Aquatics

Playing sports also translates directly to improvements in physical and mental well-being and is also likely to help children learn in the classroom. Swimming has played an essential role in making me who I am — both in and out of the water. I am 16 and just finished my junior year of high school. […]

Be careful how we praise. If we praise our children for their gifts, such as brains or athletic talent, they may believe those qualities are fixed and cannot be changed. What is the mindset of a champion? “It goes by different names, but it’s the same thing. It’s what makes you practice, and it’s what […]

When you push a swimmer who is tight in their upper body to perform an Elbow Behind Ears streamline you will see excessive lumbar flexion. Streamlines are very important to swimming, as every swimmer needs to be proficient at it. This is because streamlines are universal and are required in all races — no matter the distances the […]

They inspire love of swimming through their actions and interactions. They look for teachable moments. These are just coaches you want to know whether they are in summer league or the NCAA. Thousands of articles have been written about the qualities of the best swim coaches and the shortcomings of the worst. If you’ve been […]

Kids are a good judge of where they stand amongst their peers in terms of ability and hard work. When they improve and get faster, chances are they will want to keep coming back. What are the motivating factors that keep our children interested in swimming? Why do they want to stick with a sport […]

The best scenario is a combination of talent and desire. Although having both talent and a strong work ethic is rare, these are the swimmers we see on top of the podiums throughout their high school, college and Olympic careers. We all have seen the naturally gifted kids at the pool. But what if our […]

Don’t bother to find out why — or what happened. After you’ve expressed your frustration about the coach to your swimmer, tell your child you’re going to have a word with the coach. During 15 years as a swim mom, I’ve watched parents make mistakes with the best of intentions. Maybe there are perfect swim parents […]

Don’t compare your swimmer to others on the team. There’s no positive outcome for anyone by doing this. I will confess. I haven’t been the perfect swim parent. I’ve learned from my mistakes, plus from watching other parents. If you’re an involved swim parent, you’ve seen interesting days on the pool deck, with new parents and more […]

To execute an awesome push and glide, swimmers must understand how deep they should go. In order to give you a solid answer on that, we need to explain a little bit about Force Plates. What is Normal ‘Ready’ Position? Normal “ready” position is defined as: Swimmers’ feet and knees are shoulder width apart, one hand should […]