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

[Anonymous]

Op here. Swimmer is now 13 and has BB and a few A times. Hasn't gone though any growing but continued to improve and is happy. So the swimmer is forging ahead and hopes to have the big drops after the growth spurts but we will see!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Swimmer is now 13 and has BB and a few A times. Hasn't gone though any growing but continued to improve and is happy. So the swimmer is forging ahead and hopes to have the big drops after the growth spurts but we will see!

Thanks for the update! Hoping he sees the power of puberty soon.

[Anonymous]

Answer to Q: Possibly

[Anonymous]

So he just wants to swim as exercise in college? Of course he can continue doing that. Also he’s 12. Breathe.

[Anonymous]

My friend was a state-level champion #1 in several areas through senior year if high school, great student and only got a scholarship to a unknown AA school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Swimmer is now 13 and has BB and a few A times. Hasn't gone though any growing but continued to improve and is happy. So the swimmer is forging ahead and hopes to have the big drops after the growth spurts but we will see!

If he’s currently happy, is it the kid who hopes for the growth spurt or parent? Too many swim team parents of boys seem to talk about their growth in a pressure like way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend was a state-level champion #1 in several areas through senior year if high school, great student and only got a scholarship to a unknown AA school.

What is an “AA” school? D2 or D3?

[Anonymous]

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.

Great advice.

[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.

Great advice.

I can’t find this area…

[Anonymous]

OP here. No my child isn't happy with the times. But, I do think there is value in learning how to hang in there!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not looking for scholarship…but child thinks he wants to swim in college

Do kids sometimes get good all of a sudden? Right now my child has not really grown and is struggling to keep up.
With the taller kids.

Just trying to help set realistic expectations.

Work on technique now and have child play 3-4 sports to build athleticism and suppleness. But introduce weight lifting at 14-15 (maybe hire a trainer to start with to learn good technique) and then have child specialize on swimming at 16 if that’s what they want. I see this formula consistently yield better results than “national” groups at age 12-15

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not looking for scholarship…but child thinks he wants to swim in college

Do kids sometimes get good all of a sudden? Right now my child has not really grown and is struggling to keep up.
With the taller kids.

Just trying to help set realistic expectations.

Work on technique now and have child play 3-4 sports to build athleticism and suppleness. But introduce weight lifting at 14-15 (maybe hire a trainer to start with to learn good technique) and then have child specialize on swimming at 16 if that’s what they want. I see this formula consistently yield better results than “national” groups at age 12-15

This is not bad advice. The best swimmers at our club play multiple sports. Sports like soccer, basketball, cross country, etc (ones with lots of cardio) are ideal. I think it gives a mental advantage as well. Kids that only swim tend to plateau earlier and don't get over that hump. Most clubs will want a certain number of days in the water depending on swim level. Make sure that some of those days are doing another sport or activity.

[Anonymous]

The kid is 12 for Pete’s sake! Man, parents are just plain nut’s sometimes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not looking for scholarship…but child thinks he wants to swim in college

Do kids sometimes get good all of a sudden? Right now my child has not really grown and is struggling to keep up.
With the taller kids.

Just trying to help set realistic expectations.

Work on technique now and have child play 3-4 sports to build athleticism and suppleness. But introduce weight lifting at 14-15 (maybe hire a trainer to start with to learn good technique) and then have child specialize on swimming at 16 if that’s what they want. I see this formula consistently yield better results than “national” groups at age 12-15

How exactly is a kid able to swim competitively until age 16 while also doing 3-4 other sports? I’m not saying specializing early is a good thing but I don’t see how it is logistically feasible to be a college prospect by not committing to swimming fully until age 16 and also juggle 3-4 other sports until then. Maybe 20 years ago when you could play a couple months of basketball, a couple months of baseball, and a couple months of soccer, while swimming 2 days a week, but I know of literally no one in the present day that has this type of schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not looking for scholarship…but child thinks he wants to swim in college

Do kids sometimes get good all of a sudden? Right now my child has not really grown and is struggling to keep up.
With the taller kids.

Just trying to help set realistic expectations.

Work on technique now and have child play 3-4 sports to build athleticism and suppleness. But introduce weight lifting at 14-15 (maybe hire a trainer to start with to learn good technique) and then have child specialize on swimming at 16 if that’s what they want. I see this formula consistently yield better results than “national” groups at age 12-15

How exactly is a kid able to swim competitively until age 16 while also doing 3-4 other sports? I’m not saying specializing early is a good thing but I don’t see how it is logistically feasible to be a college prospect by not committing to swimming fully until age 16 and also juggle 3-4 other sports until then. Maybe 20 years ago when you could play a couple months of basketball, a couple months of baseball, and a couple months of soccer, while swimming 2 days a week, but I know of literally no one in the present day that has this type of schedule.

Sad, but true. Occasionally you will hear of stories like Hakeem Olajuwon (didn’t play bball until 15), but they are really rare and almost never in the US. I wish kids still played as many sports as they did way back when. It seems impossible to derail the US youth sports juggernaut on its quest to specialize earlier and earlier. Someone made a thread looking for 4 yo basketball. Is that already a thing? What’s next, toddler fencing? Preschool crew?