The second issue is what I call the "pigeon-hole effect". Far too often (and I was guilty of this as a summer coach) swimmers are told they are breaststrokers or backstrokers and that is all they work on in practice in addition to freestyle. Over the course of the summer what they learned from the other strokes is practically lost and has to be retaught in September. There is very little chance for advancement when this happens. But we still take the approach to training at any age of "You can specialize when you get to college". I would love nothing better than a team full of great IMers. In order for that to happen stroke technique and training needs to happen in all four strokes as much as possible. You just don't get that with a summer club.
I am not saying a swimmer should not participate in summer club swimming. At different levels on this team there are different amounts of expectations in terms of a swimmer's commitment to themselves, commitment to the program and an overall commitment to excellence. There are swimmers in the National group who still are members of summer league teams. However they have communicated with their team's coaching staff their goals and, most importantly, their schedule for the summer and beyond. For swimmers in Senior 2 or National (as well as those who wish to be in Senior 2 in the fall) there are different expectations which may include missing one or more summer league dual meets or even the championship meet. This is because being in Senior 2 or National represents a commitment to excellence in this sport and a strong dedication to swimming and training with this team. Swimmers in Senior 1 on down should be using our summer program to supplement their training but are not expected to sacrifice meets with their summer league team. For instance, Summer JOs take place July 15-18 at Penn State (Wednesday through Saturday). This also happens to be the Saturday of the 5th summer league dual meets. We expect Senior 2 and National swimmers to compete at JOs on Saturday, but swimmers in Senior 1 on down are only asked to compete Wednesday through Friday and then, if they choose, can go home to swim in the meet on Saturday.
We value the experience and the fun a swimmer gets out of summer league swimming. However it is wrong to think a swimmer will "burn out" because they swim with us in the summer. I really scoff at that idea...burning out. Most swimmers who are "burned out" get their because of one of three reasons:
- They never liked swimming in the first place
- They have parent(s) who are way too pushy and even punish them for bad swimming causing them to hate the sport
- They had success at an early age and could not cope with the fact that swimmers they used to beat caught up to them
The smoking gun in these examples really is point #2. I have seen this happen many, many times and it is unfortunate. But in most instances if the parent just backed off of the child the swimmer would be able to find enjoyment in the sport, regardless of the results. #3 definitely happens, and is more likely to happen if someone doesn't summer swim with a USA Swimming program. More and more swimmers are training with their club team throughout the summer long course season at an earlier age. The Parkland Aquatic Club has a team and coaching staff size simmilar to ours. But they are one of the top two teams in Middle Atlantic because they have over 150 swimmers train with them in the summer, including many of their top 9-10s and 11-12s. If you are a swimmer who has made it to JOs you need to expect, these days, that swimmers you are equal with or better than now are training in the summer. These swimmers could, in fact, pass you by because of this. Then you stand a chance to become #3 above.
I also take offense to the idea that training with GPAC in the summer is going to cause a swimmer to burn out and not have any fun. Pish posh, as my grandmother would say! We want to work with children of all ages who are interested in becoming better swimmers. Why put a limit on what age that can be? If a swimmer truly enjoys the sport, wants to improve, and wants to swim with us what is the worry? Now, if the swimmer has to be prodded out the door on a regular basis we first need to remind them of their goals. If it continues to happen we need to reevaluate what we are trying to accomplish and the best way to get there. But to simply say "you shouldn't start training long course until you are X years old" is a mistake with no true factual evidence to back it up other than hearsay.
Finally, I take issue with the idea that only a certain caliber swimmer (someone who has been identified as "talented" or reached a certain level) should swim long course in the summer. People who think this way should really read Summer Sanders' book "Champions are Raised, Not Born". It is true that athletes have varying levels of talent. However talent means nothing unless it is properly cultivated. This comes from consistent hard work and astute attention to detail. That is what you get with our team. We have a summer program to help all swimmers reach that next level and, most importantly, reach their goals in this sport. We are not just here for the elite athlete. That is why we are guaranteeing best times for those that swim with us in the summer. We have that much confidence in the program and what it will do for the swimmers (READ: please see summer program information at swimgpac.org for full information on this guarantee).
