First club swimming training overwhelming-normal?

[NewSwimmingMum]

Dd, 10, has just had her first club swimming session and had to have a little rest half way through and was teary and overwhelmed afterwards.

Please tell me this isn't totally out of the ordinary! She's a nice swimmer, but hasn't done more than half an hour at once before and not in a 25m pool.

Will it get easier?

(The session was 1.5hours and she gave it everything and pretty much kept up, apart from when she was out of the pool for 5mins or so)

Er no. It will become several times a week of an hour lengths at a time.

And then 5/6am too. It gets harder.

That's a very long session! So doesn't seem unusual. 45-60 mins is more normal for the club my child attends. Why are you asking though, does she want to drop out already?. Can you give her a deal - try three more sessions and see how she feels?

Ah yes usually hour long sessions here 3 - 4 x a week to begin with.

Has she completed her lessons? Swimming clubs can be intense when it comes to swimming they are usually placed in the approiate ability lanes. Certain clubs have criteria such as been able to swim 25 metres depends on the club. It will get easier as her stamia improves.

@WholeClassKeptIn I
absolutely know the session frequency, length and perhaps time of day gets together. This is her first one. I'm really only asking if sometimes it's quite a leap.

No @rattlemehearties, not wanting to quit at all, just I guess wondering if some children find it takes a while to settle in. Not worried, just curious. She worked very hard to keep up with swimmers who've been in the squad longer, are older, and who presumably haven't had a break since July from any kind of organised swimming! There will be three sessions a week, 2 x 1.5 hours and 1x 1 hour.

@Bananarama21 yes, completed lessons with a decent swim school who focus on really good technique. And did a trial and was accepted, so I guess she did okay.

1.5 hours is a lot IMO. It is usually 1 hour.

That's reassuring @AliceAldridge. The next session is an hour, and it was pretty much at the hour mark that she had a wobble.

Ex swimming teacher here how passed my kids on to the local swim club.

What distances was she swimming before she moved up to club? My teaching pool was only 20 meters but they could easily swim 200 meters with out stopping.

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It will get easier as she gets fitter. Going from 30m in a small pool to 90min in a 25m pool is a huge leap. My dc all started out with a club at 5 with 30 min lessons then they started having 2x30min with the last 5-10min of each in the big pool and then a 30 min lesson and a 60m lesson with half in the big pool, building up to 60 min a couple of times a week, then 90 min and 2 hour lessons up to 9 hours a week. Even doing it gradually like that it’s often a struggle when they move up for a few weeks.

@MauraandLaura they used to do a fair few lengths and she had 200m badge.

@Shadedog that's reassuring, thank you. I think, having spoken to my dh who used to be main one doing lessons is that she doesn't like to a) admit defeat or b) be behind, so she will have gone at it with great gusto, but hasn't the stamina to keep up for a full 90 minutes!!

Training never gets “easier” - that’s the nature of training. She will get fitter and stronger and have more stamina, but then training gets harder, longer and more frequent. Some girls will go on to compete at the Olympics by the time they’re 13/14 years old so yeah it’s a tough environment.

If she’s genuinely struggling though perhaps ask if she can be moved to a slower lane?

Yeah, it’s a big leap from swimming lessons. I remember being exhausted after my first few sessions- but quickly became fitter.

[quote NewSwimmingMum]@MauraandLaura they used to do a fair few lengths and she had 200m badge. [/quote]
Its a tricky one OP.

She is ten and normally I would have scooted my good swimmers off to club around 8/9 instead of them plodding through the levels. Those kids are going to have a couple of years on her at least. And you will have to be careful she doesn't get burn out as she isn't physically able to keep up. If she was physically spent and emotional after her first session its too much for her.

I would not let her do the 1.5 sessions and only let her do 1 hour till she strong enough to do it because she could give herself an injury as her body isn't physically ready for that amount fo strain. As she swims further distances her swim stroke will start to fall to pieces as it becomes a balance of stamina and technique. If she is absolutely spent she may get coaches constantly pulling her over her style which will dishearten her.

What did the coach say after her first session? Did they give you any feed back? Some one should have had a least a quick chat to see how she was feeling (and how she looked)

@MauraandLaura that's helpful advice. The coaches didn't check in with me, but did look after dd. I think we might look into just doing the two one hour sessions for a bit. I don't want her to be put off. And I will be seeking a moment at the end of next session, just to ask coach about her. The last thing I want to do is dampen her enthusiasm or make her lose confidence. She would end up not wanting to do it.

I'm a swimming teacher op its sounds like lack of stamia which will be build up in due course, I used to be a club swimmer when I was younger and it was a case of building up stamia week by week it got that little be easier, then you move up a lane and it got harder again . As an adult il be tired doing two lengths even though I'm a very good swimmer because my stagmia is next to none at the moment.

Thanks @Bananarama21. So I shouldn't be unduly concerned? I do know that training is always going to be challenging, that's the point. But doable in due course.

I agree with speaking to the coach and see if she can trial a month where she gets out after an hour. Don’t want to put her off or injure. If she feels up to staying she can.

Top tip- chocolate milk after training. They don’t feel like eating after a heavy session and that will stop the teary tiredness until they unwind, easy on the stomach and a complete nutrition package.

DS nearly died at the end of his first ever training session.

He’s just left the sport, but swam at national level so I don’t think the first session was too indicative of how it will go in the long term! 😀

Good tip @Nomoreusernames1244 I did indulge with chocolate from the machine at the end today because I sensed she might need instant refuel and I had foolishly come snackless.

@NewSwimmingMum you’ll never travel snackless again! Once they train a lot they need a lot of food. It’s always worth having something to hand.

@QueenofLouisiana she ate like an absolute horse this evening!! 😉🙂