OffThePost.org

I was going to call this the "Official Swimming Thread, 2010" but I figure I'll likely be the only one posting in here so...

This weekend, the Missouri Grand Prix will be held in Columbia, MO, and headlining it will be some guy named Michael Phelps (200m IM, 100m fly), Ryan Lochte and Kosuke Kitajima (breastroke specialist, and Olympic gold medalist). Columbus is less than five hours from here, and I had considered going to attend, but then I learned that the Ohio State Grand Prix is coming up; I have some good friends who live in new Albany, OH so that might be a better venue. If Phelps and other big name swimmers sign up, I might take my family and watch. My sons' short course swim season winds down in April so that might be a good time to attend.

Found this article particularly interesting:

UPDATE: My 10-year-old went to the State swimming championships and finished 6th overall in the 200m individual medley. He had the second best time in the 50 and 100 BR in the state for the long course (50m pool - Olympic size) distances and the top-seed for both, but got out-touched by 2/100s of a second for first place in the 50, and about a half second behind the first place finisher in the 100 (my son finished 3rd overall by another 3/100s of a second... ). He swam that 100 BR after swimming the 50 FR and 50 BK events...

He qualified for the Zone swim championships in Indianapolis, IN next weekend where he will swim for Team Illinois against teams from OH, WI, MN, MI, and IN. He will swim the 50 and 100m BR, the 50 FR and the 200IM.

This November, he'll "age-up" meaning he'll be 11 and have to compete in the 11-12 year old division... And basically have another mountain to climb to get to the top of that ladder...

Congrats on the swift fish offspring TCL!

Nice!

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Thanks Chuck, E.L. and Harmy!

UPDATE: My progeny finished 3rd and 5th overall in the 50m and 100m breast stroke, respectively, in the 10&U division. This is even better than his performance at State given the elite level of competition from other states... Because his 50m time was the fastest among his Illinois teammates, he also swam the 200m medley relay (A) with the fastest freestyler, backstroker, and butterflier from the state. His relay team finished 2nd overall, against Teams from OH (trained by former East German swim coaches and veterinarians), MI, IN, IA, and Lake Erie.

Anyway, Team Illinois blew the doors off the meet, winning the Zone Championship by more than a 1,000 points...

That's great to hear! Swimming is a great sport. We started our daughter when she was just a baby - Living so near so much water I need the peace of mind that she will be able to take care of herself.

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GO CANUCKS GO!

Yeah, when the boys were starting out, I was only hoping to be sure they would be safe in the water.. Now, they could easily outswim me...

Quick update: So we attended a couple of tryouts with two other clubs. One of the clubs is known for doing a lot of yards but not a lot of technique; consequently, their team is very strong in the older age groups - 15 and over. I think because by the time their kids get to that level, they are accustomed to swimming 6,500-7,000 yards in each practice... Seems a bit excessive to me, but whatever... Of course, the 10 and unders might only swim 60% of that... The price to join this club might be about 10% more than our current club. The principal benefit is convenience; this club practices together, whether they are 6 or 16, everyone swims in the same pool at the same time. But that time is 6:30 to 9pm - pretty late for 8 year olds...

The other club seemed to be very solid; they emphasized technique at the younger ages and only when they reach 10 would they amp up the yardage. They would still focus on technique and my sons really enjoyed the one practice that they attended. The coaching seemed very solid, but it comes with a price: theirs was easily the most expensive club in town... In addition to monthly fees, there is also a monthly YMCA membership requirement, plus plenty of required fund-raising in addition to the normal volunteerism expected from any club. On a monthly basis, the cost might be 25-40% more than our current club. But my sons really liked the coach they met and liked working for her, and I could see them really flourishing in that.

Had a talk with both my kids tonight and they both want to join the second club. I grilled them about how they felt about their current coach; but it's hard to have perspective if you've only ever been on the same club. From a technical perspective, the second club might be better for both of them but the practice times are just as bad as they are with our current club. We will have to cut back dramatically somewhere to be able to squeeze this into the budget...

Any suggestions or ideas?

EDIT: I haven't said anything to our club's coach - as I don't believe I'm obliged to say anything; we're still on the official team roster until we say otherwise... Doing so early might just burn bridges. In any event, I will talk to him if we decide to take our kids elsewhere. My ten year old is one of the best breaststrokers in the state and I want him to be well-rounded and be a better all-around swimmer, not be pigeon-holed as a breaststroker for the rest of his life. My 8 year old might be in a position to be a better swimmer than his brother at the same age, but I don't necessarily see that happening if they are on the same club as they are now. I think the boys are getting pigeon-holed into certain roles...

My father and brother were both champion swimmers in their day. Both told me that technique was crucial and that there was always time to add the yardage when it involves children of your son's ages. The extra yardage will also increase the probability of injury. It sounds as if your older son will be getting increased yardage anyway because of his move to the 11 - 12 age group. The toughest part will be the balance. You don't want to over expose the kids now because they may have a case of burn out before they even get to secondary school. My nephew was a very good distance runner from 8th grade through 11th grade. My other brother drove him so relentlessly that he pretty much gave up and quit by his 12th grade year and performed worse than his 11th grade year where he almost won a state title in the 800 metres. He never ran competetively again after graduating so you do have to be careful. The nice thing is, as long as they are happy you're fine. The old club seems to be producing the results you like and costs less. I'd stick with them. I'm not seeing a real benefit to switching unless your sons don't like their current coach and do like the possible new coach.

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Bíonn macalla ag an bheatha sa tsíoraíocht. Liverpool FC: 2019 and 6-time Champions of Europe. 2020 and 19 time English Premier League Champions YNWA. JFT 97

Thanks, RW, that's spot on... My son is getting more yardage now, but I'd like to see him continue to get more technique direction... His current coach has been teaching him for 5 years now and his butterfly still is his weakest stroke. Until now, he seems to be okay with his current coach but now that he has seen how other coaches are, he's not so sure he likes Rob that much...

I'm also concerned about burning him out so soon. All of the coaches want to see them swim as often as possible but when the kids have other interests (in his case, soccer for six weeks in fall and six weeks in spring; chess club during the winter; now also the violin), Rob gives him / us grief for bringing him to practice late.

See page 4 for the short course (25yd) Top Ten; and pages 3 & 4 for the long course (50m) Top Ten.

He was invited to attend a banquet hosted by the Illinois Swimming association this past Sunday. There are 17,000 registered swimmers in Illinois; less then 250 (or 1.5%) are invited to this annual banquet honoring the top 3 swimmers in each event in their age group... Pretty awesome achievement.

http://www.ilswim.org/records/2012_top_ ... 12_LCM.pdf

Pages 4 & 5 among others...