Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to a club/coach that focuses on sprinting like AAC or Mako. But it's too soon for your kid to know if he's a sprinter, mid-distance swimmer, or distance. If your kid really wants to be a great sprinter, have him focus on underwaters and lift weights.

Makos does not focus on sprinting. We go there specifically because it introduces all the kids to distance, unlike some of the other clubs.

So which clubs don't introduce all kids to distance?

Anonymous wrote:Go to a club/coach that focuses on sprinting like AAC or Mako. But it's too soon for your kid to know if he's a sprinter, mid-distance swimmer, or distance. If your kid really wants to be a great sprinter, have him focus on underwaters and lift weights.

Makos does not focus on sprinting. We go there specifically because it introduces all the kids to distance, unlike some of the other clubs.

Anonymous wrote:My son is 13 and is a solid club swimmer. He really enjoys summer swimming because he gets to focus on racing and going fast in the shorter events. He would like to continue to develop in the 50s and 100s but his coach insists that distance is the way to go for all kids. 500/1000 free, 200 fly, 400IM are the events he says are king. He really wants to put up big numbers at IMX. I’d love input from other swim parents

Distance swimming is 1650 and 1000. Even the 500 is not truly a distance event, and certainly not a 200 at age 13. The coach may think those events are "king" because they are the events you swim in college. The only 50 you can swim in a college championship meet is the 50 freestyle. My hunch is that your coach is focused on getting kids to try the 200 and 400s, hence the focus on the IMX events. And, IMs are often the way a coach keeps kids swimming all 4 strokes so I don't think that they are pushing specialization.

Candidly, a lot of kids think the 200 fly and 400 IM are brutal, so those willing to race them can often use that to their advantage. Finally, is your kid of average height? I have def seen coaches push the kids on the shorter side to do those events bc the height advantage in the 50 free is so significant and much less so in the 200 fly or 400 IM.

Everyone is saying that the 100 and 200 of a stroke require different skills, but my swimmer's 100 time always got faster when something clicked in a 200. I think it was the cardio endurance and the ability to hold an underwater. My kid's coach also thinks they get a lot of sprint practice in summer, so uses the winter to train differently.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exactly, and btw I agree that 13 year olds don’t need to specialize and should have a variety of training.

I am arguing that as you get older, there needs to be more training options for kids who want to become 100 type sprinters.

They don’t have specific training groups based on stroke, distance, etc. The kids are getting a little bit of everything in practice. For the HS age kids that are looking to swim in college, it’s not enough to be a sprinter unless you are a freestyler. If you’re primarily a specialty stroke swimmer you need to be good in both the 100 and the 200.

I would counter this to say that the 100s of stroke and even the 200s of stroke in short course yards are basically long sprints at this point, at least at the college level. Long course meters is a different animal, but in terms of training to be an ncaa level swimmer, a more sprint based training program could absolutely be beneficial

Of course the 100s are the sprints of the non-freestyle strokes, there are no 50s outside of freestyle in club swimming once you turn 13. Are people still not understanding this? No one is training to do sprint 50s at that age. A 200 fly and a 200 breast are also definitely not sprint events, even in SCY.

I don’t think a single poster on this thread has argued that sprint 50s are a thing in club, esp after age 12. We all understand that 100s (and maybe 200 free) are sprints. Yet you keep self-righteously posting that we don’t get it, despite no one misunderstanding it. Please focus on the question at hand instead of using this as an opportunity to assert your competitive swim superiority.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exactly, and btw I agree that 13 year olds don’t need to specialize and should have a variety of training.

I am arguing that as you get older, there needs to be more training options for kids who want to become 100 type sprinters.

The only swimmers who actually train specifically for sprinting are professionals. No coach worth a damn would only instruct 13-18 yos in sprinting.

So kids who are sprinters should only be allowed to train like sprinters if they are professional. Got it.

Only professionals should exclusively train one style of swimming. High school and age group swimmers should have train a versatile range of events.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exactly, and btw I agree that 13 year olds don’t need to specialize and should have a variety of training.

I am arguing that as you get older, there needs to be more training options for kids who want to become 100 type sprinters.

They don’t have specific training groups based on stroke, distance, etc. The kids are getting a little bit of everything in practice. For the HS age kids that are looking to swim in college, it’s not enough to be a sprinter unless you are a freestyler. If you’re primarily a specialty stroke swimmer you need to be good in both the 100 and the 200.

I would counter this to say that the 100s of stroke and even the 200s of stroke in short course yards are basically long sprints at this point, at least at the college level. Long course meters is a different animal, but in terms of training to be an ncaa level swimmer, a more sprint based training program could absolutely be beneficial

Of course the 100s are the sprints of the non-freestyle strokes, there are no 50s outside of freestyle in club swimming once you turn 13. Are people still not understanding this? No one is training to do sprint 50s at that age. A 200 fly and a 200 breast are also definitely not sprint events, even in SCY.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exactly, and btw I agree that 13 year olds don’t need to specialize and should have a variety of training.

