The Swim
Why is the swim marathon mandatory?
We talk about how the funds raised
by the swim marathon help the YWCA to continue to provide healthy aquatic
programming as well as support those who are victims of violence and racial
injustice. In addition to raising critical funds for the YW, however, the
swim marathon is an important annual measure of how all of our swimmers are
progressing.
In what way does the swim marathon measure
a child’s swimming development?
When preparing for practice daily
and placing swimmers within practice groups from season to season, it is
necessary for us to see how ongoing swimmers meet this challenge each year.
Swimmers are placed into groups based on stroke mechanics, how many seasons
they’ve been on the team, maturity level, commitment level (practice frequency)
and endurance/aerobic capacity. It doesn’t matter how fast someone swims the 50
free (or any particular event) or what place they come in at a meet in any
event (not a controllable). Keep in mind the following – even though best times
and places at a meet are used to motivate and as tools to teach, they are in no
way a true indicator of swimming development/improvement. A few of the best
indicators of swimming improvement are the following; keeping swim mechanics
together with increased workload, repeating sets at faster interval levels
(usually senior training) and swimming longer distances in fixed amount of
times – the swim marathon.
The very nature of swimming from the
very beginning levels (tadpoles, bullfrogs …) to upper swim team levels is to
help swimmers become comfortable being uncomfortable – physically, socially,
emotionally, and psychologically. When children find themselves challenged in
one of these areas, it is an opportunity for them to grow and mature not only
as a swimmer but as a person. I often see parents take these opportunities to
learn and grow away from their child because of the fear of them hurting,
feeling disappointment and/or failing. But putting children in these types of
situations and challenging them to keep going even when they want to quit is
one of the most valuable teaching tools we have.
It is normal for both parents and
their swimmers to be anxious before the swim, but each year both parents and
swimmers come away with an appreciation for how far they have come in a year
and a realization that they are capable of far more than they thought possible.
For swimmers, parents and coaches alike, it is one of the most exciting and
gratifying events of the year.
If you are interested, there are a
number of articles on the USA Swimming website, www.usaswimming.org (click on the
"parents" tab) which help provide additional insight on many aspects
of swimming development. If you have any additional questions or concerns,
please feel free to contact me or talk to your child’s coach. Thanks.
Pete