Reply to Swimming observations from national age group championships

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As a former competitive swimmer, let me tell you OP that you are definitely That Mom, and the swimmers definitely catch on to it, and make fun of you and are weirded out by you. You’re not doing your kids any favors, believe me. Your reputation as That Mom will carry over onto them if you’re not careful.

It’s one thing when you come over to see your parents and someone else’s mom says, “Great job, Sarah!” Or “Hey, what’s your next event today?” It’s another thing when That Mom makes a pouty face and says, “Awwww, that’s OK Sarah, you’ll get your time down next time” or “Do you know why Coach chose Madison for the relay instead of you?” We knew you and clocked your type from a very young age. Trust and believe. You are fooling exactly no one.[/quote]

This is so true. In college my roommate's father was That Dad. She was so embarrassed by him. When we got to campus freshman year, some of the guys a year ahead of us who were from her home state recognized her dad and gave her a hard time about it. Apparently her dad really made his presence known at the swim meets while she was in high school. He wasn't an official or anything, just a very overinvolved parent bordering on creepy the way he would track how other kids were swimming.

I can still think of who "those parents" were from my own area. Their kids hated swimming by the end of HS. They were still very good but not where everyone thought they would be based on their early success. Their parents had killed their love of the sport by putting pressure on them to do the most intense practice groups/teams, always talk about swimming, etc. from a young age.[/quote]

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