Stress in Age-Group Swimmers

From what sources do young athletes ]eel pressure, and how should they and their coaches deal with it?

By Jimmy Tierney

Introduction In the United States, competitive

sports play an important role in the lives of many people. Participation spans from the professional athlete who earns a living by competing, to the little league baseball player who spends each Saturday afternoon in the summer play- ing in front of Morn and Dad. The im- portance and impact of competitive sports on society is evidenced by picking up a newspaper and reading about the 100,000 fans at a college football game or a television network offering a multi- million dollar contract to televise pro- fessional football games for five months during the year. The passion for com- petitive sports among adult members of society appears to have had an impact on youth. In youth sports the number of student participants, ages 8-16 has in- creased approximately 30 percent from 1980 to 1986 (Benham, 1985; Siegel, 1985).

Lori Losten at age 7 was a tennis "phenom.'" At age 12 she reached the No, 2 ranking in her age group in the United States. She once claimed that "tennis is everything. I wouldn ' t want to live without tennis." A year later she quit, left the game that she loved, lost much of her good health, and even con- templated suicide. Her reasons were not related to her own lack of improvement, but to the fact that others were getting better faster. Because of the pressure to win she not only lay awake at night unable to sleep, but also had physical ailments that sent her to the hospital numerous times (McDermott, 1982).

Situations similar to that of Lori Losten occur too often. Youth sports should be constantly reevaluated to determine whether or not the athletes are adversely affected by the structure of the sport program. This evaluation should begin with those people involved in the administration and coach- ing areas. The desire to strive for excellence should not be discouraged, but one should examine the potential costs in- volved wth pushing a child in that direction. Parents claim to want what is best for their children, and coaches insist that they want what is best for their athletes. The critical question

The pressure o] competition and doing well is a part o] any sport, but coaches, parents and .fellow athletes should be careful about placing too much stress on a young age grouper.

to be addressed is: What is "best" for young athletes? The purpose of this study was to examine the physical and

psychological stresses that accompany young athletes in their competitive experiences. Research was conducted in related areas of sport psychology, physiology and education, in- cluding a survey of present athletes on topics in these areas, Although athletics in general will be discussed, this study focused in part icular on the sport of swimming.

Dr. James Counsilman (1974; cited in Burke and Straub, 1977) proposed a "two-factor stress theory" of age group swimming programs: 1) the physiological stresses encoun- tered in the strenuous practices and 2) the psychological stresses that come part ly from coaches and parents. Accord- ing to a S w i m m i n g Techn ique survey (Porter 1972; cited in' McCafferty, 1973), nearly 50 percent of the U.S. nationally ranked age group swimmers quit swimming within four years. What would cause such a large percentage of successful ath- letes, who presumably received more praise and attention for

Swimming Technique~February-April 1988 9

Stress

their accomplishments than the average swimmer, to leave the competitive arena? Over the last 15 years great strides have been made in developing new training techniques, more advanced dryland exercise machines, and modern physiologi- cal testing equipment. Have we done anything though to keep our young athletes, the elite or non-elite in the sport?

Physical Aspects of Competition Physical exercise, in general, can produce benefits for all

humans, as long as they are physically able to participate. By staying physically fit, one may lead a healthier and possibly longer life, by decreasing obesity and hypertension, and in- creasing cardiac fitness. Also, one may reduce the incidence of heart attacks by increasing the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (Siegel, 1985). It has also been hypothesized that a rational training program during the adolescent growing period would produce better results than later on in life, especially on some static dimensions such as lung volume, heart volume and body weight (Astrand, et al, 1963).

For the purposes of this study it was assumed that all athletes have an ultimate goal to achieve their maximum per- formance capabilities in their sport. What objectives are suitable in the age group training years with the "ultimate goal'" in mind? Irene Christie (1984) proposes that "age group swimming should maintain the interest of a large number of participants and extend the length of time for which they par- ticipate. Athletic training and competition can provide enjoy- ment and pleasure, particularly if divorced from an imme- diate, limited need to produce a champion. If kept in perspec- tive, and limits are set up, an immeasurable amount of good can be derived from athletic competition."

One must realize that this proposed objective puts aside the idea of competing for the sole purpose of winning. A ease is not made by Christie to discourage an athlete from striving for the gold medal, simply that this should not be the child's (or coaches' or parents') total focus during these early years. Many of the other positive benefits from participation may be missed if too much attention is directed toward winning.

