To read about Andrew’s record-breaking night at the Schroeder YMCA A+ meet on Saturday:
Michael Andrew came into the 34th Annual Schroeder A+ meet with a plan: Break as many 13-14 National Age Group records as possible. And that plan definitely came together during Saturday evening’s finals. Minutes after setting the NAG record in the 13-14 100 free with a 44.16 Michael and his father were hanging out around the warm down pool wearing ear-to-ear grins.
“Daniel Krueger (45.03) gave me a great race!” Michael said of his closest competitor in the race. “I was actually feeling kind of queasy after prelims. I ate a huge breakfast and I was a little sick to my stomach, but I feel good now.”
According to Michael’s dad’s stopwatch the young star took his first 25 out in 9 seconds. Of course, that’s not an official time, but there’s no doubt that Michael possesses great speed.
“I’ll definitely go 43,” he said.
How does it feel to be a pro at age 14?
“For a while I felt like being a pro meant that I always had to beat everyone,” he said. “I was getting stressed out and not swimming well, but now I am more relaxed and not putting as much pressure on myself and I am swimming better.”
This philosophy certainly proved to help Michael throughout the rest of the night as he set two more NAG records in the 100 breast, 54.80, and the 200 IM, 1:47.44.
“I was a little nervous before the 200 IM,” he said. “I thought I would be close to the record and when I turned from breaststroke to freestyle I just decided to go all out. I didn’t think I’d go that far under the record. This is the best evening of racing I’ve ever had.”
Before Michael and the rest of the Andrew family headed out for a much deserved meal, the young man made a goal for Sunday’s session.
“I would like to break Ryan Hoffer’s NAG record in the 50 free,” Michael said about Hoffer’s 20.02 mark. “I’d like to be the first 14-year-old to go 19.”
Thanks for the list, Bobo! Very interesting read. Remember the US boycotted the 1980 Olympics so Sippy Woodhead did not compete when she was ranked #1 in the world in several free events. Still an amazing career.
with all the talk of Chas Morton comparison’s it reminded me of this article from the ASCA site of a recap of a talk Eddie Reese gave in 1998 on developmental training. he mentions Morton and speculates on where he would have been with different training at the ages he was breaking all those records. He also mentions his own look at the top 100 list. Also very interesting his worries about USA swimming (pre-Phelps). You can find it here: http://swimmingcoach.org/training/what-to-do-reese/
1 5747 Andrew, Michael 14 Indie Swimming
2 5636 Whitley, Reece 13 MA Penn Charter Aquatic Club
3 5310 Hitchens, Hunter 13 CA Irvine Novaquatics
RECAP
The following names have broken NAG records in the 11/12 and 13/14 ranks in SCY and LCM and are still today in the top 100 all-time list from USA swimming.
If a few names miss, correct below.
You can make interesting statistics for a next article. For example, the percentage of NAG record holders who have quickly disappeared, who have had an average career, who have had a successful college career, who have done the US national team and who have been world-class swimmers with an international success. You can also make a male/female comparison and a study about the US medalists in 2012 and 2013.
MALE SWIMMERS
BRIAN ALDERMAN
YEZAN ALSADER
MICHAEL ANDREW
… Read more »
Thanks for working on this bobo! We’ve actually got a team working on it as well, so once we can verify our lists match yours (or figure out why they don’t), we’ll do some “project’ work.
FWIW – our lists may be a hair more detailed than yours, as we’re trying to capture instances of multiple swimmers breaking a record in the same year, or even in the same meet (prelims/finals)
It’s my pleasure.
And I have learned many things.
A few remarks.
I don’t know all swimmers but it seems to me that many of them have had a successful career. Of course more in the 13/14 ranks and more on the women’s side.
I’m interested in swimming since 2000 so it’s always good for me to see who were the stars of the past and I’m impressed by some of the oldest performances.
Distance swimmers were pretty impressive on the men’s side in 1970s. For example Jesse Vassallo.
