Swim Team Drama

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I swear some of you just don't understand trying to win meets.

My kids was the fastest in 3 strokes this year (free, back, and breast). At the start of the season she was swimming free and breast in A meets (her two best). Then in the third meet the coach switched her to back and breast. She came in second in back, but would have easily won free. Were we mad? No, of course not. Looking at the times from our team and the other team it was obvious that the second fastest swimmer on our team in free was going to easily win and that our daughter had a chance to win back while the second fastest back swimmer on our team had no chance. Our coach was trying to win the meet.

It "cost" my kid a chance to have a perfect season and win every race in every A meet. But it was what was best for the team. It was an awesome learning opportunity for her. When we explained it to her she had no problem with it because she wanted to do what was best for the team.

I can create the lineup for our team for A meets just by looking at our ladder and looking up the other teams times in mynvls.com. Clearly I spend way too much time on this, but I'm usually pretty close each week to what our coach picks. The places where I get it wrong are almost always minor judgment calls that could go either way.

The best part about this is there is no drama because the meet lineups follow two rules:
1. Do what is best for the team
2. Fastest swimmer swims

You are way over invested. Sometimes switching a kid to make them more comfortable or better in that stroke is not a bad thing. Our lineup made no sense but mine just swim what they are told. The relays sucked as my kid was the only one who could swim fast in the bunch but it is what it is.

The point of A meets is to win, not make a kid more comfortable in a stroke. That’s what B meets are for.

You need to relax and let your kid have fun. Winning is a lot but not everything.

Why would you think I’m not relaxed? My kid used to be an A swimmer, then became and A/B swimmer, and this year was mostly B. This was the most fun she’s had since she started 8 years ago. Doesn’t change the fact that the point of A meets is to win.

You are not relaxed if you are studying the lineup and worrying about a perfect season. Relaxed is like us where we are proud of how ever our kids do and thankful they didn't drown. Winning is a bonus.

Wait who said I was studying the line up and worrying about a perfect season? Why do you keep making stuff up?

I can create the lineup for our team for A meets just by looking at our ladder and looking up the other teams times in mynvls.com. Clearly I spend way too much time on this, but I'm usually pretty close each week to what our coach picks. The places where I get it wrong are almost always minor judgment calls that could go either way.

You are studying the lineup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I swear some of you just don't understand trying to win meets.

My kids was the fastest in 3 strokes this year (free, back, and breast). At the start of the season she was swimming free and breast in A meets (her two best). Then in the third meet the coach switched her to back and breast. She came in second in back, but would have easily won free. Were we mad? No, of course not. Looking at the times from our team and the other team it was obvious that the second fastest swimmer on our team in free was going to easily win and that our daughter had a chance to win back while the second fastest back swimmer on our team had no chance. Our coach was trying to win the meet.

It "cost" my kid a chance to have a perfect season and win every race in every A meet. But it was what was best for the team. It was an awesome learning opportunity for her. When we explained it to her she had no problem with it because she wanted to do what was best for the team.

I can create the lineup for our team for A meets just by looking at our ladder and looking up the other teams times in mynvls.com. Clearly I spend way too much time on this, but I'm usually pretty close each week to what our coach picks. The places where I get it wrong are almost always minor judgment calls that could go either way.

The best part about this is there is no drama because the meet lineups follow two rules:
1. Do what is best for the team
2. Fastest swimmer swims

You are way over invested. Sometimes switching a kid to make them more comfortable or better in that stroke is not a bad thing. Our lineup made no sense but mine just swim what they are told. The relays sucked as my kid was the only one who could swim fast in the bunch but it is what it is.

The point of A meets is to win, not make a kid more comfortable in a stroke. That’s what B meets are for.

You need to relax and let your kid have fun. Winning is a lot but not everything.

Why would you think I’m not relaxed? My kid used to be an A swimmer, then became and A/B swimmer, and this year was mostly B. This was the most fun she’s had since she started 8 years ago. Doesn’t change the fact that the point of A meets is to win.

