Any first-hand experience with the Navy swimming camps?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:NP, when do they open registration each year? And for those of you with club kids, has it ever been an issue for your club coach that your kid is going to this camp and will miss a week of club practice? My 11 yo DD would love to go to this camp but I don’t know how it would be received by her club coach.

I think this is why a lot of people responding are the 12&under crowd. In the high level groups at our club, the older they get, the less likely coach supports this. Summer season is short and with so few qualifier meets, our coaches want kids to stay on their training plan. Our public schools also get out well into June, so it’s really a short training season at that point.

My daughter went to UVA camp summer before 8th grade, no problem. The kids who were a year older were told they’d prefer they not go.

The quality of coaching at the Naval Academy doesn't even compare to club coaching and Naval Academy gets some of the top coaches in the country. The second session usually doesn't conflict with school. We pull our kid out as nothing happens the last few days of school. Our club and summer swim both fully support it and only a few days of practice is missed.

It could be the greatest coach in the world but if he’s coaching a wide variety of swimmers, for a short period of time, there is absolutely no way it can be as consistent or challenging as the swimmer’s senior level practices. Our senior coaches also discourage camps, and people are free to ignore that suggestion (and they do).

So you never do anything all summer because your kid is swimming?

Huh? Did you read the thread? Here’s the summary:

1#: has it ever been an issue for your club coach that your kid is going to this camp and will miss a week of club practice?

#2: I think this is why a lot of people responding are the 12&under crowd. In the high level groups at our club, the older they get, the less likely coach supports this. Summer season is short and with so few qualifier meets, our coaches want kids to stay on their training plan. Our public schools also get out well into June, so it’s really a short training season at that point. My daughter went to UVA camp summer before 8th grade, no problem. The kids who were a year older were told they’d prefer they not go.

#3: The quality of coaching at the Naval Academy doesn't even compare to club coaching and Naval Academy gets some of the top coaches in the country. The second session usually doesn't conflict with school. We pull our kid out as nothing happens the last few days of school. Our club and summer swim both fully support it and only a few days of practice is missed.

The question isn’t whether you do other things during the summer. The question is whether coaches sometimes prefer older swimmers or more elite ones to not do these camps.

It is bizarre that a coach would not support a child going to one of these camps. Naval Academy also has an elite swim camp. We've never done that one so I don't know what those coaches are like. My child is older, we just tell the club coach and summer coach and go. It's 5 days, really not that big of a deal. But, lots of fun, kids are well cared for, even the younger ones as I sent mine starting very young, and the coaching isn't comparable to even club coaching. They work heavily on technique vs. many of the club and summer work on endurance.

This is why it is not a great time for in-season, elite level, high school age kids.

I thought they needed to be a great swimmer to attend. Why so much technique?

Technique is really important. There is an elite camp for the top swimmers. I think the navy camp is a year of club but I forget the requirements. They take all kids basically and will help them all but even if they are slow they need to be able to do the workouts and at least swim a 50 when younger, more as they get older.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, when do they open registration each year? And for those of you with club kids, has it ever been an issue for your club coach that your kid is going to this camp and will miss a week of club practice? My 11 yo DD would love to go to this camp but I don’t know how it would be received by her club coach.

I think this is why a lot of people responding are the 12&under crowd. In the high level groups at our club, the older they get, the less likely coach supports this. Summer season is short and with so few qualifier meets, our coaches want kids to stay on their training plan. Our public schools also get out well into June, so it’s really a short training season at that point.

My daughter went to UVA camp summer before 8th grade, no problem. The kids who were a year older were told they’d prefer they not go.

The quality of coaching at the Naval Academy doesn't even compare to club coaching and Naval Academy gets some of the top coaches in the country. The second session usually doesn't conflict with school. We pull our kid out as nothing happens the last few days of school. Our club and summer swim both fully support it and only a few days of practice is missed.

It could be the greatest coach in the world but if he’s coaching a wide variety of swimmers, for a short period of time, there is absolutely no way it can be as consistent or challenging as the swimmer’s senior level practices. Our senior coaches also discourage camps, and people are free to ignore that suggestion (and they do).

It's also a week of drills, not yardage, which is not what older swimmers need at that point in the training cycle.

The kids swim I forget by a very intensive schedule at Navy Swim so they are swimming more than they would at their club. I forget if it's two or three sessions a day of swim or both. Most club coaches are not remotely comparable to the college coaches they bring in. There is a reason people ignore your club coach. I've spent many hours watching the kids swim practices and when I watch the Navy Swim its far more professional, far more drills, and technique than I've seen any club do, even at the elite level.

