Archive for Age Group
Summer is a time for kids in traditional schools to have fun. But you don’t want them to sit at home, inside playing video games or watching shows all day on the TV. For those who have community pools, it’s not that hard for kids to get physical activity by romping around in the water. However, many people do not have pools that are accessible without paid memberships so they can’t frequent the pool.
By joining a summer swim team, you are giving your child a healthy activity which is fun and healthy.
Generally, summer sporting activities are expensive and don’t last very long. The summer swimming season kicks in right when area schools get out and is completed right before school starts back so you don’t have to worry about what to do with the kids on off weeks. It is an activity that is fun, social and healthy. It can introduce your child to competing in a sport without the pressure of a club team.
If your child has expressed interest in year round swimming, this is the perfect way to ‘test the waters’. In fact, my son started on a summer swim team and started year round swimming as a result. He has swum year-round ever since.
- Swimming is an excellent form of exercise
- The cost of participation in a summer swim team is very reasonable
- A summer swim team introduces young people to swimming in a non-threatening way
- Allows for a great deal of social interaction
- All swimming skill levels can participate
- Builds self esteem
For more information about summer swim teams in your area, you can check out local community recreation centers, the area YMCA or some year round teams offer summer swimming clinics and/or teams.
For swimming equipment or gear, I would recommend checking eBay for NEW items or ordering online somewhere like SwimOutlet where there are always great deals. Many stores are expensive and have a lot of impulse items you have to maneuver through to get to what you need.
Filed under: Age Group, Basics, Health, Uncategorized | |1 Comment
We’ve all heard about athletic events held to raise money to support important causes. The sport of swimming is another great avenue for supporting non-profits. Our year round and summer teams have participated in several donation-raising opportunities.
It’s easy to coordinate a cause-related event (often called swim-a-thons). It can be a local, national or global cause. You can hold the event during a normal practice. Swimmers can collect donations based on laps completed or distance swum during a specific time period. Businesses are typically very willing to donate as are family members and neighbors.
We had a student from a high school organize a fund-raiser called “Laps for Life” to raise scholarship money in memory of a swimmer who died in a car accident. He had been drinking and the parents wanted to use the event to promote awareness among young people of the dangers of underage drinking and driving while intoxicated. Local businesses, swimmers, family members and neighbors donated to the cause.
Your club or team can raise money for causes like breast cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, animal welfare, environmental issues. There are numerous opportunities. So think about organizing an event around the sport of swimming. It can make a difference.
A few upcoming opportunities that have already been organized and only require your participation:
Make a Splash, Make a Difference! Swim for the Severn!
Annapolis, Maryland
Saturday, August 2nd
www.severnriverkeeper.org
Weymouth Bay Swim
British Heart Foundation
Sunday, August 9th
The National Kidney Research Fund
On-going (organize your own swimathon)
Emma Dowler on 01384 340783 or email emma.dowler@nkrf.org.uk
www.nkrf.org.uk
Aspire – the UK’s leading spinal injury charity
THE ASPIRE CHANNEL SWIM 2009
Monday 14th September – Sunday 6th December 2009
http://www.aspire.org.uk/channelswim/
Aaron Peirsol’s Race for the Oceans
Fort Myers Beach in Fort Myers, Fla.
October 10-11, 2009
www.racefortheoceansevent.com
Filed under: Age Group, Swim News, tips | |No Comments
You swim your heart out in an event you have not dropped time in for several meets and you get your best time by shaving 3 seconds! This great swim can instantaneously become a heartache when your name is at the bottom of the event results and marked with a DQ (disqualification).
Disappointment over a DQ is natural and walking away from the DQ with a positive attitude is difficult, but necessary, in the development of a swimmer.
A few points to ponder:
- You can still be proud of your effort in spite of a DQ. A disqualification in an event at a swim meet along with poor effort will always be a double failure; a DQ with max effort is something you can be proud of. Mistakes are inevitable…effort is a decision.
- The technical issue(s) that caused you to be DQ’d in the first place can be addressed at practice and should be put aside until after any upcoming events have been swum.
- If you take a DQ as merely a failure, you are overlooking the lesson(s) to be learned. After you address the technical issues in practice and you make the conscious decision to give maximum effort, you are more likely to succeed and have it count the next time you swim the event.
If you got DQ’d on a backstroke turn, work on it in practice until you execute the flip turn legally and consistently. Continue practicing because repetition is key.
