Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn - John Maxwell (good book by the same title) |
The record board at our summer pool demonstrates this well. The 12 and under records are held by the same two kids (a boy and a girl) for basically all events. The boy stopped improving and quit the sport. The girl started out superstar level and slowly plateaued. She is swimming in college, but not the type of elite program that I’m sure everyone thought she would end up at if they’d had to predict at age 10. Meanwhile on the boys side the 13-14 and 15-18 records are all held by someone who didn’t even start swimming until at least age 10. He ended up at a top 10 college program and had an outside chance of making the Olympic team (finaled at trials). |
Thank you for sharing your experience and advice - this was very helpful! (OP here.) I agree that it is sometimes hard for the kids who experience success fairly easily early on, not only because of the lack of growth mindset but also because of the pressure that they feel (at least in my son's case) that they are somehow letting people down when they are not performing. This is something he has to work on and that is the mental hurdle piece that is so difficult at this age. I knew I would get a lot of responses like the most recent ones and that someone would bring up that "10 and under wonder" piece that DCUM loves so much and that is so often misinterpreted. ![]() He still loves the sport, which is what matters most to us, and he works hard at practice and receives positive feedback from coaches. We will just keep having conversations and encouraging him as he navigates this challenging phase. The August break will be a welcome time to decompress this year. Thanks for all the responses. |
No way should a 10 year old be training with the highest group. If that’s true, that is definitely a problem. A fast 10 year old should be fast because he’s fast, not because he trains all the time. If you are fast because you train all the time, everyone else is going to catch up and surpass you when they start training hard too. Obviously not always the case, but true in a lot of cases. |
What? You make no sense. Did you read the post? The swimmer is a fast 11 year old, swimming with the other fast swimmers in their age group . |
The post you’re responding to said highest group for their age. OPs kid is no longer a 10U, at our club there is a training group for 9-12 year olds, and once the fast 10 year olds turn 11 they advance the following season to a training group which has kids that are 11-14. There are overlaps in the ages of the 2 groups to allow the faster kids to get a higher level of training as they get older. There are no 10 year olds in the 11-14 group. |
+1 So very true! |
+1 Seen this firsthand with some of the boys in our swim club - and they're not able to hang now that they're in the 11-12 & above groups. While they still swim for the club, they've all started other sports to develop additional skill sets (e.g., lacrosse, baseball, soccer, etc...). There are more college scholarships for those sports than swimming. |
[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]He'll either hit puberty and have the frame of a fast swimmer or he won't. A lot of younger kids who start early and are athletic and coordinated (which seems to be associated with compact builds in younger kids) jumps out fast, but fall back as other kids get bigger and stronger. [/quote]
+1 So very true![/quote] +1 Seen this firsthand with some of the boys in our swim club - and they're not able to hang now that they're in the 11-12 & above groups. While they still swim for the club, they've all started other sports to develop additional skill sets (e.g., lacrosse, baseball, soccer, etc...). There are more college scholarships for those sports than swimming.[/quote] It’s funny how so many posters in this and the “delayed puberty” thread are jumping to this conclusion that when a swimmer hits a tougher phase at the bottom of their age group they are simply just not good at the sport after all. It’s like weird jealousy or schadenfreude, and completely illogical since this is a very normal experience for most successful swimmers and other athletes. Yes, there are kids who are the best at 10 then drop the sport, but far more common are the elite 10 year olds who eventually become the elite senior swimmers, despite bumps in the road through the puberty years. |
[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]He'll either hit puberty and have the frame of a fast swimmer or he won't. A lot of younger kids who start early and are athletic and coordinated (which seems to be associated with compact builds in younger kids) jumps out fast, but fall back as other kids get bigger and stronger. [/quote]
