10 Things I Learned from Swim Moms

Courtesy: Elizabeth Wickham

I was so fortunate to have amazing swim moms on my children’s team when I was a newbie. They took me under their wings and taught me the ropes around the pool. We stayed friends years after our kids graduated from the team and have long phone conversations to this day. They shared their favorite volunteer jobs at meets. They helped me through the elementary and high school years by telling me about great teachers and when to schedule SAT tests. They even helped with college recruiting. I hope everyone has such helpful moms around them, too.

Here are 10 things about swimming that I learned from swim moms:

ONE

All kids progress at different rates. Don’t compare your kids to other swimmers.

TWO

When kids get older, it doesn’t matter when their birthday falls on the calendar. Aging up won’t be as big of a deal as it when they’re young.

THREE

You don’t need to buy an expensive tech suit for your kids when they are young. Wait until they are teens (USA Swimming and LSCs are taking care of this point!)

FOUR

Don’t put your expectations on your child’s performance. Don’t put too much emphasis on their times.

FIVE

Make sure your children rest between prelims and finals. A trip to a theme park or a big heavy meal in the middle of the day won’t be great for fast swims in the evening.

SIX

If your child has a decent score on their SAT or ACT’s and is getting a swim scholarship, don’t make them retake the tests over and over to get higher scores.

SEVEN

When you look at colleges, make sure your swimmer can see themselves at the school with or without swimming. Kids can get injured or may decide to quit.

EIGHT

When kids plateau in their best events, suggest they talk to their coach about swimming off events for a few meets. They may improve greatly in strokes and events they haven’t swum for a while.

NINE

Cheer for lots of swimmers besides your own. Be interested in how other kids are doing.

TEN

Enjoy every moment. Create memories, friendships and have fun with your kids.

What are the best things you’ve learned from other swim moms?

Elizabeth Wickham volunteered for 14 years on her kids’ club team as board member, fundraiser, newsletter editor and “Mrs. meet manager.” She’s a writer with a bachelor of arts degree in editorial journalism from the University of Washington with a long career in public relations, marketing and advertising. Her stories have appeared in newspapers and magazines including the Los Angeles Times, Orange County Parenting and Ladybug. You can read more parenting tips on her blog: http://bleuwater.me/.