Started Stroke & Turn and am not impressed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It feels way too crowded and there are 7-8 kids in one lane. Also, they take everyone. There are 3 5-6 year-olds who can barely swim 10 meter and they are there and still take up an entire lane. I thought the requirement is to be able to swim 25m?

What are my other options? Kid is 8. FINS?

What location is this? If this is MoCo, they do pro-rated refunds until Dec so that might be something to consider.

I had a 5yo go through this and although he could go 25m w/o stopping, that was only 1 or 2 lengths in the beginning of practice/session and then he'd be grabbing the wall or rope for breaks or bobbing off the bottom to propel himself using the rope to propel himself, etc, he figured out all the "tricks". Although he was comfortable in the "big pool", he just didn't have the endurance at that age. This gradually went away and by the time he was 7 he didn't do it anymore.

In my experience, these younger/weaker swimmers would be in the lane closest to the wall and wouldn't be in a lane w/ a stronger 8yo swimmer like your DC so I'm not sure why this would be an issue unless they aren't running the session this way in which case you should raise this with the coach - lane grouping by age/ability is common practice and they should be doing this.

I think OP is saying the younger kids that shouldn’t be there are in a lane to themselves, which is then forcing the other lanes to be overcrowded. OP, my kid got more out of FINS than stroke and turn for similar reasons. They did a year of FINS (age 8) and then moved to a club the following year.

That's OP's mistake/misunderstanding of the program.

Anonymous wrote:
Parents, please stop over-estimating your kids’ abilities or throwing them into something like a stroke and turn clinic knowing full well they aren’t ready for it. It ruins the experience for everyone else who is appropriately there because they are constantly having to adjust the session for the kids that aren’t ready to be there.

But that's not a parent decision, that is a coach/instructor/coordinator decision.

Parents can overestimate all they want but at the end of the day,if they don't "belong" there, they won't be there regardless of what the parents think/want.

There are going to be a range of abilities in any group setting, that's just how it works. If you don't want/like this, go private.

My kid started through the MoCo programs and this is patently untrue. It was a regular occurrence where the parents would put a kid in a level (or more) above their ability and the instructors never kicked a kid out or were able to move them a level down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It feels way too crowded and there are 7-8 kids in one lane. Also, they take everyone. There are 3 5-6 year-olds who can barely swim 10 meter and they are there and still take up an entire lane. I thought the requirement is to be able to swim 25m?

What are my other options? Kid is 8. FINS?

What location is this? If this is MoCo, they do pro-rated refunds until Dec so that might be something to consider.

I had a 5yo go through this and although he could go 25m w/o stopping, that was only 1 or 2 lengths in the beginning of practice/session and then he'd be grabbing the wall or rope for breaks or bobbing off the bottom to propel himself using the rope to propel himself, etc, he figured out all the "tricks". Although he was comfortable in the "big pool", he just didn't have the endurance at that age. This gradually went away and by the time he was 7 he didn't do it anymore.

In my experience, these younger/weaker swimmers would be in the lane closest to the wall and wouldn't be in a lane w/ a stronger 8yo swimmer like your DC so I'm not sure why this would be an issue unless they aren't running the session this way in which case you should raise this with the coach - lane grouping by age/ability is common practice and they should be doing this.

I think OP is saying the younger kids that shouldn’t be there are in a lane to themselves, which is then forcing the other lanes to be overcrowded. OP, my kid got more out of FINS than stroke and turn for similar reasons. They did a year of FINS (age 8) and then moved to a club the following year.

Parents, please stop over-estimating your kids’ abilities or throwing them into something like a stroke and turn clinic knowing full well they aren’t ready for it. It ruins the experience for everyone else who is appropriately there because they are constantly having to adjust the session for the kids that aren’t ready to be there.

I would stop expecting parents to have any idea about what level is appropriate. They are parents not swimming experts.

I didn't grow up around swim and do my best to place my kids in the right programs, but it's always a gamble that I got it right. I try to get advice, but it can be hit or miss. If I get it wrong, I expect someone on the coaching staff to tell me and discuss options.

