Below are the number of entrants for each event at the Junior Nationals for 2008. What do these figures mean for men's swimming long term? The number of boys in the sport trails girls quite siginficantly in many events. In relays where a team tends to show its depth, boys are out numbered by girls nearly 2:1
If things continue or get worse we've got problems ahead of us in 2 Olympics.
It's a good thing collegiate budgets aren't cutting mens swimming these days.... :-)
ncsassociation.homestead.com/PsychFINAL.htm
.............Women Men
1650/1000... 78.. 75
Med. Relay... 97.. 51
100 free... 264.. 140
100 ***... 179.. 102
200 back... 173.. 111
200 fly... 149.. 91
800 fr rly... 81.. 43
50 fly... 170.. 106
50 ***... 151.. 82
200 free... 252.. 159
400 IM... 183.. 106
400 free rly... 84.. 45
100 back... 194.. 152
500 free... 188.. 112
200 ***... 152.. 82
100 fly... 242.. 161
200 fr rly... 84.. 45
50 back... 135.. 115
200 IM... 268.. 169
50 free... 282.. 153
800/1500 fr... 98.. 67
400 med rly... 105.. 54
So true. On my kids swim team there are lots of boys, but they start dropping in junior high. By the time they reach hight school, the club team almost seems like an all girls team. There is so much pressure on kids to choose a sport early and do it all year that it makes it hard to keep kids in multiple sports. My personal opinion as to why the girls choose swimming and the boys don't...
Over time the girls become incredibly tight with each other, the team becomes the peer group, their close friends. To stop swimming would cut them off from their peer group. This doesn't happen in the same way with boys; they show up to practice, swim, and goof around in the showers, but they don't develop the same friendship bonds as the girls. So when it comes time to picking a sport to stick with, they pick a sport that's more fun.
My personal opinion; boys these days are far more interested in playing video games.
You think I'm joking? I just had a conversation with the head coach of a Div I top 10 team and one of the biggest problems they have with the men's college swimmers as well as the boys on their club team is an almost insatiable obsession with spending hours playing this stuff....to the point that its talked about constantly at practice, in the weight room, etc. etc.
It takes a lot of commitment, hard work, patience and focus to be an athlete on any level and more and more it seems fewer kids (mostly boys) have it.
So true. On my kids swim team there are lots of boys, but they start dropping in junior high. By the time they reach hight school, the club team almost seems like an all girls team. There is so much pressure on kids to choose a sport early and do it all year that it makes it hard to keep kids in multiple sports. My personal opinion as to why the girls choose swimming and the boys don't...
Over time the girls become incredibly tight with each other, the team becomes the peer group, their close friends. To stop swimming would cut them off from their peer group. This doesn't happen in the same way with boys; they show up to practice, swim, and goof around in the showers, but they don't develop the same friendship bonds as the girls. So when it comes time to picking a sport to stick with, they pick a sport that's more fun.
My personal opinion; boys these days are far more interested in playing video games.
You think I'm joking? I just had a conversation with the head coach of a Div I top 10 team and one of the biggest problems they have with the men's college swimmers as well as the boys on their club team is an almost insatiable obsession with spending hours playing this stuff....to the point that its talked about constantly at practice, in the weight room, etc. etc.
It takes a lot of commitment, hard work, patience and focus to be an athlete on any level and more and more it seems fewer kids (mostly boys) have it.
