Guidelines for Practice
Practice Expectations
The Crismark Comets Swim Team is organized to give each swimmer the needed tools and resources to be successful. Each swimmer is placed into their perspective group based on age as of May 31 of the current swim season. Parents are required to supervise their children at each practice, meet, and any swim team event. Practice and meets are not drop off. Parents are to stay with their swimmers.
Age Group Levels:
6 & Under
9 – 10 years
11- 12 years
13 – 14 years
15 – 18 years
What to Bring to Practice
Swimmers should wear appropriate swimsuits to practice. Swimmers should bring goggles, a swim cap, a water bottle, and towel(s) with them to every practice.
Practice Schedule
The coaches set the practice schedule for each age group. Practice schedules are communicated at the beginning of the season. We understand that summer vacation can be a conflict with practice schedules and meets. Please notify your coach(es) as soon as you know of any conflicts with meets.
Guidelines for Watching Practice
As well as making you aware of what a typical practice may look like, we’ve outlined guidelines for observing practice to reduce distractions and ensure every swimmer continues to maximize their potential at every practice.
1. Swimmer Communication - Young swimmers want their parents’ approval more than anything. To reduce distractions and maximize learning opportunities, we need the swimmer’s undivided attention. We ask that you do not communicate with your swimmer during practice and do not compete with the coach for the swimmer's attention.
2. Coach Communication - Our coaches are act professional, and they have a limited amount of time with the swimmers. We insist that parents not interrupt the coaches at any time during practice. If you need to communicate with a coach, please do so before or after practice (if they are not coaching another group) or through email. Please utilize the communication avenues outlined to schedule a meeting with your swimmer’s coach.
During practice, parents are encouraged to contact a committee member with questions or concerns. Committee members can answer most team-related questions and, when needed, communicate with coaches outside of practice times to follow up, helping ensure practices remain focused and uninterrupted.
3. Trust - As we stated earlier, our coaches are great! At times, you may not fully understand the purpose of a particular activity or drill that is being worked on during practice. Our coaches are dedicated to training and developing successful swimmers. Many of their practices and instructions are designed to build on one another. It is imperative that you, as a parent, trust our coaches and their skills. Remember, our goal as coaches and parents is the same thing: to give your swimmer the best opportunity to succeed and have fun.
4. Parent Coaching - DO NOT COACH YOUR SWIMMER during practice. We cannot emphasize this enough. Our coaches have been instructed how to maximize every swimmer’s potential. Often a coach will ask a swimmer to do a drill that looks unorthodox to the naked eye; however, we can assure you that everything we do both on and off the pool deck has a purpose.
*Please allow our coaches to do their job. If you have a question, comment or concern, please contact any of the Crismark Comets committee members.
5. Parent encouragement - We do understand that as a parent, you want to "whoop it up" for your swimmer. We highly encourage you to do that during a swim meet. During practice, not so much. If a swimmer looks your way during practice, an encouraging golf clap, or a thumbs up works great. We don't want you to ignore them, but we don't want you to be a distraction either. Thank you for understanding.
