I have a 12 year old son who has been swimming USA-s for 5 years.
He loves swimming.
He just came home from an intensive swim camp(overnite) that lasted 5 days.
He also attended this camp last year.
Last year when he returned from camp he was hesitant to return to his team. He loved the training at camp. I brushed it off.
This year he's upset about returning to his usa-s team again and quite disgusted. After 5 days of learn new drills and almost revamping mosts of his races he just regrets training with his team. He says he loves the people but hates the sets. He says they have been doing the same drills for the past 5 years.
Now as a parent I have observed the coach writing a workout on the white board and then just spacing off but since I'm a new swimmer..i figured..what did I know?
What do I do...change teams???? We are saturated here in western pa.
He's not a diva but a technically beautiful swimmer. And he loves his sport.
Would it hurt to drop a year around club and he would just swim middle school?? Or find him another USA-s team?
Thanks for reading and any opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Tough issues for sure.
Before changing teams, consider talking with the coach.
Changing teams is always an option, but resist the urge to 'team hop' too much. I've seen parents 'chase the dream' always looking for the greener grass and they seem to be on an endless search. No team is ever perfect.
Does your kid have friends on the team? Emphasize the social and fun aspects of this.
Can he stop for some period and come back to the sport? For sure. He's 12.
Any camp of such kind is like a presentation. They present different innovative things, teach to use them. Though swimming in your team it's a different thing it's a daily work which should be done. Camps don't include annual planning but it is necessary to do it in your daily trainings. If your son is a good swimmer mainly it's not desert of the camp but of his coach and his team. He should not mix 2 things: camp is designed to inspire swimmer and teach new things, swimming team and coach are to help in your daily growth. Any team has daily routine and it's kinda boring to do all these sets every day but it's impossible to grow without that. Swimming isn't a kind of sport where results come next day or week or even month. Planning is usually done for half a year.
Now the question when it worth to change the team? 1 - when results are not growing for more than 1 year but even in that case it's better to talk to the coach first. 2 if there are serious misunderstandings in the team or between the team and the coach. Without unity in the team there will be no growth.
I live in W PA too and while we are saturated with teams, I'm sure you know they are not all created equally. That, and of course, the commute can be a killer just crossing from the North side to the South side, etc. Teams have their own personalities, but if he's enjoying his teammates, that is worth a fortune. The greatest technique coaches in the world can't overcome the negative vibe that could come from a group he doesn't gel with. My :2cents:.
I swim with a USA-S teams and have for 5 years. On one team we had 5 coaches in 3 years. There were times when I didn't like going to work out because the workouts were boring. But as an adult, I was able to stay focused. Not easy for a kid. I switched teams 2 years ago and am with the same coach still. He fits my style perfectly.
If your son, at such an important age, is not enjoying practice, it's time to move on. Is there a way you can get your son to try out other teams without word getting out too much? I know that at his age, it's a time when a lot of kids decide whether to stick with swimming or not. If he doesn't fit with his coaches, then a new team might be the right answer to keep him going in the sport.
Good luck.
Not knowing all the details, it's hard to say with certainty. Who chose the camp that your son attended? I've been to many camps over the years and many times the coaches at home don't use new drills.
I would start by assessing your team's performance in the past few years with other clubs around. LSC Championships, Zones, etc. Certainly some programs go through cyclical issues, but generally speaking good teams are good...year in, year out.
Based on what you said, it sounds like your kid wants to swim more, not less. So I would consider a different program, not dropping club swimming. Maybe meet with his current coach first to discuss their plan for the season and concerns. But I would definitely steer clear of suggesting how the coaches should do their jobs.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like the kid loves the sport and he can recognize the difference between good training and garbage. He's been exposed to a higher level of coaching, and he's not satisfied with going back to the mindless drills. Fair enough. The problem is that you would be very lucky to find serious technique-oriented coaching at any other local team. It would probably just be more of the same.
An important question. I appreciate your candor in asking.
Would it hurt to drop a year at club? No. He's 12. He should be having fun and enjoying himself. If he's not doing both of these at the club, what's the point?
I quit competitive swimming from 13-15, 18-19, and 23-39 ... and I always came back more focused and happy to swim. Even now I don't swim with a team, but have attended a camp and loved it as your son did.
As long as he doesn't turn into a couch/internet potato during his break and stays active, what's the harm? Have him try another team or two, or even another sport if he wants ... he's only going to be 12 once.
My 2¢
I would start by assessing your team's performance in the past few years with other clubs around. LSC Championships, Zones, etc. Certainly some programs go through cyclical issues, but generally speaking good teams are good...year in, year out.Good point. Try also to understand what the team's mission/vision/philosophy is. Not all teams aspire to turn out state-, regional-, national-level champions. It's not bad if they don't aspire to that, but if your kid wants that kind of team, it'd be good to find it if you can.
Based on what you said, it sounds like your kid wants to swim more, not less. So I would consider a different program, not dropping club swimming. Maybe meet with his current coach first to discuss their plan for the season and concerns. But I would definitely steer clear of suggesting how the coaches should do their jobs.I agree with all of this.
This is a good discussion. It seems that 12-14 is the age when kids seem to have misgivings about their primary sport, and probably about just about everything in general. More than a few really solid swimmers, such as yours, have left our club team at this age, just seems to happen.
To your questions, would hopping to another team help? Well, that is tough to say for sure but you could probably expect a honeymoon period on another team and then possibly be right back where you are. I like pwb's suggestion to speak to the coach. Any coach who has been around a while should have seen this situation and can hopefully provide guidance. Don't burn your bridges with your current team and don't expect the new team to be nirvana either.
Would it hurt him to swim middle school and not year round? Probably his times would suffer but, at 12 and being a boy, I don't see that as a big issue. Swimming will still be there if/when he wants to return. Just hope if he returns he doesn't end up a bitter and angry manboy like Jazz. There are good clubs out there. Hopefully you will find what you are looking for, or some of what you are looking for anyway. Good luck!
