FAQ's
1. Does my child have to know all four strokes to join a swim team?
No, many swim teams will teach your child the proper strokes through a series of drills. Just like soccer players, football players, baseball players, basketball players, etc do drills to improve their skills, swimmers do drills on a daily basis to perfect their stroke and technique. That is what practice is all about, training for the day when you race.
2. How do we choose a team and a coach for our child?
You should look for a team and a coach that wants the best for your child. Nothing more, and certainly nothing less. See the editorial about "What to look for in a Swim Team" for a more comprehensive discussion of this topic. Please note that the "What to look for..." page deals with USA level swimming clubs. If you are considering a non-USA club then please keep in mind the qualitative difference between a local club training squad and a USA Swimming Team is night and day. Similar to the training and technique differences between a city league soccer team and a "Select" travel soccer club.
3. Is there a difference between training USA level, City/Summer League level, and High School level?
That depends, there are exceptions to the rule around the nation, although none that I have seen in the Middle Tennessee area. Generally speaking, when you consider the top USA teams in the area, there is a huge qualitative, and quantitative difference. USA teams train year-round and their focus is much different. High School training with the part-time High School swimmer usually focuses on sprint events no more than 100 yards in length. There are a few events in High School that go further than that, but on the whole the focus is anaerobic in training. City/Summer League events are 25 yards and 50 yards in length, except for the 100 Free and 100 IM. Thus City/Summer League training is even more sprint focused than High School training is. USA training is more broad in scope and has aerobic training as it's base, and the yardage they do in any given workout is 2 to 3 times at any age level than City/Summer League or High School. USA Swimmers train for the events you see in the Olympics, more than half of which or 200 meters or longer in length. City/Summer League teams are very similar to High School teams in what makes them successful, the City/Summer League and High School teams that have the strongest core of year-round swimmers (USA swimmers) tend to be the most competitive at the City Championship Meet, just like at the State High School Championships the finalists in every event (except maybe one or two in the 50 and 100 Free sprints) train USA year-round. If your child wants to be a good City/Summer League swimmer then city/summer league training is fine. If your child wants to be a good High School swimmer with the goal of just making a State Meet time cut, then High School training is fine. If your child wants to be a dominant City/Summer League and High School swimmer as they get older, then you need to strongly consider USA swimming. Some coaches and parents in City/Summer League and High School training groups have criticized USA swimming as being "too intense, or, too much". That's just another way of saying "too competitive" for their child. Life is competitive and this sport teaches them to deal with setbacks and successes at every meet. This is a definite case of you get what you pay for in quality of training. The older the age group level gets, the more likely that USA swimmers will dominate. Swimming is a cumulative sport with a strong aerobic base that tends to manifest itself in the 11&12 year old category. City/Summer League and High School training is fine for a lot of part-time swimmers, it is a tremendous amount of fun for those involved. For those that want to excel in competition, while also having fun, consider training and competing at the USA level. See Myths and Misconceptions about Year-Round Swim Clubs for more information.
4. Can my daughter participate in others sports while doing swimming?
Ok, here is where my answer is going to go off the reservation that most swim (and other sport's) coaches live on. Yes, let them do other sports if they show an interest in doing so. Back in my day it was not uncommon for athletes to participate in multiple sports. Today it seems that we as parents and coaches are choosing the sport for our child early on and devote all their time and energy to it in hopes of getting that holy grail of a scholarship, endorsement money, or professional contract. We need to let kids be kids and have fun doing a variety of things in order to become well-rounded citizens. Your child needs a say in what sports they want to try in order to begin to learn decision making consequences. What is the motivation of the coach that insists that your child stick only with swimming? They are the coach, they probably have a financial interest. As a coach and a parent, I have learned the hard way that I need to listen to my children from the parent's perspective.
5. My child is strong for her age, why should we worry about practicing so much?
Brute strength may be valuable at younger ages, but as children mature and strength differences even out, then that is where the victory goes to those who have superior conditioning, training, and technique.
6. How much should my son practice?
Tricky question to answer. Keep in mind that coaches get paid to produce winners by parents, as well as seeking recognition among their peers for developing talent. Thus they may over train the younger swimmers to produce champions in the younger age groups. What happens? Burnout in many cases. Here is a rough guide, that will certainly generate debate. 8&Under: 2 to 3 times a week 1 hour each. 9&10: 2 to 3 times a week for 1.5 hours each. 11&12: 4 to 5 times a week for 1.5 hours each. 13&14: 4 to 5 times a week for 2 hours each. 15&Up: 6 to 8 times a week for 2 hours each. Keep in mind that if your child is fortunate enough to get a partial scholarship at a college, they will be technically limited to 20 hours of training a week by NCAA guidelines. If your child practices 20 hours or more a week in High School, how are they going to have room to step up their practice amount while in college?
7. What do I say to the coach that insists on us missing Church on Wednesday for swim practice and on Sunday for swim meets?
Tell the coach that his job is to coach, and he or she should not be interfering with Church issues. If he cannot hold his tongue about your choices, then you need to find a new coach. As a coach I have no problem with a family that feels the need to miss practice or meets, and put their faith first. I did not always have that view, I was forgetting that was the parent's choice. As a parent I see no problem in how the two can peacefully coexist. We routinely miss Church on Sundays to go to swim meets. Sunday is a day of worship and prayer, as is every other day of the week. Where you worship and pray is not as important as actually doing it. You can worship in the car, you can pray at a meet, you can sing praise anywhere you want. Some meets will actually have a prayer meeting on Sundays before the meet starts. That said, ultimately it is your decision not the coach's. As a coach I do not criticize, ridicule, or try to stop kids from getting out early on Wednesdays to go to Bible Study or Worship service. There are two things a coach should never, ever, interfere with. School and Church.
8. You mentioned school, how do we prioritize?
That choice is simple. School comes first. Swimming and Education are great compliments to each other. Swimming teaches time management through a variety of ways, not the least of is doing something (sets) on limited time intervals. The swimmer learns to do something in a defined time, and to do it to the best of their ability. I rarely voice objection to the child that tells me that they have too much homework to do to swim. I say "rarely" because it depends on the child. Most swimmers I have no problems with. Some I do, and I hold them accountable for their school work they miss practice for, or I make them learn a hard lesson. See From School to Pool: How Strong the Connection? for more information.
9. My child is amazing, he is destined for a full scholarship at a major powerhouse university, I have nothing to worry about, right?
If your child is that good, fantastic, but for the other 99.99% of swimmers seeking to swim in college, full scholarships in swimming are practically unheard of in today's age. Swimming is considered a non-revenue generating sport. Unlike Division I football that gives out 85 full scholarships, swimming gives out far, far less. At one particular University in the SEC, they are limited to 9.9 scholarships for Men's swimming, and 14.0 scholarships for Women's swimming. Rare is the swimmer that gets a full scholarship. Most get 1/2 scholarships, 1/3rd's, 1/4th's, Books Only, Out-of-State Tuition Coverage, etc. If Full Scholarships were only given out, then a viable team could not be put together since there would be zero depth. Plus if your child has only swam Summer League and High School, without a history of the disciplined training and high level of competition that USA swimming provides, then the chances are virtually nil for even a partial scholarship. So, instead of planning on a full-ride, you might want to seek advice from a financial consultant and invest wisely. In fact, if your child seeks scholarships in any sport that is non-revenue generating, you might want to follow the same advice. See Opportunity Aplenty for more information.
The answers above are the personal opinion of Coach Barnes. They have evolved over time, as new experiences and challenges have affected him. The answers in the future might change as well.