What I Learned This Week! Swim Meets!

Coaching the youngest of our swimmers, there is a staged progression of learning. When we have to stop that to perform at a swim meet, it's like taking a test before you've had a chance to even be presented with the material.[embed]https://vimeo.com/188036560[/embed]It's one of the reasons I love this book SO much - The Little Book of TalentWe are in the middle of a few processes to alleviate boredom, but trying as best as possible to follow progressions that will teach swimmers the skills they'll use when they're 16 and older. Having to pause the process for a swim meet, and even have them enter events they're simply not ready for just seems to get in the way.Here's a standard understanding of JUST the basics in freestyle we're starting with - Steve Haufler - Freestyle Basics CourseI TOTALLY get why we want to keep them in swim meets... it's the purpose of the sport. However, we have to communicate to parents and the swimmers why we only want to enter events we're prepared for. If that means they don't swim all events... so be it. There is plenty of time when the swimmer is 8-9 or 10 to get the full plate of events. It's not a race to see who swims the most events... it's a race to see who masters the skills they'll use forever.