Let’s be real: how many club practices are you watching? To have any real way to compare, you’d need to watch all older age practices for a significant period of time and then the same for the camp practices.

My kid swims 5-6 days a week. Up till Covid I watched every practice and we’ve been multiple years to the camp and would go to watch some of it. We don’t just drop ours off. Even now that they are older.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, when do they open registration each year? And for those of you with club kids, has it ever been an issue for your club coach that your kid is going to this camp and will miss a week of club practice? My 11 yo DD would love to go to this camp but I don’t know how it would be received by her club coach.

I think this is why a lot of people responding are the 12&under crowd. In the high level groups at our club, the older they get, the less likely coach supports this. Summer season is short and with so few qualifier meets, our coaches want kids to stay on their training plan. Our public schools also get out well into June, so it’s really a short training season at that point.

My daughter went to UVA camp summer before 8th grade, no problem. The kids who were a year older were told they’d prefer they not go.

The quality of coaching at the Naval Academy doesn't even compare to club coaching and Naval Academy gets some of the top coaches in the country. The second session usually doesn't conflict with school. We pull our kid out as nothing happens the last few days of school. Our club and summer swim both fully support it and only a few days of practice is missed.

It could be the greatest coach in the world but if he’s coaching a wide variety of swimmers, for a short period of time, there is absolutely no way it can be as consistent or challenging as the swimmer’s senior level practices. Our senior coaches also discourage camps, and people are free to ignore that suggestion (and they do).

It's also a week of drills, not yardage, which is not what older swimmers need at that point in the training cycle.

The kids swim I forget by a very intensive schedule at Navy Swim so they are swimming more than they would at their club. I forget if it's two or three sessions a day of swim or both. Most club coaches are not remotely comparable to the college coaches they bring in. There is a reason people ignore your club coach. I've spent many hours watching the kids swim practices and when I watch the Navy Swim its far more professional, far more drills, and technique than I've seen any club do, even at the elite level.

Let’s be real: how many club practices are you watching? To have any real way to compare, you’d need to watch all older age practices for a significant period of time and then the same for the camp practices.

My kid swims 5-6 days a week. Up till Covid I watched every practice and we’ve been multiple years to the camp and would go to watch some of it. We don’t just drop ours off. Even now that they are older.

I bet your kids' coach really appreciates that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, when do they open registration each year? And for those of you with club kids, has it ever been an issue for your club coach that your kid is going to this camp and will miss a week of club practice? My 11 yo DD would love to go to this camp but I don’t know how it would be received by her club coach.

I think this is why a lot of people responding are the 12&under crowd. In the high level groups at our club, the older they get, the less likely coach supports this. Summer season is short and with so few qualifier meets, our coaches want kids to stay on their training plan. Our public schools also get out well into June, so it’s really a short training season at that point.

My daughter went to UVA camp summer before 8th grade, no problem. The kids who were a year older were told they’d prefer they not go.

The quality of coaching at the Naval Academy doesn't even compare to club coaching and Naval Academy gets some of the top coaches in the country. The second session usually doesn't conflict with school. We pull our kid out as nothing happens the last few days of school. Our club and summer swim both fully support it and only a few days of practice is missed.

It could be the greatest coach in the world but if he’s coaching a wide variety of swimmers, for a short period of time, there is absolutely no way it can be as consistent or challenging as the swimmer’s senior level practices. Our senior coaches also discourage camps, and people are free to ignore that suggestion (and they do).

It's also a week of drills, not yardage, which is not what older swimmers need at that point in the training cycle.

The kids swim I forget by a very intensive schedule at Navy Swim so they are swimming more than they would at their club. I forget if it's two or three sessions a day of swim or both. Most club coaches are not remotely comparable to the college coaches they bring in. There is a reason people ignore your club coach. I've spent many hours watching the kids swim practices and when I watch the Navy Swim its far more professional, far more drills, and technique than I've seen any club do, even at the elite level.

Let’s be real: how many club practices are you watching? To have any real way to compare, you’d need to watch all older age practices for a significant period of time and then the same for the camp practices.

My kid swims 5-6 days a week. Up till Covid I watched every practice and we’ve been multiple years to the camp and would go to watch some of it. We don’t just drop ours off. Even now that they are older.

