Waiting to start club swim?

[Anonymous]

I've got an 8 year old asking to start club swimming this fall. He had a great summer swim season and tried out for a club and got offered a spot. I'm reluctant to take it because he plays other sports and I don't want to overcommit him (and us). He's loving swim now, but I'm not sure he's going to love it when he's doing 3 practices a week in the winter. I'm thinking of just putting him in FINS once a week for a couple years and then when he's 10 or so, if he still really wants to do it, letting him join a club team. DH thinks we should let him do club and that he'll be behind if he doesn't start until 10. What are your thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Winter swim is not as fun as summer. But competition for 9-10 is different than for 8U and harder to get a club spot then.

[Anonymous]

I think three times/week is too much for an 8 year old, especially if he's already doing multiple other sports. If there's a twice/week option, that's ideal. PP is right that it's harder to get in as kids get older, but it's also not impossible. Some clubs do better at making winter swim fun for younger kids, too.

Maybe a middle ground is FINS once a week from Sept - May and then adding a second session during their outdoor seasons in Fall and Spring? Or the stroke and turn plus one endurance session at Tollefson?

[Anonymous]

I think Fins is a fine option, but at age 8 it's unlikely that he would need to do 3 practices a week in club swim. I think many programs will let you get by with twice a week at 8. You can't go wrong either way.

[Anonymous]

OP here, should have been clearer. He's 8 now, but turns 9 in October. He was offered a spot in the 9-10 group, which requires 3 per week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, should have been clearer. He's 8 now, but turns 9 in October. He was offered a spot in the 9-10 group, which requires 3 per week.

I am guessing this is RMSC since it’s this late in the season? If this is at Rockville, he will be expected to go 3 times a week. Not sure about other RMSC sites.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, should have been clearer. He's 8 now, but turns 9 in October. He was offered a spot in the 9-10 group, which requires 3 per week.

Gotcha. If it were me and I had doubts about the sustainability of 3 times per week, I'd personally go with Fins or another program twice per week and revisit for next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, should have been clearer. He's 8 now, but turns 9 in October. He was offered a spot in the 9-10 group, which requires 3 per week.

I am guessing this is RMSC since it’s this late in the season? If this is at Rockville, he will be expected to go 3 times a week. Not sure about other RMSC sites.

My child was at another RMSC site and while they state that they prefer 3 times per week it was by no means a requirement. The coach was clear that it was understood that kids have other stuff going on but just said that 3 times is recommended. There was no taking attendance or kicking kids off the team.

[Anonymous]

He won’t be “behind”. He may burnout.

[Anonymous]

I would look for something that lets him do once or twice per week. The coaching will be better at a club. My 10 year old (9 until summer) does other sports and swims at a club that allows anywhere from 1-4 times a week. He was signed up for 2 days, but missed half of them due to the other sports. Having the good coaching on starts/turns/strokes still set him up nicely for summer swim. He had the solid technique coming into summer and made good improvements on his times once he was swimming almost every day. Going to stay at two days indefinitely unless he decides he wants to pull back on other sports and do more swimming.

[Anonymous]

Find a 1-2 day per week program. 3 days is too many.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, should have been clearer. He's 8 now, but turns 9 in October. He was offered a spot in the 9-10 group, which requires 3 per week.

9:34 from above - that doesn't change my input. Three times a week is still too much for a brand-new 9 year old, especially once who is also doing other sports.

[Anonymous]

If he doesn’t like 3 times a week as a 9 year old, he will really hate 4 times a week as an 11 year old. I would find out now if this is something he loves. Even though it seems logical that a 10/11 year old would find it easier to adjust to swim practice than a 9 year old, it is actually the opposite. By 10/11, many kids have been swimming for 2-3 years. I had one kid join at age 7 and one kid join at age 10, and it was harder for my 10 year old to catch up to his age group.

My 7 year old played academy soccer twice a week and swam twice a week and loved both. When he turned 9, he moved from academy to a club team that practiced 2-3 times a week, and he swam 2-3 times a week. He wanted to swim more, but couldn’t because of soccer. He is now turning 13, and is giving up club soccer so he can focus on swim, but I’m glad he did both for 4 years, even though it was clear that he loved swim more than soccer. It kept him from being burned out and focused at swim practice. He will still play soccer at a lower level, but didn’t want to continue soccer practice 3 times a week.

That’s not to say that starting at age 10/11 won’t work - my older kid played basketball with club swim until 12 and is now 15. It took him longer, but he is now achieving the AAA times he has been dreaming about since he was 10. But it was harder for him than it was for my younger one.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, my very anecdotal experience is it is hard to get a club spot after age 9. That was one of my kid’s personal experience and I have heard similar experiences from other families - even athletic kids who show a ton of potential.

If you have money and flexibility, I would try to take a spot somewhere if it is an activity your kid wants to do to preserve options. I would think there is a club you can get away with 2/week. It seems possible to move around between clubs as kids get older but very hard to break in without club experience once kids are swimming 100s.

I wish it weren’t like that, but my BTDT advice. And I am definitely not a pusher of activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If he doesn’t like 3 times a week as a 9 year old, he will really hate 4 times a week as an 11 year old. I would find out now if this is something he loves. Even though it seems logical that a 10/11 year old would find it easier to adjust to swim practice than a 9 year old, it is actually the opposite. By 10/11, many kids have been swimming for 2-3 years. I had one kid join at age 7 and one kid join at age 10, and it was harder for my 10 year old to catch up to his age group.

My 7 year old played academy soccer twice a week and swam twice a week and loved both. When he turned 9, he moved from academy to a club team that practiced 2-3 times a week, and he swam 2-3 times a week. He wanted to swim more, but couldn’t because of soccer. He is now turning 13, and is giving up club soccer so he can focus on swim, but I’m glad he did both for 4 years, even though it was clear that he loved swim more than soccer. It kept him from being burned out and focused at swim practice. He will still play soccer at a lower level, but didn’t want to continue soccer practice 3 times a week.

That’s not to say that starting at age 10/11 won’t work - my older kid played basketball with club swim until 12 and is now 15. It took him longer, but he is now achieving the AAA times he has been dreaming about since he was 10. But it was harder for him than it was for my younger one.

This is what my DH is arguing.