From my last parent ed newsletter I send out to my swim team I got a lot of feedback from the various articles I included. The one I heard the most feedback was a simple statistic that I got from USA Swimming. It was showing the current Top 16 for 17 & 18 groups and the percentage for them that were Top 16 in other age groups in the past. Here are the stats:
Ranked Top 16 as a:10 & Under Still Ranked as 17-18 = 11%11-12 Still Ranked as 17-18 = 21%13-14 Still Ranked as 17-18 = 36%15-16 Still Ranked as 17-18 = 48%
The conclusion is that a swimmer doesn't have to be ranked at the early ages to end up being the elite swimmers in the nation. The 48% at the 15 - 16 correlating into the 17 - 18 was the surprising one for me. I have always known that 10 and under and 11 - 12 Top 16 don't always still at the top, but 15 - 16 to 17 - 18 was surprising.
The 10 and under being the biggest one I talk about, as the percent is so low. Fast 10 and unders get caught. They actually don't even get passed up, but by them getting frustrated with less growth as others around them they lose desire to train and/or end up leaving the sport altogether. This is why USA Swimming really pushes the idea of not comparing swimmers with each other. This includes the fast swimmers being compared to swimmers who were once slower than they were.
As I have noted in prior blog posts. Swimming is a roller coaster ride, and no one path will be the same. Enjoy the great sport and all that the swimmer can gain from it.
I have now been around swimming for just under 6 years. My daughter started early as she just turned 12. I know of that stat you were talking about. You don't even have to apply it to top 16. You usually can just look around a decent size team and see much of the same thing. Basically many of the superstars I have seen are seeing the gap between them and their peers get smaller almost every season. Really it is only natural. The superstars learned early how to swim fast and now many of their friends are picking up those skills.
ReplyDelete30 months ago my daughter and friends changed teams. My daughter was slower than the two fast girls by over 9 secs in the 50 free. Now that gap is 0.8 and 1.1 secs for the 50 free. What happen? Well one my daughter learned how to dive. That was like 3-4 secs. Plus she started to learn other skills to get faster. The two fast girls knew most of the the skills already when we got to the new team. While they have improved my daughter has just improved more because she had further to go.
The question is how will the faster girls react as they come back to the pack somewhat. I tell my daughter you get faster 3 ways. 1. better technique. 2. get taller. 3. max your body(be in great or better shape).
I have seen countless girls hit 12-15 and loss interest. That is when the sport gets hard. They have pretty good tech so it is hard to gain speed from that. They don't get taller. So the drops are harder to come by. They also get more social or school becomes more important. Plus if you stop winning as much it is hard to deal with.
Swimming is a marathon. I known some girls for 4-6 years now and I am going to find it real interesting to see who does best in HS. I don't think it will always be the superstar at 9.
Yes, you are correct. That is something I preach all the time. I use this statistic because not all parents of 9 and 10 year olds have been around swimming for as long as you have been to observe. Swimming is a marathon. I was told as a swimmer and as a coach from one of my mentors. "I'd rather have a group of untalented hard workers, than a group of talented slackers. In the end, it is the hard workers who achieve the most." I preach that to my swimmers, and it works out well. Also check my blog "Grit" it was a response to an article I read in a ASCA coaches newsletter, and I it applies to the grit that is necessary to reach your potential in the sport of swimming.
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