How friendly is ASA for newcomers?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
Our swimmer has one sectionals cut, might make two by spring champs
TIA to people with direct experience with the team |
Anonymous
| What group would you be looking at? Sounds like you're coming from another team, so presumably an older kid? |
Anonymous
whichever group has sectionals cuts TIA |
Anonymous
| I think all swim teams will be friendly to a swimmer with sectional cut(s). Congrats to your swimmer! |
Anonymous
| How old is your swimmer? |
Anonymous
|
If a HS kid who would go into NTG, I hear the kids are great, really close.
With everything else I’ve heard, directly from swimmers and parents in that group, I was not willing to consider it an option for my swimmer. More importantly, my kid, who was talking about making a change, didn’t want to try it. |
Anonymous
Can you expand as to why? Thank you so much |
Anonymous
Not the PP, but I've heard from multiple ASA swimmers that they like the coaches for the 12-14 age group better than the NTG coach. PP will have to confirm, but it is the coach that is likely being viewed as a negative. |
Anonymous
| This is good to know, thank you |
Anonymous
| Generally kids with sectionals cuts go to NTG, which is the most intense high school level for ASA. My kid is not there yet so I can’t speak to coaching but I know it is a nice group of kids. |
Anonymous
|
My child is ready for a rigorous schedule- I’m mainly concerned about the peer group, especially if she comes in as a new swimmer. Thank you to everyone who chimed in. I know that ASA currently has a very impressive roster of 12-14 swimmers so it must be thanks in part to that coach. It’s too bad if the coach of the fastest group is the weak link- I was under the impression it is the founder of the team- is the coaching style getting too dated or is it a personality issue?
Again, TIA. Switching would be a big commitment so just trying to do our due diligence. |
Anonymous
I interpreted the earlier message differently. My understanding is people are pretty happy with the NTG coaches, the main coach is the Stone Ridge varsity coach (though I agree, the age group head coach is universally beloved and in a class of his own). I have heard the coaches are pretty tough and give extra attention to the fastest kids but I don’t think there is a program around that gets kids to national meets where the coaches are easy or not aware of the best swimmers. I think the Advanced seniors and seniors, which are the training groups generally for slightly less competitive kids, aren’t as fun (that is what I thought the earlier poster meant). But that may be more frustration with kids putting in a lot of work - still 6 practices required - for slower results - but at the same time, I think it is great that ASA has groups for kids who love swimming but don’t necessarily have AAA or AAAA times in their best strokes. And some kids in Advanced seniors are still swimming in college. It seems to me that if your kid has the times and wants to practice 6-7 times/week, he or she will be accepted in the group from a social standpoint. Different point: I do think the 12-14 group is big and fast as a whole so don’t know if the high school standards to make NTG will get harder soon. I think they used to let the sectionals cut slide for 14 year olds but probably not anymore. You can see the practice schedules on the website. |
Anonymous
You really need to reach out to someone in the group to get good information. Why are you switching? |
Anonymous
| Poor management of current team |
Anonymous
100% agree. I am PP whose kid knows many of the kids in the group and was unwilling to consider this group for a change. I have talked to parents. A teammate tried out a few practices with them and returned. ASA has some great coaches and great swimmers, NTG level is a grind no matter where the kid is training, some matches are better than others. |