News
For
SWIM PARENTS
Published by The American Swimming
Coaches Association
5101 NW 21 Ave., Suite
200
Fort Lauderdale FL
33309
___________________________________________________________________
Thoughts on Age Group
Development
We do not need to give all
the available meets, awards, training time, or even training
techniques to all levels and all ages of swimmers. Life is
progressive. We cannot drive until we are sixteen, we cannot
vote until we are 18. Just because we have seniors swimming at
prelim and final meets doesn't mean that age group swimmers need to
also. Age group swimmers do not need the same kind of awards
which seniors receive. Our system gives too much too soon and
sets up for a serious problem because every level looks the
same. Let the swimmers grow through the sport rather than
giving it to them. Let them experience racing, winning, and
losing but they do not need twelve solid years of these things to
become effective prelims-finals swimmers.
- Peter Malone
ASCA Level 5
K.C. Blazers
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Sometimes young swimmers
perform exceptionally well quite simply because they are "big for
their age" and, or, they are capable of working harder. They
do not need to depend on technique and they may, or may not have
better technique than slower swimmers. If we could go back and
get a physical description of all the 10 and under swimmers who
were nationally ranked, I think we would find that these young
athletes were all more physically developed than the average 10 and
under.
Most of these children will
not continue dominating their age group into the senior years as
other swimmers catch up in size and ability to
work. Unfortunately they may not have developed the quality of
skills other swimmers have. Too often the result is a young
senior swimmer who becomes frustrated at losing when he had been so
used to winning.
There are two important
points for parents to keep in mind:
1. Skills need to be the
basis of an age group program, not distance.
2. It is a mistake to
seek a distance oriented age group program to place your child in
so that he can keep up with other faster
swimmers.
Age group swimmers should
concentrate on fundamentals and not senior oriented yardage so that
they can learn correctly. There is a proper time and place for
athletes to take part in a serious training program but it is not
for our younger swimmers. We must accept the fact that we are
not dealing with miniature adults.
- Jim Lutz
ASCA Level 5
