Any swim team/meet parents that can give me advice?

[Snoopymom]

I don't even really know what to ask. What do I need to know?

I found a swim club (is that what you call them?) close to us. I just emailed them to asked if ds9 and I could stop in.

Ds has never taken formal lessons although we have a place at the lake and he has been swimming since he was 2. Maybe that is not a good thing?

He is very competitive, but has not paraticipated in competitve sports before.

What are the costs? The lessons are reasonable, but the registration fee and the "fund raising per family" seems kind of steep. Do you only pay those fees when your child is actually on a team and participating in meets?

Are there lots of different levels, will it be years of lessons before he is good enough to compete, and is there a lot of travelling involved?

Thanks so much for any information.

 

[OK!]

I'm not a parent but I did swim competitively for 23 years, so I can tell you what my experiences were. I started out swimming on the local summer league team when I was 4; that was after having had lessons from water babies on. I believe my parents paid a fee to the summer league team at the beginning of the season and that was it as far as that particular team went--there weren't per-meet entry fees or anything.

That changes when you start swimming for a club team (or USA Swimming team). There are entry fees for every meet, some of which are out of town (but if you don't want to travel to them, it's (in my experience) never required. You can just do local meets.) You'll also most likely have fees that you pay to the club itself; that covers things like coaches' salaries, cost of renting the pool and facility if the club doesn't own it outright, that kind of thing.

Yes, there are a lot of different levels in USA Swimming and generally within the teams themselves. They tend to group kids with similar abilities together so as to make coaching and practices more effective. The number of practices per week will vary with a given kid's ability...some may only do Saturday practices if they're just starting out, while those at the highest levels will practice every day but Sunday and will normally do doubles (practice in the morning before school and at night after school) at least a few days a week. There's also dryland training, which can be things like running, plyometrics, weights, any number of things.

I'm not sure how the club team will start your son out initially (I don't remember what they did with me when I first joined...I'm WAY too old now ), but I'd guess they'll probably just have him jump in and show what he can do so that they can then figure out with which group he'll best fit in. I'm sure he'll have a ball with it. Some of my best memories of growing up revolve around swimming (the morning practices were NOT among those happy happy joy joy memories, however. Lol). My brother and I swam in meets in FL, CA, IL, IN, KY, TN, WI, MI, MN, KS, NE, IA, AR, LA, and HI, so we visited a lot of places that we might otherwise not have seen. And a hidden perk that my mom loved is the fact that you never have any sweaty, stinky uniforms to wash!

Good luck to you and your son! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

 

[kristilew]

Every swim club is a little different, and the levels of insanity vary.

But basically, it's a great sport for a kid to learn to compete against himself. Every time he improves his time or moves up a level is a victory, even if he doesn't win the actual event. There is a direct, positive, result from time spent and effort expended, and he gets to contribute to a team (overall points) without having to rely on teammates for his own personal success. I think it's a great sport.

The teams where I live have even the most inexperienced swimmers compete at the meets, though there are some meets that require qualifying times to enter. These tend to be the travel meets here, and the teams that focus on this aspect of swimming tend to be more expensive to join.

It's been my experience that you can take swimming as lightly or as seriously as works for your family. Although if your DS really gets the bug, he may push you to the higher levels of commitment, travel and expense.

Some coaches are very warm and encouraging, and some scream bloody murder at the kids. You do have to try different approaches to see which works best for your kid, building him up and challenging him, not breaking his spirit.

I've been amazed at how technically strong DD has become over her years of just summer swim team participation. Her friends who compete year-round are truly great swimmers.

 

[Snoopymom]

I'm not a parent but I did swim competitively for 23 years, so I can tell you what my experiences were. I started out swimming on the local summer league team when I was 4; that was after having had lessons from water babies on. I believe my parents paid a fee to the summer league team at the beginning of the season and that was it as far as that particular team went--there weren't per-meet entry fees or anything.

Thanks, just looked up a local county swim league that starts in the summer. That might be a good place to start. I'll have to ask around at ds's school.

Great info That's awesome that you got to compete all over the country. I'd love to do that if ds was enjoying it enough.

 

[Snoopymom]

Every swim club is a little different, and the levels of insanity vary.



But basically, it's a great sport for a kid to learn to compete against himself. Every time he improves his time or moves up a level is a victory, even if he doesn't win the actual event. There is a direct, positive, result from time spent and effort expended, and he gets to contribute to a team (overall points) without having to rely on teammates for his own personal success. I think it's a great sport.

.

Exactly what I was thinking and hoping and perfect for ds!

Thanks for all the great info, really appreciate it.

 

[DAD21]

My dds swim team has two groups. The USA team for the experienced and those commited to swimming. She swims there and they practice two hours a night four nights a week and compete almost every weekend. Then the have a rec. team for children just starting out or do not want to swim as competitively and they practice twice a week for two hours and have about 11 meets a season. My daughter did the rec team for two years before deciding she wanted to challenge herself more. We have found it to be great excersise for her and the her teammates and coaches are very supportive. Fundraising for our team is done to help defray the costs of entering meets and also hosting meets as it is not cheap. We do our best to keep the kids out of the fundraising as the parents do most of it through running the concessions at high school basketball games and running our own concessions at home swim meets.

 

[Snoopymom]

My dds swim team has two groups. The USA team for the experienced and those commited to swimming. She swims there and they practice two hours a night four nights a week and compete almost every weekend. Then the have a rec. team for children just starting out or do not want to swim as competitively and they practice twice a week for two hours and have about 11 meets a season. My daughter did the rec team for two years before deciding she wanted to challenge herself more. We have found it to be great excersise for her and the her teammates and coaches are very supportive. Fundraising for our team is done to help defray the costs of entering meets and also hosting meets as it is not cheap. We do our best to keep the kids out of the fundraising as the parents do most of it through running the concessions at high school basketball games and running our own concessions at home swim meets.

