Choosing to Swim....Or Not
Choosing to Swim....Or Not
One of my swimmers recently decided to leave our team. Of course it happens from time to time that kids switch clubs or decide that they no longer want to swim, but this decision took me completely off guard. This particular boy is pretty hyper-active, but loaded with talent and I envisioned him becoming a great swimmer once he matures a little. Plus, he really seemed to enjoy swimming. As it is with many talented kids, swimming is not the only thing that this boy excels in. He was accepted to an exclusive school in another state to focus on singing.
As someone who has been around pools my whole life and now as a coach to young kids, you get used to people coming and going from our sport. Swimming is not for everybody. Many kids as they start to get older and swimming demands more and more of their time will discover that swimming is no longer a priority for them. When they start miss practice for soccer or lacrosse, they miss valuable pool time and sooner or later they’ll realize that the kids who they used to keep up with are swimming much faster than they are. This is just the nature of the sport. Some kids just aren’t cut out for it, and that’s ok. But, sometimes we lose someone with a lot of talent and it’s sad to see them go. Since I am someone who chose swimming, I usually think that they are making a mistake. I mean, no way can soccer or lacrosse or choir be better than the sport I dedicated my life to. I suppose there is a coach on the other side of this story who thinks that my swimmers are wasting their time in the pool. I like to think that no time spent in the pool is wasted and whether these kids continue to swim or not, I hope they will take the lessons of the pool with them in whatever they decide to pursue.
- Abigail's blog
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Truly dedicated, one-sport, one-activity kids are hard to find. As a coach who only did one sport as a kid, I would have to disagree with you on people making mistakes by choosing other things. If some of my swimmers did not have other activities in their life, they quite possibly would get sick of swimming and quit at an early age. Multi sport, multi activity kids make the best swimmers. One of my best swimmers runs XC and plays soccer in seventh grade. She loves each activity and I would not want to take her away from those things right now or force her to decide. As kids get older and have to decide what they want to achieve in life snd sports, then those decisions are made. Hopefully for us swim coaches, they opt for our sport, but no matter what we must support them in their decision...Make sure, as a coach, you aren't telling these kids that walk away that they are making a mistake. That would be a mistake, because if they walk away for a year or so, they may remember that conversation when you told them they are making a mistake and they opt for another team when the come back. Everyone chooses their path, it may bring them back to you so do your best to keep that door open Abigail when they return. Its how I got back two of my best swimmers.
coacheric makes a great
coacheric makes a great point. It is always dispointing when someone does not choose the path that we think is right. It's not just in swimming, it is everything in life. A good employee leaves for a new and different opportunity.A son or daughter picks a college, but not the one you may have picked.Brett Favre leaves Wisconsin.The list goes on and on.Now that said, I don't think it is wrong to encourage an athlete to stick with swimming. Let's face it, swimming is a great sport, however, much of it's greatness shows itself many years after a swimming career ends. The life of a swimmer is challenging, sometimes lonely, and usually includes a fair share of pain. So without some gentle coaxing, I am not sure how many swimmers would really stick it out.