You are not relaxed if you are studying the lineup and worrying about a perfect season. Relaxed is like us where we are proud of how ever our kids do and thankful they didn't drown. Winning is a bonus.

Wait who said I was studying the line up and worrying about a perfect season? Why do you keep making stuff up?

I can create the lineup for our team for A meets just by looking at our ladder and looking up the other teams times in mynvls.com. Clearly I spend way too much time on this, but I'm usually pretty close each week to what our coach picks. The places where I get it wrong are almost always minor judgment calls that could go either way.

You are studying the lineup.

Shit I’m sorry that wasn’t me. I should have identified myself as a DP. My first post was “The point of A meets is to win…”
My bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Banquet drama. My sister and her DD went to the banquet, as my sister put it, "dressed for the pool." My sister has never known what to wear when, and is clueless with respect to fashion. She was furious that everyone else was dressed for a party, and made that really clear -- she caused a problem when she accused some of the 12 year old girls as "dressing like they are 16" because they had cute dresses on while her DD had on shorts and an old tshirt. She was really just insecure about how she and DD hadn't understood what to wear. But yeah, she blamed everyone else and made a thing about it. Lol. Par for the course with her.

Some years I dress for the pool, others I don’t. It doesn’t really matter. I’m sorry your sister in law felt awkward, she shouldn’t have. I would have jumped in the pool with her.

Same here. Our banquet is a mix of bathing suits and dresses. The kids get a kick out of dressing up, but in reality no one really cares. It’s definitely a “wear what you want” event at our pool.

We're new this year and I would have appreciated something in the emails about it's a dress up event for some (optional of course). We didn't know that and, since it was during pool hours and every other swim team thing has been beyond casual, assumed it was pool clothes. No one cared (which was great! it was fun!), but I think my kids would have had fun dressing up and it's one of those things they could have clued the newbies in on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I swear some of you just don't understand trying to win meets.

My kids was the fastest in 3 strokes this year (free, back, and breast). At the start of the season she was swimming free and breast in A meets (her two best). Then in the third meet the coach switched her to back and breast. She came in second in back, but would have easily won free. Were we mad? No, of course not. Looking at the times from our team and the other team it was obvious that the second fastest swimmer on our team in free was going to easily win and that our daughter had a chance to win back while the second fastest back swimmer on our team had no chance. Our coach was trying to win the meet.

It "cost" my kid a chance to have a perfect season and win every race in every A meet. But it was what was best for the team. It was an awesome learning opportunity for her. When we explained it to her she had no problem with it because she wanted to do what was best for the team.

I can create the lineup for our team for A meets just by looking at our ladder and looking up the other teams times in mynvls.com. Clearly I spend way too much time on this, but I'm usually pretty close each week to what our coach picks. The places where I get it wrong are almost always minor judgment calls that could go either way.

The best part about this is there is no drama because the meet lineups follow two rules:
1. Do what is best for the team
2. Fastest swimmer swims

You are way over invested. Sometimes switching a kid to make them more comfortable or better in that stroke is not a bad thing. Our lineup made no sense but mine just swim what they are told. The relays sucked as my kid was the only one who could swim fast in the bunch but it is what it is.

The point of A meets is to win, not make a kid more comfortable in a stroke. That’s what B meets are for.

You need to relax and let your kid have fun. Winning is a lot but not everything.

Why would you think I’m not relaxed? My kid used to be an A swimmer, then became and A/B swimmer, and this year was mostly B. This was the most fun she’s had since she started 8 years ago. Doesn’t change the fact that the point of A meets is to win.

You are not relaxed if you are studying the lineup and worrying about a perfect season. Relaxed is like us where we are proud of how ever our kids do and thankful they didn't drown. Winning is a bonus.

Wait who said I was studying the line up and worrying about a perfect season? Why do you keep making stuff up?

I can create the lineup for our team for A meets just by looking at our ladder and looking up the other teams times in mynvls.com. Clearly I spend way too much time on this, but I'm usually pretty close each week to what our coach picks. The places where I get it wrong are almost always minor judgment calls that could go either way.