Regular physical activity favorably affects the growth of bone and muscle (Rarick, 1960; as cited by Christie, 1984), and has been confirmed by other studies (Bagneall and Lel- lett, 1977; Andrew, Becklake, Guleria and Bates, 1972), which show that swimmers on the average are significantly, physically larger and more mature for their age than their non-training peers; and the differences between groups in- creases with age. However, coaches must realize that children are not miniature adults. Their skeletons cannot withstand the same sort of stress; therefore, they should not be trained as such (Madsen, 1983; Stark, 1983). Because children's bones are still growing and the cartilage at the joints is two to five times weaker than regular bone, stress fractures can easily occur. Coaches must take into account the physical stage of development for the athletes.

Another major controversy surrounding youth athletics deals with weight training. For swimmers, increased strength translates to more power and an increase in speed in the water (provided that other areas such as flexibility and stroke technique are not neglected). "Literature in the area of strength training for pre-adolescents is sparse. Clinical reports of injuries resulting from strength training pre- adolescents raises the question of whether or not they should be training" (Smith, 1984). Because of the wide differences in youngsters' growth and maturity, decisions as to when young

10 Swimming Technique~February-April 1988

By gradually building swimmers into a program oJ training and com- petition the "'burn-out" that is often suJJered by many in their mid- teens can be avoided.

athletes should commence weight training need to be made on an individual basis. Consulting a pediatrician and/or or- thopedic specialist may assist in determining an individual's level of physical maturity.

Smith (1984) provides several steps to help initiate young- sters into strength training to avoid injuries. They are as follows: 1) Provide quality guidance by someone knowledge- able in the field; 2) Help the athletes select appropriate goals for weight training and guide them toward these goals; 3) Select the proper strength training methods; dynamic methods with emphasis on number of repetitions rather than quantity of weight handled; 4) Stress the need to concentrate on quality of lifting movements while de-emphasizing the quantity of weight being handled; 5) Select proper training modalities which avoid poor body position in exercises which affect areas such as the lumbosacral area of the vertebral col- unto (lower back) and the patello femoral joint (knee).

In establishing training guidelines for competitive swim- mers at the age group level, coaches must take into account the factors which are necessary for the athlete to swim fast.

The basis for the development of high-level athletic performances in one sport is the well-rounded physical- athletic basic training. Only a varied stimulus program for growth will provide in the long run for a child's maximum performance output. This task cannot be fulfilled by any single sport or athletic activity.

2.

(Schroeder, 1978; as cited in Madsen and Wilke, 1983). The number of previously learned movement patterns and

how they have been used in variations will determine the quality of the adaptation of a movement pattern (Madsen and Wilke, 1983). Other types of physical activity outside the water which would help to strengthen other muscles in dif- ferent movements and to improve speed, quickness, range of motion and fexibflity should benefit swimmers as they develop their "'well-rounded physical-athletic basic'" skills.

Orjan Madsen (1983), a noted sport physiologist who specializes in swimming studies, developed a comprehensive multi-year training program for swimmers. In this program the total amount of training increases from year to year with a different emphasis each year. The general measures in training are more prevalent in the beginning with swimming- specific basic endurance, technique work, basic speed, reac- tion ability, and well-rounded coordinating and flexibility ex- ercises stressed. Gradually the coach should shift towards race specific endurance, anaerobic swimming capacity (still working the aerobic system as well), maximum strength gains in and out of water, and more race simulation over the com- petitive distances. In other words, basic athletic skills and development of techniques involved in the sport of swimming including the four strokes, starts, turns and training skills are combined with general endurance and speed in preparation for a greater quantity and quality of training which will em- phasize the loading of specific strokes systems over the com- petitive distances.

Based upon the information presented, the major concern for coaches in the training of young athletes is not necessarily whether they should be trained hard or not, but whether the methods employed are suitable for the physical maturity of the child and conducive to continued improvement into their prime years as an athlete in their particular sport. The psychological aspects of youth sport must also be considered when planning a young athlete's training program.

Psychological Aspects As mentioned earlier, most athletes should have as a goal to

perform to the best of their capabilities in competition. This desire to compete represents only one of the many reasons for participating. Pierce (1980) discovered that having fun and the enjoyment of competition were the most important reasons athletes participated in a sport, along with physical fitness and the improvement of skills. Horn (1982; cited by Benham) indicates that encouragement from parents and peers is an important motivator.

