Anonymous wrote:
There are so many unknowns. A kid that is passionate now about swim might burn out or discover other things. I have seen kids just get tired of it. They start wanting more sleep.

Parents can push way too hard on coaches because they know meat for their swimmer. News flash: the parent does not and contributes to the kid quitting because they pushed too hard too early.

By the same token, coaches can push kids too far too soon in an effort to make them “fit the mold” before they’ve fully developed. I’ve seen world class swimmers tank their careers because of the pressure their coaches and programs put on them to attain the “swimmer body”. Such a shame. Young kids are growing, no one should worry about whether their children fit the mold. They should encourage sleep, adequate nutrition to build muscle, and rest. Period.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many times the kids who are big (not just tall) and powerful at the younger ages end up being too big/heavy for swimming long term. Swimming is a sport that favors the naturally long and lean body type.

Not our experience. Big powerful kid is turning to big powerful teen, still smoking the skinny guys. It’s training and diet. Muscle makes a difference.

Wow, Very humble and kind. Hope you didn’t pass your nastiness on to your kid.

You sound like you have a chip on your shoulder about this. Nothing I said was unkind. I said that I have a big kid who is still fast, and goes against the “long and lean” stereotype, and beats the kids who “look” like swimmers in your mind. You don’t have to look a certain way to be fast and the stereotype is frankly harmful. Body comp and fitness is more important.

You don't think it's unkind to say your kid "smokes the skinny guys?" You sound like such a jerk, and like you have a complex about your/your kid's body type.

No. I don’t! Lighten up Francis!

Stunning lack of self-awareness. There’s a dad of a swimmer in our team who was screaming “crush him” while his kid was swimming, referring to the kid swimming next to him. The family has basically been socially ostracized from the whole team due to this dude’s lack of sportsmanship and class.

You really do need to relax.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many times the kids who are big (not just tall) and powerful at the younger ages end up being too big/heavy for swimming long term. Swimming is a sport that favors the naturally long and lean body type.

Not our experience. Big powerful kid is turning to big powerful teen, still smoking the skinny guys. It’s training and diet. Muscle makes a difference.

Wow, Very humble and kind. Hope you didn’t pass your nastiness on to your kid.

You sound like you have a chip on your shoulder about this. Nothing I said was unkind. I said that I have a big kid who is still fast, and goes against the “long and lean” stereotype, and beats the kids who “look” like swimmers in your mind. You don’t have to look a certain way to be fast and the stereotype is frankly harmful. Body comp and fitness is more important.

You don't think it's unkind to say your kid "smokes the skinny guys?" You sound like such a jerk, and like you have a complex about your/your kid's body type.

No. I don’t! Lighten up Francis!

Stunning lack of self-awareness. There’s a dad of a swimmer in our team who was screaming “crush him” while his kid was swimming, referring to the kid swimming next to him. The family has basically been socially ostracized from the whole team due to this dude’s lack of sportsmanship and class.

You could test his genetics. It’s easy to see what his predicted adult height will be from DNA.

There are so many unknowns. A kid that is passionate now about swim might burn out or discover other things. I have seen kids just get tired of it. They start wanting more sleep.

Parents can push way too hard on coaches because they know meat for their swimmer. News flash: the parent does not and contributes to the kid quitting because they pushed too hard too early.

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10u who is small for her age and not particularly fast. She's likely to be 5'3" and 100lbs as a fully grown adult. I don't expect her to be especially fast then, but she'll be faster than kids who don't swim regularly and she'll have swimming as a workout she enjoys for life.

Great answer.

I have a 10u who is small for her age and not particularly fast. She's likely to be 5'3" and 100lbs as a fully grown adult. I don't expect her to be especially fast then, but she'll be faster than kids who don't swim regularly and she'll have swimming as a workout she enjoys for life.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many times the kids who are big (not just tall) and powerful at the younger ages end up being too big/heavy for swimming long term. Swimming is a sport that favors the naturally long and lean body type.

Not our experience. Big powerful kid is turning to big powerful teen, still smoking the skinny guys. It’s training and diet. Muscle makes a difference.

We have a kid at our club who is fast (breaks NVSL records) and is large and fat. He is powerful and I guess the fat helps with buoyancy. If not a swimmer he would be a football player.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many times the kids who are big (not just tall) and powerful at the younger ages end up being too big/heavy for swimming long term. Swimming is a sport that favors the naturally long and lean body type.

Yep, football player build is not a good swimmer’s build (plus many of these kids end up overweight).

