Does Practice Make Perfect?
I just heard a swim coach working with a masters club. She said practice makes perfect. What she was teaching should never be taught.
I don't think practice makes perfect, do you?
It is up to you, of course...you shouldn't do it if you aren't going to enjoy yourself.
But I can assure you that no one will ridicule your efforts. I liked Jeff's post about Jim Montgomery placing 14th in the 100 free. At Zones, one of my former teammates swam and did not come close to winning...she is someone who used to place 2nd to Tracy Caulkins at NCAAs, but didn't care about her placing at zones. She's a mother of four kids, who is going to ridicule her efforts to stay in shape?
I think there are a number of former elite swimmers do not swim because they are too worried about losing, or what other people will think, or don't want to think about how much slower they've gotten.
Competition is a great spur but the only thing you are racing against is the clock (and age!).
I can relate to this, Chris. I wasn't an elite swimmer by any means, but I did stay out of the water for several years because I was worried about how slow I'd be without being able to train as much as I had in my late teens/early twenties.
I finally got back in this year, and I'm glad I did, because I really love the sport. I'm not as fast as I was in "my events", but now I get to race in a whole slew of events that I never got to do before. The best part really, though, is the social aspect and all of the great people involved. :wine:
It is up to you, of course...you shouldn't do it if you aren't going to enjoy yourself.
But I can assure you that no one will ridicule your efforts. I liked Jeff's post about Jim Montgomery placing 14th in the 100 free. At Zones, one of my former teammates swam and did not come close to winning...she is someone who used to place 2nd to Tracy Caulkins at NCAAs, but didn't care about her placing at zones. She's a mother of four kids, who is going to ridicule her efforts to stay in shape?
I think there are a number of former elite swimmers do not swim because they are too worried about losing, or what other people will think, or don't want to think about how much slower they've gotten.
Competition is a great spur but the only thing you are racing against is the clock (and age!).
I can relate to this, Chris. I wasn't an elite swimmer by any means, but I did stay out of the water for several years because I was worried about how slow I'd be without being able to train as much as I had in my late teens/early twenties.
I finally got back in this year, and I'm glad I did, because I really love the sport. I'm not as fast as I was in "my events", but now I get to race in a whole slew of events that I never got to do before. The best part really, though, is the social aspect and all of the great people involved. :wine:
