It is a safety issue your child needs to learn to open their eyes under water. 

They need to see so not to crash into other swimmers

They need to be able to find the wall if they fall into the pool or their goggles fill with water. 

They must be safe in the water at all times and that is to know where they are and what their surroundings are and how to get to safety. 

Tips : Do not give your child a towel to dry their face when they are in the shower and bathtub. 

Practice in the tub pouring water over the head and make a game of it. 

Put things in the bath and have your child find them under the water. 

Have your child put their face in the water and count your fingers. 

Tell your child to open their eyes after they put their face in the water. 

Everything will be blurry at first and feel funny but you will be able to see great things and play games with each other under water. Underwater tea parties are great and catching fish, finding jewels, and money are great games to play. 

Goggles will be allowed once the child can do all these fun things and knows how to dive. Goggles always fall off when learning to dive and then children keep their heads up on their divesto keep the goggles on. Proper technique first then goggles

The team suit and team caps are only mandatory for racing.

No long sleeve shirts. Long sleeves restrict the swimmers movement in the water and they can not learn the proper technique. When jumping in sometimes the shirts go over there head and face and obviously that is not a good sign. The swimmers are constantly pulling or trying to rearrange the shirt while swimming. Added clothing on your child makes him heavier and harder to float. My goal is to keep your child on top of the water and you are not helping by putting added clothing on them. It is like swimming with a gallon of milk attached to your body. Have you ever swam fully dressed or with just a pair of soxs on try it and you will know what I mean. 

Sun protection use sunscreen.

Bathing caps are important because they keep the hair out of the face and mouth.Wearing a cap allows us to teach the proper breathing. Also when wearing a bathing cap less water falls on your face and you can breath better and see better. Those that do not wear bathing caps are always moving their hair out of the way .

The team cap is mandatory for meets only. You can wear any kind of cap you want. 

Latex is a thinner material and the least expensive.

Silicon is thicker slides on easier and may last longer most expensive.

Lycra is a material goes on easy but stretches out.

Don't stress out if you can't get the 4yr olds and 5yr olds to wear one . The most important thing is to get them in the water.

On the calendar it will show your childs practice time. Your child is to attend their age group practice and then they will be evaluated and placed in the proper lane according to their ability at the beginning of every season. They are evaluated and placed into groups acoording to stroke technique  there are 4 strokes Butterfly ,Freestyle ,Breaststroke and Backstroke, there are 4 turns, and 4 starts for each stroke and dives. Just because your child can swim the whole length of the pool that doesn't mean they should be swimming the whole length of the pool . I believe that swimming half the pool with the correct technique is better than swimming the second half with poor technique. The distance will come later. Be patient. 

If you feel that the lane your child is in is not the correct lane I will be happy to evaluate. Please come and see your childs coach at the end of your childs parctice and ask them to get me I will evaluate right then and there at the end of the practice. DO NOT INTERUPT ANY OF THE COACHES DURING A PRACTICE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND THEY HAVE BEEN TOLD BY ME NOT TO SPEAK TO ANY PARENT/GUARDIANS DURING A PRACTICE. YOU ARE TAKING TIME AWAY FROM EVERY CHILD AND PUTTING THEIR SAFETY AT RISK. I try to evaluate frequently so try to come to practice on a regular basis . Swimmers are learning something new all the time and to improve you need to practice. 

Your child will be assigned a lane and are to report to that same lane every practice. If your child changes lanes in the middle of a practice they are to report to that new lane the next practice. Please remember your childs lane . 

It is important that your child feels comfortable in the lane they are in and having fun. If they are not then it is better to put them in an easier lane and have them be the best in the lane and build up their confidence, because when they do get to move up they will now be last in line and the yardage will be more and faster. Don't push to hard ,Encourage and praise even the cryers.