Are you saying that before you put your kid in stroke and turn you didn’t know that he didn’t have the endurance to do more than a few 25s at the beginning of practice? It never occurred to you that, before putting your 5 year old in something where the age range of participants is up to 18, maybe you should talk to someone with the program about what it entailed and whether it would be appropriate for your 5 year old? Please, give me a break, you do not need swim savvy to be able to do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It feels way too crowded and there are 7-8 kids in one lane. Also, they take everyone. There are 3 5-6 year-olds who can barely swim 10 meter and they are there and still take up an entire lane. I thought the requirement is to be able to swim 25m?

What are my other options? Kid is 8. FINS?

What location is this? If this is MoCo, they do pro-rated refunds until Dec so that might be something to consider.

I had a 5yo go through this and although he could go 25m w/o stopping, that was only 1 or 2 lengths in the beginning of practice/session and then he'd be grabbing the wall or rope for breaks or bobbing off the bottom to propel himself using the rope to propel himself, etc, he figured out all the "tricks". Although he was comfortable in the "big pool", he just didn't have the endurance at that age. This gradually went away and by the time he was 7 he didn't do it anymore.

In my experience, these younger/weaker swimmers would be in the lane closest to the wall and wouldn't be in a lane w/ a stronger 8yo swimmer like your DC so I'm not sure why this would be an issue unless they aren't running the session this way in which case you should raise this with the coach - lane grouping by age/ability is common practice and they should be doing this.

I think OP is saying the younger kids that shouldn’t be there are in a lane to themselves, which is then forcing the other lanes to be overcrowded. OP, my kid got more out of FINS than stroke and turn for similar reasons. They did a year of FINS (age 8) and then moved to a club the following year.

Parents, please stop over-estimating your kids’ abilities or throwing them into something like a stroke and turn clinic knowing full well they aren’t ready for it. It ruins the experience for everyone else who is appropriately there because they are constantly having to adjust the session for the kids that aren’t ready to be there.

I would stop expecting parents to have any idea about what level is appropriate. They are parents not swimming experts.

I didn't grow up around swim and do my best to place my kids in the right programs, but it's always a gamble that I got it right. I try to get advice, but it can be hit or miss. If I get it wrong, I expect someone on the coaching staff to tell me and discuss options.

Are you saying that before you put your kid in stroke and turn you didn’t know that he didn’t have the endurance to do more than a few 25s at the beginning of practice? It never occurred to you that, before putting your 5 year old in something where the age range of participants is up to 18, maybe you should talk to someone with the program about what it entailed and whether it would be appropriate for your 5 year old? Please, give me a break, you do not need swim savvy to be able to do that.

I haven't signed my kid up for a stroke and turn clinic, but would have assumed it was like any other developmental swim program where it would be sorted by age and ability. If my kid met the sign up criteria (age+able to swim 25m), I wouldn't expect the program to be inappropriate. But I know very little about swim.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've noticed it typically takes a few weeks for the coaches to sort things out and get the swimmers in the appropriate lanes based on ability.

Can we also note that kids can be all over the place? They could have been doing one thing in June when programs had registration, picked up skills over the summer swim season, gotten rusty over August so look they weak at the first practices, and then recall those summer skills in October and need to skip levels. They're kids.

[Anonymous]

City of Rockville has higher level classes than the county or they used to. Maybe try them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It feels way too crowded and there are 7-8 kids in one lane. Also, they take everyone. There are 3 5-6 year-olds who can barely swim 10 meter and they are there and still take up an entire lane. I thought the requirement is to be able to swim 25m?

What are my other options? Kid is 8. FINS?

What location is this? If this is MoCo, they do pro-rated refunds until Dec so that might be something to consider.

I had a 5yo go through this and although he could go 25m w/o stopping, that was only 1 or 2 lengths in the beginning of practice/session and then he'd be grabbing the wall or rope for breaks or bobbing off the bottom to propel himself using the rope to propel himself, etc, he figured out all the "tricks". Although he was comfortable in the "big pool", he just didn't have the endurance at that age. This gradually went away and by the time he was 7 he didn't do it anymore.

