When the whole family is good at swimming
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Anonymous
If you bothered to read the initial point from earlier you’d see. Someone said their husband was a good swimmer but it couldn’t be genetic because they weren’t good at other points. The person saying that Michael Phelps may not be good at other sports but that doesn’t means he isn’t genetically gifted. Then someone else replied “hurr durr but Caleb Dressel has a great vertical jump” |
Anonymous
Pp here - my kids do year round, non competitive homeschool swim. It’s all about fitness and there’s no racing. They love it and it’s great exercise, social and zero pressure. I should have started with that. I won’t allow them to move to the competitive part because of burnout. |
Anonymous
That's really sad you will not let them do a more competitive team. Most have different levels for kids and there has never been any pressure in where we swim to move up/go faster and it's only those top families/groups that are the ultra competitive. Don't hold your kids back. Most don't require meets although its recommended until the higher levels. |
Anonymous
Kind of weird but thanks for participating |
Anonymous
| I have one who is naturally talented. And several others who are good because of early and often practice. |
Anonymous
| DD and DS have both been swimming year round since they were 6. Same club. Same coaches. Same amount of practices. Same amount of time and money spent. But DS will never be as fast as DD simply because DD inherited all the things you need to be a really fast swimmer: height, hyper mobility, an inverted triangle body shape, a gigantic arm span, gigantic feet and a super competitive personality. If parents are competitive swimmers, they likely have some or all of these attributes and would likely pass them on to their kids. They also understand the time, money, dedication (and volunteer hours!) year round swim requires and are prepared to make such sacrifices. So it’s a bit of both. Nature and nurture. However, all the nurture in the world won’t make your kid an elite swimmer if they’re not built like one. |
Anonymous
Uh, no - if this girl grew early and is a head taller, she probably just had early puberty and is done growing. All the others will catch up and then pass her. Early puberty for most athletes is advantageous for a few years then the effect is reversed, as they hit their peak at an earlier age and typically end up shorter when others grow, continue to improve, and pass them in both size and speed. |
Anonymous
Or the kid who was a head taller in K will end up being 5'11. Either is possible |
Anonymous
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It’s largely genetic. Some people have the hips bend in a way that makes breaststroke more efficient (faster), but overall: their bodies just know what to do for swim and they have a similar body type. Here are some examples:
Kids who don’t swim anything but summer or varsity in HS and are still incredibly fast. Typically taller, slender, narrow hips, long fingers, etc. Kids who are on club team but swim a few of days a week and then go to a meet and equal or best kids who swim 9+ times a week. Just because it’s largely genetic doesn’t mean that coaching does nothing. Coaching can help. Hard work can help. But kids who have a genetic leg up, are much better swimmers and I often think it’s great they found a sport that fits them so well. |
Anonymous
New poster: definitely not by all star standards. No dive block. Very short sprints for all events. 25 fly through 10. Some pools have “lips” on the edge giving swimmers an advantage when they start. I have one that makes all stars yearly in a stroke that is the kid’s worst stroke by far. If this was a 200 in this stroke, the kid wouldn’t look like the superstar that summer swim makes it appear. |
Anonymous
and the 40m dash is different from a 1500m race. Different events lend themselves to different strengths |
Anonymous
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There is definitely a natural ability/talent involved in swimming. It’s definitely not just training/hours in the pool. And siblings are not always at the same level - in fact, I see the opposite more often. We’re at a large year round club and there are sooo many swimmers who work hard, swim 4-5 days per week or more, and still are not very fast. Often they will still lose to summer-only swimmers, even when they are the same size. Also, there are so many examples of sibling groups on the team who are at vastly different levels competitively. Some getting Zones cuts for their age group and others who have never even gotten an A time. One of our coaches always says “swimming is a mystery.” It’s hard to predict who will be good and why.
Also, as far as size - height, build, shoulder width, arm length etc definitely make a difference but not as much as some posters seem to think. If you’re talking about the Olympics, maybe, but that is a whole different level from D1 swimming. Sure, a 5’8 guy might not ultimately be able to keep up (except maybe in distance events), but the vast majority of male D1 swimmers are not 6’5. Look at any roster and they typically range between 5’10-6’3. Most around 6’0. The biggest ones are the sprinters. Same for the women, there is a range and most are not 5’10+ like the Olympians. To say swimmers are not athletic is ridiculous. I have never seen kids in such great shape, and many play multiple sports well. I don’t know what makes some kids great swimmers but there have been studies to suggest natural buoyancy and kicking power play a role. It goes way beyond money and training. |
Anonymous
Sure - but summer swim is almost all 25/50s. After the age of 12, club swim has almost no more 50s except in free. There’s a reason we don’t have 11+ kids doing a 25 in any stroke. It becomes too easy as they get bigger. The same applies for not doing a 50 SCY in fly after 12 for most meets - too big of a kid and too easy. Of course you also have the summer bday advantage, too. |
Anonymous
Summer McIntosh and her sister both did a bunch of sports including soccer gymnastics, and equestrian before settling on one sport. Swimming for Summer and pairs skating for her older sister. Pretty sure they are coordinated. |
Anonymous
Tomoru Honda would like a word. He had the record for the 200 fly and won a silver medal in the 200 fly last Olympics. He’s 5’8”. |