have been swimming year round since I was eight years old. I am now going to be a sophmore in college. I have lived and breathed swimming since I first started. My life revolved around swimming and only that. Through high school I gave up hanging with friends to go to swim practice. I never really was a great swimmer even though I worked super hard to be succesful. I did swim one year in college. I am completely burnt out and cant stand to go to swim meets and not be able to swim the times I did when I was 13-15. now 20. It kills me and after my freshman year and this summer I have made the decision to call it quits because I 'cant put my self through all this hard work to not see results and swimming just dosent make me happy. Am i making a huge mistake and what happens say a year from now when i miss swimming greatly? will it all be ok then? I was so sure on my decision but when other people dont support me like coaches and parents etc its hard. I just need some advice or encougagement!
thanks!
I have made the decision to call it quits because I 'cant put my self through all this hard work to not see results and swimming just dosent make me happy.
Either you enjoy swimming or you don't. If you do, do the part you enjoy. As a Masters swimmer, I have much more fun and only work hard when I feel like it. Embrace the recovery phase of training more often. Swimming doubles and feeling broken down, tired, and hungry all day just doesn't cut it anymore. Swim fast, slow, hard, easy.... it's your call, but you don't have to do 100,000 yards a week to get results.
Training with a quality and recovery cycle is much more fun and the results for the amount of effort can be very rewarding. Going 20,000 yards is about the max for me before the pain begins to overwhelm the recovery.
It's OK to take a break. Swimming should be fun. There's more to swimming than meets.
Go to the beach. Take lifeguarding and work at a swim school or the Y. You are still a better swimmer than 99% of your peers. Teach beginners.
Date, hang out, study. And most of all have fun!
I'll 2nd that!
Dear Burnt
you wrote:
I can't put my self through all this hard work to not see results
poor results are frustrating
It's part of a downward spiral
swim poorly in meets ~~~> feels disappointed ~~~> label it burned out ~~> because you feel burned out you train like a burned out swimmer and make decisions away from the pool that burned out swimmers make ~~> because you're training like a burned out swimmer you get those kind of results in meets
so you're now at a crossroads
my questions to you are
Why aren't you improving?
what are your events?
What are your times?
what are you truly passionate about?
I don't know if you need a break or if you need to approach training with a change or a new attitude.
I do know this,
something has to change.
There's been times in my life where I was burned out on swimming and just going through the motions, there were other times where I was focused excited and looking forward to each practice and the meets I'm training for
To become the best you you can be in swimming
you have to pour your heart and soul into your training.
If you're feeling burned out it might help you to take a break.
You make a change
take a different approach
try a new coach
If you decide to train, if you can get to where you start IMPROVING again you might feel excited about swimming.
It begins by ACTING AS IF you already are what you most want to be.
If you start swimming
read Swim Faster Faster
What do YOU need to do to have a major swimming breakthrough?"
show up to train with excitement and passion
believe you are going to have an awesome season
otherwise
enjoy your break
let us know what you do
Ande
have been swimming year round since I was eight years old. I am now going to be a sophmore in college. I have lived and breathed swimming since I first started. My life revolved around swimming and only that. Through high school I gave up hanging with friends to go to swim practice. I never really was a great swimmer even though I worked super hard to be succesful. I did swim one year in college. I am completely burnt out and cant stand to go to swim meets and not be able to swim the times I did when I was 13-15. now 20. It kills me and after my freshman year and this summer I have made the decision to call it quits because I 'cant put my self through all this hard work to not see results and swimming just dosent make me happy. Am i making a huge mistake and what happens say a year from now when i miss swimming greatly? will it all be ok then? I was so sure on my decision but when other people dont support me like coaches and parents etc its hard. I just need some advice or encougagement!
thanks!
It's OK to take a break. Swimming should be fun. There's more to swimming than meets.
Go to the beach. Take lifeguarding and work at a swim school or the Y. You are still a better swimmer than 99% of your peers. Teach beginners.
Date, hang out, study. And most of all have fun!
have been swimming year round since I was eight years old. I am now going to be a sophmore in college. I have lived and breathed swimming since I first started. My life revolved around swimming and only that. Through high school I gave up hanging with friends to go to swim practice. I never really was a great swimmer even though I worked super hard to be succesful. I did swim one year in college. I am completely burnt out and cant stand to go to swim meets and not be able to swim the times I did when I was 13-15. now 20. It kills me and after my freshman year and this summer I have made the decision to call it quits because I 'cant put my self through all this hard work to not see results and swimming just dosent make me happy. Am i making a huge mistake and what happens say a year from now when i miss swimming greatly? will it all be ok then? I was so sure on my decision but when other people dont support me like coaches and parents etc its hard. I just need some advice or encougagement!
thanks!
swimkswim,
Wow, I went through almost the same thing after my freshman year of college. I called it quits and don't regret a thing. But, I gradually got back into swimming five years later, started masters swimming and loved it again.
