PRACTICE ATTENDANCE

Parents and swimmers often have questions about the number of practices that should be attended each week. First and foremost, let me say that we offer different numbers of practices and different lengths of practices in each age group for a reason. Obviously, swimmers who are 7 have different abilities and needs than swimmers who are 16. Our practice schedule for each group has been developed with the needs of the swimmers in each group in mind. It should be evident to everyone that to gain the most benefit, each swimmer should attend the maximum number of practices offered. More on this later. Now, having said that your swimmer should come to every practice offered in their group, let me expand a little bit more, realizing that kids and families have other commitments besides the swimming pool.

Kids are all different and there is no set in stone rule that will work for every personality, but there is a fine line between encouraging a young swimmer to come to practice and forcing them. If your 8 year old wants to go to the circus on Friday night and you say, "No, then you will be cranky for Saturday morning practice," you might want to rethink your perspective. Let the 8 year old go to the circus and sleep in on Saturday morning! Swimming at an early age should be about friends and fun. At LY we take attendance in the young groups for our records only. The ONLY group with an attendance policy is the Senior group. Their responsibilities and commitment effect their entire group, and I expect 100% attendance level for all senior swimmers who have made the adjustment to morning practices. I have a minimum attendance required and it is just that - the bare minimum to stay in the group - NOT the objective target, but the MINIMUM. If a Senior swimmer is only making the minimum number of practices required, they need to re-evaluate their commitment and their goals and I will certainly be speaking to them about these issues.

Gold swimmers have 4 practices plus stroke school offered each week. Swimmers who are 9 should probably only come to 3 of the practices and by 10, they should be coming to all 4. Those looking to move up to Pre-Senior should be talking to their coaches and preparing to meet the challenges of that group. If they are close to moving to Pre-Senior, they should be excited about practices, excited about working hard, excited about swimming DAILY. The kids in Gold comprise a broad range of maturity and desire, and parents should use common sense when judging how to encourage their Gold swimmer. Sometimes a parent might need to say, "You have a meet this weekend so you really need to go to practice." But really I don't think this group for the most part should be made to come to practice. These swimmers should have time to enjoy school friends, other activities, the occasional slumber party. We encourage attendance based on age, maturity, and the swimmer's commitment, but if it becomes a battle, you may lose the war.

Pre-Senior  swimmers have 6 practices a week and they are encouraged to attend all practices. The majority of these swimmers should be looking to move to the Senior Group and when they are meeting 100% of the Pre-Senior challenges consistently, then we will look to increase their challenge by moving them up. No one should expect to move up if they aren't making the maximum number of practices (6) when that number is smaller than the minimum (8 practices) necessary to be in the Senior Group.

Attendance is not just a matter of discipline that we as coaches are trying to force on to kids. In fact, the season's training for each group is designed based on 100% attendance for each group. Remember, we have set a schedule that we believe is in the best interest of the swimmers in each group. Then we base our training on that schedule. Monthly and weekly outlines ensure that we are covering the necessary categories of training for each group. Workout categories are based on the season plan. Daily workouts are based on what the swimmers have been doing the past few practices and meet performances. If a swimmer is missing days of training, then they are missing important aspects of a training schedule designed to improve their swimming. This is true for the Senior Swimmer, the Pre-Senior swimmer, and even the Gold  swimmer. Every practice that is missed impacts the outcome of an entire season of training. There is no such thing as a make-up practice. Once you miss, you have thrown off the cycle for the week and it cannot be made up. All you can do is continue to prepare for next week's cycle.

To highlight the problem of missing practices, let's say that we are emphasizing Category A over a four week cycle. We will still continue to train Category B and Category C, but the emphasis of the cycle will be Category A. On the first week we may work on Category A on Wednesday and Saturday. If you miss those two days, then you have missed 25% of the training emphasis of this particular cycle. The following week Category A may fall on Tuesday and Friday. Categories are setting each other up and are impacted by meets, practice performances, and other variables. We will not be able to tell you which two practices each week you should attend. You should attend ALL the practices offered for your group. Every practice impacts the next. (As an aside, any swimmer who goes to their coach and asks which two days they should attend each week should consider moving back to a group with a less demanding practice schedule.)

As coaches, it is our job to provide the best opportunity for our swimmers to improve their competitive swimming. It is up to the swimmers to take advantage of the opportunity that we provide. Decisions of attendance begin with parental encouragement for younger swimmers and should ultimately become the responsibility of the committed swimmer. Remember that no one gets ahead by doing the minimum, whether it is at school, in the workforce, or at the pool. The optimum performance is preceded by the maximum preparation. - Coach Liston