Taking Wins Where You Can Get Them

My 15-year-old daughter is slowly, but surely, coming out of her swimming slump. She returned from a high-altitude training trip in Arizona last Sunday and is swimming in the Parkway Summer Sizzler swim meet this weekend. Like many of her teammates, she’s not tapered and really tired from the training trip, but her coach saw definite improvements in her stroke so far at the meet this weekend.

I can’t tell whether her stroke is good or bad because I’m not a swimmer. Like I told her coach, she looks perfect to me all the time.  And the poor thing added 57 seconds in mile the first day of the meet. That wasn’t fun, but true to her nature, my girl kept her chin up and remained positive. She has the utmost faith that what her coaches keep telling her is true. So, she returned to the meet on Saturday and had a couple of good swims. In fact, she was only 8 seconds off her best time in the 800 free, and being in a practice suit, untapered, we considered that a WIN!

The coach says this shows good body position. I say it's a cool picture.

Getting feedback from coaches after a race.

  

Her backstroke is fun to photograph, and is hopefully coming back, too.

She doesn't swim butterfly often b/c it's not her stroke, but I love to get pictures when she does.

And here is her slowly but surely improving backstroke start. Yea! We see progress.

Superfan Parents

So often, we get to read about parents who act like morons at sporting events. I know I’ve written about those kinds of parents, and I’ve certainly seen thousands of keystrokes dedicated to the same. But over the last few weekends, I’ve witnessed first-hand some of the best examples of parents who are “superfans.”

I’m hanging the label superfan on these parents not just because they are fans of a given sport (in this case, swimming), but because they cheer on and genuinely, GENUINELY, wish for, hope for and applaud the success of young athletes who belong to OTHER parents. And they truly feel bad for and try to encourage those athletes who miss the mark for which they were reaching.

My 14-year-old daughter is a competitive swimmer, and she’s been in a bit of a slump for about 12 months. There are some real signs that her “slump” or “funk” may be over, and she’s had three weekends of meets recently in which she’s had some success. Not quite the success she wanted to be having after 12 months of hard work and what she calls “failed swims,” but certainly enough success that she’s feeling hopeful and encouraged and her Dad and I are overjoyed. Throughout her struggles, other swimmers and parents of other swimmers have cheered her on, pumped her up, and all-around encouraged her. It’s been wonderful and it’s meant a lot to us and to her.

The last two weekends, I enjoyed witnessing many of these same parents (plus a few others) do the same for numerous other swimmers within our own club and outside of our club. It was heartwarming. I saw these Moms and Dads hold their breath and then cheer victoriously when swimmer after swimmer achieved their goals. Some of these people were parents of swimmers who’ve already achieved said goal, but some are parents of teens who desperately, DESPERATELY want the same thing for themselves and haven’t gotten there yet. Two Moms in particular were checking times before each race and saying things like, “Okay, cheer for Jane Doe, because she’s only two seconds off. Now, everybody think good thoughts for John Doe, because he’s been trying to get this cut for a year.” Etc. They rallied the fans into the court of whatever kid was in the water. Very cool.

Anyway, I wanted to give a shout-out to all those parents who are doing it right — cheering on their own kids, but also cheering on the kids who are competing right alongside their own kids. And come to think of it: it just so happens that the children of these indivdiuals are doing the same thing down on the deck. Hmmm . . . . . now that’s proof that you’re doing something right, too. Hats off!

Coming soon — new information on swimsuits!

I keep getting inquiries about the 2010 swim suits, but I’m not an expert and have as many questions as the next person. So I’ve decided to resort to my “journalism” days and do some old-fashioned phone interviews of a few experts. I’m gathering my notes and promise to write up the information in the next week. Stay tuned, and if you don’t already subscribe to my site, do so in the right hand corner.

