Originally posted by cinc310
Will I agree. Most of us middle aged women swim times that are close to the 11-12 age group.
Shoot, I think I belong in the 10 and under group! And a lot of them smoke me.
Originally posted by Matt S
I often think there should be room in age group swimming for programs that have the mindset of Little League (no, not the year-round, all-star, "select," "traveling," faux teams that get all the TV coverage in the "Little League World Series" abomination, but the neighborhood collection of any ole' kids who come together for a couple-three months to have a little fun and learn a little baseball, and who cares whether there are ANY future major leaguers in the whole darn league.)
Unfortunately, I don't believe that exists anymore in Little League, and the parents are to blame. Even the new director of the basketball league at our YMCA was putting together an "all star" team until the CEO (a retired Marine Corps general) put a stop to it.
It's a fine line we walk when we try to be encouraging but not pushy. My daughter returned to competitive swimming two years ago at age 12 (she'd taken a year off when her best friend on the team moved away) after watching me swim in my first Masters meet. My only stipulation is that she be committed to whatever activities she chooses to participate in. She enjoys travelling to meets, but understands that these trips won't happen if she doesn't attend the workouts. On days when she doesn't feel like swimming or has a conflict (an invitation to a movie, etc.), we force her to make the decision for herself. The result? Last week she decided on her own to get in some extra running to augment her team's dryland program. Will she continue to swim through high school? That remains to be seen. In the end, it has to be her decision.
I know the feeling. Even when I was near my prime in my teens. There was some 10 year old that could beat me and they were smaller. I remember one time I workout with an AAU track team. The little kids were great shape to do a cross country. But I could out sprint them. Running unlike swimming means that little kids couldn't beat you as well.
