Worst swimmer on the team
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Anonymous
| What encouragement would you give to an 11-year-old who's the slowest and not improving quickly enough for them? They do love it and don't want to quit, but they're embarrassed. |
Anonymous
| I would look to transfer to another team. |
Anonymous
| Lots of praise for working hard and, when relevant, for dropping any time at all. Also encourage them to be an active participant--cheering for their teammates (especially the younger kids, if that's easier than cheering for their classmates). When it comes to the end of the season, these are the sorts of kids recognized for their positive attitudes, but it can be tough to develop the thick skin that can get them there. |
Anonymous
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I’d focus on the things they like and kind of downplay the slow part while acknowledging that they are dealing with something hard. You can also tell relatable stories about how you were once in a similar situation and made it through. Humor helps too.
Kid: practice was awful. I’m so slow! You: I bet it’s frustrating not being as fast as the kids who have been swimming forever. But I’m so impressed you’re trying so hard. It’s going to be so great to see how much faster your times are at the last meet than they were at time travels. Kid: I hate being slow! You: but it was fun to hang out at the pool with Jake and Larlo, right? so glad swim team means you get so much time with your friends! Kid: Everyone is so much faster than me. It’s embarrassing! You: Did I ever tell you about the time I tried..[x]? All my friends were so much better than me and [insert something embarrassing]. I felt so [emotion]. I bet swimming feels kind of like that for you sometime. But you know what? I kept doing it and [good outcome]. I never was great at it but I still had so much fun with my friends and am glad I stuck with it. (Bonus points if you make it funny and lighthearted and somewhat self deprecating. Kids need to know that it’s okay not to be the best and sometimes laughing at yourself is okay) |
Anonymous
| My dd was the slowest on the team when she was 11. It was frustrating. She had beautiful technique but she wasn’t fast. After puberty she got taller and stronger and now she will be swimming D1! |
Anonymous
Wonderful for her, but you have to realize this is not typical. |
Anonymous
| Focus on the fun (themes!) and remind them they are racing themselves - if you are dropping time you are winning! |
Anonymous
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Remind them that the real focus is to become a strong and safe swimmer. You do that by swimming all the practices. They may be slow for their age group on the team, but they are very fast compared to kids who are not on swim teams.
My kids did summer swim teams and none even swam in high school. All became very strong swimmers and are very happy now that we made them do it. |