If you get disqualified because you are fatigued and throw in a few breaststroke kicks with the butterfly, work on your stamina. Build up until you are strong enough to swim the stroke without the illegal kicks.
If your error was in the touch turn and you were over vertical, work on that. In any kind of sport, your body will learn from repetition and your race elements will become a habit.
So, the next time you get disqualified at a swim meet, allow yourself to be disappointed, but don’t let it consume you, let it motivate you. Sometimes the bitter sweet moments have the most growth potential…and not just in swimming.
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Members of USA Swimming have a new tool available! Have you ever wondered what you are eating and how it maintains (or not) optimal training nutrition and a healthy body for peak performance on and off season?
With USA Swimming’s nutrition tracker tool, you can create a personal database of specific foods, nuttrition content, menus, recipes and more. A swimmer can evaluate a full day’s nutritional intake, track nutrition habits over a swim season or analyze how your diet is affecting your energy and nutrient intake.
Every serious swimmer knows that a consistently healthy diet is as important to training as regular practice. Your body cannot perform to its potential if it doesn’t have the proper fuel.
Check out the Nutrition Tracker on USA Swimming today. If you don’t have a membership, consider joining, There are many other useful tools available to members.
Benefits of a USA Swimming membership
Nutritional Supplements for Swimmers
Sports Nutrition Guidebook by Nancy Clark
Filed under: Age Group, Basics, Health, Nutrition | |No Comments
Those who have the privilege to be involved in swimming at a competitive or recreational level know first hand of the many benefits of swimming. It’s a low impact, healthy sport for all ages and fitness levels. It builds a strong work ethic because it requires self-discipline.
But, these swimmers can often overlook the fact that simply knowing how to swim can save lives. In our neighborhood a young boy drowned in a fountain only 2 feet deep. Unfortunately, swimming is not economically possible for many people in the United States.
USA Swimming is making a difference. The USA Swimming Foundation’s mission is to make swim lessons accessible to children who otherwise would remain helpless in situations requiring the skills to prevent drowning…USA Swimming Foundation, through it’s supporters and programs, saves lives by making swim lessons available to children of families who do not have the economic means to pay for swimming lessons.
So check out the Foundation’s website and save lives!
There are many opportunities to help. Sponsor lessons for a child, support one of the grassroots learn to swim programs in your area through “Make a Splash”, volunteer to become an instructor…just do something.
Cullen Jones “Making a Splash” and having fun…
Become a member of USA Swimming Foundation on Facebook!
Sponsor a series of swim lessons for a child!
Join Splash Nation! ($10 of membership will go to sponsor swim lessons and Speedo will donate $30 toward swim lessons for a child).
Article about Cullen on ESPN news
Filed under: Age Group, Basics, Health | |1 Comment
While the physical effects of anxiety or nervousness are similar to the feelings of a rush of adrenaline or being revved up for a race, the source of these emotions can have a great impact on the individual outcome of an event in a swim meet.
Being anxious is being fearful of what might happen. Being mentally prepared and physically pumped up for a race is being aware of where these emotions are coming from and how to tunnel these into positive motivators. This is what being mentally tough is all about.
USASwimming.com has a great series of articles coming up by sports psychologist, Aimee Kimball, PhD. The first article is “A is for Anxiety” and it outlines how to convert anxiety into a beneficial emotion rather than what can typically sabotage many swimmers.
Dr. Kimball talks about what swimmers should focus on before and during a race and explains why this is more effective than focusing on the “what-ifs”.
So…I would highly recommend visiting the USA Swimming website to check out her articles.
Another sports psychologist with some excellent material is Dr. Alan Goldberg. He is available for clinics and has done a presentation for our swim club which really pumped up and motivated our swimmers to work on their mental preparation. He teaches these same techniques to athletes of other sports as well. His training materials are available to teams or individual athletes.
Dr. Alan Goldberg
Dr. Goldberg was the sport psychology consultant to the 1999 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Champion University of Connecticut Huskies. He is the former Sports Psychologist for the University of Connecticut Athletic Department and continues to work with several teams. more…
Filed under: Age Group, tips | anxiety, mentally tough|No Comments
Swimmers with peanut allergies have a hard time finding alternatives to Power Bars and other nutritional snacks with the right combination of protein and carbs to enhance athletic performance. For kids in particular, it can be very frustrating. My son has peanut allergies and we have found some solutions that work for us.
