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
When I was a swimmer, the idea of quitting was rather horrible. It has been eighteen months since I last stashed my Fastskin suit in the back of a wardrobe and made my decision not to race again and it was a far easier choice than I’d imagined it would be.
Benna -
I remember my last race in college. I told myself as a turned on the last 50 of the 200 fly that if I would push as hard as I could, I would never swim another 200 fly. After the meet, I thought that I had seen as much of that black line on the bottom of the pool as I ever wanted to.
Flash forward 10 years - I lost much of the conditioning I had maintained most of my life. My weight was up, my energy was down. I tried swimming a little on my own, but I had a hard time making myself do much. Then I saw a masters program at the local YMCA. My wife and I started to swim and enjoyed the exercise. I still had no interest in racing but I found it hard to push myself without some type of goal. Triathlons were just becoming popular so I decided to try. I never could run well, but the goal was finishing, not winning, so it did not matter. One day while I was bike riding with a client, I fell in a freak accident and shattered my leg. I spent several weeks in the hospital, several months off work and had three surgeries. I did one more triathlon a year later just to show I could do it. I decided that it might be better to be out of shape than disabled, so I pretty much quit all exercise.
Flash forward 20 years - I was out of shape and 25 pounds overweight. I didn't feel like I had much energy. My grandfather had passed away from congestive heart failure and my father was in the hospital for the third time with congestive heart failure. I had three kids high school and below. I decided that I needed to do something before it was too late. There was a masters program at the YMCA that I joined and have continued through today. Having a group and coach to swim with made it much easier to be consistent with workout. Later, I began to compete at meets so I would have a goal to work for. I have, however, kept my promise to myself - to never swim another 200 fly.
When you read the posts here you may get the idea that there are a lot of people who need to get a life outside of swimming. What I have found in my return to swimming is that most people who participate, do it for the health benefits and the fun and camaraderie of the people they workout with. The meets are not high pressure events where success is paramount, but rather they are a gathering where everyone is truly happy for the success of others. All of us have very busy lives outside of swimming and competition – it is the swimming and competition that give us a respite from our lives.
You are a very gifted athlete. Very few compete at the level you obtained (I never did). While I know that you have no interest in swimming or competing today, don’t close that door forever. You may find in a few years that the black line is not that boring after all and that spending an hour in the water gives you a needed rest from work, school, kids, wife, husband, worries…
Whatever you do, be happy with your choices and have fun in life. Life is too short to waste away in endeavors that don't bring some joy.
When I was a swimmer, the idea of quitting was rather horrible. It has been eighteen months since I last stashed my Fastskin suit in the back of a wardrobe and made my decision not to race again and it was a far easier choice than I’d imagined it would be.
Benna -
I remember my last race in college. I told myself as a turned on the last 50 of the 200 fly that if I would push as hard as I could, I would never swim another 200 fly. After the meet, I thought that I had seen as much of that black line on the bottom of the pool as I ever wanted to.
Flash forward 10 years - I lost much of the conditioning I had maintained most of my life. My weight was up, my energy was down. I tried swimming a little on my own, but I had a hard time making myself do much. Then I saw a masters program at the local YMCA. My wife and I started to swim and enjoyed the exercise. I still had no interest in racing but I found it hard to push myself without some type of goal. Triathlons were just becoming popular so I decided to try. I never could run well, but the goal was finishing, not winning, so it did not matter. One day while I was bike riding with a client, I fell in a freak accident and shattered my leg. I spent several weeks in the hospital, several months off work and had three surgeries. I did one more triathlon a year later just to show I could do it. I decided that it might be better to be out of shape than disabled, so I pretty much quit all exercise.
Flash forward 20 years - I was out of shape and 25 pounds overweight. I didn't feel like I had much energy. My grandfather had passed away from congestive heart failure and my father was in the hospital for the third time with congestive heart failure. I had three kids high school and below. I decided that I needed to do something before it was too late. There was a masters program at the YMCA that I joined and have continued through today. Having a group and coach to swim with made it much easier to be consistent with workout. Later, I began to compete at meets so I would have a goal to work for. I have, however, kept my promise to myself - to never swim another 200 fly.
When you read the posts here you may get the idea that there are a lot of people who need to get a life outside of swimming. What I have found in my return to swimming is that most people who participate, do it for the health benefits and the fun and camaraderie of the people they workout with. The meets are not high pressure events where success is paramount, but rather they are a gathering where everyone is truly happy for the success of others. All of us have very busy lives outside of swimming and competition – it is the swimming and competition that give us a respite from our lives.
You are a very gifted athlete. Very few compete at the level you obtained (I never did). While I know that you have no interest in swimming or competing today, don’t close that door forever. You may find in a few years that the black line is not that boring after all and that spending an hour in the water gives you a needed rest from work, school, kids, wife, husband, worries…
Whatever you do, be happy with your choices and have fun in life. Life is too short to waste away in endeavors that don't bring some joy.