+1 So very true![/quote] +1 Seen this firsthand with some of the boys in our swim club - and they're not able to hang now that they're in the 11-12 & above groups. While they still swim for the club, they've all started other sports to develop additional skill sets (e.g., lacrosse, baseball, soccer, etc...). There are more college scholarships for those sports than swimming.[/quote] It’s funny how so many posters in this and the “delayed puberty” thread are jumping to this conclusion that when a swimmer hits a tougher phase at the bottom of their age group they are simply just not good at the sport after all. It’s like weird jealousy or schadenfreude, and completely illogical since this is a very normal experience for most successful swimmers and other athletes. Yes, there are kids who are the best at 10 then drop the sport, but far more common are the elite 10 year olds who eventually become the elite senior swimmers, despite bumps in the road through the puberty years. [/quote] I don't believe anyone is saying the OP's kid should quit right now. Rather, and like pretty much everything else in life, sports are a pyramid. The goal of sports is not to master others, but to master yourself. |
[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]He'll either hit puberty and have the frame of a fast swimmer or he won't. A lot of younger kids who start early and are athletic and coordinated (which seems to be associated with compact builds in younger kids) jumps out fast, but fall back as other kids get bigger and stronger. [/quote]
+1 So very true![/quote] +1 Seen this firsthand with some of the boys in our swim club - and they're not able to hang now that they're in the 11-12 & above groups. While they still swim for the club, they've all started other sports to develop additional skill sets (e.g., lacrosse, baseball, soccer, etc...). There are more college scholarships for those sports than swimming.[/quote] It’s funny how so many posters in this and the “delayed puberty” thread are jumping to this conclusion that when a swimmer hits a tougher phase at the bottom of their age group they are simply just not good at the sport after all. It’s like weird jealousy or schadenfreude, and completely illogical since this is a very normal experience for most successful swimmers and other athletes. Yes, there are kids who are the best at 10 then drop the sport, but far more common are the elite 10 year olds who eventually become the elite senior swimmers, despite bumps in the road through the puberty years. [/quote] It’s not about no longer being good. It’s about not getting better and others passing them by, and not wanting to work through it. If you have been around the sport long enough you will see it happen over and over and over. I grew up in a smaller state where summer swim was big. If you were a good year round swimmer you pretty much knew everyone else who swam year round and was good. If I look at old results I can still recognize the names and remember who ended up where. A small handful of the young stars ended up swimming for elite college programs. Most were good enough to be setting league records as 6/8/10 year olds. They were also extremely competitive people and hard workers as they got older. Then there are a whole slew of kids who were very fast but not league record setters, who were complete non-factors after puberty. Swimming started requiring hard work to stay on top and they just didn’t want to do it. If OP’s kid has a great work ethic he probably will end up being great. But swimming is just really hard to stick with for a lot of kids when the winning isn’t happening anymore, friends are doing other fun things, etc. Only time will tell. |
[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]He'll either hit puberty and have the frame of a fast swimmer or he won't. A lot of younger kids who start early and are athletic and coordinated (which seems to be associated with compact builds in younger kids) jumps out fast, but fall back as other kids get bigger and stronger. [/quote]
+1 So very true![/quote] +1 Seen this firsthand with some of the boys in our swim club - and they're not able to hang now that they're in the 11-12 & above groups. While they still swim for the club, they've all started other sports to develop additional skill sets (e.g., lacrosse, baseball, soccer, etc...). There are more college scholarships for those sports than swimming.[/quote] It’s funny how so many posters in this and the “delayed puberty” thread are jumping to this conclusion that when a swimmer hits a tougher phase at the bottom of their age group they are simply just not good at the sport after all. It’s like weird jealousy or schadenfreude, and completely illogical since this is a very normal experience for most successful swimmers and other athletes. Yes, there are kids who are the best at 10 then drop the sport, but far more common are the elite 10 year olds who eventually become the elite senior swimmers, despite bumps in the road through the puberty years. [/quote] It’s not about no longer being good. It’s about not getting better and others passing them by, and not wanting to work through it. If you have been around the sport long enough you will see it happen over and over and over. I grew up in a smaller state where summer swim was big. If you were a good year round swimmer you pretty much knew everyone else who swam year round and was good. If I look at old results I can still recognize the names and remember who ended up where. A small handful of the young stars ended up swimming for elite college programs. Most were good enough to be setting league records as 6/8/10 year olds. They were also extremely competitive people and hard workers as they got older. Then there are a whole slew of kids who were very fast but not league record setters, who were complete non-factors after puberty. Swimming started requiring hard work to stay on top and they just didn’t want to do it. [b]If OP’s kid has a great work ethic he probably will end up being great.