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Swim Parent 101
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Encourage your swimmer to find the fun in practice.
Don't criticize the coach. Like everything swimming changes through the generations. New rules, new techniques, & new ideas make even those who grew up swimming out of the loop. If you have issues you want to address- take them directly to the coach. They are there to help your swimmer. Remember you picked your program for a reason. Trust your decision.
Allow your swimmer to fail & then teach them to how to learn from it. Resilience is important, not just in athletics but life. If we shelter & protect our kids from failure, they will never feel they earned their success.
Don't reward success with bribery. Extrinsic motivation is short term. Motivation that comes from within helps athletes develop healthy habits and teaches them the skills they need to achieve their goals.
Do not make your swimmer's teammates the enemy. Friendships in sports are important motivators for participation & personal success. Teammates will naturally be competitive with each other. Encouraging rivalries takes the focus off of what they are doing in the pool and creates unnecessary resentment & hostility.