In my experience, these younger/weaker swimmers would be in the lane closest to the wall and wouldn't be in a lane w/ a stronger 8yo swimmer like your DC so I'm not sure why this would be an issue unless they aren't running the session this way in which case you should raise this with the coach - lane grouping by age/ability is common practice and they should be doing this.

I think OP is saying the younger kids that shouldn’t be there are in a lane to themselves, which is then forcing the other lanes to be overcrowded. OP, my kid got more out of FINS than stroke and turn for similar reasons. They did a year of FINS (age 8) and then moved to a club the following year.

Parents, please stop over-estimating your kids’ abilities or throwing them into something like a stroke and turn clinic knowing full well they aren’t ready for it. It ruins the experience for everyone else who is appropriately there because they are constantly having to adjust the session for the kids that aren’t ready to be there.

I would stop expecting parents to have any idea about what level is appropriate. They are parents not swimming experts.

I didn't grow up around swim and do my best to place my kids in the right programs, but it's always a gamble that I got it right. I try to get advice, but it can be hit or miss. If I get it wrong, I expect someone on the coaching staff to tell me and discuss options.

Are you saying that before you put your kid in stroke and turn you didn’t know that he didn’t have the endurance to do more than a few 25s at the beginning of practice? It never occurred to you that, before putting your 5 year old in something where the age range of participants is up to 18, maybe you should talk to someone with the program about what it entailed and whether it would be appropriate for your 5 year old? Please, give me a break, you do not need swim savvy to be able to do that.

You've just made up a requirement for stroke and turn that doesn't currently exist. Maybe this could be the basis for a new program that you are in charge of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It feels way too crowded and there are 7-8 kids in one lane. Also, they take everyone. There are 3 5-6 year-olds who can barely swim 10 meter and they are there and still take up an entire lane. I thought the requirement is to be able to swim 25m?

What are my other options? Kid is 8. FINS?

What location is this? If this is MoCo, they do pro-rated refunds until Dec so that might be something to consider.

I had a 5yo go through this and although he could go 25m w/o stopping, that was only 1 or 2 lengths in the beginning of practice/session and then he'd be grabbing the wall or rope for breaks or bobbing off the bottom to propel himself using the rope to propel himself, etc, he figured out all the "tricks". Although he was comfortable in the "big pool", he just didn't have the endurance at that age. This gradually went away and by the time he was 7 he didn't do it anymore.

In my experience, these younger/weaker swimmers would be in the lane closest to the wall and wouldn't be in a lane w/ a stronger 8yo swimmer like your DC so I'm not sure why this would be an issue unless they aren't running the session this way in which case you should raise this with the coach - lane grouping by age/ability is common practice and they should be doing this.

I think OP is saying the younger kids that shouldn’t be there are in a lane to themselves, which is then forcing the other lanes to be overcrowded. OP, my kid got more out of FINS than stroke and turn for similar reasons. They did a year of FINS (age 8) and then moved to a club the following year.

That's OP's mistake/misunderstanding of the program.

Anonymous wrote:
Parents, please stop over-estimating your kids’ abilities or throwing them into something like a stroke and turn clinic knowing full well they aren’t ready for it. It ruins the experience for everyone else who is appropriately there because they are constantly having to adjust the session for the kids that aren’t ready to be there.

But that's not a parent decision, that is a coach/instructor/coordinator decision.

Parents can overestimate all they want but at the end of the day,if they don't "belong" there, they won't be there regardless of what the parents think/want.

There are going to be a range of abilities in any group setting, that's just how it works. If you don't want/like this, go private.

My kid started through the MoCo programs and this is patently untrue. It was a regular occurrence where the parents would put a kid in a level (or more) above their ability and the instructors never kicked a kid out or were able to move them a level down.

I had a different experience with my daughter. She was promoted from one level to the next in their beginning series so we signed her up. When the class started, she clearly wasn't ready - more emotionally/mentally than skill wise - and was very clingly to the instructor. He informed us at the end of the second class that she wasn't a good fit so we withdrew her. All their classes at those levels fill so there wasn't an option to move down a class for that session.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It feels way too crowded and there are 7-8 kids in one lane. Also, they take everyone. There are 3 5-6 year-olds who can barely swim 10 meter and they are there and still take up an entire lane. I thought the requirement is to be able to swim 25m?

