Content Provided by USA Swimming
Q: What type of commitment is needed for this level of swimming?
A: While a swimmer’s performance is influenced by numerous factors, there are three that exert the greatest influence: physical, technical and mental. As athletes progress, a greater commitment, of both time and energy, is needed to enable an athlete to address all of these factors.
Additionally, the athlete is asked to take more responsibility for and ownership of his practice and competition performance. One way of doing this is by accepting responsibility for leading a lifestyle conducive to swimming well, i.e., proper nutrition, adequate sleep, time management, managing extra-curricular activities.
Q: I think my child is sacrificing too much to train. Is this okay?
A: What you may consider a sacrifice, i.e. missing a school dance, football game, or simply going out with friends, your child many not consider a sacrifice at all! Instead, your child has chosen to commit to swimming. By doing so, he realizes that a certain level of training is necessary for him to achieve greater goals and does not look at these activities as missed opportunities. Keep in mind that your child realizes missing a workout is like missing sleep, it cannot be made up. If, however, your child is expressing sentiments that he is missing these chances, then it is time to re-evaluate the balance in his activities.
Q: What does the coach mean when he says that my daughter controls eighty percent of her training?
A: At this stage it is important for the athlete to take full responsibility for her swimming. Your coach is just reinforcing this concept. Having a good attitude, developing proper time management, and demonstrating a strong work ethic are important both in and out of the water. What your child’s coach is referring to is what we call “hidden training factors.” She is in control of what she eats, how much sleep she gets, her practice attendance, and even her effort on practice sets. This may really add up to even more than 80%.
Q: When my child was an age grouper she would swim all the events offered for her age group, now the coach just has her focusing on distance freestyle, why is that?
A: Prior to now, your child needed to acquire a wide range of skills and the aerobic development necessary to allow for this specialization. At this point in her career, her physical development allows her to train for specific events. Children at this stage have reached the physical maturity necessary to specialize in particular events for which they are best suited.
Q: I don’t understand why the coach has the older swimmers working with the little kids. What’s the purpose in that?
A: There are several reasons. One, the coach realizes the benefit of involving the younger kids’ heroes or role models from the senior group involved. In addition, developing a teaching process reinforces the senior swimmer’s basic skills. And, at times, the senior kids have greater success than the at teaching basic skills to these younger swimmers.
Q: I noticed that the coach is meeting with the senior team at the beginning of each season. Is the coach asking for input?
A: Typically the coach likes to share his seasonal plan with the group prior to the start of the season, as well as reviewing the previous season’s strengths and weaknesses. This plan highlights the major meets, tapering and the overall training plan. By presenting the swimmers with information, the coach is making the athlete part of the process. This meeting may also be a prelude to individual goal setting sessions and an opportunity to begin to build team unity.
Q: My child was a successful age group swimmer. How can I help her reach the next level? (i.e. Regionals, Nationals)
A: When your daughter is making the transition, she needs to realize that she is participating at a higher level. Improvements are in tenths and hundredths, rather than seconds, due to biological and physiological factors.
Throughout her career, you have been very supportive. This support is still needed but it may have to be a little different than in the past. It is a good time to discuss with your daughter what she needs from you. Do not be afraid to ask her “How can I support you in your swimming?” While you are an important part of her support network, realize your daughter, at this level, should be taking on more ownership of her swimming career.
Q: I realize my child is training hard, but she seems to have no energy. Could something be wrong?
A: Training for competitive swimming is very demanding. Young swimmers are often fatigued throughout the course of a season. Researchers have been investigating the potential cause(s) of this fatigue for many years. It appears that there may be several factors that impact the athlete either alone or in combination. Two of these include iron status problems and caloric restriction or imbalance.
Iron is essential for good health. A primary role of iron is to aid in transporting oxygen to the muscle cells. Adolescents have increasing body iron requirements (1.5x adults) due to their rapid growth. Diets that are low in iron may predispose young athletes, especially females, to iron deficiency problems, especially females. Symptoms of iron deficiency include chronic fatigue, increased susceptibility to infection and potential problems with concentration and perception (McArdle, Katch, Katch 1991). A simple solution is to consume an iron rich diet that includes poultry, lean red meats, green vegetables and iron fortified breakfast cereals.
The second cause often relates to caloric consumption by athletes. Competitive swimmers can burn several thousand calories per day in training. Often, the athlete will not replace those calories through adequate nutritional habits. Like a checkbook, the swimmer over time lives in a caloric deficit. This can result in an inability to maintain training intensity, decreased performance, fatigue, and an increased risk for illness and/or injury.
It is very important for athletes, coaches and parents to understand the difference between “good fatigue” and “bad fatigue”. Fatigue is a typical response to training, however the swimmer should recover during the rest periods. The stress-recovery pattern should be apparent in youngsters who are adapting appropriately to swim training.
Q: I want my child to make his National cut so badly, but he has been off by .02 for a year, what can he do to break through?
A: It is important for you to acknowledge that this is your child’s goal. Your expectations may actually be putting undue pressure on his performances. There are two types of goals that swimmers can set. Outcome Goals focus on the end result of performance such as “win” or “make finals.” Process Goals relate to the process of performance. Examples are “breathe every 3rd stroke” or “streamline.” Swimmers have much more control over Process Goals. Outcome Goals are uncontrollable since they also involve the performance of other competitors. Swimmers and coaches, should concentrate on Process Goals since they involve aspects a swimmer can control. Focusing on a time is outcome driven. Although you want what’s best for your son, encourage him to talk to his coach to clearly identify Process Goals to work on to achieve improvement.