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Swim Moms! (s/o of gym moms)


Stayseeliz
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The "head" coach refuses to coach this season. AND she's not coaching summer league. I get that she's burned out, but she won't let anyone else step up. It's a power thing. We can't cross her because we use the college pool basically for free and she's the college aquatics director. She doesn't like two of the boys. Part of it is that she doesn't want her name on the relay because we're going to get lapped. She's not Lettering dd on Thursday. She picked that day for the girls' banquet because she knows the two divers can't make it--it's a state-wide Honor Choir. It's, as I said, a power thing.

 

 

Bummer.  I suppose that's the only pool?

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Well, think of the job they do all day, yelling at people to do EXACTLY what they say! Chicken or egg????

 

It's exhausting... and I have one kid that will just flat out refuse.  He has to know the "why" for everything.  Coach's nightmare...

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Just a brief update on swimming Italian-Style.

 

The pace these kids swim is brutal.  Almost no recovery-time between sets.  So dd's practice may only be an hour, but it's a FULL hour (some days are lighter).  DS's 90 minute practice also keeps a brutal pace -- now that he's nearly well, it's getting easier.  I just have to make sure he gets to bed on time.  Now that DS can see his old lane practice (we are at the pool from 2:45-5:45, because younger son's swim time is late), he can see what I saw.  He didn't think it was that bad when he swam it (boring, yes...but he didn't realize how little he was actually swimming).  

 

Effective coaching is awesome.  My dd's new trainer has been great.  Sometimes, I think the drills he's having the whole lane do are just for her (specifically freestyle breathing on her left side, she'd pick her head up out of the water and almost dive back in, and it got worse the more tired she would get).  She's been aware of it for a couple of years, I had even pointed it out to her last USA Swim coach (who she had for 2 years), and was told it would "work itself out."  Well... this week, she got a new trainer, and they've been doing lots of free-style drill work, and the breathing issue is nearly gone.  It's barely noticeable.  DD is noticeably stronger in her lane as well.  

 

Oldest DS has never been worked this hard in his short swimming career . . . and it's good for him.  It's always been easy and kind of boring.  This is anything but easy.  And, I can see him improving as well.  

 

No swim meets yet, but that's fine with me.  We will hopefully be moving into our home in 3 weeks!  Praying all the scheduling in the fall works out (DS wants waterpolo, DD wants to swim with the Tiger Sharks...which is at a completely different pool).

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Dear swim moms,

 

What do ya'll do when your kiddo starts off gassing chlorine all day?    A swimmer in my house just smells like chlorine all the time.     I'm wondering if it's coming from the skin or the hair (no hair cap use).

 

Sounds like there is a problem with the pool.   

 

When suits are washed, do they still smell?  If so...definitely a pool issue.

Is s/he showering?  If so, try having them use the hottest water they can stand, and a loofa/scrubby with soap, and make sure to use a shampoo made for removing chlorine.  

 

The only times my kids smell like chlorine is if they don't shower.

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I could smell chlorine on my skin (especially if I breathed on it) for MONTHS after I quit swimming.

 

 

 

Hm.. I think there is only rinse off going on after swimming and not a proper soapy scrub down.

 

 

 

 

Good luck with that.   I've never known ANY swimmers who scrubbed down with soap after swimming.  We're lucky if they use shampoo and conditioner.

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I could smell chlorine on my skin (especially if I breathed on it) for MONTHS after I quit swimming.

 

 

 

Hm.. I think there is only rinse off going on after swimming and not a proper soapy scrub down.

 

 

 

 

Good luck with that.   I've never known ANY swimmers who scrubbed down with soap after swimming.  We're lucky if they use shampoo and conditioner.

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I can only smell chlorine if DD skipped her shower.  Or maybe I'm just used to the smell.

 

I'm struggling to motivate DD.  She seems to be coasting with her current coach.  If she would put for a little more effort she could move up a group.  I like the coach of the upper group a lot better.  I like the coach of the lower group better.  But, DD is stuck in the middle and doesn't seem to be improving.

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I'm struggling to motivate DD.  She seems to be coasting with her current coach.  If she would put for a little more effort she could move up a group.  I like the coach of the upper group a lot better.  I like the coach of the lower group better.  But, DD is stuck in the middle and doesn't seem to be improving.

 

 

The squeaky wheel gets the grease  Have you tried to simply ask if she could try the next group?

