By Jeff D. Opdyke Sometimes parents see what they want to see. And in doing so, they miss a lot. Case in point: my long-held belief that my son, now 14 years old, loves soccer. Turns out, I was wrong. After the fall season ended, he announced his retirement. He finally told me that while …
Category Archive: Parent Newsletter
Sending the Coach to Nationals: Thoughts for Everyone – December 26, 2011
Guy Edson, ASCA Staff* When you read the title above you may think “this article has nothing to do with me and my child.” But it has everything to do with you and your child, especially children in the developmental groups. Here is what we are talking about: The club should have an expense line …
Lessons From the Movie, The Sandlot – January 2, 2012
Allan Kopel What makes for a great swimming race? A fast start. Great entry. Explosive breakout. Correct stroke rate. Balanced splits. It is important to learn about, rehearse and refine all aspects of a race. It takes patience, persistence, focus, execution, correction, repetition, more correction and more repetition for each to become refined and part …
Being on the Team vs. Being a Teammate – January 9, 2012
Compiled by John Leonard from InSideOut Coaching by Joe Ehrmann Being on the team benefits your personal goals and ambitions. Being a teammate benefits the goals and ambitions of your team and your teammates. Being on the team can make you a bystander. Teammates intervene in the lives and actions of their teammates. Being on …
Seven Habits of Saintly Swim Parents – January 16, 2012
Orlando S. Anaya, Mokihana Aquatics, Hawaii Habit 1. Getting Your Swimmers To Practice Regularly And On Time. With multiple-job families, single-parent families, and just “being a family,” it is sometimes very hard to get your swimmers to practice every day and on time. The first rule of improvement is “show up!” A great swim parent …
Real Information – December 19, 2011
John Leonard In today’s world, information is easy to come by. Informed, educated by experience, scientifically based information from a reliable source, much less so. When exploring the topic of how to prepare swimmers for a long and successful career, this becomes remarkably problematic. An internet search of “Swim Training” will find someone (let’s call …
6 Rules of Good Nutrition – December 14, 2011
6. Never Skip Breakfast: Yes, mornings are crazy. But they’re also our best hope at regaining our nutritional sanity. A 2005 study synthesized the results of 47 other studies that examined the impact of starting the day with a healthy breakfast. Here’s what they found: People who skip breakfast are more likely to take up …
5 Questions Parents Can Ask Their Swimmer – November 28, 2011
Guy Edson 1. Are you a better swimmer today than you were yesterday? 2. Tell me something you did today that improved your ability? 3. Tell me something you appreciate about being around your teammates and your coach. 4. What life skill did you learn today that goes beyond the swimming pool? 5. Did you …
Motivation – November 21, 2011
Guy Edson, ASCA Staff and Senior Coach of a Club Team Years ago in the early days of MS Word and before the internet, I was writing an article on motivation when a squiggly red line showed up under the word “motivator.” I thought the proof editor was mistaken. I checked out Webster’s unabridged dictionary …
Trust Your Instincts – November 14, 2011
A letter to the editor from Mike Fitzgerald Mr. Leonard, I have been a lifetime member of ASCA since 1996. I coached until 2003 but have every intention of returning to the sport. Over the years, I have enjoyed your letters on-line and in the ASCA magazines. The recent sexual abuse scandal at Pennsylvania State …