Committed, dedicated, disciplined student-athletes

Swimming is an unusual sport, an acquired taste. Anyone not intimately familiar with the sport truly may not understand swimmers and the swimmers' mentality. Here's an attempt at an explanation.

First, swimming and diving are different from other sports because children enter the sport very young -- perhaps ages 5 - 8.  By the time they are 10 - 12, if they're serious swimmers, swimming is the only sport in which they are participating. These swimmers are practicing 11 months a year, six days a week -- with daily double sessions during each "vacation", during the summer and even during the school year. Often the pools are miles away from home, adding more time to the practice routine.

Then, there are swim meets. An average swim meet typically runs three days and may be hundreds of miles from home. Championship meets may run longer. This number probably varies by locale, but it would be a reasonable guess to say that the typical swimmer participates in maybe 15-20 USS or YMCA meets a year (more if he/she is also competing on a high school team).  

Second, swimming and diving parents are a committed bunch. The kids don't get to those practices or meets on their own.  Typically, all of this training and competing goes on within the structure of private swimming clubs or YMCA teams -- for which, in most locales, parents pay handsomely. Meets often involve multiple day stays at hotels ... along with meals, pet care and significant other expenses. Then, there are private coaches and swim camps.  Remember, this goes on virtually all year long, so family vacations are adjusted around swim schedules, etc.  Swimming rules in swimming households.  We've lived like this for years -- all of us -- and that's why we are so passionate about this sport.

The sixty-four thousand dollar question is why do we do it?  Why do we rearrange our lives, postpone vacations, travel incessantly and spend the money?  The answer is found on a bumper sticker: SWIMMING KEEPS KIDS CLEAN.  As parents we have done our very best to raise student-athletes whose character has been honed by competition the likes of which most kids never encounter.  Their character has been honed by all those early morning practices in the late-spring where they have to dive into that cold outdoor pool and swim a few miles before breakfast, only to come back later in the afternoon and do it all over again.  Their character has been honed by turning down those weekend parties because of either an early morning practice or prelims at a swim meet.  These swimmers are truly a bunch of committed student-athletes with tremendous dedication and discipline.

These kids are excellent athletes who would like to be understood and appreciated.  The men and women who represent Dartmouth on the swimming and diving team were among the top athletes in their USS LSAs, YMCA competitions and state high school competitions.  They qualified for state meets, Age Group Championships, YMCA Championships and Junior Nationals!

Ivy League competition includes some of the best in the world!  Last year, 2002, at the Women's Ivy Championships, finals included numerous Olympians from various countries.  Some of these women hold their country's record in the events they were swimming.  Of the native US swimmers, there were women who participated in Olympic trials, the Pan Am games and other major international swimming competitions.  Most were multiple Senior National qualifiers.  That is very tough competition.

There are few, if any, other Ivy League sports where the caliber of competition includes so many truly world-class athletes who hold world records and may ultimately compete in the Olympics.  Some of our student-athletes have competed at international meets swimming in direct competition with current Olympians.

Maybe that's why they keep training so hard.  Their commitment is phenomenal.  It gets in their blood.