Food to fuel workouts

Janny Hu, Chronicle Staff Writer

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/21/FDRB1CGK5V.DTL#ixzz0j7Rn13zs

I'm the first to admit that I get a little grumpy when work gets in the way of a run or a swim.

Turns out, though, that I can be a grouch after exercising, too.

It goes a little something like this: I squeeze in an early morning workout, and between running, stretching, showering and getting myself to the office, I put off eating.

My stomach is grumbling. I'm feeling a little faint. And lo and behold, I've now let working out get in the way of working.

I should know better, having watched for years how pro athletes chow down before and after games. But I'm hardly alone in sabotaging myself.

Skipping pre- or post-workout meals are the most common mistakes people make when it comes to exercise, says registered dietitian Manuel Villacorta of San Francisco's MV Nutrition.

"When you exercise, you exhaust your tank, and it needs to be refueled again," Villacorta says. Otherwise, "it could lead to a cascade of problems, from breaking down muscles to feeling tired and light-headed, to feeling extremely hungry and then overeating."

It's ironic, isn't it? For all the fresh produce and innovative fare that we adore in the Bay Area, we sometimes overlook what food is at its core - fuel for the body.

Our brain and muscles need glucose to function, which means it needs carbohydrates, despite the intense beating that carbs have taken in many popular diet plans.

The average person who exercises for an hour a day - be it lifting weights, running, Spinning or cardio work - should fuel up with anywhere from 15 to 30 grams of carbs and 6 to 14 grams of protein in the hour before working out, Villacorta says.

A banana and a glass of milk fit the bill, as does oatmeal and a few hard-boiled eggs.

He recommends similar amounts for refueling afterward, with a little extra protein to help repair muscles.

Here, timing is critical. Post-workout meals should be eaten within 30 minutes of exercise. The longer you wait, the more your body starts cannibalizing itself in search of fuel.

Again, it doesn't take much. A slice of whole-grain toast and a few slices of lean deli meat will do. So will a cup of cottage cheese and an apple. If you can go right into a full breakfast or dinner, all the better.

Tastes can change

The key is finding out what works for your system. Every person handles food differently, and tastes can change over the years.

When I was training for my first marathon, I was also The Chronicle's beat reporter for the Golden State Warriors.

Keeping on a regular workout schedule while traveling around the country was tough enough. Having to wake up an hour earlier wherever I was, just to eat and wait for food to digest before starting on an hour-long run, was borderline brutal.

Then I rediscovered bananas. In addition to being portable, cheap and abundantly available, they're digestive goddesses. I'm fine eating a banana just before a run, or even on one. (Endurance athletes, or those exercising for more than 90 minutes, need fuel during workouts as well).

Dates are also ascending to savior status. High in carbs and natural sugar, they're also the perfect sweetener for homemade muesli - tops on my breakfast list.

The rest of my routine is a work in progress. But in running the gamut from not eating at all to eating too much, I've hit on a few staples.

Cottage cheese and greek yogurt are my go-to sources for protein. If I'm heading to the gym or a trailhead, I'll usually throw a small tub and some fruit in my bag so I can start refueling on the drive back.

The smoothie option

Some other things I've learned over the years: After hard workouts, I'm usually not in the mood to eat solid food. It's much easier to drink something, which is where smoothies come in.

I bought a Vita-Mix a while back, and the high-powered blender is now my favorite kitchen gadget. I can throw anything in there - apples, oranges, dates, spinach, kale, you name it - and come away with a smooth elixir.

It's also great for making your own sports drink. While Villacorta says that water is adequate for hourlong workouts, I often crave something with a salty, even sour, edge. I'll blend dates and lemon or lime juice with water and add in some salt as an electrolyte replacement.

And speaking of drinks, personal trainer Robbi Shveyd of San Francisco adds that proper fueling isn't limited to just food. Dehydration is a common obstacle she faces with her clients when it comes to getting the most from their workouts and recovery.

"By and large, we can tell if they haven't eaten, and we can tell what the night before was like," Shveyd says. "They've either had alcohol or caffeine, and they come in so depleted."

The bottom line? Drink plenty of fluid. And even if you're trying to lose weight, don't try to cut calories - especially carbs - around exercise times.

"You can train your body to do anything," Villacorta says. "But that doesn't mean you won't feel better if you do it the right way."

Mix & match

These easy food pairs provide good amounts of nutrients for pre- and post-workout eating.

• 1 banana + 1 or 2 Laughing Cow Mini Babybel cheeses
• 1 apple + 1 cup yogurt
• 2 hard-boiled egg whites + 1 cup milk
• 1 cup prepared oatmeal + 1 cup orange juice
• 1 slice whole-grain toast + 2 ounces of lean meat
• 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese + 1 apple

Strawberry & Banana Smoothie

Serves 2

Feel free to use frozen fruit, though it will make the smoothie thicker. To boost the sweetness, add more dates.

• 6 strawberries
• 1 cup nonfat Greek-style yogurt
• 1 cup nonfat milk
• 2 dates, pitted
• 1 banana
• 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal

Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until desired consistency is reached. Divide between two glasses.

Per serving: 237 calories, 18 g protein, 39 g carbohydrate, 3 g fat (0 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 110 mg sodium, 6 g fiber.

Green-It-Up Smoothie

Serves 2

If you can get past the color, this smoothie offers a nutritional bounty. To me, it's like drinking a salad. It's got greens, fruit - usually whatever I have in the fridge - and even a kick of protein. Add more water or orange juice for a thinner consistency.

• 2 big handfuls of spinach leaves
• 1 Persian cucumber, ends trimmed
• 1 apple, cored
• 1 pear, cored
• 1/2 cup orange juice, or to taste
• 1 cup water, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon hemp protein (available at natural foods stores)

Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until smooth. Add more water or orange juice for a thinner consistency. Divide between two glasses.

