PROGRESSION FROM GROUP TO GROUP

At LY we have our swimmers divided into four basic groups - Blue, Gold, Pre-Senior and Senior.  These groups are based on various factors from age, to physical development, to emotional maturity, to individual goals. Within each of these groups there may be a wide range of ability and the coach of each group works to attend to the needs of every individual swimmer. Our philosophy is to provide swimmers with the skills they need to ensure the best chance of long term success in swimming. During this process, we believe that our swimmers learn a lot of traits that help them succeed in all areas of their life.

There are programs where children of all ages and abilities swim for the same length of time. Eight year old swimmers swim 2 hours just like fifteen year old swimmers. This may be convenient for a mom or dad who needs a baby sitting service, but that is not the kind of program we are running at LY Swimming. We try to structure our groups to best help your swimmer develop the best long term skills for swimming success.

There are also programs that teach young kids to swim FAST. Some programs concentrate on speed work and do very little skill instruction. Often these young "fast" swimmers are larger than their peers and their size alone helps them to be better than others. Too often the focus on speed at an early age comes at the expense of technique. Once bad habits are learned they are difficult to correct. Later when swimmers who are maturing more slowly begin to catch up with these "fast" swimmers in development, the emphasis on technique will decide who will be the faster swimmer. It is much better to err to the side of slowness and mechanics than it is to push a swimmer too quickly beyond their physical and emotional abilities. Focusing on technique will not only pay off in the water, but it also helps instill discipline and a work ethic that is valuable out of the pool.

Moving from one group into the next group is a process that happens naturally. We have a great group of professional coaches at LY Swimming who have a great deal of experience in meeting swimmers' needs with regards to training intensity and length of time in the water. While swimmers may have goals to "move up" into the next group, this should not be an area that parents are overly concerned about. When the time is right, coaches and swimmers will communicate with one another to try to determine the swimmer's commitment and to explain the coaches' expectations. Parents need to try to avoid the trap of wanting their child to always be the fastest, win the race, move ahead of other swimmers on the team.  LY Swimming  coaches have had success for many years and hopefully you will trust the coaches to do the job you have hired them for - coaching your swimmer. This includes placing your swimmer in the appropriate group.

Try to remember that every child is different. Do not compare your swimmer to other swimmers. Your swimmer is unique and their progress depends upon their readiness, not anyone else's. Trust that your child's coach is looking out for the best interest of your swimmer. Why would they not? Don't attempt to coach your swimmer. Just be a parent. Love them. Give them support. If their best friend gets moved up before they do, encourage them by letting them know that they too will get to move up in time if that is their goal. Don't let YOUR expectations overshadow the needs of your child. Your response is often the largest determining factor in your child's own response to disappointment and success, and your response can have a great effect upon your swimmer's desires and efforts. Try to keep your child's swim "career" in perspective. If they seem troubled about something at the pool, encourage them to talk to their coach. If you are uncertain about something, please call your swimmer's coach and set up a time to speak to them.

Swimming needs to be fun first and kids need to be allowed to be kids. Not everyone can win an Olympic gold medal, but with the right attitude and spirit of cooperation among swimmers, coaches, and parents, your child can have an enjoyable and successful involvement with I'On Swimming and learn many valuable lessons that will stay with them the rest of their lives.  Coach Liston