You are studying the lineup.

My kid always wants to know what stroke they are swimming. I look at the times from our team and the other team and tell he what she will probably be swimming. It takes all of 5 to 10 minutes? This is a bad thing?

[Anonymous]

Yes. Just wait for the coach to send the lineups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I swear some of you just don't understand trying to win meets.

My kids was the fastest in 3 strokes this year (free, back, and breast). At the start of the season she was swimming free and breast in A meets (her two best). Then in the third meet the coach switched her to back and breast. She came in second in back, but would have easily won free. Were we mad? No, of course not. Looking at the times from our team and the other team it was obvious that the second fastest swimmer on our team in free was going to easily win and that our daughter had a chance to win back while the second fastest back swimmer on our team had no chance. Our coach was trying to win the meet.

It "cost" my kid a chance to have a perfect season and win every race in every A meet. But it was what was best for the team. It was an awesome learning opportunity for her. When we explained it to her she had no problem with it because she wanted to do what was best for the team.

I can create the lineup for our team for A meets just by looking at our ladder and looking up the other teams times in mynvls.com. Clearly I spend way too much time on this, but I'm usually pretty close each week to what our coach picks. The places where I get it wrong are almost always minor judgment calls that could go either way.

The best part about this is there is no drama because the meet lineups follow two rules:
1. Do what is best for the team
2. Fastest swimmer swims

You are way over invested. Sometimes switching a kid to make them more comfortable or better in that stroke is not a bad thing. Our lineup made no sense but mine just swim what they are told. The relays sucked as my kid was the only one who could swim fast in the bunch but it is what it is.

The point of A meets is to win, not make a kid more comfortable in a stroke. That’s what B meets are for.

+1 And if you don’t seed a meet like that, that opens all sorts of questions and issues with who is supposed to swim. Keep it simple - try to win the meet. Then parents can’t complain about who gets into the meet.

Guess what, they'll still complain. It's hopeless. We had a winning season, moved up a division and they are still complaining. The kids had a blast and the parents are bringing stuff up to the board. Move on people. No one is going to care by the end of the week. Summer swim is over. Let's plan for next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I swear some of you just don't understand trying to win meets.

My kids was the fastest in 3 strokes this year (free, back, and breast). At the start of the season she was swimming free and breast in A meets (her two best). Then in the third meet the coach switched her to back and breast. She came in second in back, but would have easily won free. Were we mad? No, of course not. Looking at the times from our team and the other team it was obvious that the second fastest swimmer on our team in free was going to easily win and that our daughter had a chance to win back while the second fastest back swimmer on our team had no chance. Our coach was trying to win the meet.

It "cost" my kid a chance to have a perfect season and win every race in every A meet. But it was what was best for the team. It was an awesome learning opportunity for her. When we explained it to her she had no problem with it because she wanted to do what was best for the team.

I can create the lineup for our team for A meets just by looking at our ladder and looking up the other teams times in mynvls.com. Clearly I spend way too much time on this, but I'm usually pretty close each week to what our coach picks. The places where I get it wrong are almost always minor judgment calls that could go either way.

The best part about this is there is no drama because the meet lineups follow two rules:
1. Do what is best for the team
2. Fastest swimmer swims

You are way over invested. Sometimes switching a kid to make them more comfortable or better in that stroke is not a bad thing. Our lineup made no sense but mine just swim what they are told. The relays sucked as my kid was the only one who could swim fast in the bunch but it is what it is.

The point of A meets is to win, not make a kid more comfortable in a stroke. That’s what B meets are for.

You need to relax and let your kid have fun. Winning is a lot but not everything.

Why would you think I’m not relaxed? My kid used to be an A swimmer, then became and A/B swimmer, and this year was mostly B. This was the most fun she’s had since she started 8 years ago. Doesn’t change the fact that the point of A meets is to win.

