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
Originally posted by aztimm
Maybe this is a regional thing, because here in metro Phoenix, it seems most cities open a new pool every year, there are wait lists for swim lessons and city-run teams. There are so many kids interested that there are some that get turned away.
Yes, there are long hours, drives, fees, but yet that doesn't seem to bother people as much here. Is it because 95% of the pools are outside? Is it because 66% of homes built for the past 10 years have a pool in the backyard? Is it because the media reports drownings daily, and parents want their kids to at least learn to swim? Or maybe it is the cities constantly sending out and posting online all of their activities.
The city where I live (Chandler) has 3 high schools. Two of those have pools, the other school only opened in 2004, and a pool is in the future. One of them just had a new aquatic facility completed this year.
Who knows what is going on, but perhaps someone needs to start in an area where swimming is thriving and find out why.
Sounds like a regoional thing. Here the 50 meter outdoor pools are being removed and replaced with zero depth, lazy rivers and slides. This state is losing more and more competition pools every year. 2 years ago the age group state meet was held in Wisconsin. This year the YMCA state meet will be held in Wisconsin. There are no pools available in Illinois the weekend of those meets and Carthage College has a nice facility so everyone has to truck up there. For us, that is a 3 hour drive, for people in Southern Illinois, 6-7 hours.
I got so I would pick separate travel meets to go to per kid. Because they are 5 years apart, it often meant all day at the pool, which is not good for the parents and not good for the kids.
I also have gotten smart in that there is one travel meet in the fall, one in the the January/Feb timeframe, and that is it. It simply is more feasable expense wise.
My husband and I also spend the whole weekend running our home meets, so by the time Monday comes, we often take a vacation day just to recover. 30 hours at the pool running the computer and timing system tends to be a might stressful...and I would shoot a starter who sat and gabbed between heats. Our starters listen when I say we need fly-overs to make the timeline better!
And yes, I have friends with kids in hockey, friends with kids in gymnastics, both much more expensive than swimming.
Originally posted by aztimm
Maybe this is a regional thing, because here in metro Phoenix, it seems most cities open a new pool every year, there are wait lists for swim lessons and city-run teams. There are so many kids interested that there are some that get turned away.
Yes, there are long hours, drives, fees, but yet that doesn't seem to bother people as much here. Is it because 95% of the pools are outside? Is it because 66% of homes built for the past 10 years have a pool in the backyard? Is it because the media reports drownings daily, and parents want their kids to at least learn to swim? Or maybe it is the cities constantly sending out and posting online all of their activities.
The city where I live (Chandler) has 3 high schools. Two of those have pools, the other school only opened in 2004, and a pool is in the future. One of them just had a new aquatic facility completed this year.
Who knows what is going on, but perhaps someone needs to start in an area where swimming is thriving and find out why.
Sounds like a regoional thing. Here the 50 meter outdoor pools are being removed and replaced with zero depth, lazy rivers and slides. This state is losing more and more competition pools every year. 2 years ago the age group state meet was held in Wisconsin. This year the YMCA state meet will be held in Wisconsin. There are no pools available in Illinois the weekend of those meets and Carthage College has a nice facility so everyone has to truck up there. For us, that is a 3 hour drive, for people in Southern Illinois, 6-7 hours.
I got so I would pick separate travel meets to go to per kid. Because they are 5 years apart, it often meant all day at the pool, which is not good for the parents and not good for the kids.
I also have gotten smart in that there is one travel meet in the fall, one in the the January/Feb timeframe, and that is it. It simply is more feasable expense wise.
My husband and I also spend the whole weekend running our home meets, so by the time Monday comes, we often take a vacation day just to recover. 30 hours at the pool running the computer and timing system tends to be a might stressful...and I would shoot a starter who sat and gabbed between heats. Our starters listen when I say we need fly-overs to make the timeline better!
And yes, I have friends with kids in hockey, friends with kids in gymnastics, both much more expensive than swimming.