Per serving: 196 calories, 10 g protein, 34 g carbohydrate, 4 g fat (0 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 43 mg sodium, 7 g fiber.

Quinoa & Berry Parfait

Serves 2

Layering the quinoa, yogurt and berries in a parfait glass makes this a pretty dish to serve guests. But during my morning rush, presentation takes a backseat to practicality, and I usually just combine everything in a bowl.

• 1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup chopped strawberries
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1 cup cooked quinoa

Instructions: Whisk the yogurt and maple syrup together. Combine the berries. Spoon 1/4 of the quinoa into a parfait glass; top with 1/4 of the yogurt mixture, and then 1/4 of the berry mixture. Repeat the layers. Use the remaining ingredients to make a second parfait.

Per serving: 307 calories, 10 g protein, 67 g carbohydrate, 2 g fat (0 g saturated), 3 mg cholesterol, 80 mg sodium, 5 g fiber.

Cherry Chocolate Energy Bars

Makes 12 bars

These are quick and easy to make and don't have the strange aftertastes that commercial bars tend to have. It can be a bit of a mess because of the sticky syrup, but soaking the dishes and utensils in warm water will make cleaning up a breeze. Much of the fat comes from the nuts, which means it is monounsaturated.

• 1 1/2 cups crisped brown rice cereal or Rice Krispies
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 3/4 cup dried cherries
• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
• 1/3 cup unflavored whey protein (available at natural food stores)
• 1 cup brown rice syrup
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup almond butter (or other nut butter)

Instructions: Mix the crisped brown rice, oats, cherries, chocolate chips, flaxseed and whey protein in a large bowl; set aside. In a small saucepan, bring the brown rice syrup to a boil over medium-high heat. Take off stove, add the maple syrup and almond butter, and stir until smooth. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Line a small pan with plastic wrap (an 8- by 8-inch pan is fine. The mixture won't completely cover the bottom, but that's OK). Press the mixture into the pan to the desired thickness. The mixture will hold its shape while warm, but will become firmer as it cools. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Per bar: 180 calories, 6 g protein, 25 g carbohydrate, 9 g fat (1 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 32 mg sodium, 3 g fiber.

E-mail Janny Hu at jhu@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page K - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/21/FDRB1CGK5V.DTL#ixzz0j7SJjxQ9

Helping Your Young Child Set Goals

Goal setting for young swimmers is an important process that requires interaction of the parent, coach, and athlete.  It is important to remember that for young swimmers the goal of goal setting is to learn how to set goals.  The progression for learning how to set goals is based upon the age and competitive experience of the swimmer.  In this issue we will look at one approach for introducing goals to 8 through 10 year olds.

There are many approaches to goal setting for younger swimmers.  The following approach is presented because it is a little different from the "normal" routine of coach‑swimmer interaction and one that I personally find more rewarding for the parent‑coach‑athlete relationship.

With younger, inexperienced swimmers, generally ages 8 ‑ 10, goal setting needs to be carefully guided by adults.  The purpose of goal setting with this age is for the young swimmer to learn what a goal is, that to achieve a goal a series of steps toward the goal must be taken, and that some amount of preparation and work is required to meet the goal.  These are very powerful lifelong skills.

I think it is very important that children are successful in achieving goals at this stage.  For this reason, the coach, who best knows the ability of the swimmer, should suggest goals to the parents who, in turn, guide their young swimmer to set goals well within the possibilities described by the coach.  Goals should be objective and based upon time standards or performance standards.  In addition, goals need to be short term goals aiming at completion in 4 to 6 weeks.  A long term goal is a difficult concept for 8 ‑ 10 year olds.

Billy is a 9 year old who has been on the swim team for 18 months.  He has all "B" times except for the 100 IM which he has an unofficial "C" time.  He has been disqualified in his three 100 IM races because he has an illegal breaststroke kick.  His best friend, neighbor, and swimming rival, John, began swimming at the same time as Billy but has achieved "A" times in the breaststroke and freestyle, several "B" times, and was recently moved to a more advanced group.  Billy's ambition is to swim in the same workout group with John.  Billy's dad and John's dad are friends and weekend golf rivals.  Coincidentally, John's dad regularly beats Billy's dad.  Billy's dad's goal is to see Billy beat John.

What should Billy's goals be and who should set them?  Billy's goals must not be based upon John.  At this point in time John is a more accomplished swimmer.  Perhaps he will always be more accomplished for a variety of reasons which will frustrate Billy if Billy's goal is always to beat John.  On the other hand, maybe John is temporarily bigger and stronger than Billy.  As the boys reach and pass puberty Billy may become the bigger and stronger and more skilled of the two and beating John may not present an adequate challenge.

The coach should suggest several goals for Billy to Billy's parents.  These goals are based upon the coaches' assessment of Billy's ability to improve in the next two months.  One suggested goal might be for Billy to make an "A" time in the 50 free.  Currently, Billy is only 4 tenths of a second from an "A" time.  A second goal might be to swim a legal 100 yard IM.  The coach has been working on Billy's breaststroke kick several times each week and is confident that Billy will have a legal kick in time for the next swim meet.

Why suggest these goals to the parents?  Two reasons:  1)  It is a good way for the parents and coach to communicate on the progress and future expectations for the young swimmer, and 2)  the most important and most influential people in the young swimmer's life are Mom and Dad.  What better source is there in guiding the young swimmer towards setting goals?

How should parents discuss goals with young swimmers?  I think the best way is to ask the young swimmer a series of questions designed to bring him to the goals suggested by the coach.  A conversation may go something like this:

Parent:  "Billy, our team is hosting a meet in six weeks.  Do you have any goals for our meet?"

Billy:  "What's a goal?"

Parent:  "A goal is something you want to do that you have never done before."

Billy:  [without hesitation] "I want to swim in John’s group!"

