I have seen on several of these discussion boards several swimmers and coaches questioning why there are so few master's swimmers out there. Here is just a few theories that could be the main cause.
1. Organization - I don't mean the Masters organization I mean the organization of the local clubs. Many of the masters clubs are very unorganized ( at least the 8 clubs that I have been on ), and younger swimmers see this before even leaving high school or college and thus are turned off to Masters before ever giving it a fair shot. Many of those that have never swam in a group setting or training setting don't witness this until its too late.
2. Coaching - Although no one is perfect Masters swimming seems to lack in the coaching area. This pulls away from those swimmers looking to keep there competitive spirit alive. Tri-athletes and others are not affected as much as it is more about the laps then the quality of workouts.
3. Consistency - Nothing is consistent unless its in the rule book and even then there are clubs that get around the rules by not seeking sanctioned meets. There is nothing wrong with non-master sanctioned events, for some its a turn off.
4. MARKETING - It seems that people who didn't grow up in the swimming world or tri-athlete world, have no clue about masters swimming. Granted the budget for high end marketing campaigns is not there and that is unfortunate.
A Resolution:
Seeing as swimming is not a highlight sport unless Phleps or Lochte, Coughlin, or some other super star is at the event, we as masters swimmers must take charge to grow the membership. We must promote the good, work to eliminate the negative, and market the organization as a whole.
We are not all a part of Master's swimming for the same reason. However if we all do not have the drive to promote the organization that we swim under, why in the world then do we donate our membership fees to it. The lack in Master's memberships is directly connected to the members themselves as they are the organization.
:blah:
I have seen on several of these discussion boards several swimmers and coaches questioning why there are so few master's swimmers out there. ...
55,000 members in 2010, and over 11,000 registered in 2011 thus far is nothing to sneeze at. I think in more populated areas, there are plenty of swimmers and teams.
The lack of meets has to do with the expense and logistics of such an undertaking, more than lack of desire. Smaller clubs in rural areas have a harder go of it than larger clubs in more populated areas.
Coaching is another matter. Is there a formal set of requirements to be a "USMS masters" coach? I know USAS has very stringent educational, safety and screening requirements to get certified.
I wouldn't consider the Orlando area of Florida a rural area. As for the coaching goes I believe that it is written some where that it is recommended for the USMS coach to also be USAS certified but it is not required.
I wouldn't consider the Orlando area of Florida a rural area. As for the coaching goes I believe that it is written some where that it is recommended for the USMS coach to also be USAS certified but it is not required.
I agree with your comment on Orlando, and given you have been on eight clubs, I would suspect that there would be an opportunity for some of those clubs to pool thier resources, band together, and host a meet.
When I speak of rural, think Central Illinois where other than "umbrella clubs" that allow us to band toigether in state for relays, there are few locations with actual workout groups over a hundred square miles.
As it relates to coaching quality, why just "recommend" USAS status when it could just as easily be required by the club.
In my (rural) case, as I swim solo, I have to "coach" myself, and rely on the good people of these boards to provide insight, guidance and suggestions.
Jesse - sorry you are having a tough time finding a team that meets your needs . Yes a really good coach that meets the needs of all levels of swimming is tuff to find. Some times it's the lack of pay or the time commitment that keeps others from stepping up.
On another thread I mentioned that USMS needs more and better coaches. Unfortunately given the pay (or lack of), odd hours and the lack of interest, Masters coaches are often hard to find. I moved from Berkeley, California with a great Masters team (150+ members, 6 workouts a day), to Colorado Springs, Colorado (5-8 swimmers, not a great coach). I basically became the coach to help grow the team and make a team I could swim with and enjoy. The team is at pool capacity and I have now been coaching for almost 25 years. I consider myself a good coach, compared to some, but not in the level of someone like Kerry O'Brien at Walnut Creek. Somehow you need to either form a team and find a coach, or there will never be a Masters team for you to swim on. Do you want to go through the work and effort to do this? Most people would say no - and the lack of good coaches and Masters swimming teams continues.
Unfortunately as you have seen, some of the people who do decide to start a team or coach a team are not really very good coaches. So someone has to mentor them to become better coaches. Again this is a lot of work or effort and most people would rather not do it.
I am not expecting you to form a team - I'm just giving a why to the lack of good coaches and Masters teams for you to swim on. I hope you find a great team to swim on - it may actually be a USAS age group team.
Masters swimming grows at the local and regional level
team by team
person by person
friend by friend
workout by workout
event by event
Local programs need to offer attractive training opportunities that swimmers want to be part of
special Events have a way of making swimmers come out of the woodwork
