QUESTION:
Hi, my 13 yr old daughter is training for her first age nationals in the 100 back. She qualified in a time of 1.09.32
My husband and I have no swimming experience and feel a bit lost in this world.
I know my daughter has done really well to get to here, but there are so many girls ahead of her and capable of swimming multiple events that I wonder if its possible to bridge the gap?
J
ANSWER:
Hi J,
Congratulations to your daughter. Qualifying for Age Nationals is a fantastic achievement for any swimmer and a great step forward for your daughter’s swimming.
The experience she will gain at Age Nationals this year will assist her motivation for future years.
In regards to ‘so many girls ahead of her’, a great goal is to aim to improve your ranking at Age Nationals. For example if a swimmer is ranked 42nd and they swim a time at the meet that ranks them 38th, then their ranking has improved and they are beginning to ‘close the gap’. At Age Nationals an improvement of half a second in some events will move you up the rankings by 10 places or more.
Once swimmers get a taste of swimming at this level they often go on to qualify in multiple events and get more confident racing at this level.
To learn more about being a parent of a swimmer at this level make sure you read www.SwimmingForParents.com as the information in the book will assist you a lot.
Good luck at Age Nationals.
Regards
Gary
The Swimming Expert
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