The Swimming Expert

For many parents having a “swimmer” in the family is not something they planned.  Most swimmers begin in a learn-to-swim program and progress through to advanced lessons. From there they are asked to complete a couple of sessions in a junior squad and before you know it they are entrenched and absorbed by the sport of swimming.  By this stage, parents begin to realise the commitment required by a swimmer to complete the necessary training and competitions offered in the sport.

As a swimmer I had the opportunity to observe my own parents first hand and how they managed me as a swimmer, and how they worked with, and communicated with my coaches.  I was also fortunate enough to be coached by three of the most talented and experienced swimming coaches in the world - Julie Dyring, Bill Sweetenham and Leigh Nugent.

As a coach for more than a dozen years I worked closely with swimmers of all ages and have been directly involved in the introduction of parents to the sport of swimming.

For a swimming parent, understanding the role of the coach, the role the parent is required to undertake, and the responsibilities of a swimmer is critical to ensuring a positive and successful experience for the whole family. Yes, the whole family is affected by having a swimmer in the family and learning how to balance your time and other family member’s needs around the swimming schedule can be a challenge.

Over the years I have observed many parents who are introduced to swimming for the first time when their child is promoted to a junior squad.

For most swimmers who train for competitions, the measurement of their improvement is through performance and parents are encouraged to understand the many different aspects to training and competitions in an effort to provide parents with a more complete understanding of the sport and what a swimmer is experiencing.

One of the aspects I love about swimming is that when swimmers compete, no one else can affect their performance.  They have their own lane and no one can tackle them, bowl them out, hit the ball past them or affect their performance in any way.  It is just the swimmer and the black line.

Children who choose to train and swim competitively learn so many life skills as they become more exposed to the sport.

In general their grades improve at school, their time management skills improve and they learn how to win and how to lose with grace.  They are introduced to goal setting and taking responsibility for themselves.  They are also exposed to the concept that if you work hard on a skill and commit to doing something correctly over and over again, it will improve.

‘Swimming for Parents’ is a vital resource for all swimming parents.  The book, available also as an eBook with instant delivery, is a lifelong project that draws on many of my experiences as a swimmer, coach, swimming administrator and now as a parent of young children who enjoy swimming.

This book has been written to educate parents of junior and teenage swimmers and has sold more than 3000 copies all over the world.

The second edition is now available at www.SwimmingForParents.com.

QUESTION:

Hi Gary, My name is Canis. Firstly i would like to thank you for the Swimming Expert website you have. I found alot of interesting topics & tips to advance my swimming.

Gary, i have a question & i hope you can give me some tips on this matter.

What will be the best thing to do if you have some hours break between your prelims & final? For example, if your prelims is in the morning & you have around 4 – 5 hours untill warm up for your final.

So, what will be the best thing to do within the break? Will it be good if you sleep? Will it be good if you look up again your prelims video & find out what to change for final or visualitation while looking some other elite swimmer swimming on the utube?

Thank you Gary. Canis

ANSWER:

Hi Canis and thanks for your feedback on the Swimming Expert website and also for your ‘Likes’ on www.facebook.com/TheSwimmingExpert

The break between prelims (or heats) and finals is so important for swimmers.  It gives you time to recover from the prelim session and regenerate before swimming in the finals session, usually held in the evening. A good meal as soon as possible after heats (see www.NutritionForSwimmers.com for some great hints on what to eat) and either a sleep or good rest can really help you perform at your optimum in finals.  Having a good rest is especially important if you are swimming in a multi day meet and have to get up and perform in prelims and finals for more than 2 days.

In regards to having a sleep during the day, this is practised by most elite swimmers and usually an hour to 1 1/2 hours is sufficient to regenerate for finals .  If you sleep for too long (more than 1 1/2 to 2 hours) it can be hard to wake your body up properly for finals and it also makes it harder to get to sleep at night, so each individual will need to experiment with the ideal amount of sleep for them.

If you get the chance to have a look at the video of your heat swim then look for areas that you can improve.  It may be your start, turn or finish or something to do with your stroke.  It is ideal to look at your video with your coach, so that they can provide feedback to you.

Finally, taking the time to watch how the best swimmers in the world race can be both motivational and also can assist your learning and development.

