My Child Keeps Talking About Zones…
Should I Discourage Him Since It Is Not Realistic?
We launch the forum with a version of a question that was recently asked on the USA Swimming website:
Q: All my child talks about is going to Zones. Should I discourage this since it may not be realistic?
A: Most kids will have long-term or “dream” goals of making the Connecticut Zone team. They may even dream of making the Olympic team or winning a National Championship. Dream goals can be beneficial by helping motivate your athlete to go to practice and to train hard (and there is no way of knowing if it is realistic or not). While it is okay to have dream goals, there are several problems with athletes only having dream goals. These problems include not knowing if they are making progress towards their goal, not experiencing little “successes” along the way, and losing motivation when the goal seems so distant. To combat this, it is important to also talk to your child about setting short-term or even daily goals. Ask him what he is working on in practice this week (just as you ask him what is going on in school), get him to identify skills he needs to improve on, and follow up with him to help him recognize successes along the way. Be sure to ask your son to speak to his coach if he needs help seeking some practice or short-term goals.
Q: All my child talks about is going to Zones. Should I discourage this since it may not be realistic?
A: Most kids will have long-term or “dream” goals of making the Connecticut Zone team. They may even dream of making the Olympic team or winning a National Championship. Dream goals can be beneficial by helping motivate your athlete to go to practice and to train hard (and there is no way of knowing if it is realistic or not). While it is okay to have dream goals, there are several problems with athletes only having dream goals. These problems include not knowing if they are making progress towards their goal, not experiencing little “successes” along the way, and losing motivation when the goal seems so distant. To combat this, it is important to also talk to your child about setting short-term or even daily goals. Ask him what he is working on in practice this week (just as you ask him what is going on in school), get him to identify skills he needs to improve on, and follow up with him to help him recognize successes along the way. Be sure to ask your son to speak to his coach if he needs help seeking some practice or short-term goals.
Posted by on 11/21 at 08:46 PM
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