PUNCTUALITY 
This is a very touchy subject, but one that I think needs to be addressed. It was funny on Saturday morning watching Peter walk through the doors for practice, and then talking to him afterwards about this issue. At what point did society come to accept that being late is acceptable? Now. as I work through this I do understand that traffic and school have a direct effect on parent’s schedules, so this is directed toward those AM swimmers (including Saturday) who arrive late and then have no urgency to get started, or the ones who are there but decide that since practice starts at 6:30, that is the time they should start to get ready. As Peter said this morning when I said he was “GRUMPY” 
,
, because the last two examples of swimmers from above are the ones who drive me crazy every day.
As coaches we look at these athletes, and the look that we get back is “What’s the problem? I’m getting in." or "He’s in a bad mood 
today!"
I learned a long time ago that late is unacceptable, and as my dad taught me “Mike if you are late you are making someone else late and that is not acceptable." He taught me something that I use when teaching the Lifeguarding course and that is “ON TIME IS BEING A FEW MINUTES EARLY, BEING LATE IS SHOWING UP ON TIME, BEING SENT HOME IS SHOWING UP LATE.” It always amazes me that when swimmers who are late walk right by us and sometimes even want to chat
like there’s no problem at all.
On those few occasions back when I was swimming and I showed up late (yes it will happen at some point) I made sure that I was ready to get in the pool as soon as I walked through the doors. Most of the time I would get in the nearest lane and work my way over to my proper lane without the coach noticing (he always knew).
As a coach I have designed workout
and I have it timed out to fit it all in, and while I don’t mind (and I do) making changes in it as we go, I DO MIND CHANGING 
THE WORKOUT BECAUSE YOU, THE ATHLETES, ARE NOT READY. That shows a lack of respect for the coach, your teammates, the sport and most of all yourself. If your coach is late arriving or comes unprepared, at what point would you lose your respect for said coach? I dare say that you as a swimmer would come to the conclusion that said coach really does not care about putting you the swimmer in the best possible situation to succeed.
I as your coach owe it to you to be prepared when I come through the
door. You on the other hand owe it to your teammates, yourself and ME to be prepared to get in on time. That means having equipment, water bottle at the edge of the pool ready to go. Don’t ask what equipment is needed, just have it ready to go. I can’t even begin to tell you how upset I get when someone has to get out to get something especially a water bottle left in a bag. What I take from that, is you’re not ready or prepared to get better with this practice. All of this does affect results at meets one way or another.
BE ON TIME! I WILL NOW GET OFF MY SOAP BOX
MIKE
,
"I was not grumpy when I walked into the building, but swimmers who are sitting around in sweats when it is time to be in the water make me grumpy."
Peter hit it right on the nail , because the last two examples of swimmers from above are the ones who drive me crazy every day.
As coaches we look at these athletes, and the look that we get back is “What’s the problem? I’m getting in." or "He’s in a bad mood today!"I learned a long time ago that late is unacceptable, and as my dad taught me “Mike if you are late you are making someone else late and that is not acceptable." He taught me something that I use when teaching the Lifeguarding course and that is “ON TIME IS BEING A FEW MINUTES EARLY, BEING LATE IS SHOWING UP ON TIME, BEING SENT HOME IS SHOWING UP LATE.” It always amazes me that when swimmers who are late walk right by us and sometimes even want to chat
like there’s no problem at all.
On those few occasions back when I was swimming and I showed up late (yes it will happen at some point) I made sure that I was ready to get in the pool as soon as I walked through the doors. Most of the time I would get in the nearest lane and work my way over to my proper lane without the coach noticing (he always knew).As a coach I have designed workout
and I have it timed out to fit it all in, and while I don’t mind (and I do) making changes in it as we go, I DO MIND CHANGING THE WORKOUT BECAUSE YOU, THE ATHLETES, ARE NOT READY. That shows a lack of respect for the coach, your teammates, the sport and most of all yourself. If your coach is late arriving or comes unprepared, at what point would you lose your respect for said coach? I dare say that you as a swimmer would come to the conclusion that said coach really does not care about putting you the swimmer in the best possible situation to succeed.I as your coach owe it to you to be prepared when I come through the
door. You on the other hand owe it to your teammates, yourself and ME to be prepared to get in on time. That means having equipment, water bottle at the edge of the pool ready to go. Don’t ask what equipment is needed, just have it ready to go. I can’t even begin to tell you how upset I get when someone has to get out to get something especially a water bottle left in a bag. What I take from that, is you’re not ready or prepared to get better with this practice. All of this does affect results at meets one way or another.BE ON TIME! I WILL NOW GET OFF MY SOAP BOX
MIKE
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