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?
The answer is Yes, yes, yes. Many swimmers on my HS team did not start swimming competitively until they were 14ish, and became very good swimmers by the end of senior year. HS swimming's dual meets are a big change from the USAS individual meets, and a lot more fun for everyone, with large numbers of swimmers contributing. You don't have to be the state champ to contribute significantly to the competition and the team wins as a whole (or loses). A totally different experience in my opinion and he is likely to be a very important swimmer on his HS team.
If he wants to swim in college, he may need to pick up the pace from 10 hours per week, but there is PLENTY of time for him to make that decision and move.
Additionally, as others have said, big physiological changes may be ahead for him as he matures. His ability to handle the work load will evolve too. Also, remember that your body builds muscle and adapts to the stress from exercise when it rests, not when it is working, and it is sometimes hard to see progress in the middle of a training season.
Now that he is past the basics, good coaching and technique are important, as well as his continuing to enjoy swimming. Good luck.
The answer is Yes, yes, yes. Many swimmers on my HS team did not start swimming competitively until they were 14ish, and became very good swimmers by the end of senior year. HS swimming's dual meets are a big change from the USAS individual meets, and a lot more fun for everyone, with large numbers of swimmers contributing. You don't have to be the state champ to contribute significantly to the competition and the team wins as a whole (or loses). A totally different experience in my opinion and he is likely to be a very important swimmer on his HS team.
If he wants to swim in college, he may need to pick up the pace from 10 hours per week, but there is PLENTY of time for him to make that decision and move.
Additionally, as others have said, big physiological changes may be ahead for him as he matures. His ability to handle the work load will evolve too. Also, remember that your body builds muscle and adapts to the stress from exercise when it rests, not when it is working, and it is sometimes hard to see progress in the middle of a training season.
Now that he is past the basics, good coaching and technique are important, as well as his continuing to enjoy swimming. Good luck.