And the US girls were crazy good at the end of the 1970s like Sippy Woodhead, Stephanie Elkins or Mary T.Meagher.
Michael and Whitney Phelps… Read more »
2 little typos from my part.
BETH BOSFORD
LEE ANN PRICE
Great work BOBO! Amazing how through the years with new swim suits, ergogenic aids, better training, coaching knowledge and improved technique have all influenced the systematic progression of swim performance. The big question is at what point do we see the progression in times slowly halt as swimmers approach the inescapable limits of human performance?
On another progression topic, Michael Andrew moved into the #1 ranking this week for 13-14 Boys USA Swimming’s IMX Challenge in front of Reece Whitely and Hunter Hitchens. Obviously the program promotes versatility across five or six events that are scored and rank and is a fun challenge for swimmers, but do college coaches begin to use this as a recruitment tool as swimmers move… Read more »
Sorry if it’s the longest swimswam comment but it’s for a good cause. 🙂
Braden, in the Michael Andrew’s article, I read you wanted a NAG records progression list so I have tried to do it about the 11/12 and 13/14 swimmers with the help of the all-time top 100 list from USA swimming.
Now it’s your turn to make statistics about the NAG record holders. Swimmers who have completely disappeared, who have had an average career, who have had a successful college career, who have done the US national team or who have had international success.
All the performances I mention below are in the top 100 all-time.
Perhaps a few performances miss but I… Read more »
Wow, great job Bobo, thanks for your hard work.
It’s my pleasure.
🙂
Thank you for your comments Hulk. By the way I am not a hater (or a coach) but just a parent who believes that the most important thing you can give your kids is a quality education (because its lasts for ever) and not a career in professional sports. One thing is for sure the Andrew’s are certainly doing things their own way and implementing new ideas and innovations that may well work. Indeed, the funding model for this boys swimming career is quite unique. The way the sponsor arrangements appear to work, is that the Andrews endorse a particular product directed towards teenage athletes and teenage swimmers – which they encourage other parents to buy into. So in effect… Read more »
Swimfan101 – it isn’t a level playing field!! Of course not! MA is a great swimmer that has put himself in a position to have a huge financial advantage over everyone else….kind of like you – who have $15,000 a year to spend on a swimmer – has over any family that can’t afford that number (mine included). Your advantage is because of something your family has done (I.e. nothing to do with swimming). MA’s monetary advantage has directly come from his performance in the water. Tell me who has a more honest financial advantage – your kid over poorer families or MA how earned his?
Thank you GC that is a very good point.
I don’t think it’s fair to bring Ian Thorpe into the discussion. We don’t know whether his depression is due to swimming or if it’s genetic. Perhaps he would have had issues even if he had not swam. Perhaps his onset of depression would have occurred earlier and more strongly if he had not swam. We just don’t know enough at this point. In any case, there are many former world class swimmers and age group NAG record holders that are well-adjusted.
By the way, I feel very sorry for Thorpe and I hope that he recovers soon.
Thank you for the correction Braden. I certainly do agree that what distinguishes MA from other swimmers of his age is his exceptional versatility across all strokes. But I’ve made a very simple point, it takes just one better swimmer in one stroke to beat you and there are faster age swimmers than him in some strokes. What’s really troubling in all of this is the morality around a 14 year old boy turning professional. I don’t actually believe that 14 year old boys have the maturity to make such a decision and to turn professional at 14, and that this distorts the nature of what sport is fundamentally about for kids – which is about competing and doing your… Read more »
The thing is, you are applying these ‘paths to success’ used by others (Missy in your example)… but the Andrews have ALWAYS marched to the tune of a different drummer.
As far as I know, MA has always been home schooled or been on a club team. So right of the bat, you can toss being on a team out the window. It clearly isn’t a value of theirs.
And while we all have our opinions on that (as a club coach, I certainly agree with you that being on a team is important), he’s not our kid. He’s theirs. And they were NEVER going to go down that road.
So we have to look at MA through a… Read more »