My son is 13 and this is his first year swimming in a club. For many different reasons he was late getting into the sport and slow to warm up to it but right now he is loving it and wants to do everything he can to get better. The problem is he is not getting better fast enough (for him). I keep telling him to be patient and put in the work, but it's completely devastating to him to go to meet after meet and have marginal improvements. I want to stress that he is the one who wants this - to improve his times, to get faster, to not be dead last in every event. He is very much aware of where he is right now. He does not want to be an Olympic swimmer, obviously, just a better one than he is right now. We talk about improving in relation to his own times, not comparing himself to others, enjoying the fun of it, but he is 13 and I guess it's not great for your self esteem when your times are so much worse than your teammates. He keeps asking me, when is it going to kick in for him. Right now he swims 4 times a week about 2 hours each practice. He does some dryland (not much). I guess what I am asking is - what can we do to help?
13 is a tough age for boys. Most haven't hit puberty, but most 14 year olds have, and they have to swim against them. So that is working against him, too.
Another thing that happens is that at that age, kids rarely improve more than once or twice a year. They get beat up pretty hard, and then they taper for a meet. If he has improved since September, he is doing well.
I really don't know what advice to give that doens't involve patience. He has got to be patient. My daughter had swum for 5 years before she got her first AAAA time. Some kids will be naturals, some will be physical freaks. And then there are those who are neither. They have to work hard to get fast, and that work ethic will help them out through swimming, and life.
I wish he could talk to this one kid on our team. He is a junior, just starting club swimming last year. My favorite kid on the team. Busts his butt, he drives over an hour every morning......for 5:00AM practice, then gets out a little early to head to school. And he is not fast, but getting faster. He's just happy getting faster, getting state cuts, etc. He knows he won't be setting team records, but he is having fun, and improving. He has set PERSONAL goals, rather than goals relative to others. Maybe that's the best thing to tell your son. Make the goals about him, not his peers. Once he does that, maybe it'll get more fun. And when it does, more success will come.
13 is a tough age for boys. Most haven't hit puberty, but most 14 year olds have, and they have to swim against them. So that is working against him, too.
Another thing that happens is that at that age, kids rarely improve more than once or twice a year. They get beat up pretty hard, and then they taper for a meet. If he has improved since September, he is doing well.
I really don't know what advice to give that doens't involve patience. He has got to be patient. My daughter had swum for 5 years before she got her first AAAA time. Some kids will be naturals, some will be physical freaks. And then there are those who are neither. They have to work hard to get fast, and that work ethic will help them out through swimming, and life.
I wish he could talk to this one kid on our team. He is a junior, just starting club swimming last year. My favorite kid on the team. Busts his butt, he drives over an hour every morning......for 5:00AM practice, then gets out a little early to head to school. And he is not fast, but getting faster. He's just happy getting faster, getting state cuts, etc. He knows he won't be setting team records, but he is having fun, and improving. He has set PERSONAL goals, rather than goals relative to others. Maybe that's the best thing to tell your son. Make the goals about him, not his peers. Once he does that, maybe it'll get more fun. And when it does, more success will come.
