Is Swimming Eating Its Young?

In no way am I recommending that a swimmer should be doing doubles at age 12. On the flip side, there are certain years where the biggest gains can be made in aerobic capacity. Most of the craziness I've seen is originating from the parents who insist that their kids should do more work. I've seen coaches fired because their team didn't place high enough at the age group championships (based on the parent's idea of what the kids should have been doing). Some of these parents will trot their kid out to a meet every weekend, then by the time they are older the whole family is burned out and the kid has plateued. If you're 12 years old, "stuck" not getting faster, and are already doing 10 workouts a week, there's not much place to go to get faster. I have actually been told that it is a positive thing for kids to have a solid aerobic base. Indeed, there is some research that suggests that aggressive cardiovascular training when young can help you live longer, wholly apart from whatever immediate USS award the kid garners. The problem is how to keep injuries at bay when volume goes up. I think more teams need to focus on pre-hab as their increasing yardage. I agree much craziness is in fact due to parents. Coaching is for coaches, not parents. I know one parent some years ago who took their 12 year old to senior nationals after she swam a 1:05 in the 100 ***. The kid couldn't take the pressure, freaked out and never really recovered to swim anywhere close to that elite level again. Very sad.

In no way am I recommending that a swimmer should be doing doubles at age 12. On the flip side, there are certain years where the biggest gains can be made in aerobic capacity. Most of the craziness I've seen is originating from the parents who insist that their kids should do more work. I've seen coaches fired because their team didn't place high enough at the age group championships (based on the parent's idea of what the kids should have been doing). Some of these parents will trot their kid out to a meet every weekend, then by the time they are older the whole family is burned out and the kid has plateued. If you're 12 years old, "stuck" not getting faster, and are already doing 10 workouts a week, there's not much place to go to get faster. I have actually been told that it is a positive thing for kids to have a solid aerobic base. Indeed, there is some research that suggests that aggressive cardiovascular training when young can help you live longer, wholly apart from whatever immediate USS award the kid garners. The problem is how to keep injuries at bay when volume goes up. I think more teams need to focus on pre-hab as their increasing yardage. I agree much craziness is in fact due to parents. Coaching is for coaches, not parents. I know one parent some years ago who took their 12 year old to senior nationals after she swam a 1:05 in the 100 ***. The kid couldn't take the pressure, freaked out and never really recovered to swim anywhere close to that elite level again. Very sad.