Practice Protocol & Parents Meeting

In order to provide the best swimming environment for the swimmers and coaches, I ask that all parents and siblings NOT sit anywhere on the immediate deck space surrounding the pool. This includes the bleachers, concrete benches, in front of the bath house, and around the diving boards.

For the coaching staff to be successful in working with your children, it is essential that the swimmers realize that being part of the swim team involves responding to and focusing on the coaches. Having parents and siblings so close is very distracting and can defeat the coaches' best efforts to engage directly with your child. I understand that parents with younger swimmers may fear leaving their children in this environment, however, we do have a lifeguard on duty and at least 4-5 certified coaches on the pool deck at all times, for absolute safety. Quite honestly having fewer bodies and distractions on the pool deck will result in a less hectic environment and better enable us to ensure your children's safety and their development as a swimmer. For those parents that choose not to or cannot go home during practice, there is plenty of space on the concrete benches surrounding the other two pools, on the picnic tables in the grassy area, and also up in the snack bar area. This is from the moment your child arrives at the pool until their practice is finished. I ask that you respect this decision and save us the time and effort it would take for us to remind you of this new rule on a daily basis.

If you have any questions or comments, I am available by phone or after practice is over, but absolutely not during the practice, because my attention has to be solely focused on the swimmers and the other coaches. This also includes not approaching or talking to any member of the coaching staff, which is why staying off of the pool deck is so vital. It is a small community and we all know each other, so please help me by allowing the coaching staff to focus all of their attention on the swimmers in the pool.

This pre-season time is very difficult as we only have a short amount of time to use to the pool and can be very confusing for new swimmers and their parents, so I appreciate your cooperation. Also, when you're new to the team, the beginning of the season can be an overwhelming time for parents to understand the ins and outs of the swim team - gathering in other areas can provide an opportunity for more seasoned parents to help mentor new families and answer the many questions new members have when joining the swim team.

8 & Under Parents:

If your child has been screened or will be screened within the next two days, a final list will be posted, along with their practice times by the beginning of next week. If you were encouraged to bring your child back for another screening, please do so. If your child does not initially make the team, please come talk to me and I can recommend an appropriate course of action towards lessons. Sometimes simple swim lessons do not prepare a child for what is expected in order to be successful on the swim team. I can help guide you to the proper personnel that will have the ability to lead your child to fulfill the necessary swim team expectations.

 

---

 

Parent's meeting notes TBS