Good luck with your swimming Canis.

Regards, Gary

QUESTION:

Hi Gary,

Re- swimming training: Are there any excercises that my son Liam would be doing for rugby league that would hinder  his swimming development. I understand that in athletics for instance, certain coaches suggest that swimming for example may counteract against a runners development – I believe that this is regards to certain muscle development?

Regards Brett

ANSWER:

Hi Brett,

This is an area I have experienced only with AFL players and below are my thoughts.

Swimming is a great sport to develop all areas of the body.  This includes the development of a strong upper body, especially around the shoulders.  Swimming requires flexibility and swimmers often do exercises to keep their joints flexible so that they maintain a full range of motion when they are swimming.  Swimming provides athletes with a very strong aerobic system and their fitness is normally a huge asset for running based sports.

Sports like AFL and rugby require athletes to develop muscle and ‘thicken up’ especially around the shoulder and knee joints to avoid injuries when tackled or changing direction quickly.  For example, when they are tackled they want to ensure that their shoulders don’t just pop out on impact.  It is therefore important that they are not too flexible around the joints.

The primary way swimming may counteract a runners development from my point of view is that swimming develops the upper body with strong muscles and definition.  From my observations, track athletes are normally quite fine through the upper body so there is less weight to carry around the track.

That’s probably the extent of my knowledge Brett and others may be able to add their comments below.

Regards Gary

The Swimming Expert

QUESTION:

Hi,   The current temperature at our swim centre is about 31.5deg.  There is talk about it increasing to about 33 as it also caters to hydrotherapy patients.

My question is, with all of our squad swimmers (including my daughter) training for 1.5 hours at a time, and already complaining about the heat, are there any health issues we should be aware of should the temp go up to 33?  And is it already an issue with the temp at 31.5?

Thanks. Taina

ANSWER:

Hi Taina,

My experience is that most swimmers feel uncomfortable swimming in water of a temperature above 30 degrees.  While many squads practice in pool temperatures up to 31.5 degrees Celsius there would not be many swimmers asked to practice in water warmer than this.

For younger swimmers who have not fully developed the ability to sweat, swimming in warm water for a period of time will cause the body to overheat and give them the feeling of nausea or headaches. This can be dangerous for them.

Prolonged swimming in hot water for swimmers of any age can lead to dangerous dehydration and overheating even for the very fit swimmers.

My opinion is that practicing in a pool of 33 degrees C could be very dangerous for some swimmers.  Many swimmers may also struggle with water temperatures above 30 degrees.

Regards Gary

The Swimming Expert

QUESTION:

I have a 8 year old girl and a 9 year old boy.

They get entered into galas having to swim 800m as well as 200m IM, 100m freestyle, up to 7 or 8 races at a time. Is this very good for them?

As a parent I would like to ask the question, at what age is it healthy/unhealthy to make kids swim such big distances so young?

Thanks AJ

ANSWER:

Hi AJ,

Seven to eight races in a single day is a lot for a young swimmer, especially if there are one or two longer distance swims in there.

“Is this good for them?”  It really depends how they cope on the day.  To me the number of races seems a bit excessive for this age group and in my coaching experience I often found 4 to 5 good quality races would be the right number.

In regards to young children swimming 800m swims, I believe this is fine and so long as they are using correct technique, will be beneficial for them over time.  I’m not sure they need to do them all the time, as swims like this can also have the opposite affect and turn some children away from swimming – especially those who just like to race short distances or have short concentration spans.

The other benefit of doing a few 800m races is that those swimmers who practice on a regular basis will often perform better and see improvements in their times than those swimmers who turn up for practice irregularly and do not always put in a solid effort.

Some swimming coaches would even argue that children at a young age should only be allowed to race 200m events upwards because the 50 and 100 metre events can often reward the early developers who are stronger  at a young age, whilst the distance events reward the children who put in a consistent effort at practice.

Regards

Gary

The Swimming Expert

QUESTION:

Hi, I am 15 years old and I quit swimming 2 years ago.

I have still done swimming in between but now with a club and at a competitive level.

Now I want to get back into swimming but I have very low endurance, how would you suggest that I improve?