You are not relaxed if you are studying the lineup and worrying about a perfect season. Relaxed is like us where we are proud of how ever our kids do and thankful they didn't drown. Winning is a bonus.

Wait who said I was studying the line up and worrying about a perfect season? Why do you keep making stuff up?

I can create the lineup for our team for A meets just by looking at our ladder and looking up the other teams times in mynvls.com. Clearly I spend way too much time on this, but I'm usually pretty close each week to what our coach picks. The places where I get it wrong are almost always minor judgment calls that could go either way.

You are studying the lineup.

My kid always wants to know what stroke they are swimming. I look at the times from our team and the other team and tell he what she will probably be swimming. It takes all of 5 to 10 minutes? This is a bad thing?

You are super competitive and it's silly. All that matters is how your child does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I swear some of you just don't understand trying to win meets.

My kids was the fastest in 3 strokes this year (free, back, and breast). At the start of the season she was swimming free and breast in A meets (her two best). Then in the third meet the coach switched her to back and breast. She came in second in back, but would have easily won free. Were we mad? No, of course not. Looking at the times from our team and the other team it was obvious that the second fastest swimmer on our team in free was going to easily win and that our daughter had a chance to win back while the second fastest back swimmer on our team had no chance. Our coach was trying to win the meet.

It "cost" my kid a chance to have a perfect season and win every race in every A meet. But it was what was best for the team. It was an awesome learning opportunity for her. When we explained it to her she had no problem with it because she wanted to do what was best for the team.

I can create the lineup for our team for A meets just by looking at our ladder and looking up the other teams times in mynvls.com. Clearly I spend way too much time on this, but I'm usually pretty close each week to what our coach picks. The places where I get it wrong are almost always minor judgment calls that could go either way.

The best part about this is there is no drama because the meet lineups follow two rules:
1. Do what is best for the team
2. Fastest swimmer swims

You are way over invested. Sometimes switching a kid to make them more comfortable or better in that stroke is not a bad thing. Our lineup made no sense but mine just swim what they are told. The relays sucked as my kid was the only one who could swim fast in the bunch but it is what it is.

The point of A meets is to win, not make a kid more comfortable in a stroke. That’s what B meets are for.

+1 And if you don’t seed a meet like that, that opens all sorts of questions and issues with who is supposed to swim. Keep it simple - try to win the meet. Then parents can’t complain about who gets into the meet.

Guess what, they'll still complain. It's hopeless. We had a winning season, moved up a division and they are still complaining. The kids had a blast and the parents are bringing stuff up to the board. Move on people. No one is going to care by the end of the week. Summer swim is over. Let's plan for next year.

A lot of our families don't see that as a good thing. "I hope we don't move up a division", is a pretty common question that you hear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I swear some of you just don't understand trying to win meets.

My kids was the fastest in 3 strokes this year (free, back, and breast). At the start of the season she was swimming free and breast in A meets (her two best). Then in the third meet the coach switched her to back and breast. She came in second in back, but would have easily won free. Were we mad? No, of course not. Looking at the times from our team and the other team it was obvious that the second fastest swimmer on our team in free was going to easily win and that our daughter had a chance to win back while the second fastest back swimmer on our team had no chance. Our coach was trying to win the meet.

It "cost" my kid a chance to have a perfect season and win every race in every A meet. But it was what was best for the team. It was an awesome learning opportunity for her. When we explained it to her she had no problem with it because she wanted to do what was best for the team.

I can create the lineup for our team for A meets just by looking at our ladder and looking up the other teams times in mynvls.com. Clearly I spend way too much time on this, but I'm usually pretty close each week to what our coach picks. The places where I get it wrong are almost always minor judgment calls that could go either way.

The best part about this is there is no drama because the meet lineups follow two rules:
1. Do what is best for the team
2. Fastest swimmer swims

You are way over invested. Sometimes switching a kid to make them more comfortable or better in that stroke is not a bad thing. Our lineup made no sense but mine just swim what they are told. The relays sucked as my kid was the only one who could swim fast in the bunch but it is what it is.

