AVHS Swim Parents Info

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Helpful Hints for Swim Parents

 

~Don't be afraid to get involved-even if you've never been to a swim meet

 

~Have plenty of water available for your swimmer during practice and meets

 

~Ask questions

 

~Have an extra suit for practices, rather than their team suit, it will prolong the life of the suit

 

~Rinse team suit in cold water after each use and hang to dry

 

~Always encourage your swimmer to do his or her best before every race

 

~The coaches decide what events each swimmer will swim, PRIOR to the meet.

 

If you have a schedule change or your swimmer is sick, be sure to contact the coach/coaches IMMEDIATELY!!

It is very disruptive to the meet if your swimmer is expected and doesn’t show up

 

~If your swimmer is scheduled to swim in a relay he/she must stay at the meet until the completion of the relay! There are 4 swimmers on a relay! The swimmers count on each other to be there and to try their best!

 

~Know that your swimmer will not be perfect in every race. There are many requirements for each stroke to be completed without disqualification. Your swimmer will learn these in time.

 

!!NEVER discuss issues with the coach during meets, practice, or around your swimmer. Please schedule a time to meet that works for both you and the coach!!!

 

~~~~~Make the season FUN for you and your swimmer!~~~~~

Smile! You're going to love it...

 

Swim Meets

 

~Your athlete should wear his/her swimsuit to the meet: do not plan on time to change at the pool

 

~Remember the sunscreen! Sunscreen needs time to penetrate, put it on at home/school before they ever suit-up and again after 1 ½ hours if they have been swimming.

 

~Plan on arriving at least 10 minutes BEFORE warm up starts: to check in, find the team, stake a claim on a piece of real estate for yourself & your cooler & find the swim lineup.

 

Your Athlete's Swim Bag should contain:

(Label everything: bags, goggles, towels, and t-shirts look alike)

 

TEAM SUIT; A SPARE SUIT

 

TEAM SWIM CAP; SPARE SWIM CAP

 

2 pair (MIN. - straps break!) GOGGLES-NEVER wear untested, new goggles at a meet.

DECK SANDALS (to avoid cuts and/or nasty foot fungus)

 

2 TOWELS

SOMETHING WARM: warm up suit, sweats, parka etc. to wear in between races

 

SUNSCREEN: waterproof, rub proof, goof proof

 

WATER BOTTLE

 

SNACKS: raisins, trail mix, Ritz bits w/peanut butter, goldfish, grapes, small chunks of fruit or veggies; favorite dry cereals in Ziploc bags;string cheese; Gatorade Bars or Power Bars; ask around for ideas! Nachos, salsa,burritos and hamburgers ARE NOT reasonable snacks

 

A DRY Change of clothes for after the meet

 

INHALERS: If your child is asthmatic, this is the most important thing they own. Different environments have different triggers that can set off an attack. Tell the coach (es) if your child has asthma & where his/her inhaler is!

 

EAR DROPS: usually a vinegar/alcohol solution in a glycerin base - you don't want to deal with swimmer's ear. Use after practice & meets. Every practice. Every meet.

 

SWIM TERMS

 

LANE SLIP - Entry form for each race

DQ - Disqualification - Swim does not count because of an infraction of the rules

EVENT - any race or series of races in a given stroke or distance

HEATS - a division of an event in which there are too many swimmers to compete at one time

SWIM LINEUP - a list of swimmers and what events they will swim

LANE - the specific area in which the swimmer is assigned to swim

LANE LINE - continuous floating markers attached to a line stretched from the starting end to the turning end for the purpose of separating each lane

SCRATCH - Removing a swimmer’s name from the roster for that meet's date before the final lineup is made

First Thing: Check it Out/Settle In

 

~ Swimmer find your team. Find the swim lineup

~Swim Lineups are posted to notify the swimmers of which events they will swim.

~Each race is divided into 3 parts, Event/Heat/Lane. The Events swum are Freestyle, Breaststroke, Butterfly, Backstroke, Individual Medley

 

~Some events run faster than others. During a meet, the swimmer must line up in his/her appropriate lane one or two Events prior to his/her scheduled event. They will not hold the event to find the swimmer. If your swimmer misses it, he/she will NOT have the opportunity to make it up.

Stay Alert and Cheer Them On!

~CHEER! them on, congratulate, but never, NEVER coach. Our coaches ask that each athlete comes directly to them after his/her race so that they can tell them how to do better, congratulate them, whatever is necessary. The main thing is that your athlete realizes that he/she is there to beat his/her own times and if in doing so he/she also beats other athletes, well then! What an achievement! But pouting, getting angry, scowling, crying and worst of all bragging is unsportsmanlike conduct and parents must avoid it at all costs! Try to teach your swimmer to be a good sport & to congratulate the swimmer who wins. Someday it will be your child's turn to be the one congratulated and boy, does it feel good!