What are my other options? Kid is 8. FINS?

What location is this? If this is MoCo, they do pro-rated refunds until Dec so that might be something to consider.

I had a 5yo go through this and although he could go 25m w/o stopping, that was only 1 or 2 lengths in the beginning of practice/session and then he'd be grabbing the wall or rope for breaks or bobbing off the bottom to propel himself using the rope to propel himself, etc, he figured out all the "tricks". Although he was comfortable in the "big pool", he just didn't have the endurance at that age. This gradually went away and by the time he was 7 he didn't do it anymore.

In my experience, these younger/weaker swimmers would be in the lane closest to the wall and wouldn't be in a lane w/ a stronger 8yo swimmer like your DC so I'm not sure why this would be an issue unless they aren't running the session this way in which case you should raise this with the coach - lane grouping by age/ability is common practice and they should be doing this.

I think OP is saying the younger kids that shouldn’t be there are in a lane to themselves, which is then forcing the other lanes to be overcrowded. OP, my kid got more out of FINS than stroke and turn for similar reasons. They did a year of FINS (age 8) and then moved to a club the following year.

Parents, please stop over-estimating your kids’ abilities or throwing them into something like a stroke and turn clinic knowing full well they aren’t ready for it. It ruins the experience for everyone else who is appropriately there because they are constantly having to adjust the session for the kids that aren’t ready to be there.

I would stop expecting parents to have any idea about what level is appropriate. They are parents not swimming experts.

I didn't grow up around swim and do my best to place my kids in the right programs, but it's always a gamble that I got it right. I try to get advice, but it can be hit or miss. If I get it wrong, I expect someone on the coaching staff to tell me and discuss options.

Are you saying that before you put your kid in stroke and turn you didn’t know that he didn’t have the endurance to do more than a few 25s at the beginning of practice? It never occurred to you that, before putting your 5 year old in something where the age range of participants is up to 18, maybe you should talk to someone with the program about what it entailed and whether it would be appropriate for your 5 year old? Please, give me a break, you do not need swim savvy to be able to do that.

You've just made up a requirement for stroke and turn that doesn't currently exist. Maybe this could be the basis for a new program that you are in charge of.

I mean it’s common sense that a 1 hour long class with participants up to age 18 is not designed for a kid who after more than 1 25 is hanging on the lane lines, grabbing the wall, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It feels way too crowded and there are 7-8 kids in one lane. Also, they take everyone. There are 3 5-6 year-olds who can barely swim 10 meter and they are there and still take up an entire lane. I thought the requirement is to be able to swim 25m?

What are my other options? Kid is 8. FINS?

What location is this? If this is MoCo, they do pro-rated refunds until Dec so that might be something to consider.

I had a 5yo go through this and although he could go 25m w/o stopping, that was only 1 or 2 lengths in the beginning of practice/session and then he'd be grabbing the wall or rope for breaks or bobbing off the bottom to propel himself using the rope to propel himself, etc, he figured out all the "tricks". Although he was comfortable in the "big pool", he just didn't have the endurance at that age. This gradually went away and by the time he was 7 he didn't do it anymore.

In my experience, these younger/weaker swimmers would be in the lane closest to the wall and wouldn't be in a lane w/ a stronger 8yo swimmer like your DC so I'm not sure why this would be an issue unless they aren't running the session this way in which case you should raise this with the coach - lane grouping by age/ability is common practice and they should be doing this.

I think OP is saying the younger kids that shouldn’t be there are in a lane to themselves, which is then forcing the other lanes to be overcrowded. OP, my kid got more out of FINS than stroke and turn for similar reasons. They did a year of FINS (age 8) and then moved to a club the following year.

Parents, please stop over-estimating your kids’ abilities or throwing them into something like a stroke and turn clinic knowing full well they aren’t ready for it. It ruins the experience for everyone else who is appropriately there because they are constantly having to adjust the session for the kids that aren’t ready to be there.

I would stop expecting parents to have any idea about what level is appropriate. They are parents not swimming experts.

