Yo. I was swimming in the water today, and I started thinking. I know thinking is a dangerous thing. You do not have to tell me. But I was thinking, during one of those long, torturous, boring swim practices, that swimming is pretty hard. Not like Iron Man hard, but up there. I thought about all the sports in high school and, well, swimming seemed like the hardest one. Now football players calm down and don’t start whining on me. I get it football is hard. You smash heads together and sometimes break some legs, but swimming is harder than all that jazz. Anybody else that wants to complain can get in line behind the football players. You can deposit any complaints in the trash bin. Swimming is GruuuueeeellllingNow I am going to go out on a limb and saying that you want to know why swimming is harder than all the other sports. Did I guess right? Great. Let's get started off by saying that swimming is grueling. We practice for two hours a day, six days a week all year long. If you do not think that is enough, well kudos to you, we do more than that. During the winter and summer, we swim doubles which means for all you non- swimmers out there we swim twice a day three times a week. I get it. I get it. Some sports practice all year long and just as much as swimmers do. Geez. Take it easy; I am only getting started. Secondly, we have to hold our breath for hours each day. We do not swim with our heads out of the water! Here’s a video on how we actually swim in the water. Our coach also makes us wear snorkels sometimes. Snorkels limit your breathing so you get less OXYGEN. Not only that, but we do these things called under waters. This is where we kick under the water for 25 yards or a length of a pool. If any sport other than swimming holds their breath while practicing, please let me know. Third of all, swimming requires more technique than soccer, football, baseball, and basketball combined. Don’t believe me? Good for you. Let's get started. Swimmers can lose their races by a thousandth of a second. Especially in the sprint events. That is such a short amount of time that you probably can’t even think that fast. Especially you football players out there. Technique is the factor between winning races and losing them. A swimmer has to have a good flip turn. If you are not a swimmer that means when you flip at the end of the pool. Duh. Swimmers have to have a good finish, stroke, start off the blocks, etc. The list just goes on and on and on and on and on and on. I think you get my point. Do I really need a fourth point? I mean if you can’t see that swimming is the hardest sport, I do not know what is wrong with you. Fine. I will make a final point so you can all shut up and sit down. My last point is this: how many people want to get in a cold pool, swim non-stop for two hours, hold your breath, do a perfect start, finish, turn, and stroke, have your coach yell at you, and most importantly have to repeat this misery the next day? Swimming is not for everyone (especially for football players). Swimmers have to have physical toughness as well as mental toughness to succeed in the sport. It is hard to be mentally motivated to swim every day (especially if you have to jump in a cold pool). It is hard to keep on top of things and swim as hard as you can in practice. Only the toughest people can swim. So, let’s recap. Swimming is hard. No questions? Good. Swimmers have to focus on technique, swim all the time even in their sleep, hold their breath, and most importantly have to be mentally tough. Just remember any complaints can be deposited into the trash can.
2 Comments
Michaela Luebbers
10/7/2017 11:53:11 am
I can definitely see your personality throughout this post. To me, it was really funny and I enjoyed reading it. You also made your point very clear throughout the piece, but have you considered all options? It really does depend on the type of hardship. For example, I would think that soccer is the hardest high school sport because they have to run or sprint for at least 20 min (but that depends on how long they’re in the game). Plus, they have to utilize foot skills, strategy, and be worried about getting kicked in the face. So, before you throw everything else in those trash cans, think about the different perspectives that other people have.
Reply
Quinn A Mullally
11/7/2017 06:59:01 pm
While this isn't your most recent post, I found it the most intriguing especially coming from the perspective of a football player. And while you may not read this as you said all comments can be placed in the trash can here is what I have to say. I do agree with you that swimming may be the most physically taxing sport, however there is many other aspects that go into making a sport hard that you cut short. For example in football we practice year round weightlifting early in the morning almost everyday in the summer. We also experience severe head trauma on a regular basis, I could not tell you how many concussions I have had. In addition to this there are many aspects we have that involve both studying and techniques as well. Our coaches spend hour upon hours studying our opponents and developing plans to put into scouting reports which end up being small books by the time they're done. Then they expect us to study them and know every part front and back for practice the next day. If we are able to execute a play and fill the right gaps correctly our coaches make us pay dearly. Then we also have other more technique based aspects as well which we are drilled on mercilessly such as tackling and blocking. If any one aspect of the technique is executed wrong we risk the chance of blowing the entire game by missing a tackle or getting a penalty. I'm sorry for my rant and return but I just wanted to give you my perspective as someone who plays football "the other hardest sport."
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorA tired and very hungry swimmer. Archives
February 2018
Categories |