I think I'm going to have to disagree a bit with my Longhorn teamates Mr. Commings and The Raz on this subject. It's not good to rely on someone coming out of the woodwork in years to come or simply counting on cycles of ebb and flow over years in the sport.
I have been to many age group meets with my kids the last 4 years. In Georgia, Colorado.... and my home the Great state of Ohio, and enrollment of young boys (ages 8-14) is down further than at any time I can remember in the sport. Gone are the days when I grew up and boys ALWAYS outnumber girls in the sport, and its not merely because more girls are swimming now. It's because boys are interested in other sports..... many of which are easier training sports in my opinion.
This is NOT good for the future of men's swimming. I have a bad feeling the next Michael Phelps will be lured into Soccer or some other sport over the coming years... if not already. Swimming.... particularly the governing body USS.... does NOT do an adequate job marketing the sport to the general public during non Olympic years. We ride too heavily on the success of our Olympic performances in hopes of expanding enrollment, and then every 4 years it dies out quickly. With the added cuts of men's swimming programs in the NCAA Div. I level the growth and continued success of US mens swimming in my opinion is in jeopardy over the next 8-12 years. Michael Phelps is a lucky find for the US. I strongly suggest you take a look at some heat sheets for age group meets in your area. You will likely find that there are about 1/2 to 2/3rds the number of boys heats compared to girls heats in the younger age groups. It's shocking. You're looking at the future of our Olympic team in these reduced heats. You can't rely on a Rowdy Gaines to come into the sport late (like age 13) and dominate especially when the numbers are down so much.
USS needs to find money for a larger national campaign with TV time. Why is it I have NEVER been contacted by USS swimming to donate money?! Why is there NO marketing campaign to solicit funds from ex US swimmers from the past 40 years ?!
In my opinion, this is an all out war against soccer and the evil Big 3 sports. For example...... Australia is hurtin' if you take away their 2 big guns Hacket and Thorpe, there is virtually no one in the pipeline that will take over. The US is in a similar but lessor position. It was truly embarassing that the US had absolutely NO ONE in the 100 free at the Olympics. Let me say it again....
IT WAS TRULY EMBARASSING THAT THE US HAD ABSOLUTELY NO ONE IN THE 100 FREE IN THE FINALS AT THE OLYMPICS !
We should OWN that event ! The 100 free IS United States Swimming. It is our history! Our 400m free relay should NEVER lose at the Olympics or World Games as it is a reflection of depth and speed in our programs.
Face it, our volume of great sprinters are pretty bad right now and thats a reflection of basic athleticism and talent by taking (stealing) "athletes" from other sports with raw speed. Gary Hall saved his butt and the US in the 50 free at Greece, but let's face it, he's an archeology find and not a reflection of up an coming talent. We're relying on someone that probably peaked 2 Olympics ago in the sprints.
The picture is not good for the growth of US men's swimming, and we definitely need to do something about it.
John Smith
Parents
Former Member
1. Boring
"Just for fun" is correct. The sport is boring unless you know someone in the pool competing or do it yourself. A famous SMU womens swimmer once said....... "The only people who care about swimming are swimmers." Meets are a nightmare for parents in general. 3 day events morning, noon and night will scare off even the veterans at times. Then again, Bob Costas talks like an idiot when it comes to swimming.
2. Expense
Yes, it is moderately expensive but it is NOTHING compared to some sports. Hockey is a complete joke in terms of high cost. Swimming never was a lower class sport. To this day you still don't see that much minority or lower income participants. It's still largely a white middle class sport. There should be enough money out there to fork out for this sport in comparison to the big 3 relatively speaking.
3. Hard Work
Damn straight. Swimming is one of the hardest aerobic sports out there..... and yes... I would even pit it against the hours and efforts that triathletes log. It requires absolute and total comittment and frequently mentally burns out kids by the age of 18. Good coaching can help prevent this burnout factor and create a better environment to crank serious yardage. However, I see so many fat kids in my neighborhood today. It really depresses me. I blame the parents. I honestly think Americans are more lazy every generation and this is part of the problem. This one is a hard hurdle to get buy for the sport of swimming.
4. Money and Success
Swimming truly sucks in terms of financial rewards compared to the Big Three. Let's face it, we are a culture of greed and our kids follow suit (no pun intended). Why would a talented athlete at a young age want to make a few million like Phelps when he can make tens of millions like the Big 3 and tennnis?...... Hell... even golf is superior in terms of financial rewards over time. This is a real image problem to overcome when vying for talent of these kids early on.
5. No National Marketing in comparison
Who the hell cares about swimming other than on an Olympic year when we are counting medals and swimming saves our ass at every summer games. There must be a better way to rope in bigger dollars and sponsors for national network TV campaigns to grow the sport each year. You can't just have one meet a year like Duel in the Pool and expect to compete with the Big 3. It's got to be huge and pervasive. Big money...... how does US Swimming get a hold of people with Big Money.
I'm telling yah this sport needs a major marketing booster shot to keep it going strong in the future.
John Smith
1. Boring
"Just for fun" is correct. The sport is boring unless you know someone in the pool competing or do it yourself. A famous SMU womens swimmer once said....... "The only people who care about swimming are swimmers." Meets are a nightmare for parents in general. 3 day events morning, noon and night will scare off even the veterans at times. Then again, Bob Costas talks like an idiot when it comes to swimming.
2. Expense
Yes, it is moderately expensive but it is NOTHING compared to some sports. Hockey is a complete joke in terms of high cost. Swimming never was a lower class sport. To this day you still don't see that much minority or lower income participants. It's still largely a white middle class sport. There should be enough money out there to fork out for this sport in comparison to the big 3 relatively speaking.
3. Hard Work
Damn straight. Swimming is one of the hardest aerobic sports out there..... and yes... I would even pit it against the hours and efforts that triathletes log. It requires absolute and total comittment and frequently mentally burns out kids by the age of 18. Good coaching can help prevent this burnout factor and create a better environment to crank serious yardage. However, I see so many fat kids in my neighborhood today. It really depresses me. I blame the parents. I honestly think Americans are more lazy every generation and this is part of the problem. This one is a hard hurdle to get buy for the sport of swimming.
4. Money and Success
Swimming truly sucks in terms of financial rewards compared to the Big Three. Let's face it, we are a culture of greed and our kids follow suit (no pun intended). Why would a talented athlete at a young age want to make a few million like Phelps when he can make tens of millions like the Big 3 and tennnis?...... Hell... even golf is superior in terms of financial rewards over time. This is a real image problem to overcome when vying for talent of these kids early on.
5. No National Marketing in comparison
Who the hell cares about swimming other than on an Olympic year when we are counting medals and swimming saves our ass at every summer games. There must be a better way to rope in bigger dollars and sponsors for national network TV campaigns to grow the sport each year. You can't just have one meet a year like Duel in the Pool and expect to compete with the Big 3. It's got to be huge and pervasive. Big money...... how does US Swimming get a hold of people with Big Money.
I'm telling yah this sport needs a major marketing booster shot to keep it going strong in the future.
John Smith