I didn't grow up around swim and do my best to place my kids in the right programs, but it's always a gamble that I got it right. I try to get advice, but it can be hit or miss. If I get it wrong, I expect someone on the coaching staff to tell me and discuss options.

Are you saying that before you put your kid in stroke and turn you didn’t know that he didn’t have the endurance to do more than a few 25s at the beginning of practice? It never occurred to you that, before putting your 5 year old in something where the age range of participants is up to 18, maybe you should talk to someone with the program about what it entailed and whether it would be appropriate for your 5 year old? Please, give me a break, you do not need swim savvy to be able to do that.

You've just made up a requirement for stroke and turn that doesn't currently exist. Maybe this could be the basis for a new program that you are in charge of.

I mean it’s common sense that a 1 hour long class with participants up to age 18 is not designed for a kid who after more than 1 25 is hanging on the lane lines, grabbing the wall, etc.

I don't think that's true. Lots of developmental programs are 1 hr long. In addition to breaks to rest, they'll use fins and kickboards to keep kids swimming while working on skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It feels way too crowded and there are 7-8 kids in one lane. Also, they take everyone. There are 3 5-6 year-olds who can barely swim 10 meter and they are there and still take up an entire lane. I thought the requirement is to be able to swim 25m?

What are my other options? Kid is 8. FINS?

What location is this? If this is MoCo, they do pro-rated refunds until Dec so that might be something to consider.

I had a 5yo go through this and although he could go 25m w/o stopping, that was only 1 or 2 lengths in the beginning of practice/session and then he'd be grabbing the wall or rope for breaks or bobbing off the bottom to propel himself using the rope to propel himself, etc, he figured out all the "tricks". Although he was comfortable in the "big pool", he just didn't have the endurance at that age. This gradually went away and by the time he was 7 he didn't do it anymore.

In my experience, these younger/weaker swimmers would be in the lane closest to the wall and wouldn't be in a lane w/ a stronger 8yo swimmer like your DC so I'm not sure why this would be an issue unless they aren't running the session this way in which case you should raise this with the coach - lane grouping by age/ability is common practice and they should be doing this.

I think OP is saying the younger kids that shouldn’t be there are in a lane to themselves, which is then forcing the other lanes to be overcrowded. OP, my kid got more out of FINS than stroke and turn for similar reasons. They did a year of FINS (age 8) and then moved to a club the following year.

Parents, please stop over-estimating your kids’ abilities or throwing them into something like a stroke and turn clinic knowing full well they aren’t ready for it. It ruins the experience for everyone else who is appropriately there because they are constantly having to adjust the session for the kids that aren’t ready to be there.

I would stop expecting parents to have any idea about what level is appropriate. They are parents not swimming experts.

I didn't grow up around swim and do my best to place my kids in the right programs, but it's always a gamble that I got it right. I try to get advice, but it can be hit or miss. If I get it wrong, I expect someone on the coaching staff to tell me and discuss options.

Are you saying that before you put your kid in stroke and turn you didn’t know that he didn’t have the endurance to do more than a few 25s at the beginning of practice? It never occurred to you that, before putting your 5 year old in something where the age range of participants is up to 18, maybe you should talk to someone with the program about what it entailed and whether it would be appropriate for your 5 year old? Please, give me a break, you do not need swim savvy to be able to do that.

You've just made up a requirement for stroke and turn that doesn't currently exist. Maybe this could be the basis for a new program that you are in charge of.

I mean it’s common sense that a 1 hour long class with participants up to age 18 is not designed for a kid who after more than 1 25 is hanging on the lane lines, grabbing the wall, etc.

Yes, of course, a 5yo isn't going to have the endurance and strength of an 18 year old. But, not all the lanes are doing the same thing at the same level within that hour, so it turns out it S&T is in fact designed that way.

If they didn't want 5yo participating, they would specify a higher age. If they wanted 100m or 200m endurance or some sort of set endurance, they would specify that. They don't - it's ages 5 to 18 and able swim 25m. The kids they have are the kids that belong there.

[Anonymous]

Really it just sounds like the issue is that the program is oversubscribed. That's the real problem.

If there is a whole lane of kids on the same level, then they can all get similar instruction. It's not like there are only 1-2 outliers who signed up for a program that wasn't their level.