[/b] But swimming is just really hard to stick with for a lot of kids when the winning isn’t happening anymore, friends are doing other fun things, etc. Only time will tell. [/quote] This is a good takeaway. The 10u one and done story misses the fact that they are often overtaken not because the universe is reestablishing it’s equilibrium, but because they are competing against kids who are working harder than them at 11/12 or 13/14. Aside from the case of the 5’6” 10 year old who weighs 140# and stops growing soon after, most 10u swimmers who do well are practicing more than the ones who aren’t. At 11/12, other kids start dedicating themselves to practice more than they did at 10u, and now they are the fastest. It’s a denominator phenomenon. |
This!! |
Hi OP, thanks for the kind words. I’m glad your son has supportive coaches. Going through challenges is a good thing, but often only appreciated in retrospect! I promise, I am not stalking Caeleb dressel, but he gave another interview after nationals and he frankly says that it isn’t easy to come back and swim more slowly, and be in the C finals, and that he was even a little embarrassed. Which, of course, is ridiculous. But he was happy with his races and felt great being in the pool. You can clearly see that, as talented as he is, his work ethic is even more impressive. So come on- if caeleb dressel is cool with adding time and putting in the work, all of our kids should be! |
[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]He'll either hit puberty and have the frame of a fast swimmer or he won't. A lot of younger kids who start early and are athletic and coordinated (which seems to be associated with compact builds in younger kids) jumps out fast, but fall back as other kids get bigger and stronger. [/quote]
+1 So very true![/quote] +1 Seen this firsthand with some of the boys in our swim club - and they're not able to hang now that they're in the 11-12 & above groups. While they still swim for the club, they've all started other sports to develop additional skill sets (e.g., lacrosse, baseball, soccer, etc...). There are more college scholarships for those sports than swimming.[/quote] It’s funny how so many posters in this and the “delayed puberty” thread are jumping to this conclusion that when a swimmer hits a tougher phase at the bottom of their age group they are simply just not good at the sport after all. It’s like weird jealousy or schadenfreude, and completely illogical since this is a very normal experience for most successful swimmers and other athletes. Yes, there are kids who are the best at 10 then drop the sport, but far more common are the elite 10 year olds who eventually become the elite senior swimmers, despite bumps in the road through the puberty years. [/quote] It’s not about no longer being good. It’s about not getting better and others passing them by, and not wanting to work through it. If you have been around the sport long enough you will see it happen over and over and over. I grew up in a smaller state where summer swim was big. If you were a good year round swimmer you pretty much knew everyone else who swam year round and was good. If I look at old results I can still recognize the names and remember who ended up where. A small handful of the young stars ended up swimming for elite college programs. Most were good enough to be setting league records as 6/8/10 year olds. They were also extremely competitive people and hard workers as they got older. Then there are a whole slew of kids who were very fast but not league record setters, who were complete non-factors after puberty. Swimming started requiring hard work to stay on top and they just didn’t want to do it. [b]If OP’s kid has a great work ethic he probably will end up being great.[/b] But swimming is just really hard to stick with for a lot of kids when the winning isn’t happening anymore, friends are doing other fun things, etc. Only time will tell. [/quote] This is a good takeaway. The 10u one and done story misses the fact that they are often overtaken not because the universe is reestablishing it’s equilibrium, but because they are competing against kids who are working harder than them at 11/12 or 13/14. Aside from the case of the 5’6” 10 year old who weighs 140# and stops growing soon after, most 10u swimmers who do well are practicing more than the ones who aren’t. At 11/12, other kids start dedicating themselves to practice more than they did at 10u, and now they are the fastest. It’s a denominator phenomenon. [/quote] I think another factor is that kids who are top young swimmers are generally just good athletes. They may just decide they like some other sport more. We had an amazing girl on our summer team setting all kinds of records. She is now 6 feet tall and probably could have been a top college swimmer. But she liked volleyball more. She quit club swim around 12 and ended up getting recruited to play D1 volleyball in college. |