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 TheGoodSmith
You guys are missing the point.
I didn't miss the point at all. I got it loud and clear. I just have a diferent take on it. It's not always so black and white.
The future of US swimming has relied upon, and will always rely upon, a handful of extremely talented kids who get into swimming in a decent program with a decent coach, at an early age, then train their butts off for years.
It depends upon the swimmer having that rare mix of natural technique, body proportions, and intense desire to become great.
It's one coach or a series of coaches who sees the potential in these young athletes then guides and encourages them to find out what they are capable of.
Like Bob Bowman / Michael Phelps
The future of US swimming relies upon the moms and dads who support their kids, take them to practice, take them to meets, pay for it all, while avoiding pushing them too hard. Some parents relocate to place their child with the best possible coach.
It relies on a child being born into a family who can afford to pay for the child to train.
It relies upon the child deciding that swimming is her sport and the child making the choice to reject other sports, to put in the training to become great.
I don't know if a marketing program will change this
Greatness happens
one person at a time
one dream at a time.
It's a child watching Michael Phelps or Amanda Beard or Natalie Coughlin or Ian Crocker or Aaron Piersol or Brendan Hansen on TV at the Olympics who decides
one day that will be me
if the child has the talent and puts in the work
it could be.
It's a few of these current great swimmers taking a few talented swimmers under their wings and telling them
you have what it takes to go all the way.
If you train hard, one day you could do what I did and more.
Ande
First of all, Ande, that was very nicely worded.
Second, and to you gull80, easy on the NASCAR bashing. I do live in Charlotte, after all. When you come here next January for the meet, I'm enrolling you in the Richard Petty Driving Experience.
Originally posted by TheGoodSmith
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.
When somebody tells me that boys' swimming - or swimming in general - is going downhill, I always have to ask them "compared to when?"
When I was in high school, for example, there were no boys on our high school swim team - or girls, either - because there was no high school swim team. There is now.
From the time I was around 10 to the time I was around 14, my family had a summer home near a reservoir in upstate New York, and we had a membership in a swim club at the reservoir. There were also no boys on the swim team there - or girls, either - because there was no swim team. I now live in northern New Jersey, and it seems that every lake and watering hole has a summer swim team for kids.
I certainly don't mean to belittle concerns that boys' swimming or swimming in general may be declining in some areas, but we shouldn't forget that it's something of an accomplishment for swimming to have grown enough that it could decline.
Bob
Yep, the reason why you are seeing all those age groupers swimming when you want to swim is there is not enough pools available to swim at. Pools are costly to maintain and the trend is to put in water parks, not lap pools to make money.
Aquachiefs has Urbana(4 of the 8 lanes) Monday through Friday 5:30-7:00 am and 5:30-7:30 pm at a cost of 16 per hour. They have the 6 lane y pool 7:30-9 Monday through Friday. They have all 8 lanes at Urbana on Saturday morning 8-10 and 2-3 lanes on Saturday afternoon 3-5 and 2 lanes at the Y 1-3 on Sundays. This is for over 100 kids.
Urbana is charging the U of I women's swim team over 50 per hour for pool time 8-10 at night when IMPE shuts down because they have no where to practice.
Originally posted by 330man
It is difficult to train for and the monetary rewards are miniscule when compared to the big three of MLB, NFL, and NBA. You can count the swimmers who make big money on two hands whereas nearly every pro player in the big three makes well into a six digit salary, often times seven. What is USS going to say? Hey kid, come swim on one of our teams and you might get a shot at the Olympics. All the while the kid has visions of playing in the NBA and driving a new F430 Spider.
Anyone who is trying to sell kids on baseball or football or basketball based on the dream of turning pro is, IMO, engaging in false advertising. Very few kids who play Little League baseball are ever going to turn pro. The vast majority of kids who play high school football aren't going to be good enough to play it in college, and the vast majority of those who play it in college aren't going to be good enough to turn pro.
The value of sports for the vast, vast majority of people is as a path to health, fitness, and longevity through a lifetime program of regular exercise. And swimming is far more likely to fill that bill than football or baseball is. Have you ever heard of a company that had a company football team? Some companies do have have teams that play fake baseball (i.e., softball), but even they rarely play or even practice often enough to contribute significantly to an employee's exercise program. But, as most of us can testify, swimming (even competitive swimming) is a sport in which the vast majority of people can participate for their entire lives.
Bob McAdams and Leonard Jansen,
You've got an optimistic view of the future of men's swimming and that's good. Unfortunately, the facts show that enrollment is down on average nationwide for young males. There are regions of the country with better enrollment and that's good, but taken as a whole the sport doesn't look good for the future of male swimming. And to your comment about girl's success..... Yes, of course girls swimming could use some expansion. I won't light the Title 9 debate here (pros and cons) but I will say this. If mens swimming enrollment continues to decline it will ultimately hurt women's swimming programs as well. Like it or not, public viewership is dependent on selfish male audiences who would rather view men's swimming over women's swimming all things being constant. Not knowing anyone in the pool, men will typicaly pay to watch men compete than pay to watch women compete..... a selfish statement but a reality none the less. You've got to have both men and women's enrollments advancing together.
Paul "the evil" Smith and Loser.
I did mention one solution to the problem. I implied that USS should contact all the ex swimmers it can find for yearly donations to the sport. There must be tens of thousands of adult ex swimmers out there since 1960 with decent sized wallets and good memories of the sport they left behind years ago. A hundred dollar donation a year from each would be a good start.
It's about money. Its always about money. Get more money into the right hands to do EFFECTIVE marketing/advertising to raise awareness of the sport. TV spots are the way to go. Our society is glued to it.
John Smith
Aquageek and Bob McAdams,
You guys are missing the point. It's not the likelihood of a young kid making it to the big money that drives his entrance. We all know that. We are saying that the big money in these sports keeps these icons at the forefront of the media which makes it more likely for kids to keep noticing the players in these sports vs. swimming.
Mega buck deals get noticed and talked about constantly in the media. The kids know the odds aren't good, but the papers keep the various sports subject alive none the less. The media thrives on the mega dollar sports deal and its constantly talked about. Its as if these players are in a BETTER sport because of the money and people start to believe they are BETTER athletes because they make more money. It feeds on itself.
Phelps has done well compared to previous swimmers financially, but its a friggen rounding error compared to other players with his comparable talent in other sports. If you saw dozens of swimmers making big wads of cash with endorsement deals the noteriety of the sport would go up and the kids and general public would notice it more.
John Smith
thanks
the problem is people aren't likely to die in high speed swimming accidents. In more popular sports there's a certain gladiator like appeal.
plus it boils down to dollars fans and amatuer participants spend on apparel and equipment.
swimming needs more stuff to sell, like
golf does
EVERLAST robes are a start
ande
Originally posted by gull80
Well said, Ande.
That having been said, if they can make NASCAR appeal to the masses...
