Swim Groups and Locations

[Anonymous]

Would someone explain the differences between the Silver and Gold groups for NCAP? Any group better than another for a teenager who is happy practicing 5-6 days/week? And, is any location better than another for a motivated teen? I hear they aren't always consistent, so we're trying to figure it out. Thx.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would someone explain the differences between the Silver and Gold groups for NCAP? Any group better than another for a teenager who is happy practicing 5-6 days/week? And, is any location better than another for a motivated teen? I hear they aren't always consistent, so we're trying to figure it out. Thx.

The groups vary based on site. For example, my kid is in the Bronze program at our site but would be in Silver at some other sites. Generally, across the sites Gold 1 is the top group and is HS kids only. Some sites also have a Gold 2 and Gold 3 for HS kids.

[Anonymous]

This is a wise question, OP

NCap is run like a franchise- all the sites say they are NCap but they are all managed differently, have different schedules, go to different meets, and the groups differ wildly in how fast they are

Silver is roughly 13/14/15 yo's and gold is usually sophomores and above but sometimes includes freshmen, depends on the location and the swimmers' speed.

West is the fastest by far, with the strongest group of coaches from youngest to oldest group.

Prep is probably the most intense- the silver coach there is pretty punishing. They have gold1 (fastest) gold 2, and gold 3 (kids who play other sports).

AU is slow. The silver coach is nice, as is the gold coach, but the group is no longer that fast. They previously had a disastrous silver coach and a completely MIA gold 3 coach- that site it rebuilding, for sure. Have heard lots of complaints.

Mixed reviews of Burke, Marymount, and Tysons. They are all roughly structured the same.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a wise question, OP

NCap is run like a franchise- all the sites say they are NCap but they are all managed differently, have different schedules, go to different meets, and the groups differ wildly in how fast they are

Silver is roughly 13/14/15 yo's and gold is usually sophomores and above but sometimes includes freshmen, depends on the location and the swimmers' speed.

West is the fastest by far, with the strongest group of coaches from youngest to oldest group.

Prep is probably the most intense- the silver coach there is pretty punishing. They have gold1 (fastest) gold 2, and gold 3 (kids who play other sports).

AU is slow. The silver coach is nice, as is the gold coach, but the group is no longer that fast. They previously had a disastrous silver coach and a completely MIA gold 3 coach- that site it rebuilding, for sure. Have heard lots of complaints.

Mixed reviews of Burke, Marymount, and Tysons. They are all roughly structured the same.

Good luck!

Disagree with this statement “West is the fastest by far, with the strongest group of coaches from youngest to oldest group”. Only one Coach in this area was recognized in the Top 50 Age Group Coaches in the US (based on swimmers times) and they weren’t from West .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a wise question, OP

NCap is run like a franchise- all the sites say they are NCap but they are all managed differently, have different schedules, go to different meets, and the groups differ wildly in how fast they are

Silver is roughly 13/14/15 yo's and gold is usually sophomores and above but sometimes includes freshmen, depends on the location and the swimmers' speed.

West is the fastest by far, with the strongest group of coaches from youngest to oldest group.

Prep is probably the most intense- the silver coach there is pretty punishing. They have gold1 (fastest) gold 2, and gold 3 (kids who play other sports).

AU is slow. The silver coach is nice, as is the gold coach, but the group is no longer that fast. They previously had a disastrous silver coach and a completely MIA gold 3 coach- that site it rebuilding, for sure. Have heard lots of complaints.

Mixed reviews of Burke, Marymount, and Tysons. They are all roughly structured the same.

Good luck!

Disagree with this statement “West is the fastest by far, with the strongest group of coaches from youngest to oldest group”. Only one Coach in this area was recognized in the Top 50 Age Group Coaches in the US (based on swimmers times) and they weren’t from West .

15-18 is not age group.