Supporting My Frustrated Swimmer

I’ve been a little hesitant to write this post because a Mom blogger always needs to be mindful of the privacy rights of her children. However, my teenage daughter has shared her swimming struggles somewhat publicly lately, and I thought if it would help another swimmer or another parent, then maybe it would be a good thing to share here.

My 14-year-old swims competitively and she is very serious about her sport. She has five sectional cuts, but since she turned 14 last spring, she has been adding lots of time in her events (not a good thing for you non-swimming readers).

Her body changed from the body of a child to the body of a woman, as is the case for many 14-year-olds. With those changes came some problems with her strokes. She worked very hard all summer and early this fall to correct those problems. She NEVER EVER misses a practice — early morning, evening, late afternoon, weekend, holiday — she’s there. She doesn’t back off at practice either — according to her coaches and some of her teammates, she is one of the hardest workers in the pool. She does the dryland work that our swim club provides her, and she continues to compete in swim meets.

We attended a swim meet in Columbia, MO a few weeks ago at which she had hoped to come close to swimming her best times. It didn’t happen. She had big adds in her best events. Because she was feeling good about the progress she had made on her strokes, it was hard for her to experience this again. And because I’d heard some of the positive feedback regarding her stroke work, I also had higher expectations about what would happen this past weekend. So initially, I was was frustrated with the results, too.

But then I had some great conversations with other parents and with one of her coaches, and I have to say, I’m even more proud to be this young lady’s mother. The parents reassured me that this is so very normal. Many of them shared stories in which their own daughters went through the very same thing around the same age. I’d heard this, but it helps to hear it again and again. Not all swimmers go through this, but a lot of them do, and many of them add time in their best events for more than a year. I remember one young lady in our club going through this a few years ago. She had been a “young star”  and then all of a sudden, she was adding time at every meet. At the time, I remember admiring her perseverance and telling my daughter to make a mental note of her work ethic. Of course, I hoped against hope that it “wouldn’t happen to my kid,” but I guess my daughter DID make a mental note, becuase she is now doing exactly what that young lady did. And you know what? That swimmer is one of my daughter’s biggest supporters, joking with her, reminding her of the struggles she endured, encouraging her to keep working hard at practice even when it’s not the popular thing to do. And her parents are among those reassuring me on a regular basis. That helps a lot.

One of the coaches told me that the she’s doing everything she should be doing to pull through this minus one — she needs to readjust her expectations. He said that when she competes in her next meet, she should look to drop off of her times from the meet in Columbia — NOT to drop time off her BEST times. He said it may still be months before she is coming close to swimming her best times. I cannot tell you how much that simple thing helped us. He also said as her parents, our job is to NOT get frustrated with her, but to support her.

He said part of supporting her includes never questioning the program she is following in front of her because she needs for us to believe in what she’s doing and in her coaches as much as she does. We aren’t the kind of parents who question the program. I know there are parents who jump ship to another club the minute their kids start struggling, blaming the coaches or some aspect of the training program for the issue. That’s not us. But it was good to be reminded of this so that we can talk to her about how MUCH we believe in her coaches and in her training program.

So, we just had another meet this weekend, and we did the whole “adjusted expectations” thing. It was so liberating. And you know what — she DID drop from almost all the times she swam in Columbia. She didn’t hit any of her best times — the closest she came was 3 seconds in her 200 free. But she left the meet feeling successful. Her coaches told her that her strokes are back to looking like they should. Now, she just needs to work on doing them faster.

So, if you’re the parent of a swimmer who is going through this, I hope you have coaches who are as wise as our coaches and as willing to comfort and reassure parents. If you don’t, maybe this post will help you support your swimmer through his or her trials.

MTV VMA’s Provide Teachable Moments

I don’t think it’s often that the MTV Video Music Awards provide a teachable moment (except to tell your daughters what NOT to wear). But last night was a real exception, as it provided not ONE but TWO teachable moments (in addition to the fashion thing).

