Swim squad moves - aibu…

[Kitkat189]

… to expect a warning/heads up before dc was moved from
competitive swim squad to recreational?

Dc moved squads in September, then promptly fractured an arm so was off all sports until mid/end October. So effectively dc has been active in this new squad for just around two months, some of which were obviously spent getting back in shape after 8 weeks off sports.

We just got an email to say dc has been moved to a ‘fun’ hobby squad, going from 12h/week of training, to only five. This takes effect in less than two weeks.

dc will have to say goodbye to good friends, and will be left with a significant gap in the week, which used to be filled with swimming. We turned down other activities to accommodate swimming and can’t rejoin mid season for the others, we have to wait for try outs for September to do those. Also, even if we’d do the new ‘fun’ squad the times and venues don’t work for us as we have other dc with activities and each week is planned down to the minute to make it all work…

Basically, aibu for thinking this was a bit cruel of them? No warning? No consideration of injury & recovery this season? Any swimming families out there who can weigh in on whether this is how these competitive clubs work or should they have handled this differently?

YANBU OP. We had this with gymnastics, hours of training per week (and £££ of fees), then one week, after class (the day after we’d just paid the terms squad fees), we were told DD was being moved back to recreational. In front of all the other gymnasts and the parents. DD was devastated, I was livid they waited until the day after we’d paid fees. We declined their offer, I got a refund of the fees and she dropped gymnastics and took up athletics (which she’s much better at).

As an ex competitive swimmer myself, who was training about 15hrs hrs a week by mid teens, I’d take it as an opportunity to get out of competitive swimming. It’s brutal. They miss so many other opportunities, to plough up and down a pool and it’s just not worth the hours & hours of commitment, early mornings and travelling all round the country. When I stopped at about 15, I really wanted to join the school netball team but was so far behind (because all my time had been spent in the pool), that door was firmly shut. It will sting now, but could well be a blessing in disguise. I still make use of my swimming (I did a cross channel relay swim a few years ago and am a keen scuba diver), but I wish I hadn’t given up so much of my time as a kid to competitive swimming.

elite activities are brutal… older dc was unceremoniously assessed out of a program she worked incredibly hard to be accepted into, it really broke her. She’s bounced back and three years later she’s going to try to get back in (fingers crossed…)

It always hurts especially when there’s been zero warning, like for your daughter. I just felt that my child’s injury should have bought a little more time, and grace!!! Ugh. And now we will scramble to find something else to fill the time with - this one NEEDS ton of extra physical activity due to adhd

And thanks for the perspective on swimming specifically. Xx

I’m a Swim Coach at a big successful club.

Kids do need to be moved between squads for a variety of reasons and your coaches should consider things like injury and friendships as coaching is about the whole athlete.

But they should have talked to you about it and their reasoning. We have moved kids ‘down’ after injuries to give them time to recover fitness and technique and to rebuild confidence for example.

I would encourage you to talk to your coaches about how you/he are feeling and open the dialogue on why they think he should move. Then you can decide if it something that can be overcome. If your coaches aren’t open to this, I would look at other clubs in your area and see what they can offer. It may meet your son’s needs better.

Swimming is very tough and the vast majority don’t make it to the higher levels. Their are many factors like his age, current level of ability, stage of development etc that may have indicated that he needs to change squads. I would also say that for most clubs pool time and therefore space is at a premium and it could be that other children have overtaken him and they need to give them the space in the higher squad.

They have given you 2 weeks warning
And, respectfully, your schedule isn't the club's problem. Ensuring they have a strong competition team and are nurturing the strongest athletes is their problem

It might be that after a few months in the recreational team, if he shows he is still a strong contender and has recovered well after his injury that he'd be moved back up

Yes, it will hurt, it really does, and as a parent, you feel that so keenly for your child (how old is your DC?), but in sport, resilience is absolutely key - as your DD has discovered! She’s showing real toughness to start again, a mentality that will serve her well.

Injuries are a common occurrence, but as an ex swimmer, (and I’m going to say this as kindly as I can), has your swimmer been back in the pool for about 2 months now? Depending on their age (big difference between an 8yr old vs a 15yr old), they should be back to fitness by now.

This will again depend on the Club they are in. If you’re in a super selective club, who are only interested in developing future Olympians, they would expect your swimmer back to standard by now. If it’s a slightly less competitive club, I’d expect a bit more grace, but does your DC really want to go back? My DD cried for about a week, but laughs about it now because she’s found a sport she’s so much better at and in all honesty, she was never going to be an Olympic gymnast!

@Ivytheterrible I’m sorry but that’s just not true is it. Depending on the age and ability of OP’s child, big successful clubs don’t move their superstar swimmers out of squad back to recreational because of injury. They give them access to physios and provide specific rehabilitation programmes. I’m assuming OP’s DC didn’t get access to that so the writing is on the wall.

YANBU. It’s brutal the way it seems to be done when there are the feelings of often very young children involved.

