...to swim or not to swim?
As some of ya'll might remember, I wrote a small blog on my daily swimming activities as a college swimmer this past season. If not for my back injury, I'm sure it would have been much more exciting...but oh well.
Well the season ended a few months ago, and I've been largely a land lubber since. Now that I'm settled for the summer though, I'm getting back into the pool on a regular basis.
The question is... do I swim as a member of the varsity team next year?
I just can't really decide.
My coach quit at the end of the season to move with her husband to Rhode Island (where he became the new head soccer coach at the university of rhode island). The new coach of both the men's and women's program is the former assistant coach of the men's team, Jason.
He's a pretty nice guy, but since the men's and women's teams were seperate last year, I don't really know much about his coaching methods.
I've got it down to the pros and cons of swimming next year, but I still can't decide what would be best...
Pros: Great exercise - forces me to go swim even when I'm tired
Seeing my teammates again
A chance to actually compete
The ability to say I'm still a college swimmer...
Cons: Last year's practice schedule was brutal. If this year is the same...if it's the same this year it means:
Crunch on academics
No social life for 5-6 months
Constantly exhausted
..possible reinjury of my back (although unlikely)
I just don't know. I'm concerned about my academics. I really screwed up my spring quarter, for unrelated personal reasons, and as a result my GPA is in the toilet. Since I'm entering my junior year, pulling up my academics is of huge concern to me. Also, I'm going abroad in the spring...so if I had no time to spend with my real friends during the season I wouldn't see them at all during the year....
....But I don't want to be a quitter. I know I wouldn't abandon the sport...but....agh...
What do I do?
Parents
Former Member
With all due respect, the "you don't understand" excuse isn't going to carry a lot of weight. Remember you are talking to a group comprised mostly of parents and I'll bet we've all heard it a 1000 times from their own kids. Fact is we do understand. Many of the people on the board went to school, some difficult and some not as difficult. Lots of us also swam on a much higher level. We managed to go to school, graduate, have some sort of significant other, and a social life. We've become doctors, lawyers, teachers, soldiers, engineers, etc, etc and we've managed to continue to swim even when our daily lives make it almost impossible.
All I'm trying to tell you is make up your mind that it's something you want to do badly enough to make it work. It's going to be hard but most things in life worth having come with a price. If you can't live with what it takes to be on the team then maybe it's time to move on to the next phase of your life and have no regrets.
With all due respect, the "you don't understand" excuse isn't going to carry a lot of weight. Remember you are talking to a group comprised mostly of parents and I'll bet we've all heard it a 1000 times from their own kids. Fact is we do understand. Many of the people on the board went to school, some difficult and some not as difficult. Lots of us also swam on a much higher level. We managed to go to school, graduate, have some sort of significant other, and a social life. We've become doctors, lawyers, teachers, soldiers, engineers, etc, etc and we've managed to continue to swim even when our daily lives make it almost impossible.
All I'm trying to tell you is make up your mind that it's something you want to do badly enough to make it work. It's going to be hard but most things in life worth having come with a price. If you can't live with what it takes to be on the team then maybe it's time to move on to the next phase of your life and have no regrets.