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Dear swim moms,

 

What do ya'll do when your kiddo starts off gassing chlorine all day?    A swimmer in my house just smells like chlorine all the time.     I'm wondering if it's coming from the skin or the hair (no hair cap use).

 

 

I like the t-shirt idea! SEriously, you don't do anything. It is part of being a real swimmer. It is coming from the skin. And the hair. And the finger and toe nails, most likely. It is still there a month or so after they quit for good. 

 

Also, for the mom who asked about how suits smell after washing them, you aren't supposed to wash their suits. Just rinse and let dry. It destroys the suits to wash them, and they go through suits fast enough already!!!

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Regarding the chlorine smell... I was reading about this yesterday, and read that the "dirtier" the pool was (for example, little kids swimming...wet accidents), the stronger the smell, because the chlorine bonds to other things in the pool.   :ack2:   I don't know about this, just something I read. Here's an article, here...http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2013/08/24/That-strong-chemical-smell-from-pool-is-chlorine-plus-urine/UPI-16081377380630/

 

In retrospect,  Our last pool had a definite air quality problem, and the pool that they did all of the kiddie lessons in was way worse than the adult lap-pool.  Here, the kids swim lessons are in their own pool, and my big kids swim in a different pool.  My big kids don't smell like chlorine...even the one who swims 90 minutes straight 5-6x a week.

 

Lolly...I have always read and been told to rinse suits after use, and then hand wash in cool/warm water with a mild detergent.  We haven't gone through an inordinate number of swim suits here... my kids have about 6 suits they rotate, I usually purchase 3 new suits a year (unless someone grows). The worst thing for our suits has been kids sitting on the concrete pool deck...

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LisaK, from the Speedo site: 

 
Deleted info from link as requested by swb

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some swimming sites do recommend washing suits with their special chlorine out suit wash, but that stuff is ridiculous. My understanding on not using detergents at all is that they cause the break down the fibers of the suit faster  (basically how they clean) than just rinsing.  

 

Yeah, the chloramine thing is kinda nasty to think about. I believe it is more about air quality than what is on their skin. Yuck, hadn't even considered that. I've been telling mine for years to make sure they hit the showers when they have their knee suits on a big meets (too hard to take down for toilet) where the air quality from the potty pool...I mean warm up pool... is really bad. Better to let it go down the drain than swim in it and breath it.

 

Not sure how your kids have managed to not smell like chlorine. I have never met a swimmer (who swam in a chlorine pool) who didn't wear the cologne. 

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Thanks for the information.  

 

I really don't know why they don't smell more like chlorine right now.  I know in the past (at our old pool . . . when they were in the practice pool shared with the little swimmers), they smelled more like chlorine, and during summer swim, when we left they smelled more like chlorine . . . but not here.  There isn't a big smell in the pool area, either.  I don't know.  I'm going through the kids' stuff now, and nothing smells like chlorine.  I'm wondering if it's a salt water pool . . . I'll have to ask next week.

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Regarding the chlorine smell... I was reading about this yesterday, and read that the "dirtier" the pool was (for example, little kids swimming...wet accidents), the stronger the smell, because the chlorine bonds to other things in the pool.    :ack2:   I don't know about this, just something I read. Here's an article, here...http://www.upi.com/H...16081377380630/

 

In retrospect,  Our last pool had a definite air quality problem, and the pool that they did all of the kiddie lessons in was way worse than the adult lap-pool.  Here, the kids swim lessons are in their own pool, and my big kids swim in a different pool.  My big kids don't smell like chlorine...even the one who swims 90 minutes straight 5-6x a week.

 

This is definitely true.  I did a lot of research on it a few years back.  The chlorine reacts with bodily fluids (and some sunscreens, lotions and  hair care products) to produce chloramines, which are what smells, stings the eyes and causes breathing problems.  A properly chlorinated and clean pool should not smell.  Some pools are going to UV disinfecting systems, which drastically lower the amount of chlorine necessary.  I prefer this, obviously, because it is harder for the maintenance people to mess up.

 

Sadly, the chloramine level testing is not something our state required.  Nor was air quality at 6 inches above the water level, when it is being churned up by hundreds of kids.

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I noticed a huge difference in the chlorine smell of my swimmers when they changed teams/pools.  They went from swimming inside in an old pool with questionable air quality to swimming outside (with a few indoor practices). Swimming outside has made everything smell cleaner and ds3 (exercise induced asthma) has no problems at practice. It also eliminated the horrible end-of-the-season cough from the girls.

 

Yup, it is cold. But overall, much better for them.

