Sunday Social Post: September 20th
Happy Sunday, Dolfins families! 🐬
It’s time for another Sunday Social — a few quick ideas to help our swimmers in and out of the pool. I also hope everybody had a good time at our Intrasquad Meet and potluck on Saturday. I know the swimmers who are also competing for Winter Park High School right now had an amazing day at the Patriot Invitational, where both the girls and boys teams swum fast, and the boys won the meet!
Stay tuned for pics of both events. 😃
👋 Meet the Coach
First of all, we’re starting a Meet the Coach series, and I thought I might reintroduce myself to some of you. There are a lot of new faces who might not be familiar, so click here to read it now.
😴 The Training Tool Swimmers Sometimes Forget: Sleep
We talk a lot about what swimmers do at practice, but what they do after practice matters, too.
Sleep is when the body gets some of its most important recovery work done. For young athletes especially, consistently getting enough sleep can support recovery, learning, reaction time, mood, and performance.
One simple habit? Encourage swimmers to start winding down a little earlier on nights before morning practice or a meet. The phone will still be there tomorrow. 😉
🥪 Easy Snack Idea: The After-School, Before-Practice Snack
If your swimmer heads straight from school to the pool, that afternoon snack can make a big difference.
Try something that gives them some easy-to-digest carbohydrates for energy, with a little protein to help keep them going:
Half a PB&J sandwich
Crackers with cheese
A banana and a handful of nuts
Yogurt with granola
Applesauce pouch and a granola bar
And maybe save the giant plate of nachos for after practice. 😂
📵 For You Parents: Practice Can Be Your Downtime, Too
Here’s your permission slip: You don't have to watch every lap.
Your swimmer has coaches on deck whose job is to watch the swimming. So occasionally use practice time for you.
Take that walk. Read a book. Call a friend. Listen to a podcast. Sit quietly in your car for 20 glorious minutes without anyone asking you where their goggles are.
Supporting your swimmer doesn’t require watching every stroke they take.
🏊 One Question to Ask After Practice
It’s tempting to ask:
“How did you swim?” But try replacing it occasionally with: “What was fun today?”
Or: “What did you learn today?”
Or even: “What was the hardest thing you did today?”
Those questions move the conversation away from times, rankings and performance and toward the experience of being an athlete — learning, struggling, improving and being part of a team.
Because ultimately, we're not just trying to develop faster swimmers.We're trying to help develop resilient, confident young people who happen to be pretty darn good at swimming. 🐬💙
Have a great week, Dolfins families!
One Team • One Family
—Coach Joe Auer