I was just put in charge of the rowdiest group of boys I have ever seen. They were so bad I barely got them to do 300 yards in the first practice. I wasn't even able to get their names or any times.
They're middle school level, and while I'd love to keep them, I'm not going to put up with 40 boys who are like that. I want to cut that number to about 30.
I could do a 50 and cut by time, but I was thinking of having them swim a 500, and anyone who touched the floor, stopped to talk, or doesn't finish would be out, especially during the first part of the drill. Do you think that is fair?
Parents
Former Member
It's a middle school team. I can cut for safety reasons. It's far better to cut them early to sort of set the tone rather than try and wait - then they feel they can get away with more. I've also only got four days before the first meet.
The teachers were talking, and apparently 20 out of the 40 are some of the worst kids in school. I haven't check yet, but there are certainly some who don't fit the GPA requirements.
It's going to be hard. I did try to wear the kids out to pull down their talking. The problem is, with 25 yard sprints, if you have to send 8 groups there is no way they are getting tired because they have forever to rest.
The problem I have is not so much treating them nice, it's that when I do they talk. They talk so much that I can't instruct. I pretty much have to yell in order for the other side to hear, or I have to ask them to be quiet.
I've tried signs to make them be quiet. I did the sit and stare, clap and I tried to convince them that if they could get into perfect lines and be quiet it would scare other teams. I even tried my best technique to keep them quiet: I have them lay down on their stomach until everyone is quiet, and once they are we do push ups. The whole time I tell them they are not getting up until we're done with our push ups. They talked for a good while, and the push ups didn't persuade them to be quiet. I also singled a couple out who were screwing around and made them do push ups. That helped, but it didn't keep them from it. I made sure they never sat down. Kept them moving the entire time, but I still didn't get very good results. I think I simply need to cut some people. At least a few. I'd be fine with a team of 20.
And again, I would love to keep them all, just not all at once. I can see many of them do want to swim, but many of them think it is a joke. In the right atmosphere they could probably become great swimmers, and I see that potential, but I have to be able to control them in order to teach them. I'm also scared that some kids may bring down the entire team by acting a certain way.
I also didn't have practice today because they had a half day - which meant I wasn't allowed. So no news on how it goes until tomorrow.
TL;DR: teams far too big to teach. Can't set a positive mood and stay on task with out breaking some eggs. Going to have them swim non-stop tomorrow and kick any of the talkers who obviously aren't focused enough.
It's a middle school team. I can cut for safety reasons. It's far better to cut them early to sort of set the tone rather than try and wait - then they feel they can get away with more. I've also only got four days before the first meet.
The teachers were talking, and apparently 20 out of the 40 are some of the worst kids in school. I haven't check yet, but there are certainly some who don't fit the GPA requirements.
It's going to be hard. I did try to wear the kids out to pull down their talking. The problem is, with 25 yard sprints, if you have to send 8 groups there is no way they are getting tired because they have forever to rest.
The problem I have is not so much treating them nice, it's that when I do they talk. They talk so much that I can't instruct. I pretty much have to yell in order for the other side to hear, or I have to ask them to be quiet.
I've tried signs to make them be quiet. I did the sit and stare, clap and I tried to convince them that if they could get into perfect lines and be quiet it would scare other teams. I even tried my best technique to keep them quiet: I have them lay down on their stomach until everyone is quiet, and once they are we do push ups. The whole time I tell them they are not getting up until we're done with our push ups. They talked for a good while, and the push ups didn't persuade them to be quiet. I also singled a couple out who were screwing around and made them do push ups. That helped, but it didn't keep them from it. I made sure they never sat down. Kept them moving the entire time, but I still didn't get very good results. I think I simply need to cut some people. At least a few. I'd be fine with a team of 20.
And again, I would love to keep them all, just not all at once. I can see many of them do want to swim, but many of them think it is a joke. In the right atmosphere they could probably become great swimmers, and I see that potential, but I have to be able to control them in order to teach them. I'm also scared that some kids may bring down the entire team by acting a certain way.
I also didn't have practice today because they had a half day - which meant I wasn't allowed. So no news on how it goes until tomorrow.
TL;DR: teams far too big to teach. Can't set a positive mood and stay on task with out breaking some eggs. Going to have them swim non-stop tomorrow and kick any of the talkers who obviously aren't focused enough.
