Private Schools with Swim Team and pool on campus

[Anonymous]

Both my kids are competitive swimmers. I get up at the crack of dawn to take them to practice, and am at the pool late nights most days of the week. If I could start over, knowing my kids would be swimmers, I would live in Northern VA (not DC or Montgomery County). Northern VA has a much better choice of club teams, and that's where all the pools are. Your friend needs to understand that swimming is not about where you go to school; it's about your club...everywhere in the U.S., not just in DC...and, btw, that's true not just for swimming, but most sports these days.

[Anonymous]

Katie Ledecky went to Stone Ridge in Bethesda! Real training at the JO/pre-Olympic level occurs in private clubs, though, per the PPs. Ledecky trained at the Nation's Capital Swim Club (aka Curl Burke) and Palisades Swim Team, also in Bethesda.

Signed,
A former JO swimmer who swam at school but trained at a private club (not in this area, though).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both my kids are competitive swimmers. I get up at the crack of dawn to take them to practice, and am at the pool late nights most days of the week. If I could start over, knowing my kids would be swimmers, I would live in Northern VA (not DC or Montgomery County). Northern VA has a much better choice of club teams, and that's where all the pools are. Your friend needs to understand that swimming is not about where you go to school; it's about your club...everywhere in the U.S., not just in DC...and, btw, that's true not just for swimming, but most sports these days.

^^^ great advice. Didn't know that about NoVa, though--interesting. Which are the best club teams there, PP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Your friend may be disappointed with the pool/swim team situation in the DC metro area.

In my hometown (a mid-sized city in the US), every public high school has its own pool on its campus. The school swim teams are very competitive and robust.

Here in the DC area, there are very few indoor pools relative to the dense population. It was a true shock to me when I moved here 10 years ago, but people who are from here seem to just accept it as normal. Maybe land is so expensive that it's not possible to build more indoor pools.

I prefer the robust school-affiliated swim teams myself, but I don't see a lot of that in the DC area.

Usaswimming ranks DC area in top ten of country based on various factors. I did not realize other parts of the country had much better school teams. Do you mind sharing where ?..I'm just curious,

But the usaswimming factors on their site seem to indicate we have plenty of pools and stars...look at some of the top Olympic talent coming out of DC metro area. Agree the real swimming is happening at club level in most of the country not just DC.

I'm pretty sure only some parts of California

Most of the south - like tn - have zero public pools or maybe one, for a large community

In some cold parts of the country it's ice hockey rinks instead of pools (Maine?)

[Anonymous]

Is Nation's Capitol Swimming good for the young kids? I saw some older postings indicating that some of the practices were cancelled at the last minute, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my kids are competitive swimmers. I get up at the crack of dawn to take them to practice, and am at the pool late nights most days of the week. If I could start over, knowing my kids would be swimmers, I would live in Northern VA (not DC or Montgomery County). Northern VA has a much better choice of club teams, and that's where all the pools are. Your friend needs to understand that swimming is not about where you go to school; it's about your club...everywhere in the U.S., not just in DC...and, btw, that's true not just for swimming, but most sports these days.

^^^ great advice. Didn't know that about NoVa, though--interesting. Which are the best club teams there, PP?

NCAP, FISH, York, Machine.

I'm afraid the friend moving back may be surprised how very competitive swimming is in this area. Kids that age who are competitive swimmers in NOVA begin practicing 4-6 days a week. And, correct, they swim for clubs and for summer outside neighborhood pool NVSL teams. That's the system.

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to remember which NoVa swimmers were in the Olympics? I've never heard anyone consider MoCo a bad swimming area, I guess all the MoCo swimmers (Ledecky, Conger) and Olympic trials (lots) were flukes?

[Anonymous]

You don't have to be in Northern VA for competitive swimming.
NCAP which is a top tier club practices at AU. They also have teams at Holton and Georgetown prep although I don't think they have HS level at Holton.
School teams on their own won't cut it esp since school teams only swim in winter while NCAP expects a 11 month commitment. They also discourage you from going away for winter break once you hit HS.