swim parents: Why is NCap so expensive?

[Anonymous]

PP here. Wow. OK well that is pretty awful. Thank you- I see other teams in the area and will look there! Too bad since NCap used to have such a good reputation even nationally but then again they’ve fallen in the rankings as well.

Thanks again

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here. Wow. OK well that is pretty awful. Thank you- I see other teams in the area and will look there! Too bad since NCap used to have such a good reputation even nationally but then again they’ve fallen in the rankings as well.

Thanks again

Don’t equate one site with the others. I have a Silver and Gold swimmer and they love their coaches, teammates, etc. Having swam with 2 other clubs, NCAP is by far their favorite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NCAP doesn't charge you for meets or nickel and dime you for other things and doesn't require parents to volunteer. It is one cost and that is it.

This is not true at our site. We have to pay to enter every meet and volunteer at least 8 hours for 1 child. It's very expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. Wow. OK well that is pretty awful. Thank you- I see other teams in the area and will look there! Too bad since NCap used to have such a good reputation even nationally but then again they’ve fallen in the rankings as well.

Thanks again

Don’t equate one site with the others. I have a Silver and Gold swimmer and they love their coaches, teammates, etc. Having swam with 2 other clubs, NCAP is by far their favorite.

Which site? I’ve heard Freedom in VA is good

[Anonymous]

I think this has been mentioned before, but you could also look into NCAP AU and their Gold group. Tim has a really good reputation and his swimmers seem to respond well to him. NCAP is expensive, but also has some really strong swimmers and its share of good coaches/groups. I think this board is a good place to start, but talking to the different coaches/programs might also give you a better sense of feel and fit—which really does vary from swimmer to swimmer.

[Anonymous]

Why is there so much variation across sites/groups?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. Wow. OK well that is pretty awful. Thank you- I see other teams in the area and will look there! Too bad since NCap used to have such a good reputation even nationally but then again they’ve fallen in the rankings as well.

Thanks again

Don’t equate one site with the others. I have a Silver and Gold swimmer and they love their coaches, teammates, etc. Having swam with 2 other clubs, NCAP is by far their favorite.

Which site? I’ve heard Freedom in VA is good

NCAP-West is excellent. The top HS aged kids at West train at Vint Hill, which is basically between the Freedom Center and Warrenton. If you’re talking about a younger kid (Bronze), they will be at either the Warrenton site or Freedom Center (you can choose which to try out for). The Silver program is based out of Freedom Center, and that is essentially the top 12-14 year olds. Freedom Center and Warrenton each also have a HS program that is a level below the top kids that is geared toward kids that love swimming but also play another sport or want to continue competing even if they aren’t at the top level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is there so much variation across sites/groups?

They’re franchises.

[Anonymous]

NCAP is doing what Metro did to volleyball. They have their elite kids, we all know that but then they spread and they have east, west, north south district, suburbs etc. there are not enough good coaches and the lower level teams are just funding the higher level coaches.

[Anonymous]

I never thought about it that way. It’s been soooo frustrating- we went from a great coach to a bad coach and we have to wait for another good coach….admin is unresponsive bordering on hostile. We’re thinking of leaving for sure

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never thought about it that way. It’s been soooo frustrating- we went from a great coach to a bad coach and we have to wait for another good coach….admin is unresponsive bordering on hostile. We’re thinking of leaving for sure

This happens at all the teams. There are always bad coaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never thought about it that way. It’s been soooo frustrating- we went from a great coach to a bad coach and we have to wait for another good coach….admin is unresponsive bordering on hostile. We’re thinking of leaving for sure

This happens at all the teams. There are always bad coaches.

I understand that but for 7k, which is considerably more than the other teams, it feels that much more WRONG

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid was a NTG swimmer at RMSC And had a good coach.

Without the location, this comment is not helpful.
One of the RMSC NTG coaches was verbally abusive to swimmers. Many kids moved.

RMSC coaches rarely coach much after Advanced Juniors. The NDG, Adv Seniors and NTG coaches give drills but kids are allowed to swim with bad habits all the time with no correction.

I always wondered if NCAP or ASA actually corrected kids and coached beyond giving drills.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:NCAP doesn't charge you for meets or nickel and dime you for other things and doesn't require parents to volunteer. It is one cost and that is it.

Not true, you are required to volunteer for three meets or get charged $150 and ever since the pandemic you get charged per event per meet, just FYI

As an NCap parent I am annoyed with the coaching- some coaches are great, others are not, and its hard to switch between location and the administration doesn't seem to care a lick that there is such a huge disparity. I don't even know what the administration does other than charge you almost twice as much as RMSC (yes, I know we can switch and frankly we are seriously thinking about it)

Also I know that a ton of swimmers left the Prep site and don't know why and why the admin wouldn't care about that??????

The reason they left is the same reason “admin” doesn’t care.

None care if kids leave. They are replaceable.

Well, if no one is willing to move into the group, it’s an issue.

I’ve talked to families who know they’re only being invited bc numbers are so low and the kid doesn’t want to be in that group/with that coach. Or maybe they do belong at that level but aren’t willing to stay for all the reasons others left.

It's not an issue. Either kids move up or eventually, they will shut down the group if they have no swimmers.

I agree, I just don’t think that’s the same as “no one cares, they’re replaceable”

NCAP values the coach more than the swimmers. They don't care or they'd replace the coach. RMSC has some dud's too. One we had was horrible and so many kids quit because of how bad it was.

Was it the Seniors Training Group coach at RMSC KSAC? So many people left and he's still there.

[Anonymous]

We have been RMSC swimmers in the past and did not like it one bit.

We are now Machine swimmers and beyond thrilled with them. What a warm, supportive, kind team. My kid is thriving and happy. The Laurel location is actually very easy for us (we're in Silver Spring) and U of MD on the weekends is such a fabulous facility. If you can at all swing it, take another look at Machine.