Good Morning
I have posted before and as some may know I am the parent of a 13 year old age grouper. I have a question for all of you coaches and former swimmers as his mom and I have never swam competitively? How much volume should he be swimming at his age? I limit him to three hard workouts per week at this point and one dive practice. He also takes a lesson from a great private coach once a week that is just technique oriented and is just thirty minutes long. His total yardage is probably around 15K per week. Some of the other kids his age are doing twice the volume and the subtle pressure is there.
What do you suggest?
Thanks
Spudfin
PS I would rather he study more than swim more........
Wow thanks for all the great responses. I had a sense he may be a little light on the frequency and yardage and that is OK with me. There is time for more as he progresses. One of the posts mentioned intent. He wants to swim in college at some level and given his level of success with minimal training I think he could. I am the stick in the mud however. He will have to present a good argument for continuing in college as I would have him focus on his studies. It is a fine line between my past experiences and his future dreams. I love that the boy has dreams!
Thanks again for the great advice.
Spudfin
Many swimmers learn how to balance their time well and do great in college, even with a heavy training regimen. One of the girls I coached as a high schooler went on to swim for Alabama all four years and now has her doctorate in exercise physiology.
I swam all 4 years for a Divison III school that is ranked in the top 20 of best colleges (academically), had time to study, and did well enough to get into a good law school that is likewise ranked among the top 20 law schools. There are others on this forum who went to even more academically demanding schools and swam in college.
I agree with the other posts here that 3 times a week is not going to be sufficient if you want to see him have a shot at swimming in college. The young man I mentioned in my prior post was somewhat exceptional in achieving the times he did in a short period of time. If your son wants to have a chance to swim in college or achieve his true potential during high school, I would at least consider moving up the number of practices he does with the team to four per week.
Wow thanks for all the great responses. I had a sense he may be a little light on the frequency and yardage and that is OK with me. There is time for more as he progresses. One of the posts mentioned intent. He wants to swim in college at some level and given his level of success with minimal training I think he could. I am the stick in the mud however. He will have to present a good argument for continuing in college as I would have him focus on his studies. It is a fine line between my past experiences and his future dreams. I love that the boy has dreams!
Thanks again for the great advice.
Spudfin
Many swimmers learn how to balance their time well and do great in college, even with a heavy training regimen. One of the girls I coached as a high schooler went on to swim for Alabama all four years and now has her doctorate in exercise physiology.
I swam all 4 years for a Divison III school that is ranked in the top 20 of best colleges (academically), had time to study, and did well enough to get into a good law school that is likewise ranked among the top 20 law schools. There are others on this forum who went to even more academically demanding schools and swam in college.
I agree with the other posts here that 3 times a week is not going to be sufficient if you want to see him have a shot at swimming in college. The young man I mentioned in my prior post was somewhat exceptional in achieving the times he did in a short period of time. If your son wants to have a chance to swim in college or achieve his true potential during high school, I would at least consider moving up the number of practices he does with the team to four per week.
