Just to give you some background, I’m nearly 20 years old. I really enjoy being part of the team and appreciate the coaches. The coach I worked with during high school now coaches the lower level senior division, which is mainly kids aged 12 to 14 who are either moving up from the previous group or doing swimming alongside other sports.
The upper level senior division is Senior 2. To swim with them, you need to complete 100s on the 1:20. I can do that, but I can’t swim butterfly because of an injury, and my other strokes aren’t quite fast enough.
This summer, I trained with the lower level group (Senior 1). A lot of the kids were gone or moved up but I had a great time helping my old coach and working on technique with the younger swimmers. So my question is, is it strange for someone my age to still swim with the lower level squad?
It all depends on your club. The club I worked with often had former swimmers come back during breaks, especially college swimmers who needed to keep up their training. We even did some fun team games, which was a nice tradition.
When I was in college, it was normal to swim with your old team during breaks to stay in shape since it was the season’s midpoint. It was mostly a chance for alumni to catch up. I don’t think it would be odd, especially if you have friends still on the team
No, it’s not weird. In fact, it might inspire the younger swimmers to see someone at your level training. If anyone asks, just say you’re working on staying in shape for your college team due to an injury.
It’s important for the kids to see that injuries happen, and if they want to swim in college, they’ll likely need to train during breaks.
To give a bit more context, I want to stay in shape over winter break because I have a training trip coming up soon with my college team. I like this coach, the sets work well for me, but the kids are mostly middle school to early high school age. I’m there just to swim and stay in shape, but I do try to set a good example and take the SafeSport training seriously.
Sometimes it feels strange watching the other college kids training with the Senior 2 squad, which has more peers and some old friends from my time there. But I don’t think I could keep up with their intervals.
@Heath
Our team is mixed, so it’s not unusual for different ages to share a lane based on ability. Our coach encourages alumni to come back during breaks. It can boost the younger kids’ spirits to see familiar faces from the team even after high school. Some swim with the A and B levels while others join the Farm team.
If it’s just over break, I think it’s fine. During my breaks from college, I would swim with my old club team occasionally. There were also other college swimmers around, so I had friends my age. I’d swim for a couple of weeks and then go back to school. If you have a good relationship with your coach and people know you, I doubt anyone would mind an alum swimming with the old team.
As a varsity swim coach, I wouldn’t consider it weird since you graduated high school. It can be tough for coaches if athletes overdo it and affect their performance when it’s time to compete.
You should keep helping the younger swimmers as much as you wish, just swim on
If the coach is fine with this, then it’s all good. My friend, who is a senior, even brought his girlfriend. My coach is very open to seniors coming back.
I don’t think it’s strange, but if you’re in the US, your club might require a background check. If you are coaching or volunteering with kids, you’d need one; it might be the same if you’re swimming with them since you’re over 18.
Honestly, it’s a bit tricky. If it’s not a usual practice in your club for mixed ages to swim together, it can feel odd.
It also depends on your role. I appreciate mixed ages at times as it encourages younger swimmers and offers them experience.
But if it’s full-time in the program, I tend to avoid that. Even with good intentions, some parents or kids may complain, and with two senior groups, I prefer to enforce age-groups for swimming. If you can hold 1:30, it’s still a small difference based on the people in your lane.
@Conley
I wouldn’t be swimming full-time with the team. I’m a college swimmer, and I just hope to attend about 7 to 8 practices before my college team leaves for a training trip.
Heath said: @Conley
I wouldn’t be swimming full-time with the team. I’m a college swimmer, and I just hope to attend about 7 to 8 practices before my college team leaves for a training trip.
Oh, then it probably won’t matter. Just join whichever group feels right. Those 7 to 8 practices should be fine in the 1:20 group, too.
It’s pretty common for some college swimmers who usually swim with our club to join a Masters practice.
I’d totally consider that! Right now, I stay with my club since they allow college swimmers to come back at no cost. I also don’t know of any Masters practices near me.