Improvement and time drop patterns

[Anonymous]

For BTDT club parents are there patterns of time drops, holding in a motivational time and then hopefully more drops. Does it vary by age between boys and girls?

Also understanding we are talking broadly. General rules.

[Anonymous]

This is so person-specific. Yes, it’s different for the different sexes. It’s very dependent on age, where the kids are in puberty, their growth (or lack thereof), etc. It also depends on the training they do.

[Anonymous]

I use to coach age group. And yes height and body type play a big part for girls. When they hit that onset to puberty height they tend to make drops and then hold. Then a huge drop once they get their period. They develop a lot of strength and muscle that year. Then the drops slow and hold for a while. A lot of girls get frustrated and quit. Or their body starts developing and they actually slow. Obviously some girls might hit puberty later and so their maturity and times will be later on the bell curve. But nowadays it is usually 11-13 for most girls.


I didnt coach older boys when they are 15-16 and going through their maturation.

[Anonymous]

No way to answer this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No way to answer this.

i think there is a way - generally they are different for everyone. from my kids experience, girls are harder to predict. boys are usually more straight forward.

[Anonymous]

So think of swimming in categories. Initially time drops happen with learning efficiency of swimming/technique. Think younger kids. This is when a small swimmer with technique can be faster than a larger inefficient and even stronger swimmer.

After the learning of technique the next time drops will occur with some increase of endurance coupled with a kid growing. The next bout of time drops will happen.

The final drops (after puberty) is when a swimmer goes to daily training and occasional doubles (this should be AFTER puberty when the body can handle it and to decrease the chance of injury or burnout).

A kid might get faster at puberty and still be sloppy with technique and make improvement s in a different order.

Puberty can also hose a swimmer or mess up their efficiency in the water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No way to answer this.

i think there is a way - generally they are different for everyone. from my kids experience, girls are harder to predict. boys are usually more straight forward.

Agree, girls are tougher to predict.

The very best swimmers generally have big feet, big hands, and height.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No way to answer this.

i think there is a way - generally they are different for everyone. from my kids experience, girls are harder to predict. boys are usually more straight forward.

Agree, girls are tougher to predict.

The very best swimmers generally have big feet, big hands, and height.

The importance of height and body proportions is always way overstated on this board. Sure, if your goal is the Olympics most of those men and women are well above average in size - similarly, NBA players are generally off the charts tall. But for your average successful D1 swimmer, as long as you are not extremely tiny/short, it really doesn’t matter very much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No way to answer this.

i think there is a way - generally they are different for everyone. from my kids experience, girls are harder to predict. boys are usually more straight forward.

Agree, girls are tougher to predict.

The very best swimmers generally have big feet, big hands, and height.

The importance of height and body proportions is always way overstated on this board. Sure, if your goal is the Olympics most of those men and women are well above average in size - similarly, NBA players are generally off the charts tall. But for your average successful D1 swimmer, as long as you are not extremely tiny/short, it really doesn’t matter very much.

Boobs are a problem. Big ones.

[Anonymous]

Here’s why it’s impossible to tell:

- often a kid’s best stroke changes over time
- Sometimes a kid gets a best time and cant get it again (let alone beat it) for a very long time
- sometimes drops are related to moving to a diff coach, team or group and then it levels off

[Anonymous]

I prefer a slow and steady improvement line. You see a lot of 13 & U who are fast with great drops lose momentum when they hit a steady period (and other kids start catching up to them all of the sudden).

[Anonymous]

Boys are slower to improve since they grow later and a lot drop out before they are even close to their potential in swim.

[Anonymous]

I've had a boy and girl and been in the swimming game a long time. It's actually not that hard to predict. Boys get faster with puberty almost always (of course, puberty varies). Girls who were big for their age when they were young/go through puberty early often peak at 12-13. After that, they gain weight, get bigger hips/boobs, and they stop dropping time. Many of those girls quit. The girls who were good when they were young but not particularly big for their age (especially the ones on the thinner/taller side) tend to continue to do well post-puberty and stay swimming longer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've had a boy and girl and been in the swimming game a long time. It's actually not that hard to predict. Boys get faster with puberty almost always (of course, puberty varies). Girls who were big for their age when they were young/go through puberty early often peak at 12-13. After that, they gain weight, get bigger hips/boobs, and they stop dropping time. Many of those girls quit. The girls who were good when they were young but not particularly big for their age (especially the ones on the thinner/taller side) tend to continue to do well post-puberty and stay swimming longer.

This has been my experience with swimmers as well. My daughter's friend was amazing from 10-13(ish) - making AAA cuts but when she finished with puberty she did not get the height and she got hips and boobs (which ran in the family) and she stayed at her times much to her parent's disappointment. Other girls that were slower but making consistent improvement caught up and eventually became faster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've had a boy and girl and been in the swimming game a long time. It's actually not that hard to predict. Boys get faster with puberty almost always (of course, puberty varies). Girls who were big for their age when they were young/go through puberty early often peak at 12-13. After that, they gain weight, get bigger hips/boobs, and they stop dropping time. Many of those girls quit. The girls who were good when they were young but not particularly big for their age (especially the ones on the thinner/taller side) tend to continue to do well post-puberty and stay swimming longer.

What does "big for their age" mean? Seems like you don't mean tall for their age given your comments about thinner/taller side, so do you mean muscular for their age?