So glad to hear all the good experiences, and even the fund raising doesn't sound too terrible. Thanks for the great info.

 

[missypie]

Whereever he swims, make sure that there are few enough kids where they can really concentrate on his strokes, to make sure they are perfect. My Son did summer rec swim team for a couple of seasons and it was so frustrating because he'd get DQ'd on his breast stroke because he'd do some part of the stroke wrong, but the coaches didn't take it seriously (since it was just "rec.") Believe me, it's no fun to get disqualified after swimming your event, even if it's just summer league. So make sure this team really concentrates on the basics for the young ones.

 

[Por1968]

I don't even really know what to ask. What do I need to know?

I found a swim club (is that what you call them?) close to us. I just emailed them to asked if ds9 and I could stop in.

Ds has never taken formal lessons although we have a place at the lake and he has been swimming since he was 2. Maybe that is not a good thing?

He is very competitive, but has not paraticipated in competitve sports before.

What are the costs? The lessons are reasonable, but the registration fee and the "fund raising per family" seems kind of steep. Do you only pay those fees when your child is actually on a team and participating in meets?

Are there lots of different levels, will it be years of lessons before he is good enough to compete, and is there a lot of travelling involved?

Thanks so much for any information.

My daughter who is 10 joined a local swim team last summer. She has played several sports previously, but never lasted in other sports because she ended up not enjoying them. She has developed a real passion for swimming and has joined a winter swim team at the Y. She has never complained about going to practice and her times have decreased tremendously.

The summer swim team was about $100 and the winter team was about $300. During the summer there was five practices a week and the winter has three practices a week. There are some meets for everyone and other meets just for the all stars. The meets are very long with a lot of sitting around. I have found volunteering as a timer makes the meets go faster.

My daughter does not get much individual instruction as the team is large, but she has gotten in much better shape. Our experience with the swim team has been very positive.

 

[eeyore65]

My ds10 is a competitive swimmer. It is a great sport. You learn discipline and hard work. He swims on a club team but it is at his school. Next year he will most likely get asked to swim on the Varsity team. He swims 5 days a week for two hours and does dryland the other days for an hour. He eats like a horse and is in amazing shape. He is one of the only kids that passed the presidential physical fitness challenge last year, so I feel like it does alot for his overall fitness.

I really enjoy the other swim parents on our club team. That is important as you spend LOTS of time togther on the pool deck at meets. It is important to find a team with kids, parents and coaches you click with. I also strongly agree with getting the fundamentals right. You may need to do additional stroke training if your DS has any bad habits. They do start swimming in meets right away and it is all about getting your personal best time whether you are 1st or 50th.

DS does seem to have fun, especially at meets. I like that he trains with boys and girls as it has helped him relate to girls as people too!

Best of luck on your road to becoming a swim parent!

 

[2luvmickey]

My DS 14 did summer rec swim team for 2 summers at ages 9 and 10. Then, out of the blue, when he was in 8th grade, wanted to condition for the high school swim team (no cuts). I signed him up for a "stroke clinic" where he worked on technique and flip turns.

This program also had a "fund raiser" but we opted just to donate a given amount ($50). Cost for meets were between $5-10.

At practice two hours a day, the only down side is the chlorine really dries him out. However, swimming is a lifelong sport with varying degrees of skill.

My husband was a swimmer for 16 years, up to the National Championship Collegiate level. The meets are long, and it is a huge time commitment, but the health benefits and self discipline are immeasurable.

Good suggestion to check into a "Y" program, or if there is a summer program through your park district, as I say "just to dip your toes in the water."

 

[njprincess601]

Not a parent, but I swam competitively for 13 years. I started out on our local YMCA's "pre-team" and did that for about six months. If I remember correctly, it was 3 days a week for a little over an hour a day. When I turned 6, the youngest you can be to swim on a YMCA team, I joined the competitive team. When I was little, it was very relaxed and fun. My coaches taught us the correct way to do the strokes and build our strength and endurence. As I got older, the hours and practices got tougher. By the time I turned 13, I was consider a "senior" swimmer, so I was training 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. Friday was my day off, although if my coach got his way, it would have been Sunday. Regardless, it was Friday. We had 1 hour of dryland and 3 hours in the pool on Monday, Wednesday and Sunday. Tuesday and Thursday we had 1.5 hours in the pool before school and 2.5 hours in the pool after school. And on Saturday, we had 2 hours of dryland and 2 hours in the pool. And in the summer, we had 3 hours in the pool and then 1 hour of dryland. That was all in the morning from 6-10.

As far as costs go, I'd say it's pretty expensive. I know my parents paid close to $3,000 a year. it was $1,000 for our fall/winter season and $1000 for our spring/summer season. And then when you add up hotel rooms, suits, warm up sweats, plane tickets to meets etc, it was probably another $1,000 if not more. Fundraising helped costs a bit, but not much.

Overall, I loved swimming. My teammates were my best friends, and still are. I loved the discipline and work ethic that it taught me. I did miss out on some other important things though. I never went to 1 football game in high school, and it was a struggle to go to soccer games, even though my boyfriend was on the team. I had to sacrifice alot of time with my friends but in return, I gained so much more. I loved competiting, traveling, and simply just all the laughs at practice. I honestly can't explain to you how much I loved my swimming experience.

Feel free to PM me, if you have any questions. I could talk swimming all day! Hahaha