Dad of 12y.o. F new to competitive swimming seeks guidance

Former Member
Former Member
Background - she is really new to this and just getting into the sport late. As in, she was a mediocre recreational swimmer who was afraid to try to dive just 6 months ago. But she did a summer swim camp, and then her 7th grade team (a no-cuts team), and she fell in love with it, so we just unloaded a moderate chunk of $$$ to get her into a year-round league/club to train up in the off-season. She has REALLY come a long way in six months. :) The thing is, at 12, she is only really competitive with the 9s and 10s and some 11s, all of whom have been in organized swimming for far longer than she, even at their age. She is not really competitive with many of the 12s, and next year she will age up, and be forced to compete with the 13-14s. Right now, she has ok technique, but relatively little strength/stamina, and confidence. Her personal bests are as follows: 50 free: 37.25 50 ***: 45.93 50 back: 44.70 100 free: 1:26.00 100 ***: 1:43.48 100 back: 1:39.71 (that 100 back time she just got at a meet today in an age 11-12 race, and it was her personal best, but it was still only good for #19 place out of 20, not including 2 girls who were DQ'ed.) She can swim a 200, or a 300 or a 400 in warmups, but not at a race pace; her fall-off from the first 50 to the second (and third, and so on...) is precipitous. So here are my questions. Sorry for the wordiness. Just being a dad: Should I be freaked out that she only has 10 months before she ages up? What is an appropriate cardio and stamina regimen for a 12 y.o. girl - effective, but not obnoxious or oppressive? What dry land exercises should she be doing? What do your teens and tweens do on race days as far as eating/drinking/carbs/nutrition, etc...? I mean in terms of timing, quantity, calorie count, types of carbs, etc...? What are realistic goals? Short-term I mean, say this school year, by June. Thanks. Any thoughts would be awesome. She loves swimming and I just want her to be happy, but if she has a chance to be really good at it, of course, I want that too.
Parents
  • Former Member
    Former Member over 6 years ago
    Tried to PM you my phone number, but you don't get message. I'd be happy to talk, feel free to email me if you want my number, hlvngnr is my Yahoo name, so you can e-mail me there. Our kids are the same age, and I'm the president of our team. And I have twins who approach swimming VERY differently. So maybe I can give you some insight. But again, the biggest things are to relax, and trust the coach. Yeah, I'm brand new to the forum, so I think there are some privileges I don't have yet maybe? I dunno. I may just take you up on that, thanks!
Reply
  • Former Member
    Former Member over 6 years ago
    Tried to PM you my phone number, but you don't get message. I'd be happy to talk, feel free to email me if you want my number, hlvngnr is my Yahoo name, so you can e-mail me there. Our kids are the same age, and I'm the president of our team. And I have twins who approach swimming VERY differently. So maybe I can give you some insight. But again, the biggest things are to relax, and trust the coach. Yeah, I'm brand new to the forum, so I think there are some privileges I don't have yet maybe? I dunno. I may just take you up on that, thanks!
Children
No Data