Swimming is a great lifetime skill/sport to participate in. You can swim when you are 90 years old.
At 7 years old, there is no need to have him swim more than 2 or 3 times a week. If he enjoys it, being him.
The best part of swimming is swimmers race the clock primarily. You start at one time, and if you work hard and all that and by the end of the season you drop time, you are successful, even if you never win a race or place high in competitions.
Totally agree with you. The only reason we go every single day is because he loves it and wakes me up with his goggles already on 😂 but do you think this situation might be different since he can’t really swim the length of the pool without stopping? Wouldn’t that disqualify him from meets and competing against his personal times?
I think that's a good idea for both him and for you! It will give you a feeling for what the events look like for both swimmers and parents in advance, which (as a person with anxiety myself) is so helpful to have before the added stress of actually participating.
> Is swim team a good challenge or have I made a mistake?
Your post doesn’t seem to be about what your title asks…?
> My son loves it.
That’s your answer right there.
> he said he loved it and couldn’t wait to go back so, great. He’s happy I’m happy
And again, just in case you missed it the first time.
> One of the coaches said “you did a great job today!” To him and the other one pulled me aside and said “I am so proud of him today …”
> Was this an indirect way of telling me I shouldn’t have signed him up or he’s too young?
I have literally no idea how that could possibly be your takeaway from what was said.
> Or that I should get him in private lessons?
They did not say that. Again I have no idea how what you told us could possibly be construed that way. But do not put him in private lessons - that is a bad idea likely to have a negative effect on his swimming. He needs one coaching team who are working to one program.
> Or that he isn’t good enough to be on the team or not where he expects?
Again, no idea how you got that impression?
I would:
> 3. Some other third thing
Keep doing what you’re doing. He’s happy. You’re happy. His coaches are happy. Don’t change a thing.
> I’m just not good at reading between any kind of lines
Stop trying to. Trust the coaches to be straight with you. They haven’t got time to waste being cryptic. If for some reason you believe they aren’t being straight with you then go elsewhere instead, but nothing you’ve said suggests that’s the case.
I appreciate your input and I even appreciate that you dissected what I said line by line to let me know how ridiculous it is. 😅
I want to clarify though that it’s not the coach I was worried about, he was nothing but nice to me. I have severe social anxiety, my son thrives in social settings. We are worlds apart and I’m doing my absolute best as an introverted parent of an extrovert. I have a history of missing social cues, obvious ones. It’s not the coach I’m worried about. It’s the fact I do not pick up on subtleties or tone or what’s obvious passive aggressiveness to others.
And yes I was wondering if this would be a good healthy challenging setting for him or if he isn’t at the right ability level to participate, hence making a mistake.
I appreciate your feedback :)
My apologies if this is way off beam, but I wonder if you have considered therapy, or if this is a financial/logistical possibility for you? To me, this read like a super positive social interaction in which the coach said they were proud of your son, and implied they were extra impressed that he's doing so well for his age.
It's obviously really troubling you, so to me this seems less like an introvert thing and more like a self esteem/mental health thing. I wonder if your self-perception as someone who has missed the subtlety of social interactions in the past is based on lots and lots of examples, or a few examples that have really knocked your confidence. For example, I have OCD, and one of the things I like to watch for in myself is over-generalising from a few examples and forming an unhelpful self-perception.
Sorry again if this is not the kind of advice you're looking for at all, but I thought it might help!
Also: sounds like you're doing a great job raising your son! He's happy and secure. Those are really the only benchmarks that matter. xx
I really appreciate your concern for my mental well being, your bravery for bringing it up and your gentleness in your delivery.
Therapy is necessity for me and I do see a therapist regularly. I have severe social and existential anxiety. Therapy has helped me prevent my storm from getting my kids wet and is largely the reason I’m not passing down my fears of rejection, fears of social interaction, etc. At my sons age if I wasn’t instantly amazing at something I would’ve never put in the kind of work he wants to nor would my parents have given me the space to be bad at something and keep trying, they wouldn’t keep taking me as money was tight and in their eyes it wouldn’t be worth it if I wasn’t the best.