 

Though, dd1 smells a bit like chlorine when she sweats. But it is much less noticeable since moving to outdoor practices.

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an old thread, but I was looking to see if anyone would be at NCSA swim meet in Orlando next week.  
My youngest a competitive swimmer since he was 7 will be at  the meet.  I'm so excited for him.  He was frustrated with himself and swimming a year ago and quit, he took 9 months off.  Just went back in April of last year.  He has done great.  

He will swim in college next year. 

I have thought a lot about our experience with swimming since his last state champs were this weekend.  It was great seeing people from other teams, they were all excited to see him back.  We talked about our swimmers and the many years of activities and meets we had been at together. I thought of the many people that have encouraged him along the way.

There were the other coaches that may have coached him on the State Zone team, and the chaperons, and the other swim kids and parents that have been good to him.  We have known so many these last 11 years.  and sadly we have also been to several funerals of those who we have loved over these years too.  They have all made him who he is today.

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My 10 yr old is going to his first meet. I'm excited for him. He's just gotten started with swim so we're in the beginning stages, but he loves it.

 

As to showering....I have to have my ds soap and shampoo after swim because he'll get a rash all over if he doesn't.

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Zoo Rho, good luck to your son at NCSA! And congratulations on his swim career.  We have looked at going to NCSA last year and this, but her team is going to NW Sectionals and that is where she wants to go as well. We leave tomorrow.

 

It is fun to watch all the kids we have known since they were little. It seemed so long, but now it seems like just a blink.

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The squeaky wheel gets the grease  Have you tried to simply ask if she could try the next group?

 

 

Sorry, I missed this reply.  

 

It's not quite that easy (or I'm not willing to be that parent*).  The next team up all the kids but a couple have A/CH/Zone times.  She has 4 C times.  In her team there are ~20 kids with A-B times.  Those kids will move up before her unless she decides to put in the effort.  She should pick up 2 more C times at her next meet and 2 of her times are close to Bs.  IMO she should be close to 4 Bs with 2-3 Cs.

 

But, the coach for the middle group lets the kids slide and do things wrong.  It's been an ongoing issue.  DD is one of those kids who learns things one way and does it the same way every single time forever.  If you don't correct something she is doing wrong right away it seems to imprint on her brain and is VERY hard to fix.  Her coach (and DD) have let her do her breast stroke kick wrong all year.  Now she's getting DQs in breast stroke.  

 

I'm of the opinion, if you practice it wrong your going to swim it in competition wrong.

 

*I'm willing to push but not to promote DD ahead of other kids that have earned their spot.

** DD has her share of responsibility for knowingly doing strokes incorrectly.

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an old thread, but I was looking to see if anyone would be at NCSA swim meet in Orlando next week.

My youngest a competitive swimmer since he was 7 will be at the meet. I'm so excited for him. He was frustrated with himself and swimming a year ago and quit, he took 9 months off. Just went back in April of last year. .

edited..... If you haven't been there before it is a pain to find. You can see it from I4 but actually getting to it is another story. Go by about three low hotels, and then it is behind a taller one, the ALLURE. Signage is terrible. If your son needs extra warmup swim time the Downtown YMCA has an indoor and outdoor pool. Also, near the Aquatic Center is Lucky's lake Swim. Google it. Open water swim.
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It's not quite that easy (or I'm not willing to be that parent*).  The next team up all the kids but a couple have A/CH/Zone times.  She has 4 C times.  In her team there are ~20 kids with A-B times.  Those kids will move up before her unless she decides to put in the effort.  She should pick up 2 more C times at her next meet and 2 of her times are close to Bs.  IMO she should be close to 4 Bs with 2-3 Cs.

 

But, the coach for the middle group lets the kids slide and do things wrong.  It's been an ongoing issue. 

 

 

That's harder.  There's a big difference between an "A" swimmer and a "C" swimmer.  If the "C" coach isn't fixing strokes, as her primary goal, IMHO, you really need a new team.

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That's harder.  There's a big difference between an "A" swimmer and a "C" swimmer.  If the "C" coach isn't fixing strokes, as her primary goal, IMHO, you really need a new team.

 

She's right.  My dd and son had B/BB times...dd just missed an A time n the 500 free...but still had issues with breathing in freestyle, and her breaststroke kick.  When going to her current coach didn't work, I went to the others...who saw the problem and tried to begin correcting it.  Then...we moved.  However, if we hadn't moved, and she was still with that coach, we would've switched teams.  That said...the bad coach is gone anyhow.