Sarah

ANSWER:

Hi Sarah,

I would begin Sarah doing 3 x 1 hour sessions a week and then 2 weeks later do 3 x 1 1/2 hour sessions for 2 weeks.  Once you are comfortable doing this, you should increase to 4 x 1 1/2 hour sessions and work towards doing 5 x 1 1/2 to 2 hour sessions in the following month.

By gradually increasing the length of each training session and the number of sessions you do each week, your endurance levels will improve over time.

If you went straight into 5 x 2 hour sessions a week, you risk injury and may do too much, too early and not be able to sustain it.

If you are then serious about competive swimming, at 15 years of age, you will need to then increase the number of sessions you do each week to 7-8 and be guided by your coach on any additional swimming and dryland work.

When you are only doing 3 to 5 sessions per week, other activities like walking or bike riding will also assist you to improve your aerobic fitness.

Regards

Gary

The Swimming Expert

QUESTION:

Hello I’ve been swimming since I was 6 years old and I love it so much. I am 15 now and my times are not the best, I’d say okay, but I try my best to improve and I’m sure I will if I train a lot more. It’s also because I had to stop swimming for this past year and a half due to hard work I had at school and also because of a skin problem I had.

I am starting swimming again in september and I am willing to give it all I have to get back on track. So do I have a chance to get qualified for the 2016 olympics if I train more, or is it too late?

I live abroad, in Morocco, if that helps in any way. I am not part of the Moroccan swim team. My team swims 2 hours, 5 times a week. How can I do more? How can I get qualified if it isn’t too late? Thank you Hafsa

ANSWER:

Hi Hafsa, I have always encouraged swimmers to go after their dreams.

The key to you getting back into swimming is to start again and as soon as possible.  If you began swimming in the next week, I would suggest going for 3 x 1/2 hours swims for one week, followed by 3 x 1hr swims the following week.  Each week build up the amount of swimming you are doing until you are doing at least 5 x 1 hr swims a week.  If you can do this through August and early September, you will be semi-prepared to begin back doing the 5 x 2hr sessions with your swim team.

Once you are back into full training for 6 months you will need to lift the number of sessions you do up to 7 or 8 sessions a week and ensure you have quality programs that include all the different components that you need to improve your speed, endurance and racing ability.

As far as qualifying for the Olympics, it will depend on how committed you are to training for the next 4 years, your talent levels and who you will be competing against.  You will have a much better idea in 2 years time when you have built a solid base of training and racing and will have a foundation to go after your goal then.

Regards

Gary

The Swimming Expert

QUESTION:

Hi, should my highly competitive 10 year old take a break from swimming?

What are the benefits of taking say 4 weeks off in the winter season, contrasted with swimming all year with only a couple of short one week breaks? Would a shorter break of say two weeks be better than 4?

She doesn’t want to stop swimming – she loves it and wants to train as much as possible as she thinks that will help her swim faster.

She normally trains 4 times a week for swimming. She plays and trains for netball and basketball many times a week and runs once a week most weeks as well, so she is pretty fit.

Where can we find out more information about how much training she should be doing?

Thanks for your help.  Leanne

ANSWER:

Hi Leanne,  Each swimming coach may have a different thought of when swimmers should have a break and for how long.

My personal thoughts are that children aged 10 years should have a minimum 6 - 7 weeks off a year to allow their body to recover from the training and assist it to grow and develop without the requirements of daily training.  This can be taken in different ways however I would encourage at least one period each year of a minimun 3 weeks off and then possibly a couple of 1 to 2 week breaks during the year.  Other coaches have had great success by giving swimmers shorter periods of rest more often, so there is no set rule.  If a swimmer has a break for 4 weeks, I would recommend having a swim in week 3 and then a couple of swims in week 4 to gradually get back into it and make sure they dont lose too much feel of the water.

On top of this, there may be times when your child is sick during the year and it is important that they recover fully from any sickness so that their immune system can cope with the training that they are doing.  This may mean missing a few sessions and then gradually getting themselves back into training over a one week period.

If you haven’t already, I would suggest buying Swimming for Parents as this book will answer many questions you will currently have and will have in the future about your daughters swimming and her progression in the sport.

Regards

Gary

The Swimming Expert