[Anonymous]

It all likely improve in a few weeks. People skip and it this out

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It feels way too crowded and there are 7-8 kids in one lane. Also, they take everyone. There are 3 5-6 year-olds who can barely swim 10 meter and they are there and still take up an entire lane. I thought the requirement is to be able to swim 25m?

What are my other options? Kid is 8. FINS?

What location is this? If this is MoCo, they do pro-rated refunds until Dec so that might be something to consider.

I had a 5yo go through this and although he could go 25m w/o stopping, that was only 1 or 2 lengths in the beginning of practice/session and then he'd be grabbing the wall or rope for breaks or bobbing off the bottom to propel himself using the rope to propel himself, etc, he figured out all the "tricks". Although he was comfortable in the "big pool", he just didn't have the endurance at that age. This gradually went away and by the time he was 7 he didn't do it anymore.

In my experience, these younger/weaker swimmers would be in the lane closest to the wall and wouldn't be in a lane w/ a stronger 8yo swimmer like your DC so I'm not sure why this would be an issue unless they aren't running the session this way in which case you should raise this with the coach - lane grouping by age/ability is common practice and they should be doing this.

I think OP is saying the younger kids that shouldn’t be there are in a lane to themselves, which is then forcing the other lanes to be overcrowded. OP, my kid got more out of FINS than stroke and turn for similar reasons. They did a year of FINS (age 8) and then moved to a club the following year.

Parents, please stop over-estimating your kids’ abilities or throwing them into something like a stroke and turn clinic knowing full well they aren’t ready for it. It ruins the experience for everyone else who is appropriately there because they are constantly having to adjust the session for the kids that aren’t ready to be there.

OP here. Yes, this is what I am saying. There are two coaches for 8 and under kids and so there are 7-8 in one lane and the 3 who can't swim takes up another lane with another coach. They were using kickboards most of the time, and when they were swimming without the kickboards, they looked like they were going to drown. I don't understand why parents would put their kids in this program and why Swimontgomery would accept them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It feels way too crowded and there are 7-8 kids in one lane. Also, they take everyone. There are 3 5-6 year-olds who can barely swim 10 meter and they are there and still take up an entire lane. I thought the requirement is to be able to swim 25m?

What are my other options? Kid is 8. FINS?

What location is this? If this is MoCo, they do pro-rated refunds until Dec so that might be something to consider.

I had a 5yo go through this and although he could go 25m w/o stopping, that was only 1 or 2 lengths in the beginning of practice/session and then he'd be grabbing the wall or rope for breaks or bobbing off the bottom to propel himself using the rope to propel himself, etc, he figured out all the "tricks". Although he was comfortable in the "big pool", he just didn't have the endurance at that age. This gradually went away and by the time he was 7 he didn't do it anymore.

In my experience, these younger/weaker swimmers would be in the lane closest to the wall and wouldn't be in a lane w/ a stronger 8yo swimmer like your DC so I'm not sure why this would be an issue unless they aren't running the session this way in which case you should raise this with the coach - lane grouping by age/ability is common practice and they should be doing this.

I think OP is saying the younger kids that shouldn’t be there are in a lane to themselves, which is then forcing the other lanes to be overcrowded. OP, my kid got more out of FINS than stroke and turn for similar reasons. They did a year of FINS (age 8) and then moved to a club the following year.

Parents, please stop over-estimating your kids’ abilities or throwing them into something like a stroke and turn clinic knowing full well they aren’t ready for it. It ruins the experience for everyone else who is appropriately there because they are constantly having to adjust the session for the kids that aren’t ready to be there.

I would stop expecting parents to have any idea about what level is appropriate. They are parents not swimming experts.

I didn't grow up around swim and do my best to place my kids in the right programs, but it's always a gamble that I got it right. I try to get advice, but it can be hit or miss. If I get it wrong, I expect someone on the coaching staff to tell me and discuss options.

Are you saying that before you put your kid in stroke and turn you didn’t know that he didn’t have the endurance to do more than a few 25s at the beginning of practice? It never occurred to you that, before putting your 5 year old in something where the age range of participants is up to 18, maybe you should talk to someone with the program about what it entailed and whether it would be appropriate for your 5 year old? Please, give me a break, you do not need swim savvy to be able to do that.

