Poolside chat - new year, new racing!

[Glittertwins]

Hope this works, am rubbish at this!

Well done to her!

Very true! One growth spurt or an area of technique finally clicks into place, and they suddenly smash their PBs.
This has happened with DD1's fly recently - a bit of growth (plus the resulting extra strength) combined with having a stand-in coach one night whose slightly different technique description caused a penny-drop moment, and she's dropped nearly 15 secs over 3 meets in 50 FL, having been floating around the same time for nearly a year, as well as medalling at all 3. It has given a huge boost to her self belief and widened her view of what she can achieve, which is lovely to see. For a very long time she was consistently collecting DQs, had pigeon-holed herself and was convinced she just wasn't going to be a fly swimmer (her strengths have consistently been solely backstroke and long distance since she was very little), despite our confidence in her to improve and encouragement to keep at it and give it a go - now she is actively asking to enter fly and IM events at upcoming meets...

I bet your DD was as pleased as punch with herself! That is a great number of PBs for a weekend's work 😊

Wahoooo - well done your DD 🥳

Yes they do tend to suddenly just make a leap downwards and I find usually when you least expect it!

Fantastic @Teateaandmoretea its a long journey never has a fish been more right about anything than Dory and her "Just keep swimming" mantra.

My proud moment this weekend was when DS swam the ow 3 mile for the first time in a really respectable time, an open water coach at the event described it as "blooming rapid for a wee one" His favourite events are now 50m Free and 3 miles because he's always been that little bit odd.

Well done mini cats 🥳

Fantastic for your DD @Teateaandmoretea

@Hellocatshome Great range of events!

Well done to him @Hellocatshome

That 3 miles is well impressive 🙌

Hope all doing exams this year are finding it ok. It's such a juggle doing them with swimming.

We have a large co hort doing GCSEs this year and strangely they are looking forward to half term - not because they don't have exams but because they can swim every session.

Swimmers really are nutters 😂🤣

DS had his first A level exam yesterday. He's been on study leave since the middle of April, so has been doing every training session possible. He said the morning sessions make sure he starts revision at a decent time instead of laying in bed till late and the evening sessions ensure he structures his revision so that he finishes on time for training. The only time he won't train is the night before a morning exam or the morning of an exam. He was at training this morning and is having a day off from revision, so has gone out with his friends.

He's struggled a bit with the social aspect of school, but has fantastic friends in the swim club, so always so pleased when they meet up outside of training or comps!

We've not had study leave until this week really so no morning training if an exam that day. Evenings were hit and miss the first week as they were in school - some teachers better than others at providing revision and Q&A sessions. This week, they were home after exams and continued revision in the afternoons so did a lot more training. Half term is full on training followed by revision and more training - like you said it provides a good structure to the day.

Yes lots of ours have trained exam days.

They all have different preferences.

But agree many find the routine really helpful. Lots also say swimming itself is helpful to keep them alert and awake. I guess it's because what they know.

I think as most now on study leave and it's exams only things will change again.

We had our phase 3 meeting this morning so they will be be in a good mindset and even better by end of next week when they've had their 1:1s re EOS and plans for next year.

But until then I'm going to enjoy it being a BH and no 4am alarm on Monday followed by half term so no work for me until June now 😂

I have had an absolutely awful weekend at a gala this weekend all down to the behaviour of the adults in our club which is so toxic. Unfortunately DD has issues socially so I dont feel she would cope moving club but its got to the point I dont go anywhere near the club apart from spectating at galas and even when I try to sit apart I still feel drained after a weekend of bitching, rumours, back stabbing and general unpleasantness. I assume once a club has got like this there is no way back?

That's not nice to hear about, swimming is generally better than that these days. My old childhood club was pretty horrible though.
Things can change when people leave, we did have a particularly nasty Queen Bee (imho) that thought she ran the place but when her gifted but lazy DCs gave up after Covid, so did she. I'd say things improved parent wise. We try to get as many parents involved as possible, we don't want a clique at all.
Do you have another club nearby that your DD could try? Maybe she'd get on a lot better socially there? Good luck, it's not always easy.

I'm sorry to hear that.

I'll be honest that when ds moved from a small low level competitive club to a huge city club I was worried about "swim parents" iyswim?

But it's actually faaaaarrrrrrr more friendly between the parents. We get on great. The kids all get on great.

We aren't a huge club compared to some others in our region but are often mistaken for being bigger than we actually are as we have some good competitive swimmers. But the environment isn't competitive is a negative way.

I wouldn't rule out moving. It may be initially hard but it could be the game changer eventually. I was terrified ds would be a tiny fish in a huge competitive pond. But the bigger club have him more chances than the small one and they treat all swimmers equally and provide an environment that meets the needs of anyone who wants to swim.

Hopefully you can enjoy the BH and have a day away from it all.

I’m sorry you’ve had such a difficult weekend and had to deal with that, I think I must be lucky that I’ve not really had any of that. I guess an element of it must permeate down into the kids too? I agree with the others that it might at least be worth having a chat with your DD about moving, and looking at what the alternatives are

Morning!

Everyone enjoying the lazy half term of still having to get up at the crack of Dawn for swim training? 🤣

I enjoyed a BH Monday off swimming and ds didn't have to work either so we went out for lunch! It was nice to do something that didn't revolve around a pool or eating at a certain time of day!

They've also had their phase 3 squad meeting and we've done our 1:1 so pretty much just the training part until end of season meets to go now. Hopefully made easier by the fact it's lighter either end of the day pretty much until we go away.

GCSEs here too and largely normal swimming (although no morning sessions). We took a break from revision and exams for a gala at the weekend at the London Aquatics Centre (so DS had the fun of swimming with and watching some incredibly good swimmers from all over the world), but next week is solid exams. I wouldn't try to stop him training (though if he wants to, that's fine) - it's not worth even trying!

That sounds awful @Bunnybigears Probably other parents feel the same.

We did the Peaty intl last year, it was good but with those event timings and exams this year, it was out of the question last week.

We’re always on holiday for either Guy or Peaty. The Guy fly would have been good for dd1 but we weren’t around. I’d have signed them up for Cov this time but we’re in Majorca. Oh well 🤷🏻‍♀️

We've done a couple of the one day camp thing, we won't being doing it again.

I suspect it is totally a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience 🤣

I gave the feedback on it, apart from the stroke being different in the pool, everything else was exactly the same so a bit boring the second time around.

I've heard the AP races are good and we've had a few swimmers go. They've loved it and said they are very well run.

The clinics are ££££s. But I know from ds that chatting to swimmers who have "been there" (as in international comps) it's really valuable from a sports psychology POV.

Hope all do ok when they go back to exams next week and the next few weeks get easier as they come to an end.

We are in heavy training here. Then ds is off to Scotland last weekend of the month and up to British in July.

Then a relaxing summer (he doesn't have a complete break as it's good physio for him) before the madness that is phase 1 all over again 😂

We didn't rate the sports psychology at all, maybe we're lucky that their own coaches are good.