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?
Let me quote Alex Zanardi*. "I don't get on my bicycle because I love to win, I win because I love to get on my bicycle."
Your son needs to swim because he loves to swim. If he does, improvement will come. If he swims because it happens to be a vehicle for some indirect joy (racing, fitness, etc), then he likely won't move up in the ranks. There is a saying......."the will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win." If he doesn't swim because he just enjoys it, then he won't have the drive when he needs it - in practice.
*Alex Zanardi was an IndyCar champion, then lost his legs in an accident, then took up biking as a sport for amputees. He is a para-olympic gold medalist in that sport.
Let me quote Alex Zanardi*. "I don't get on my bicycle because I love to win, I win because I love to get on my bicycle."
Your son needs to swim because he loves to swim. If he does, improvement will come. If he swims because it happens to be a vehicle for some indirect joy (racing, fitness, etc), then he likely won't move up in the ranks. There is a saying......."the will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win." If he doesn't swim because he just enjoys it, then he won't have the drive when he needs it - in practice.
*Alex Zanardi was an IndyCar champion, then lost his legs in an accident, then took up biking as a sport for amputees. He is a para-olympic gold medalist in that sport.
