Favorite USS experience(s) as Masters

Originally posted by HLClark They were quite wrong. Hee hee hee. :D Sorry, I've recently seen ads for the "Carrie" remake. I have this image in my mind of this mid-30s guy walking up to the block, just as a bunch of high school kids dump Gatorade on him. "Henry" glares at them briefly, then his USMS Telekinetic Powers (tm) kick in. :)

USMS Telekinetic Powers? I didn't get any of those when I signed up. Should I contact my registrar?

Henry: Thank you for the great laugh on your post. I literally busted a gut on your thought, "They were wrong". I used to have a saying when the USA kid’s team swam with the Masters team at practice a few years ago. It always got the kids going big time. I was never, ever deluded into thinking I could keep up with these young studs, but, I always had a saying that I said out loud..."Old men rule". They used to tell me, “no way old man”….But my being there always made sure they never were able to loaf in practice. Kindest regards, Tom Ellison

I sometimes swim with my children's USS team and get the opposite problem - on the masters team, if I feel like it, I can quit or take a set easy - and the only one I have to answer to is myself. With my son in the lane next to me, however, I have to answer to him and my own rhetoric - loafing is not an option!

Wow, your son is really fast too? I'm impressed that he can keep up with you.

Mark, Good one...that movie (the original) still freaks me out! But, here's a better one... "Kids say the darndest things" (part 2): Last summer I was getting ready behind the blocks before a 200 meter free. I was a bit nervous because I missed a lot of practice in the weeks before due to work, family, etc... and the 200 free is a long sprint. This was going to hurt. The young (17 year old) swimmer in the lane next to me introduced himself and went on to say, "My coach told me that after the 100 mark, that I should be able to blow you away...my coach says that you old guys can't hang". I was dumbfounded and said nothing. Magically, I was no longer nervous...I was pumped and ready to go. We were even at the 100 and I managed to finish ahead of him by almost 2.5 seconds. I actually negative split the swim and it was my best time of the season by 5 seconds. After the swim, the puzzled swimmer looked at me in disbelief and said, "I don't understand...where did that come from?" I told him to go ask his coach.

Tom, I know exactly what you are saying. An 18 year old would rather get beat by a 12 year old than a Master swimmer. I am really under attack when I show up for a USA meet...it's really fun. I think it's because to them I associate with their parents, and this gives them a chance to get back at them somehow. You would not believe how many coaches and parents have thanked me for swimming in the meets. They all say the same thing, "my kid had an incredible swim...I've never seen him try so hard!" As you know, "Young versus Old" is a really hot topic in USA Swimming. The next Olympic team should be quite interesting.

>>>>>USMS Telekinetic Powers? I didn't get any of those when I signed up. Should I contact my registrar?<<<<

Hi Henry: Your right...they really put an all out effort in their events when us "Ols Guys" are around. I may not beat them..but they still have to bring it all...(at least some of them do ... Kindest regards, Tom

Another in the "kids say the darndest things" thread: At the first USS meet I swam last year at age 38, I had a 17-yr old kid looking at me in the warm-up pool with a real strange look on his face. It was so strange it caught my attention (there I was, minding my own business...). Anyway, he perks up and says, "Hey, are you the OLD guy in the 500?", making sure he emphasized the OLD part. I chuckled with him and signalled my agreement. It brought home that 'old' is a relative term and heavily dependent on perspective. He then goes on to say "Ha! I thought your age was a MISPRINT"! I guess he though I was supposed to be 18 or something. Perhaps wishful thinking? As it turns out, we're seeded in lanes next to each other (2&3), and as we approach the blocks he gets a startled, funny look on his face and immediately asks the starter if he can switch lanes, and points beyond me toward lane 8. Hearing that I blurt out "No way - you stay right there. That's right where I want you". The starter, an old friend of mine, says between chuckles "Nope. Tim wants you there - you stay there". Well by this time the whole pool deck is roaring with laughter. I felt a little too much on display and regretted saying what I did, but it was too late. The race eventually starts and an oversealous Young Gun Lane 2 takes it out way too hard, fades quickly, and I end up beating him by several seconds to the delight (surprise?) of many who watched. After the race, the young gun and I had a good talk in the warm down lanes and he recognized his mistakes (and I apologized for what I said). He said that was the first time he raced an "older" swimmer. I tried to gently get the point across that older swimmers are still around and some are still quite capable. Although I may not be able to beat him any more, as he progresses up the ladder of swimming success I suspect he'll run into a lot more "older" swimmers who can. At least he shouldn't alter his race strategy by their presence. I've seen the young man at a few meets since and he lets me know what he's swimming and asks if I've entered anything and looks truly dejected when I say "No, I'm just a parent this time". I make it a point to watch his races and offer encouragement and congratulations. To me, that's the best of what we can offer!