At HPAC we believe it is important to teach our swimmers to enjoy the sport by creating a fun, positive, and safe learning environment. Through this style of coaching we hope the swimmers will gain an appreciation for the sport, thus leading them towards a route of continuing the sport for as long as possible. As coaches we want to see every swimmer grow to their full potential and become the best swimmer they can be. In order to accomplish this we coach from a competitive nature and will push the swimmers farther than they themselves believe they can go. Along with this we know every individual is unique and not everyone learns in the same manner; so we take it upon ourselves to figure out what every individual needs to order to allow them to grow to their full potential. One of our main focuses at HPAC is to insure we are creating a fun atmosphere for the swimmers. We find that the more fun our kids have the more likely they are to enjoy the sport and will want to come back. We try to teach our swimmers to focus on the “fun” aspects of the sport versus putting all their attention on their times and how they place among other swimmers at competitions. During practices we will use fun activities, challenges, and games in order to teach the swimmers aspects of the sport which they need to be working on and to break up the monotony of the sport. In order for the swimmers to perform to their best ability they need to be operating in a positive environment; we like to see our kids smiling! In order to uphold a positive nature we try to keep the kids focused on the good aspects of their swimming. After races we compliment swimmers on the good aspects of their swims, while at the same time telling them what they need to do next time in order to improve. We try to teach them that simply because they might not have achieved a “best time” after a race is does not mean they had a “bad” race. Because kids are fragile both physically and emotionally we firmly believe in maintaining a safe environment for the swimmers at all times. We have rules in place in order to protect the swimmers and we expect them to adhere to the rules at all times and if this cannot be done, the coaching staff reserves the right to take disciplinary measures. However, if disciplinary actions do need to be taken we will never scold a swimmer in front of their peers as we know it can tend to be embarrassing. The most important aspect of our “safe” policy is that we have a zero tolerance policy for any bullying, teasing, or making fun of anyone else on the team. If there are problems with this a swimmer will be talked to about their behavior once and if it happens again, they will be asked to leave the team. The HPAC coaching staff has a deep passion for what we do and our primary concern are the swimmers at all times. The swimmers might not be the ones who pay us, but they definitely are the people who we work for!