At the start of a child's competitive career excitement and anticipation always appear to be the overriding emotions, ac- companied by some natural nervousness about the newness of their upcoming experience. One important factor, as dis- covered by Richardson, et al (1980), relating to the young- sters' perception of themselves in physical activity, is that most have positive attitudes about themselves in general and a favorable self image when involved in physical activity and sport. With these positive feelings about athletics, it would appear that participation would continue on into the adoles-

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Stress

cent years instead of dropping off. Youth sports continue to lose many of the rising stars well before they reach their physical peaks, some in their pre-pubescent years. Why do competitive sports lose such athletes, and more importantly, can coaches and administrators do something to decrease the attrition rate and keep these young, energetic and still en- thusiastic participants active in their sports?

Competition is in itself an enduring American value in which the competitive attitudes and behaviors are learned (Dubois, 1980). Early in life children are exposed to com- petitive sports both in person and through televised sports. They learn from the start that the object of any game or con- test is to win.

Competitive stress occurs in three major ways among young athletes: 1) when a child perceives that he will not be able to respond adequately to the performance demands of the competition and, therefore, risks failure (Scanlan and Passer, 1981; Martens, 1977); 2) when the athlete's expecta- tions of success in competition exceed his capabilities; and 3) when the child feels the need to succeed iust to be accepted as in the peer group. The fear of failure is the major source of stress for young athletes (Siegel, 1985). Coaches and parents can help alleviate the pressure that develops from the fear of not succeeding by convincing the athlete that his best effort is good enough for them and that regardless of how he places in competition he will always be considered a "winner" in their eyes.

Because a coach often has more influence over his athletes concerning their sport than anyone else, parents included, he maintains great control over the amount of pressure placed on an athlete. This all centers around how much emphasis he puts on winning and how he treats the athletes before and after competing. Is it a "win at all costs" or a "do your best" attitude? Does the coach use positive reinforcement, no mat- ter what the performance, or does he chastise and criticize the athlete for not living up to his (coach's) expectations)? How does the coach react to a losing situation? The answers to these questions should provide great insight into how much pressure the athlete may feel from his coach.

Competitive stress does not have to actually exist, but may be only a perceived notion on the part of the athlete. Because of this perception the coach's job becomes more difficult. Constant communication with each individual athlete is es- sential to ensure that minimum competitive stress exists. Stress can occur at any time during competition that the athlete perceives a discrepancy between the demands of com- petition and his performance capabilities, including before, during and after the competition.

The most alarming aspect of the S w i m m i n g Technique published study (Porter, 1972; as cited by Forsythe, 1974), on top-ranked age groupers leaving the sport was that eight out of 10 times the reason was external pressure rather than a dislike of the sport or stressful training. Coaches and parents must be aware of the anxieties which the athletes may experi- ence and also realize that they can be the cause of such prob- lems. When the athlete begins to show signs of anxiety toward competition, signals will occur such as more frequent desires to skip practice and/or competition, or more negative com- ments toward the sport in general. The child's support group which includes the coach, parents and friends need to step in to help work out these problems with encouragement and positive reinforcement.

19. Swimming Technique~February-April 1988

According to this survey, the highest degree of pressure swim mers ex- perience, is that which they bring upon themselves.

Methods of Survey Surveys were mailed in March 1987 to 11 club swim teams

who are members of United States Swimming to evaluate physical and psychological stresses on athletes. The club coaches distributed the surveys to swimmers from ages 11-18 who had achieved a USS national "A" age group time stan- dard during their career. All swimmers answered questions about their 11-12 age group years. Although just one part of the total swimming career, this age group was chosen to help focus in on a specific period so that the athletes could provide definite answers to various training questions, and because this is often viewed as the peak of the age group years and beginning preparation for senior swimming. A minimum per- formance standard was established to help limit the survey to athletes who are probably more serious about their sport and more than likely participating in a structured training pro- gram to improve and succeed. Five teams responded to the survey providing a total of 166 individual participants whose training responses were compiled and analyzed.

The questionnaire was divided into two parts: the subject demographics for general information about each particular swimmer, and the competitive section which centered on the athlete's training. The demographics provided a breakdown of the swimmers by age, sex, commencement of competitive career, and the highest level of USS competition achieved. To provide a proper insight into the physical and psychological stresses associated with those years, the swimmers answered questions about their length and intensity of training (both in and out of the water), the level of fun that they experienced,

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the level of stress felt whi le competing, and where the stress came from. They responded by rat ing their replies on a scale of one (low) to five (high). Finally they filled in their own responses to questions concerning why they are still com- peting, w h a t they wish they had done differently, and wha t t raining factors they feel definitely helped their careers.

