Machine vs. All Star Aquatics
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Anonymous
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I know both of these are highly regarded clubs, but can anyone help highlight some of the key differences? We live in MoCo, and my 11-year-old son loves swimming. He qualified for A meets this summer, but just barely, swimming on our Division D team. He’s interested in swimming 3–4 times per week with a club that ideally doesn’t have super crowded lanes.
We’re definitely open to suggestions for other clubs in lower MoCo too if anyone has recommendations that might be a good fit. Thank you so much! |
Anonymous
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We’re a Machine family and love the organization. Their only Maryland locations are Fairland (Laurel) and College Park, none in lower MoCo but not that inconvenient depending on where you live.
In our experience, Machine lanes aren’t crowded. We really like the kids’ coaches (as do the kids). Until you get to the higher levels, they’re not super intense. For our family, that’s a good fit, but YMMV. They also do a great job of keeping practice fun for the kids, which it’s important to us. Happy to answer any more specific questions! Tollefson is another MoCo club that people like, though it’s much smaller than either Machine or ASA. |
Anonymous
| I believe ASA already held tryouts and groups are mostly full at this point. I also think at 11, and making A meets but barely in Division D, it’s very unlikely he’d get a spot at ASA (even if he had attended tryouts). As an PP mentioned, Machine and ASA are in VERY different locations. Are you looking for a Bethesda-area team? Or more like Silver Spring/College Park? A lot of Bethesda kids start at Sea Devils as their first club team and as they progress, some do move to other teams like NCAP or ASA. You could maybe also tryout for NCAP directly. And I have heard good things about Machine if that location is a viable option for your family. |
Anonymous
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Thank you for all this great info! Are there any Maryland clubs that are particularly strong when it comes to building proper stroke mechanics past age 10?
We definitely want to support him in continuing to build endurance, but also want to help him correct some of the form issues that impact his swims. We are located in Bethesda but willing to travel for the best fit. Thanks again for any insights! Any thoughts on clubs or strategies would be helpful. |
Anonymous
Tollefson is very low key but teaches strike mechanics for younger kids very well. It just doesn’t have an older kids group (ends at 13/14 basically) |
Anonymous
| *stroke mechanics |
Anonymous
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Go to whichever one has the most convenient practice sites.
My kid swam with PAC at Fairland for 2 years. We had 2 lanes, Machine had 2 lanes and FAST had 2 lanes. They’re all crowded. Aside from the Machine kids having matching swim caps there wasn’t a huge difference in what they were doing. |
Anonymous
If you are close to the north part of Bethesda and have easy access to 270, RMSC’s Rockville site could be an option. They have tryouts on 7/21 and 7/23. https://www.rockvillemd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/44352/RMSC-Rockville-Tryout-Fall-25---Winter-26?bidId= I know some Bethesda kids swim there. Rockville offers private lessons if you need stroke lessons. Also try RMSC KSAC, although driving to practice could be nightmare for some families in these couple of years. |
Anonymous
I’m the first PP - Tollefson is less low key than it used to be, but is excellent at teaching technique. They have technical classes and what they call “training and endurance” sessions, which would likely be a good fit but aren’t competitive. IME, the competitive teams are not particularly welcoming to older kids who aren’t already very fast. But the technique + training and endurance classes would likely help him a lot. Maybe Quince Orchard Swim Academy? Not super close but not bad and the head coach has a good reputation. PAC and FAST are also options at Fairland. Definitely low-key, but probably not worth traveling there given what you’re looking for. Neither is RMSC. They’re not known for their technical coaching skills. |
Anonymous
Tollefson definitely has groups beyond 13/14. |
Anonymous
| Tollefson does a great job of trying to emulate that summer swim team/family atmosphere to the extent possible in winter swim. And they go through high school. We love the team. |
Anonymous
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ASA is now offering stroke mechanics and endurance opportunities for older swimmers. It's not the 3-4 days a week that you are looking for, but it's in Bethesda and ASA's stroke development cannot be beat.
https://www.allstaraquatics.net/page/rising-stars/technique--endurance-clinics FINS also offers strength and endurance all year round for 10 and ups, I believe. It may have more days offered. FINS is wonderful, but ASA and TOLL still have an edge for stroke development. Still, recommend checking it out since they have a ton of options: https://finsswimming.com |