Hey everyone, wasn't sure were to put this questions so I decided to place it here. I also wanted to get some opinions from knowlageable swimmers like yourselves so I hope you don't mind me asking this.
Here's the story..
My daughter is 9 years old and has been competing for about 8 months but taking swimming lessons since the age of 3. She's extremely descent for her age (about 35 seconds 50 free, 43 seconds 50 fly, 45 seconds 50 back and 43 seconds 50 ***) just to give you an idea. I decided to pull her off the current team as I feel he was not improving enough as her coach did very little technique training and put her in private lessons with someone I think can really help her learn the little things to make her faster.
Anyways, here is the other thing.
During her swim meets I noticed another 9 year old girl who is swimming with times such as 32 seconds 50 free, 32 seconds 50 fly, 38 seconds 50 *** ect and could not believe it. Keep in mind this girl JUST turned 9!
My question is this,
How is it that a 9 year old child can swim times as fast as many of the top 11, 12 or 13 year olds? Is this a freak of nature? Is it just good coaching? Physical strength? or what.
I did not think it was possible for kids this age to swim so fast. Is there any hope for my daughter to "catch up" to kids like this?
I would like to know everyones opinion on youth marvels like this. I believe this kids has gotten as fast as she will get but that's my own personal opinion. She is sort of short and perhaps as she matures other kids will eventually get taller and stronger and catch up to her times?
If you were in my shoes what would YOU do with your daughter to help her attain these kinds of times?
Thanks
@uknick and a couple others on this thread. I agree the motivation has to come from within the child. In my experience, kids will do what their parents want, without complaint, until they are extremely unhappy. And I think the parents are sometimes unaware of how they feel - not because they are bad parents, but in this kids can be really tough to read.
I had two nieces with a sports-minded dad. One played basketball but wasn't especially good. The other was a talented (state-level, not Olympic) gymnast. When their father moved out, each gave up her sport within six months.
The same thing happened to me. My 11-year-old told me she wanted to run a 10K. She gamely kept up with her training, finished the race, then would have nothing to do with running for, well, it'll be a year next month. A real shame, because she is naturally quite fast.
To the original post: some kids are naturally quite talented at an early age, but their progress slows. Others develop later. My nephew was an all star everything through sixth grade, but by high school he was 'merely' a good athlete. for example, he was a starter in basketball, but hardly the best player.
@uknick and a couple others on this thread. I agree the motivation has to come from within the child. In my experience, kids will do what their parents want, without complaint, until they are extremely unhappy. And I think the parents are sometimes unaware of how they feel - not because they are bad parents, but in this kids can be really tough to read.
I had two nieces with a sports-minded dad. One played basketball but wasn't especially good. The other was a talented (state-level, not Olympic) gymnast. When their father moved out, each gave up her sport within six months.
The same thing happened to me. My 11-year-old told me she wanted to run a 10K. She gamely kept up with her training, finished the race, then would have nothing to do with running for, well, it'll be a year next month. A real shame, because she is naturally quite fast.
To the original post: some kids are naturally quite talented at an early age, but their progress slows. Others develop later. My nephew was an all star everything through sixth grade, but by high school he was 'merely' a good athlete. for example, he was a starter in basketball, but hardly the best player.
