- “What time are we supposed to arrive?”
- “Why can’t my daughter swim her best stroke?”
Do those questions sound familiar? They’ll be a lot easier to handle if you use the Positive Coaching tools called the Parent-Guardian Letter and the Parent-Guardian Meeting.
Read below to see what you can accomplish with the Letter and Meeting.
Coaching Philosophy:
Share your coaching philosophy with parents/guardians. It can be as simple as “I’m a Double-Goal Coach who cares about winning and helping my swimmers meet their potential in and out of the pool. That means I want our team to be one that Honors the Game and has fun.”
Parents:
Use the parent-guardian meeting to have positive interactions with all parents at the start of the season. Leave time for them to ask you any questions before the season gets underway.
Logistics:
Talk about logistical issues – like practice and meet schedules, what time swimmers should arrive, and how to contact each other.
Number of Events:
A large percentage of communication is about the number of events a swimmer can swim. It’s a good idea to explain your team approach now. For some teams, this means each swimmer can only swim two individual events and two relays, allowing everyone a chance to swim. For other teams, the number of events a swimmer can swim may be based more on skill level.
Next, download a sample Parent-Guardian letter, Pledge, and Meeting Agenda from the course materials.