Parent:  "Someday I think you will.  What does it take to move up to that group?”

Billy:  “Coach says I need an A time.”

Parent:  "Do you know what your best time is?"

Billy:  "No"

Parent:  "Coach says you have 32.2 and that's only 4 tenths of a second from an "A" time which is a 31.8.  Would you like to make an "A" time?

Billy:  "YEA!"

Parent:  "Do you know how short 4 tenths of a second is?"  [Demonstrates with stop watch.]  "Coach says you can knock off those 4 tenths of a second just by streamlining better off the start and turn and by finishing with a long arm and strong kick.  What are you going to work on in practice to help you make your goal?"

Billy:  "I'm going to work on streamlining and finishing with a long arm and strong kick."

Parent:  "Great!  I KNOW you're going to make your goal!  There is a dual meet with Fairport in three weeks.  What do you think you would like to do in the 50 free in that meet?"

Billy:  "An "A" time?"

Parent:  "Right!  Now let's write down your goal."

The next step is for Billy to write down his goal(s) on two pieces of paper.  He should write his current best time, his goal, target date, and things he needs to work on in order to accomplish his goal.

His goal statement may look like this:

My Goal:  31.8 "A" time in the 50 free

When:  February 17 home meet

Best Time:  32.2

Every day in practice:  streamlining and good finishes

Billy should keep one at home in his room where he can look at it every day.  Mom and Dad should ask Billy once every week or so how he is doing on his goal.  The second copy he takes to swim practice to review with the coach.  Then he can keep it in his locker or swim bag and look at it every day before practice.

Of course, it's a wonderful thing if a young swimmer is aware enough of times, both his own and qualifying times, to set his own valid goals in addition to those suggested by the coach.  If a swimmer sets a reachable goal it should be accepted by coach and parents.  Most young swimmers however need the expert guidance of coach and parents to set obtainable goals.  Remember, at this age it is vitally important that swimmers are able to accomplish their goals.

Sticker Shock

By Tom Slear

Part game, part meat market......college swim coaches cringe when they hear that description, but most nod in resignation. Every year, thousands of high school swimmers across America have their minds set on athletic scholarships. And every year, a much smaller number of swim coaches face the daunting task of spreading around a meager amount of scholarship dollars. The outcome is a cross between a chess match and a beauty contest.

"The hardest thing I had to do when I was coaching was figure out the money for scholarships," says Bob Boettner, executive director of the College Swimming Coaches Association of America. "Parents have no idea how little money there is to give out, and how fast someone really needs to be to get any aid."

The math is simple and convincing. NCAA rules allow a Division I men's swimming program to offer up to 9.9 full scholarships. Most schools fall short of that. According to the NCAA, the average is 6.5. Since a team needs 15 to 18 swimmers and divers (when it comes to scholarships, diving is lumped with swimming) to be credible, scholarship dollars are extended to the breaking point. The average for swimmers who receive any sort of aid is less than a half scholarship. Many get money to cover books only.

"It's sticker shock, and I see it all the time with the swimmers and parents we see," says John Trembley, the men's coach at the University of Tennessee. "What would go to the top high school seniors, those who scored at senior nationals, is not 90 percent or a full scholarship, but 40, 50, or maybe 60 percent. In the 14 years I've been at Tennessee, we've had American record-holders and NCAA champions, some of whom had less than a half scholarship."

The numbers are slightly more encouraging for Division I women. The NCAA allows 14 full scholarships per team. The average is 9.2. Each swimmer who receives aid averages slightly more than a half scholarship.

The situation at many schools below the upper tier, however, resembles that at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where head coach Christine Honig stretches four scholarships over 17 swimmers and two divers.

The men's and women's Division II programs can each offer 8.1 full scholarships, though the average is 2.5, with each swimmer on aid averaging a quarter scholarship.

Bleak statistics, certainly, but there's a caveat. Many swimmers happily compete in college while receiving no athletic scholarship. Nearly 40 percent of Division I and II swimmers, the so called walk-ons, go without athletic aid. Another 7,500 swimmers compete for Division III schools where rules prohibit aid based on athletic ability. Overall, two out of three swimmers across the three NCAA divisions pay for their education without any financial help from their respective athletic departments. It's not the opportunity to swim in college that's small, just the likelihood of earning an athletic scholarship.

"That's why I say it's better to hit the books, and I say that as a parent of swimmers," says Wayne Burrow, associate director of championships for the NCAA. "You have a much better chance of getting an academic scholarship than an athletic scholarship."

QUID PRO QUO

For the purpose of regulating scholarships, the NCAA divides athletics into two categories. Division I football, men's basketball, women's basketball, tennis, volleyball and gymnastics are head-count sports, which means, in essence, that the athletes get full scholarships or nothing at all. There is no middle ground.

The other Division I sports, and all those in Division II, are equivalency sports. As such, the scholarships can be parceled out as a coach pleases, provided the sum of the parts doesn't exceed the NCAA limit. This promotes the harsh reality of coaches putting prices on the heads of recruits based on potential and utility. The result is often confusion and resentment.

"When you break up and divide scholarships, you have an unfair process from the start," says Jon Howell, who was an assistant coach at Clemson before becoming the head coach of the men's and women's teams at Division III Emory University in Atlanta. "In one class you might have a woman who does a 23.5 in the 50-yard freestyle on a full scholarship, and in the class behind her a sprinter who is just as fast getting only books."

The fact that athletic aid packages are valid for only one year serves to make the process messier. NCAA rules prohibit schools from committing scholarship money to athletes beyond the upcoming academic year. Each spring the slate is wiped clean and coaches make like corporate managers handing out bonuses. The swimmers who exceeded expectations often see the value of their scholarships increase. (Conceivably, poor performances could prompt a decrease, though many schools prohibit the practice unless an athlete breaks a team rule or becomes academically ineligible). It's a professional quid pro quo.