 

Remember...you are paying for the coaching.  The pool time, for us, was already a given, but it would mean my coaching my kids.  If I can coach my kids better than the coach I'm paying for...I need a new coach!

 

I'm so thankful we got my oldest two switched into the correct program!  And I'm excited to see where my kids end up by the end of the summer.  Their coaches are really good, compared to what they were doing.  

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Bit of new advice for parents:

 

Dd is a new USA certified coach :hurray:  :hurray:  :hurray:  :hurray: . Cleaning out her closet recently, she found a worn once suit of hers that had disappeared. (Bermuda Triangle of a closet.) Size 28. (It was a little small for a 28, happens sometimes.) She took it to practice and offered it to the parent of a 10 yo who has a suit that appears to be extremely stretched out (and has been for a long time). This dc is a small to average 10 yo. The parent declined because she wears a 34 suit. DD about passed out. Then, she asked one of the other girl's parents. No thank you, dd wears a 32!!! PLEASE, consult someone at the swim shop when you are unsure about size. Well, maybe even if you are sure about it but are somewhat new... And, if the coach tells you that your dc needs to size down; LISTEN.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Bit of new advice for parents:

 

Dd is a new USA certified coach :hurray:  :hurray:  :hurray:  :hurray: . Cleaning out her closet recently, she found a worn once suit of hers that had disappeared. (Bermuda Triangle of a closet.) Size 28. (It was a little small for a 28, happens sometimes.) She took it to practice and offered it to the parent of a 10 yo who has a suit that appears to be extremely stretched out (and has been for a long time). This dc is a small to average 10 yo. The parent declined because she wears a 34 suit. DD about passed out. Then, she asked one of the other girl's parents. No thank you, dd wears a 32!!! PLEASE, consult someone at the swim shop when you are unsure about size. Well, maybe even if you are sure about it but are somewhat new... And, if the coach tells you that your dc needs to size down; LISTEN.

I remember the first time ds got fitted by a real person who knew what size to wear. He too was probably wearing a 30.  I think she gave him a 25 then.   BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH

yeah I laugh about some of the sizes of the suits we got back then.

 

Yes the suits are suppose to be TIGHT

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How about swim caps? My ds's hair is starting to suffer.

 

 

Bad news, it is going to suffer. He will have...swimmer hair. Silicon caps don't seem to be quite as bad at pulling, which does eliminate some of the damage. But, he will still have swimmer hair. Short helps. It gets cut off frequently.

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Bad news, it is going to suffer. He will have...swimmer hair. Silicon caps don't seem to be quite as bad at pulling, which does eliminate some of the damage. But, he will still have swimmer hair. Short helps. It gets cut off frequently.

 

Statistical evidence on our team links this with either the male chromosome :rolleyes: or the fact that they don't wear caps or use shampoo and conditioner.  :tongue_smilie:

 

All of the girls have perfectly normal hair.  All of the boys have chlorine blond wire (no matter what they started with).  No exceptions.

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I have a shampoo that's supposed to help get chlorine out. His hair was rough, course, and like straw the other night after swim. He said he washed. So I washed his hair in the sink with plenty of that shampoo and then slathered on lots of conditioner. It was much better. I'm thinking that 10 yr old boys don't quite wash properly. I read somewhere that applying conditioner before getting in the pool helps.

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Can I mommy brag?  My girls are freshman, and swim for a 5A school.  Not only did both girls letter as freshman this year, but post-season honors came out today, and both girls made the All-District team!  All coaches in the district vote, so it isn't an in-school award.  I'm so proud of both of them!

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  • 6 months later...

Bumping this thread up...hopefully, it will keep going.  I know short course season is in full swing back in Virginia, and our LD and SC season here runs concurrently.

 

This past weekend was our first meet (the first one we attended).  There aren't as many events in ESFL as in USA Swimming (no 25's for 8 & U for example).  Our meets are smaller, too (a "big" swim meet will have about 150 swimmers...keep in mind, teams have to drive and fly at least 8 hours to attend most "away" meets -- exceptions in Germany and northern Italy, where there are teams "next door").

 

That said, I was playing official (training), which taught me a lot.

