Courtesy: Elizabeth Wickham
Dear Swim Mom,
I am hoping to get advice on when it’s the right time to have my child start morning practice. My daughter is 12 years old and I notice that some of her friends on another team have morning practices twice a week. I talked to our coach about it and wanted to know when we were going to start morning practice, too. He said not for another year or two. I’m wondering if my daughter will be able to keep up if she isn’t swimming as many practices a week as her friends.
Do you have any suggestions on whether I should ask the coach again if she could start morning practice? Should I explain that her friends are already doing this?
Thanks,
Early Bird Mom
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Dear Early Bird Mom,
I would follow your coach’s lead and let your daughter enjoy her sleep. There is plenty of time for her to begin morning practices as she gets older. The early mornings can be hard and it’s more important for your daughter to enjoy swimming and not burn out. There’s a study by the National Alliance for Youth Sports that says 70 percent of kids drop out of organized sports by age 13. The number one reason why they quit is “it’s just not fun anymore.” You don’t want your child to be in that group.
It sounds like you may want to talk with your coach more about his thoughts on morning practice. It might help you to better understand his reasons for waiting until the kids are older. Also, don’t worry about how your child is performing compared to her friends. At ages 13 through 17, things can change rapidly due to growth, strength, passion and dedication.
As kids get older into their teens, their workouts will intensify. You don’t want to start that too soon. The result can be burnout, injury, fatigue and not having fun. Sleep is so important for the development of our kids. According to a policy statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics called School Start Times for Adolescents, they recommend that the optimal amount of sleep is 8.5 to 9.5 hours for middle school and high school students. They say that chronic sleep loss affects physical and mental health, safety, academic performance and quality of life. In California, the governor signed into law legislation that mandates the start times will be pushed back to no earlier than 8 a.m. for middle schools and 8:30 a.m. for high schools to help with the lack of sleep our kids experience.
Different coaches and teams have their own beliefs on morning practice. Some teams and coaches don’t have morning practices at all. The important thing is to keep our kids excited about going to practice and to enjoy each step along the way.
What advice do you have for Early Bird Mom about swimming doubles?
If you have a question for Elizabeth Wickham, please email her at [email protected] and your question may appear in a future story.
Elizabeth Wickham volunteered for 14 years on her kids’ club team as board member, fundraiser, newsletter editor and “Mrs. meet manager.” She’s a writer with a bachelor of arts degree in editorial journalism from the University of Washington with a long career in public relations, marketing and advertising. Her stories have appeared in newspapers and magazines including the Los Angeles Times, Orange County Parenting and Ladybug. You can read more parenting tips on her blog.
Doubles are not for everyone. I was one of those kids who started them early..12, because I had junior cuts. I was exhausted for most of junior high and high school. Like many girls, I plateaued and thought about quitting, but I loved my teammates and the sport, so I stuck it out and spent the end of my age group career chipping away at my best times. I was not a sprinter which made the small improvements especially frustrating. When I got to college after about 6 weeks a wise coach decided that consistent doubles were counter productive for me. I did them for Thanksgiving and Christmas training and occasionally once or twice a week. I spent 4 years… Read more »
I’m thinking skip the doubles and just swim the singles wearing a drag suit, a parachute, drag socks and a weight belt.
Many of these points have merit. It really depends on many factors. Swimming at a high level, at any age, needs to be managed to prevent burnout.
I did doubles at the age of 12. I totally burnt out and developed bad technique. I also ended up hating swimming early on.
Look! Proof! (just for the record I don’t think 12-year-olds should double)
Oh my, what SwimMom said! I am really disturbed by some of these comments from parents that include the words “make my child swim”. If you are making your child swim mornings or at all, they will ultimately quit or burn out. The will and desire to train has to come from them and you should do whatever a COACH advises to support him or her. Every youth athlete develops differently. Some 12 year olds might be ready for a couple doubles a week but many aren’t. The and goes for heavy weight trying Rely on what the coach thinks. You don’t say what group your 12 year old trains in but if she is still in an age group… Read more »
I have had to argue this point over and over with a coach. It is just unnecessary (and bordering on insane) to have 12 and unders wake up at 4:45AM to get to a 5:30AM practice. Why would that be good, healthy or useful? Obviously that will not be good for their school day as well. I just wish there was more common sense to this sport. Are the time drops really worth it at this young age? It feels like swimming is being forced to occur at the expense of everything else (other sports, social activities, etc). It is very obvious to see why burnout is so high. Way too much, way too soon. Thanks for writing this column… Read more »
I wish Early Bird Mom provided additional information in her letter. The time the swimmers practice is completely irrelevant. Many studies have been performed about working out in the morning vs.late and the overall results are inconclusive. In the end it’s about the amount of yardage or the amount of workout time the kids are getting and how focused they are at practice.
As for morning practice, the other club may have to swim in the morning because of pool space or to accommodate the coach’s schedule (many young coaches have to work other jobs to make ends meet and clubs accommodate this). If the club shares the space with other programs (High school swimming, Water Polo, diving, etc) the… Read more »
Want a burned-out kid? Let they do early morning/doubles at 12.
It is hard enough to keep high school swimmers motivated to wake up at 4 am and swim 8 times a week. Let the 12-yo sleep and have some other activities.