Reinforcing Commitment
The next key to success is making the kind of commitments that help you reach your goal. How many times a week are you going to practice? How hard are you willing to work? Don’t make your commitments week by week. Make them for the long haul and make them ahead of time. Then stick with them. While adolescent swimmers only need an occasional reminder, youngsters may need something more. “This is where parents come in,” said Bowman. Their supporting role not only provides the time, finances and energy that drives swimmers to practice and equips them with goggles, fins and other tools of the trade, it provides the emotional backbone needed to keep commitments.Bowman spoke from experience.“I remember times as a young swimmer when I would say, ‘I’m not going to practice today.’ My mother would tell me, ‘You are going to practice because you made a commitment.’ Then I would say, ‘I’m going to quit.’ And she would counter, ‘You can quit at the end of the season.’But when the end of the season rolled around, Bowman found he had developed a very different attitude. “Because I went to all the practices, I always did better and never wanted to quit at the end of the season,” he said, chuckling. “I’m no different than many of you. Everyone has times when they don’t want to follow through. I’m here to tell you to keep going,” he said.
 Here is a great link to many questions parents might have:
http://www.usaswimming.org/USASWeb/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=497&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en