In case you didn’t watch — here’s a brief summary of what happened, or you can watch the video below. Taylor Swift won Best Female Video instead of Beyonce. When the very young country music singer was trying to say her thanks, Kanye West jumped on stage, took the mic said he thought Beyonce had the best music video of all time. When the camera panned to Beyonce, she looked embarrassed. Poor Swift was speechless and despite the audience booing West and trying to cheer her on, she left the stage without uttering another word.

All of us Mom’s have had to try to comfort our children when someone else achieves something they wanted for themselves. We’ve had to have conversations with them about good sportsmanship. On the flip side, we may have had to try to help them cope with the ugly behavior of someone who may be jealous of their own achievements. The awful, pathetic and selfish outburst by Kanye West last night on the VMA’s gave me a chance to say to my kids, “See how ugly that appears. Jealousy and poor sportsmanship happen everywhere, and it’s just as unattractive on a national stage as it is at a swim meet or football game or on a golf course.”

Then a little later in the program, Beyonce won the final award for the night. When she took the mic, she briefly talked of how she felt when she was a teen and won her first VMA award. So, she called Taylor Swift back on stage and gave the mic to her. She “made right” by what her ill-behaving supporter Kanye West had done to Swift. Teachable Moment No. 2.

I know a few of Beyonce’s songs and I know she can dance like nobody’s business. Now, I also know she is a class act. Somebody raised her right.

FINA Bans Tech Suits for 2010

I’ve written so much about the whole tech suit thing here that I felt obligated to update my site with this information. But, I’m going to be lazy and simply post some links for you.

Here’s one article.

And here’s another.

My daughter’s Blueseventy is a year old, so I feel like she’s gotten our money’s worth out of it. But I really feel for the people who have dropped hundreds of dollars in the last few months. How frustrating!

Encouraging the Positive Aspects of Youth Sports

My 14-year-old daughter is competing in the International Age Group Invitational swim meet this weekend in Fort Lauderdale, FL. So far, she’s had one good swim, one decent swim and two disappointing swims. But as I talk to her on the phone, receive her text messages, and offer her words of encouragement when she’s disappointed and words of congratulations when she’s pleased with her performance, I am reminded of the strides she’s made emotionally and maturity wise in the last few years. I give a ton of credit for the character she is building and the person she is becoming to her participation in the sport of swimming and to the influence of her dedicated coaches.

You see, just two years ago, I experienced for the first time just how many life lessons a child can learn from participating in a sport — and most of those lessons are learned when the child has an “off” day in his/her sport.

At the time, my daughter was 12 and had been swimming competitively for six years.  That year, she’d really made some enormous strides in her sport, moving from a “middle of the packer” to a “top of the packer” within her club and age group.  She had decided that she wanted to go to Zones , which is a regional swim meet requiring swimmers to achieve a “Triple A” time, or an “AAA” time standard within USA Swimming, Central Zones. 

My daughter set her Zones goal, and then did the work to achieve the goal. She upped her practice from 2-3 times/week to 4-5/times per week (each practice is nearly 2 hours, so it’s a big commitment).  By the time summer, long-course swim season arrived, she had mostly A times and a few double A’s.  She became even more focused.  She worked really hard.  And she made sacrifices, too, by giving up sleepovers so that she’d be rested for a morning meet, or skipping friends’ birthday parties altogether in order to attend an out-of-town swim meet. 

Then the meet came that was her last shot at her triple in time for Zones.  Her coach anticipated that she would get the time; she EXPECTED to get the time; her friends thought it would happen; and I was fairly certain she’d pull it off. She was within ½ second to 4 seconds away in a number of swimming events. 

Unfortunately, she didn’t swim as well as she expected.  In fact, on the last morning of the meet, her coach pulled her from the relay because she added enough time in her swim to knock her out of the top 4 in her age group for that event.  She was devastated, crying and deflated.  But she still had two more events to swim, plus finals that evening.  I wasn’t sure what to do for her or what to say to her.  I reminded her that what her coach did was fair – the other girls swam better than her that day and they deserved the relay spots.  I also reminded her that she wasn’t swimming her best, and that she could do better.  Then I gave her a hug.  She didn’t feel comforted, and I felt like I was failing, too. 

