Swimming? <span title="Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?">Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...</span>

Question

Ok well my son is 13 and he really wants to take up swimming and maybe get to a high level do you think it is possible? Or is it a little to late to start?

Answer 1

no it is not to late to start it might even be better now because he might already know some of the things they are teaching them

Answer 2

It is absolutely fine to start your child swimming at any age. However, if he really wants to take it to a high level,  you will need to sit him down and talk to him about what his dream would need him to do in order to achieve it.

Talk to him about discipline, commitment and the desire and will power and not give up easily if there is any failure. Being an athlete requires a lot of commitment from not only the child but the parents as well. On top of that, he will have to be very discipline in organising his time for studying, training and more training. He would probably have to miss out on a few things if he choose to be training competitively. It would mean less time to hang out wtih friends, missing out on some parties and so on.

Talk to him about how athletes gave up a lot to get to where they are. High level competitive swimmers swim between 10 km - 12 km a day and train 6-7 days a week. On top of this, there are land workout in the gym and others. Each training session can last between 2-3 hours of constant swimming.

It is not late for him to start but if he is just beginning to learn, then maybe it is a little late for him to think of the Olympics. I am not trying to put you or him down but I just want you to have a clear idea and not be disillusioned by people telling you that yes it is possible. However, if he is very talented and is already a good swimmer with good strokes, he will have a chance to go to a higher level if he is really committed to it.

As a parent, you should have the clear idea of what your child can and cannot achieve to give him the guiding hand. Usually, it is the parents who has the wrong idea what their child can do and this makes the child think he is so good and do not give enough to the training program. And when they do not succeed, they get disappointed and give up.

I am a coach, and i had seen enough parents who are so disillusioned and driven by some mystical thoughts that their child is the best or can achieve so much. We as adults have to be realistic and this would help our children to be realistic about their dreams as well. If they achieve their realistic dreams, it will keep driving them to do better and achieve more and make good goals in life. If we disillision then, they get lost in their dreams and keep failing and eventually they fall like a beaten man.

So lead him with what you know about your son. Get him a good coach who teaches proper strokes and talk to the coach about how well he is doing and can do. With these knowledge, guide your son and talk to him.

Good luck and whatever it is, let your son have fun.

Answer 3

yes of course he can.

i suggest not putting him in summer swimming for more than one or 2 summers because it is ALOT different from winter swimming and most summer swimmers who decide to swim winter end up not staying.

so i suggest to put him in summer for one summer then enrolling him in a club if he likes it.

i think that he could get to a high level but it will take a lot of time and commitment. for summer swimmers they swim everyday and have a meet every weekend.  for winter swimmers the season starts in september and for people who are provincally qualified, ends in june/july. for those who are nationally qualified the season ends in augest.  meets are not a frequent as they are in summer.

i practice monday-friday afternoons plus tuesday and thursday mornings and saterday mornings. i am provincally qualified, i&#039;ve had the same schedule since i was 13, but i have been swimming competitively for about 9-10 years

Answer 4

He can absolutely start at 13. Just start him in a summer league program and work his way up to a school team or year-round team and he&#039;ll be fine.