I imagine that many on this Board are like me in that they swam in intensely competitive programs as youngsters, got burned out and quit swimming, maybe played other sports, and finally came back to swimming at a later stage of your life.
So, if the above description fits you, what sports did you do in the intervening years before you made it back to the pool?
The mention of the term "side out" in another thread reminded me that I played competitive volleyball for 19 years. Before that I also competed in judo, eventually ran a marathon, and finally coached volleyball, wrestling and even little league.
After all of that, and all of the injuries that went with it, I am glad to be back in the pool. :cool:
I swam on a cliub team from age 10 until I was 13 or 14. I didn't get into Masters swimming until age 50....kind of a lengthy hiatus. When I quit at 14 or so it wasn't because I was burned out; our swim club folded and my parents weren't enthusiastic about joining another one, so I didn't do much of anything athletic throughout highschool. I guess you have to understand the context...this was in the mid-sixties and there were no girls' swim teams in either high school or college; or girls' teams for any sport really. If you were athletically inclined you were supposed to join some kind of private club...or become a cheerleader (for which there were generally additional requirements besides athletic prowess). If you weren't going to the Olympics at about 15 or so you were encouraged to quit swimming if you were female (at least that was the case for most of us). I finally got up off my butt in my 20s and began doing some running...but I've never been a great runner...just okay, although I liked it. Then when I found Masters it was like coming home! I never had a chance to get burned out in swimming....and I actually think I like it more now than I did as a kid.
Sally
Hi,
I learned to swim at 10, was at "that" level at age 14 for practice and decided that 4:45 am (til 7:00am and afternoons from 4:00-7:00) was a little early to be on the deck before school. It was his way or the highway. I found volleyball in HS. I loved it. My team was really good, although my teammates were, well, not very nice.
Today, as an adult, before kids, my husband and I rock climbed, ran, biked, and swam a lot. Now we're lucky if we swim :) But that's OK, we're happy. Out of shape, but happy ;)
y'all know I grew up on the beach so one of my very favorite sports was volleyball... I had a really mean serve. Surfing and biking were also favorite activities. Later, golf (ha ha, the term applies loosely when I play), tennis (dito when I play)..... but then I broke my right arm and ended up without complete flexion or extension and that empacted my games. Two years later I broke both of my arms... had to have them 'rewired' and a year of physical therapy 3Xs a week to get them working again. LOL, the flexion and extension of my left arm closely matches my right arm. Now, jolts like striking a volley ball, golf ball or tennis ball send shock waves up my arm and just 'rattle' all of those wires and screws and pulleys to the point it hurts... so, I decided to get back in the pool and have never regreted a single minute of it. Just wish I could have a longer pull.
I did competitive swimming til the summer after my first year of college. I got sick of getting up at 5:30 for practice and being tired all the time. After I quit, the sport that I did was have a normal life and avoid the pool or gym. I didn't get that fat because I went to school in DC and had to walk everywhere. But, I did pack on the pounds over the years. In the fall of 2002(5 year absence from the pool), I start exercising again and gradually started swimming again to lose more weight. I have to say that if it wasn't for all those years of swimming, I wouldn't be able to look about much thinner than I am. Plus, I wouldn't need to go on MTV to get calf implants. Now, I swim with the local masters program and compete again.
Karen, your swimming experience as a youngster sounds like mine. But when I quit swimming in high school, I found partying...hey, staying up late and sleeping until whenever sure beat getting up early, shoveling the driveway so mom could get the car out, then going to practice...
But after a year of that, and 20 pounds later (at 15...) I got back into fitness. I went the individual sport way, as I was burnt out with the "responsibility to the team/relay" psychology. I got into running and biking, and swam at lakes and rivers - anywhere without a starting block, backstroke flags, and a line on the bottom!
In my adult years - after university - I started to play team sports. First basketball then soccer . Love soccer. Still play, and now coach a competetive team. To get in better shape for soccer I went to a Masters workout, and got hooked all over again. Now soccer is second to swimming.
Funny how life moves in circles!
Originally posted by tjrpatt
I have to say that if it wasn't for all those years of swimming, I wouldn't be able to look about much thinner than I am. Plus, I wouldn't need to go on MTV to get calf implants. Now, I swim with the local masters program and compete again.
Maybe I misread this post. Did you or did you not go on MTV for the calf implants?
Calf implants are like boob jobs for your legs....they're silicone implants that sit under your calf muscle to make it look bigger.....I'd say that it's a 99.99 percent guy thing.
As for the sidebar sport thing, I swam from the time I was 9, until my junior year, when it was discovered I had a partially torn, extended injury ACL. They shrank the 30% of ACL I had left, and pretty much ruled out any future swimming for me, since all that kicking would stretch my ACL out again.
Since I couldn't stand to be inactive after so many years of 4:45am practices, I started playing tennis. I have, to this day, a special ACL brace that keeps my knee from hyperextending when I play, and I was able to compete for three years in high school and college with this brace.
Of course, thanks to the tennis, and giving my knee some time off, my ACL has strengthened itself to a point where I am swimming competitively again, without problems. Hopefully, this lasts. :p