The point of A meets is to win, not make a kid more comfortable in a stroke. That’s what B meets are for.

+1 And if you don’t seed a meet like that, that opens all sorts of questions and issues with who is supposed to swim. Keep it simple - try to win the meet. Then parents can’t complain about who gets into the meet.

Guess what, they'll still complain. It's hopeless. We had a winning season, moved up a division and they are still complaining. The kids had a blast and the parents are bringing stuff up to the board. Move on people. No one is going to care by the end of the week. Summer swim is over. Let's plan for next year.

A lot of our families don't see that as a good thing. "I hope we don't move up a division", is a pretty common question that you hear.

Ha! We loved our division this year and didn’t want to move up. It was the right level of competition for us. We are moving and will get crushed and will move back down again. It’s fine. We’ll still have fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I swear some of you just don't understand trying to win meets.

My kids was the fastest in 3 strokes this year (free, back, and breast). At the start of the season she was swimming free and breast in A meets (her two best). Then in the third meet the coach switched her to back and breast. She came in second in back, but would have easily won free. Were we mad? No, of course not. Looking at the times from our team and the other team it was obvious that the second fastest swimmer on our team in free was going to easily win and that our daughter had a chance to win back while the second fastest back swimmer on our team had no chance. Our coach was trying to win the meet.

It "cost" my kid a chance to have a perfect season and win every race in every A meet. But it was what was best for the team. It was an awesome learning opportunity for her. When we explained it to her she had no problem with it because she wanted to do what was best for the team.

I can create the lineup for our team for A meets just by looking at our ladder and looking up the other teams times in mynvls.com. Clearly I spend way too much time on this, but I'm usually pretty close each week to what our coach picks. The places where I get it wrong are almost always minor judgment calls that could go either way.

The best part about this is there is no drama because the meet lineups follow two rules:
1. Do what is best for the team
2. Fastest swimmer swims

You are way over invested. Sometimes switching a kid to make them more comfortable or better in that stroke is not a bad thing. Our lineup made no sense but mine just swim what they are told. The relays sucked as my kid was the only one who could swim fast in the bunch but it is what it is.

The point of A meets is to win, not make a kid more comfortable in a stroke. That’s what B meets are for.

+1 And if you don’t seed a meet like that, that opens all sorts of questions and issues with who is supposed to swim. Keep it simple - try to win the meet. Then parents can’t complain about who gets into the meet.

Guess what, they'll still complain. It's hopeless. We had a winning season, moved up a division and they are still complaining. The kids had a blast and the parents are bringing stuff up to the board. Move on people. No one is going to care by the end of the week. Summer swim is over. Let's plan for next year.

A lot of our families don't see that as a good thing. "I hope we don't move up a division", is a pretty common question that you hear.

Ha! We loved our division this year and didn’t want to move up. It was the right level of competition for us. We are moving and will get crushed and will move back down again. It’s fine. We’ll still have fun.

PP. Yes. Same here. In the 15 years our family has been involved that’s the way it’s been.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I swear some of you just don't understand trying to win meets.

My kids was the fastest in 3 strokes this year (free, back, and breast). At the start of the season she was swimming free and breast in A meets (her two best). Then in the third meet the coach switched her to back and breast. She came in second in back, but would have easily won free. Were we mad? No, of course not. Looking at the times from our team and the other team it was obvious that the second fastest swimmer on our team in free was going to easily win and that our daughter had a chance to win back while the second fastest back swimmer on our team had no chance. Our coach was trying to win the meet.

It "cost" my kid a chance to have a perfect season and win every race in every A meet. But it was what was best for the team. It was an awesome learning opportunity for her. When we explained it to her she had no problem with it because she wanted to do what was best for the team.

I can create the lineup for our team for A meets just by looking at our ladder and looking up the other teams times in mynvls.com. Clearly I spend way too much time on this, but I'm usually pretty close each week to what our coach picks. The places where I get it wrong are almost always minor judgment calls that could go either way.

