Mike's Mailbag: Moving on Up
Mike's Mailbag: Moving on Up
By Mike Gustafson//Contributor | Monday, April 3, 2017
Howdy Mike!
I'm a 16 yr. old sophomore, new to swimming. Unlike many kids who started club swimming at 6, I joined a novice swim team when I was 11. I didn't join club until 2015. I've worked hard, listened to my awesome coaches, and fallen in love with this weird sport. I have gotten a lot faster, especially this last season.
Now, I am moving to the gold group, our fastest group, where most kids my age swim. Although I want to make the move, I am nervous. It's gonna be super hard. You know it’s gonna be hard when my coach says, "I feel good about moving you up (compared to others) because you have a good spirit and the work won't break you." Oh goody. Although I feel ready for the IM sets, I don't feel ready for the aerobic free sets. (My coaches are concerned in the same area). Free sets are hard. There's so much freestyle (it's weird). Those sets were hard for me in the silver group, and gold group does them more often and faster. Besides the sets being harder, practice will be a half hour longer and it won't be long until I'm doing doubles. I trust my coaches. They have a good understanding where I'm at, and they won't give me more than I can take. But still, it’s gonna be hard. I'm willing to work hard. But still. I wasn't just floating while in the silver group. I was working hard, and getting tired and worn down by the end of the week. On top of all this, I'll be coming off a two week break, longer than most gold groupers
Do you have tips on handling the upped workload? Tips on surviving? And any other tips that someone becoming a swimmer could use? (Other than asking the coach if I can swim the free sets breaststroke. They usually say no).
Thanks,
Preparing for Worst
