How to Enjoy Swim Team Time Trials

The beginning of swim season: listening to the sounds of the starting horn and clutching the timer in your hands. Nothing could be finer. There are some tried and true methods, though, to quell the butterflies for both swimmers and parents alike for the first test of the season: time trials.

Instructions

1. Attend the parent meeting prior to the beginning of time trials. Most teams will prepare parents by explaining how and where kids will be lined up for heats and who is responsible for getting them there. The coaches will also outline any expectations they have about the number of swims they want each competitor to try (for little ones, it's likely just Free and Back; for older swimmers, it'll be all five individual events, Free, Breast, Back, Fly and IM).

2. Don't coach your child. Your team has a coach, let her do her job. Don't confuse your child with swimming advice. There will be many coaches in your child's life, but they've only got one Mom or Dad. Be the parent, not the coach.

3. Encourage your child, without pressuring them with time statistics. Gold, silver, and bronze standards are achievements to strive for during the year, not goals to attain at time trials. If it happens, terrific. But don't expect a stellar swim if you're pressuring your child with what too much information on standards.

4. Avoid the blocks. Most teams have the junior coaches get the younger kids to the blocks, and older kids are learning the responsibility of getting to the blocks themselves. You don't need to be there. You'll distract the younger kids and interfere with the older kids growing sense of responsibility.

5. Have your child swim whatever they'd like. Most kids swim every stroke to at least set an initial mark, but don't feel that your child has to if they are fearful or uncertain.

6. Don't worry about disqualifications. Time trials aren't typically policed at that level, any issues will be noted by the coaches and worked on during the season, so don't stress your swimmer out by focusing on the perfection of the stroke this early in the season.