If you are not happy swimming, you are making the right choice. Don't listen to anyone but you! Your coaches and parents don't get your frustration in the pool. I went through 3 years of no improvement. I don't think that I could have lasted as long as you did with no improvement.
Talk to you coach about maybe coming back in a year if you miss it. I am sure that your coach will want you back in a year or so if this coach doesn't support your decision. My college coach told me that I would regret it. I am sure that I could have gone back as well. I had a top ten time at my college for the 200 fly for like 8 years.
But, I have a feeling you will love your college life without swimming. No getting up for that 6AM practice. When you go out on Friday, you don't have to worry about Saturday morning practice. Plus, if you go to Florida, it won't be for a useless training trip. From my own experience, I was so much happier in college not swimming. I would have needed to be committed to the psych ward if made it through all 4 years of college swimming. Focus on your studies, get those internship and part time office jobs. It is more important to have work experience on your resume than swimming on a college team.
Just remember, don't get out of your exercise routine. Keep swimming but on a leisurely basis. Try other things. Maybe in a few years, you might want swim again and you can do masters swimming. You can probably swim the times that you did at 13-15. Many swimmers peak later in life. But, right now, focus on your college studies. Bad swimming will just ruin this great experience in your life.
College is an appropriate time to reevaluate expectations, and to try new things. Many people end up in similar situations, especially musicians, who have practiced and been local favorites all their lives and suddenly understand what the real competition is. Other examples abound. And they quietly move what has been #1 to the #3 place. Sure, you'll miss swimming, but you will gain in other ways. Coaches and parents may be less against the decision than against how you present it to them. That is, they may see you as someone youngish who is just expostulating and will be back in the pool tomorrow. A good way to conduct the conversation is to move smoothly past the decision to the rest of the plan: "That way I'll be able to work on Italian more and prepare for a semester of study abroad" (or whatever).
If you like water, water skills are useful in a number of careers: parks and recreation, national forests, marine biology, and so forth. I second the recommendation to stay in touch in some fashion, lifeguarding or teaching at summer camps.
People also reach plateaus, and sometimes time off or a change of coach is beneficial. It sounds as though you are ready to move on, but only you can be sure.
Good luck with a tough decision!
I almost quit twice during my 4 year college career. Mainly because my times weren't what they were in high school. What I found was the swim team became my family. When I got away from the team I had the sense of not being a part of something. I was just another student in a large sea of students. Finally, in my senior year and after missing the first month of practicing, the coach gave me an ultimatum. Swim or leave the team. I choose to swim and never missed another practice the rest of the year. At the end of the year, I swam a lifetime best 100 free and broke the school record. Now, looking back, I'm proud that I stuck with it and it's something that no one can take away from me. As for you, I'd suggest either a break or a new outlook on the upcoming year. Maybe instead of focusing so much on your times, focus on being an integral part of the team. Maybe cut back on your own workouts a bit and become the team's biggest cheerleader (as a member of the team). Maybe focus on some shorter sprint workouts and strength training. Good Luck.
While I know nothing about your training, if you are unable at 20 to repeat times you did at 13 or 15, there is likely something wrong with your training or lifestyle. Of course I can be sure of nothing from the vantage point of this keyboard. But you might look at your training or lifestyle with a critical eye.
swimkswim,
I think it's safe to say that practically all competitive swimmers who have 'given it their all' go through periods of burn out. Like some of the stories above, I reached that stage at end of my junior year in college, 1988. I was swimming Division I on a partial scholarship and had the twin goals of making both NCAAs and then Trials. I had been a hard core distance swimmer since probably age 11 or 12 and had been doing serious yardage probably since I was 13. Though my 500 time had improved a few seconds in college, I wasn't able to match my 1500/1650 time from when I was 16/17 years old. I swam like crap at the conference championships that year and left that meet firmly committed to hang up my suit and party my last year of college like a 'real' student (not a 'student athlete'). I had the conversation with my parents, but was a bit afraid of discussing it with my coach. My parents weren't happy but understood (my dad had swum in college, as well). However, they really encouraged me to talk with my coach.
This was the best decision for me. My coach was completely understanding, but offered up a suggestion that kept me in the pool. As I was planning on staying at college during the summer anyways, he suggested that I move training groups for the summer and train with the IMers. That might not seem like a huge difference, but the variety that it brought, both in terms of the different sets/strokes and the different people I trained with, was incredible. Don't get me wrong: the workouts were still quite hard, but in a completely different way than the longer mileage workouts I had been doing for years. I ended up having great swims that summer in both the 400 IM and 400 free and went on to have a hugely satisfying and faster senior year. (I still never matched the mile times from my younger years, but my 500 & 400 IM continued to get faster). As I reflect upon this now 20 years later, I'm not sure if I would've come back to swimming through Master's had I left on a 'down note.'
Your coach might not be receptive to it (hopefully, he/she will). If not and you still want to swim, join a master's team, try triathlons, do some open water swimming, or just take time off. The great thing I've found out since coming back to Master's is that you are no longer 'tied' to doing specific events or training regimens. Mixing it up keeps it interesting.