You've just made up a requirement for stroke and turn that doesn't currently exist. Maybe this could be the basis for a new program that you are in charge of.

OP here. This is not a requirement that I made up. This was listed on the page:
This is not a training program, but coaches will work on proper stroke mechanics and techniques to prepare swimmers for the upcoming summer season. Swimmers must be able to swim 25 yards or 25 meters without stopping.
https://web1.myvscloud.com/wbwsc/mdmontgomeryctywt.wsc/iteminfo.html?Module=AR&FMID=29267094

These kids can barely make 10 meters. To be clear, I am puzzled why parents would sign their kids up for this when they can't swim, but it is really Swimontgomery's responsibility NOT to accept them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It feels way too crowded and there are 7-8 kids in one lane. Also, they take everyone. There are 3 5-6 year-olds who can barely swim 10 meter and they are there and still take up an entire lane. I thought the requirement is to be able to swim 25m?

What are my other options? Kid is 8. FINS?

What location is this? If this is MoCo, they do pro-rated refunds until Dec so that might be something to consider.

I had a 5yo go through this and although he could go 25m w/o stopping, that was only 1 or 2 lengths in the beginning of practice/session and then he'd be grabbing the wall or rope for breaks or bobbing off the bottom to propel himself using the rope to propel himself, etc, he figured out all the "tricks". Although he was comfortable in the "big pool", he just didn't have the endurance at that age. This gradually went away and by the time he was 7 he didn't do it anymore.

In my experience, these younger/weaker swimmers would be in the lane closest to the wall and wouldn't be in a lane w/ a stronger 8yo swimmer like your DC so I'm not sure why this would be an issue unless they aren't running the session this way in which case you should raise this with the coach - lane grouping by age/ability is common practice and they should be doing this.

I think OP is saying the younger kids that shouldn’t be there are in a lane to themselves, which is then forcing the other lanes to be overcrowded. OP, my kid got more out of FINS than stroke and turn for similar reasons. They did a year of FINS (age 8) and then moved to a club the following year.

Parents, please stop over-estimating your kids’ abilities or throwing them into something like a stroke and turn clinic knowing full well they aren’t ready for it. It ruins the experience for everyone else who is appropriately there because they are constantly having to adjust the session for the kids that aren’t ready to be there.

I would stop expecting parents to have any idea about what level is appropriate. They are parents not swimming experts.

I didn't grow up around swim and do my best to place my kids in the right programs, but it's always a gamble that I got it right. I try to get advice, but it can be hit or miss. If I get it wrong, I expect someone on the coaching staff to tell me and discuss options.

Are you saying that before you put your kid in stroke and turn you didn’t know that he didn’t have the endurance to do more than a few 25s at the beginning of practice? It never occurred to you that, before putting your 5 year old in something where the age range of participants is up to 18, maybe you should talk to someone with the program about what it entailed and whether it would be appropriate for your 5 year old? Please, give me a break, you do not need swim savvy to be able to do that.

You've just made up a requirement for stroke and turn that doesn't currently exist. Maybe this could be the basis for a new program that you are in charge of.

I mean it’s common sense that a 1 hour long class with participants up to age 18 is not designed for a kid who after more than 1 25 is hanging on the lane lines, grabbing the wall, etc.

Yes, of course, a 5yo isn't going to have the endurance and strength of an 18 year old. But, not all the lanes are doing the same thing at the same level within that hour, so it turns out it S&T is in fact designed that way.

If they didn't want 5yo participating, they would specify a higher age. If they wanted 100m or 200m endurance or some sort of set endurance, they would specify that. [b] They don't - it's ages 5 to 18 and able swim 25m. The kids they have are the kids that belong there.[/b

OP here. You clearly did not read my post. I am saying these kids cannot swim 25m. Not saying they need to swim 100m or even 50. They are doing doggie paddle for like 10m. I get that these younger kids are learning to swim, but they don't belong in a Stroke and Turn imo. They are at best at the Floaters 1 class at City of Rockville Swim Center.