 

LegoManiac swam the 50 Free, 100 Breast and 200 Free on Saturday.  Sunday, he swam the "Pentathlon" (100 Free, 100 Fly, 200IM, 100 Back and 100 Breast).  He qualified for champs in the 50 Free (28.35 time), and took 2nd place.  100Breast, 3rd, 200 Free, 1st place.  On Sunday, 100Free 4th, 100 Back 4th, 100 Fly 3rd, 100 Breast 4th, 200IM 3rd) finishing 4th overall in the Pentathlon event.  He needs to shed about 10 seconds in all of the other events to have qualifying times, though.

 

PonyGirl swam the 200IM, 100 Free and 200 Free on Saturday.  Sunday, she swam the Pentathlon for her age group (50 Free, 50 Fly, 100IM, 50 Back and 50 Breast).  She qualified for champs in the 50 Free and 50 Fly.  She is sooo close in all of the other events!  My biggest "YAY" was dropping 6 seconds in the 50 Breast.  She has struggled with Breast for years (stroke issues that were just ignored and practiced).  We sent her to PEAK this summer, where they fixed her freestyle kick and her breaststroke).  Since PEAK in July, she has dropped 12 seconds from her 50 Breast -- and is only 6 seconds away from a qualifying time. The change is remarkable. PonyGirl is so excited about her improvement, she has started to believe that she CAN qualify in the 50 Breast, and that she can really do the stroke. 

 

The coaches here REALLY focus on proper technique.  If a swimmer is so tired they can't hold good form, they are told to slow down or rest -- lots of time is spent on doing things the RIGHT way vs. just keep swimming.  It really shows!  

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Thanks for posting, Lisa! It is interesting to see the differences in countries. Both of our coaches grew up swimming outside the US and I think it does change their perspective a little.

We have done two meets so far, one dual meet and one sprint meet. Times have been pretty good. We have a longer meet this weekend, both in travel time and number of events, so we will see how they do. Dd1 is training hard for Winter Juniors and is pretty much tired all the time.

 

The fall is flying by!

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Can I just beat my head against the wall for a moment.  My oldest who is a junior in high school and a couple of seconds away from scholarship money has informed me he is bored with swimming.  He just wants to swim for the high school and no longer do the club team.  He seems to be struggling with "fear of missing out" on fun things his non swimming friends are doing.  Scholarship money or not he knows he is not quitting unless he has another interest to replace it with. Replacing swim with girls and hanging out and doing nothing is not an option.  

I know part of it is a bit of burnout.  I have challenged him to think of what made swimming fun for him and lets think of ways to make it fun again.  Part of it is the coaching turnover.  This years coach is actually coaching and practice is harder. No more coasting if you want to improve. Part of it is "fear of missing out".  Trying not to make it about me and about his needs but really I just want to smack some sense into him.

 

My dd, otoh, has renewed passion for the sport and is loving the new coach.

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Can I just beat my head against the wall for a moment.  My oldest who is a junior in high school and a couple of seconds away from scholarship money has informed me he is bored with swimming.  He just wants to swim for the high school and no longer do the club team.  He seems to be struggling with "fear of missing out" on fun things his non swimming friends are doing.  Scholarship money or not he knows he is not quitting unless he has another interest to replace it with. Replacing swim with girls and hanging out and doing nothing is not an option.  

I know part of it is a bit of burnout.  I have challenged him to think of what made swimming fun for him and lets think of ways to make it fun again.  Part of it is the coaching turnover.  This years coach is actually coaching and practice is harder. No more coasting if you want to improve. Part of it is "fear of missing out".  Trying not to make it about me and about his needs but really I just want to smack some sense into him.

 

My dd, otoh, has renewed passion for the sport and is loving the new coach.

:laugh: My ds1 did exactly the same thing. He made Sectionals at 14 and everything was looking good and then after his freshman year he quit. He didn't even swim high school (played baseball at a small private school instead). We said, fine, you may quit. You must have a job. He got a lifeguard/swim teacher position. We said, you must have some physical outlet. He joined a club water polo team.

 

Then, he got a job as an assistant coach. Traveled with his club water polo team.  He was reminded through coaching how much fun swimming can be.

 

Now, as a freshman, he is swimming again. DIII. Struggling to get back in shape. But having a good time again. We are so pleased, but it had to be his own choice. 

 

Swimming is hard. Sometimes taking a break feels like the end of the world. But sometimes a break can be good.

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Can I just beat my head against the wall for a moment.  My oldest who is a junior in high school and a couple of seconds away from scholarship money has informed me he is bored with swimming.  He just wants to swim for the high school and no longer do the club team.  He seems to be struggling with "fear of missing out" on fun things his non swimming friends are doing.  Scholarship money or not he knows he is not quitting unless he has another interest to replace it with. Replacing swim with girls and hanging out and doing nothing is not an option.  