I am arguing that as you get older, there needs to be more training options for kids who want to become 100 type sprinters.

They don’t have specific training groups based on stroke, distance, etc. The kids are getting a little bit of everything in practice. For the HS age kids that are looking to swim in college, it’s not enough to be a sprinter unless you are a freestyler. If you’re primarily a specialty stroke swimmer you need to be good in both the 100 and the 200.

I would counter this to say that the 100s of stroke and even the 200s of stroke in short course yards are basically long sprints at this point, at least at the college level. Long course meters is a different animal, but in terms of training to be an ncaa level swimmer, a more sprint based training program could absolutely be beneficial

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exactly, and btw I agree that 13 year olds don’t need to specialize and should have a variety of training.

I am arguing that as you get older, there needs to be more training options for kids who want to become 100 type sprinters.

The only swimmers who actually train specifically for sprinting are professionals. No coach worth a damn would only instruct 13-18 yos in sprinting.

So kids who are sprinters should only be allowed to train like sprinters if they are professional. Got it.

Anonymous wrote:Exactly, and btw I agree that 13 year olds don’t need to specialize and should have a variety of training.

I am arguing that as you get older, there needs to be more training options for kids who want to become 100 type sprinters.

The only swimmers who actually train specifically for sprinting are professionals. No coach worth a damn would only instruct 13-18 yos in sprinting.

Anonymous wrote:Exactly, and btw I agree that 13 year olds don’t need to specialize and should have a variety of training.

I am arguing that as you get older, there needs to be more training options for kids who want to become 100 type sprinters.

They don’t have specific training groups based on stroke, distance, etc. The kids are getting a little bit of everything in practice. For the HS age kids that are looking to swim in college, it’s not enough to be a sprinter unless you are a freestyler. If you’re primarily a specialty stroke swimmer you need to be good in both the 100 and the 200.

Exactly, and btw I agree that 13 year olds don’t need to specialize and should have a variety of training.

I am arguing that as you get older, there needs to be more training options for kids who want to become 100 type sprinters.

Anonymous wrote:But there’s a huge difference between even the 100s and 200s of stroke. Completely different physiological demands. A lot of kids have the talent and aerobic profile to be successful in both. But what about the kids that either don’t or want to focus on the 100s? Where is their true sprint training?

At 13, 100s are the sprint... I am confused by what you are asking.

But there’s a huge difference between even the 100s and 200s of stroke. Completely different physiological demands. A lot of kids have the talent and aerobic profile to be successful in both. But what about the kids that either don’t or want to focus on the 100s? Where is their true sprint training?

Anonymous wrote:A 13 year old should not be specializing. But it is also true that too many coaches in the DMV area don’t understand that we run off too many swimmers in this sport by trying to make them distance or mid distance athletes. There needs to be more options for kids who enjoy or have a talent for sprinting 50/100s.

Also sprinters are the most valuable commodity for a college program, so it’s kinda crazy how so many local programs deemphasize sprint training. Lol at a coach saying by training for distance then they will still have a great 100.

I haven’t seen 13 year olds specializing at our big club. Are the coaches obviously aware of what a kid’s strongest events are, sure, but they don’t allow them to compete in just their strongest events. Sometimes they may compete in their strongest events more because they are making champs cuts or working toward making champs cuts, but their training isn’t exclusive to those events. The strokes that a kid is strong in also make a difference. Non-freestylers are generally not doing more than 200s (the 400 IM being the exception) so you’re not training for those the same way. My kid is not a freestyler and has never been pushed to compete regularly in distance freestyle events or the 200s of the specialty strokes (they are still an 11-12 swimmer). They have to do the 500 free and each specialty 200 at least once a season, but that’s it. When they hit 13 there are no more 50s except in freestyle, so the 11-12s have to start getting used to the 100 and 200 of the specialty strokes.

Anonymous wrote:A 13 year old should not be specializing. But it is also true that too many coaches in the DMV area don’t understand that we run off too many swimmers in this sport by trying to make them distance or mid distance athletes. There needs to be more options for kids who enjoy or have a talent for sprinting 50/100s.

Also sprinters are the most valuable commodity for a college program, so it’s kinda crazy how so many local programs deemphasize sprint training. Lol at a coach saying by training for distance then they will still have a great 100.

Honestly I think it stems from the younger age groupers, when there is a big focus on getting kids to get comfortable with longer/more difficult events instead of swimmng the same 50s and 100s over and over. Also when they are young, the ones who are only good at the sprints typically aren’t as naturally talented as swimmers but rather are big/developed for age and can muscle through a fast 50/100 free (etc). However, that changes as they get older and you’re right that there should be a training program accessible for older kids who are more focused on the sprint events.