Anonymous wrote:My 10 year old was mostly BB, and didn't even get her first AAA until 14. Might have happened at 12, but lost most all of that year due to covid. Was always surprised when the coaches were moving her up to the advanced groups. Now closing in on Futures times. So it can happen!
Anonymous wrote:Coach here. For the 10 and unders what you really want to see is the kid who is very talented, maybe getting AAA times, but is not just dominating due to size. There are a lot of kids who are huge 10 year olds, very muscular etc and they can destroy the competition due to pure strength. But it’s the normal looking but super fast kid who will most likely ultimately succeed, especially if they are quite thin. These kids eventually grow and gain muscle, and that combined with their athleticism and that kind of mysterious natural feel for the water makes them unstoppable. So yes, I see that the top swimmers at 10 usually succeed IF they fit this profile. That is, if you can keep them in the sport!
Anonymous wrote:My AAA 10 year old swimmer is now BB at 13.
Anonymous wrote:I can think of 6 kids on our team who are now 13/14 or 15+ and at 10 and under were AAAA, but are now A times.
I also can think of some (2) kids who were AAAA at 10 and are AAA or AAAA at 16.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t hold too much stock in whether 9 and 10 year olds can get those AAA and AAAA times. Irrelevant to future success in the pool.
Eh, not really. Those kids, if they stick with the sport, usually end up being at the top as teens/college swimmers as well. It’s a DCUM fantasy that the B level 9-10 year olds suddenly rise to the top at 16 years old.
New poster - the 10 and wonder research is true, however. The kids who don’t drop out and we’re very fast at 10 and under are likely to not be anywhere near that fast as an 15-18 year old.
That’s not what the study says. It was a study basically about burnout/drop out rate. Only a small percentage of those top 10 year olds are top senior level swimmers because a huge number of them are no longer swimming. Many of them are very athletically gifted and choose a different sport when push comes to shove. Others don’t grow as much relative to their peers or their body changes unfavorably with puberty and they stop improving and generally eventually drop out. Either way, the main reason top 10 year olds do not become top 17 year olds at a high rate is that they ARE NO LONGER SWIMMING. Not that they were overtaken by the once mediocre 10 year olds. Does that ever happen? Sure, rarely. But not at the rate DCUM swim parents seem to want to believe.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t hold too much stock in whether 9 and 10 year olds can get those AAA and AAAA times. Irrelevant to future success in the pool.
Eh, not really. Those kids, if they stick with the sport, usually end up being at the top as teens/college swimmers as well. It’s a DCUM fantasy that the B level 9-10 year olds suddenly rise to the top at 16 years old.
New poster - the 10 and wonder research is true, however. The kids who don’t drop out and we’re very fast at 10 and under are likely to not be anywhere near that fast as an 15-18 year old.
That’s not what the study says. It was a study basically about burnout/drop out rate. Only a small percentage of those top 10 year olds are top senior level swimmers because a huge number of them are no longer swimming. Many of them are very athletically gifted and choose a different sport when push comes to shove. Others don’t grow as much relative to their peers or their body changes unfavorably with puberty and they stop improving and generally eventually drop out. Either way, the main reason top 10 year olds do not become top 17 year olds at a high rate is that they ARE NO LONGER SWIMMING. Not that they were overtaken by the once mediocre 10 year olds. Does that ever happen? Sure, rarely. But not at the rate DCUM swim parents seem to want to believe.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Also. open meets have no time standards are typically the slower swimmers.
Where are the fast swimmer swimming this time with f year
They are likely swimming off events (not their best strokes)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t hold too much stock in whether 9 and 10 year olds can get those AAA and AAAA times. Irrelevant to future success in the pool.
Eh, not really. Those kids, if they stick with the sport, usually end up being at the top as teens/college swimmers as well. It’s a DCUM fantasy that the B level 9-10 year olds suddenly rise to the top at 16 years old.
New poster - the 10 and wonder research is true, however. The kids who don’t drop out and we’re very fast at 10 and under are likely to not be anywhere near that fast as an 15-18 year old.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t hold too much stock in whether 9 and 10 year olds can get those AAA and AAAA times. Irrelevant to future success in the pool.
Eh, not really. Those kids, if they stick with the sport, usually end up being at the top as teens/college swimmers as well. It’s a DCUM fantasy that the B level 9-10 year olds suddenly rise to the top at 16 years old.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Also. open meets have no time standards are typically the slower swimmers.
Where are the fast swimmer swimming this time with f year
They are likely swimming off events (not their best strokes)