My 9 year old is in the performance squad for a Premier League football team. She’s a great football talent but I’d say she’s cuspy for being there. It’s actually nerve-wracking going to watch each week, just hoping she does herself justice. She loves going (otherwise we wouldn’t put her through it) and has no idea it could be taken away.

@edwinbear
It depends on the child’s age, the type of club they are at and how good they are/were!
None of which are indicated in the post.

Physio and rehab would be handled by the NHS for a County level 12yr old. A 16yr old National Champion may be a different matter.

And yes we’ve absolutely moved kids based on injury. Most notably a talented child that was hit by a car. 18 months later and they are now back in a higher performance squad.

Grrrrrrrr competitive swimming! It's brutal but needn't be.

I've had two competitive swimmers. My oldest quit a few months ago. We've seen a few clubs and a lot of coaches.

As a psychologist, I can honestly say that the performance club my oldest was part of was awful when it comes to any understanding whatsoever of children and young people. They had no clue or desire to know about how to approach matters such as squad moves. There was one coach who was also a blatant bully and would have been sacked multiple times if he'd been a teacher. Behaviours are accepted in swimming that just wouldn't be accepted in other child-centred activities.

In my opinion coaches should be trained in child development and mental health. There is too much of an old school approach in swimming.

I also agree with the pp who said the many hours swimming up and down the pool aren't worth it and lead to missing out on other things. My oldest is having the time of his life since quitting competitive swimming. He has so many more hours in the day available and can do lots more varied activities. He sees swimming as something he did when he was young, something he has some nice memories of and medals for, but now he's moved onto other things. He still.loves the water so im sure he'll get back to it in the future in some form, maybe an open water challenge or something. He also does a few water based less competitive weekly activities which he enjoys. Maybe the break will.work.out for the best for your daughter in the long run. 💐💛

It sounds like the email is the heads up, rather than saying it to your child at a practice which would have been very awkward. Sounds like a crappy situation for your child though

@Ivytheterrible I completely agree it would be super helpful to understand if we’re discussing a keen 8y old vs a Swim England Pathway athlete!

I’ve known a podium potential swimmer canned for an injury at uni level - they went to that specific uni for the swim squad. It was an injury that time and rehab (which was available via the NGB) would have addressed. Some (and fortunately it’s only a few) coaches are horrendous, no interest in swimmers physical and mental welfare and it’s all about the results.

So we have the same format at the swim club I'm at, but to be honest, you don't really need a 'heads up' (although surely that's exactly what the email is) as it's clear who are those who train with comp/elite squads who are super committed, theyre poolside ten mins before doing their land warm up, focused on coaches words, doing well in competitions etc and those in fun squad are messing around in the changing rooms etc. There's good reasons for both squads. I'm surprised someone who is training hard would be moved down like that. Does she train hard?

Just catching up on all the thread and disagree that the hours aren't worth it. I did it, still do, and think theyre absolutely worth it. Love it! It's my hobby, my passion, my joy, my job.

In my sport (cycling) we're just desperately grateful for any kids who want to compete at all! The only criteria for being on the competitive team is wanting to be on the competitive team.

@SabrinaThwaite the reality in elite sport though, is that (and especially at senior level) a serious injury will finish your sport career. That’s just how it is. You can’t expect a decent University team to hang around waiting for an athlete to recover from injury. There are hundreds of top level, uninjured, ready to compete, athletes ready to step in. That’s how professional sport works. That’s not the coaches being horrendous, the coaches are there to get results for the Uni, not the individual athlete.

@SabrinaThwaite honestly, at Senior/Uni level, of course it’s all about results! It’s sport - at Olympic level it’s about ‘results’. If an athlete at Senior level can’t cope with that, they need to choose a different career.

@SuzieNine my two are super interested in having a go at cycling, it looks cool but how do they have a go without owning bikes? It feels a bit inaccessible as a sport?

It doesn't sound like it's been handled super well but... If your swimmer wants to get back into the competitive squad then talk to coach about they have to prove to do it.

Look up your nearest Go-Ride club on the British Cycling website: Club Finder - Club Finder

It's an extremely accessible sport - most children have bikes don't they? You don't need anything fancy. However, some Go-Ride clubs do have bikes to lend out.

I’ve name changed for this because I have said enough over the years for my kids to be identified but I also think that cycling is a good suggestion. Cycling loves ex swimmers! (Dame Sarah Storey is the most famous example!)

It is also a nice system because you have your club and you are cared for and about there. For U16s only BC does selection so however that works out you still have your club.

@edwinbear

This was an athlete that was Team GB podium potential and had been competing internationally as a junior. It wasn’t a career terminating injury, just something that required physio and some time, which should have been made available for an 18 yr old of that calibre. The uni had been all out to sign them up and, as I heard it, the athlete was dropped with no support and was completely broken by the experience.

So yes, I will maintain that the coaches treated that athlete badly.

Following.

@SabrinaThwaite it’s a bit shit, of course. But sounds like an U17/U20 athlete who didn’t quite make the grade. There’s an awful lot of them. And look, nobody cares how they performed as a Junior, it’s irrelevant as everyone knows puberty hits athletes at different times.