My daughter is a rising senior and has been contacted by coaches by phone this last week. She will be at competitions later this summer where coaches will be attending. I understand that coaches cannot call or have face-to-face contact with the athlete at the competition until all of her events are over. Does that restriction apply to coach/parent conversations, as well?
Yes, I’m pretty sure it does. The coach can say hello or nod, but nothing more. They know the rules so just follow their lead.
Yes it does. They can have “casual contact” but that’s the limit. No discussion of performance, etc. Just wait and talk to them after instead of putting the coach in an awkward situation. Set a time and place to meet them and talk at that time.
I agree with lubbub above that at a swim meet the coach has to wait until the competition is over to have anything other than casual contact with the PSA. One big reason the coaches want to know their recruits are going is so they can watch them compete in an actual race which they don’t get to do on recruiting visits.
The college coach cannot contact the swimmer in anyway until after his or her last event is completed in the meet. However, this provision does not extend to parents. It is very common to see coaches in the stands at Sectionals and Juniors talking to parents while a parent is watching their S or D swimming. If the coach is savvy, they’ll approach after a race, so not to bother a parent who might have travelled long distances to see their child swim. Many discussions will occur in the stands, in the hallways, and in private meeting rooms at the larger meets between parents and coaches. As a parent, if you do not want to engage in any discussion without your swimmer present, simply tell the coach you’d like to wait to talk until the competition is over–you won’t offend them. However, because its “high” season for recruiting, there will be a lot of calculated “casual” contact of parents and coaches at these meets.