Three Tips for Swim Parents on When to Let Go
I spoke with Ron Aitken, Head Coach and CEO of Sandpipers of Nevada, a Gold Medal Club in USA Swimming’s Club Excellence Program. He is a former coach of 2016 Olympian, Cody Miller.
6 Things I’d Do Over as a Swim Parent
Do you ever look back and think, I wish I could have done that differently?
What Does It Mean to Let Your Child Take Ownership?
Here are a four questions to discover if we are giving ownership to our kids…
6 Amazing Things Swim Parents Do
Watching Olympic Trials, I loved the athlete interviews. I was especially impressed when swimmers thanked their parents. What wonderful people they are to acknowledge mom and dad during their moments of glory.
Three Tips for Swim Parents About Effort
As parents, we all want our kids to do their best. We want to see an honest effort from our kids at school and in the pool. Is there anything we can do to promote effort and a good work ethic?
6 Tips for Swim Parents About Last Ditch
How our swimmers react–whether they make the cut or not–depends in part on how we act as parents. Here are a few tips for parents about last ditch meets…
7 Parent Tips for When Your Swimmer Doesn’t Make the Cut
When your child doesn’t make the cut, you may dab a few tears from your eyes. Here are my tips for swim parents when your swimmer misses the big cut…
4 Swim Parents Tips to Beware the Green-Eyed Monster
There’s a monster on the pool deck—the “Green-Eyed Monster” of jealousy—most often seen between parents.
5 Swim Parent Tips for When Things Go Wrong
What could possibly go wrong? Well, just about anything and everything. Here’s a partial list of things that did go wrong during my years as a swim mom…
4 Questions for Swim Parents About Goals
What if a child and parent have completely different expectations? It’s guaranteed to be a sprint to disappointments and misunderstandings. Here are questions swim parents can ask themselves about goals for their swimmers…
10 Things I Notice While Swimming Masters
10 things I notice while swimming masters rather than cheering from the sidelines.
6 Swim Parent Tips About Hard Work
The ability to work hard carries over to other aspects in our lives. We might not reach our goals through hard work, but without it, we will fail.
4 Swim Parent Tips About Olympic Dreams
After talking with parents of Olympians, I discovered they don’t push their kids. Instead, they put zero limitations on their kids’ dreams. They are encouraging, hopeful and never say it’s impossible.
4 Swim Parent Tips About Team Loyalty
If we value loyalty, we will want our kids to be loyal, too. We want them to succeed, but also to be part of a bigger picture—adding to our community, not taking from it.
A Swim Parent’s Reflections on the Seniors’ Farewell
“Welcome to the funeral of my swimming identity,” a senior said at the team’s banquet following the Pac-12 championships. It was a humorous, but very truthful statement from a young woman who swam in her last meet.