"I talk to the team in terms of this being a job," admits Mark McFarland, the women's coach at New Mexico State. "Whether that's the right way to do it or not, I'm not sure, but that's the way it is. We give them scholarship money, and they have the responsibility of performing."

"We expect something in return for a scholarship and that's what a lot of people don't fully understand," says Tim Flannery, the men's and women's coach at Division II Kutztown (Pa.) University. "We want effort; we want improvement. But the biggest thing that we want is commitment, and that includes the expectation that they will swim over the summer."

What scholarship money remains after accounts with returning swimmers and divers are settled goes toward enticing high school seniors. Coaches try to keep the amount consistent from year to year so that they will have strength in all four classes, but that's more difficult than it appears. School and athletic department policies often intercede. Public universities, for example, typically require a mix of out-of-state and less expensive in-state athletic scholarships. What a coach has to offer recruits, and which recruits he pursues, depends to a large degree on the residence of the graduating seniors.

There's also the mitigating factor of two signing periods. What recruits "sign" is a National Letter of Intent, which commits them to compete for a particular school or risk losing two years of eligibility. The school, in turn, commits to one year of aid. (Walk-ons do not sign letters of intent).

High school swimming recruits, whether Division I or II, have two periods their senior year during which they can sign. The earlier period is in November, and the advantages to coaches and swimmers of signing then are obvious. The coaches lock in the talent they need and the swimmers lock in a scholarship. To the relief of both, the recruiting process ends.

"I wanted to settle everything early," says Amy Barefield, a sprinter from Montana who signed last fall with the University of Utah. "I loved Salt Lake City, and I could see myself being a part of their team, so I didn't seen any reason to wait."

But the disadvantages of an early signing are just as obvious. Coaches risk having no money left when, during the later signing period from April to August, a senior national qualifier calls unexpectedly and asks, "Hey, Coach, do you have a spot for me?" Recruits, fearing a coach might pull an offer, risk making a hasty decision.

"It can get unbelievably complicated," says Trembley, the men's coach at Tennessee. Some years, worried that he doesn't have the money to get the swimmers he needs, Trembley will ask parents of upperclassmen if they would be willing to turn in a portion of their son's scholarship. Surprisingly, some say yes. A few even turn in money without being asked, adding credence to the popular notion that athletic scholarships are valued just as much for the prestige they bestow as for the money they save.

HARDENED

The whole process is often befuddling and disappointing to recruits and their parents. An offer in November might disappear in April. Or comparable swimming schools might offer scholarships that vary widely.

Or the aid offered is less than hoped.

Unfair, perhaps, but coaches' strategies are strictly bottom line. Their job security depends on it. They must snare the best swimmers available for the least amount of money possible. They are quick to point out that that they aren't the only ones playing hardball.

"You deal with kids and their parents who will fight you tooth and nail and play one school against another," says Boettner. "When I was at Clemson, we dickered and dickered with a girl's parents about how much money we were offering. Finally we said, 'This is all we can give her.' She came, but she didn't train that hard and, in my opinion, didn't earn her scholarship. No wonder coaches get hardened to some extent."

Coaches are also hardened by swimmers with inflated opinions of their worth. At Kutztown State, Flannery runs into this regularly. A high school senior will call thinking, "Division II? How hard can it be?" Worse, he'll assume Flannery won't take the time to check with the high school or club coach on the swimmer's training habits and coachability.

The trick, most coaches say, is not to shoot too high, or too low. Times that won't warrant a return phone call from a top-five, Division I coach might earn a scholarship at a lower-level program.

"Very often in the initial contact with athletes, they hear that we are Division I and they balk – they don't think they are good enough," says Honig, the women's coach at Marist. "There are a lot of levels within Division I, and they can cover a lot of needs."

Determining a proper fit has been made much easier with the advent of the Internet. Web pages for most college swim programs list at least the school records in each event if not the top five times from the year before.

Collegeswimming.com gives up-to-the-minute results for all three divisions, as well as updates on what schools have signed which swimmers.

"Determining a school, at least for swimming, is a lot like determining the best lane to train in," says Bob Bowman, the senior coach at North Baltimore Aquatic Club, which last year had seven swimmers earn an athletic scholarship. "You don't want to be so far ahead of the rest that you aren't challenged, and you don't want to be so far behind that you feel lost."

Middle of the pack, of course, doesn't equate to the highest scholarship, which is Bowman's point. The recruiting process should not be an auction, but a search for the right mix of academics, social life, and swimming.

"An athletic scholarship wasn't as important to me as what kind of degree I would have after four years," says Leigh Campbell, a distance swimmer from North Carolina who turned down scholarship offers last year from two Division I schools to attend Emory. "What was important to me was not the best athletic scholarship, but the best opportunity. There are always ways to work out the money."

SIDEBAR

Helpful web sites on recruiting and athletic scholarships:

1. www.ncaa.org - the "rules and eligibility" link is particularly good. The writing is dense, but all the information on recruiting and scholarships is there, including an A-to-Z explanation of the initial eligibility/clearinghouse procedures.

2. www.collegeswimming.com - complete results for all levels, Division I through III; also, the latest on recruiting, including who has signed where.

3. www.nationalletter.org - all the skinny on signing a national letter of intent.

Are You a Pressure Parent?

The following survey has been taken from the Amateur Swimming Association of Great Britain. If you answer yes to one or more of these questions, you may be in danger of pressuring your child. It is important to remember that the parents' role is critical and should be supportive at all times to ensure a positive experience for your child.

• Is winning more important to you than it is to your child?
• When your child has a poor swim, is your disappointment, such as through body language or vocal tones, obvious?
• Do you feel that you are the one to have to "psyche" your child up before competition?
• Do you feel that winning is the only way your child can enjoy the sport?
• Do you conduct "post mortems" immediately after competi tion or practice?
• Do you feel that you have to force your child to go to practice?
• Do you find yourself wanting to interfere with coaching and instructions during practice or competition thinking that you could do better?
• Do you find yourself disliking your child's opponents?
• Are your child's goals more important to you than they are to your child?
• Do you provide material rewards for performance?

