiculous, no? I think there are very few people for whom masters swimming is really and truly the number one thing in their life. For me, though I enjoy swimming, family and work definitely come first. If you can't get to practice because your kid's game went into overtime or you had a late meeting at work, what are you going to do? If life intrudes, I say be grateful they think enough of their time and yours to show up at all. Skip

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:34:49 GMT

Perhaps the answer in this question goes back to the belief of whether swimming is an individual or team sport. Yes, part of it is common courtesy if you're going to "upset" a lane of swimmers who are in the middle of their rhythm. But we're adults and should be able to adapt to changes when necessary. Our Masters workout is on a white board placed on deck at all times, so anyone can use it at any time. This fosters an atmosphere that is much more welcoming than being greeted by a locked gate.

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:19:13 GMT

The masters' teams I have swum with have only one policy that can be summed up as "anything goes; it's masters." That is how ours works. Coached swimming begins at 5:45 a.m. and ends at about 8:15 a.m.. Some guys show up and swim sets together. On the hand are people like me who don't want to swim at 5:45 so I show up at 6:30. No problem here!

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:12:54 GMT

I would not be on a Masters team that had a late policy. Life happens, it's nothing personal.

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:02:35 GMT

Maybe the people who show up late to your practice just don't know how to be polite. When someone is late to our practice and gets in my lane, most of the time I don't realize they showed up until we're done a set, and they're there. Even when we have 7 or 8 people in a lane, there is still a gap at the end of the line that they just slip into and hang out at the back until the set is over so they can go to where they normally are in the order.

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:43:31 GMT

I am getting that impression from my swimmers, but showing up almost 45 minutes late for an hour and a half practice is sort of ridiculous, no? They're only hurting themselves. I show up 30 minutes early, and I am always the last one out of the pool. We have a few people who are like this, but the majority show up 5-10 minutes early and leave with everyone else. We do, however, have one or two people who will show up at 7:45 or almost 8pm when our practices are only 7pm-8:30pm. Personally, I would feel so stupid showing up that late, but I don't know their situation. They might have to work, and that's the earliest they can get there--something is better than nothing, right? I think that having a late policy on a masters team is just going to encourage them to not bother showing up if they're late. Would you rather them not show up or show up late?

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:48:14 GMT

My guess is that most Masters swimmers would rather have been at workout for the first 45 minutes than doing whatever it was that made them that late. Finishing a project at work, taking the kids somewhere, running errands, you name it. More than likely, taking care of someone else instead of taking care of themselves. If we're talking about morning workout, they were probably up late the night before doing one of the above, and just needed the rest. The remaining 45 minutes of workout is healthier for their minds and bodies than heading straight home and plopping in front of the TV because they didn't want to interrupt practice. I vote you just have patience with them and welcome them into the fold when they arrive.

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:51:55 GMT

Age group is a different story. The standing policy at my club was 100 fly at the end of practice for every minute late. ("On time" meant in the water by start time, not standing on the pool deck.) I can pretty much credit this and similar policies by that coach for turning me into a 200 butterflier by the time I went to college. :) Yeah....we do climbouts for every minute late for my age-groupers...

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:51:06 GMT

If I am going to be 45 minutes late to practice, I wouldn't even bother showing up. If people show up late at our group, it is not a big deal. They just get in the pool and bend right into the workout that we are on. This is generally the thought process right now.

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:49:53 GMT

Andy, Did you are you talking about age group or masters? That practice worked on age groupers...not masters. Flyqueen is right though, better late than not at all. Talking about Master's....my age groupers know better!

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:46:36 GMT

Andy, Did you are you talking about age group or masters? That practice worked on age groupers...not masters. Flyqueen is right though, better late than not at all.

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:33:43 GMT

You are officially the most disciplined person I know. :notworthy::notworthy: 1. You swam w/ Alex. 2. You can be your own coach as an adult. I'm 0 for 2. Its the Jason Lezak approach....THAT guy is disciplined! As long as I love it its a none issue to get and swim. It might get a little tougher and the weather gets colder!:laugh2: People are creatures of habit, once you get up early it becomes second nature. Yes, there are THOSE days, but the benefit outweighs staying in bed. BTW, with Alex....we DOVE IN at exactly 4:45 AM (done at 6:15) on the pace clock. Show up late and you are staying the water late, period. It that or you are off Senior I. I usually got there 15-20 minutes early and slept in the car until he pulled up. Most days you PRAYED he didn't show so you could leave. We had the "15 minute" rule. If he wasn't there be 5 AM we were GONE!

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:31:03 GMT

The masters' teams I have swum with have only one policy that can be summed up as "anything goes; it's masters." Ha! Fair enough!

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:23:58 GMT

The masters' teams I have swum with have only one policy that can be summed up as "anything goes; it's masters."

RE: Late swimmers!

knelson — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:21:43 GMT

We have no policy. You never know how full practice will be at the beginning because so many people are late. Many are just five minutes late or so, others much later. Yes, I'm sure lots of people are late for a legit reason, but I think there are other people who are just the kind of people who show up late for everything. I admit I find it mildly annoying. Not so much if there aren't a lot of people already in the water, but if you've already got five swimmers in your lane and someone new jumps in it's annoying.

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:13:39 GMT

I have never swum on or with a masters team with a late policy and couldn't imagine doing so. I am getting that impression from my swimmers, but showing up almost 45 minutes late for an hour and a half practice is sort of ridiculous, no?

RE: Late swimmers!

Former Member — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:12:38 GMT

For my old team, that really cut down on being late. I would imagine so!