Al though the surveys were kept anonymous, it is possible that some swimmers may have been influenced by the pres- ence of their coach or other swimmers. The plea was made to be as honest and accurate as possible in responding to help in analysis.

Analysis of Results The t raining t ime for these swimmers averaged 11 hours

per week in the summer, and just less than 10 in the winter . These figures of nine to 12 hours in the water and two to four hours dryland t raining were wi th in the guidelines suggested by Orjan Madsen (1983) in his comprehensive t raining plan. Still, 29.3 percent of the swimmers were above Madsen's ad- vised max imum training t ime, and 14 percent of those averaged more than 20 hours a week (over 3.5 hours of prac- tice per six-day t ra ining week). Even more astonishing is that seven swimmers averaged over 18 hours a week dur ing the school year. One would have to wonder how they could possibly bui ld f rom that point dur ing the rest of their careers.

Almost 33 percent of the surveyed subjects worked some type of weight program. The type of t raining cannot be determined f rom the responses, but hopeftflly those who re- sponded with high levels of t ra ining were referring more to cardiovascular exertion as opposed to stress from trying to lift heavier weights.

One seemingly positive f inding was that over 65 percent of the swimmers felt that they could rate their level of fun at either four or five on a scale of five. Whi le that percentage represents well over half of the test group, I f irmly believe that any child at that age should be thoroughly enjoying such

an activity. Because of the t ime and effort required, if they are not enjoying competi t ive swimming, they should find another activity in which to part icipate.

The questions dealing with stress present some very inter- .esting findings. The level of stress is skewed toward the higher ratings wi th 53.7 percent answering wi th at least a four. According to the responses, 60 percent (compared to the sec- ond choice of 12.2 percent) felt that they placed most of the pressure on themselves to perform well. The coaches, as a whole, received a positive ra t ing wi th only 5.5 percent of the swimmers c la iming them to be their highest source of stress, however , 15.9 percent ranked them as second. These results should signal to the coach the need to find ways of al leviat ing the pressure that some athletes put on themselves. Pressure, especially if not accompanied by self-confidence, often is a per formance inhibitor.

The final three questions let the swimmers freely respond about why they were still swimming and wha t factors dur ing the 11-12 age group years they would change or recommend to keep the same. Athletes par t ic ipate i n their various sports for a variety of reasons. This survey revealed that 37.9 per- cent of the swimmers compete first and foremost for success and goal achievement purposes, wi th 86.1 percent listing it among their top three, fol lowed strongly by fun and enjoy- ment reasons with 27.7 percent and keeping in shape with 7.8 percent.

In analyzing the different factors the swimmers would prefer changing dur ing that t ime in relation to those they would recommend keeping the same, the most revealing result is that the need for hard work and dedication ranked as the top response to both questions (hard work and the retention of fun in sport tied for the top response in the lat ter question). It also appeared as one of the top three suggestions for both survey questions in over 50 percent of the responses. This result should be an encouraging sign to coaches that the

Subject demographics: 166 subjects Mean age: 14.7 years Sex: Male-45.8%; Female-54.2% Age when competitive career began:

3-- 1.9% 10-10.4% 4 - 3.2% 11- 4.5% 5 - 8.0% 12- 1.9% 6-13.6% 13-- 2.6% 7-16,2% 14- 2.6% 8--22,0% 15- 0.0% 9 - 9.7% 16- 0.6%

Highest level o] meet competition: Senior Nationals-- 6.7 % Region Championships -- 35.4 % Junior Nationals- 21.3 % State Championships- 33.5 % YMCA Nationals-- 1.2 % Junior Olympics - 1.2 %

Questions on 11-12 Age Group Competitive Years A. Average hours of practice per week:

Summer: 1-4 hrs 3.7% Winter: 0hrs 2.4% 5-8 11.1% 1-3 3.0% 9-12 42.8% 4-6 6.7% 13-16 13.0% 7-9 17.0% 16-20 12.4% 10-12 52.1% 21-24 13.7% 13-15 7.9% 25&up 3,1% 19&up 4.2%

