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
Originally posted by SwiminONandON
There aren't many sports that require getting out of bed at 5am to practice then going to practice again after school ... you have to love it ... and the kids that are talented swimmers are probably talented at other sports, too ... I had a friend in high school that played football, basketball, and water polo ... he could have jumped into the pool at any point and qualified for the high school state meet, too ... he went to Michigan and played football there ... he probably could have swum there if he wanted to ... he was that talented ...
You raise some interesting points here.
In 2003, high school swimming coach Art Aungst wrote a book called Long Strokes in a Short Season, in which he chronicled the effects of shifting from conditioning-based coaching to technique-based coaching. In his book, he noted that "Because of our significant improvements over the past four seasons, other high school coaches often inquire what our 'secret' is. When I tell them that a 'big' training day for us might be 4500 yards - most of it done slowly and precisely - they usually seem skeptical."
He adds that "The unusual degree to which we have been able to create success based on significant contributions from athletes who don't consider themselves 'swimmers' has been exciting for me to witness. Swimming misses out on a great deal of potential because it typically holds little appeal for the person who has multiple athletic talents. The good athletes often look at swimming as mainly about 'how much pain and tedium can you endure?' They ask, 'Why should I endure that when I could be playing a game instead?'
"By changing our program from how-far-and-how-hard to a constantly evolving set of challenges involving balance, self-awareness, and exploration of efficiency, we have greatly increased its appeal to a person's general athleticism.
"The 'buzz' this has generated around the school has translated into more good athletes from other sports who view swimming as a favorable choice for off-season.
"Many kids who play volleyball, football, or soccer also play baseball, run track, and play lacrosse in other seasons. Many have outstanding athleticism that could be applied to swimming during a 12-week high school season if they were given the maximum opportunity to apply their athletic talents in the water. By making swimming more appealing through teaching, we have attracted many more of these kids to swim with us. By focusing on teaching and practice, rather than generic training, we have also given them the opportunity to swim quite fast in a brief season, and they have been instrumental to our success."
Bob
Originally posted by SwiminONandON
There aren't many sports that require getting out of bed at 5am to practice then going to practice again after school ... you have to love it ... and the kids that are talented swimmers are probably talented at other sports, too ... I had a friend in high school that played football, basketball, and water polo ... he could have jumped into the pool at any point and qualified for the high school state meet, too ... he went to Michigan and played football there ... he probably could have swum there if he wanted to ... he was that talented ...
You raise some interesting points here.
In 2003, high school swimming coach Art Aungst wrote a book called Long Strokes in a Short Season, in which he chronicled the effects of shifting from conditioning-based coaching to technique-based coaching. In his book, he noted that "Because of our significant improvements over the past four seasons, other high school coaches often inquire what our 'secret' is. When I tell them that a 'big' training day for us might be 4500 yards - most of it done slowly and precisely - they usually seem skeptical."
He adds that "The unusual degree to which we have been able to create success based on significant contributions from athletes who don't consider themselves 'swimmers' has been exciting for me to witness. Swimming misses out on a great deal of potential because it typically holds little appeal for the person who has multiple athletic talents. The good athletes often look at swimming as mainly about 'how much pain and tedium can you endure?' They ask, 'Why should I endure that when I could be playing a game instead?'
"By changing our program from how-far-and-how-hard to a constantly evolving set of challenges involving balance, self-awareness, and exploration of efficiency, we have greatly increased its appeal to a person's general athleticism.
"The 'buzz' this has generated around the school has translated into more good athletes from other sports who view swimming as a favorable choice for off-season.
"Many kids who play volleyball, football, or soccer also play baseball, run track, and play lacrosse in other seasons. Many have outstanding athleticism that could be applied to swimming during a 12-week high school season if they were given the maximum opportunity to apply their athletic talents in the water. By making swimming more appealing through teaching, we have attracted many more of these kids to swim with us. By focusing on teaching and practice, rather than generic training, we have also given them the opportunity to swim quite fast in a brief season, and they have been instrumental to our success."
Bob
