How to Win

Age group swimming is easy to love when things are going well. Coaches and parents love witnessing age groupers improve. If kids are continually dropping time, you feel like you must be doing something right. You probably are. Watch out, though, because the validation you feel from your kids getting faster is a trap. Growth slows, puberty ends, and plateaus are just around the corner waiting to deliver hard lessons to kids, parents, and coaches alike, lessons about things like self-doubt, jealousy, and failure.

If you’re reading this, you might be the parent or coach of a young superstar who’s riding high. In that case make no mistake: tougher times are on the way. Or maybe your athlete or team is coming off a poor performance at their championship meet.