My daughter has been swimming since she was 5, but started a swim team around 2 years ago. My daughter is 10 years old. She swims for a Naval Academy Swim Club and has been doing roughly 5 a week. She swims meets generally twice a month where we go to another school or university. Before she was at the another swim club that "went away". However when she was there, she made remarkable time reductions, she swims mainly 100-free, 100-back, 100-***, 50-free, 50-back, 50-*** and 100-IM (in the previous team and current team). What is bothering us is in the previous team (4-days a week 1.5 hours each time), she was making time reductions at each meet on each event. However she is at a new swim club (a Naval Academy Swim Club) and she spends more time during practice (5 days a week 1.45 hours each time), however she has recently beginning to ADD TIME, something she has never done before.
Some other information
- She has always been the fastest in her team (before/after) she has always been the fastest during each event during each swim meet (before after).
-100-back (1:21:85) / 100-*** (1:35:73) / 100-free (1:14:28) / 100-IM (1:23:56 / 50-*** (44:28) / 200-free (2:40:97).
-She has recently added 1 to 2 seconds "here and there" instead of dropping time.
-We have arranged a meeting with the coach to discuss.
-She's been with the new time for 3 months, 99% of the time the coach just practices freestyle with the students.
What everyone else said, she should be having fun!
My granddaughter has been swimming AND competing since she was 4. Will be 16 soon and she still loves the sport. But there have been bumps--both of them associated with a mismatch between athlete and coach. Make sure your daughter is 'clicking' with her coach.
RE: sleeping that Rob suggest you consider. If your daughter is training too much it could definately impact her sleep cycles.
Somewhere, I don't remember where, I read a swimmer say the best thing he/she ever heard parents/grandparents say, "I love watching you swim!" Not, great swim, not you will do better next time, etc.
Is she focusing too much on times? She shouldn't be. She should focus on how it feels to swim fast (have done some reading into the psychology of swimming, but don't remember where I found that. For me, as a swimmer, that has helped a lot.)
Has she recently undergone a growth spurt: that can effect stroke mechanics.
Has her coach changed her stroke mechanics? I know my granddaughter's coach changed her stroke and it was a couple of months before there was any truly significant drops.
Hope this helps. Let us know what coach says.
What everyone else said, she should be having fun!
My granddaughter has been swimming AND competing since she was 4. Will be 16 soon and she still loves the sport. But there have been bumps--both of them associated with a mismatch between athlete and coach. Make sure your daughter is 'clicking' with her coach.
RE: sleeping that Rob suggest you consider. If your daughter is training too much it could definately impact her sleep cycles.
Somewhere, I don't remember where, I read a swimmer say the best thing he/she ever heard parents/grandparents say, "I love watching you swim!" Not, great swim, not you will do better next time, etc.
Is she focusing too much on times? She shouldn't be. She should focus on how it feels to swim fast (have done some reading into the psychology of swimming, but don't remember where I found that. For me, as a swimmer, that has helped a lot.)
Has she recently undergone a growth spurt: that can effect stroke mechanics.
Has her coach changed her stroke mechanics? I know my granddaughter's coach changed her stroke and it was a couple of months before there was any truly significant drops.
Hope this helps. Let us know what coach says.