Keeping the Fun In Swimming

By Suzie Tuffey, Ph.D., Former USA Swimming Sport Psychology Director

A few years ago, USA Swimming conducted a survey to try to understand why kids participate in swimming and why kids drop out of swimming (Results from this survey were printed in the December 1996 issue of USA Swimming's Splash magazine). Probably the most important finding from this survey was that 'fun' played a huge role in participation. Kids stay in the sport because it is fun and, conversely, kids leave the sport because it is no longer fun. Based on this finding, USA Swimming decided to conduct a follow-up research project to try to identify exactly what is fun and what is not fun about swimming. In the first phase of this project, we held focus group interviews with a total of 48 age-group swimmers (Ages 8-18) from three USA Swimming clubs. The athletes were asked a variety of questions to uncover their perception of 'fun aspects' and 'not such fun aspects' of swimming. Specific to this article, two questions focused on the influence of parents on kids' swimming enjoyment - "What do parents do that makes swimming fun?" and "What do parents do that takes away from the fun of swimming?" The question was not whether parents have an influence on kids' swimming enjoyment (because we know they do) but on the specific things parents do and say which influences the fun in swimming, both positively and negatively.

Through these focus group interviews, the kids were able to help us better understand the influence parents can have on their enjoyment of swimming. From a review of the athletes' responses, several 'themes' seem evident regarding the things parents do and say to their swimmers that have a positive and a detrimental influence on swimming enjoyment. It is important to be aware of these things that impact enjoyment because, as we have found, enjoyment influences participation in swimming and we all want the kids to stay involved in swimming and enjoy the experience. As you read on, keep in mind that this is coming directly from age group swimmers; the words are taken directly from athletes and reflect their experiences in swimming.

What do parents do that makes swimming fun? And what do parents do that takes away from the fun of swimming?

Provide Support

One resounding theme coming from the kids was that parents increase the fun in swimming by providing unconditional encouragement and support. For the most part, it seems that a physical presence at meets and interest in what their child is doing goes a long way toward enhancing swimming enjoyment. The kids seem to enjoy swimming when they feel their parents support them regardless of the performance outcome. This theme is illustrated by the following:

"My parents are very supportive. I know, like, my parents will be happy for me whatever I do. I mean, if I do bad, they'll still be comforting and if I do good they'll be happy for me, you know. It's just, I think the people that their parents are so pushy, I think that they're gonna, um, they have the most potential to quit because they have so much pressure on them." (Age 15-18)

"She (mom) doesn't expect anymore from me than I expect from myself which I think that's important because when parents start placing expectations on their kids, like, it just makes the kids more stressed. I just think parents should be very supportive." (Age 15-18)

"Just knowing that he (dad) is there, you know. I can go up and ask for 50 cents for some food or something. It has actually given me that support feeling that my parent, one parent, is there." (Age 15-18)

"You need reassurance (after swimming poorly), like, they still love you. They're still going to give you a ride home." (Age 13-14)

"I always want my mom to be there. I always want someone to be there watching me, cheering me and stuff like that and I kind of don't feel like I want to do as well when they're not there. I kind of feel like I need to show them even though they tell me I don't need to show them." (Age 13-14)

Don't push too much

A theme that was identified by the kids as detracting from the experience of fun in swimming related to parents' pushing too much. Some of the kids felt that excessive pushing by their parents to practice, compete and perform well detracted from the fun of swimming, as exemplified below:

"Well, I don't exactly like it sometimes because they push me too hard that it makes me feel bad and I just don't like to swim sometimes because they push me so much." (Age 10 and under)

"I saw this one mom who was yelling at her kid, like, 'I spend so much money on you. I can't believe you did so bad today.' And the kid was already crying and her mom's like yelling at her and her mom throws her stuff down and leaves. If my mom ever did that, I'd just want to quit because you need encouragement from everyone around you if you want to win." (Age 13-14)

"On the day you don't want to go to practice and you're not feeling well, they force you."

"Oh, I hate that!"

"And is that good?" (interviewer)

"Oh, no, that's bad"

"No, it makes you get worse." (Ages 11-12)

Learn Optimal 'Push'

Interestingly, there was a positive side to this idea of 'parental pushing'. Kids talked about the role of parents in enhancing fun in swimming by providing a push. However, caution is warranted as there is a fine line between pushing in a positive way and pushing to the detriment of kids' enjoyment. As evidenced below, it seems a slight push from parents can enhance subsequent enjoyment and, as kids point out, is often needed.

"I think your parents sort of want you to do things and I think you kind of grow to like it you're sort of pushed firmly by them." (Age 15-18)

"I think that parents need to push their kids a little more when they're younger because I know when I was like 11 or 12, there would be days where I didn't want to go to practice." (Age 15-18)

"They kind of push us to go to swimming and it makes us, like, feel better that we swam." (Age 11-12)

"I like it when my parents push me because I was out for a year and I became a C swimmer because I aged up and just this last meet, in all of my things, I became a B swimmer instead because my parents were cheering me on and they pushed me." (Age 8-10)

It's kind of good for them to kind of maybe push you now or make you go to practice now." (Age 10 and under)

Resist Assuming the Role of Coach

A last theme evident from kids' responses tied to the idea that when parents take on the roles and responsibility of the coach it takes away from the fun in swimming. Critiquing races, offering suggestions on what went wrong or how to improve, and placing expectations on performance are examples of things parents do that tend to decrease the kids' enjoyment. An exception to this seems to be that when parents have credibility as swimmers, advice is sometimes welcome as it is viewed as coming from an 'expert' as opposed to a parent. To be sure, however, parents may want to ask their kids if they want advice or suggestions regardless of the parent's swimming background. Kids talk about this detrimental influence:

"My mom, I mean, my parents are supportive of me and they're like, fine, but sometimes my mom is just like she keeps asking me everything about what do I think I did wrong if it's a bad race and I want to just forget about it. It is really annoying when she keeps asking me." (Age 13-14).

