2012 Olympics: Swimming

The Bad: The timing of this meet. It's time for common sense to prevail, either put the meet in the spring (and let the NCAAs deal with it) or change the selection process. The Ugly: The rise of the professional swimmer. This seems like a bit of a mixed blessing. On one hand, it's great that it's possible for the elite of the elite to actually make a living out of swimming these days. On the other hand, it could potentially weaken the depth of the pool of talent as only the best of the best will be able to compete with people who have no worries other than training. Over time, you'll start to see the same names over and over again, not sure that's a good thing. I'm going to take you to task on these two items. First, our trials is just perfect on timing. Why in the world would we let the NCAA manage trials? It is a distinct season with its current schedule and is extremely exciting. Being limited to only two swimmers just ramps up the excitement. It is the most competitive swim meet in the world, bar none, including the Olympics. Second, your comment about pro swimmers is just flat wrong. Our club, who I assume you are probably referring to, is sending 5 to London, all pros. But, we sent +/-40 total to trials, all influenced by our group of elites. These people don't practice in some fancy financial bubble. They are at the pool with the kids often, assist frequently with AG practices, and are extremely important in our club's development. They are inspirational to the younger swimmers and aren't viewed as some sort of vigilante squad. You get Cullen Jones around a group of kids and you see the type of influence these guys have. It is about time the US committed to post grad swimmers, like everyone other significant swimming country in the world. And, it's not only the kids. Our USMS team has a workout at the same time as Team Elite. You want to talk about awesome. That's as good as it gets for us geezers to see what these guys and gals can do. It is jaw dropping. And, to say it limits the depth of talent is crazy. That's like saying because we have the NFL, NBA, MLB etc that age groups in these sports will weaken, when, in fact, it has the exact opposite impact. Ask Chase Kalisz what it has been like to train with Phelps at NBAC. You might sing a different tune.

The Bad: The timing of this meet. It's time for common sense to prevail, either put the meet in the spring (and let the NCAAs deal with it) or change the selection process. The Ugly: The rise of the professional swimmer. This seems like a bit of a mixed blessing. On one hand, it's great that it's possible for the elite of the elite to actually make a living out of swimming these days. On the other hand, it could potentially weaken the depth of the pool of talent as only the best of the best will be able to compete with people who have no worries other than training. Over time, you'll start to see the same names over and over again, not sure that's a good thing. I'm going to take you to task on these two items. First, our trials is just perfect on timing. Why in the world would we let the NCAA manage trials? It is a distinct season with its current schedule and is extremely exciting. Being limited to only two swimmers just ramps up the excitement. It is the most competitive swim meet in the world, bar none, including the Olympics. Second, your comment about pro swimmers is just flat wrong. Our club, who I assume you are probably referring to, is sending 5 to London, all pros. But, we sent +/-40 total to trials, all influenced by our group of elites. These people don't practice in some fancy financial bubble. They are at the pool with the kids often, assist frequently with AG practices, and are extremely important in our club's development. They are inspirational to the younger swimmers and aren't viewed as some sort of vigilante squad. You get Cullen Jones around a group of kids and you see the type of influence these guys have. It is about time the US committed to post grad swimmers, like everyone other significant swimming country in the world. And, it's not only the kids. Our USMS team has a workout at the same time as Team Elite. You want to talk about awesome. That's as good as it gets for us geezers to see what these guys and gals can do. It is jaw dropping. And, to say it limits the depth of talent is crazy. That's like saying because we have the NFL, NBA, MLB etc that age groups in these sports will weaken, when, in fact, it has the exact opposite impact. Ask Chase Kalisz what it has been like to train with Phelps at NBAC. You might sing a different tune.