AllerEnergy Bars (chocolate swirl, cherry, blueberry and apple cinnamon). These are not only peanut free, they are also Tree Nut Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Soy Free and Vegan.
Nut Butters (for those whose nut allergies are limited to peanuts)
- Soy Nut Butter (Contains 7g of protein per 2 tablespoons which is equivalent to the protein in two tbsp of peanut butter. You can mix this with a banana and while-wheat bread (if your swimmer will eat whole wheat). I.M. Healthy offers several yummy flavors (like honey) of peanut-free butter and is available at grocery stores like Lowe’s, Harris Teeter, etc.
- Futter’s Nut Butters has Almond, Pastachio, Macadamia, Walnut Butters and more: Futter’s Nut Butter and they are a completely peanut-free facility.
Try nut butters in granola bar recipes or to dip an apple in. Anything peanut butter can be used to make, there is a nut butter that can do it too.
Most of all, don’t give up on delicious energy packed snacks just because peanuts are off-limits. There are always alternatives if you know where to look and what you’re looking for.
Filed under: Age Group, Nutrition | bars, energy, Nutrition, peanut-free, peanuts|No Comments
Bilateral breathing is a bit contrary to the way most people work. We typically favor one side or the other. Think about handwriting. The majority of people use the right OR left hand. In baseball, switch hitters are the exception and teaching a child to shoot, do a lay-up or dribble with the non-dominant hand is quite an obstacle and takes a great deal of practice.
Bilateral breathing in swimming is the same. As you probably know, the sooner we teach a child something in athletics the better. It becomes increasingly difficult to teach a child to bilateral breathe when they have learned to breathe on only one side.
The next time you are coaching, or teaching a child to breathe while swimming, do them a favor. If they learn it earlier soon than later, they will easily be able to use different patterns based on the type of swimming they are doing (distance, middle-distance, or sprinting). Many swimmers have different patterns of breathing. 2-4-4-2, 1-1-2, etc.
Get the, started early – even if they choose a different pattern when they get older, they will have a solid foundation that will allow them to breathe in both directions and they will ultimately be more comfortable in the water!
Filed under: Age Group, Basics, tips | |No Comments
No matter what the occasion, you won’t have any problems finding the perfect gift for a swimmer. Ideas for swimmers include the basics (goggles and caps) as well as swimsuits, towels, equipment bags and instructional DVDs. And for the pickier swimmer, a gift card makes the perfect gift!
Here are a few of our team’s favorites:
Goggles – Cool!
Swimming goggles come in so many styles and colors that you are bound to find a pair that your child will LOVE and good ones start at only $9.95!
Swim Caps – Stylish!
Caps aren’t just for girls…some guys want to keep their longer hair, so swim caps are a necessity. The boys can swim fast and look good with so many great styles available. And there are so many choices for girls
Temporary Tattoos – Swim Themed, of course! 
No matter what your swimmer’s favorite event (butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle or IM, there is a swim tattoo to go along with it).
Swim Gear Bag – Wear it on your back!
Stylish Equipment Bag by Speedo will keep your wet equipment from getting your dry stuff soggy.
Instructional DVDs – Learn stroke technique from some of the best swimmers in the sport
Check out SwimOutlet.com for loads of gift ideas! Swimmers LOVE that kind of thing!
Filed under: Age Group, Basics, Swim Equipment, Swim Gear, tips | |No Comments
My son (AC) had a swim meet this weekend and we broke the “golden rule” of only taking one pair of goggles. Well, actually, I threw a pair of mine in there just in case. Fortunately, we made it through the meet with no goggle mishaps and without losing them.
But, we DID succeed in losing the goggles somewhere between the meet and home (or maybe they are in car).
Just last week, we realized that AC’s snorkel, pull buoy and streamline kick board were missing…as well as his backup pair of Jr. Vanquisher’s.
At any rate, looks like I’m heading over to SwimOutlet to get replacement goggles (AC’s favs are always on sale). But he may have to wait for the other equipment.
Wonder what the chances are of him paying me back when he’s old enough to work?
MORAL of the story: Even in the midst of the chaos of a swim meet, make sure you have EVERYTHING before you leave the pool deck. And…if you take equipment to the pool, keep it all together versus pulling it out of your swim bag and leaving it on the bench until practice is over. That way, (A) you won’t leave anything behind, and (B) hopefully nobody will walk off with your swimming gear!
Filed under: Age Group, Basics, Swim Equipment, tips | |No Comments
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