The Demise of Mens Swimming in the US

Oh brother.....

I said many not all. There are some GREAT boy swimmers here also. I am just noticing the trends that there are more females then men. I have nothing against that (not a pervert), I just see the better athletes for the most part leave swimming now more than ever. TV, video games maybe. I think it is the X-Games phenomenon, and the major sports getting more and more hype from the media. I know basketball and football were popular in the 70's. But if you look at the TV hype today of those sports and compare to three decades ago, I think you will see a difference. I was actually responding to Evil Title IX Hater, not you Sam. (Although I love his ALS status!) I see many great male athletes in swimming that could definitely do other sports. In fact, I see a trend toward much buffer teenage males rather than just the stereotypical long lanky ones. And they all seem to be imitating the new loping freestyle trend. But I will give you that swimming is perhaps not as "cool" as other sports. And it takes a unique individual who can tolerate the pain. Plus, the number of workouts they have some kids doing at a young age is enough to make anyone run screaming. My kid, who is a social butterfly and loves her teammates, still complains that swimming takes so much time she has "no life." (This is wrong.) Maybe it all comes down to boys liking video games more than girls. If so, how do you get the boys away from them?

Most people would rather go to a Milli Vanilli reunion of one than ever hear another song from Rumors ever again. Bar none, worst album ever produced, followed by every Eagles ever. Don't forget what the Dude said about the Eagles in the Big Lebowski: The Dude: Jesus, man, could you change the channel? Cab Driver: F*&k you man. If you don't like my f*&kin' music get your own f*&kin' cab! The Dude: I had a rough... Cab Driver: I pull over and kick your a$$ out! The Dude: Come on, man. I had a rough night and I hate the f*&kin' Eagles, man! :joker:

Maybe it all comes down to boys liking video games more than girls. If so, how do you get the boys away from them? Just keep the boys supplied with video games and you'll have no worries about your daughter. Everybody wins! Wait... you didn't mean... no... you COULDN'T have...

In the ASCA magazines they have been wondering how to get more boys involved for years.Involvement of boys seems to be on the rise again,perhaps because we are finally getting some publicity with Michael Phelps and his "epic quest." One thing I noticed that worries me though:in the High School records,most of the girls records were 1-3 years old while most of the boys records were 5-8 years old.

Geek, I have news for you..... This forum is ALL ABOUT GRUMPY OLD MEN...... ie. it's MASTERS SWIMMING. Let me translate that to you.......... We are old ! As for the 1970s....... Dude...... you are trespassing on hollowed ground with nasty comments about Fleetwood Mac. Evil Smith and I will pick out a meet in your neck of the woods and show up one day. John Smith John, Speaking of grumpy old men, I raced right next to you many times growing up in Ohio - starting back to when you were on the Maplewood Club Team, the at Water Works, and then when you were at Firestone and I was at another school. You wouldn't remember me. I was seeded immediately next to you a hundred times, and lost every one...argh! I remember one time, we were 11 - you may have been 12 - and you looked over at me on the starting blocks and said something like "I'm gonna beat your pants off." You did it too. I have to tell you 30+ years later that that wasn't very good sportsmanship. You were one fast kid.

In the ASCA magazines they have been wondering how to get more boys involved for years.Involvement of boys seems to be on the rise again,perhaps because we are finally getting some publicity with Michael Phelps and his "epic quest." One thing I noticed that worries me though:in the High School records,most of the girls records were 1-3 years old while most of the boys records were 5-8 years old. I did a quick check in PV. Of the 30 swimmers qualifying for the Olympic Trials, 17 are men. The high school boys went to town on the state record book this year, setting more records than the girls. But of the PV USS records, there are more recent girl than boy records. Could reflect old Olympians like Ed Moses still retaining records ... But at the younger age groups, the male records are being broken right and left by talented swimmers. The girls are still quite studly though. We even have one that can race John Smith's son. 12 year old Janet Hu went a 25.8 in the 50 fly and 57.5 in the 100 (also a 57 in the 100 back). Very funny That Guy! I'm not adverse to the baseball bat tactics when it comes to Mini-Fort. As boys obsess with video games, girls, sadly, appear to obsess at great length over their hair.

I have been told that the Goodsmith is not always good. John, Speaking of grumpy old men, I raced right next to you many times growing up in Ohio - starting back to when you were on the Maplewood Club Team, the at Water Works, and then when you were at Firestone and I was at another school. You wouldn't remember me. I was seeded immediately next to you a hundred times, and lost every one...argh! I remember one time, we were 11 - you may have been 12 - and you looked over at me on the starting blocks and said something like "I'm gonna beat your pants off." You did it too. I have to tell you 30+ years later that that wasn't very good sportsmanship. You were one fast kid.

Back to topic: Geek, your numbers are irrefutable. I am sure that there are plenty of boys swimming these days. I would question the level of talent most boys in swimming have. I think when John looks at Juniors as an example, he is looking to a somewhat elite level swimmer. The reason I say this, is that many clubs I see there are many more amazingly talented girls at the Sr. and Jr. National level than men. At the age group level there seem to be an equal amount. I think the best male athletes have a hard time staying in this sport due to pressures of playing more "socially acceptable" sports for males. I can't count the nmber of times I have seen talented 10 and under boys and 11-12 boys basically quit. It is not because of video games, that is too easy an answer. It is just not cool to talk to their friends (unless they are other swimmers) about their swimming events since none of their friends understand the sport in the first place. Like it or not, kids want to fit in. P.S. I am going to stereotype here, but seems like the political environment we are in so what the hey. I notice that many of the boys swimming (not all, many) are basically doing it because they can't do anything else. They don't look like the strongest athletes and when you compare the physiques in general with boys swim teams to boys basketball, football,lacrosse, heck even golf sometimes (Ande) you see a definite difference in athletic build, etc.

One thing to keep in mind is, girls are more involved in sports in general than they were back in the 70s. I grew up in the 60s and 70s and was openly discouraged from doing anything athletic, especially by my mother (who was admittedly out of date even for the times). She thought being competitive was aggressive and masculine. Dance was the only acceptable physical activity for a girl, in her (and others) opinion. I remember a high school teacher telling me in the mid-seventies that "women shouldn't do sports because they get big ugly muscles and start looking like men". This didn't bother me very much at the time because I was the asthmatic kid who always got picked last in gymn class, but it did annoy my inner feminist. In the 80s, I still ran into this attitude when I became a runner, even from female co-workers my own age. Most exercise programs aimed at women emphasized non-competitiveness and required graceful dance steps in pastel leotards, just to prove that the participants really were feminine. So why swimming? Well, on another swimming forum, it's been noted several times that girls seem to enjoy the process of learning technique, while boys just want to go eyeballs-out. (They probably come to enjoy process later on when they are a bit older.) This may also explain why girls are disproportionately represented in gymnastics, figure skating, and dance.