Every May, we all flock to City Aquatics to our 'not so' coveted parent class which is a pre-requisite for our children to participate in swim team for the summer. All of us parents roll our eyes and think, what a waste of time, on top of that we must pay $5.00 to attend.
I was one of those parents yesterday, rolling my eyes, racing through lunch hour traffic to make it on time. Parking is always a hassle too! So I park at the church across the street thinking my truck will NEVER get towed from a church. (this is after I drove 3 blocks looking for the perfect parking spot) As I enter the crowded room, with little air flow, and sweating as I raced across the street to make it on time. I flop down in my seat and think, my gosh... do I have to really be told how to treat my child at a swim meet? I like to think I am not hard on him, cheer him on every step of the way, and teach him that he is still young and has plenty of time to 'do his thing'. (whatever that might be)
All of a sudden, a breath of fresh air enters the room. A very pale red headed woman with a soft voice enters the room and welcomes all of us. She does not lecture us about anything but rather gives very important advice regarding nutrition, and NOT to coach our kids. Hmmm... my ears are perking up at this point.
I learned quite a bit, one point really stuck with me. How many of us parents out there think we have the next prodigy? Whether it be swimming, golf, baseball, etc. They told us in no uncertain terms that it takes children over 10 years to develop into an elite athlete. Hmmm... so if you have a great athlete NOW - in ten years they could potentially plateau or soar. I also learned how to potentially feed my child before during and after a swim meet.
Moral of the story?
I learned quite a bit yesterday and having a negative attitude is NOT always the best attitude to have. With an open mind imagine how much more I could have walked away with?
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