If my kid Is an BB/A swimmer at 12, does that mean there is no chance for college swim

[Anonymous]

Here is a nice article on height and swimmers. Also why breast stroke is the stroke to excel at.

https://www.a3performance.com/blogs/a3-performance/swimmers-tall-and-short#:~:text=In%202016%2C%20the%20average%20height,sport%20for%20a%20long%20time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the only reason he's swimming is for college prospects, you will be disappointed.

Look at swimcloud under recruiting and see the lists by year of males who committed to colleges. Scroll through the pages to see where the commitments start to drop off and where the colleges start to become small regional schools you've never heard of. Then click on the profiles of the swimmers on the next page where no one is recruited. It is sobering; moreso when you sort by state. Very, very strong swimmers do not get recruited. Some get recruiting attention from schools that are an inadequate academic match for the student.

There may be a point where the colleges you might be able to swim for and the colleges that are a good academic match cross, but for many swimmers, those lines never cross.

This is pretty spot on except it assumes that all those kids not reporting a school (1) are not swimming and (2) wanted to swim. I don't think swimcloud's info is perfect and I know a number of very talented swimmers who chose not to swim in college. There are a lot of opportunities to swim Div III and you don't have to be particularly fast. But, those schools may be expensive, liberal arts schools that are not academic power houses. So, if your kid is ok going to a lower caliber academic school and can either 1) get merit aid or 2) you can afford for them to pay $70k to let them swim, you'll find a place to swim. The challenge is finding the spot that matches their academic interests and makes sense to the family financially. But, my guess is your kid will improve and have lots of options.

I think we are saying the same thing. The plan of being recruited to your athletic and academic match and dream school is typically unrealized for a host of reasons. Parents of younger kids are focused on the athletics, but by the time they are juniors, that is vastly overshadowed by the academics and intended major, and financial realities, and a lot of kids look back and wonder why they put so much time in the water, when an easier schedule would have done them just as well.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, I was a mediocre swimmer but developed into a decent distance runner in high school and college. If your kid isn't getting times he wants by high school, he could try track.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one can predict what is going to happen.

My kid was a B swimmer until 13 then grew in height and now is a AA/AAA swimmer. Her friend who was tall at 10- made JOs was fast and strong- stopped growing at 10 and is now a slower than B swimmer.

I think that you see this more often. A lot of kids sprout at 10-11 and are taller than their peers. But they stop growing around 5th or 6th grade on the early bloomers. A lot of taller kids are slower to grow and end up being later. I tend to look at parents, to see what the height is on mom and dad. The average height parents tend to have taller kids earlier in the sport. Whereas the taller parents there kids are later.

Don’t forget about those of us who were off the charts since birth and continued to be, LOL. I am the D1 swimmer PP and that was me. I think my times got faster as I got older because I “filled out”. The kids who were shorter but bigger than me used to beat me. Then I caught up to them in terms of size but I had the height advantage. In some cases their larger size turned into a disadvantage as they were no longer lean once puberty hit. As I mentioned, tall and skinny with the potential to put on muscle later tends to be sought after by college coaches. Most kids have trained about as much as they can in HS in terms of pool time. To continue improving as a young adult, the outside of the pool stuff starts to matter more, such as weight training, nutrition, and injury management.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Here is a nice article on height and swimmers. Also why breast stroke is the stroke to excel at.

https://www.a3performance.com/blogs/a3-performance/swimmers-tall-and-short#:~:text=In%202016%2C%20the%20average%20height,sport%20for%20a%20long%20time.

But the tough thing is that breaststrokers tend to be born and not made. The kick in particular either comes naturally or it doesn’t. A lot of kids are more pigeon toed but with breast you need to have the feet flexed and outside the knees when you kick. It requires a lot of flexibility in the hips, knees, and ankles that is not all that common. Most swimmers who aren’t breaststrokers have to work really hard to just get to the point of having a decent breaststroke. It’s why breaststrokers are great IMers. The breaststroke leg comes at a crucial point in the race. They can pull ahead and then just hold on in the freestyle leg.

[Anonymous]

No. If they keep improving technique, growing, and enjoying the sport, college swimming is possible. Division 3 swimming is wonderful, btw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Around 15 or 16 you will know. 12 is way too early. Also, what are your genetics, which will play a huge role.