B. Level of practice intensity (5 being highest): 1) 3.1% 2) 10.5% 3) 39.5% 4)37.0% 5) 9,9%

C. Weight training in program: YES--32.7% NO--67.3%

D. tf "yes," rate the level of training (5 being highest): 1) 13.5% 2) 21.1% 3) 38;5% 4) 19.2% 5) 7.7%

E. Level of "fun" in practice (5 being highest): 1) 2.4% 2) 11.1% 3) 21.0% 4) 35.2% 5) 21.0%

S u r v e y Resu l t s

F. Level of stress during championship meets (5 being highest): 1) 2.4% 2) 16.0% 3) 27.8% 4} 32.7% 5) 21.0%

G. Ranking of sources which provide the greatest amount of stress (data presented in percentages) Pressure on self-60.7; Please peers- 12,2: Please coach-7.9; Pressure from peers-6.7: Parent-6.1; Pressure from coach-5.5

(Questions H, I, J: only the top choices are listed with percentages for those resonses given for each ranking) H. 3 main reasons for still competing:

Rank 1 2 3 Success & goal oriented 37.9 18.1 1.8 Fun 27.7 22 .3 25.9 Keep in shape 7.8 16 .3 16.3 Teammates & friends 6.6 11.4 12.6 College 5.4 7.8 4.8

I. 3 main factors that swimmers would change in 11-12 age group program: Rank 1 2 3 Work harder 21.0 17 .6 17.7 Stroke & technique work 15.1 10.6 9.8 Better attitude 5.9 6.3 0.8 More time in water 5.9 1.5 7.4 More weightstdryland exercise 1.3 5.6 5.7

J. 3 most important factors swimmers would keep the same in 11-12 program: Rank 1 2 3 Hard work & dedication 17.7 16 .0 17.7 Fun 17.7 9.5 8.0 Technique & specialized work i5.6 15.3 18.0 Coaching relationship 11.6 5.8 9.7 Friends and teammates 6.8 10.2 6.4 Weights and dryland 4.8 5.8 5.6 Mental training 4.8 2.2 6.4

Swimming Technique~February-April 1988 13

Stress

"'The key Jot everyone involved is to help the young athletes alleviate ~s' much stress. ~zs possible and learn to deal with the stress which will inevitably exist in any competitive situation. "'

swimmers recognize the importance of hard work and dedi- cation to achieve success, but coaches should take caution in wanting to use this as a sign to increase their athlete's workload. From coaching age group swimmers for over 12 years, I discovered that many of the athletes had misconcep- tions as to what factors lead to success. Most swimmers take several years before they learn just how much they are physically and mentally capable of putting into a race or practice. Coaches and parents should be careful not to force situations the athlete may not be mature enough to handle.

Several other major responses are worth noting. Over 15 percent of the respondents listed the need for stroke and technique work as the major factor either lacking or which they wanted to keep during this age group training period. Either coaches are doing an admirable job of impressing upon their swimmers the necessity of continued effort to improve technique for future success, or athletes have discovered years later that they or their coaches did not emphasize it enough. The athletes also expressed the importance of keeping the positive psychological and human factors in their regimen, including the fun activities and the development of strong relationships with their coaches and teammates.

Conclusion Although the results of this study are not conclusive, some

important issues were raised and addressed in regard to youth sports. The benefits of participation far outweigh the draw- backs for most individuals (Benham, 1985; Christie, 1984; Pierce, 1980; and Smoll, 1979). In all sports competitive stress exists because of human perceptions, as described by Scanlan and Passer (1981), and society's competitive nature and its emphasis on winning. Coaches, parents, athletes and others involved in youth programs have taken the first step toward dealing with this problem by recognizing this point. The key for everyone involved is to help the young athletes alleviate as much stress as possible and learn to deal with the stress which will inevitably exist in any competitive situation.

14 Swimming Technique/February-April 1988

It is significant to note that the active athletes in this re- search placed more pressure on themselves than external sources, while Porter's study (cited by Forsythe, 1974) revealed that those who quit early in their careers felt more pressure from external sources. Both can be harmful to the develop- ment of athletes and to the retention of enthusiasm that flows forth from our youth.

The goal of any coach is to find that perfect mix of physical and mental training which will provide the optimum state of conditioning for their athletes to reach their maximum poten- tial. Coaches face two main obstacles in working toward this desired point: 1) not all athletes are not alike in their needs and wants, and 2) more research is necessary to provide addi- tional insight to the physical and psychological development of youngsters and the impact that competition has on these factors. O

:m

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