Parents and Pre-Pool Preparation: Helping Build Good Habits

Spencer Turner
2 hours ago
2 min read

Parents play a big part in a young swimmer’s experience of the sport.

They get them to training, help with kit, travel to competitions and provide a huge amount of support around everything that happens away from the pool.

As swimmers begin to take more responsibility for their own preparation, that role starts to change slightly.

Pre-pool preparation is a good example.

A parent can help by making sure there is enough time before the session, encouraging the swimmer to get organised and recognising the effort they are putting in.

Understanding what they are doing

When a young swimmer starts completing a pre-pool warm-up, it is natural for a parent to want to understand what they are doing.

That is one of the reasons the Exercise Companion Guide is included with The Swimmer’s Warm Up Deck, accessed through the QR code in the pack.

The cards give the swimmer a simple visual reference. The Guide gives coaches and parents more information about each movement, including its purpose, how it should be performed and where appropriate how it relates to swimming.

For parents, that extra understanding can help them answer a simple question, find the right information or reinforce something the swimmer has already been shown.

Warm-up, not workout

Pre-pool preparation is there to help the swimmer get ready to train or race. It is not another fitness session.

A younger swimmer may only be completing a small number of movements and that can still be enough for the stage they are at.

The amount, intensity and choice of exercises should be appropriate for the swimmer and what they are preparing to do.

Keeping swimming enjoyable

Young swimmers need to enjoy swimming.

Training already asks a lot of them and pre-pool preparation is another part of the process they are learning.

Parents can help by giving swimmers the time and encouragement to prepare, recognising when they are becoming more organised and supporting the habits they are beginning to build for themselves.

Prepare. Move. Perform.

Spencer Turner

Creator, The Swimmer’s Warm Up Deck

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