Hello all,
Even though this is a masters forum, I was hoping someone knows of any stories about collegiate or even world class swimmers who struggled when they were in 7-8s or 9-10s. I am looking for some stories to give my daughter some hope. She is 10, loves swimming, and it has been great for her development. But despite really good improvement, she is getting discouraged by a lack of results; and after this weekends champs, she was really down in the dumps despite setting 5 best times. I fear that she will throw in the towel if it feels hopeless to her, so I would like to be able to point to some concrete story of success just to give her hope. I remember I gave up swimming in High School after years of getting beaten like a drum no matter how hard I worked, so I know how discouraging it can get. If she gives up in High School, I would actually be okay with that, but she loves it so much I would hate to see her give up earlier.
I know most top level swimmers have been are great athletes all the way through life (Michael Phelps was the best player on his youth soccer and lacrosse teams) but I was looking for any anecdotes about the classic late bloomer.
My oldest daughter continues to get faster at age 22 and I've watched many of her teammates at college do the same, most of whom were not standouts as age groupers. I agree that it is more likely for a teenaged girl to reach the elite level than a teenaged boy, but we have so many examples of female swimmers continuing to get faster into their 20s. As coaches, trainers and athletes continue to get smarter about how to train, I think we'll see even more of this.
Claire Donahue is from our area, and a lot of kids have gotten to know her (including my daughter, a fellow butterflier). She was a good swimmer when she was young, but blossomed into the Olympian she became when she went to college.
My oldest daughter continues to get faster at age 22 and I've watched many of her teammates at college do the same, most of whom were not standouts as age groupers. I agree that it is more likely for a teenaged girl to reach the elite level than a teenaged boy, but we have so many examples of female swimmers continuing to get faster into their 20s. As coaches, trainers and athletes continue to get smarter about how to train, I think we'll see even more of this.
Claire Donahue is from our area, and a lot of kids have gotten to know her (including my daughter, a fellow butterflier). She was a good swimmer when she was young, but blossomed into the Olympian she became when she went to college.