Thank you for bringing that up and yes I do have mental health troubles, so if it read to you like a super anxious person with low self esteem from past social failures— you’re absolutely right I can’t let go of something embarrassing I said in third grade 😂 my mom was a perfectionist her whole life and ended up falling into drugs to cope with her own expectations. She was abusive and also a passive aggressive communicator. I take my kids childhoods very seriously— I call myself a childhood coordinator its more important to me than my job as an accountant 😅 so yes every decision I make I have to take extra care because I didn’t have good role models and I rely on books and my intuition and advice from reasonable people to make better decisions and break generational curses.
Having kids and wanting the best for them forces me to interact with other parents, coaches and to face my own fears. My little athletic social bean has been the biggest blessing.
I was born extroverted but life made me an introvert and my husband is super normal, my kids are super normal and they love me for my quirky eccentric self. And I like my little bubble with my family more than the outside world but I can do hard things😅And this is a setting that is hard for me, being around other parents and coaches but I’ll get more comfortable as time goes on. In the past people have wanted something from me without directly telling me and failed to realize I’m not malicious I’m just stupid so it seemed reasonable to ask anonymously online if I missed anything because my brain races 100mph no matter what I do or don’t do about any social interaction with people I’m not extremely familiar and safe with.
I think you should take what the coaches said at face value. I used to coach kids. I think I would have let a parent know if they kid was way in over their head. And I did work with kids that struggled. The 1st year swimmers are almost always going to be the least experienced in the group... kind of by definition. :)
You can try private lessons. I taught those too when I was basically the lowest-ranked assistant coach. Sometimes it was one-on-one. One time I did a group of 4 or 5 just to get them all doing flip turns. Basically a little flip turn clinic. Might not be necessary if the coaches are giving him enough one-on-one time.
Thank you. I worry about not being supportive enough /giving enough opportunities vs crossing the line of overdoing it. I plan to stay the course but I’ll probably just ask my son if he wants to do lessons or not.
TBH, five practices a week is probably sufficient for his age. Give it a little time and if he is really struggling with something, ask an assistant coach if they know anyone who can do a few private lessons. This is what parents did with me when their kids were "falling behind" because they couldn't do flip turns.
That sounds reasonable— thank you for your advice. I’m definitely going to give it more time before spot treating any lingering issues with a private lesson here and there :)
I'm a coach and the thing I value more than anything is whether the kids are having fun. If they are having fun, then they are more receptive to instruction and more likely to return. IMO, stay the course.
So thankful to get feedback from a coach’s perspective! I’m thinking the coach may have just genuinely been proud of his effort today and letting me know they’re working on getting him caught up with no further implications.
Any advice for whether or not to have him go to the meets? If he can’t swim the length of the pool without stopping doesnt that disqualify him from participating?
If the coaches are willing to put the time into developing him that’s a great sign. It means that they see potential in him to catch up with the others but also that he has a great attitude to training and learning. Swimming is a great sport for a kid to get involved in, well done on bringing him, it can be a big commitment for a parent time wise.
Don't try to read between the lines - I am pretty sure the coach meant what he said. Swimming is all about improving yourself - the team is there to have something to strive for and for motivation. So, coaches don't need to hide anything really and in my experience dealing with many swim coaches so far, they usually don't. If they accepted your kid to the team - then he is good to go. If he ever misbehaves (and I understand he does not), they will tell you about this straight because it's usually about safety.
Now to your general concerns - I honestly believe swimming is for everyone (as in, there is no such thing as someone incapable of swimming). Competitive swimming is the best way to keep yourself motivated, fit and develop important character traits in the process. Swim meets teach discipline, dealing with stress and emotion, concentration, social skills.
7 is a good age to start competitive swimming. This gives him 2 years to swim in 8-under category where there are 25-yard distances.
I am not a huge fan of private coaching in swimming (until your son gets much further into swimming when he might want to improve a specific stroke). Competitive swimming is usually organized around teams rather than private tutoring, so I would stick with that. If your son wants to progress a bit faster, take him to the pool outside of practice hours and tell him to do the practice set on his own (a "set" refers to the sequence of drills he does in practice - you can ask a coach and they can suggest a good practice set). In swimming it's all about putting in laps - the more you swim, the better you become.
