As I listened to Coach Sean’s webinar on preparing for performance and breaks away from the pool, I found this may be a good time to remind everyone of our philosophy on swim camps.
Swimming is a training based sport and NAC believes in a long-term plan for athlete development. Removing your child from their training group or providing supplemental instruction can have a detrimental impact on your child’s performance. Every year, families choose to send their child away for swim camp. Without fail, these athletes return home behind their peers. This puts increased pressure on the athlete and the coach to bring that child back up to speed and many times it is too late. In my experience, I have found that supplemental instruction received outside of regular practice time is a waste of resources because concepts that can be taught in these environments are skills that may or may not be reinforced on a daily basis.
Clinics like those we are offering with Meaghan Raab this weekend are directly geared towards areas of improvement in practice that our coaches believe can supplement performance at this very important time of the year. Not to mention our coaches will be there helping Meaghan so you can be sure that the things she covers will be carried over to practice!
Because swimming is a training-based sport, consistency not only in attendance and effort, but also in the execution of the instruction provided by the coaching staff is crucial for long-term gain. If your athlete is utilizing the resources that the NAC program is providing at each level, as well as coming to practice with a willingness to learn and progress, then they are receiving all that they need to be successful!
As we head into the winter, we know everyone is looking ahead and planning their Summer activities. Please be mindful of myriad of camp opportunities as these are often just money making opportunities for those putting them on. If you or your athlete is approached for additional instruction or camps outside of the NAC practice environment, we ask that you use this as an opportunity to communicate with your group coach. We are always happy to discuss any questions or concerns regarding your athlete’s progress and development from a practice and performance standpoint and welcome the communication.
As always, please let us know if you have any questions. We appreciate all that you do as a parent, mentor and supporter of your NAC swimmer. Your continued support in developing a positive culture and learning environment for the members of the club is imperative to the success of this program.
John Morse
