TEN COMMANDMENTS OF A SWIM TEAM PARENT

 1.    Help your child strive for his or her personal best; do not impose your ambitions on your child.

 2.    Be supportive at all times!  The question you need to ask your child is "Did you have FUN?"

 3.    Do not coach your child.  Your job is to support, love and hug your child no matter what happens.

 4.    Always cheer on your child with positive statements.

 5.    Acknowledge your child's fears.  A first swim meet (whether a “B” meet or a first competition in an "A" meet) can be an extremely stressful situation.

 6.    Please do not criticize the officials.  It is a difficult job, by volunteers, attempting to do the best they can.  (Note: If you think you can do as well as the meet officials, we would love to get you involved!).

 7.    Please do not criticize the coaches, especially in public.  Respect is essential in building the strong bond between the coaches and swimmers.  The coaches work hard, so let them do their jobs.  If you feel there is a problem, we ask that you utilize appropriate means of communication.

 8.    Stress other goals than winning.  Competitive swimming begins as an individual quest for self-improvement.  Whether it’s a better time, improvement of a weak stroke, or mastery of a new stroke, there are many ways to succeed.    Small successes eventually lead to larger ones.

 9.    Do not expect that your child will swim in the Olympics.  If your child makes it to a high school swim team, the odds are still thousands-to-one against making the Olympics.

 10. Remember to stress FUN, FUN, FUN!!!!  Regardless of the outcome, summer swim teams provide wonderful opportunities for camaraderie, close friendships, and great exercise.    Swimming is always successful in these areas.