Late swimmers!

AHHHHH....the joy of being one's own coach! :) If I can't hit the water at 6AM I'll just stop by the pool on the way home from work

The masters' teams I have swum with have only one policy that can be summed up as "anything goes; it's masters." Amen! In all honesty as a coach I don't mind if swimmers show up late. We are adults with jobs, families, and other committments. People get there when they can and do what they can. As a swimmer I always try to tell the coach if I am leaving early and apologize if I am late. My philosophy basically is that it is better to show up late than not at all.

my age-group coach didn't like people showing up late. his punishment was based on his humor at the moment. once someone had to do a 5000yd IM.

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.

my age-group coach didn't like people showing up late. his punishment was based on his humor at the moment. once someone had to do a 5000yd IM. 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. :)

On my team as long as you are there by the end of warmup it isn't a big deal. After that, it is pretty annoying and people will let you know, mostly through mockery from both coaches and swimmers. So while you won't get punished for being late, there is definitely an expectation that you won't be. I don't see why anyone would bother showing up 45 minutes late.

AHHHHH....the joy of being one's own coach! :) If I can't hit the water at 6AM I'll just stop by the pool on the way home from work 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.

AHHHHH....the joy of being one's own coach! :) If I can't hit the water at 6AM I'll just stop by the pool on the way home from work I'm the same way; sort of have to be since I am the Aquatic Director as well.

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. :) That's pretty much what happens on my daughter's team. It has the effect of the kids begging the parents to be on time. However, sometimes it's hard to be precisely on time given the vagaries of traffic here. When school lets out at x time and practice starts at x +20 in another town, that ain't easy! Plus, USA-S swimmers have the longest warm ups known to mankind. I showed up 45 minutes late to a masters practice once after a 75 minute commute (mega traffic from event). I almost turned around. Mentioned this to the coach, who said it was "definitely" better I came.

I showed up 45 minutes late to a masters practice once after a 75 minute commute (mega traffic from event). I almost turned around. Mentioned this to the coach, who said it was "definitely" better I came. Once in a while, sure, sh*t happens. But if you often cannot make it to a practice close to on time, then you know what, that practice doesn't work for you, so go to another one or swim alone or find another team. Interrupting the rest of the lane's flow cause you don't want to go home and watch TV is rude. Being late in general is rude. I dunno, maybe it is just that our lanes are pretty full, but adding a body can cause a fair amount of chaos.