What to Expect. . .From Signing Up For Swim Team

(Or, what did I get myself into?)
So, you signed your precious little one up for swim team, cautiously optimistic that they won’t have to be rescued on their first lap across the pool.

But, you are wondering, what’s it all about, Alfie? (If you don’t get my obscure cultural references, just pass them by.) Most importantly, your child will improve dramatically in swimming, just by practicing for real everyday.

It is most likely, unless your child is an undiscovered Mark Spitz, if this is their first season on swim team, they will be swimming in the Developmental Meets. These meets are for ALL swimmers on the team, and provide a fun environment for learning the ropes of swimming in a meet, rather than just in practice.

Your child should try swimming at least two different strokes during the meet (freestyle, backstroke, and/or breaststroke, with the potential for fly later on. Developmental meets are also a good place to volunteer. The easiest way to volunteer is to be a timer. You get to meet other parents, and have the opportunity to see and learn close up. And, timing is easy.

But don’t volunteer at YOUR first meet. Watch, enjoy, have fun. My oldest daughter Julia has been very successful at swimming for Mount Vernon Park, but at her first Developmental Meet (they were called “B” meets till that was deemed politically incorrect a few years ago), she (all of six years old) jumped in the water long after everyone else, swam well, and then stopped for a while to tread water and look around just before reaching the end. She finally touched as the timers beseeched her to finish what she started.

I didn’t know a thing about organized swimming, but I knew that being last in the water and dawdling at the end wasn’t what you want. So I took a whistle into the family room and we practiced starting and finishing. . .not because we have a pool in that room (or in any other room, for that matter). Instead, I had her jump off the one couch and run to the other side. While that might be a little compulsive on my part, it helped tremendously.

Beyond that, your main goal for your little Gator should be for them to improve their time from meet to meet. That means they are learning and improving, and soon they'll be swimming well enough you can actually read a book or play tennis while frequenting MVP.

Don't be concerned if your child DQ's (disqualifies) during a race. It happens to everyone (even Michael Phelps DQ'd, and he's done okay since then), and the coaches will work to improve your child's technique. DQs happen.