My son is a 10th grader. He is the best swimmer on his team, he is struggling with continuing on. At times he likes it, other times he really dislikes it. Small school Div 3 in Michigan. He is not a phenom swimmer, could maybe swim in college which he does not want to do (which I understand, especially for a walkon or a partial scholarship, you need to really love the sport). Not likely he will be involved in any other sport in HS. He likes weight lifting so he will stay in shape via personal work outs lifting and some running. He has a life guard job (very part time) but will be around the water.
He swam club from 3rd to 7th grade taking springs off. Took 8th grade off and then swam HS for 9th. He is a big kid. 6' 3" 215 pounds with size 16 flippers. Mostly a sprinter but can swim all strokes any distance. 23.39 50 SCY is his best time. No prep for this season, just weight lifiting and some running this past summer. No club swimming.
Team and Coaches would miss him. Coaches are very understanding and are very flexible in dealing with swimmers as individuals. They really look at swimmers as individuals and customize their program to the type of team and swimmers they have.
I am thinking he will not be back next year. I think he will regret it later. But in the end he must want to do it.
Any thoughts on how you felt about HS swimming? any motivating tips?
I was a Michigan High School swimmer many years ago but oh how I remember the days. At this point of the year virtually everyone in high school swimming is a bit burnt out. But, the glory days are just around the corner. Taper cannot come soon enough. Usually, you'll see the spirits turn as they build into the conference meet. Once conference and/or states is over there will be time for reflection. If he has some good time drops you may see a 180 degree turn in the attitude for swimming. But the real time to tell won't be until next years season starts. Believe me, I struggled with it every year. All the way thru high school and again at a small Div III college (which is now 5x what it was when I started there). After college I was away from swimming for 10 years but then came to masters and have loved it ever since. I swam this morning with the local boys team and they were all just looking forward to getting thru this week as it is considered "hell week". The last big push before taper starts for conference. They were all dragging themselves out of the locker room and off to school. Compare that to a week or two from now and you'll see smiling faces, jokes and lots of energy. Hopefully he'll decide the work was all worth it. Still, to this day, I reflect back on my decisions to continue with swimming and I'm so happy I didn't quit. As they say, when the going gets tough,...
I was a Michigan High School swimmer many years ago but oh how I remember the days. At this point of the year virtually everyone in high school swimming is a bit burnt out. But, the glory days are just around the corner. Taper cannot come soon enough. Usually, you'll see the spirits turn as they build into the conference meet. Once conference and/or states is over there will be time for reflection. If he has some good time drops you may see a 180 degree turn in the attitude for swimming. But the real time to tell won't be until next years season starts. Believe me, I struggled with it every year. All the way thru high school and again at a small Div III college (which is now 5x what it was when I started there). After college I was away from swimming for 10 years but then came to masters and have loved it ever since. I swam this morning with the local boys team and they were all just looking forward to getting thru this week as it is considered "hell week". The last big push before taper starts for conference. They were all dragging themselves out of the locker room and off to school. Compare that to a week or two from now and you'll see smiling faces, jokes and lots of energy. Hopefully he'll decide the work was all worth it. Still, to this day, I reflect back on my decisions to continue with swimming and I'm so happy I didn't quit. As they say, when the going gets tough,...
