With the World Junior Swimming Championships winding down we thought it appropriate to reminisce on one of the most important people in a young swimmer’s support crew, Mom! Here’s 10 ways to tell if you’ve become a Swim Mom and then check below to see how you could win a Funkita or Funky Trunks prize pack!
1. You’ve taken your Microsoft Excel skills to the next level, mainly on work’s time, as you’ve set up a tracking spreadsheet for training, race times, results and the season ahead.
2. Your organisational skills have undergone a dramatic transformation and you could now command a military operation. With your spreadsheets, a weekly meal planner, 3 page shopping list and logistics schedule for Swim Dad nothing will get in the way of your weekly mission.
3. You buy your own stopwatch and usually forget that you’re still wearing it around your neck at the end of the day. It has a special place at home next to the alarm clock and the back-up alarm clock so it’s ready to slip around your neck when you wake on race day.
The Pine boys lined up to race with Mom Sasha and three time Olympian husband Adam Pine taking the photo!
4. You’ve race day ritual to get the family out the door and to the pool has been rehearsed and practised multiple times. The night before, snacks and drinks are packed in individual containers in the fridge and gear bags are at the front door. Every second counts to ensure a smooth journey to the pool on race morning.
5. You upgraded to an SUV at the start of the season and you’ve worked out how to perfectly pack swim gear and kids into it, including using the sunglasses holder for spare goggles. Your fingers glide effortlessly to the demister to constantly keep the condensation from wet towels, bodies and gear from fogging up the windscreen.
6. You know the lingo and you know when to shout it. “How many times have I told you no breathing off the wall Jessie,” rolls off your tongue like a tumble turn. Even though Jessie has her head underwater you feel obliged to shout instructions from the stands.
7. You perfect the art of slapping a rolled up programme extremely loudly during breaststroke events and then spontaneously swinging it above your head in wild circles as Jessie approaches the finish. You learn to make a piercing whistle with no hands when this slapping technique is clearly not being responded to by Jessie who is tiring in the last 15 metres of the race.
8. You start calling Olympic swimming stars by their first name only. Swim Dad raises his eyebrows when you say “Katie’s 400 free at Worlds wasn’t that impressive. Coach said our Jessie is swimming faster times than Katie did at her age.”
9. You know the coach’s coffee order and the best time to deliver it during the meet warm up, when coach is making decisions on the final relay spot that you’re hoping little Jessie will secure.
10. It’s Sunday, the smell of chlorine drifts around the house from the pile of wet towels in the laundry waiting to be washed. The stove is humming with the week’s food preparations and Swim Dad and Jessie are napping after an early start at the pool, and several PBs thanks to your shouts of encouragement from poolside. It’s the perfect life.
We love our Swim Moms and to the ones at World Juniors we hope you and your ‘little one’ had a fantastic week of racing in Indy. To win yourself a prize pack valued up to $500 from Aussie swimwear labels Funkita and Funky Trunks simply click here to go to the competition post on our Facebook page to see how you can win!
FOLLOW FUNKY TRUNKS ON TWITTER HERE.
FOLLOW FUNKY TRUNKS ON INSTAGRAM HERE.
LIKE FUNKY TRUNKS ON FACEBOOK HERE.
SEE FUNKY TRUNKS ON SWIMOUTLET.COM HERE.
SEE FUNKITA ON SWIMOUTLET.COM HERE.
Swimming post is courtesy of Funky Trunks, a SwimSwam ad partner.
funny swim mom shirt https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BTRJLH8
I really hope this was written as satire but the reality is that this is how a lot of parents think!
11. You are a female who has given birth to one or more children who have joined a swim team.
This post says to go to their FB page to enter to win. The FB page says to go here. What’s going on?
Their coach said their boy is faster than Katie was?! Ridiculously self-serving. Poor kid must be under sooo much pressure to suceed as an athlete.?
Um…… 1, 3 & 6 are something the coaches pretty much do NOT want to see. Be a swim MOM, not a swim COACH. Feed your kid well, get them to practice on time, volunteer, praise their EFFORT, and tell them how much you love to watch them race. That’s IT. Pitch the stopwatch, the heavy binder with the charts, and any attempt at technique critique.
My coach closed the deck and stands to parents during practice specifically because of this. (1,3&6)
As a coach, I love it when the parents are more invested in the sport than the kids. Why should a kid try to figure out what splits he needs to hold to make a championship cut when his mom is always close at hand to do it for him? I just wish I had more parents trying to live vicariously through their children. Nothing is better for a developing child than having a parent who does 1, 3, and 6. Totally healthy.
My favorite one by far, though, is number 9. I am completely willing to make important relay decisions that will affect the team’s results at big meets based on whose parent brings me a coffee during prelims.… Read more »
She looks different than the swim moms I know…