Hello. I found this forum while searching for an answer to my question. My son is a 14 year old high school swimmer and has just completed his meet season. He did not make state finals, so at the current time he is not swimming (or working on dry lands). The coach is focused on the kids who made it to state and they are currently swimming. My concern is that while he has made some huge improvements, how long is too long out of the pool? I encouraged him to start running for 30-45 minutes but compared to the 3-4 hours a day he was in the pool it doesn’t seem like enough. From my understanding he will be out for 3-4 weeks total. I just hate to see him lose the edge he’s worked so hard for.
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As for how long out is too long......if his goal is to make state cuts next year, then the 3-4 weeks out won't hurt him a bit.
I agree with the above. He should, however, maintain his flexibility and core with some stretching and dryland work during the break.
I know it all varies by region, but Texas is pretty typically a strong swimming state. Around here, the stronger swimmers are all USA swimmers. It is very rare for a non-USA swimmer to make the state cuts for HS. If swimming seems like his thing, I'd encourage you to look into a USA Swimming club team, which are generally referred to as "year-round" programs.
As for how long out is too long......if his goal is to make state cuts next year, then the 3-4 weeks out won't hurt him a bit.
Make sure you don't push him so hard all year that he ends up walking away from the sport!
It must still be fun and then hard work!
I was going to ask whether he does any other sports besides swimming. I swam year-round from about age 11 on, but I did other sports in school until my senior year of HS. So after the high school season, I'd take a couple weeks off the pool and start up track season, then do just enough swimming to keep feel for the water until summer season.
This, in my mind, helped prevent burn-out, and it also helps develop some general athleticism that kids that only swim don't get as much of.
He is not in any other sports in school. The swim program here is just swim, not athletics where they can participate in track, baseball etc., so other than what we’re doing at home, he has no other conditioning time. Their high school team has a tough regime and they swim all year long (other than kids that don’t make state and are sitting out right now). I just hate to see him work for 3-4 months to get back to the same place he was 3 weeks ago after this break.
From his 8th grade year meet times (roughly 10 months ago) his 50/100/200 freestyle times are down approximately 15-20%. His other times in *** and butterfly are down about the same.
I know you can find anything online, as I have stumbled across articles indicating loss of flexibility specific to swimming after a few weeks hiatus as well.
Thanks for reading the long long winded posts. To answer clearly, concern of burning him out is also there. I just see incredible potential with him and hate to see him work so hard for the last 10 months to lose some
of it. We do a lot of hunting and fishing which is fun, but not the greatest conditioning exercise possible.
He is not in any other sports in school. The swim program here is just swim, not athletics where they can participate in track, baseball etc., so other than what we’re doing at home, he has no other conditioning time. Their high school team has a tough regime and they swim all year long (other than kids that don’t make state and are sitting out right now).
Huh, that's quite unusual. High school sports in most states have a regulated season length. For example, a typical boys' HS swim season is from around the middle of November to the end of February. Very interesting that high school swim teams in Texas can train year round, though this confirms it: www.uiltexas.org/.../2018-19_TENTATIVE_Sport_Season_Dates_and_Game__Tournament_Limits.pdf
Very interesting that high school swim teams in Texas can train year round, though this confirms it: www.uiltexas.org/.../2018-19_TENTATIVE_Sport_Season_Dates_and_Game__Tournament_Limits.pdf
Just because they can train year-round doesn't mean they do. There's a high school group that swims at the same pool that I swim at. They stopped for the season about 2 weeks ago. I asked one of the lifeguards about them today and she said that they won't be back until fall. I was just curious as they reserve 4 lanes in the 8-lane pool, and when there are there it can be a bit busy in the lanes they don't use.
if he likes swimming and wants to get as great as possible, he should train year round with a club team.
where do you live?
What is the best most convenient team to where you live?
High school swimming season is too short
Hello. I found this forum while searching for an answer to my question. My son is a 14 year old high school swimmer and has just completed his meet season. He did not make state finals, so at the current time he is not swimming (or working on dry lands). The coach is focused on the kids who made it to state and they are currently swimming. My concern is that while he has made some huge improvements, how long is too long out of the pool? I encouraged him to start running for 30-45 minutes but compared to the 3-4 hours a day he was in the pool it doesn’t seem like enough. From my understanding he will be out for 3-4 weeks total. I just hate to see him lose the edge he’s worked so hard for.
Just because they can train year-round doesn't mean they do.
Yes, I'd say if you're serious about swimming and don't want a season with significant gaps throughout the year, your best bet is joining a USA Swimming club. Most go almost the entire year. Some might take a short break at the end of the summer.