[Anonymous]

Scroll down to the “Mens” (untapered, mid-season) meet times and you will see the actual NCAP location listed next to the swimmers’ names. Same with the “Womens.”
https://www.pvswim.org/2324meet/24-35rm.html

At NCAP-Burke, Gold I is (mostly) made up of the National Team. Silver I leads to Gold I. Bronze I is a select group of (a tiny few 10 year olds)-12 year olds that largely move to Silver I. Bronze II can also move to Silver I or Silver II in time, if they have AA+ times (this isn’t published, but seems to be the case).
https://www.gomotionapp.com/team/pvncbf/page/training-groups

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Scroll down to the “Mens” (untapered, mid-season) meet times and you will see the actual NCAP location listed next to the swimmers’ names. Same with the “Womens.”
https://www.pvswim.org/2324meet/24-35rm.html

At NCAP-Burke, Gold I is (mostly) made up of the National Team. Silver I leads to Gold I. Bronze I is a select group of (a tiny few 10 year olds)-12 year olds that largely move to Silver I. Bronze II can also move to Silver I or Silver II in time, if they have AA+ times (this isn’t published, but seems to be the case).
https://www.gomotionapp.com/team/pvncbf/page/training-groups

Women’s NCI results: https://www.pvswim.org/2324meet/24-35rw.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a wise question, OP

NCap is run like a franchise- all the sites say they are NCap but they are all managed differently, have different schedules, go to different meets, and the groups differ wildly in how fast they are

Silver is roughly 13/14/15 yo's and gold is usually sophomores and above but sometimes includes freshmen, depends on the location and the swimmers' speed.

West is the fastest by far, with the strongest group of coaches from youngest to oldest group.

Prep is probably the most intense- the silver coach there is pretty punishing. They have gold1 (fastest) gold 2, and gold 3 (kids who play other sports).

AU is slow. The silver coach is nice, as is the gold coach, but the group is no longer that fast. They previously had a disastrous silver coach and a completely MIA gold 3 coach- that site it rebuilding, for sure. Have heard lots of complaints.

Mixed reviews of Burke, Marymount, and Tysons. They are all roughly structured the same.

Good luck!

Disagree with this statement “West is the fastest by far, with the strongest group of coaches from youngest to oldest group”. Only one Coach in this area was recognized in the Top 50 Age Group Coaches in the US (based on swimmers times) and they weren’t from West .

West’s age groupers are split between 2 sites and the 9-10s have different coaches than the 11-12s. West has a deep group of 10-12 year old swimmers.

[Anonymous]

If you child is going to be swimming 5/6 days a week, pick the one that is the most convenient. You don't want to be traveling 30 minutes to get to a site at 4;30am.

If you can narrow down which locations you are looking at, it would help us in answering your questions. As the program in MD is very different than DC or VA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a wise question, OP

NCap is run like a franchise- all the sites say they are NCap but they are all managed differently, have different schedules, go to different meets, and the groups differ wildly in how fast they are

Silver is roughly 13/14/15 yo's and gold is usually sophomores and above but sometimes includes freshmen, depends on the location and the swimmers' speed.

West is the fastest by far, with the strongest group of coaches from youngest to oldest group.

Prep is probably the most intense- the silver coach there is pretty punishing. They have gold1 (fastest) gold 2, and gold 3 (kids who play other sports).

AU is slow. The silver coach is nice, as is the gold coach, but the group is no longer that fast. They previously had a disastrous silver coach and a completely MIA gold 3 coach- that site it rebuilding, for sure. Have heard lots of complaints.

Mixed reviews of Burke, Marymount, and Tysons. They are all roughly structured the same.

Good luck!

Disagree with this statement “West is the fastest by far, with the strongest group of coaches from youngest to oldest group”. Only one Coach in this area was recognized in the Top 50 Age Group Coaches in the US (based on swimmers times) and they weren’t from West .

15-18 is not age group.

But the coach pp is referring to does also coach a group of HS aged kids (Gold Prep), and assists with coaching the top level Gold group. She’s the reason my 17 yo won’t switch clubs despite several others being far more conveniently located.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would someone explain the differences between the Silver and Gold groups for NCAP? Any group better than another for a teenager who is happy practicing 5-6 days/week? And, is any location better than another for a motivated teen? I hear they aren't always consistent, so we're trying to figure it out. Thx.

