I'm sure you guys can help... I am a masters swimmer. Our son is 17, has been a club swimmer for four years, and swims on his high school team. He swims with the senior 1 group, and his practices are 2 hours 45 minutes on the weekdays and two hours on Saturdays. He is a decent, solid swimmer (state but not sectional cuts in numerous events). He is a junior in high school and is currently taking five AP courses (his decision, not my husband's and mine). His grades are good and he works hard.
Recently, he has been feeling a lot of stress due to his workload in school and swimming. He told me last night that swimming isn't fun any more. He says he thinks he still wants to swim club, possibly at the senior 2 level instead, and still wants to swim high school. He actually isn't sure he even wants to drop to a less demanding group; he isn't really sure what to do. While I think his academic load is part of why he is stressed, I know that constantly staring at a black line for hours is playing a large part as well. Aside from being supportive of him and encouraging him to talk to his coach (who is my coach as well, which could possibly complicate things), is there anything I can do to help? I don't want to be one of "those" parents, but I want to do what is best for my son. Obviously I would like him to stay in the senior 1 group, but I'm not the one swimming there. His coach knows him well, as he has been with this coach for four years. Part of the issue is that our son doesn't want to let his coach down. I know it is his call, and I'm trying to stay as objective as possible.
I'm sure many of you experienced swim burnout as a teenager. Any suggestions you can give are much appreciated.
Kristin
Parents
Former Member
Oohhhh I went through this so many times. I do not mean to criticize your point of view since it is a valid one. No doubt.
However, when pushing the thinking to the limit, as far as you can get, philosophically speaking, you end up with the following dilema:
- Should we risk individuals to be destroyed, for the sake of the team, in an individual sport such as swimming?
My answer: No. In fact, we should never take this risk.
Ask the question to another coach, the answer might differ. It's really a matter of philosophy more than physiology or even team management. A good team can certainly live despite a few accommodations and exceptions.
There are 2 reasons why I think this way.
1) I am old (and fortunate) enough to have survived a full generational cycle. I coached 10yo kids which I was fortunate to meet 15 years later.
2) I have witness some of these accommodations. They generally work great. A lot of swimmers, including kids, swim way too much. So the possibility truly exists, that the OP's kid starts to perform even better on a leaner swim diet. In fact, the best youth I have ever seen (51.6 over 100m at age 15) was on such a diet. No swim in the morning, no swim during the weekend. Therefore he was training 5 times per week, afternoons.
But, But.... You'd ask this guy a 100% effort, believe me, you'd get 110%. Sadly, he had to struggle very often to keep his status within the team, precisely because some would start to question the message sent to the rest of the team.
The kids you coached were lucky to have you. My son's 100m free isn't what your swimmer's was, but his coach has the same philosophy as you do. As a matter of fact, that's one of the many things we like so much about the coach. He sees each kid as an individual, and treats them as such. As a result, morale is generally quite high. The coach makes allowances for individual situations... but when the kids are there, he expects nothing but their best efforts.
I’ll undoubtedly “Catch all the thunder in the world” for saying this, but if your son is having a problem fitting time for being on the swim team into his academic schedule, he (and you as well) should consider dropping after school sports altogether so he can concentrate on school (and preparation for employment).
The current “recession” (more like a “Depression”) is hanging on like 7 year itch and the employment market is getting more brutal by the day. As the famous career counselor Marty Nemco said on his talk radio show (on KGO San Francisco) “When you go out looking for a job, employers don’t give a damn about your school’s gym or sports program”.
Just for everyone’s info, here’s Marty’s career site:
http://www.martynemko.com/
However I agree that allowing him to participate in an athletic activity is a good idea and as a previous poster said, he could take fitness swimming or W-polo during the regular 1 hour P.E. class. :agree:
Good luck –
D2
It's not so much an issue of fitting his work in, as his grades are good, but he is missing sleep over it. I think he was headed towards stress-related problems. He's 17 and his grades have always been high, so my husband and I feel that he has earned the privilege to make his own decisions regarding swimming. If his grades were to slip, he would no longer have that privilege and would not be able to be on the team.
Thanks for posting the link. I will definitely take a look.
Oohhhh I went through this so many times. I do not mean to criticize your point of view since it is a valid one. No doubt.
However, when pushing the thinking to the limit, as far as you can get, philosophically speaking, you end up with the following dilema:
- Should we risk individuals to be destroyed, for the sake of the team, in an individual sport such as swimming?
My answer: No. In fact, we should never take this risk.
Ask the question to another coach, the answer might differ. It's really a matter of philosophy more than physiology or even team management. A good team can certainly live despite a few accommodations and exceptions.
There are 2 reasons why I think this way.
1) I am old (and fortunate) enough to have survived a full generational cycle. I coached 10yo kids which I was fortunate to meet 15 years later.
2) I have witness some of these accommodations. They generally work great. A lot of swimmers, including kids, swim way too much. So the possibility truly exists, that the OP's kid starts to perform even better on a leaner swim diet. In fact, the best youth I have ever seen (51.6 over 100m at age 15) was on such a diet. No swim in the morning, no swim during the weekend. Therefore he was training 5 times per week, afternoons.
But, But.... You'd ask this guy a 100% effort, believe me, you'd get 110%. Sadly, he had to struggle very often to keep his status within the team, precisely because some would start to question the message sent to the rest of the team.
The kids you coached were lucky to have you. My son's 100m free isn't what your swimmer's was, but his coach has the same philosophy as you do. As a matter of fact, that's one of the many things we like so much about the coach. He sees each kid as an individual, and treats them as such. As a result, morale is generally quite high. The coach makes allowances for individual situations... but when the kids are there, he expects nothing but their best efforts.
I’ll undoubtedly “Catch all the thunder in the world” for saying this, but if your son is having a problem fitting time for being on the swim team into his academic schedule, he (and you as well) should consider dropping after school sports altogether so he can concentrate on school (and preparation for employment).
The current “recession” (more like a “Depression”) is hanging on like 7 year itch and the employment market is getting more brutal by the day. As the famous career counselor Marty Nemco said on his talk radio show (on KGO San Francisco) “When you go out looking for a job, employers don’t give a damn about your school’s gym or sports program”.
Just for everyone’s info, here’s Marty’s career site:
http://www.martynemko.com/
However I agree that allowing him to participate in an athletic activity is a good idea and as a previous poster said, he could take fitness swimming or W-polo during the regular 1 hour P.E. class. :agree:
Good luck –
D2
It's not so much an issue of fitting his work in, as his grades are good, but he is missing sleep over it. I think he was headed towards stress-related problems. He's 17 and his grades have always been high, so my husband and I feel that he has earned the privilege to make his own decisions regarding swimming. If his grades were to slip, he would no longer have that privilege and would not be able to be on the team.
Thanks for posting the link. I will definitely take a look.
