Is Swimming Eating Its Young?

I am not retracting what I wrote earlier about children being pushed too early and too much. My concern was who was doing this: the child or the parents or coaches? And to what degree was another thought I had. Being the best I could be was my own doing because I found something I was finally good at (self-confidence was gained). I was swimming at age 3, but not competitively until 9 or 10. When a child has a dream, it should be taken as far as possible within safety considerations. When I finally started making my mark in the swimming world, I was around 13. At my request, I had my dad make weights for me using bricks on pulleys in the garage. The next year, I set a national record in the 100 yd backstroke at Kerr-McGee in Oklahoma. I was stronger is how this came to be. This experience instilled in me a desire to see how far I could take my dream. My schoolwork never suffered and swimming was something that made me happiest. I, on my own, had my mom drive me to the YMCA on some off-days, and I would swim piles of backstroke. So even though I was just entering my teens, I was lifting weights and doing more yardage, more than the other kids. Hard work in physical strength, stroke technique, and aerobic conditioning did pay off. And if children today have a dream to see how far their swimming can take them, then they should pursue that. Being able to pay a physical price in effort to obtain a dream is a good thing. I never suffered burnout even given all the hard work I put into the sport. But no one pushed me but myself. And the Fortress is correct, developing an aerobic base does pay off later as we age. It seems that many discover that they can always get in shape faster later and their conditioning stays with them a little longer than the person who is not aerobically sound. :groovy:Donna

I am not retracting what I wrote earlier about children being pushed too early and too much. My concern was who was doing this: the child or the parents or coaches? And to what degree was another thought I had. Being the best I could be was my own doing because I found something I was finally good at (self-confidence was gained). I was swimming at age 3, but not competitively until 9 or 10. When a child has a dream, it should be taken as far as possible within safety considerations. When I finally started making my mark in the swimming world, I was around 13. At my request, I had my dad make weights for me using bricks on pulleys in the garage. The next year, I set a national record in the 100 yd backstroke at Kerr-McGee in Oklahoma. I was stronger is how this came to be. This experience instilled in me a desire to see how far I could take my dream. My schoolwork never suffered and swimming was something that made me happiest. I, on my own, had my mom drive me to the YMCA on some off-days, and I would swim piles of backstroke. So even though I was just entering my teens, I was lifting weights and doing more yardage, more than the other kids. Hard work in physical strength, stroke technique, and aerobic conditioning did pay off. And if children today have a dream to see how far their swimming can take them, then they should pursue that. Being able to pay a physical price in effort to obtain a dream is a good thing. I never suffered burnout even given all the hard work I put into the sport. But no one pushed me but myself. And the Fortress is correct, developing an aerobic base does pay off later as we age. It seems that many discover that they can always get in shape faster later and their conditioning stays with them a little longer than the person who is not aerobically sound. :groovy:Donna