Southwest Aquatic Team

Parent Information:

The following articles were taken from USA Swimming Web Site for your information. If you want to learn more about this or other topics you can visit their web site at www.usaswimming.org.

- Emphasize Fun, Skills and Effort (10/1/2005)

Without fun, your child may not want to keep swimming. Swimmers of all ages rank “fun” as the number one reason they swim. Olympians with years of experience say that they will continue with the sport as long as they are having fun! Children don’t have fun standing around at practice. They don’t have fun when they feel pressure to win. They have fun in well organized, skill oriented practices. They have fun competing and striving to win while developing their skills. Fun for kids is not just fun and games. Fun encompasses learning, competing, training and being with their friends. Remember, your child won’t be able to control all of the factors that go into winning a race. She has no control over her competitors! But she will find success and fun in developing and improving skills. This is one of the most satisfying aspects of sports. The most important question you can ask following practice or a meet is “did you have fun today?”

Getting Parents on the Team

by Dr. Alan Goldberg
Competitive Advantage

A successful swimming experience depends on parents being proactively trained to play the right role on the parent-swimmer-coach team. Coaches should take the time in the beginning of the season to educate parents on their very important support position. The coach should appeal to the parent's proper involvement for the team's and their child's success. In parents’ meetings and in written handouts the coach should present and discuss the correct parent, coach and swimmer roles, the “do's and don'ts” for success.

PARENTS’ ROLE:

1. DON’T COACH - Leave coaching to coaches. This includes pre-race psyching, motivation, after race critiquing, setting goals, enforcing additional cross training, etc.

2. SUPPORT THE COACH - Your coaches are the experts. They need your support for everyone to "win".

3. SUPPORT THE PROGRAM - Get involved. Volunteer. Help out at meets, fundraisers, etc.

4. BE YOUR CHILD’S BEST FAN - Support your child unconditionally. Do not withdraw love when your child performs poorly. Your child should not have to perform to win your love.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

- Del Norte #2, Shawver Pool (Yarbrough & Border Highway) November 5^th 2005. Registration closes on Wednesday Oct. 26 at 9:00 P.M. Deck Entries will be accepted on a lane availability basis.

- Fort Bliss “Fun” Meet, Ft. Bliss Pool, November 6 AT 11:00 AM (YEAH!). Register by Oct. 31.

- DSSC Turkey Splash Swim Meet, Tigua Pool (11200 Santos Sanchez). November 18-November 20. Registration Closes on Wednesday November, 9^th .

- Please register online or contact Jose Alcoreza for any information on any of these events.

COACHE’S CORNER:

Coaches Quick Tips (Message written by our senior coach Polly Perry).

Hello everybody. I want to take a minute and talk about the importance of practice. As a coach I believe that this is BY FAR the most important part of your athletic experience. I had a coach when I was young that always told us "if you miss one practice, it takes two to make it up." That is the truth. Swimming is unique in that you must put in the pool time, on a consistent basis, in order to reap the rewards. If you are one who swims in a meet and has inconsistent results (adding a lot of time, etc.) you need to look at your practice habits. We only practice what I feel is the minimum amount of time that we should be practicing and I get very frustrated that some of you don't take advantage of it. I understand that everyone is busy and it is hard sometimes to get up that early, but you must remember that the only way to improve is to put in the yards. There is value in practice and there is value in the discipline that you are learning by showing up everyday. See you at the pool!!

Parents and Kids Corner (This article was taken from the USA Swimming web site www.usaswimming.org and I thought it will be helpful to chare with all of you).

Preventing Swimmer's Ear
Reprinted by permission from American Swimming Magazine, published by ASCA

You don’t have to be a swimmer to get swimmer’s ear. Athletes who frequently get water or perspiration in their ears are susceptible to the condition. Staying in a pool too long can reduce the acid level of the ear wax, which is there to help resist infections.

Swimmer’s ear (otitis extema) is actually one of several names that refer to an infection of the outer ear. It can be caused by a fungus, but is more commonly associated with bacteria that is brought into the ear with water. If the water then runs out, the ear and the bacteria dry up. But when some of the water remains trapped in the ear canal and the skin gets soggy, the bacteria are in a perfect environment to grow into a problem.

SYMPTOMS

The first symptoms are a feeling that the ear is blocked, muffled hearing, and an itch. Later, the canal can become swollen and painful, and a watery discharge accumulates in the area. If the ear gets to the point of being tender to the touch, it’s time to get to a doctor.

PREVENTION

There are several ways to prevent swimmer’s ear from ever occurring. Here is a summary of preventive methods:

Don’t swim in dirty water.
Wear earplugs while swimming.
After a swim, tilt and shake your head to allow the water to drain.
Dry your ears with a clean cloth after showering and with a hair dryer set at low speed, held about 12" from your ear.
Use one dropper of commercial eardrops, isopropyl alcohol, or white vinegar in your ear after swimming or showering. Wiggle your ear to let the solution get to the bottom, then let the fluid drain out. Drops should not be used by people with tubes in their ears or perforations in their eardrums.
Some experts suggest that you use a dropper of mineral oil, baby oil, or lanolin to create a protective coating before you exercise. Get advice from a physician or trainer before using this method.
If you wear a hearing aid, remove it frequently to allow your ear to dry.

· Avoid excessive cleaning that removes all of the protective wax naturally present in the ear canal.

More Information:

All Parents please remember to renew your child’s USA Swimming Membership, it is very important that your child keeps membership up to date (For Information please contact Jose Enrique Alcoreza).

ALSO:

Please write to our City Representatives (Ann Morgan Lilly and Beto O'Rourke) letters or e-mails telling them how badly we need a World Class (State of the Art) Competitive Pool at the Westside of El Paso.

REMEMBER:

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to contact one of the coaches or any board member. Information on how to contact them is posted on the SWAT’S Star Times Every Month. Your questions, comments, or concerns will be answered by the coaches or a board member and posted in this space. Thank you for your interest and participation.

Social Events (Birthdays) HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Hernandez, Angel (11-02), Aldrete, Carla (11-03), Leyba, Marco (11-06), Holcomb, Rachel (11-07), Ganem-Chee, Sandra (11-10), Ruiz, Sofia (11-12), Arrieta, Alejandra (11-16), Arrieta, Luisana (11-16) Nuñez, Bec (11-18).

SWAT Board of Directors

President: Manuel Quiñones / maquinon3@aol.com

Vice-Pres: Rosalba Bazar / rosalbabazar@sbcglobal.net

Secretary: Angelica Castrejon / acastrejon@elp.rr.com

Treasurer & Officials Chair: Tom Lore / tlore@handgards.com

Fundraising: Laura Nicli / laurapnicli@elp.rr.com

Entries Chair , Team Roster, & USS Registration: Jose Alcoreza / alcoreza@att.net

Team Equipment & Border Rep: Kerry Lore / klore@epelectric.com

Safety Chair: Jim Holcomb / jholcomb@utep.edu

Newsletter: Hugo Blancas / hugoblancas@hotmail.com

Events: Armando Licon / ALICON2@elp.rr.com