Most of the NCAP sites have a breakdown of their practice groups on their website. If there are particular sites you’re interested in it might be helpful to name them so people can give specific feedback. People can talk up NCAP West, for example, but if you live in Maryland it doesn’t matter how great that site is because it won’t work for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Scroll down to the “Mens” (untapered, mid-season) meet times and you will see the actual NCAP location listed next to the swimmers’ names. Same with the “Womens.”
https://www.pvswim.org/2324meet/24-35rm.html

At NCAP-Burke, Gold I is (mostly) made up of the National Team. Silver I leads to Gold I. Bronze I is a select group of (a tiny few 10 year olds)-12 year olds that largely move to Silver I. Bronze II can also move to Silver I or Silver II in time, if they have AA+ times (this isn’t published, but seems to be the case).
https://www.gomotionapp.com/team/pvncbf/page/training-groups

Midseason]focus meet, absolutely a taper meet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a wise question, OP

NCap is run like a franchise- all the sites say they are NCap but they are all managed differently, have different schedules, go to different meets, and the groups differ wildly in how fast they are

Silver is roughly 13/14/15 yo's and gold is usually sophomores and above but sometimes includes freshmen, depends on the location and the swimmers' speed.

West is the fastest by far, with the strongest group of coaches from youngest to oldest group.

Prep is probably the most intense- the silver coach there is pretty punishing. They have gold1 (fastest) gold 2, and gold 3 (kids who play other sports).

AU is slow. The silver coach is nice, as is the gold coach, but the group is no longer that fast. They previously had a disastrous silver coach and a completely MIA gold 3 coach- that site it rebuilding, for sure. Have heard lots of complaints.

Mixed reviews of Burke, Marymount, and Tysons. They are all roughly structured the same.

Good luck!

Disagree with this statement “West is the fastest by far, with the strongest group of coaches from youngest to oldest group”. Only one Coach in this area was recognized in the Top 50 Age Group Coaches in the US (based on swimmers times) and they weren’t from West .

15-18 is not age group.

But the coach pp is referring to does also coach a group of HS aged kids (Gold Prep), and assists with coaching the top level Gold group. She’s the reason my 17 yo won’t switch clubs despite several others being far more conveniently located.

Her top group of age group swimmers will be 15 in 1-2 yrs and you will see them dominate then. My swimmer won’t leave either because of her even though she just assists with Gold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a wise question, OP

NCap is run like a franchise- all the sites say they are NCap but they are all managed differently, have different schedules, go to different meets, and the groups differ wildly in how fast they are

Silver is roughly 13/14/15 yo's and gold is usually sophomores and above but sometimes includes freshmen, depends on the location and the swimmers' speed.

West is the fastest by far, with the strongest group of coaches from youngest to oldest group.

Prep is probably the most intense- the silver coach there is pretty punishing. They have gold1 (fastest) gold 2, and gold 3 (kids who play other sports).

AU is slow. The silver coach is nice, as is the gold coach, but the group is no longer that fast. They previously had a disastrous silver coach and a completely MIA gold 3 coach- that site it rebuilding, for sure. Have heard lots of complaints.

Mixed reviews of Burke, Marymount, and Tysons. They are all roughly structured the same.

Good luck!

Disagree with this statement “West is the fastest by far, with the strongest group of coaches from youngest to oldest group”. Only one Coach in this area was recognized in the Top 50 Age Group Coaches in the US (based on swimmers times) and they weren’t from West .

15-18 is not age group.

But the coach pp is referring to does also coach a group of HS aged kids (Gold Prep), and assists with coaching the top level Gold group. She’s the reason my 17 yo won’t switch clubs despite several others being far more conveniently located.

Her top group of age group swimmers will be 15 in 1-2 yrs and you will see them dominate then. My swimmer won’t leave either because of her even though she just assists with Gold.

lol. Same! I have a bronze 1 and gold swimmer and she assists with both groups but it is enough that they won’t leave. They love her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Prep is probably the most intense- the silver coach there is pretty punishing.

the type of work this coach throws at kids 13-14 is a great recipe for burnout and injury. maybe it gets results in the short term, but this old school style is the type of training most of the swim world has moved on from.