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.
As someone who has been a young swimmer, a coach of young swimmers and a parent of young swimmers I have one rule I try to live by. It's much easier to say this as a swimmer or coach than as a parent but: let your child own her own swimming experience. Sure, you may have to steer things here and there when there are real issues affecting your swimmer but trying to control her experience of the sport will likely lead to frustration for both you and your child. The best thing my parents ever did for my swimming was to let me own my own experiences. The great ones and the ones that taught me how to handle my own challenges.
As someone who has been a young swimmer, a coach of young swimmers and a parent of young swimmers I have one rule I try to live by. It's much easier to say this as a swimmer or coach than as a parent but: let your child own her own swimming experience. Sure, you may have to steer things here and there when there are real issues affecting your swimmer but trying to control her experience of the sport will likely lead to frustration for both you and your child. The best thing my parents ever did for my swimming was to let me own my own experiences. The great ones and the ones that taught me how to handle my own challenges.
