Reply to Competitive (Club) Swimming -- At what point is it fine for a child to leave a longtime sport?

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Reply to "Competitive (Club) Swimming -- At what point is it fine for a child to leave a longtime sport?"

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[quote=Anonymous]At what age is it okay for your child to decide that they are not going to progress in competitive swimming (do not have the "big talent"), and will pursue their other activities and talents with more time?

I know that swimming has taught my child work ethic, discipline, time management, and healthy habits, but if the talent is not there (makes JOs and Zones, but so many other age-group swimmers are so much faster) then at what age is it acceptable to move on to other pursuits with the big time commitment that swimming takes up?

The club coaches all suggest that we continue because talent develops in different time frames, but my child (and I) sees that the big-time, college-level talent is just not there in spite of years and hours of devotion to the sport.  In all honesty I feel like USA Swimming and the club teams are a bit of a pyramid scheme, where the weaker swimmers at the bottom (and there are many of those) support the great coaches and superstar swimmers at the top with their substantial fees and dues, and are disingenuously encouraged to stay on for years on end without the slightest signs of talent -- only to support the coaching network that makes the great swimmers possible.

Other pursuits or sports are better at signaling potential to a child at a younger age -- through auditions (music conservatory, youth orchestras) and tryouts (club soccer) -- that differentiate between the truly gifted and the recreational talent. [/quote]

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