Old national caliber swimmers that never come back
Former Member
Interesting and unfortunate that the vast majority of ex swimmers that made finals at NCAAs or Nationals when they were younger (or even just cuts) do not now participate in Masters Swimming. Only a small handful of these people come to Masters Nationals each year within each age group.
What a good opportunity USMS presents to see old faces and have a good time. I think USMS would benefit tremendously from their knowledge of the sport.
John Smith
Former Member
Originally posted by aquageek
So, they bloom early, take a decade or so off and then bloom again late.
Sorry, couldn't resist, gull80 put me up to it.
careful with the weejee board, you could summon up something you don't want.
Lainey, that approach is far too sensitive & considerate... I prefer this gambit "I'll bet you couldn't still break (fill in the blank) if your life depended on it!"
I think beer and R&R is a better approach to entice these people. Most aren't interested in racing as they are so burnt out on it from so many years ago.
There needs to be more of a reunion appeal, and USMS needs to keep Nationals in a good vacation type location (coast or beach oriented) to strengthen the appeal.
John Smith
Hey Aquageek,
Need I remind you of this little backwater school in Bloomington, IN. They had a coach by the name of Councilman who was pretty well regarded in certain circles, and a dude, Spitz was it (?), that some say was half decent.
More recently I've heard some folks from Ann Arbor talk about one of their local heros, Dolan if I recall correctly. Supposedly he wasn't half bad on a good day.
Please enlighten me, whose men's 4x200 relay just broke the U.S. Open record at Senior Nationals?
Matt
Michigan just win a NCAA championship back in 1995. Plus they were 5 at NCAAs this year. Plus, Minn and OSU weren't that bad either. However, overall the Southern schools certainly out perform their Northern counter parts in the NCAAs and make up the majority of the top 25. Suprisingly though, Ohio, Penn, Indiana and Mich still turn out more high school talent than you might expect given the yearly finishes at NCAAs over the last 10 to 15 years.
Hook'em
Blue
Originally posted by TheGoodSmith
Most are grossly out of shape and have a distaste for the sport. I wouldn't worry about it.
John Smith
And they're too busy popping out babies. Most of my former collegiate teammates are doing that. One of them tried to make a comeback, but his wife just lost control of her uterus and popped out three babies in three years.
I always thought many of the former greats would appear in Masters swimming. From my era, it's good to see Roque Santos still in action.
Originally posted by TheGoodSmith
Interesting and unfortunate that the vast majority of ex swimmers that made finals at NCAAs or Nationals when they were younger (or even just cuts) do not now participate in Masters Swimming. Only a small handful of these people come to Masters Nationals each year within each age group.
What a good opportunity USMS presents to see old faces and have a good time. I think USMS would benefit tremendously from their knowledge of the sport.
John Smith But then all of the second rate swimmers could never win an event. :)
