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AquaMonster Swim Team Philosophy

The Davis AquaMonsters Swim Team is a grass-roots organization offering swimmers a variety of summer recreation and USA Swimming opportunites for children ages 5-18 years. The success of the Aquamonsters team has revolved around the idea that swimmers should have FUN in the sport of swimming and be allowed to participate as a valued team member at any level of commitment.

 

Our motto, "Every Monster Matters", truly describes our team and our philosophy

 

We believe there three core areas to best ensure a lifelong enjoyment with the sport of swimming.

 

  1. Teaching-Based Team: Our team focus, from the young swimmers to the high school competition groups, is on teaching swimming.  We are continually working on age appropriate stroke and skill development for all AquaMonsters.
     

  2. Fitness & Fun: Our coaches work on improving fitness for each of our swimmers.  The AquaMonsters have many mulit-sport athletes and swimming is a great source of cross training. We also host inter-squad meets and social activities during the year.
     

  3. Competition:  For those who wish to compete, the summer season features local, exciting and team-oriented dual swim meets, as well as select invitational swim meets and the Sacramento Meet of Champions. 

    For those that want to compete beyond the summer meets we offer additonal meets as a part of USA Swimming and our high school swimmers also represent their high school swim teams during the school year. 

    While we invite swimmers to compete in at least one meet, participation is NOT required. 

 

We take Monster pride in our ability to meet and develop each swimmer as an individual — an individual who is part of a strong community of families supporting these goals.

 

 

Measurements of Success

 

On the AquaMonsters we focus on measuring success based on PB's (personal bests) or best times. Each summer swimmers work towards the process of getting best times. If all the kids focused on winning a race there would only be a handful of winners out of the 250+ swimmers (AQM and other team) entered each week in the dual meet.

 

As coaches we measure success in many ways:

 

  • best times/PB's

  • stroke technique

  • flip turn development

  • dives

  • breakouts

  • transition turns (IM turns)

  • new records

  • overcoming personal challenges - such as afraid to compete, doing a new sport, moving up an age group, getting DQ'd, swimming a new race/stroke

  • following specific race instructions

  • following specific practice instructions

  • being a quality teammate

  • trying with their best effort

  • giving their best effort on the team relays

 

The sport of swimming is about the process. It takes a lot of practice to become proficient (about three summers of swim team, 100-150 hours).  And by proficient I am not talking about mastery and being a star swimmer.  I am discussing water safety and comfort in the pool so the child can go to a junior high pool party and be comfortable to families can go out on the lake or rivers.

 

It takes thousands of hours to master ~ 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. That's about 1,000 hours/ year for 10 years. Many of our coaching staff have put in 10,000 as swimmers that is one of the reasons they had so many accomplishments.

 

It is a big jump to go from 100 hours to 10,000. I have never heard of anyone say, "oh I want to spend 10,000 hours of my life swimming."

 

What happens is the journey.

 

  • Parents make their kids swim to be water safe

  • Friendships are made.

  • Kids start to like swimming

  • Kids learn how to swim a stroke or do a turn.

  • Swimmers have a little bit of success - a best time, a ribbon, another best time, getting on a relay, a PB towel.

  • The hours start to accumulate, the swimmers practice as they pursue improvement and growth. This happens with incremental steps.

 

Monster Time Standards are like those incremental steps. We work towards best times and the Qualifying time standards for Meet of Champs. But that can be too big of a jump for some swimmers (and parents).  

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