12yr training

Question
hi
my daughter was 12 yesterday,she trains 2 hours in the evening 5 days a week and 1 and a half hours int the morning 4 times a week.is it too much,she is a "young" 12 and not in puberty yet ....
the team coach wants them to tale expensive lactate tests(only on 1 day not over a series of practices or weeks
is it really nesssesey

Answer
Hi Linda!
Wow that is a lot of training for your daughter but her practice schedule should be based on her abilities as a swimmer. Is she one of the few fastest children on her team or is every member getting the same extensive practice schedule? The children I trained (many went on to receive college scholarships in swimming) practiced 2 hours in the evening during the week and two optional morning practices on fridays and Saturdays. This is not a concrete rule, if your daughter loves what she is doing and having fun than I would not worry too much; but, if you notice her getting tired during the hours she is not swimming or if she is not inclined to go to practice then she is getting burned out at an early age and it is time to take the training down a few notches... oh and I personally, as well as my novice teams have never taken any sort of test besides a steroid screening. I trained and coached at Indian River State College and if you look up our record we have won countless national championship titles without burning out our swimmers. This is all I can tell you, every child is different but in my opinion you may want to be cautious with the coaches training techniques because she may be burned out, or injured, before getting the opportunity to swim on a high school team.. which are the best years of a swimmers career.
Thank you Linda and I hope this helps a little!
-Jessica