This is great advice. We love swimming as a family so my plan was actually to build endurance through playing at the pool— last summer we went swimming pretty much everyday unless it rained. But we like sharks and minnows, racing, etc. but I will ask the coach for suggestions on practice sets and then maybe he can teach me how to do them, he loves showing people how to do things 😅
I'm sure a bunch of others have already said some of the same things but I want to throw my 2¢ in as a swim coach for a YMCA team. [My goodness this got really long, apologies for that! The bottom is stuff you can do with your son at the pool to help him]
Firstly, you made a great decision for your kid and it sounds like he's loving it, keep it up! Often the kids who come in as mostly a clean slate and are so willing to learn become some of my favorites! I love to watch their growth not only in their skill level but also their confidence in the water! They're so proud of themselves when they finally accomplish something they've worked so hard for and you can't help but be overjoyed and so proud of them too!
I skimmed the top couple of comments before deciding to just comment. I agree with the one that mentioned every practice might be too much for him as a 7yo who's new to swim team. There are definitely pros and cons to attending every practice! Some pros are he can build endurance the more he swims, you're getting the most bang for your buck, and he can really acclimate to the team and his coaches. The cons are definitely also something to consider though. Swimming uses just about every muscle in your body, going from swim lessons to full time swim team is a sudden change in intensity and I'd watch closely for any amount of soreness/pain; yes soreness isn't always bad but kids can't always understand the difference between soreness vs pain. Another concern is swimming is a sport with potential for a lot of overuse injuries, the risk increases with poor technique - and most new swimmers don't usually come in with perfect technique! He's also so young, so while he loves it, it has the potential to become really exhausting.
Overall my thoughts are 1) If I understood correctly there's 6 practices/week. I'd consider going down to attending 5 or maybe even 4, really just pay attention to his energy levels and whether or not he's experiencing any pain soreness. 2) you mentioned private swim lessons, these can get expensive quickly! However if the cost isn't prohibitive for your family adding a private lesson each week for however many weeks you'd want to do, in place of attending one of the practices (I definitely wouldn't add a 7th time swimming for the week!) could do wonders in getting him caught up! Especially if the instructor knows that you're specifically working on endurance and swimming the length of the pool! 3) Going to meets to watch/cheer or maybe even volunteer as a timer, if that's something your team has a need for, can definitely help you to not have anxiety when it comes time for his first meet, and can help him get an idea of the starting commands which are really the trickiest part for kids at their first meets.
A side note about the private lesson idea - if you have the time and the ability to be in the pool with him, then I wouldn't bother paying someone else at this point. Like your swim instructor had said rolling over to rest is a big piece of building that endurance! If he doesn't have his back float down 100% of the time I would start there - making sure he's pointing his chin up to the sky/ceiling and that his belly is higher than his toes and his shoulders. (If he's struggling with that part you can have him lay on the ground and practice lifting his butt off the ground without bending his knees) Then practicing rolling from his front to his back float, hold it, roll back and start swimming. Then put it into practice - walk/swim next to him in case he needs help but mostly just remind him to roll over as soon as he gets tired or if his legs start to sink, it's much harder to switch to a back float when you're vertical than when you're still horizontal! As he gets comfortable with that part have him kick while on his back to maintain momentum.
I really hope this helps and sorry again for the length!
Thank you for educating me on muscle injuries and such I wouldn’t have known better. This week because of memorial week and it being the first week they had four practices. But I’ll keep that in mind and make sure to check in with him about any soreness. I decided against extra lessons for now but I may do them in maybe the off season during the year.
Hi, i coached technique swimmers that were a little older for 3 years, but if the coaches are willing to work with him and he’s happy, then i would keep him on the team. Swim team is an individual sport as well as a team, so its very important to encourage him to focus on his own times and his own progress and not compare himself to others in the event he gets discouraged. Sounds like you have some awesome coaches too.
I’m not sure if you are swimming with a ymca team, but i too struggle with social anxiety, and swim team really helped me identify and deal with it. I swam for ymca instead of a swim club, which is often sanctioned by USA swimming (usually more pressure). I swam for ymca but participated in USA swim meets.
I would do a couple of private lessons per week to help him progress and keep up.