But like a PP said, focus on technique. I would assume your kid is swimming 6 days a week at this point with those times.

What age do you know for girls???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Around 15 or 16 you will know. 12 is way too early. Also, what are your genetics, which will play a huge role.

But like a PP said, focus on technique. I would assume your kid is swimming 6 days a week at this point with those times.

What age do you know for girls???

Probably around 14. Some girls do get faster later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Former D1 scholarship swimmer here. I agree that most kids who are decent and love to swim can find somewhere to do it, but it will not be for a scholarship and may be a small expensive college. Some kids would be better off competing with the club team at a larger school. My sister did club sports at her college and had a great time without the pressure and the grind that I dealt with. 20 years later I can’t do certain things with my shoulders. I barely made it to the end of my senior year thanks to rotator cuff tendinitis.

It is important to remember that college coaches recruit based on both times and potential. Someone on an upward trajectory may get looked at more closely than someone who is fast but has been going those same fast times for 2 years. Height plays a pretty big role in one’s potential. Most kids don’t so serious strength training in HS. College coaches love a kid who has a tall/long frame that can add muscle at college once they’re working with strength coaches.

Just out of curiosity I looked at my old summer league’s website and was able to find archived results going all the way back to my time. So crazy to see all the old names! For whatever it’s worth it looks like I was in the AA/AAA range in my best events when I was 12. I was not the superstar kid. The ones winning all stars had AAA/AAAA times. I got better through HS and by the time we got to college I was beating the people who used to beat me when I was 12. But I am really tall so I guess my potential was greater than someone who stopped growing early. It really is all a crapshoot OP. Tell your son to keep working at it as long as he gets enjoyment from it. You never know what can happen. Be realistic but open to seeing where the sport takes him. It truly is a great lifelong sport.

I was also a D1 scholarship swimmer at a top 15 program and while I was always a top competitor from about 8 and up, I wasn't a superstar in the 13/14 age group. That was my toughest period, as I was a late bloomer and didn't get my period until I was a sophomore in HS. I was still improving significantly at the time of recruitment and heard from tons of schools I didn't expect to be recruited by. I was very happy with my choice to compete in college, but like the PP, my body is paying for it as i age (and I'm only 40 now!).

My two children swim competitively now and I would be thrilled if they were able to use swimming as their "hook" to get into a school that they wouldn't otherwise academically qualify for. Don't care about the scholarship aspect at all. The scholarship means it's your full time job.

[Anonymous]

I was only a mediocre B time swimmer and I made onto the D3 team in college. It wasn’t for me, though, and I joined a Masters team which was more fun and less pressure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Yes, very talented 10 and under, mostly AA to AAA times. Trying really hard to keep up in 11/12 but so far BB/A in this age group. Possibly will get AA in a distance event. But going to be a late bloomer.

My kid was a multi sport athlete until 16. Upped his training at 16 and got 2 Futures cuts. So, puberty can change things. Just hang in there. I think there is a Division III spot for any kid who has swim year round. The times are just not that fast at many schools, so keep swimming, he’ll find a place if it’s important to him.

[Anonymous]

This was a thread from last year - OP, how are things going for your swimmer this year?

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t think at all about this for a 12 yo. They change so much.

My daughter didn’t swim but around that age she was saying she wanted to play her sport in college. We just listened. A year later in middle school she was talking about how she may want to go to rec instead of travel. Puberty hit and she became really social. All of the time commitment in the sport at a competitive level meant less time for social things.

[Anonymous]

Too soon to tell but if they do not have a growth spurt probably not likely.

A number of our top club swimmers did not make team if they went to a D1 school BUT all swam with club team and loved it. That is a great option.

Lastly, the amount of time devoted to swimming to be at that level increases each year. I have known quite a few who were excellent and got recruited for swim but eventually burned out. It does happen. I’d say smile and say “great” when your 12 yr old says this but know that it is truly hard to know what lies ahead.

[Anonymous]

My DS swims at a D2 school and they have open roster spots. Your DS will find a fit and will be able to swim somewhere.

As others have said, it’s a bit early to know at age 12.