Help for my daughter who is a swimmer and has lost all her cofidence

My sisters daugher was in a swim club and she was a great swimmer but many of the girls in the club were very catty and competitive. Are you sure that your daughter isn't being picked on or harassed by others as well? That could really stress her out and cause her to not do as well in her swimming which in turn would lower her confidence. Just an idea.

Support her, encourage her, reassure her of her talent and bring her to a sports counsellor if you must. I wish both your daughter and you all the best.

My son was on the Y swim team when he was young. After every race he would come ask us how he had done. We'd tell him, "You came in last." He'd shrug, smile, and rush away to be with his friends. He'd done his best, and if he came in last, so be it. He participated in his last season of swim team when he was 12. The free relay was the last event at the state swim meet. He was the team anchor. We came from a smaller town, and the Cedar Rapids team we were in competition with had a much larger, stronger program. We were sure we didn't have a chance. However, during that last leg of the race, when my son was giving it at all as he always does, he began to edge up on the leader. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that he touched the wall first and ended his career with a state champion medal. After that he decided that he didn't want to be on the team any longer because he had developed lots of other activities that were more to his liking. My daughter, on the other hand, continued swimming into high school. She lettered during her freshman year. Then she got in with a group of people who weren't interested in swimming, and she basically gave up trying and eventually dropped off the team. We were crushed, because she was very talented, but we let her make her own decisions.