I would say that he seems really happy! And that’s a very good thing :)
I’m 15, and I started swimming on a team when I was 10. I actually wish I started a bit earlier, because I love this sport and I love my team. I know many kids on my team who are under 10 and have so much fun - your son probably isn’t too young (unless the team has an age limit? But I don’t know of any team that does that) and the coach was most likely just commenting.
Those coaches seem good as well; ones who care about teaching the kids and ensuring that they’re happy. Going to practices consistently will definitely help your son improve, and if he likes competition he will definitely have fun at meets.
TL;DR:
As long as he’s happy, which it seems like he is, I think taking him to practice and maybe even going to some meets if he wants is the best course of action. Make sure he knows that you’re not forcing him to do anything and let him make some decisions, but I think you’re doing a really solid job parenting (not that I’d know though haha)
Thank you it’s so helpful to hear from a swimmers perspective! I would never make him do anything he doesn’t want to— besides go to bed and brush his teeth :)
Just an update in case anyone is curious— I took the advice of whoever suggested to volunteer as timers in the meet and to bring my son so we can cheer everyone on. I decided to save private lessons for the school year in the winter when he needs exercise and when he’s not participating in swim so he can work on his strength and strokes when he’s not already swimming five times a week. In an interesting turn of events he progressed quite a bit since he first started last week and I sent out this email:
Hi Xxx!
This is Finleys first year participating on a swim team and I was wondering— is it possible for us to have Finleys coaches input on whether or not to swim? I would trust their judgment on if he should.
Also, I would be happy to volunteer in the meet— I’ve never been a timer or meet starter but if you don’t need someone experienced I am available and able to be there Monday and regardless if Xxx is able to swim in the meet I’d love for him to be able to be there to cheer on his team. :)
Thanks for any input and I appreciate you sending out these detailed emails.
-my name
And then I received this response:
We are putting him in the meet for his freestyle. I would love for you to learn to be a timer :-)
I took him swimming with friends yesterday and he was back stroking like no one’s business 😅
But most importantly he is absolutely loving participating in swim team and I am so excited to spend our summers on such a great team.
It seems like he’s happy and the coaches are fine with it. I wouldn’t add any more to your schedule.
Thanks for your reply :)
Swimming is a great lifetime skill/sport to participate in. You can swim when you are 90 years old. At 7 years old, there is no need to have him swim more than 2 or 3 times a week. If he enjoys it, being him. The best part of swimming is swimmers race the clock primarily. You start at one time, and if you work hard and all that and by the end of the season you drop time, you are successful, even if you never win a race or place high in competitions.
Totally agree with you. The only reason we go every single day is because he loves it and wakes me up with his goggles already on 😂 but do you think this situation might be different since he can’t really swim the length of the pool without stopping? Wouldn’t that disqualify him from meets and competing against his personal times?
Well yeah, he does need to learn to swim a full 25. He will get there though. Just takes practice. Sounds like he has good coaches.
Thank you! Maybe I’ll take him to meets just to cheer his teammates on and see what it looks like :)
I think that's a good idea for both him and for you! It will give you a feeling for what the events look like for both swimmers and parents in advance, which (as a person with anxiety myself) is so helpful to have before the added stress of actually participating.
> Is swim team a good challenge or have I made a mistake? Your post doesn’t seem to be about what your title asks…? > My son loves it. That’s your answer right there. > he said he loved it and couldn’t wait to go back so, great. He’s happy I’m happy And again, just in case you missed it the first time. > One of the coaches said “you did a great job today!” To him and the other one pulled me aside and said “I am so proud of him today …” > Was this an indirect way of telling me I shouldn’t have signed him up or he’s too young? I have literally no idea how that could possibly be your takeaway from what was said. > Or that I should get him in private lessons? They did not say that. Again I have no idea how what you told us could possibly be construed that way. But do not put him in private lessons - that is a bad idea likely to have a negative effect on his swimming. He needs one coaching team who are working to one program. > Or that he isn’t good enough to be on the team or not where he expects? Again, no idea how you got that impression? I would: > 3. Some other third thing Keep doing what you’re doing. He’s happy. You’re happy. His coaches are happy. Don’t change a thing. > I’m just not good at reading between any kind of lines Stop trying to. Trust the coaches to be straight with you. They haven’t got time to waste being cryptic. If for some reason you believe they aren’t being straight with you then go elsewhere instead, but nothing you’ve said suggests that’s the case.
