Note from Coach Ty to all parents,
Subject: Suits and Goggles
Date: 09/08/2010
Parents,
I was recently asked a couple of questions about suits, goggles and caps. They were good questions and I thought I would simply share my answers with all of you.
Do they wear their “everyday” swim suits for practice or do they wear their uniform suits?
I would recommend wearing something other than the team suit for practice although you will certainly see swimmers at practice who do wear the team suit. Chlorine is a wonderful element for keeping water clear and healthy for us to swim in. However, the benefits pretty much stop there and the remaining attributes of the chemical are less than friendly to suits. I would recommend purchasing, if you don't already have, some basic suits for practice. For girls a basic one piece suit will work just fine. Boys should have a basic competition styled suit - standard loose fitting trunks for boys is generally not a great idea as it creates a tremendous amount of drag which can hamper the learning process. Keep your team suit reserved for meets. Additionally, after every practice and or meet one of the best things you can do is rinse the suits as soon as possible to help extend the life of the suit. Unfortunately, no matter how often you rinse, your practice suits will loose shape and begin to show signs of wear relatively quickly so I would recommend having 2 or 3 available. Suits can be expensive but if you check the internet you can often times find good deals on "Grab Bag" suits which are sold at a decent discount. The only draw back is you get what you get: style, color etc are whatever the vendor happens to have on hand and throws in the box.
Is there a particular type of goggles I need to purchase?
Goggles are a matter of personal comfort and style. That being said I would not recommend buying the cheapest pair on the rack but you don't have to break the bank either. The best thing you can do is go down to Competitive Aquatic Supply, on Whipple Ave., and taking a look at the options. Usually you can ask for help and they can offer advice and even help you try on a pair or two to see what works best. One of the easiest things you can do to test a pair of goggles for fit is to press them on the face creating a small amount of suction. If the goggles stay in place for 5 to 10 seconds without having the strap on the head then you probably have a good fit. Beyond that everything else is comfort or style. Rubber or foam padding - no padding - color - shape. There are tons of options.
Is necessary to wear a swim cap?
Swim caps are a relatively important piece of equipment. If your swimmer has hair that is long enough to wash into the eyes or mouth when swimming they should wear a cap, boy or girl. The reason is that swimers will often develop bad habits as a result of learning to swim with hair that is getting in the way. It is much better to keep the hair under control. Additionally, a great way to help minimize the effects of chlorine on hair is to simply shower before practice and get the hair good and wet and then put the cap on. This should help reduce the dreaded dry hair that can come from swimming so often. If your swimmer has shorter hair that stays out of the way then there is no real reason to wear them during practice but I like it when we all wear them at meets as it helps identify our swimmers and promote the team.
Ty
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