I walked away from her, cried a few tears myself over my inability to help her, and then went back to talk to her one more time.  Here’s what I said:

“You’ve worked hard for nine months.  You’ve made the deposits into this account, and now you need to make your withdrawals (I read that somewhere in a swimming-related article, so I apologize to the original thought-author).  You came here expecting this to happen, but it’s not going to happen because you expect it.  It’s going to happen because you apply what you’ve learned this year.

“Now, remember something else which is more important.  Swimming a triple isn’t a life skill that will get you anywhere.  But, recovering from this defeat, and rallying yourself so that you can go back out there in your remaining swims and put your best foot forward – now that’s a life skill worth having.” 

My “little girl” made me proud.  She swam her two remaining events and got new best times.  She made it to finals, and got new best times that evening in all three events, as well.  And, she came within 2/100s of a second of achieving her Triple A.

No – she didn’t get her time that summer.  But she rallied, which I think was even more difficult.  And, she remained on the deck after her events to cheer for her friends and teammates (who replaced her on that relay). I didn’t tell her to do that, she just did it. To this day, thinking of how proud she made me by rallying, swimming her best and then sticking around to cheer on her teammates brings a tear to my eye.

Thus, I believe — just as the people at responsiblesports.com believe — that youth sports offer many more benefits than just physical fitness and potential scholarships.

Nike Swimsuits “Approved” by USA Swimming

And the beat goes on — the beat regarding FINA and Swimsuits and Rules, Oh My! Only now, there seem to be considerable “waves” regarding Nike swimsuits — at least in the Ozark LSC. Thankfully, one parent from Ozark decided to go straight to the source — Bruce W. Stratton, chairman of the USA Swimming Rules & Regulations Committee. And she recieved an email written response that makes it CRYSTAL CLEAR that Nike Hydra and Nike Swift knee and leg suits ARE ALLOWED in the pool in USA Swimming competitions.

Here is the parent’s email to Mr. Stratton and Mr. Sheehan:

Mr. Sheehan & Mr. Stratton,

I realize you both have probably been inundated by e-mails regarding the swimsuit issue over the past month, and I am simply a parent, but I must address a local issue that has been out of control (Ozark LSC).  I will pass on the information to our authorities regardless of your answer (and give up my quest if it turns out I am incorrect), but I must pursue what I believe to be an injustice being served to our “in-between” local swimmers (those 13 and over who are not necessarily national level).

Since the initial FINA list came out in May and, subsequently the USA Swimming ruling on June 1, our local USA Swimming officials have been pulling 13 and over swimmers out of their events and heats when they are seen wearing the old model Nike Hydra and Swift suits that extend past their hips (if they are girls) and past their knees (if they are boys).  I have tried to make an argument that the old model textile Nike suits, although not on the original list and now not the new FINA approved suit list, would be covered by the FINA release on June 5th regarding old model textile suits that were previously approved but not necessarily submitted for re-approval because they do not fall into the category of high tech suit.

We are a Nike team and although many publications have been presented to the local Officials Committee in argument against their actions (from FINA, from Mr. Sheehan, from Nike), it is falling on deaf ears.  We have many families of those older, yet not elite level, swimmers who are being told they have useless suits leaving them angry and/or in a financial hardship to purchase “approved” swimwear.

 If either of you can at all give some written direction before our next local meet this weekend (beginning June 26), which I may present to the local Officials Chair (Ozark), that she can in turn use to direct our officials, I would greatly appreciate it.

