Practice group move-ups

[Anonymous]

I'm not a swimmer, but DC doesn't really know what the coaches are "looking for" when they identify swimmers who can/should move up to the next practice group. I'm assuming it's a combination of times, endurance, technique, work ethic, coachability/teachability, attendance, and available vacancies. Are there any factors I'm missing, or any things that are more important than others? Is it OK for me to just email outright and ask what else they want/need to see? I don't want to be a pain to a coaching staff that I really respect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a swimmer, but DC doesn't really know what the coaches are "looking for" when they identify swimmers who can/should move up to the next practice group. I'm assuming it's a combination of times, endurance, technique, work ethic, coachability/teachability, attendance, and available vacancies. Are there any factors I'm missing, or any things that are more important than others? Is it OK for me to just email outright and ask what else they want/need to see? I don't want to be a pain to a coaching staff that I really respect.

You've got most of the reasons right. That said, it's ok for you to email and ask. Coaches might not get back to you right away, but you should get an answer.

[Anonymous]

You pretty much covered it. There is much more transparency in the process the older a swimmer is, so I am assuming you’re talking about a 12U swimmer. My swimmer’s club/site generally waits until after SC season is over to make any adjustments with training groups. Kids who will move to an advanced training group at the start of next season will start that transition over the summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a swimmer, but DC doesn't really know what the coaches are "looking for" when they identify swimmers who can/should move up to the next practice group. I'm assuming it's a combination of times, endurance, technique, work ethic, coachability/teachability, attendance, and available vacancies. Are there any factors I'm missing, or any things that are more important than others? Is it OK for me to just email outright and ask what else they want/need to see? I don't want to be a pain to a coaching staff that I really respect.

You got it. All these things. Coachability is HUGE. A kid that is focused and really into the sets. There are many fast swimmers that are not moved up if they have the wrong attitude. A kid that doesn't like breast stroke and obviously is half assing it and not trying, will not impress the coach as much as a kid trying to do the work on all the strokes. Coaches also suggest things to swimmers all the time or tell them to try an event at the next meet. The kid that ignores the coach and does their own thing will also not get moved up. Maturity and coachability are big, as well as the endurance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a swimmer, but DC doesn't really know what the coaches are "looking for" when they identify swimmers who can/should move up to the next practice group. I'm assuming it's a combination of times, endurance, technique, work ethic, coachability/teachability, attendance, and available vacancies. Are there any factors I'm missing, or any things that are more important than others? Is it OK for me to just email outright and ask what else they want/need to see? I don't want to be a pain to a coaching staff that I really respect.

If your kid is a 12&U it is okay to ask. If your kid is 13&O this is a conversation your swimmer needs to be having with their coach. No parent is doing their older kid any favors by emailing the coach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a swimmer, but DC doesn't really know what the coaches are "looking for" when they identify swimmers who can/should move up to the next practice group. I'm assuming it's a combination of times, endurance, technique, work ethic, coachability/teachability, attendance, and available vacancies. Are there any factors I'm missing, or any things that are more important than others? Is it OK for me to just email outright and ask what else they want/need to see? I don't want to be a pain to a coaching staff that I really respect.

If your kid is a 12&U it is okay to ask. If your kid is 13&O this is a conversation your swimmer needs to be having with their coach. No parent is doing their older kid any favors by emailing the coach.

If a 13 and over parent needs to be asking the coach for their kid, you already have the answer why the kid is not being moved up. Swim pushes the swimmer to be responsible for themselves because it requires so much self motivation. An older kid should be having those conversations if it is what they want. If they are not having those conversations, swim might not be the right sport on the whole for their personality.

[Anonymous]

Tell your swimmer to work on all those things that you listed. When the time to move up groups after SC season, your swimmer will be okay.

If you have experienced coaches, they know what they are doing and you have to trust the process.

[Anonymous]

How do DC's times compare to those of swimmers of the same age in the other practice group?

[Anonymous]

I used to think it was just based on times. But I realize now that my young swimmer age 10 moved up to a harder group it is a lot more. Ability to complete a much longer practice. Focus and taking direction. Understanding the clock. Not messing around in the lane. Meet attendance. Motivation. Anyway for a young kid age 9-11 I’d def ask the coach. Our team publishes what the standards are to move up.

[Anonymous]

In an ideal world, swim coaches welcome the conversation with parent and swimmer and are happy that a swimmer wants to move up. But in reality, many coaches are not the best at listening and get easily exasperated by any whiff of a parent questioning their coaching decisions. I’m only saying this so you can anticipate potential responses to asking about moving up.

To a coach, it’s obvious who needs to be moved up. I think parents think their kid should be moved up because 1) their kid is bored and is goofing off because practice is “too easy”, 2) their friend(s) have moved up and have faster race times, or 3) their friend(s) have moved up and have slower race times. But to a coach, those are not good reasons to move a kid up. Kids who are motivated will run over other kids in their lane if the sets are too easy. They will ask for faster intervals or do fly instead of back. Also, there are certain technical goals that coaches want swimmers to achieve before moving up.

Kids who are capable of making intervals but they don’t push themselves, kids who wait on the wall to socialize, kids who go to the bathroom for a long time, kids who skip sets, kids who space out and don’t listen, kids who never swim breast or fly if they can help it - these are the kids who are not moved up. Attending every practice is great, but many kids attend every practice and hang out on the wall with their friends and are more concerned with socializing than working.

If your swimmer is at least 10/11, I would include them in the conversation. Contact the coach and ask for a meeting time. Don’t ask them on the deck or during a swim meet. Send an email and ask for you and your swimmer to meet with them to discuss their goals and progress. Let your swimmer come up with a list of goals and ask the coach what they can do to achieve them. If your swimmer doesn’t want to do this, then I would wait on the whole moving up thing until they do. I would also watch a few practices to get a sense of how your kid approaches practice. Many kids don’t realize that attendance is not enough. I believe in the process for the most part, but if the coach does not listen to your kid in the meeting, I would consider leaving. Swim is tough, and every swimmer should have a coach that believes in their potential.

[Anonymous]

Our coach just told a few of us that our young 10 year olds will move up next season (they will have just turned 11). All are girls with late summer birthdays. Our coach wants to keep friend AND training groups together. Our girls (there are five of them, all with A times and a few AA times). There are limited spots in the next group, so times and training compatibility matter, but our coach equally recognizes that swimmers are happiest when doing it with their friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our coach just told a few of us that our young 10 year olds will move up next season (they will have just turned 11). All are girls with late summer birthdays. Our coach wants to keep friend AND training groups together. Our girls (there are five of them, all with A times and a few AA times) [edit] have been dear friends since age 7. There are limited spots in the next group, so times and training compatibility matter, but our coach equally recognizes that swimmers are happiest when doing it with their friends.

See edit

[Anonymous]

I think that everyone here has said the right things. It is usually so much more than times. We have a number of fast kids that have not moved up or did not more to the upper groups because of all the other variables that are listed.

I had one of my kids moved up to a top group and I was scratching my head. They had held him a bit longer that his peers before the move, some of that was him and some of that was the coaches. He was a decent swimmer (not the fastest) and apparently listened, very coachable, etc.

When they eventually made the move, it was like all the pieces game together - he started growing, training increased, and his times dropped.

I think that they knew the potential and what was best for him.

If they had pushed him earlier he would not have liked it and would have been discouraged. Long time coaches, tend to know where the best fit is for a kid to continue loving the sport.