Swimming as second (or third) favorite sport
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Anonymous
| Swimming seems like one of those "all or nothing" sports that are hard to do at a more casual level (outside of summer swim) as kids get older. But it seems like a great balance to the high impact/running sports for kids who enjoy swimming but don't want to make it their "main" thing. Do any of you have kids who swam year round but in a lower key way (e.g. twice per week until HS)? Do kids who swim less frequently lose interest as the kids who train more start to really pull away? Does an above average swimmer who practices twice per week (plus other sports) have a realistic shot at making a HS team around here? Or are the HS swimmers all kids who swim almost every day and consider it their main sport? |
Anonymous
| I disagree. If you go to a pvs meet you will see there are tons of kids, including teens, who only swim 2x a week. Most high school swim teams are no cut. |
Anonymous
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There are plenty of swim options to swim 2-3 times a week and do other sports as well with swim. Nothing will make a kid quit more than swimming all the time and the younger the kids starts swimming all those days, the more likely they will quit when a teen.
High School swim can be a cut sport at certain schools but usually if the kid is terrible at swimming (i.e. can barely swim). A lot of high school kids that are great on the team, swim summer and that is it. |
Anonymous
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For now my late elementary kids swim in the Norman Competitive group - 2x a week workouts and 0 meets. Swimming is not their top sport, but it’s #2 for both and they see this as a way to be competitive for summer swim at our NVSL division 6/7/8 pool.
Following because I like the exercise they get and hope they can maintain something similar through junior high. In HS, I assume they will have conditioning workouts as part of their main sports or will be able to take responsibility for coordinating running or biking for fitness with friends like I did at that age. |
Anonymous
Our FCPS high school cuts a ton of kids even those who swim year round. I think it may vary a lot from school to school. |
Anonymous
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My 11 year old son does baseball and swimming - with baseball as his #1. My husband asked our former UVA swimmer friend about it - and he said he thinks as long as our son swims 1 day a week in the fall and spring to still get the feel for the water, and more in the winter when he doesn't have baseball - it should be fine.
I am a former D1 runner, and I didn't specialize in XC / track until HS. I am a firm believer in this oldie but goodie article: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/11/opinion/sports-should-be-childs-play.html#:~:text=Children%20are%20playing%20sports%20in,ultimate%20level%20of%20athletic%20success FWIW he's not swimming JOs and that's fine with me. |
Anonymous
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My kid is 11 and was swimming year round the last 2 years 2-3 times a week. She decided this summer though she doesn’t want to do it anymore. She is doing stroke and turn once a week instead ( no meets) and going once a week herself/with me to swim laps. I have no idea if she’ll get on a HS team if not big this us what works for us right now.
She also plays soccer, does dance, and wavrs to do basketball in the winter at MS. |
Anonymous
Also true in MCPS, schools will vary. It is hard to make the best MCPS teams (where club team participation is high), but there are also schools who would be happy to have more swimmers. |
Anonymous
the article is behind a paywall but I think it probably deals with specialization too early and sports injuries being seen at earlier and earlier ages because of that specialization. I worry about that with my kids and tend to hold them a bit longer than their peers in moving up in groups. My one kid is very good and her closest peer friend is at another club. My kid's coach and group are pretty laid back and although offered 5 days a week, we go 3 most weeks. Her peer swims 5-6 days and also gets private coaching, dryland and weight lifting. They are 11. I think that is way too much. |
Anonymous
| One of the best things about swimming as a sport in the DMV is that there really is a club and training group for everyone. You don’t have to be committed to swimming as your top sport in order to continue to compete. Obviously, the level at which you are able to compete will vary, but you can still compete, which is an option you don’t have in most sports. |
Anonymous
Yes - OP here - sorry about the paywall, but yes, that's the premise of the article. And I know of kids with swimming overuse injuries before high school age, too. |
Anonymous
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Everyone should really look at their own kid's high school and not generalize about cuts. Many schools in FCPS cut, because they just don't have lane space.
There was one non-club swimmer on my daughter's HS team last season. Many club swimmers did NOT make the team-- decent BB swimmers. |
Anonymous
WJ in MoCo also cuts kids who swim year-round every year (or at least frequently). You need to ask someone who has a HS swimmer at your HS to get an accurate answer. |
Anonymous
| Cuts in HS are up to the coach. There are teams in FCPS that will have 15 kids to a lane. They are swimming on top of one another. Most will allow the club swimmers but prefer they attend club practice and not take up lane space. |
Anonymous
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I have a HS senior who "only" swims 2-3x/week for club, for HS (small team/no cuts), and for our small summer swim team (no A/B meets.)
He does it because he likes swimming, he has friends on all of the teams, and it's his favorite way to get exercise. He isn't a fast kid (places towards the end of every meet.) He also plays rec soccer 2x/week because he has been playing with most of those kids since 2nd grade. His brother who is a junior in HS only does summer swim and HS (no club.) It is just finding the teams that are right for your kid. We hunted till we found a low-pressure team that met our kid's needs. |