Equipment Rep
Trains with every piece of equipment available at all times.
The Luddite
Trains with nothing. Only uses a loin cloth and goggles in workout.
The Barnacle
Leaves right on your feet. Couldn't count to five or ten if his life depnded on it.
The Coach
Not an actual coach, but someone who is consumed with technique. Swimming is a precise set of moves that can be broken down, categorized, and scientifically analyzed.
The Jaded
Could care less about technique. Just wants to swim and leave the analysis to the eggheads.
The Swimaholic
Trains at least 10 swimming workouts a week. Anything less is viewed as not trying.
Fast Guy who Never Trains
Shows up once a month and breaks national records in practice.
Hardest Working Man in the Swim Business
Trains like a ferocious animal in workout, but has no speed when it comes to racing.
Lane Guy
Works out in a lane that is far too fast or slow for him.
The Crack Guy
Dude, pull your swimsuit up or get a bigger size.
The Newbie
Shows up to practice in board shorts and a scuba mask.
_________________
As for myself, I would fall into the categories of Luddite and Jaded. Also, I wrote this from a male perspective, but the women are included as well. Any other stereotypes?
And thanks, Swimmj, for your philosophy of competition. Your 10 and under coaching reminds me of another thing one of the researchers told me: that the stereotype is that girls like working hard in practice but are blase about meets, and that boys hate working hard in practice, but love racing in meets. Do you find this to be the case with your team, too?
The masters swimmimg movement is interesting to me in many ways. I think more than any other sport, it has helped revolutionize the way gerontologists look at aging and exercise. I think a similar sea change in attitudes may emerge, as well, on the conventional wisdom regarding competitiveness and gender influences.
Finally, in terms of those, like Chris, who appreciate a well-toned body over the Twiggy heroin-chic emaciation that has long dominated the fashion catwalks of the world, I personally think we may just be returning to a much more evolutionarily sensible view of things: i.e., the world is rough and eking out a hardscrabble existence is no trifle. A certain strength and capacity for endurance in both genders is something worth passing down to the next generation. Waif-like women, who resemble in many ways prepubescent boys, seems to have been something of a luxury of affluence that maybe won't survive the financial winter fast a'comin'.
I, for one, find strong women increasingly attractive in my incipient dotage. Instead of waifs who demand my protection against scoundrels, I prefer women who can scare off the scoundrels that threaten me, with a full throated blood curdling cry: Leave my boyfriend alone!
I have seen boys and girls who compete in practice and not at meets and vice versa. The biggest difference I see as a coach between the genders is that young boys like physical contact and enjoy destructo derby swimming. Not many of the young girls do. It often works best to have same sex lanes, where the boys bash into each other with kickboards (on purpose) and the girls swim correct circle patterns and will sometimes slow down (rather than pass) another swimmer in their lane. To be totally fair, one 7 year old girl with 2 older brothers is completely unstoppable. You can swim over her, around her, under her and she doesn't care. She looks like a waif. She is tough as nails. She also swims over other swimmers and has a best friend who is a boy her age, complete opposite in coloring. They are so cute together that they make my teeth hurt.
All of the kids I coach seem to pay attention to who "gets" to lead the lane, so I use leading the lane as a reward to those that are paying attention and ready to swim. The youngest ones don't pay as much attention to who is fastest, but as they get older, they do.
The other thing that stands out in coaching is that the kids who consistently show and work hard in practice tend to improve faster than the kids who don't show up as much and don't work hard. Not a surprise, but it is always interesting to watch. And I have one kid who works really hard and is improving, but very slowly. I am hoping for a huge growth spurt and coordination boost to increase his success. He totally deserves it.
And I must confess that my hubby likes having a wife who can help him with life's physical chores. We live in the country and heat with wood. There are big lawns to mow, wood to haul, split, stack, etc. It's good to be strong.
And thanks, Swimmj, for your philosophy of competition. Your 10 and under coaching reminds me of another thing one of the researchers told me: that the stereotype is that girls like working hard in practice but are blase about meets, and that boys hate working hard in practice, but love racing in meets. Do you find this to be the case with your team, too?
The masters swimmimg movement is interesting to me in many ways. I think more than any other sport, it has helped revolutionize the way gerontologists look at aging and exercise. I think a similar sea change in attitudes may emerge, as well, on the conventional wisdom regarding competitiveness and gender influences.
Finally, in terms of those, like Chris, who appreciate a well-toned body over the Twiggy heroin-chic emaciation that has long dominated the fashion catwalks of the world, I personally think we may just be returning to a much more evolutionarily sensible view of things: i.e., the world is rough and eking out a hardscrabble existence is no trifle. A certain strength and capacity for endurance in both genders is something worth passing down to the next generation. Waif-like women, who resemble in many ways prepubescent boys, seems to have been something of a luxury of affluence that maybe won't survive the financial winter fast a'comin'.
I, for one, find strong women increasingly attractive in my incipient dotage. Instead of waifs who demand my protection against scoundrels, I prefer women who can scare off the scoundrels that threaten me, with a full throated blood curdling cry: Leave my boyfriend alone!
I have seen boys and girls who compete in practice and not at meets and vice versa. The biggest difference I see as a coach between the genders is that young boys like physical contact and enjoy destructo derby swimming. Not many of the young girls do. It often works best to have same sex lanes, where the boys bash into each other with kickboards (on purpose) and the girls swim correct circle patterns and will sometimes slow down (rather than pass) another swimmer in their lane. To be totally fair, one 7 year old girl with 2 older brothers is completely unstoppable. You can swim over her, around her, under her and she doesn't care. She looks like a waif. She is tough as nails. She also swims over other swimmers and has a best friend who is a boy her age, complete opposite in coloring. They are so cute together that they make my teeth hurt.
All of the kids I coach seem to pay attention to who "gets" to lead the lane, so I use leading the lane as a reward to those that are paying attention and ready to swim. The youngest ones don't pay as much attention to who is fastest, but as they get older, they do.
The other thing that stands out in coaching is that the kids who consistently show and work hard in practice tend to improve faster than the kids who don't show up as much and don't work hard. Not a surprise, but it is always interesting to watch. And I have one kid who works really hard and is improving, but very slowly. I am hoping for a huge growth spurt and coordination boost to increase his success. He totally deserves it.
And I must confess that my hubby likes having a wife who can help him with life's physical chores. We live in the country and heat with wood. There are big lawns to mow, wood to haul, split, stack, etc. It's good to be strong.
