From: Sam Loescher
Columbus
Swimming was everything to me when I was a teenager. I would look forward to every meet as a chance to improve my times. I put around 20 hours of training every week just to cut my time by tenths of a second. It never mattered whether it was for a club team or a high school team. I just wanted to improve.
As I progressed through my high school years, I realized that I loved the team aspect of the sport. Every year we would be closer to winning a sectional title, because as a team we all wanted to improve. It’s a feeling that I would never get from club swimming, and a feeling that carried on through my college swimming career.
I understand why someone is trying to emphasize the importance of club swimming. It’s to help the athletes get scholarships and better educational opportunities in college. Part of the reasoning might be selfish. You get to be the person who takes credit for the athlete’s success, like Bob Bowman with Michael Phelps. But in reality it’s the athlete who is solely responsible for their success. The coach is just a conduit.
An athlete should never be dissuaded from swimming in high school just because a different person is coaching them. If an athlete wants to swim for a Columbus high school, let them. Trust that they will give it their all in every practice. That is what college programs look for in their swimmers. Integrity, diligence and work ethic are all values that any program, college or high school should instill in their athletes.
If there are any doubts that another coach might hinder their training, just remember that they are probably coaching for one reason: to better student-athletes. In my swimming experience, I believe that having multiple coaches is a good thing. A different perspective might help the athlete with certain techniques or events. Go let these swimmers have another coach. Let them become more diverse as athletes. Better yet, let them choose what they want to do with their swimming career.
For student-athletes, I would not be where I am today without high school swimming. I wouldn’t have been as motivated if I wasn’t trying to beat the Chesterton or Carmel swimmers at the state championships. Don’t let one person dictate your actions.
For those advocating against high school swimming, not every swimmer has to follow the same path. Once can guide them, but let them decide their career for themselves.
