RMSC vs Machine

[Anonymous]

DC, who will turn 9 next season, will try out at the RMSC MLK site and Machine Fairland site.
1. We are aware of the price difference, but is RMSC’s price valid for non-MC residents?
2. Is it easy to move between different RMSC locations after you get into one?
3. Which one is easier to get in? DC has been doing year-round swimming for a year, legal in all four strokes (up to 100/200y), but only having slower than B times.
4. Which one is better at improving stroke technique? Our current club only pays attention to endurance.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

MLK swimmer parent here.

1) We are MoCo residents so I am not sure about the price … it’s worth calling the site manager to ask.

2) I was under the impression that kids have to try out if they want to switch sites but I’m not 100 percent sure.

3) MLK has three levels of juniors (ages 9-12). So there are multiple areas of fit; it’s hard to say where your kid would land, if a spot was offered. My guess would be Juniors 1? There’s opportunity to move up, though, from what I’ve seen.

4) I think my kid has gotten good stroke instruction at RMSC. Can’t speak to Machine but I know some older kids who are very happy there.

Which pool is easier to get to during the week? That’s a huge consideration. Traffic sucks.

[Anonymous]

I would pick the one closest to your house and the most convenient. We swim with PAC at Fairland, my kid is also a C swimmer, the Machine kids look more professional in their Machine caps but the coaching is not that different and it’s 3x the price. Not worth it for this age imo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC, who will turn 9 next season, will try out at the RMSC MLK site and Machine Fairland site.
1. We are aware of the price difference, but is RMSC’s price valid for non-MC residents?
2. Is it easy to move between different RMSC locations after you get into one?
3. Which one is easier to get in? DC has been doing year-round swimming for a year, legal in all four strokes (up to 100/200y), but only having slower than B times.
4. Which one is better at improving stroke technique? Our current club only pays attention to endurance.

Thank you!

I'll echo what others said - pick the site that is closest to you. Most all of the practices happen during the afternoon rush hour. You'll be going 2, 3, 4 times a week and any 'extra' time you are forced to spend commuting will cause additional stress for you and your child and gradually suck the life out of you both - don't underestimate this.

The RMSC price is more for non-county residents. I don't know what it is but it's not a huge difference.

I don't know that you can really say that any given site is easier to get in than the other; also, this will vary by year based on the strength/skill level of the particular batch of new kids trying out and how many slots they have available at that location. This is all out of you/your child's control. What is in your control is to show up on time, be rested and ready and put on your best show. Having said that, and this is speculation, but my sense is that there are fewer available slots at the Rockville location so that would translate to being harder to get into(less availability) -- but, this is just speculation on my behalf.

If your kid is fast, moving locations will be easy. If your kid is new and/or not a standout, you may be stuck since all the locations at the lower ages are pretty much at capacity. So, it's not impossible but not something you can count on unless your kid is fast.

At this age level there are multiple groups and the faster/stronger kids are in the higher group and this is the group what will get more attention on technique. Based on what you said, it sounds like your kid will be in the lower group and they may not focus as much on technique; that is not to say it is ignored and it may vary coach to coach and I don't know enough to comment on MLK specifically.

[Anonymous]

We live outside of MoCo and swam at RMSC for years. It was not that much more (maybe $50 or $100 per year). We had a good experience with RMSC. We never considered Machine because we would have been further from our home.

[Anonymous]

Another MLK parent here. The JR coaches are great. My daughter loves Anna especially. When I watch practice I see them doing stroke work, a decent amount of starts and turns as well.

As far as transferring to another site I'm not sure. I'd echo what has already been said about picking a site that is close to your house to start.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for your helpful information! Will definitely let DC try out at the MLK site.
PS: I can’t find tryout information for RMSC’s MLK site. When will the information be posted for the 2023-24 season?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all for your helpful information! Will definitely let DC try out at the MLK site.
PS: I can’t find tryout information for RMSC’s MLK site. When will the information be posted for the 2023-24 season?

probably August.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all for your helpful information! Will definitely let DC try out at the MLK site.
PS: I can’t find tryout information for RMSC’s MLK site. When will the information be posted for the 2023-24 season?

probably August.

The summer tryout information for the 2023-2024 season should be posted soon. I think the tryouts are in June and July.

[Anonymous]

If you get into RMSC and want to change locations, it isn’t always that easy until they know who you are.

We did it but my son’s NDG coach called the other coach and vouched for him. We knew a few RMSC coaches at other locations who said our son could transfer easily because they’d talk to the coaches. So if an RMSC coach will recommend you, switching is easy. Usually all the coaches know the swimmers.

If they don’t know the swimmer, they’d likely try out or maybe the coach can observe them at a meet.

I would not depend on this transfer though because MLK can be one of the easier pools to get into (many super competitive kids but there some who got lucky because the top kids often want other pools). A kid at NDG or NTG at MLK wouldn’t necessarily be able to get a spot at KSAC or Rockville.

[Anonymous]

RMSC is very hard to get into. You either get lucky where there are more open slots than applicants or you have to be really good. It's more than just being legal in all four strokes at age 9. They go into juniors and many of the kids are from Mini's so very limited spots. Try out for multiple locations and it may take a few seasons to get in. We had to try out a bunch of times before our kid made it and it was pure luck. KSAC for juniors is terrible. Coach is the queen of mean. They used to have two tryouts a year and it was easier to get in during the spring, but now they just have it yearly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you get into RMSC and want to change locations, it isn’t always that easy until they know who you are.

We did it but my son’s NDG coach called the other coach and vouched for him. We knew a few RMSC coaches at other locations who said our son could transfer easily because they’d talk to the coaches. So if an RMSC coach will recommend you, switching is easy. Usually all the coaches know the swimmers.

If they don’t know the swimmer, they’d likely try out or maybe the coach can observe them at a meet.

I would not depend on this transfer though because MLK can be one of the easier pools to get into (many super competitive kids but there some who got lucky because the top kids often want other pools). A kid at NDG or NTG at MLK wouldn’t necessarily be able to get a spot at KSAC or Rockville.

We changed, and it was easy because another child was leaving then, so they just moved mine into that slot. We couldn't make the original location work with a job change. But, from what I hear, generally they make you do a full tryout again.