I know part of it is a bit of burnout.  I have challenged him to think of what made swimming fun for him and lets think of ways to make it fun again.  Part of it is the coaching turnover.  This years coach is actually coaching and practice is harder. No more coasting if you want to improve. Part of it is "fear of missing out".  Trying not to make it about me and about his needs but really I just want to smack some sense into him.

 

My dd, otoh, has renewed passion for the sport and is loving the new coach.

 

 

I have to agree with your ds. He IS going to be missing out on a lot. To swim on a USA team at the level a high school kid is (almost) required to swim is just a little crazy. The kid HAS to want to do it for themselves. Doing it because the parents are making them is bad every. single. time. (It is possible if he is on a small, unmotivated team that this is not the case. I don't really consider that to be USA swimming...We do have one team like that around here; most require a huge commitment from the high school kids.) 

 

When you say he has to replace swimming, what would work for you? He could get a job? Changing sports as a mid-year junior is not very likely to be possible. 

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Can I just beat my head against the wall for a moment.  My oldest who is a junior in high school and a couple of seconds away from scholarship money has informed me he is bored with swimming.  He just wants to swim for the high school and no longer do the club team.  He seems to be struggling with "fear of missing out" on fun things his non swimming friends are doing.  Scholarship money or not he knows he is not quitting unless he has another interest to replace it with. Replacing swim with girls and hanging out and doing nothing is not an option.  

I know part of it is a bit of burnout.  I have challenged him to think of what made swimming fun for him and lets think of ways to make it fun again.  Part of it is the coaching turnover.  This years coach is actually coaching and practice is harder. No more coasting if you want to improve. Part of it is "fear of missing out".  Trying not to make it about me and about his needs but really I just want to smack some sense into him.

 

My dd, otoh, has renewed passion for the sport and is loving the new coach.

 

Staying with swimming because a parent makes you is unlikely to have positive results. Swimming is a sport where internal desire is absolutely essential.

 

Trying new things. I have seen a few high schoolers switch from swimming to running with great success.

 

He says he wants to swim for the high school team. That will cut the hours and intensity, but he will still have some physical activity. How is that equal to "replacing swimming with girls." Are you saying he can't quit club swimming unless he has all his time booked with something that will completely physically drain him.

 

By cutting back to just the high school team your ds may have the opportunity to learn a skill that many high level swimmers don't learn--how to appropriately manage free time. How to make choices and prioritize a variety of activities. This is a skill. It is a skill that Micheal Phelps never developed as shown by his record of behavior after each Olympics. It is a skill my neighbor's dc did not have when part way through senior year it became clear a shoulder injury had ended his swimming career. That young man had a lot fun that spring that resulted in almost going to jail before going to college. High level swimmers don't usually get into trouble because they have no choices, but that means they don't learn how to manage "choice". Letting your ds cut back on swimming while still maintaining some physical activity, can give you a chance to help him learn how to deal with time management, priorities and and choices outside the constraints of swim, swim, swim, eat, study, sleep.

 

During that time of cutting back your ds might discover he misses the intensity. If he chooses to go back, it's his choice and his drive that pushes himself forward.

 

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^^^  What Betty said.  I do understand, because I'm right there w/ you w/ one of mine.  I'm not letting her quit the High School team, but I did agree to let her quit club after this year.. she wants to be on the team for a full 10 years,  and then quit,  but she is an assistant coach, and wants to just coach after this year.  High schoolers are under a lot of pressure, and Jr. year seems to be really hard.  I would let him quit the club, and maybe as Betty said, it might be that he changes his mind again in a year.  

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To answer some of the above questions :

The club team is not one of the uber competitive ones that demands practice 5-7 days a week. They ask for a minimum of 3 days per week. There is no practice on Fridays and Saturdays. So there is plenty of prime weekend real estate to participate in fun things.

 

He does not have to replace it with another sport. A job, volunteer work, a different club. He did track and field before swimming and has no desire to return to it.

 

The girls comment was unfair of me and probably related to my own baggage. Based off the responses I am going to say he can skip practice to go to some of the fun things at the high school with his non-swimming friends as long as he does at least 3 days a week.

 

I don't want him swimming because we are making him but I do think part of the fun suck is due to all that is going on right now with junior year stuff. Stuff that is temporary and just needs to be gotten through. As a 16 year old I don't know that he really grasps the temporariness of what is going on his life.

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