Loved the home page feature on the USMS website today...
www.usms.org/features.php
Since the NCAA Championships are all around us these two weeks, who hasn't thought about our outstanding collegiate swimmers?
But have any of us considered inviting them to join us at masters in their near future?
Masters Swim Clubs in college areas could do all kinds of great things to inspire a retiring collegiate swimmer to join them.
Invite them to talk to the team at a social event would be an easy no-brainer.
But even beyond.
How about asking them to hold a clinic for your club?
And pay them since now they can accept the cash - and probably need it?
What else can we do to entice them to join our clubs (rack up points at the championship meets) and begin the rest of their healthy fit lives?
Parents
Former Member
When I lived in Flagstaff I had contact with the NAU women's team swimmers and tried to encourage them to continue swimming after college (at the time, I believe none of them made the Div I cuts). Mostly the response was, 'hey, I'm just swimming because I have a scholarship and can't wait to be done with it.'
My take on this is that there IS major burnout associated with college swimming that needs to be overcome before USMS can make much of an impact on this potential group of master's swimmers.
I would definitely agree with this statement. Also, not to sound elitist or anything, but I don't necessarily want to work out with a bunch of 22 year old kids either. I'm beyond the age of discussing how much alcohol I consumed the night before and the stupid things I can't remember doing. I kind of like things the way they are. Most of the college swimmers I know took several years off before joining a masters team, if they joined one at all. Pool space is also a problem where I train. For me, many college swimmers would be better off taking some time away from the pool and returning to masters at a later date. Recruiting these swimmers seems absurd to me. If they want to swim with a team, they'll find one. Hanging out at NCAAs and promoting masters swimming would have been viewed very negatively in my day. We went to NCAAs to kick butt, not to talk to old swimmers we'd never heard of.
When I lived in Flagstaff I had contact with the NAU women's team swimmers and tried to encourage them to continue swimming after college (at the time, I believe none of them made the Div I cuts). Mostly the response was, 'hey, I'm just swimming because I have a scholarship and can't wait to be done with it.'
My take on this is that there IS major burnout associated with college swimming that needs to be overcome before USMS can make much of an impact on this potential group of master's swimmers.
I would definitely agree with this statement. Also, not to sound elitist or anything, but I don't necessarily want to work out with a bunch of 22 year old kids either. I'm beyond the age of discussing how much alcohol I consumed the night before and the stupid things I can't remember doing. I kind of like things the way they are. Most of the college swimmers I know took several years off before joining a masters team, if they joined one at all. Pool space is also a problem where I train. For me, many college swimmers would be better off taking some time away from the pool and returning to masters at a later date. Recruiting these swimmers seems absurd to me. If they want to swim with a team, they'll find one. Hanging out at NCAAs and promoting masters swimming would have been viewed very negatively in my day. We went to NCAAs to kick butt, not to talk to old swimmers we'd never heard of.