Actually, a lot of that is controllable. A football player works out differently to a swimmer and their body looks different. A lot of kids, if they stuck to swimming would look different.

Yeah, no. You can't engineer your body type. Just ask a whole generation of women who dreamed of being ballerinas as young girls.

NP - you can’t change your basic body type, sure, but there’s still a range depending on what stimuli you provide your muscles. I’m a woman who builds muscle easily. When I strength train, even a little, people ask if I CrossFit (no). When I don’t strength train and instead focus on cardio, my shape changes. Again, not entirely, but PP is right that football players train very differently than swimmers, and that training matters for how they look. Wide receivers/safeties don’t look all that different than elite swimmers, IMO - we’re not talking linemen.

Also: swimming is a highly technical sport. Size and shape matter somewhat, but technique is huge. Plenty of people who don’t “look like” swimmers are super fast.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many times the kids who are big (not just tall) and powerful at the younger ages end up being too big/heavy for swimming long term. Swimming is a sport that favors the naturally long and lean body type.

Yep, football player build is not a good swimmer’s build (plus many of these kids end up overweight).

Actually, a lot of that is controllable. A football player works out differently to a swimmer and their body looks different. A lot of kids, if they stuck to swimming would look different.

Agree.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many times the kids who are big (not just tall) and powerful at the younger ages end up being too big/heavy for swimming long term. Swimming is a sport that favors the naturally long and lean body type.

Not our experience. Big powerful kid is turning to big powerful teen, still smoking the skinny guys. It’s training and diet. Muscle makes a difference.

Wow, Very humble and kind. Hope you didn’t pass your nastiness on to your kid.

You sound like you have a chip on your shoulder about this. Nothing I said was unkind. I said that I have a big kid who is still fast, and goes against the “long and lean” stereotype, and beats the kids who “look” like swimmers in your mind. You don’t have to look a certain way to be fast and the stereotype is frankly harmful. Body comp and fitness is more important.

You don't think it's unkind to say your kid "smokes the skinny guys?" You sound like such a jerk, and like you have a complex about your/your kid's body type.

No. I don’t! Lighten up Francis!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many times the kids who are big (not just tall) and powerful at the younger ages end up being too big/heavy for swimming long term. Swimming is a sport that favors the naturally long and lean body type.

Yep, football player build is not a good swimmer’s build (plus many of these kids end up overweight).

Actually, a lot of that is controllable. A football player works out differently to a swimmer and their body looks different. A lot of kids, if they stuck to swimming would look different.

Yeah, no. You can't engineer your body type. Just ask a whole generation of women who dreamed of being ballerinas as young girls.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many times the kids who are big (not just tall) and powerful at the younger ages end up being too big/heavy for swimming long term. Swimming is a sport that favors the naturally long and lean body type.

Not our experience. Big powerful kid is turning to big powerful teen, still smoking the skinny guys. It’s training and diet. Muscle makes a difference.

Wow, Very humble and kind. Hope you didn’t pass your nastiness on to your kid.

You sound like you have a chip on your shoulder about this. Nothing I said was unkind. I said that I have a big kid who is still fast, and goes against the “long and lean” stereotype, and beats the kids who “look” like swimmers in your mind. You don’t have to look a certain way to be fast and the stereotype is frankly harmful. Body comp and fitness is more important.

You don't think it's unkind to say your kid "smokes the skinny guys?" You sound like such a jerk, and like you have a complex about your/your kid's body type.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many times the kids who are big (not just tall) and powerful at the younger ages end up being too big/heavy for swimming long term. Swimming is a sport that favors the naturally long and lean body type.

Yep, football player build is not a good swimmer’s build (plus many of these kids end up overweight).

Actually, a lot of that is controllable. A football player works out differently to a swimmer and their body looks different. A lot of kids, if they stuck to swimming would look different.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many times the kids who are big (not just tall) and powerful at the younger ages end up being too big/heavy for swimming long term. Swimming is a sport that favors the naturally long and lean body type.

Not our experience. Big powerful kid is turning to big powerful teen, still smoking the skinny guys. It’s training and diet. Muscle makes a difference.

Wow, Very humble and kind. Hope you didn’t pass your nastiness on to your kid.

You sound like you have a chip on your shoulder about this. Nothing I said was unkind. I said that I have a big kid who is still fast, and goes against the “long and lean” stereotype, and beats the kids who “look” like swimmers in your mind. You don’t have to look a certain way to be fast and the stereotype is frankly harmful. Body comp and fitness is more important.