The options and available extracurricular activities are endless for children these days. There are oodles of sports and teams to join, and most of them take place during a dedicated season. Swimming, however, splashes in the face of seasonal sports and offers an always in-season availability. Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional, injury-related death among children ages and the second leading cause of death for children under the age of Year-round swim lessons give children every skill they need to remain safe in and around the water as well as the instinctual knowledge of how to react in an emergency situation.
Competitive sports, music and dance lessons certainly contribute to valuable life experiences, but swim lessons are one of the only activities that can be classified as a necessary life skill. Did you know that participation in regular swim lessons can benefit children academically? There is strong, compelling evidence that shows why swimming is important for young brains.
In a study by Griffith University, children 3 —5 years old who swim frequently were shown to be:. Call ed s. Senior column: Molly Higgins. Senior column: Tom Mueller. Senior column: Daniel Tobias. Friendship Dance survival guide. Hello, again. Fun fall recipes. Donda vs. Certified Lover Boy. Five classic fall films. Which famous TikTok creator are you? Quiz: Which Netflix show do you belong in? Pop Call-ture Podcast episode horror movie overview feat.
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Or that Nathan Adrian casually bench presses lb dumbbells two of them. Or that Cullen Jones can box-jump over 50 inches. You hop into a chilly pool, splash your arms around for a minute, maybe two, maaaybe 4 or 5, and then off to the hot tub. Or that you have to throw down this kind of effort a dozen times over the course of the weekend. How can it be a real sport if there is no punching?
Swimming has taught me athleticism, discipline, happiness, laughter, and most of all communication. Is that one dimensional to you? Swimming teaches more aspects of life than any other thing I have participated in. Swimming encourages excellence in all aspects of life, not just in the pool. Is a parent wanting to see their child do well in a sport they love a crime? Ryan Lochte?
Yes, the market for professional swimmers may not be as large as players for the NFL, but these elite athletes get paid and studied for their contribution and performance as a swimmer. Seems like you have a little too much time on your hands. Casey — Sorry Casey but you are wrong. I have countless swimming awards and accomplishment and both my children excel in swimming. My comments are based upon what I see happening in organized swimming for younger children today!
Many individuals say that swimmers have a choice. In my experience, when they are young, many swimmers do not have a choice. They are pressured by the adults in their lives. Linda, I was a football player as a youth and in high school and college. It took me a while to get used to my kids swimming. All six of my kids are swimmers at levels ranging from a beginner and up to sectionals and college swimmers and I have seen first hand what you are speaking of.
That said, it is an exception and not the norm. I have seen my kids and other kids swimming for the past 15 years. I have seen my kids compete on all levels and in many areas of the country and against swimmers that are not that good and even against Missy Franklin.
Yes, my daughters have competed against her. I can tell you from first hand experience that there is not a better overall bunch of parents and kids than swimmers. They root for each other, for the team and even for swimmers on other teams.
Having stayed late since the mile is usually one of the last events many times, I have watched my kids, other kids and parents yelling for the slowest person in the water till they were done with their event.
In no other sport have I seen kids get as good of grades, compete as hard, support as much and be as well rounded as swimmers. I am sorry you did not have as good as an experience as myself and so many others that I have known during my long and on going swimming careers.
By the way, Missy is truly what you see on TV and in person as many of the swimmers are, not stuck up, but truly fun to be around. And she has great parents also! Maybe you and your children should have tried some other sport if it was not right for you?
How are you defining sports? Games, balls, contact? Are you really the parent of swimmers or are you making that up? The older you get the more serious you get. Swimming is a race. Racing requires giving all of your body in the form of your best effort. Giving your best encompasses the true spirit of any sport. Because they want to give their all to their existing activity. Some teams are crazy and some teams are not. And a cult?
Swimming creates a community like anything else. Swimmers love their community. Athletes are encouraged to spend time with teammates in an effort to bond with them and increase your desire to compete well, not just for yourself, but for your team too. In regards to professionalism, again, how are you defining that? I can respect that. I agree that a big paycheck does not a professional make. I dove and played soccer, basketball, lacrosse, tennis, volleyball and baseball up until high school.
I was asked to choose when I told them my goal was college athletics. I played keeper in soccer and was good. I could have gone either way, each team wanting me to pick them because I had something to offer. I chose swimming because I found the soccer players I knew to be catty and bitchy most of the time. Are some soccer players like that? Are some females, in general, like that? Are all soccer players like that? Anyway, there is undeniable truth to your comment.
There are so many great things about swimming, obviously. I have seen coaches berate swimmers for having any sort of life outside swimming, and I have seen coaches send swimmers with obvious injuries back into the pool. I, myself, was the victim of a young, overzealous coach who had no patience for my joint injury. Stop getting out of the pool. Also, this particular injury was not originally swimming related, but the overuse of my hip, particularly in dry-land and aggressive practices did not help the situation.
But, that is only one side of the coin. After my hip replacement, I went on the swim at the collegiate level, with the most patient, gracious, and talented coach I have ever met. He was extremely careful and attentive to any possible injuries, worked with athletes to make sure that had adequate rest and medical attention if needed, and was interested in us also having a well-rounded life outside of the pool. As a result, his athletes and athlete-parents followed suit in terms of priorities.
