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?
He HAS improved since September, cut 2-7 seconds off most events. But at 13, he is still the slowest in every event and that is what he is upset about.
I am not that familiar with swimming, my older daughter is in gymnastics and it is unimaginable to start gymnastics at 13 and still have any kind of future ahead of you.
2-7 seconds in 7 months is HUGE. I'm a bit miffed that there is an expectation (yours, his, or both) that he'll be able to just be right there in a few months when other kids have been doing it for years. If he is truly driven, this will be good for him, as he'll have to out in the work, which will help him throughout life. That said, the 13 year old kids on our team are in the water over 17 hours per week (when school work allows). 2 hrs M-F AM, 1.5 M, W, F PM, and 2.75 Sat AM. Maybe he needs more practice.
Can he start late? Ed Moses is an Olympic gold medalist who took up the sport at 17.......
He HAS improved since September, cut 2-7 seconds off most events. But at 13, he is still the slowest in every event and that is what he is upset about.
I am not that familiar with swimming, my older daughter is in gymnastics and it is unimaginable to start gymnastics at 13 and still have any kind of future ahead of you.
2-7 seconds in 7 months is HUGE. I'm a bit miffed that there is an expectation (yours, his, or both) that he'll be able to just be right there in a few months when other kids have been doing it for years. If he is truly driven, this will be good for him, as he'll have to out in the work, which will help him throughout life. That said, the 13 year old kids on our team are in the water over 17 hours per week (when school work allows). 2 hrs M-F AM, 1.5 M, W, F PM, and 2.75 Sat AM. Maybe he needs more practice.
Can he start late? Ed Moses is an Olympic gold medalist who took up the sport at 17.......