"They don't know as much as a coach. Like my mom, she tries to tell me what to do and I don't listen to her, but it is annoying." (Age 11-12)

"Well. Sometimes they annoy me because they like I don't keep my head down enough and they are like 'you've got to keep that head down'. They keep annoying me about that." (Age 8-10)

"If I've had a bad race and my mom is telling me what I did wrong, I won't really listen to her. But if I did pretty well and she's still pointing some things wrong that can make me faster, then I'll take it to my coach and let him help me so I can do better." (Age 13-14)

"I like it whenever my dad gives me goals 'cuz he's a master swimmer. But my mom, whenever she's in the pool, all she does is like float and she doesn't like to get her hair wet unless she's in the shower so when she says 'you gotta keep on doing this', I'm having a hard time believing it because she doesn't really swim that much. She just likes playing around with it." (Age 10 and under)

"My dad used to be a swimmer and he, like, almost made it to the Olympics so him just being there is like a real big motivation and he gives me advice and stuff." (Age 13-14)

What does all this mean?

Taken in conjunction, it seems that kids want parents to be a presence in their swimming. But, they want this presence to be one of unconditional support with little advice. In essence, the kids seem to be saying, 'Mom and Dad, support my efforts but don't try to help me swim faster'.

Parental 'push' was mentioned by the kids in both a positive and negative vein. Because of individual differences in needs and preferences, it is probably very difficult for parents to define and identify an "optimal push"; a push that is strong enough to be beneficial but not so strong that it is perceived as overpowering by the kids. However, for the benefit of the kids, every effort should be made to walk this fine line and try to achieve an 'optimal push'.

Parent and Coach...The Other Stuff

Coaching is about more than athletes, practices, and competition. As Mike Krzyzewski, Duke's hugely successful basketball coach said, it's also about "the other stuff." For coaches of club teams, that means parents.

By Tom Slear, Splash Magazine special correspondent

"All that craziness," is how Monica Teuscher describes the rituals of other parents who nervously follow their children's swimming development. Teuscher, mother of Cristina, a 1996 and 2000 Olympian, never owned a stopwatch and rarely bought a meet program. She didn't track her daughter's times, yell during her races, or seek out her coach after practices for private chats. During swim meets, she went off by herself to read or knit, only to be amused when other parents gave her a rundown on Cristina's swims, complete with split times.

"I thought it was important that I was there, but for support, not for coaching or to add pressure," Teuscher explains. "My job was to take my daughters (older daughter Carolina also swam) out for a good meal after they raced. The last thing we talked about was swimming."

Most coaches would agree that the best team to coach is one filled with parents such as Teuscher, who recognize the line between parenting and coaching and avoid it as if it were radioactive. They somehow manage to counterbalance their staunch support with a refreshing cluelessness. Years ago Debbie Phelps, mother of Michael, the world record-holder in the 200-meter butterfly, relocated the family so that her children would be closer to North Baltimore Aquatic Club's practice facility. Yet when asked about Michael's world record time, she can do no better than to say, "I'm not sure - 1:50 something?" (Actually, 1:54.58)

"The swimmers I've had who have had the most success were unencumbered by parents calling the shots behind the scenes," says John Collins, who has coached Olympians Rick Carey and Lea Loveless as well as Cristina Teuscher at the Badger Swim Club in Larchmont, N.Y. "These parents are very good about backing up their kids, but they are hands off when it comes to swimming business."

The Growing Intrusion of Parents

Most coaches will tell you that Teuscher and Phelps are hardly exceptions. The overwhelming majority of parents instinctively, or with gentle guidance, find their place in the background. A few, however, can't resist meddling, such as the mother who wrote Collins a five- or six-page letter every week for a year and a half. Rare is the swim coach who doesn't have a similar story to tell.

"So many," says Chuck Warner, the head coach at Rutgers University who coached club teams for years before entering the college ranks. "All filed away in a painful spot."

The effect of such parents is all out of proportion to their numbers. A survey by Dan Doyle, which will be published in his forthcoming book, The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting, found that high school coaches across different sports are convinced that the biggest change in their profession over the last 15 years has been the growing intrusion of parents.

"No other factor they mentioned even came close," says Doyle, the executive director of the Institute for International Sport.

The top issues raised when the development coordinators for USA Swimming solicit opinions from club coaches are "parent education" and "club governance," euphemisms for the difficulty of dealing with parents, whether individually or as members of the club's board of directors. (The coach-board relationship will be covered in a future issue of Splash.)

An Oasis

But a bit of perspective is in order here. While all coaches labor to properly shape the parent-athlete-coach triangle, some suffer more than others. Rick Wolff, chairman of the Center for Sports Parenting (www.internationalsport.com/csp), calls swimming "an oasis." Coaches of team sports have only subjective means to evaluate talent. Even at its best, the process is imprecise and open to question. How does a coach fix with any certainty which offensive lineman blocks better, or which outfielder offers the best combination of hitting and fielding?

Yet these judgements determine playing time, which is at the root of nearly all parental complaints. Coaches are forced to defend themselves armed with nothing stronger than an arbitrary standard. Who's to say a guard with a deft shooting touch should play more than a tenacious defender?

With swimming the only standard is time, so performance is entirely quantifiable, measured precisely by a stopwatch. And playing time is rarely an issue. The only barrier to entry at most age-group meets is the entry fee. Everyone who wants to swim can compete.