And for our team, it should be noted that it was a winning formula. If I had known in high school that you could find a caring, well-rounded coach, I would have switched teams in an instant. I had many friends who had a much, much better experience than I did through their high school years of swimming. I would guess, if you are dealing with overly aggressive parents, and overworked, stressed swimmers, you are likely at a team where the coach is pushing that kind of agenda. If you want your children to keep swimming or to get involved with swimming, reach out to a couple of coaches in the area, and look for the ones who share your own values.
Swimming is truly an amazing sport. You just have to dodge the bad ones. Linda, I am a swim parent and I have certainly seen that end of it in swimming. I am a soccer parent as well and have seen that end of it in soccer. Like all things in a family, direction and leadership flow from the parents. Parents choose the team their children are on assuming they can make the team and so they choose the culture as well.
I have two children who swim. I am amazed at their dedication and determination to succeed in a sport where there are even fewer superstars than in the NFL or MLB.
Attending early morning practices, sometimes 2 a day and electing not to attend social events due to a swim meet the next day was certainly never my decision as a child or teen. However, there is only so much family time I, as a parent, am willing to dedicate to the sport of swimming. For that reason, my children swim for a forgiving Y program. Will they make it to the Olympics?
Absolutely not. Have they made great friends who share a common work ethic and goal? Have they learned the value of time management? Have they experienced that unique sensation of complete joy brought about by knowing that your success in that meet is the sole result of hard work, determination and sacrifice? A resounding yes. As with anything, as long as the parent remains in control of the child, and makes decisions based on the needs of the family and child, whether that decision is to enroll in an elite program or a less demanding program, swimming is an incredibly positive lifestyle no matter at what level your swimmer is competing.
Linda, I am a mother of two swimmers. I think swimming is a sport. My kids had been swimming from early age, but they also have play other sport as baseball , football , tennis and soccer. Now that my older son is in hight school, he has made a decision on which sport he want to do.
If you want your kid to success in life, it start with sport. It does not matter what kind sport it is. What it matter that they have a great time doing what they like to do. Mirian, I absolutely agree with you. Whatever your kids do they should have fun. Swimming, when kept in the proper perspective, is a great activity. I wish you and your children the best! I too experienced the hidden pleasures of swimming. There is much more to swimming than the work put in by swimmers; there is much more than watching the competitiveness between the two swimmers at the end of the race.
The true enjoyment in swimming comes from watching people count long distance races those big numbers. Watching the delicate ritual of counting is probably the most exciting of part the race and the meet. There is something unique when they use their intellect to keep track of the race.
Nothing gives me more pleasure than dunking those huge numbers in the pool right before that speedy flip turn. Most of what you said may be a dark and sad truth of the sport of swimming.
I think the problem was that your initial comment came across as a generalization. Every sport has those problems — you should see some youth soccer parents paying hundreds of bucks for private lessons.
Agassi wrote how his father pushed him into tennis at a young age. There are 7 year old kids selected into Brazilian soccer boot camps. Like most things in life, there are some negatives when driven to extremes. But your initial comments came across as your view being the general experience of competitive kids swimmers, which it is not. Linda, although some of those things may be true and I feel sorry that you have to be in such a corrupt community you really need to change clubs if what you said was true , you have to agree that swimming is a sport.
I just love the haters. I just think some controls need to be put in place to regulate the SPORT when young children are involved. Linda, I will just add one thing. USA Swimming do have many guards in place to protect their young athletes.
Abuse is just not sexual or physical it is also mental. You may want to look into their policies. I grew up swimming since I was 5. At first it was by chance as my brother had practice and I would chug along. Inwould take a few strokes and hang on the lane line. I learned how to do all the right strokes on a team. I was lucky because we had a swim team of kids. Many with multiple kids from the family.
It was kind of a way of life and partnership. We all have our opinions and the right to express them. I am not sure what or why you have had a bad experience and I am sorry. Awarded a full ride scholarship that paid for my extra years of education due to my swimming and school requirements.
To this day- I have life long friends and a family. I have perseverance and I truly believe there is Nothing you cannot do if you set your mind to it. I have been very successful in life with regard to what I apply myself to. I have always had a positive attitude and found that in tough times, you get back up and move forward, fighting positivily for a better outcome. All those I swam with have the same ideals and drive.
We actually are not over achievers- we are happy, well adjusted and driven prior that are happy and understand the meaning of family- ie-TEAM. The net net is: you have your opinion. If your child flourished in that environment. Would you take them out or away from it? Was your child busy with s sport and school so they were not driven to make bad choices?
I tried out for the Olympics twice. I am honored to say… I am a swimmer and a member of a team. Kate, Congratulations on all your success. You are certainly an inspiration. Thank you for sharing your story. I played soccer for six years, danced for eight years, played tennis for five years and the list goes on. However, as I grew older, I realized that I truly belonged in the water swimming.
My parents gave me the choice to do whatever activities I wanted to and told me that the choice was mine as long as I kept my grades up. As for an obsession, taking part in the sport that has become an essential part of my life is not an obsession. I wore contact lenses and due to my lenses I contracted an eye infection that almost cost me my vision in one eye.
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