The best part about this is there is no drama because the meet lineups follow two rules:
1. Do what is best for the team
2. Fastest swimmer swims

Now try this scenario. The coach puts your kid in fly and one of their swimmers in free. Your team losses free, when your kid would have won, and your kid finishes 4th in fly. Something's fishy right? That's the scenario people are complaining about.

Something similar happened to my DC too. I was miffed but not upset because it was a good learning experience and an opportunity to work on their weaknesses. The few times DC didn’t win an A meet event were all in their weaker events when they finished behind a teammate who basically specializes in that event. And sure enough, each time that happened the team lost in DC’s stronger events (events DC would have won).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I swear some of you just don't understand trying to win meets.

My kids was the fastest in 3 strokes this year (free, back, and breast). At the start of the season she was swimming free and breast in A meets (her two best). Then in the third meet the coach switched her to back and breast. She came in second in back, but would have easily won free. Were we mad? No, of course not. Looking at the times from our team and the other team it was obvious that the second fastest swimmer on our team in free was going to easily win and that our daughter had a chance to win back while the second fastest back swimmer on our team had no chance. Our coach was trying to win the meet.

It "cost" my kid a chance to have a perfect season and win every race in every A meet. But it was what was best for the team. It was an awesome learning opportunity for her. When we explained it to her she had no problem with it because she wanted to do what was best for the team.

I can create the lineup for our team for A meets just by looking at our ladder and looking up the other teams times in mynvls.com. Clearly I spend way too much time on this, but I'm usually pretty close each week to what our coach picks. The places where I get it wrong are almost always minor judgment calls that could go either way.

The best part about this is there is no drama because the meet lineups follow two rules:
1. Do what is best for the team
2. Fastest swimmer swims

You are way over invested. Sometimes switching a kid to make them more comfortable or better in that stroke is not a bad thing. Our lineup made no sense but mine just swim what they are told. The relays sucked as my kid was the only one who could swim fast in the bunch but it is what it is.

The point of A meets is to win, not make a kid more comfortable in a stroke. That’s what B meets are for.

+1 And if you don’t seed a meet like that, that opens all sorts of questions and issues with who is supposed to swim. Keep it simple - try to win the meet. Then parents can’t complain about who gets into the meet.

Guess what, they'll still complain. It's hopeless. We had a winning season, moved up a division and they are still complaining. The kids had a blast and the parents are bringing stuff up to the board. Move on people. No one is going to care by the end of the week. Summer swim is over. Let's plan for next year.

They’ll forget for a while and then remember it all next year when things don’t look right again. Just plan to play it straight next year. Why is this controversial at all?

Parents complaining that you aren’t seeding to win are not the same as the parents complaining their snowflakes didn’t get a spot. One group wants things to be fair, the other wants special treatment. Good parents pay attention and don’t like when their kids are involved in teams that are not being managed fairly by adults. I’m glad they’re complaining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Banquet drama. My sister and her DD went to the banquet, as my sister put it, "dressed for the pool." My sister has never known what to wear when, and is clueless with respect to fashion. She was furious that everyone else was dressed for a party, and made that really clear -- she caused a problem when she accused some of the 12 year old girls as "dressing like they are 16" because they had cute dresses on while her DD had on shorts and an old tshirt. She was really just insecure about how she and DD hadn't understood what to wear. But yeah, she blamed everyone else and made a thing about it. Lol. Par for the course with her.

Some years I dress for the pool, others I don’t. It doesn’t really matter. I’m sorry your sister in law felt awkward, she shouldn’t have. I would have jumped in the pool with her.

Same here. Our banquet is a mix of bathing suits and dresses. The kids get a kick out of dressing up, but in reality no one really cares. It’s definitely a “wear what you want” event at our pool.

We're new this year and I would have appreciated something in the emails about it's a dress up event for some (optional of course). We didn't know that and, since it was during pool hours and every other swim team thing has been beyond casual, assumed it was pool clothes. No one cared (which was great! it was fun!), but I think my kids would have had fun dressing up and it's one of those things they could have clued the newbies in on.

