12 Hints You Might Be A Hovering, Helicopter Swim Parent Courtesy of Elizabeth Wickham My kids are in college and I’m learning that how I behaved as an age group swim parent has a direct relationship to their success or troubles once they left home. In “10 Signs You May Be a Helicopter Swim Parent,” I wrote about some over-the-top swim parent mistakes. There are also things we do for our kids, that may not seem like a big deal now, but could hinder their development into healthy, happy self-sufficient adults. I heard that our goal in...

Teaching Life Skills Through Sport AIMEE KIMBALL, PHD//SPORT PSYCHOLOGIST The old cliché that sport doesn’t create character, it reveals it, is somewhat true. However, because of the amount of time athletes spend in athletics during their formative years, sport is at least partially responsible for shaping the character of individuals.    Because sport impacts the psychological and social development of athletes, it is imperative that athletes use sport as a means to develop skills that will enhance their characters and contribute to their eventual success outside of sport.    While...

5 Things To Never Say To Your Child After A Meet By Rebecca Smith 5 things to never say to your child after a meet (Hint: These are some of the most common things parents say) and what they REALLY want from you. 1.)  “What happened?” I’ve surveyed hundreds of adolescent and teenage swimmers.  This statement is the #1 thing they hated to hear their parents say.  Why?  Because it’s judgmental.  It implies that your child did something bad or wrong.  When you talk to him or her on the way...

Congrats to all T2 Aquatics athletes who competed at the 2016 FHSAA 3A State Championships on Friday!   Special Congrats to Bean Faunce & Matt Limbacher for bringing home State Championships in the 200 IM & 100 Fly (Bean) and 100 Breast (Matt)!  We had quite a few double A finalists, which also deserve mention: Bean Faunce, Jack Scanlon, Wyatt Kellett, Davis Olmsted, Cole Gutknecht.  Congrats as well to the following athletes achieving All-America Time Standards at the FHSAA 3A State meet: Bean Faunce – Automatic All America Time Standards in...

The long term benefits of training hard in the pool are easy to list off: Working hard in the pool means you are better prepared to swim faster when the next big meet comes around. Working hard develops a mental toughness that can only be developed through experience and facing adversity. Working hard in the pool consistently over stretches of time will make you more fit, more fast and more better looking than the competition. But in a culture of “I want it right noooow” what are the immediate benefits...

How To Have Better "Bad" Swim Practices --Olivier Poirier-Leroy Sometimes you just know it is going to happen. You’re tired, stressed, and frustrated with life. So why would it be different once you hop in the pool? And then there are the days where you feel great, you are loose and confident when you finish warm-up…and things still fall apart. Having high expectations of yourself for every one of your training sessions is okay. It’s good that you have them. And those bad workouts? They happen to all of us....

5 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO BE MORE MENTALLY TOUGH         10/19/2016   BY OLIVIER POIRIER-LEROY//CONTRIBUTOR Mental toughness is one of those aspects to fast swimming that we know all elite swimmers possess, but is ultimately hard to measure. We can track a swimmer’s efficiency, their velocity—but quantifying their mental fortitude is a little trickier.    There are a couple things we do know about mental toughness, or resiliency, or perseverance—it’s critical, and it is something we can improve and strengthen, just like a muscle.   Here are five ways...

5 Reasons You Should Be Working On Your Underwater Kicks - Olivier Poirier-Leroy This listed and free range post was  originally posted over at YourSwimBook.com. Join Olivier’s weekly  motivational newsletter for swimmers by clicking here. If you’ve seen top level swimmers live, you know just how extraordinarily powerful they can kick underwater. Swimmers like Michael Phelps, Florent Manaudou, and  Tom Shields perform the undulating dolphin kick so fluidly and powerfully that it seems superhuman. Trying to mimic their grace and power can leave us feeling more like a salmon in its death...

5 STRATEGIES TO HELP PICKY SWIMMERS EAT BETTER         5/17/2016       BY JILL CASTLE, MS, RDN Samantha had a disdain for many protein foods, and it was becoming a problem. She had to take “her food” to travel meets, had a short list of restaurants where she could eat, and sometimes skipped lunch at school because she “didn’t like it.” She also didn’t care for most fruits and vegetables, and somehow got everyone around her to meet her picky eating requirements.  Let’s face it, picky swimmers are a...

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