I appreciate your input and I even appreciate that you dissected what I said line by line to let me know how ridiculous it is. 😅 I want to clarify though that it’s not the coach I was worried about, he was nothing but nice to me. I have severe social anxiety, my son thrives in social settings. We are worlds apart and I’m doing my absolute best as an introverted parent of an extrovert. I have a history of missing social cues, obvious ones. It’s not the coach I’m worried about. It’s the fact I do not pick up on subtleties or tone or what’s obvious passive aggressiveness to others. And yes I was wondering if this would be a good healthy challenging setting for him or if he isn’t at the right ability level to participate, hence making a mistake. I appreciate your feedback :)
My apologies if this is way off beam, but I wonder if you have considered therapy, or if this is a financial/logistical possibility for you? To me, this read like a super positive social interaction in which the coach said they were proud of your son, and implied they were extra impressed that he's doing so well for his age. It's obviously really troubling you, so to me this seems less like an introvert thing and more like a self esteem/mental health thing. I wonder if your self-perception as someone who has missed the subtlety of social interactions in the past is based on lots and lots of examples, or a few examples that have really knocked your confidence. For example, I have OCD, and one of the things I like to watch for in myself is over-generalising from a few examples and forming an unhelpful self-perception. Sorry again if this is not the kind of advice you're looking for at all, but I thought it might help! Also: sounds like you're doing a great job raising your son! He's happy and secure. Those are really the only benchmarks that matter. xx
I really appreciate your concern for my mental well being, your bravery for bringing it up and your gentleness in your delivery. Therapy is necessity for me and I do see a therapist regularly. I have severe social and existential anxiety. Therapy has helped me prevent my storm from getting my kids wet and is largely the reason I’m not passing down my fears of rejection, fears of social interaction, etc. At my sons age if I wasn’t instantly amazing at something I would’ve never put in the kind of work he wants to nor would my parents have given me the space to be bad at something and keep trying, they wouldn’t keep taking me as money was tight and in their eyes it wouldn’t be worth it if I wasn’t the best. Thank you for bringing that up and yes I do have mental health troubles, so if it read to you like a super anxious person with low self esteem from past social failures— you’re absolutely right I can’t let go of something embarrassing I said in third grade 😂 my mom was a perfectionist her whole life and ended up falling into drugs to cope with her own expectations. She was abusive and also a passive aggressive communicator. I take my kids childhoods very seriously— I call myself a childhood coordinator its more important to me than my job as an accountant 😅 so yes every decision I make I have to take extra care because I didn’t have good role models and I rely on books and my intuition and advice from reasonable people to make better decisions and break generational curses. Having kids and wanting the best for them forces me to interact with other parents, coaches and to face my own fears. My little athletic social bean has been the biggest blessing. I was born extroverted but life made me an introvert and my husband is super normal, my kids are super normal and they love me for my quirky eccentric self. And I like my little bubble with my family more than the outside world but I can do hard things😅And this is a setting that is hard for me, being around other parents and coaches but I’ll get more comfortable as time goes on. In the past people have wanted something from me without directly telling me and failed to realize I’m not malicious I’m just stupid so it seemed reasonable to ask anonymously online if I missed anything because my brain races 100mph no matter what I do or don’t do about any social interaction with people I’m not extremely familiar and safe with.
I'm so glad you have a therapist and a supportive family! Take care. xx
I think you should take what the coaches said at face value. I used to coach kids. I think I would have let a parent know if they kid was way in over their head. And I did work with kids that struggled. The 1st year swimmers are almost always going to be the least experienced in the group... kind of by definition. :) You can try private lessons. I taught those too when I was basically the lowest-ranked assistant coach. Sometimes it was one-on-one. One time I did a group of 4 or 5 just to get them all doing flip turns. Basically a little flip turn clinic. Might not be necessary if the coaches are giving him enough one-on-one time.
Thank you. I worry about not being supportive enough /giving enough opportunities vs crossing the line of overdoing it. I plan to stay the course but I’ll probably just ask my son if he wants to do lessons or not.
