I have a kid who quit at 13. Of my 3 kids she was the most talented and successful swimmer in our family but possibly this stressed her out. Anyway, she told me she couldn't stand swimming anymore and wanted to change to cross-country and track (7th grade). I am a parent that fully supports my kids in their decisions so she dropped off the swim team and never looked back. I always hoped and thought she might go back to swimming in high school, she would have been a member of a team that currently holds the world record of the amount of state titles in a row(Carmel High School). She never returned to swimming but did run all 4 years of high school and loved it. I personally feel she had tons more talent in swimming than running but her heart just wasn't in it. A few years later (she had graduated from college and is working as a nurse in Florida) I was cleaning out kids rooms and getting rid of stuff. I stumbled upon her middle school journal and sat down and read it. I am so glad I supported her decision to quit swimming. Her last 2 or 3 months of swimming was filled with negativity, self doubt, and bad feelings toward swimming. I'm not sure what got her so negative. She did have a shoulder injury and her coach encouraged her to do her exercises 3X a day and keep swimming right through it. The other thing that seemed to scare her was when a coach told her of a very high ranking she had but pointed out to her who might beat her at State that year. Maybe she just didn't have the mental toughness required for swimming. Each child should be able to choose their own path to happiness I believe.
I have a kid who quit at 13. Of my 3 kids she was the most talented and successful swimmer in our family but possibly this stressed her out. Anyway, she told me she couldn't stand swimming anymore and wanted to change to cross-country and track (7th grade). I am a parent that fully supports my kids in their decisions so she dropped off the swim team and never looked back. I always hoped and thought she might go back to swimming in high school, she would have been a member of a team that currently holds the world record of the amount of state titles in a row(Carmel High School). She never returned to swimming but did run all 4 years of high school and loved it. I personally feel she had tons more talent in swimming than running but her heart just wasn't in it. A few years later (she had graduated from college and is working as a nurse in Florida) I was cleaning out kids rooms and getting rid of stuff. I stumbled upon her middle school journal and sat down and read it. I am so glad I supported her decision to quit swimming. Her last 2 or 3 months of swimming was filled with negativity, self doubt, and bad feelings toward swimming. I'm not sure what got her so negative. She did have a shoulder injury and her coach encouraged her to do her exercises 3X a day and keep swimming right through it. The other thing that seemed to scare her was when a coach told her of a very high ranking she had but pointed out to her who might beat her at State that year. Maybe she just didn't have the mental toughness required for swimming. Each child should be able to choose their own path to happiness I believe.
