I started swimming when I was 8. My parents got tired of taking my brother and I to seperate baseball fields every weekend. Within two years I was breaking age-group records and by the time I was 12, I was swimming at the national level. I continued to swim at that level all through High School (All-American), Won my CCS (Northern CA Championship) in the 50 free…20.8 and recieved a college scholorship. I could have never got there had my parents taken this over the top touch-feely approach, oh…lets not hurt their self esteem… crap… and only let me workout a few days a week. If your child has talent …go with it. So many parents now a days are afraid to be F***ing PARENTS…you are not thier best friends …stop trying to be and be a freaking PARENT. Parents are supposed to expect/want the best from thier kids. If the kids know they have a weak sister as a parent…they will never push themselves.
Mark
Good for you on your swimming accomplishments, but you’re a little black and white and missing the point there, aren’t you? The issue is not whether a child should be challenged (“pushed”) by his parents, but to what extent the challenge is.
Curious … why is a great scientist/engineer better than great swimmer/dancer? The world would be a pretty boring place if it were only filled with high end academics … everyone has a place, we just have to find what that is - don’t let society’s norms dictate what that is (those are my thoughts at least).
Also, why the fear of burn-out? Simply put, so what if they did someday burn-out? They just move on to something else, that’s all. Burn-out doesn’t equate with death or the end of life, it’s just a retirement from one passion leading into a new one. Don’t hold back on living in the present for the fear of what may happen in the future. Again, just my thoughts.
Oh and yes, I did start swimming at a young age (7 I think), swam until high school, got bored of it, quit for 4 years, went back into it at university, and gradually made my way into triathlons. And you know what, even though I did at one point burn-out, I learned something about myself (and not have others like parents plan my life for me) and am a better person because of it. I see a lot of this amongst those growing up (I coach) - kids that can’t make their own decisions (you should see my older teens make choices for unversity/college - not a clue how to make informed decisions; they wait for someone to tell them where to go). The older teens and early twenty-somethings that are best at making decisions, creating a plan and sticking to it, are the ones who have been allowed to make choices, try the things they have wanted to try and most importantly, make mistakes and learn from them (as opposed to having a parent protect them from failure). This is about the best I can come up with for advice. Hope this helps.
Other than the water temp (low 50’s), this is really no big deal for a 9 year old competetive swimmer.
Despite the fact that triathletes “swim”, most don’t really appreciate what those little kids who use the pool before and after you are doing. A typical 9 year old age grouper would swim at least 1.4 miles a day and most likely closer to 2 miles.
My kids attended an open water meet last summer and there were over 450 folks entered, half of whom were 14 & under. A couple 9 year olds did the mile and there were a bunch of 9 year olds in the 1/2 mile. A 7 year old completed the 1/2 mile swim in 31:06 . . . . .in the Detroit river. Granted, the water was 72 not 53 but they all swam without wetsuits. Give these kids a wetsuit and they could all do the Alcatraz swim.
Other than the water temp (low 50’s), this is really no big deal for a 9 year old competetive swimmer.
Um… the water temp matter is huge. The temperature regulating systems of children (and the elderly) are not able to handle the temperature extremes that the average adult can.
Um… the water temp matter is huge. The temperature regulating systems of children (and the elderly) are not able to handle the temperature extremes that the average adult can.
I give the kid credit for jumping in 53 degree water (but I do note he was wearing a hooded wet suit). I do know about 20 9 year olds in my neighborhood who could do the distance and I know 3 or 4 that would do it in 53 degree water if you gave them a wetsuit.
Some of the posts in this thread seemed to be questioning whether it was appropriate for a kid to be doing a 1.4 mile open water swim in any temperature. My point was that the kid down the street who is on the local swim team is swimming at least 1.4 miles every day. For them, its about the same as somone who golfs going to the driving range and hitting a bucket of balls. It is not super human. Its just what they do. Swimming 1 to 2 miles a day is about the minimum daily distance a kid that age will do on any swim team. Not superstars, just any kid from the neighborhood who joins a team. As I mentioned, I saw hundreds of kids do an open water swim this summer and they were having a blast. They were there because they wanted to be there. Thank God no one told them the swim was too far or the water was too cold.
