Posted
Australian kids are being pushed too hard by swimming coaches, burning out potential future champions, the head of Swimming Queensland has said.
Local swimming clubs proving a training ground for future gold medallists and international champions.
But Swimming Queensland chief executive Kevin Hasemann said outdated coaching practices were seeing more and more kids leave the sport early.
"Swimming has also held on to the really tough practices that worked back in the 80s that will no longer work in this modern age," he said.
"Obviously when that's happening kids, don't have fun, and fun is a fundamental aspect of swimming."
It was like 'psychology's for the weak' ... which is so wrong, it's actually the stronger people that use psychologists
Mr Hasemann said coaches could work kids too hard, instead of laying down the foundations of technique that would help them succeed when they were older.
"This rush to try to tap into the potential they're showing by swimming further and further just exhausts the kids," he said.
"They're almost set up to fail."
Mr Hasemann said the leadership to change things must come from the top.
"I've been saying to Swimming Australia I'd like to see the national head coach more active in this space," he said.
"If the national head coach is saying that best practice is different from what used to be the case, then I'm sure that people will want to follow."
Olympic gold medallist Leisel Jones was just 15 when she swam at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
She agreed that some coaches were stuck in the past.
"It was like, psychology's for the weak, we don't deal with that, which is so wrong," she said.
"It's actually the stronger people that use psychologists."
Laurie Lawrence: swimming needs to be fun
Swimming coach legend Laurie Lawrence admitted he was hard on his young wards in the 1980s, including once throwing a girl's silver medal over a fence.
"My philosophy was 'rip, tear, bust'," he said.
"Probably my expectations were so high ... my concept was you win or you lose."
He said he had started to soften his stance over the course of his career.
"The best way to win is to touch the end of the pool first and break a world record, but everyone can't do that," Mr Lawrence said.
"The next best way to win is that when you race, you do the best that you possibly can."
He disagreed that coaches were pushing kids too hard, but said coaches needed to concentrate on swimming fundamentals with kids.
"If you've got the skills and you've got the flexibility and you've got the body shape and you've got the genes and you work hard, then you're a Susie O'Neill, or an Ian Thorpe or a Dawn Fraser," he said.
Mr Lawrence said coaches needed more education, but it also was up to national swimming bodies to make competitions more fun for kids.
"Why would you submit parents and kids to sit at a swimming pool for seven and eight hours, three and four days in a row, to go through swimming carnivals?" he asked.
"That's absolute rubbish. Modern kids, they want to go in, get in and get out."
Encouraging kids' passion for swimming
Swimming Australia chief executive Mark Anderson disagreed coaches push kids too hard, but said they needed to encourage passion.
He said since the London Olympics, the organisation had been trying to make the sport enjoyable and safe at a junior level.
"Kids come into the sport... they have a real passion for the sport, it's in the country's DNA," he said.
"It's our role to create environments where they thrive ... but it's not all about hard work."
Photo:
Swimming is in Australia's DNA says Swimming Australia's Mark Anderson. (ABC News)
Mr Anderson admitted some coaches were stuck in old training practices, but said it took time to change culture.
"It's not about just technique, it's not just about churning out the laps, it's about how do we develop kids into great people as well as great athletes," he said.
"That's a change that's happened at the curriculum level."
Mr Anderson said the organisation was working on rewarding and recognising kids, and not just focusing on fast times.
He said kids developed at different rates, and Swimming Australia was trying to keep them involved and enjoying the sport.
"If we get that right, we know that success will follow," he said.
Topics:
swimming,
youth,
coaching,
children,
southport-4215
Open all references in tabs: [1 - 4]