How soon does a kid need to start swimming to make the high school team?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about for McLean HS?

McLean generally will make some cuts, and nearly the entire team will be club swimmers at some level. Kids trying out will need to be legal and competent in all four strokes. If McC team is the goal, I'd make sure my kids was in the water 1-2 days a week starting in late elementary as a bare minimum, either on a PVS team or some kind or lesson/training program.

[Anonymous]

It sucks this is the case when historically speaking, swimming is the easiest sport to join besides track and cross country

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It sucks this is the case when historically speaking, swimming is the easiest sport to join besides track and cross country

Historically, people can’t swim. You’re in an area where people value learning to swim. It doesn’t suck, it’s life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about for McLean HS?

McLean generally will make some cuts, and nearly the entire team will be club swimmers at some level. Kids trying out will need to be legal and competent in all four strokes. If McC team is the goal, I'd make sure my kids was in the water 1-2 days a week starting in late elementary as a bare minimum, either on a PVS team or some kind or lesson/training program.

Agree with the above.

Coach does try to accommodate all who try out for MSD. For those who ‘don’t make the cut’ he offered manager positions and also offered them to be on the team with no promise of swimming meets.

Having said that, several who were told ‘can’t promise that you will swim meets’, have swam in the last few meets - because other kids were out for Winter Classic and NCAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about for McLean HS?

McLean generally will make some cuts, and nearly the entire team will be club swimmers at some level. Kids trying out will need to be legal and competent in all four strokes. If McC team is the goal, I'd make sure my kids was in the water 1-2 days a week starting in late elementary as a bare minimum, either on a PVS team or some kind or lesson/training program.

Agree with the above.

Coach does try to accommodate all who try out for MSD. For those who ‘don’t make the cut’ he offered manager positions and also offered them to be on the team with no promise of swimming meets.

Having said that, several who were told ‘can’t promise that you will swim meets’, have swam in the last few meets - because other kids were out for Winter Classic and NCAP.

You should also push your coaches to try to negotiate for more entries per team per event. By rule, the default is 3 entries per team in a pool with 6 lanes or more. However, by mutual consent of coaches you can swim as many entries as equally provided to both teams. We are blessed in this area with lots of 10 lane pools, so if you swim in 10 lane pools try to push your coaches to negotiate for 5 entries per team. There are lots of ways to make it fair to the smaller team, ie marking some as exhibition, changing the scoring system, etc. It's really a shame to be swimming in a 10 lane pool only using 6 of those lanes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It sucks this is the case when historically speaking, swimming is the easiest sport to join besides track and cross country

But why should it be? I just don’t understand this notion that swim should somehow be less competitive to join than other teams.

[Anonymous]

We are zoned to a hs that is ok in swim. Still in elementary school, does it make sense to train and get on the swim team at a school one district over that consistently places top 3 state?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sucks this is the case when historically speaking, swimming is the easiest sport to join besides track and cross country

But why should it be? I just don’t understand this notion that swim should somehow be less competitive to join than other teams.

Because on the whole you can have extra kids competing without impact the more talented swimmers. Not hard to run another heat, or as another posted suggested, running 10 per heat instead of 6.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sucks this is the case when historically speaking, swimming is the easiest sport to join besides track and cross country

But why should it be? I just don’t understand this notion that swim should somehow be less competitive to join than other teams.

Because on the whole you can have extra kids competing without impact the more talented swimmers. Not hard to run another heat, or as another posted suggested, running 10 per heat instead of 6.

But it is expensive and/or hard to have extra busses, lane space, team apparel, coaches, equipment, volunteers, and so on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are zoned to a hs that is ok in swim. Still in elementary school, does it make sense to train and get on the swim team at a school one district over that consistently places top 3 state?

You can't switch schools for sports. Though you could try to get into Robinson for IB. But times are times; kids from just okay teams go to the state meet every year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are zoned to a hs that is ok in swim. Still in elementary school, does it make sense to train and get on the swim team at a school one district over that consistently places top 3 state?

You can't switch schools for sports. Though you could try to get into Robinson for IB. But times are times; kids from just okay teams go to the state meet every year.

No I mean at this younger age my swimmer could train and join the better school’s team. When they do hit high school age they will be required to join the school team ze are zoned to. But in the meantime benefits from the better instruction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are zoned to a hs that is ok in swim. Still in elementary school, does it make sense to train and get on the swim team at a school one district over that consistently places top 3 state?

You can't switch schools for sports. Though you could try to get into Robinson for IB. But times are times; kids from just okay teams go to the state meet every year.

No I mean at this younger age my swimmer could train and join the better school’s team. When they do hit high school age they will be required to join the school team ze are zoned to. But in the meantime benefits from the better instruction.

Huh? Your ES kid can’t train and join a HS team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are zoned to a hs that is ok in swim. Still in elementary school, does it make sense to train and get on the swim team at a school one district over that consistently places top 3 state?

A lot will happen with that team before you get there. When my kids were in ES, the HS team was big and regularly placed (knew this because the coach was our summer coach/lots of summer swimmers were on the HS team.) By the time my kids got to HS, the coach had retired and the program languished. You have no idea what will happen in the next 5-10y.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are zoned to a hs that is ok in swim. Still in elementary school, does it make sense to train and get on the swim team at a school one district over that consistently places top 3 state?

If this is a real and earnest question you are messed up. Can't sugarcoat it, this is a crazy thing to be considering in life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are zoned to a hs that is ok in swim. Still in elementary school, does it make sense to train and get on the swim team at a school one district over that consistently places top 3 state?

You can't switch schools for sports. Though you could try to get into Robinson for IB. But times are times; kids from just okay teams go to the state meet every year.

No I mean at this younger age my swimmer could train and join the better school’s team. When they do hit high school age they will be required to join the school team ze are zoned to. But in the meantime benefits from the better instruction.

Huh? Your ES kid can’t train and join a HS team.

What? I mean that the better high school's program offers a swim program. Should kid join their teams at this age instead of joining the team that is zoned for our town? Both teams accept elementary and middle kids from other towns. The idea is those skills would transfer to wherever we end up zoned for high school. Not that kid would be able to join the better team in high school.