At our pool it really varies by year. The graduating senior girls always dress up. Some years other groups of girls will and some they won't. The drama comes in when girls who think they are part of a group aren't told

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents complaining that their kid didn’t swim “X” stroke, parents telling the coach that their kid was VERY DISAPPOINTED that they didn’t make it to divisionals.

Otherwise it was a fun season.

Ugh my kid has been disappointed at not making it to divisionals and I’ve definitely mentioned that to others in conversation. It doesn’t mean I thought they should have been picked at all. The coach makes the right decisions and I’d never question them (and it’s been very clear cut) but it’s ok for kids to be disappointed!

Someone told me a parent was so disappointed, they sent a letter to the board for further investigation into how the lineup was chosen. It's ok for a kid to be disappointed. This is going to be the first of many disappointments in life. Move on. The parent needs to get a life!

DP. How do lineups get “chosen”? At our pool the top swimmers get to pick their strokes. If you have one of the top two times you are guaranteed your choice. The times can be from an A or B meet. If you’re lower down on the list you may not make it based on which strokes the top swimmers pick, but there’s not really any way to game this? Weird.

At our MCSL team for "A" meets, the coaches pick the lineups. It is always the top swimmers in those events, except for when you have swimmers are that have top 3 times in 4 events (MCSL has a 3 event max). Then it is a matter of trying to figure out how best to maximize points. For example in fly if the times for your 3 top swimmers are 27,28,29, and the other team has 24,23,24, then it's probably not worth burning that 27 swimmer in fly if they are better at their other events vs the other team. This only becomes a problem when you have a couple of exceptional swimmers in an age group and there's not a deep bench behind them. And yes, this can "hurt" that 27 fly swimmer IF they're on an improvement track and want to make individual all stars because there's only 6 meets possible (5A + divisionals) and you just "burned" one of them.

This is another area where I find MCSL to be so much more transparent than NVSL. Because an MCSL swimmer can swim 3/4 strokes plus the IM at A meets it is a lot harder to “game” someone out of points to help boost a coach’s favorite teammate.

Sounds like a lot more fun for the swimmers too, more opprtunities to compete and improve. Oh well. NVSL is going to stay in the dark ages.

Sounds like fewer kids swimming A meets and more kids getting discouraged and quitting

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Anonymous wrote:Parents complaining that their kid didn’t swim “X” stroke, parents telling the coach that their kid was VERY DISAPPOINTED that they didn’t make it to divisionals.

Otherwise it was a fun season.

We had a parent who was “SO disappointed” about an award situation that she wrote and sent a multi-paragraph email while the end of season picnic was still happening.

Wow. I just drank my wine and went home early. Maybe she had a little TOO much wine. The awards at our pool were honestly laughable. Sometimes I am not sure why we let our kids participate in this farce: starting to understand why the older parents we know started planning vacations during swim season!

I rolled my eyes a little at our awards too (though it was a fun night overall). Definitely reflected the "who's who" of the families in the in-crowd. We also have a big team and some kids got multiple awards - seems like they could have spread those out a bit, especially some of the more subjective ones. (My kids are new and average and did not deserve nor get any special awards - but there were plenty of kids they could have given awards to without giving the same kids 2 or 3.)

They are all subjective, lol. There’s a noticeable drop off in participation in summer swim as the age groups go up. Trophies don’t have the same appeal when it’s obvious they aren’t earned—kids move on but not without some drama. Best not to encourage kids to get too invested in the awards, but that’s a topic for another day.

Except for MVP, at least at our pool. It is purely based on points earned in individual races ( not relays). We had a couple kids win all their races so they both got it.

And ours we have most improved and sportsmanship for both genders every age group and an over all coaches award separate from the MVP (which is high points). Everyone of those goes to a kid who swims for the coach's club every year. In some cases, it seems like he is throwing a bone to a kid who swims year rounds, but can't make A meets