Gary Barclay - Swimming for Parents: The Ultimate Education Guide for Swimming Parents

www.SwimmingForParents.com

First published in 2009

Copyright Gary Barclay

www.SwimmingForParents.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the author.

Title: Swimming for Parents: the ultimate education guide for swimming parents

Edition: 2nd ed. (Version 2.02)

ISBN: 978-0-9872614-4-1

(Dynamic eBook)

Limits of Liability & Disclaimer of Warranty

The author and publisher of this eBook have used their best efforts in preparing this material. They make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness, or completeness of the contents of this material. They disclaim any warranties expressed or implied, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. The author and publisher shall in no event be held liable for any loss or other damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. If you have any doubts about anything, the advice of a competent professional should be sought.

Front & Back Cover Credit: Megan McDonald (www.SolutionsIndata.com)

Photo Credits: Parents and swimmers at Nunawading Swimming Club, Melbourne, Australia

Photographers: Warren Bell and William Parry

Permission has been granted by all persons whose photograph is printed in this book.

Once again, this eBook is NOT TO BE REPRODUCED in any way, shape or form. All rights reserved.

To all the swimming coaches I have worked with as a swimmer, a coach and a manager thank you for your inspiration and the work you do to help so many children;

To all the parents I have met over the years around the pool, keep providing your child with unconditional love and support at all times;

To my wife Nicole, thank you for your love and support over many years;

And to my children, Philippa and Lachlan, you never cease to amaze me...thank you for teaching me how to become a better parent!

I would like to thank the many contributors to this book for their time, input and encouragement. In particular I would like to thank all the parents I have worked with over many years in my journey as a swimmer, coach and manager in the aquatic industry.

A special thank you to Megan McDonald who has spent considerable hours providing input through her own experiences and provided continual encouragement to put this book together. Megan has also designed the front and back cover and the website through her company www.SolutionsIndata.com.

Thank you also to the many parents from the Nunawading Swimming Club in Melbourne, Australia for their input and advice on a variety of topics covered in the book.

A number of coaches contributed with their ideas of what needed to be covered in a book like this in the early stages of its development. Thank you to Rohan Taylor, Chris Wedd, Grant Stoelwinder, Celia Glewis, Bernard Savage and Ted Tullberg.

I would like to acknowledge Leigh Nugent who provided input into a number of sections, Megan Ryan for her terrific insight into female development and Simon Moule for his contribution in the dryland and strength & conditioning section. Thank you to Ralph Richards for providing his feedback and support towards this project.

The first edition of Swimming for Parents was very well received in countries all over the world. With sales to Australia, the USA, United Kingdom, Canada, China, South Africa, New Zealand, Sweden, Denmark, Japan and many other countries, the message has been received by parents from many nations and the testimonials received back have been extremely positive.

And a special thank you to my wife Nicole and children Philippa and Lachlan for allowing me the time over a two year period to write this book and for their patience in recent months as Edition 2 has been finalised. Your love and support throughout this journey has been very much appreciated.

During my 28 year career as an on deck swimming coach and thirteen years as National Youth Coach or National Head Coach of Swimming Australia, I have spoken to countless parent groups and individually with hundreds of parents of swimmers. For parents to effectively support their children in their activities, in this case the sport of swimming, they rely on information from those more experienced and knowledgeable in the field.

The obvious sources are the childs swimming coaches, other experienced parents, former swimmers and others who have had a long term involvement in the sport. Preparing for the sport of swimming is very demanding on swimmers, coaches and parents alike but it is the parent who is the least equipped to cope with such demands and who needs help and support to assist them in understanding what is going on around them.

Parenting by its nature can be on many occasions a thankless task and this is consistent for the supportive swimming parent. It becomes easier to provide unconditional support when we as parents gain an understanding of what is required for committed involvement in the sport of swimming.

We can gain this understanding from parent workshops similar to those that I present in my travels around Australia along with private and group meetings with our childrens coaches and other experienced people in the sport.

I recommend that as a parent that you seek information from knowledgeable and reputable people in the sport whenever you feel you need support or assistance.

To my knowledge there has never been published a resource such as Swimming for Parents available to the parents of swimmers. It fills a vacuum in information for parents which has needed addressing for many decades.

Garys authority in writing this book is vindicated by his broad involvement in the sport as a junior swimming champion, a champion age group swimmer, an elite senior athlete including two years as an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder, a teacher of swimming, a coach of Victorias once most successful junior program, a multi-medal winning Australian Age coach, a head coach of one of Victorias most successful clubs, an organizer of Australias major swimming events, currently Chief Executive Officer of one of Australias most successful swimming clubs and now a parent of two junior swimmers.

The information in this book is invaluable to parents and will provide insight which will assist in the understanding of their swimming child at virtually every stage of their development as a swimmer and a person.

It is a book which parents will keep in a prominent place for easy access for the remainder of their childs swimming career.

I for one will be recommending Swimming for Parents as a resource for parents at every opportunity.

Leigh Nugent

Former National Head Coach

Swimming Australia Limited

For many parents having a swimmer in the family is not something they planned. Most swimmers begin in a learn-to-swim program and progress through to advanced lessons. From there they are asked to complete a couple of sessions in a junior squad and before you know it they are entrenched and absorbed by the sport of swimming. By this stage, parents begin to realise the commitment required by a swimmer to complete the necessary training and competitions offered in the sport.

Swimming for Parents is a lifelong project that draws on many of my experiences as a swimmer, coach, swimming administrator and now as a parent of young children who enjoy swimming