burnt out

I completely feel your pain. The same thing happened to me in the my Senior year of college. I had thrown all my eggs in the basket my junior year, swam great, and then missed qualifying for Olympic Trials by .12 in the 400 free. This happened to me in 1988 as well, but in the 1500 ( I qualified but too late). Plus all my friends were done, I was distance swimmer, and pretty much had to train alone....which really sucked. In the end its YOUR decision, but follow your heart. If its not in it then take just a year off and then maybe re-evaluate. Unless you are on a scholarship or something its shouldn't be a big deal to take a year off, just don't fall TOO far from the tree as far as conditioning. Swimming does lend itself to needing to be completely dedicated to be successful. One of the sacrifices I had to make was a social life. However in college its MUCH easier to have one. So anyways, take a step back, enjoy, then re-evaluate. Thats my .02 :2cents:

It sounds like you might be a victum of a lazy or inexperienced coach and also the fact that once you reach the teen years so many coaches forget to reinforce stroke technique... Most coaches seem to think that all you need to do is to swim more distance when most teens are natural sprinters and distance swimming does no good for a 100 yard sprint...so much waste of otherwise very good swimmers.. maybe you could rethink your workouts with a new coach who will work with your technique... I can relate to the burnt out part especially when you don't improve as you think you should. Burn out is a natural progression and I agree that swimming should be fun so take a break and in the meantime I would get a hold of some swim technique building dvd's, books, web sites. Then when you decide you want to swim again concentrate on using these techniques in your training. Just like anything in life if you try hard and get no results try making some changes to your stroke. Just like in golf if you hit the ball into the woods time to make a change to your stroke. Do skulling drills they are great way to develop the feel for the water. Start by just trying to make some changes to your strokes by focusing on your drills .. don't try to swim far or fast at first just try to preform the drills correctly and slowly (we call it super slow swimming) concetrate on your balance, your high elbow as you pull the water with your forearms (fist swimming drill) and most important accelerate your hand and arm through the stroke so the fastest part of your stroke is at the end and rip the water as you exit (except for breastroke) good luck!

Hang in there. I've always had a love/hate relationship with swimming. One second you can't stand it, the next... you can't get enough of it. Your feelings are completely normal. My advice is to simply enjoy your time at college right now. There are so many other things to fulfill your life at this point. Swimming does suck up a lot of your time - so take the time right now to go out and have fun. Enjoy the entire college experience. You will know when you are ready to go back. Listen to yourself - don't feel bad about not swimming as fast as you used to - a lot of us deal with that on a daily basis. You made this decision for yourself - not anyone else - this time is for you now. Go out and have fun!

My son is a freshman in college now and is swimming. Who knows if he will enjoy it or not. But he chooses to quit - that's OK with me. If you hate practice, aren't having fun, don't do it. As an alternative - change things up. 1. swim masters instead of USA-S; can be way less serious 2. become a sprinter if you're not one - this can change your workouts dramatically 3. don't know where you go to school - but you might try club water polo. Takes advantage of your swimming skill but is a 100% team sport and would be new. Whatever you do - stay active and don't get fat!

Being burnt out is no fun. Lots of us experienced it at one time or another, and we all struggled with the decision to hang in there or walk away, because swimming was SUCH as big part tof our lives....... Is taking it a little easier in practice, maybe focusing on the social aspect of the team an option for you? You didn't tell us if this is a Div 1, 2, or 3 school, if you are on scholarship, etc. If you would be a welcome member of the team without killing yourself in practice, this might be an option for you. And you should definitely be able to be candid with the coach about feeling burnt out. If the main objective of the coach is to provide a healthy and positive college experience for the team, he or she might be happy to work out a deal with you that would alter that same old routine. But, if you are on scholarship and the coach is thinking about the next big championship, then taking a semi-break really isn't an option. You either need to be on board, doing what you can to perform at your best, or not. But, maybe a candid discussion about your feelings is still in order. If you are on scholarship, your coach probably doesn't want to lose you. And if you were to quit next week, he or she might be down one scholarship athlete because it's too late to award your scholarship to someone else. A good coach will help you make the best decision for you, and rediscover your love for swimming if your decision is to stick with it for at least one more season. Good luck!

Your swimming skills will help you in other athletic tasks. Water polo, surfing, free diving, spearfishing, underwater hockey, body surfing, and lifeguarding. Just to name a few. Give them a try. You'll be back.

I too took a year off as a junior in college. Burnt out and issues with the coach. I was a breaststroke sprinter and had been stuck in the 1:00+ range for the 100 *** for a couple of years. Came back refreshed as a senior (redshirt junior) and went 0:58+. It worked for me...

I would encourage you to move on. In swimming, and most sports, the word "quit" is a dirty word. It shouldn't be that way. I quit swimming half way through my freshman year (at a division 1 school) and I don't regret that decision at all. Coaches and parents will try to dissuade you usually for selfish reasons, or tell you swimming is advantageous for your career (total BS). College swimming can be an incredibly stifling environment, and thats not what college is supposed to be about. You're supposed to be exposed to new things, meet different people, try new things. Swimming makes all that very difficult. My experience: USS swimmer from age 7, sprinter, lots of potential, still improving when I got to college. Not a great swimmer, but pretty good-- made the consolation finals at Jr nats. I was burned out and done with the very structured life that swimming requires of you by the time I got to college. I quit and discovered a new major, made a new set of friends, got into cycling and backpacking, traveled and hiked all over the place, and have made a career out of my undergrad studies. The great thing about swimming is that its a life-long sport. You can get back into it whenever you want. I've started swimming again 13 years after I quit, and its a lot of fun, and very healthy. I encourage you to do what you need to do and not be persuaded otherwise by people who care more about your swimming success than you as a whole person.

I stopped swimming my sophomore year in College and now really regret it. I wanted to party and I was not fast enough yet for major College D1. Looking back, I made significant progress my Freshman year and had lots of upside given that I was still really scrawny and had not fully developed yet. My coach was very disappointed. My kids started swimming without any push from me and they actually got me re-interested and I started doing Masters 6 years ago and 25 years after quitting in College. In the meantime, I did lots of cycling and other activities so stayed in decent physical condition. However, I often wonder what I could have done if I had not made the decision I did at the time. Fred

...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 just need some advice or encougagement! thanks! There have been some great replies here. Yep... when the joy goes, so does the motivation. Try to keep it light. Just swim for fun for a while. Keep your primary focus on your career goals. The time you spend on your education now will have a very dramatic effect on the rest of your life. There will always be a place somewhere you can swim... anytime. Will you be able to get it back? Look at what Dara Torres did. Also, at age 35 I basically had to re-learn to swim due to a rather severe crippling chronic arthritic condition. I'm swimming better now (at age 50) than I ever have before. I am not as fast, but my technique is better than ever, and all things considered I'm in the best conditioning of my life. Stay healthy (mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc.), and get a good education. Those things will serve you better in life than anything else. Have Fun! ....