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Myths and Misconceptions
about Year Round Clubs
Parents article archive
By Jim Rusnak, Managing Editor of Splash Magazine
Many country club and summer recreational league swimmers
have the wrong idea about their counterparts on USA Swimming
clubs. Maybe they catch a glimpse of them swimming at
the local pool or at summer league meets and think there’s no
way they could ever be as good as these club kids, never mind swim
on the same team as them. They must practice six hours a day in a
pool full of aspiring Olympians. Whatever myths and
misconceptions may exist, they are keeping some summer league
swimmers from the fun of participating on a year-round club team.
And that’s too bad, says Pat Hogan, a former club coach with
the Mecklenburg Aquatic Club in Charlotte, N.C., and director of
club development at USA Swimming. “If a young
person has enjoyed a seasonal swimming experience with a country
club, rec league, whatever, and they like the feeling of being in
the water, then giving year-round swimming a whirl is something
that makes sense,” Hogan said. “I think 50 to 75
percent of summer league swimmers who choose to swim year-round do
so to get better for their summer league, and it opens up a whole
world that they didn’t know existed.”
Hogan’s colleague, USA Swimming’s eastern zone
coordinator Sue Anderson, agreed. “If they think
they might be interested, they need to try it – at whatever
age,” Anderson said. “They should just try it. If they
don’t like it, they don’t have to keep doing it. You
can always go back to what you did like.”
According to Hogan, Anderson and the rest of the folks in USA
Swimming’s Club Development Division, there are any number of
concerns that keep summer league swimmers from joining year-round
clubs. Here are some of the biggest myths and
misconceptions, coupled by the facts that should help debunk most
of them: Myth #1 – I’m not good enough to
swim with a year-round club. “That’s
probably the most ridiculous one,” Anderson said.
“Clubs have kids at every level. Some might have some very
good swimmers, but every club I know has novice swimmers. Clubs are
not going to survive if they only take stars.”
Hogan says the source of this myth often stems from the fact
that a lot of the kids winning events in summer league meets are
year-round club swimmers. The average summer league swimmer sees
these kids and thinks he’s just not good enough.
“Part of what you’ve got to do is talk one-on-one
with the parents and educate them on youth sports dynamics,”
Hogan said. “In swimming, just like in other sports, kids who
mature the quickest aren’t always the best as they get older.
It’s the late bloomers that tend to be the best, especially
in their teens.” Myth #2 – The time
commitment is too much. The truth is, most good clubs
structure their programs so that time commitment increases
gradually as the swimmer develops and improves. Hogan
says club teams tend to be their own worst enemy when it comes to
this myth. “We’re so proud of how hard our
kids work, we emphasize all the hard work they do and all the time
they put in, but most of the time, we’re talking about the
best swimmers on the club, not necessarily the regular kids,”
Hogan said. “We end up painting a picture that’s not
real attractive to novice swimmers. “It’s
important to swim on a regular basis, but you don’t have to
be doing doubles at age 8 in order to develop. For new year-round
swimmers, the commitment is not what it will be at 15 or
16.” Myth #3 – I won’t be able to
participate in other activities if I swim.
There’s an ounce of truth to this one, says Anderson,
but mostly, it’s a matter of choice. “Most
clubs structure themselves so younger kids can participate in other
activities,” she said. “It gets tougher for high
school-aged kids, but again, it’s a choice. If you want to
dabble in every single activity, it could be very
tough.” A well-rounded athlete will be a more
successful athlete, so Hogan says most good clubs will encourage
younger swimmers to participate in other activities in order to
promote success in swimming over the long term.
“It’s very important that programs structure
themselves in such a way for 12-and-under kids that swimming is
just one of the things they do, not the only thing,” he said.
“Programs have got to be structured in such a way that kids
are encouraged to do other activities and give everything a
try.” Myth # 4 – Year-round swimming is
too serious. This one comes down to each
individual’s definition of what is too serious. Most
year-round swimmers say they like being with their friends, like
being on their teams and enjoy competing. “This
one always seemed kind of silly to me,” Anderson said.
“If there’s a high-pressure parental situation,
it’s probably too serious. But if it’s something you
enjoy doing, serious swimming can be fun.” Myth
#5 – I’ll burn out if I start swimming year-round too
soon. “I hate that word,” Anderson said.
“Burn-out is a very serious physiological-psychological
condition that’s not going to happen to a kid swimming five
days a week for an hour and a half each practice.
“If a kid is enjoying it, having fun and not under a
lot of pressure, it’s not an issue.” What
most kids experience is discouragement rather than burnout, and
most of the time, it has nothing to do with swimming
year-round. “The reason it happens is that the
kid’s experience is not planned for,” Hogan said.
“Some kids mature quickly, have success early, then stop
succeeding when other kids catch up to them. These kids get
discouraged more than burned out.” Myth #6
– It’s too expensive. Swimming year-round
costs no more than many other comparable activities, and when
parents factor in all the costs of operating a program, it’s
actually a very good deal. “Compared to
activities like gymnastics or anything else that requires
professional coaches and facility rental, it’s actually
pretty comparable,” Anderson said. “I used to figure
out what it cost my swimmers, and it came out to less than a dollar
an hour. “It’s unfair to compare swimming
to recreational soccer leagues. You have to compare apples to
apples. I always tell parents to compare it to the cost of day
care.” Hogan points out other factors.
“A lot of other activities are not as forthcoming with
their fees,” he said. “We tend to advertise all our
fees up front, so swimming often appears to be more expensive than
it really is.” Myth #7 – I don’t
want my 10-year-old doing double practices.
“People have this misconception that 8-year-olds train
twice a day,” Hogan said. “People who don’t know
anything about the sport don’t realize there’s a
progression to get to that point.” The bottom
line is, no novice swimmer will be expected to swim double
practices, especially if he or she is under the age of 13.
That’s a step that comes much later, after the swimmer has
gained some experience in the sport, and after the body has matured
physically. “If you’re on a team where
10-year-olds are doing doubles, then you need to find a new
team,” Anderson said. “Any intelligent coach
won’t have 10-year-olds doing doubles.”
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