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THE ASCENT

A Parent’s Guide to Nurturing Young Swimmers with Exclusive Insights from World-Class Swimming Experts

Are you a parent of a young competitive swimmer? Do you want to be present and supportive in a way that truly benefits your child? Are you looking to understand the world of competitive swimming more deeply, so you can navigate the unique challenges your child faces, both in the pool and in the classroom?

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This book is designed just for you!

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A must-read for any parent with a child in swimming, this guide is packed with valuable insights from world-renowned Olympic swim coaches, iconic swimmers, and industry experts. Through a series of interviews and practical advice, author Lev Mikulitski—an experienced father of a competitive swimmer—equips you with the knowledge and strategies needed to support your child’s journey in competitive swimming effectively.

The Ascent - The book

A Unique Collection of Wisdom for Parents of Young Swimmers

The only book featuring insights from approximately 20 top experts in the field, including Olympic coaches, legendary former Olympic swimmers, and leading professionals in technology and the industry. Each shares their wisdom to help you become a better parent for your young swimmer.

A unique book that explores the fundamentals of competitive swimming, covering essential topics such as the critical role of parents, balancing swimming with academics, managing burnout and motivation, nutritional guidance, and more.

A guide offering a fresh perspective for parents who want to be more involved, providing practical approaches to support their child effectively while understanding the unique challenges of the competitive swimming journey.

Swimming World Titans Featured in This Book

  • Chapter 1 - Role of Parents in Training
    "Parents are very much part of the team, but as with everyone on the team, roles need to be clear and aligned with each person’s expertise and knowledge of the child in question. Parents should absolutely take the lead on nutrition and hydration, ensuring their child is well-fueled each day (and seeking expert guidance on this where needed). They should also be responsible for managing their child’s time in relation to schoolwork and other social activities. Parents should ensure their child gets an appropriate amount of sleep and assist in preparing their equipment and kit for the next day—trying not to do it for them but ensuring everything is complete" Dr. Jon Rudd - High Performance Director, Swim Ireland.
  • Chapter 2 - Key Foundations in Early Training
    Fun, Being part of a team, Learning technique and skills, Learning 'feel' for the water, Understanding body awareness on land and in the water. Michael Bohl - Legendary Australian Olympic swimming coach.
  • Chapter 3 - Balancing School and Swimming
    Our sport has many great examples showing that maintaining high academic and athletic standards is possible. The key to this is structure and support. Offer a home environment that helps them balance both their academic and athletic needs, and demonstrate an attitude that helps them believe it is possible to be successful on all levels. Rachel Stratton-Mills - Director of Swimming & Diving, Northwestern University.
  • Chapter 4 - Mental Toughness and Resilience
    The mental toughness part of swimming basically comes from how children are raised. At the end of the day, children need to be taught how to fail, get up, and move forward. In the past, the problem I often saw was that parents didn’t want their kids to feel emotional pain. So, they would protect them by not letting them continue to try again. I think failure, and the ability to try and try again, is part of developing mental toughness. Showing the athlete that they can succeed by taking chances, getting do-overs, and moving forward after failure is key. Ron Aitken - Head Coach & CEO, Sandpipers of Nevada.
  • Chapter 5 - Nutrition and Hydration
    As a physician, I have learned that the nutrition of each swimmer needs to be as customized for them as their swimming or dryland programs. Every swimmer is different in how they respond to certain foods because they each have a unique microbiome. Gary Hall Sr. - The Race Club.
  • Chapter 6 - Injury Prevention and Recovery
    Injuries stem from one of three general areas: overtraining, poor technique (unbalanced strokes), or genetic predisposition, or any combination of these factors. A mature program will focus on developing balanced strokes with gradual increases in training for long-term development, which is equally important for injury prevention. Don Heidary - Co-Head Coach & Founder, Orinda Aquatics.
  • Chapter 7 - Motivation and Burnout
    Signs of burnout in young swimmers include a lack of enthusiasm for training, decreased performance, fatigue, irritability, and a desire to quit the sport. To prevent burnout, it's important to maintain a healthy balance between training and rest, encourage participation in other activities, and ensure the training environment is positive and enjoyable. Brett Hawke - Sprint Revolution.
  • Chapter 8 - Technology in Swimming
    The secret to success in swimming is good technique. Technique trumps everything. The more time we spend on technique, the better swimmer we will develop in the end. The sooner we get young swimmers embracing technology—hopefully focused on technique and understanding—the better they will swim. If we want to teach a person a foreign language, it seems young children are like sponges and learn languages more easily. The older we get, the more habits we form, and the more distractions we have. The sooner we can get young swimmers learning with technology, the sooner they will master the best technique, and in the end, the world will swim better and faster! John Mix - Founder of Finis.

Want to raise a swimmer who is healthy in body, mind, and spirit? And ensure you're supporting them in the best way possible? This book is your essential guide.
As a parent of a swimmer, it's the most important step you can take for yourself and your child's success.

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