That's not a lot. I'm not trying to be mean whatsoever but the senior level kids on our team usually swim a minimum of 8 times a week, usually more. Intervals are hard, practice is hard, and mileage is big. You're claiming that the Navy camp swim is "far more professional, far more drills and more technique than" you've seen "any club do, even at the elite level." When confronted with how many clubs you've actually watched, it turns out you've watched YOUR kids' club practices over the years and the camps over the years. If you're not dropping your kids off for practices, you don't have senior level swimmers. Sounds like your kids are doing a lot and it's great, but you can't compare it to what other clubs are doing for the most senior groups. We definitely have kids from our senior groups attend camps, including this one, but it also not the same kind of swim practice they will get with their regular club coach. We've had many kids who have done this specific camp and 100% agree with what I'm saying, even those who return to camp.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, when do they open registration each year? And for those of you with club kids, has it ever been an issue for your club coach that your kid is going to this camp and will miss a week of club practice? My 11 yo DD would love to go to this camp but I don’t know how it would be received by her club coach.

I think this is why a lot of people responding are the 12&under crowd. In the high level groups at our club, the older they get, the less likely coach supports this. Summer season is short and with so few qualifier meets, our coaches want kids to stay on their training plan. Our public schools also get out well into June, so it’s really a short training season at that point.

My daughter went to UVA camp summer before 8th grade, no problem. The kids who were a year older were told they’d prefer they not go.

The quality of coaching at the Naval Academy doesn't even compare to club coaching and Naval Academy gets some of the top coaches in the country. The second session usually doesn't conflict with school. We pull our kid out as nothing happens the last few days of school. Our club and summer swim both fully support it and only a few days of practice is missed.

It could be the greatest coach in the world but if he’s coaching a wide variety of swimmers, for a short period of time, there is absolutely no way it can be as consistent or challenging as the swimmer’s senior level practices. Our senior coaches also discourage camps, and people are free to ignore that suggestion (and they do).

It's also a week of drills, not yardage, which is not what older swimmers need at that point in the training cycle.

The kids swim I forget by a very intensive schedule at Navy Swim so they are swimming more than they would at their club. I forget if it's two or three sessions a day of swim or both. Most club coaches are not remotely comparable to the college coaches they bring in. There is a reason people ignore your club coach. I've spent many hours watching the kids swim practices and when I watch the Navy Swim its far more professional, far more drills, and technique than I've seen any club do, even at the elite level.

Let’s be real: how many club practices are you watching? To have any real way to compare, you’d need to watch all older age practices for a significant period of time and then the same for the camp practices.

My kid swims 5-6 days a week. Up till Covid I watched every practice and we’ve been multiple years to the camp and would go to watch some of it. We don’t just drop ours off. Even now that they are older.

That's not a lot. I'm not trying to be mean whatsoever but the senior level kids on our team usually swim a minimum of 8 times a week, usually more. Intervals are hard, practice is hard, and mileage is big. You're claiming that the Navy camp swim is "far more professional, far more drills and more technique than" you've seen "any club do, even at the elite level." When confronted with how many clubs you've actually watched, it turns out you've watched YOUR kids' club practices over the years and the camps over the years. If you're not dropping your kids off for practices, you don't have senior level swimmers. Sounds like your kids are doing a lot and it's great, but you can't compare it to what other clubs are doing for the most senior groups. We definitely have kids from our senior groups attend camps, including this one, but it also not the same kind of swim practice they will get with their regular club coach. We've had many kids who have done this specific camp and 100% agree with what I'm saying, even those who return to camp.

I do have older kids and I still do sometimes watch the practices. You clearly have not been to one of these camps so you slamming them or being defensive about why your kids don’t go is bizarre. There is no we when you talk. You are talking about other families. My kids have gone to this camp starting at 8 and will continue till they age out or cannot. They will go this year. The only year they missed was due to Covid. Most coaches don’t work on the technique or are hands on as they are at this camp.

Mine don’t do that many practices a week as they cannot as they do another high level activity and only so many hours in a day. But these camps are great for every level swimmer.

How would you even know if you never do to practices? Or camps?

[Anonymous]

Anyone with feedback about the elite camp? My swimmer will be 13 next summer and has expressed interest in the Academy overall and likes the idea of getting to attend a camp led by their coaches and spend some time on campus.

[Anonymous]

I think we saw a top group practicing during part of DC's clinic at the USNA this summer. The one we saw was for nearly-college-age swimmers (USNA potential recruits?). I don't know if there is another elite camp that people are referring to here (maybe NPs can weigh in).

It sounds like USNA camp is more worthwhile than clinic. DC did a one-day clinic this summer and we were not particularly impressed either with what they learned or what we saw from the stands. Not much opportunity for individual feedback and a lot of talking in relationship to swimming. It's true you can't do that much in a day, but it feels like that day should be as full as legitimately possible (given the need for rest/recovery time). There was a lot of waiting in line and standing around. DC liked it, but I wouldn't spend the money again.