Frequently Asked Questions
1) Are meets required?
No. Strongly encouraged, but not required. Most kids are a little apprehensive to attend their first USS swim meet, but once they show up, we do our best to prepare them for a successful day. Rarely are we as a staff concerned with what “place” our kids get. In fact, for the first meet or two, we even leave our stopwatches in our pockets for most of the kids, as we are just coaching fundamentals at the beginning of the season.
2) What does my swimmer have to bring to a meet?
Suit, goggles, team cap (if they wear a swim cap), team shirt, two towels, sweatshirt (team sweatshirt preferred), any healthy meet type food and snacks (bagels, fresh fruit, water, etc.). Many pool decks can be quite chilly, and a cold swimmer is not a good thing. Better to be prepared than to be ch-ch-chilly.
Always have your swimmer(s) on the pool deck 15 minutes BEFORE the scheduled warm-up time. We sit together as a Team and we warm up together as a Team. If your swimmer shows up late for the Team warm up, they will warm up on their own. It’s too difficult to make exceptions and with all that has to be handled before a meet, it is not fair to pull the Coach away for one when we have many others that showed up on time and deserve our full attention.
3) Is it OK if my swimmer goes to the meet with another parent/and/or swimmer?
Sure. Many parents take turns with other parents and take their swimmer(s) with another family’s swimmer(s) on Saturday while the other parent takes their swimmer and the other family(s) swimmer(s) on Sunday, or to the next meet, etc.
4) When are practices cancelled?
Rarely. Occasions that cause us to be out of the water: thunder/lightning, unusual cold, potential pool situations, etc.
5) How do I know if/when a practice is cancelled?
Practice schedule changes will be posted on the Practice Schedule page on our web site in a timely manner.
6) How can I be a supportive swim parent for Capital of Texas Aquatics?
If you haven’t done so already, volunteer for one or more of the many “behind the scenes” roles we need handled to make our Team great. Always speak positively about the sport. And always conduct yourself in the best possible manner while at any Capital of Texas Aquatics/USA Swimming function – including practices.
The behavior of a Team’s swim parents tells a lot about the Team. If a parent’s behavior is determined to be detrimental to the Team’s core goals and objectives, the Team reserves the right to refuse service and will ask the family to leave the Team. That may sound harsh, but we have made it clear that we are going to be one of those teams that other parents and swimmers wish they could become part of, and we are not going to lose sight of that.
7) How can I be a supportive swim parent for my swimmer(s)?
Learn to ask the right questions of your swimmer: “What did you learn today? What was the hardest part of the workout? What was the easiest? What was the most fun? etc.” Also, be sure to keep in mind that the number one reason kids swim is because they enjoy it and they have fun (yes, even in when it’s 40 degrees outside and we’re working them as hard as they’ve ever worked in their lives); and the number one reason kids quit is because – you guessed it – it is no longer enjoyable and fun.
Truth is I’ve seen many cases of parents who mean well, but who chase their kids right out of this sport and sports altogether by placing too many demands and too much pressure to perform on their kids – spreadsheets, tracking reports that would make NASA envious, etc. Every swimmer has their own individual time line when they “receive” the ability to “flip the switch” and begin to really compete – even if it is on a limited basis. In some swimmers it takes a little longer than other swimmers to develop.
Do your best not to “compare” your swimmer with other swimmers – I can tell you, your swimmer does not want to be compared to Suzie or Jimmy. That is why there are “standards” established. Be patient. Be understanding. Be supportive. Enjoy the journey. We’ll put the appropriate amount of “swim pressure” on them – I assure you.
8] How will I know how well my swimmer is doing/progressing?
USA Swimming and South Texas Swimming (www.stswim.org) establish swimming time standards each year that are used to determine what “level” of times your swimmer is accomplishing. Every swimmer is different and we as a Coaching staff use several criteria to determine improvement – not just how fast they are going. Be patient and supportive.
9) How can I be a supportive swim parent for the Coaches?
Simple: Two things – Let us do our jobs. We are professionals who happen to know our way around a pool deck quite well. Secondly, be respectful of our time. As professionals, we have several responsibilities throughout the course of a day/week/season. We provide our email addresses as it is our main way of communicating with you on issues you may want to discuss.
Please understand that we have over 200 other team members. We will on occasion be able to address a question or two while one group is getting out and one group is starting, but that will be the exception. If you’d like to schedule a meeting with any of the Coaches, simply email us or call and leave a message on our Hotline and we’ll try to accommodate you. Never, never, never call the coach at home – unless the pool is flooding or is emptying. Again it has to do with being respectful of their time and their privacy.
Please contact us for more information about Capital of Texas Aquatics. If you do not receive a reply within 3 days, please contact the webmaster.