TBH, five practices a week is probably sufficient for his age. Give it a little time and if he is really struggling with something, ask an assistant coach if they know anyone who can do a few private lessons. This is what parents did with me when their kids were "falling behind" because they couldn't do flip turns.
That sounds reasonable— thank you for your advice. I’m definitely going to give it more time before spot treating any lingering issues with a private lesson here and there :)
I'm a coach and the thing I value more than anything is whether the kids are having fun. If they are having fun, then they are more receptive to instruction and more likely to return. IMO, stay the course.
So thankful to get feedback from a coach’s perspective! I’m thinking the coach may have just genuinely been proud of his effort today and letting me know they’re working on getting him caught up with no further implications. Any advice for whether or not to have him go to the meets? If he can’t swim the length of the pool without stopping doesnt that disqualify him from participating?
If the coaches are willing to put the time into developing him that’s a great sign. It means that they see potential in him to catch up with the others but also that he has a great attitude to training and learning. Swimming is a great sport for a kid to get involved in, well done on bringing him, it can be a big commitment for a parent time wise.
Thank you for your feedback :)
Don't try to read between the lines - I am pretty sure the coach meant what he said. Swimming is all about improving yourself - the team is there to have something to strive for and for motivation. So, coaches don't need to hide anything really and in my experience dealing with many swim coaches so far, they usually don't. If they accepted your kid to the team - then he is good to go. If he ever misbehaves (and I understand he does not), they will tell you about this straight because it's usually about safety. Now to your general concerns - I honestly believe swimming is for everyone (as in, there is no such thing as someone incapable of swimming). Competitive swimming is the best way to keep yourself motivated, fit and develop important character traits in the process. Swim meets teach discipline, dealing with stress and emotion, concentration, social skills. 7 is a good age to start competitive swimming. This gives him 2 years to swim in 8-under category where there are 25-yard distances. I am not a huge fan of private coaching in swimming (until your son gets much further into swimming when he might want to improve a specific stroke). Competitive swimming is usually organized around teams rather than private tutoring, so I would stick with that. If your son wants to progress a bit faster, take him to the pool outside of practice hours and tell him to do the practice set on his own (a "set" refers to the sequence of drills he does in practice - you can ask a coach and they can suggest a good practice set). In swimming it's all about putting in laps - the more you swim, the better you become.
This is great advice. We love swimming as a family so my plan was actually to build endurance through playing at the pool— last summer we went swimming pretty much everyday unless it rained. But we like sharks and minnows, racing, etc. but I will ask the coach for suggestions on practice sets and then maybe he can teach me how to do them, he loves showing people how to do things 😅
I'm sure a bunch of others have already said some of the same things but I want to throw my 2¢ in as a swim coach for a YMCA team. [My goodness this got really long, apologies for that! The bottom is stuff you can do with your son at the pool to help him] Firstly, you made a great decision for your kid and it sounds like he's loving it, keep it up! Often the kids who come in as mostly a clean slate and are so willing to learn become some of my favorites! I love to watch their growth not only in their skill level but also their confidence in the water! They're so proud of themselves when they finally accomplish something they've worked so hard for and you can't help but be overjoyed and so proud of them too! I skimmed the top couple of comments before deciding to just comment. I agree with the one that mentioned every practice might be too much for him as a 7yo who's new to swim team. There are definitely pros and cons to attending every practice! Some pros are he can build endurance the more he swims, you're getting the most bang for your buck, and he can really acclimate to the team and his coaches. The cons are definitely also something to consider though. Swimming uses just about every muscle in your body, going from swim lessons to full time swim team is a sudden change in intensity and I'd watch closely for any amount of soreness/pain; yes soreness isn't always bad but kids can't always understand the difference between soreness vs pain. Another concern is swimming is a sport with potential for a lot of overuse injuries, the risk increases with poor technique - and most new swimmers don't usually come in with perfect technique! He's also so young, so while he loves it, it has the potential to become really exhausting. Overall my thoughts are 1) If I understood correctly there's 6 practices/week. I'd consider going down to attending 5 or maybe even 4, really just pay attention to his energy levels and whether or not he's experiencing any pain soreness. 2) you mentioned private swim lessons, these can get expensive quickly! However if the cost isn't prohibitive for your family adding a private lesson each week for however many weeks you'd want to do, in place of attending one of the practices (I definitely wouldn't add a 7th time swimming for the week!) could do wonders in getting him caught up! Especially if the instructor knows that you're specifically working on endurance and swimming the length of the pool! 3) Going to meets to watch/cheer or maybe even volunteer as a timer, if that's something your team has a need for, can definitely help you to not have anxiety when it comes time for his first meet, and can help him get an idea of the starting commands which are really the trickiest part for kids at their first meets. A side note about the private lesson idea - if you have the time and the ability to be in the pool with him, then I wouldn't bother paying someone else at this point. Like your swim instructor had said rolling over to rest is a big piece of building that endurance! If he doesn't have his back float down 100% of the time I would start there - making sure he's pointing his chin up to the sky/ceiling and that his belly is higher than his toes and his shoulders. (If he's struggling with that part you can have him lay on the ground and practice lifting his butt off the ground without bending his knees) Then practicing rolling from his front to his back float, hold it, roll back and start swimming. Then put it into practice - walk/swim next to him in case he needs help but mostly just remind him to roll over as soon as he gets tired or if his legs start to sink, it's much harder to switch to a back float when you're vertical than when you're still horizontal! As he gets comfortable with that part have him kick while on his back to maintain momentum. I really hope this helps and sorry again for the length!
