4 Tips On How To Be A Great Swim Parent

We try our best at swim parenting and I don’t know a single swim parent who wants to be the reason our kids get stressed or want to quit. My worst mistakes came early on when I was too focused on times and compared my kids to their teammates. I had very little knowledge about swimming and how it’s an ongoing process. It took me years to realize the many benefits my kids gained such as goal setting, learning to work hard and how to handle success as well as failure.

I learned some basic tips on how to be a great swim parent from interviewing Pam Garrett Swander, Head Coach of South Carolina Swim Club. She’s a level five coach who has experience at high school, age group, senior and collegiate levels. Among her many accomplishments, she served as Director of USA Swimming’s Select Camp and Vice Chair of Hospitality on the U.S. Olympic Trials Committee. She also has the perspective of being a parent.

“As a parent of two swimmers, I was their coach, too. We were in a small town and worked our way through the ranks of being a full-time swim family,” Coach Swander said.

Here are four tips from Coach Swander about swim parenting:

The Tips