Confused about purpose of intense schedule

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two PPs are exactly right. At some point, if your kid has the interest and talent "a single club (varsity) sport will get a kid into college" and pursuing that path may be the way to go.

Our club doesn't have kids doing doubles (and it's 1-2 per week) until 9th grade (sometimes well into the year even) though, and I think this is smart approach. We were not doing that at 13.

My kid has committed to a D1 program.

I have noticed different clubs can have much different expectations. My son is aging up to a 9/10 program this year. I’m grateful that his club only offers a max of 3 days per week. Some other clubs we were looking at expect at least 4 days for their more advanced swimmers even at such a young age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This again? You already asked this earlier.

No, I didn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So what's it about? The coach? Even dumber. Athletic recruits still need to be good candidates, which means ECs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

So what's it about? The coach? Even dumber. Athletic recruits still need to be good candidates, which means ECs.

The athletics are the ECs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not consider moving up groups in club swim and doing 2 a days unless your kid is really fast or you have reason to believe your kid will be really fast (hasn’t hit puberty, both parents really tall, etc). I also wouldn’t do it unless the kid is begging to do it and is really committed to swimming. Don’t worry about what the coach wants you to do. Worry about what your kid wants to do.

Club swim is ultimately about money. Yes they want to win races, meets, etc., but they really want to pay themselves and coaches and staff more.

This. 100%

My child isn’t going to do AM practices until after puberty, and ONLY if they are driven to do it. It’s a worthless grind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two PPs are exactly right. At some point, if your kid has the interest and talent "a single club (varsity) sport will get a kid into college" and pursuing that path may be the way to go.

Our club doesn't have kids doing doubles (and it's 1-2 per week) until 9th grade (sometimes well into the year even) though, and I think this is smart approach. We were not doing that at 13.

My kid has committed to a D1 program.

I have noticed different clubs can have much different expectations. My son is aging up to a 9/10 program this year. I’m grateful that his club only offers a max of 3 days per week. Some other clubs we were looking at expect at least 4 days for their more advanced swimmers even at such a young age.

Agree. I am PP and my kids swam 3d most of the time at 9-11y. That last year (5th grade) when they were on the path to the advanced MS group, I think they added a 4th when it worked in their schedule. They played other sports through MS as well. I think these are big reasons they are still swimming in HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

So what's it about? The coach? Even dumber. Athletic recruits still need to be good candidates, which means ECs.

The athletics are the ECs.

Right. This is the way it has worked for quite a while now.

OP, is this your first child? Maybe talk to some parents of older kids to get some perspective on what expectations are now.

[Anonymous]

For a HS swimmer who wants to swim in college, the intense schedule helps build the training base that is needed to carry them through the next several years. Swimming at an elite level isn’t just about what you do on one season. What you do the several seasons before matters too.

If your child is highly driven AND has the potential to be at the elite/college level, morning practices are likely important for achieving their long term goals. If they have the potential without the drive there’s no point as they won’t make it through college swimming anyway. Morning practice isn’t optional there and it’s miserable if you don’t want to be there. The teen years are where a lot of swimmers with potential but no drive end up dropping back a level or quit entirely. If your child has the drive but not as much potential, you could agree to try it for a year and re-evaluate if it’s having a negative impact in other areas of life. Sometimes the kids who seem like they aren’t on the elite path end up surprising everyone at 13/14/15 because they are so driven to succeed and willing to work harder than others with more talent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:College admissions officers like to see sustained commitment to an activity.

That doesn't mean 2x/day.

It doesn't even necessarily mean being particularly good at the activity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I swam 2x a day with weeknight and weekend meets in HS in the 90s and somehow I found time to take multiple AP classes, be president of French club, chair my instrument in band, play in jazz band, and do a bunch of other stuff.

The 90s were different.

In which relevant ways?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:13 year DS is a fairly decent swimmer and wants to continue swimming in high school. We're concerned the schedule won't allow for any other EC's, and with college applications eventually coming, that's an issue. I know we'll be make it work, but I guess my question is, why don't coaches understand that a single varsity sport won't get a kid into college? What's the endgame with 2x a day practices? Focusing so much on a single activity would seem to be counterproductive, right?

I guess you can petition the coach to allow your child to join a different team/club?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

So what's it about? The coach? Even dumber. Athletic recruits still need to be good candidates, which means ECs.

The athletics are the ECs.

Are they? I was under the impression you needed a sport AND at least one EC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a HS swimmer who wants to swim in college, the intense schedule helps build the training base that is needed to carry them through the next several years. Swimming at an elite level isn’t just about what you do on one season. What you do the several seasons before matters too.

If your child is highly driven AND has the potential to be at the elite/college level, morning practices are likely important for achieving their long term goals. If they have the potential without the drive there’s no point as they won’t make it through college swimming anyway. Morning practice isn’t optional there and it’s miserable if you don’t want to be there. The teen years are where a lot of swimmers with potential but no drive end up dropping back a level or quit entirely. If your child has the drive but not as much potential, you could agree to try it for a year and re-evaluate if it’s having a negative impact in other areas of life. Sometimes the kids who seem like they aren’t on the elite path end up surprising everyone at 13/14/15 because they are so driven to succeed and willing to work harder than others with more talent.

Yes, I understand all that. But my question is, if they're spending so much time on a sport, how can they also do the EC's colleges are going to want? I.e., if they need to do a sport + EC, it seems like there isn't enough time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a HS swimmer who wants to swim in college, the intense schedule helps build the training base that is needed to carry them through the next several years. Swimming at an elite level isn’t just about what you do on one season. What you do the several seasons before matters too.

If your child is highly driven AND has the potential to be at the elite/college level, morning practices are likely important for achieving their long term goals. If they have the potential without the drive there’s no point as they won’t make it through college swimming anyway. Morning practice isn’t optional there and it’s miserable if you don’t want to be there. The teen years are where a lot of swimmers with potential but no drive end up dropping back a level or quit entirely. If your child has the drive but not as much potential, you could agree to try it for a year and re-evaluate if it’s having a negative impact in other areas of life. Sometimes the kids who seem like they aren’t on the elite path end up surprising everyone at 13/14/15 because they are so driven to succeed and willing to work harder than others with more talent.

Yes, I understand all that. But my question is, if they're spending so much time on a sport, how can they also do the EC's colleges are going to want? I.e., if they need to do a sport + EC, it seems like there isn't enough time.

You’re right, there isn’t enough time. What kinds of ECs are you thinking? My swimmer has done a couple of low time commitment clubs that meet during school. That’s it. And done the best they can in the classes they have.

I wasn’t super worried about this even before it became apparent that swimming was the ticket, guess it depends what kinds of schools are of interest and how helpful swimming will be. My kid is in with just swimming.

[Anonymous]

I don't expect my kids to swim in college and they are club swimmers. It depends entirely on the coach. We don't do a lot of meets and try to make all the sessions but sometimes miss a few or are late and they are very nice about it.