|
SWIM MEETS 101 or EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SWIM MEETS, BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK…(or didn’t know you had to…)
October is coming quickly and we are heading into the meet season. A first USA Swimming meet can be a bit of a shock for new athletes and parents. To help understand the in's and outs of what to expect we have tried to outline as much as possible for you in the link below.
SWIM MEETS 101 or EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SWIM MEETS, BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK…(or didn’t know you had to…)
The Woodlands Swim Team is a competitive focused team and we expect that our competitive athletes are...well, competing.
For MOST meets we follow an OPT OUT procedure where we sign up every eligible athlete and it is YOUR duty to decline attendance if you cannot attend. If you cannot attend and fail to decline by the UNCOMMIT deadline your athlete will be entered and you will be responsible for any entry fees. Meet info will be sent via email for each meet with including fees and deadlines as well as posted in the Between The Lanes Upcoming Events Section. Please watch for these communications.
What if my athlete can attend 1 day of a meet but not another? That is ok. Each athlete will have a notes section for each meet sign-up. Simply leave a note for your coach with any restrictions. If there are no notes in the meet entries coaches will assume that an athlete can attend the entire meet and will enter events accordingly.
Entries.....and "best times"
Entries are 100% up to coaches. Group coaches have a plan and select events based on what they see in practices and what they feel an athlete is ready for. There will be meets that are planned for WORST events and meets that are planned for BEST events. Each is a part of the process on developing an all around athletes (especially at the 14 and under age groups!). This variety also gives coaches insight on training directions, weaknesses to address, and improvement. If you best event 50 breaststroke is a little flat after racing it every meet but your worst event 100 backstroke drops 10 seconds...guess what, your athlete has improved and coaches need to see this as does the parent and the athlete.
Its not all about the clock!
Sometimes success is based solely on a skill or strategy even though a time may not be a best. How can my athlete be improving and not going best times? TWST coaches are always teaching and working to develop the habits needed to be top level athlete. New skills and new habits take time (usually 6 weeks of consistent practice) to develop to a point where improved performance is expected. Take underwater dolphin kicking, during that 6 week, sometimes longer, window we can see athletes increasing from 3 kicks to 4 kicks off of each wall. This is great, this is improvement, however, it may be uncomfortable and require swimming at a slightly slower speed to have the oxygen needed or simply have the confidence to stay underwater just a little longer. We have improved a skill even though the athlete may have added time at a particular meet. It will be important to keep this in perspective for your athlete and let them have conversations with their coaches on what a successful race could look like. It is a the parent's job to help keep perspective and support the athlete and coach.
| 