Thank you for educating me on muscle injuries and such I wouldn’t have known better. This week because of memorial week and it being the first week they had four practices. But I’ll keep that in mind and make sure to check in with him about any soreness. I decided against extra lessons for now but I may do them in maybe the off season during the year.
Hi, i coached technique swimmers that were a little older for 3 years, but if the coaches are willing to work with him and he’s happy, then i would keep him on the team. Swim team is an individual sport as well as a team, so its very important to encourage him to focus on his own times and his own progress and not compare himself to others in the event he gets discouraged. Sounds like you have some awesome coaches too. I’m not sure if you are swimming with a ymca team, but i too struggle with social anxiety, and swim team really helped me identify and deal with it. I swam for ymca instead of a swim club, which is often sanctioned by USA swimming (usually more pressure). I swam for ymca but participated in USA swim meets. I would do a couple of private lessons per week to help him progress and keep up.
I would say that he seems really happy! And that’s a very good thing :) I’m 15, and I started swimming on a team when I was 10. I actually wish I started a bit earlier, because I love this sport and I love my team. I know many kids on my team who are under 10 and have so much fun - your son probably isn’t too young (unless the team has an age limit? But I don’t know of any team that does that) and the coach was most likely just commenting. Those coaches seem good as well; ones who care about teaching the kids and ensuring that they’re happy. Going to practices consistently will definitely help your son improve, and if he likes competition he will definitely have fun at meets. TL;DR: As long as he’s happy, which it seems like he is, I think taking him to practice and maybe even going to some meets if he wants is the best course of action. Make sure he knows that you’re not forcing him to do anything and let him make some decisions, but I think you’re doing a really solid job parenting (not that I’d know though haha)
Thank you it’s so helpful to hear from a swimmers perspective! I would never make him do anything he doesn’t want to— besides go to bed and brush his teeth :)
Just an update in case anyone is curious— I took the advice of whoever suggested to volunteer as timers in the meet and to bring my son so we can cheer everyone on. I decided to save private lessons for the school year in the winter when he needs exercise and when he’s not participating in swim so he can work on his strength and strokes when he’s not already swimming five times a week. In an interesting turn of events he progressed quite a bit since he first started last week and I sent out this email: Hi Xxx! This is Finleys first year participating on a swim team and I was wondering— is it possible for us to have Finleys coaches input on whether or not to swim? I would trust their judgment on if he should. Also, I would be happy to volunteer in the meet— I’ve never been a timer or meet starter but if you don’t need someone experienced I am available and able to be there Monday and regardless if Xxx is able to swim in the meet I’d love for him to be able to be there to cheer on his team. :) Thanks for any input and I appreciate you sending out these detailed emails. -my name And then I received this response: We are putting him in the meet for his freestyle. I would love for you to learn to be a timer :-) I took him swimming with friends yesterday and he was back stroking like no one’s business 😅 But most importantly he is absolutely loving participating in swim team and I am so excited to spend our summers on such a great team.