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Plateaus
By WILLIAM J
PRICE
Saluki Head Coach
Possibly the most
frustrating aspect of our sport is when a swimmer reaches a plateau in
performance or, worse yet, seems to be getting slower as time passes. While
this can be hard on everyone involved it is especially difficult for
parents. Coaches know what is happening and usually don’t worry about it.
Swimmers may not know what is happening but they realize they are in a
position to do something about it. Parent’s for the most part don’t know
what is causing their child’s poor performance and even if they did there is
little they could do about it.
All swimmers experience
performance plateaus throughout their careers. While normal, plateaus are
unpredictable both as to when they will appear and how long they will last.
Sometimes swimmers maintain performance levels but don’t improve. Other
times swimmers seem to be regressing. These are both symptoms of the same
thing. Here are some points parents should keep in mind to ease them through
these periods:
- Plateaus are infrequent.
A performance plateau occurs after a period of improvement. How long a
swimmer will continue to improve is anybody’s guess but it usually lasts
longer than a meet or two. Depending on the kind of improvement (slow and
steady vs. biblical proportion) some swimmers can go a whole season
without hitting a plateau.
- Plateaus are a normal
part of training. Hitting a plateau does not mean that your swimmer is
suffering from lack of motivation, poor coaching or bad nutrition. What
appears to be long periods of time when nothing is happening is an
illusion. Previous gains are being consolidated preparing the swimmer for
the next bout of improvement.
- Plateaus are not to be
taken personally. Some parents react to a plateau with the mind-set that
the child’s performance somehow reflects on them. It doesn’t. Parents need
to make an honest effort to deal with the emotional judgment that plateau
performance is a "fault" that needs to be assigned. If it were possible,
swimmers would have best times in every event at every meet. That this
doesn't occur doesn't mean the swimmers aren't trying. So take the not so
great times and keep them in perspective.
A plateau is a stepping
stone to a higher level. Next time your child reaches one take it in stride
and realize that the next higher step is just a short time away. |