"When you compare what coaches of team sports have to put up with when they make decisions about who makes the team and who plays, coaches of individual sports like swimming and track are not even in deep water as far as their problems with parents," says Doyle. "They are barely in three feet of water."

Swimming's preciseness, however, comes with a price. In sports such as soccer and basketball, parents can judge their children's potential only against the players they compete against, which typically stretches no farther than adjacent counties. Not until the last two or three years of high school do they step onto a stage that provides statewide or national exposure.

Swimming, on the other hand, allows comparison between a 10-year-old breaststroker in Pennsylvania to one in California right down to the hundredth of a second. The temptation for parents to extrapolate is irresistible. If a son or daughter is among the Top 16 when they are 10, shouldn't they be in the running for a national championship when they turn 18?

In fact, quite the opposite is the case. Improvement is not a steady, positive slope, especially for prodigies. A study by USA Swimming using the All-Time Top100 swims in each age group through 1996 found that only 10 percent of the Top 100 10-and-Unders maintained their status through age 18. Only half of the swimmers among the Top 100 in the 17-18 age group had made any top-100 list when they were younger.

"Those winning races at 10 probably won't be winning races when they are 20," says John Leonard, the executive director of the American Swimming Coaches Association. "This is one of those things that is obvious to coaches but is a mystery to parents. Coaches understand the long-term nature of the sport, parents often don't."

This misunderstanding creates swimming's equivalent of playing-time disputes. As swimmers begin to slip in national, regional, and even local rankings, their parents scramble for solutions. Sue Anderson, a former world record-holder and one of USA Swimming's development coordinators, saw the pattern repeat itself many times when she was head coach of the Scarlet Aquatic Club in New Jersey during the 1990s. These "pressure parents," as she calls them, begin to micromanage their children's swimming by arranging for extra practices and seeking out meets not on the team's schedule. When expectations still aren't met, they invariably blame the coach, who is mostly defenseless because no one can say for sure why young, talented swimmers stop improving. Maybe it is the coach's fault, though the problem just as likely could stem from the swimmer's early physical maturation or a mindset that has become mis-wired because of parental pressure, or a host of other reasons. Regardless, the conflict heats up until the swimmer jumps to another club, which is often the first of several such moves.

"What the parents think is helping their kids is only putting them under a lot of pressure," says Anderson. "Many of these kids do very well when they are 10-and-under and 11-12, but eventually a lot them they stop living up to expectations, and they fall apart."

The Other Stuff

Of course, not all disputes fall under the category of domineering parents and underachieving swimmers (though they tend to be the most intractable). A coach's personal style can cause problems, particularly if he focuses almost exclusively on the senior swimmers. There is also the matter of different outlooks. Parents see only their sons and daughters and the next few weeks and months. Coaches see the entire team and the upcoming years. Then there's the issue of how coaches are viewed. Many parents don't see a professional, but a former jock slumming between real jobs.

"It was amazing how differently parents acted when I started coaching at the college level," says Warner. "I knew nothing more than when I was coaching a club team, but the parents assumed that I did."

Mike Krzyzewski, who, over the last 20 years at Duke has established himself as one of the most successful college basketball coaches ever, once said, "The coaching I love. The kids I love. It's the other stuff you have to watch out for."

What often matters to parents is the other stuff, whether coaches are returning their phone calls promptly or thanking them for their volunteer work on behalf of the club. These small courtesies seem insignificant by themselves, but when taken together they acknowledge that the coach is meeting the parents halfway. They also keep disputes to a minimum. A meticulous plan handed out in March for the summer season will inhibit parents from overlapping family vacations with major competitions. Regular parent meetings run by the coaches and board members that both inform and educate will minimize rumors and alleviate concerns over the cyclic nature of competitive swimming. Set office hours for the coach will discourage interruptions from parents during practice.

The biggest courtesy of all, Leonard believes, is listening. A handful of parents are unreasonable. Others simply have healthy concerns about what's best for their children. Separating the two requires more than a five-minute conversation.

To make his point, Leonard refers back to his first coaching job, which was in Illinois during the 1970s. The father of a talented girl initially gave off all the signs of trouble.

"The classic horror story of a parent," Leonard recalls. "He was a trial attorney. Very pushy. His style of conversation was confrontational."

Yet Leonard endured and gradually came to realize that despite the father's bluster, he had a lot to offer. After two years, they were running together. Leonard would talk about his new ideas and the father would poke holes in all of the right spots.

"He'd question me on everything I was doing, which gave me a lot to think about," Leonard says. "Our relationship lasted for eight years and the daughter represented the United States on national teams. The mother and the father were the most active parents in helping to run the club. They were the best swimming parents I have ever known. It took me a while, but I discovered they were only interested in the best possible experiences for their daughter - both in life and in swimming - and they wanted to learn all they could about the sport.

"It just took a little bit of willingness to understand what they were after, and a little bit of patience to give them the opportunity to do the right thing."

Good advice, both for coaches and parents.

Learning Life Skills through Swimming

BY AIMEE C. KIMBALL, PhD//Sport Psychologist
The old cliché that sport doesn’t create character, it reveals it, is somewhat true. However, because of the amount of time athletes spend in athletics during their formative years, sport is at least partially responsible for shaping the character of individuals.

Because sport impacts the psychological and social development of athletes, it is imperative that athletes use sport as a means to develop skills that will enhance their characters and contribute to their eventual success outside of sport.

While there are many life skills that can be learned through sport, we can’t just assume that athletes will pick these skills up on their own. It is up to parents and coaches to teach these skills.

A “life skill” is any personal attribute or behavior that assists individuals in overcoming challenges in athletic, academic, social and other life situations. Life skills are often the intangible traits a person must possess to turn his physical ability into a successful outcome.

For example, swimmers who have perfect technique, strength and endurance will only reach their full potential if they have the necessary work ethic, mental toughness and commitment (among other life skills) to succeed.