And here is Mr. Stratton’s response, which again makes it clear that USA Swimming IS allowing these suits to be worn in competition:

FINA issued an updated list on June 22, 2009, but it also does not include any Nike suits.  However, in a statement issued by FINA on June 5, 2009, it stated that suits approved prior to 2009 and made of full textile material such as lycra or nylon are acceptable as long as they don’t have sleeves and that any double layers are stuck together.  This would presumably include the Nike suits to which you are referring and they should therefore be acceptable.  There will be a formal announcement to this effect by the Rules Committee very shortly.  If you need further clarification, please let me know.

Bruce

Bruce W. Stratton

Chairman, Rules & Regulations Committee

398 S. 9th Street, Suite 290

Boise, ID  83702

Personally, I just about can’t believe there was EVER a question by ANYONE — parent, swimmer, or official – as to whether these Nike suits were allowed in competition. But I’m very glad the USA Swimming Rules Committee is going to clear this up via a formal annoucement soon. I hope that will fix the problem for any swimmers competing this weekend.

Blueseventy Makes a Splashback

Blueseventy, among others, won a victory last Friday when FINA added the the company’s tech suits to its list of approved suits for swimming competition. Here is the statement issued by FINA. And hereis the statement issued by Blueseventy.

I don’t know how many tech suits that had been on the “need to be modified” list made it onto the approved list as a result of FINA’s June 19 ruling and I don’t have time to do a list-by-list comparison right now. But I’m very happy Blueseventy managed to make the cut because my daughter and many of her teammates own one.

The whole tech suit issue is very controversial, and I’ve written about that controversy here and here and here. To further complicate things, FINA didn’t address ALL swimsuits on their list, and some companies, such as Nike, didn’t submit their suits for approval because the suits aren’t technical suits and therefore, the company didn’t think they needed approval.  I wrote about that problem, and USA Swimming’s response, here.  So, people who have purchased Nike Swift knee and leg suits, and Nike Hydra knee and leg suits may still be wondering if those swimsuits are allowed in competition this summer.

It’s complicated. And if I didn’t already own a Blueseventy or a LZR or a Jaked or one of the other technical suits, I don’t know if I’d go buy one before 2010.  The rumor mill is still alive and well in the swimming community, and some say all tech suits will be banned in 2010.

FINA and Swimsuits and Rules, Oh My!

It’s time to talk racing suits again. I can think of a couple of words that really describe the whole mess surrounding high-tech suits, FINA’s regulations, “the list“, USA Swimming’s muddled response and the misinterpretation of said response by at least ONE Ozark Swimming official, but this is a family-friendly blog.

I had heard that more clarification would be coming down the pipe today from USA Swimming, but at this writing, nothing has yet been made public.

Here’s the problem. FINA issued a list of approved swimsuits but that list was limited to TECHNICALsuits such as the Speedo LZR  and the Blueseventy (not approved).  Hundreds of swimming suits aren’t technical suits. Unfortunately, USA Swimming issued this statement, which basically states that only “swimwear approved by FINA, as reflected on its published list of approved swimwear, may be worn in any USA Swimming sanctioned or approved competition.”

To put it in the wise words of my teen, “That was a fail!”

USA Swimming went on to say that until FINA gets around to publishing a more comprehensive list, swimmers may wear suits NOT on the list if they meet certain criteria, such as not going past the pelvis on females or the knees on males. That means that Nike Swift and Nike Hydra leg suits and knee suits for women are not allowed. Nike didn’t even submit those suits for FINA approval because the suits HAD ALREADY BEEN APPROVED FOR COMPETITION AND THEY ARE NOT TECHNICAL SUITS. Can you see how ridiculous this is becoming? But, the deadline for submitting the suits has passed, and FINA didn’t seem to realize how much  muck they were throwing into the pool by publishing a list of “approved” swimwear.

Here is a copy of some email correspondence between a representative from Nike and FINA:

From: N.D. 
Sent: Jun 8, 2009 10:11 AM 

Subject: Swift and Hydra not banned by FINA