All - a little update from the Summer league for my DD. forums.usms.org/showthread.php
It started a little rough during practice and time trials. But, at the first meet, my daughter went to battle and got 3rd in Butterfly. She kept improving and ended up with a lot of 2nd place ribbons, just getting out touched. She made her way to Medley Relay A. Late in the season, a team mate did beat her best time by .13. But, she remained on Medley Relay A as the other girl was good at *** Stroke. Then a girl popped at Freestyle and my daughter was bumped to B team.
Last meet of the year was incredible. She beat the other girl that was .13 better(not her Personal best though). I remember that she cried after that race and admitted that she wanted to make All Stars. I really thought she was as she did have the second fasted time.
Next day, we find out she didn't make All Stars! The coach went with "Girl C" who was .11 behind her. But, "Girl A" and "Girl C" would be swimming other strokes. Where my daughter would only be doing 1 event.
Needless to say, there were tears and disappointment. And yes, I did email and question the coach. It was a pretty canned response. I get this was a way for the Coach to limit the number of kids and parents. I do get it was close between all 3 girls and any 2 would do well.. Sure, a part of me felt my DD got screwed and my daughter said she might be done.
So what's next??? Talking it over with my wife, we are going to have her do Summer League next year. If it is nothing but to see neighborhood girls and get a great workout, then so be it. I'm going to let her know about some different clinics, etc (more for winter/spring). While what the coach did could be used as motivation, I don't want to "turn her to the dark side". Sure, she needs to get better at a 2nd stroke. Her backstroke improved this year, but wasn't enough.
If anything, my question is how can we get back to fun? Sure, I will try to have her swim with friends. Also, one of the clinics that I identified is every other Sunday put on by a good DII school - so it wouldn't be overkill. I've also thought about offering to pay for some private lessons if she does the clinics and enjoys them.
thoughts?
Though I am now in the 55-59 age group, I was once younger and a pretty good swimmer. My mom would take me to any practice I wanted, including mornings, as long as it was my idea and I was ready to go on time. I also played virtually every other sport up until high school.
I don’t think you can “make” anything fun for your child. All you can do is expose her and let her decide. Good luck.
My two cents
Though I am now in the 55-59 age group, I was once younger and a pretty good swimmer. My mom would take me to any practice I wanted, including mornings, as long as it was my idea and I was ready to go on time. I also played virtually every other sport up until high school.
I don’t think you can “make” anything fun for your child. All you can do is expose her and let her decide. Good luck.
My two cents
Sums it up well! Maybe ask her what she wants to do--what if she doesn't want to swim for a bit? Maybe something else catches her interest. But wise at this point to let her have a hand in what she does for the summer. If you're enrolling her in this and that, she may feel she's doing it for you--and she needs to feel she's choosing it, whatever she chooses. Maybe go over with her some of the possibilities, so neither of you gets overwhelmed, but she might need a break from competing, and then come back ready to enjoy it and learn. Maybe she needs to talk about the feelings related to competing, but the good and the not so good. Listening goes a long way.
Sounds like a good season, congrats! A couple of thoughts. The all-star thing. The coach does have a roster to fill out, and he needs to take into consideration total point opportunity. So if a kid can be #2 in three events, they'll get the nod over a kid who can be #1 in one event, but 4th-5th in the other two.
Anyway, our team does two things that would potentially be a good fit for your daughter. We have a 2-day option for swimmers who are in various positions, either other activities, or just want to keep conditioned for the year, or even just seeing how much they like it on a year round basis. The other thing we do is have a spring conditioning clinic to help get them ready for Summer league. In our case, I think it is 8 weeks long. You may think about looking into some local USA teams by you and seeing if any of them offer either type of option, and see if it would work for her. If the 2 day thing is one, look NOW, as many teams are starting back, and most will give a 2 week trial, so she can see how it fits culturally. That culture is the most important thing, I cannot emphasize that enough.
Sounds like a good season, congrats! A couple of thoughts. The all-star thing. The coach does have a roster to fill out, and he needs to take into consideration total point opportunity. So if a kid can be #2 in three events, they'll get the nod over a kid who can be #1 in one event, but 4th-5th in the other two.
To your point, I do recognize that whatever 2 of the 3 girls the coach sent, that he was getting 2 top 8 finishes. As it turned out, "Girl C" got 3rd and "Girl A" got 5th. My daughter, didn't get a chance.
Anyway, our team does two things that would potentially be a good fit for your daughter. We have a 2-day option for swimmers who are in various positions, either other activities, or just want to keep conditioned for the year, or even just seeing how much they like it on a year round basis. The other thing we do is have a spring conditioning clinic to help get them ready for Summer league. In our case, I think it is 8 weeks long. You may think about looking into some local USA teams by you and seeing if any of them offer either type of option, and see if it would work for her. If the 2 day thing is one, look NOW, as many teams are starting back, and most will give a 2 week trial, so she can see how it fits culturally. That culture is the most important thing, I cannot emphasize that enough.
This is kind of what I'm hoping for my daughter. Well, actually first, I think taking a break this fall would be good for her. I also think listening to how she feels about swimming is important. Then maybe around Thanksgiving, go swim some laps and get some Ice Cream after.
In Jan, a well-known Swim Club holds some clinics and I know that some friends will be there . So I think that would be good.
And then either do the DII University program (every other Sunday) or the 1x a week program with known Swim Club, in the Spring.
That said, she might not care about it. And yes, it's time to accept that.
She's doing a lot of Ballet and Dancing this fall and taking a Conditioning class - she'll get her exercise!
I do want her to be in Summer League next year. The reality is that not all kids make relays and get ribbons. That part I want to leave to her.