These same swimmers may also be academically gifted, but without those same life skills, they may not be successful in school. Therefore, it is the combination of physical ability and psycho-social skills that help people to reach their potential.

A common example highlighting the importance of life skills also happens to be one of the most frustrating things for many coaches and parents – physically gifted swimmers who do not achieve the level of success they are capable of.

Parents and coaches may wrongly assume these athletes do not care, but it is more often the case that they just don’t know how to put their skill to good use.

Often these are the swimmers that experienced early success, the early maturers were stronger and taller than their peers and were able to win races without having to work at it. When their later maturing peers physically develop and catch up, the athletes with the early success often become frustrated and their confidence decreases because they think they “lost it.”

They didn’t actually “lose” their ability to swim well. They are not having continued success because they never learned what it meant to truly push their physical limits because they previously did not have to.

Coaches and parents can make sure skilled athletes develop the necessary work ethic and life skills to be successful by stressing the importance of constant improvement, rather than just winning. By focusing on what it takes to improve both time and technique, swimmers develop a sense of pride from seeing their hard work, commitment and dedication pay off. Swimmers can also be encouraged to develop their skills in a wide range of events, rather than concentrating on the ones where they always succeed.

By emphasizing these life skills and by talking about how these characteristics lead to success in and out of the pool, parents and coaches can teach athletes that success is not all about physical ability, it’s about how well they combine this ability with their attitude.

Like anything else, life skills take work to develop. While there are many life skills that can be taught through sport, it is up to the adults involved to use “teachable moments” to ensure that athletes learn these skills and develop them for success outside of sport.

Life Skills Training Exercise

Ask swimmers to identify characteristics of the best athletes. Each week pick one of these characteristics to focus on. Have a conversation with your athletes about this life skill and enforce its use throughout the week. At the end of the week, ask them how they used this life skill in the pool, in their social life, in school, or in any activity in which they are involved.

For example, if they say a “positive attitude” is a characteristic of successful athletes, spend 15 minutes talking to them and getting their thoughts on why this is so important. Throughout the week, any time someone is negative, have him turn the negative thought into something positive. At the end of the week, ask them for examples of when their positive attitudes helped them through challenging situations and if there was any time when having a negative attitude hindered their performance. This helps the swimmers understand the importance of this life skill and teaches them how to use it throughout their lives to be successful.

About Aimee C. Kimball, PhD:

Dr. Aimee C. Kimball is the Director of Mental Training at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Center for Sports Medicine. She received a PhD from the University of Tennessee where she specialized in sport psychology. She is an Association of Applied Sport Psychology Certified Consultant, and is a member of the American Psychological Association, the United States Olympic Committee’s Sport Psychology Registry, the USA Swimming Sports Medicine Network, and the NCAA Speakers Bureau. As a Mental Training Consultant, Dr. Kimball has worked with professional, collegiate, high school, recreational, and youth athletes in a variety of sportsCurrently, Dr. Kimball works with athletes, coaches, parents, and other performers to assist them in achieving success in sport and life. (412-432-3777; kimballac@upmc.edu)

After Your Child Swims the Event

News For SWIM  PARENTS Published by The American Swimming Coaches Association

By Guy Edson

Long Time Age Group Coach

What’s the proper process immediately following the conclusion of the swimmer’s event?  In this article I am going to talk about the age group swimmer who does not have the same immediate physical need to warm down as a senior swimmer does.

Many coaches want to be the first person to speak with the young swimmer immediately after their event is swum.  Why?  First, the longer the time between finishing the event and receiving constructive comments, the less the swimmer is going to remember about the swim.  Being lead away by a loving and well meaning parent for treats or hugs or high fives from Grandpa, lessen the opportunity for immediate feedback from the coach.  Secondly, the coach has critical commentary on the quality of the swim which is vital for the learning process and needs to be the first person to review the swim with the swimmer.  If the swimmer hears either overflowing positives, or in some cases, harsh criticism from the parents before he or she visits with the coach it is very possible the swimmer is going to be receiving conflicting messages.

After an event I first ask my swimmers, "How did you like your swim?"  I want to hear their feelings first.  In some situations, when a swimmer displays excessive anger or crying after a swim I will ask them to warm down first, or to sit quietly in private for a few moments before talking about the swim.  In these cases I am wanting them to learn how to manage their feelings and I prefer they not visit with Mom or Dad yet. 

After listening to them I proceed to analyze the swim in three basic areas.  Was it a best time?  A best time is not the only issue but it is important.  I make a pretty big deal about best times and I want the swimmers to recognize the importance of always trying for best times.  However, I also look at how they swam the race – was it technically correct with proper pace and a good start, good turns, good stroke mechanics and a good finish?  Sometimes a best time is tempered by the fact that the swim wasn’t really a “best swim.”  I also look at the race.  "Winning the race" refers to beating whoever they are close to in the heat.  Sometimes it means winning the heat, sometimes it means winning the event, sometimes it means out touching the swimmer in the next lane for seventh place.  The sport is a competitive sport and the ability to race is important.  If a swimmer is successful at one of the three objectives I tell them they did a good job.  If they are successful at two of the three, that's a better job.  If they are successful at all three, then they did the best they are capable of at that point in time.  I avoid using words like “unbelievable” or “great” preferring to leave them with a sense that they can always improve.

How can the parent respond?  First, if the child forgets to go directly to the coach, please give them a quick hug and sent them straight to the coach. Afterwards, I think the most important thing is to simply love your child and provide emotional comfort.  Congratulate them.  Console them.  Ask them how they felt about their swim before you tell them anything.  Ask them what the coach said.  But please, don’t add a technical critique, leaving that for the coach. 

There is no doubt that a healthy parent-coach-athlete relationship is vital to the long term success of the athlete.  Stay in touch with the coach, support him or her, and direct your children to the right places at the right times.