Waiting to start club swim?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

DP - it may be harder, but what are the trade-offs? How important is it to your family that your kid excel at swim? What's it worth? Those are questions only you and your DH can answer, OP. It's okay to prioritize family time or downtime or whatever else over optimizing your kid's swimming. Humans typically can't optimize everything.

[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.

Doesn’t sound like Rockville RMSC, or other sites. their entry group juniors requires 2 practices/week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

DP - it may be harder, but what are the trade-offs? How important is it to your family that your kid excel at swim? What's it worth? Those are questions only you and your DH can answer, OP. It's okay to prioritize family time or downtime or whatever else over optimizing your kid's swimming. Humans typically can't optimize everything.

I totally get that it's our call on the trade-offs. I'm just trying to figure out whether it's true that he'd be so far behind that he wouldn't be able to catch up within a few months or even make a club team at that point?

[Anonymous]

What does behind even mean in swimming? It’s my experience that if you are talented, you can pick it up with multiple practices a week anytime and then puberty hits and everyone has different ability anyway.

[Anonymous]

Sort of a similar question: DC 8U wants to swim club on a competitive team but didn’t make their top choices (this was their first summer on a league team). They did get offered a spot on a lower tier club team. Deciding with whether to take it or do a FINS type program for this year & try again for the team he wants next summer. Is the coaching on a lower tiered club better than one of the non-competitive programs? DC still needs some stroke refinement too. Is it worth joining club to get more of the competition experience or better to just focus on technique for now? DC will be 8 next try out season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

DP - it may be harder, but what are the trade-offs? How important is it to your family that your kid excel at swim? What's it worth? Those are questions only you and your DH can answer, OP. It's okay to prioritize family time or downtime or whatever else over optimizing your kid's swimming. Humans typically can't optimize everything.

I totally get that it's our call on the trade-offs. I'm just trying to figure out whether it's true that he'd be so far behind that he wouldn't be able to catch up within a few months or even make a club team at that point?

I've seen kids make club teams at 10/11 coming off instructional stroke & turn plus summer swim. However, I think what people are trying to say is that the many of the clubs, particularly the more competitive ones (e.g. RMSC) have a limited number of spots and it gets increasingly difficult to make the team at 10 or 11 vs. 8 or 9. There's a good chance your child will be able to make a club, just not necessarily your preferred club. As for catching up, if the child has talent and works hard it shouldn't be an issue at that age, but again you might have fewer swim options available to start with at that time.

[Anonymous]

The "they won't get a spot" idea is perpetuated on this site... "My" opinion and experience is that this is false. People will argue that my kids are not the norm but I have seen plenty of kids who started "late" get in to plenty of "good" area clubs.

Kids with a good technical background who are multisport athletes may not get a spot right away in an advanced or national training group because they don't have the training background for it. However, it does not mean they will not eventually move into such a group. You can not make up for poor technique. The naysayers about getting in are looking most likely at RMSC or top groups at a club like ASA or NCAP or AAC or MACH. The top groups at these clubs are hard to get into for a variety of reasons. Many clubs have limited lane time and groups are capped at certain numbers. Many (MANY!!!!) kids change clubs because they connect with different coaches better or the schedule works better for their family at your child's age and up until senior year before college! And many, many kids quit swimming because it was too much too soon (this is probably the biggest number in reality). If your child is a technically sound swimmer and does summer league there's enough of a "paper trail" that area clubs will offer spots. Talk to people in clubs besides the one your kid tried out for (which also makes me think it's RMSC as they just had try-outs and should be sending out invites).

Waiting so your child can decide to prioritize swimming, even until 13-14 or winnowing down the sports then (because doing a lot of outside of school stuff gets harder in high school), is a more positive approach IMO. Giving them a good technical foundation now is the most important thing. Tollefson is better than FINS for this but if your child has never done winter swim at all either of these options are a good starting point. At almost 9, whichever works best for your family for year one is the best. I do agree that a club will offer better instruction than an organization like FINS. NCAP and ASA both have 1x a week programs. MACH has offered such a program in the past. And to bring out the black cat from the dark room - not starting on the "grind" that is winter swim will allow your child to most likely forestall injuries due to overtraining only certain muscle groups (go to any orthopedic practice in this area - tons of swimmers there).

[Anonymous]

If you are offered a spot at RMSC when DC is turning 9 in the fall it means DC tried out as a 9 and made Juniors, not Minis. _Take the spot_ and then drop out later if you don't like it. The odds of being able to get another offer when DC is older go down with every passing year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are offered a spot at RMSC when DC is turning 9 in the fall it means DC tried out as a 9 and made Juniors, not Minis. _Take the spot_ and then drop out later if you don't like it. The odds of being able to get another offer when DC is older go down with every passing year.

RMSC is not the only club and this advice implies that RMSC is the best club for this child. Not necessarily true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are offered a spot at RMSC when DC is turning 9 in the fall it means DC tried out as a 9 and made Juniors, not Minis. _Take the spot_ and then drop out later if you don't like it. The odds of being able to get another offer when DC is older go down with every passing year.

RMSC Jrs is a 3x/wk requirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are offered a spot at RMSC when DC is turning 9 in the fall it means DC tried out as a 9 and made Juniors, not Minis. _Take the spot_ and then drop out later if you don't like it. The odds of being able to get another offer when DC is older go down with every passing year.

RMSC Jrs is a 3x/wk requirement.

^mistake - should read is *not* a requirement. RMSC Jrs is 1x/wk.

[Anonymous]

If its RMSC, no as its hard to get into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are offered a spot at RMSC when DC is turning 9 in the fall it means DC tried out as a 9 and made Juniors, not Minis. _Take the spot_ and then drop out later if you don't like it. The odds of being able to get another offer when DC is older go down with every passing year.

RMSC Jrs is a 3x/wk requirement.

Some coaches don't care. My child goes on and off depending on other things. Coaches are very nice and supportive about it.

[Anonymous]

Is it a club that’s hard to get into? Is your kid excited or at least on board with practicing 3 times a week? Can YOU as parents make 3x a week work on top of the other commitments? If yes to all three, take the spot, no question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

DP - it may be harder, but what are the trade-offs? How important is it to your family that your kid excel at swim? What's it worth? Those are questions only you and your DH can answer, OP. It's okay to prioritize family time or downtime or whatever else over optimizing your kid's swimming. Humans typically can't optimize everything.

I totally get that it's our call on the trade-offs. I'm just trying to figure out whether it's true that he'd be so far behind that he wouldn't be able to catch up within a few months or even make a club team at that point?

OP, it is highly unlikely that a qualified 10 year old couldn't make any club team. Could they definitely make a competitive training group closest to your house? Maybe not. But there are so many options for clubs. Heck, my oldest started club swim at 11, almost 12, and our team was happy to have her. We opted for a less intense training group for her first year but she could have started with a more intense one. She's moving up this year and looking forward to it. One benefit of the bigger clubs is that kids can start with a less intense training group and have the option to move up as they advance. They don't need to start in the fastest group to join the club.

If you or your DH have very specific achievement goals for your kid, that's a separate issue.