What made the biggest difference for your swimmer when they were starting out?

[Anonymous]

When you stop nagging them about it. They will either want to develop or not. The more you nag, stand at the side of the pool screaming, the more you try to fit in with the cool swim parents they won't try.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When younger- stroke mechanics program. Technique can make a huge difference.

Then swimming at least 2 days a week in year round clubs and actually doing the meets. Meets matter. That is where you learn to really push and do do things like turns at full race pace, which make all the difference in summer swim.

Can you actually name the program? We've tried a bunch of local programs to get to this point and many were total rubbish (looking at you Norman Swim where no instruction occured). We've even tried a year of the developmental program of a club team and it was pretty terrible--parents on the team agree and say it gets better when you get to the full team. I'm running out of patience for driving my kid to weekly practices that aren't actually good.

Yes, stroke clinics don't always build strokes, even if they help with endurance. And once per week doesn't help with much of anything. Our DC made 3 big sequential jumps in the younger years:
1. Clinic-type swimming 3x/week (wanted to do it, and it was honestly not high-pressure; made significant progress but it was slow).
2. Non-tryout but still high-quality year-round club, regular (not developmental) level 2x/week (lots more progress).
3. Competitive tryout club 3x/week.
Now DC is literally off to the races. Winter swim is what makes the difference, and so does liking what they are doing. You have to find the right fit so that no one feels overburdened, especially but not exclusively DC. If you feel stressed and resent the drive or the wait time, DC will feel that too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you stop nagging them about it. They will either want to develop or not. The more you nag, stand at the side of the pool screaming, the more you try to fit in with the cool swim parents they won't try.

I promise I'm not nagging. I'm not a swimmer and so I have very little to say about what happens in practice. But I was frustrated to arrive at summer swim with a kid who has spent two years in AAC development groups (minis) and Norman Swim who spent zero time on starts, turns or butterfly. I expected those skills to be covered (at least to a basic level) for an 8-10 yo kid who is already legal in all four strokes. Kid seems to have done lots of endurance work with mediocre form and no actual instruction re form or skills.

[Anonymous]

I have found year round swim works more on endurance. To get good technique, you really need private lessons or a Swim with Beth type program.

[Anonymous]

I'd also add that form work is down to the individual DC, as well. Mine clearly received good help this year in our competitive club in a variety of areas, but the real improvement came in DC's favorite stroke and not in their least favorite!

[Anonymous]

General athleticism. They're falling off now that they're older and don't do club swim, but it was enough when they were younger to medal in divisionals and be on the cusp of all stars (made it twice)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you stop nagging them about it. They will either want to develop or not. The more you nag, stand at the side of the pool screaming, the more you try to fit in with the cool swim parents they won't try.

I promise I'm not nagging. I'm not a swimmer and so I have very little to say about what happens in practice. But I was frustrated to arrive at summer swim with a kid who has spent two years in AAC development groups (minis) and Norman Swim who spent zero time on starts, turns or butterfly. I expected those skills to be covered (at least to a basic level) for an 8-10 yo kid who is already legal in all four strokes. Kid seems to have done lots of endurance work with mediocre form and no actual instruction re form or skills.

Same. DC did a year of stroke & turn with a club clinic where they spent very little time on the breast & fly. I just saw them do endless laps of freestyle. Endurance is good. DC is still not fully legal in the latter two and that seems to be holding them up from making a team, so very frustrating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After first full year of club swim. Kids who are only swimming in the summer are unlikely to make that leap, though there are exceptions.

+1

For all three of my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:General athleticism. They're falling off now that they're older and don't do club swim, but it was enough when they were younger to medal in divisionals and be on the cusp of all stars (made it twice)

I'm fairly certain that neither of my kids are born naturals, but I have seen them both improve quickly with good instruction.

For instance my 7 yo had never swam breast at the beginning of last season--she had only had county swim lessons and had only learned free and back. Her summer team (while pretty good) happened to have a gap in girl 8u breast stroke and her coach decided to put her in Divisionals for breast stroke. Coaches worked with her for about two weeks during practice and she went from not knowing the stroke at all to winning her heat at Divisionals. She wasn't close to winning overall, but did very respectably for a 7 yo. It's still her best stroke. I wish they'd do the same with her other strokes and give her explicit instruction, but I know that's too much to ask of a summer swim team with many kids. I think both my kids are coachable. They just need direct instruction.

[Anonymous]

Once he got the basic stroke mechanics, my DS's first big drop in time came when he figured out the turns. That took him from a strictly B meet swimmer mid-season to the top 5 at divisionals just a couple weeks later.

The next big drop had something to do with the underwater portion at the start. I'm not a swimmer and don't know exactly what the change was - I think it was how he was kicking? Anyway, he dropped another 5-10 seconds from that tweak.

Since then, it's been shaving a fraction of a second here and there from strength and form. The turns and the starts were the biggest single-item effects.

[Anonymous]

Find a coach at your summer team that knows your kid and do a few lessons focused on technique and starts and turns. Also, playing "Sharks and Minnows" and such in the deep end for littles will build endurance. Don't discount attending every practice, and out of water stuff like pick up basketball or bike riding.

[Anonymous]

Natural feel for the water matters a lot more than most parents understand or want to believe. It can be related to general athleticism, but there are people who are great swimmers but not good at other sports because of their feel for the water. Conversely there are great athletes who look like they’re fighting with the water. A kid with no talent isn’t going very far even with hard work. A kid with tons of talent who doesn’t think about what they’re doing at practice will often plateau and quit. The ones with some talent who also work hard can go very far if they realize the importance of being mindful while practicing. It’s little things like body positioning, tightness of the streamline, the angle of the hands and feet during the execution of the strokes. These things can be taught, but some people just start with a better feel that they can build on. You have to truly love the feeling of being in the water and sort of connecting with your body in that way. Good coaches teach technique, but kids with both talent and mindfulness will have the most success. My own kids have some things they naturally do well, but they don’t think about what they’re doing so they probably won’t ever be really good. It is what it is.

[Anonymous]

After first year of club swim they were significantly faster in summer swim. After second year even more so.

[Anonymous]

Private lessons for a reputable instructor is the way to go in the beginning. Technique, Technique, Technique! After ALL four competitive stokes are learned you can try out for a age group for endurance. You will still need some tech lessons from your private instructor but endurance during winter months is a must if your child to have the tools to be successful year round and have a great summer swim season. Those that skip the Technique part will be eternally in B meets and eventually drop out when they never get into an A meet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After first full year of club swim. Kids who are only swimming in the summer are unlikely to make that leap, though there are exceptions.

This and other comments on the benefits of a 9-month club swimming. What will distinguish different clubs is their approach/process to developing a swimmer across all 4 strokes, turns, starts, and endurance with consistency. Be skeptical of club programs that offer a 3-month option; flexibility/pricing sounds great but don't expect your swimmer to have the same level of progression if any at all.