RMSC Minis

[Anonymous]

NP. My 8 year-old DD is interested in trying out this July. She’s legal in freestyle and back stroke. She’s somewhat legal in breast but does not know fly. She participated in her first A meet for fly today.

Is there any chance she can get in? Should we bother trying out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. My 8 year-old DD is interested in trying out this July. She’s legal in freestyle and back stroke. She’s somewhat legal in breast but does not know fly. She participated in her first A meet for fly today.

Is there any chance she can get in? Should we bother trying out?

I would schedule the tryout. It's a good experience and the worst thing that can happen is she doesn't make the team this time. If not, then continue with some type of stroke classes during the school year.

[Anonymous]

I’m the pp asking about trying out. Edit to say she participated in her first A meet today swimming freestyle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. My 8 year-old DD is interested in trying out this July. She’s legal in freestyle and back stroke. She’s somewhat legal in breast but does not know fly. She participated in her first A meet for fly today.

Is there any chance she can get in? Should we bother trying out?

You should do the tryout as a learning experience for itself, and then try again if she does not get in. Fwiw my DC8 years ago was turned down with an illegal breast and a nearly legal fly, but it only gets harder to get in as they get older. If DD does not make it, join a different winter swim team, work hard over the winter, and try out for RMSC in the summer again.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:OP here. Really appreciate the feedback! The try outs for non-KSAC sites being on the same day/time is a challenge. I got freaked out reading on here that they have 100 kids trying out for just 15-20 spots. How do they differentiate with such a large group of kids?? And does RMSC really give feedback if you don’t make the cut? We tried out for ASA and they told us nothing.

We asked for feedback when DC tried out and did not make RMSC. The feedback was general I think, they said he was not legal in breast and fly but we have a video of him doing breast at the trail-- I wasn't there so my wife took videos for me.

For 8u, coaches want kids who can focus, follow directions, and do not need constant redirection in the pool. Being legal in all strokes is a definite bonus, but imagine being a kindergarten teacher who has to select students for their class. Do you select the kid who can write his name well but also can’t sit still and distracts all the other kids? Or the kid who isn’t perfect, but listens well and follows all the directions?

Also, taking video of your child at tryouts is not going to endear you to the coaches, no matter what the reason. It kind of has “crazy swim parent” vibes, so I wouldn’t recommend.

I’m going to second the advice regarding taking a video of your kid at their tryout. For anyone out there getting ready for a tryout, don’t do this, it makes you look crazy. Second, plenty of kids make it across the pool in what looks above the water to be legal breaststroke, but their kick may be illegal which a parent in the stands (especially if not a former swimmer) wouldn’t see/understand. I am going to disagree though about the importance of being legal in all 4 strokes for the 8 year olds. Because of how competitive the limited slots are at RMSC if your 8 year old is trying out, they need to be legal in all 4 strokes. A 6 year old not so much, but an 8 year old needs to be.

Depends on the site, I suppose, but at KSAC all parents are up on the viewing deck behind glass. Guarantee the coaches are paying attention to the swimmers and are not trying to match the 100 + swimmers to their parents who aren’t visible anyway. Just not happening. And, it’s not at all crazy to take video of an important assessment as a data point to reflect back on later. Plenty of coaches take video of their swimmers to provide feedback - it’s a useful tool.

Yep, we did the KSAC tryout a couple of years ago. There is ZERO chance the coaches noticed any parents taking videos and even if they did, they'd have no idea which kid was being recorded since there are so many kids swimming at the same time.

Why are you all missing the point that whether a coach catches it or not, you are still being that crazy parent if you’re recording your kid’s club tryout?!! We’re not talking recording a race at a meet, we’re talking about recording a tryout!

Some of us parents have swim backgrounds and even swim coaching experience and can give our kids useful feedback, believe it or not! This is especially useful if kid does not get selected and no feedback is given from the site.

So you’re that parent giving your kids feedback, got it.

Oh get off it - it's totally normal to help/teach your kids. Like working with them on math homework; giving them some swimming tips is really not any different. Lots of kids learn better with the visual and it's not like the swim team coaches are doing much by way of stroke technique. I think you just wanted to cut someone down with your snide comment

[Anonymous]

Parent of two minis here, and my third will be trying out on the 15th. Its definitely competitive, but the younger you are, the lower the requirements, so better to try out early. Mine have all had a lot of success with the Stroke and Turn and SwimMontgomery programs as sort of a pre-team prep program the year before we tried out. Both these development programs have no competitions, but they get a lot of stroke development and reps in the pool so that RMSC is not a hugely different experience from what they're used to.

Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Really appreciate the feedback! The try outs for non-KSAC sites being on the same day/time is a challenge. I got freaked out reading on here that they have 100 kids trying out for just 15-20 spots. How do they differentiate with such a large group of kids?? And does RMSC really give feedback if you don’t make the cut? We tried out for ASA and they told us nothing.

We asked for feedback when DC tried out and did not make RMSC. The feedback was general I think, they said he was not legal in breast and fly but we have a video of him doing breast at the trail-- I wasn't there so my wife took videos for me.

For 8u, coaches want kids who can focus, follow directions, and do not need constant redirection in the pool. Being legal in all strokes is a definite bonus, but imagine being a kindergarten teacher who has to select students for their class. Do you select the kid who can write his name well but also can’t sit still and distracts all the other kids? Or the kid who isn’t perfect, but listens well and follows all the directions?

Also, taking video of your child at tryouts is not going to endear you to the coaches, no matter what the reason. It kind of has “crazy swim parent” vibes, so I wouldn’t recommend.

I’m going to second the advice regarding taking a video of your kid at their tryout. For anyone out there getting ready for a tryout, don’t do this, it makes you look crazy. Second, plenty of kids make it across the pool in what looks above the water to be legal breaststroke, but their kick may be illegal which a parent in the stands (especially if not a former swimmer) wouldn’t see/understand. I am going to disagree though about the importance of being legal in all 4 strokes for the 8 year olds. Because of how competitive the limited slots are at RMSC if your 8 year old is trying out, they need to be legal in all 4 strokes. A 6 year old not so much, but an 8 year old needs to be.

Depends on the site, I suppose, but at KSAC all parents are up on the viewing deck behind glass. Guarantee the coaches are paying attention to the swimmers and are not trying to match the 100 + swimmers to their parents who aren’t visible anyway. Just not happening. And, it’s not at all crazy to take video of an important assessment as a data point to reflect back on later. Plenty of coaches take video of their swimmers to provide feedback - it’s a useful tool.

Yep, we did the KSAC tryout a couple of years ago. There is ZERO chance the coaches noticed any parents taking videos and even if they did, they'd have no idea which kid was being recorded since there are so many kids swimming at the same time.

Why are you all missing the point that whether a coach catches it or not, you are still being that crazy parent if you’re recording your kid’s club tryout?!! We’re not talking recording a race at a meet, we’re talking about recording a tryout!

Some of us parents have swim backgrounds and even swim coaching experience and can give our kids useful feedback, believe it or not! This is especially useful if kid does not get selected and no feedback is given from the site.

So you’re that parent giving your kids feedback, got it.

Oh get off it - it's totally normal to help/teach your kids. Like working with them on math homework; giving them some swimming tips is really not any different. Lots of kids learn better with the visual and it's not like the swim team coaches are doing much by way of stroke technique. I think you just wanted to cut someone down with your snide comment

Your kid’s future coach will just love you and your “tips”. We see parents like you at every meet, thinking you’re so helpful with your sideline coaching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent of two minis here, and my third will be trying out on the 15th. Its definitely competitive, but the younger you are, the lower the requirements, so better to try out early. Mine have all had a lot of success with the Stroke and Turn and SwimMontgomery programs as sort of a pre-team prep program the year before we tried out. Both these development programs have no competitions, but they get a lot of stroke development and reps in the pool so that RMSC is not a hugely different experience from what they're used to.

Good Luck! [/quote
Thanks for this. What were the differences between stroke and turn and swimontgomery? Did you do both at the same time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of two minis here, and my third will be trying out on the 15th. Its definitely competitive, but the younger you are, the lower the requirements, so better to try out early. Mine have all had a lot of success with the Stroke and Turn and SwimMontgomery programs as sort of a pre-team prep program the year before we tried out. Both these development programs have no competitions, but they get a lot of stroke development and reps in the pool so that RMSC is not a hugely different experience from what they're used to.

Good Luck! [/quote
Thanks for this. What were the differences between stroke and turn and swimontgomery? Did you do both at the same time?

Both of these programs are run at all the RMCS sites, I only have personal experience at MLK, but I'm sure they're all comparable.
Stroke & Turn is a Sept - May program, every Sunday evening at either 5,6 or 7. They do fill, so look for when registration opens to get into the slot you want. This is an excellent low commitment, once a week program that keeps your swimmer in the water all year. For the littlest swimmers, there is often a coach in the water with them to work on strokes.
SwimMontgomery has I believe 4? 8 week long sessions. This one differs by site, but its twice a week, Mondays & Wednesday at MLK. A bit more intense of a workout than Stroke & Turn, and has some excellent coaching.
You can do one program or both, depending on how much time you want to spend at the pool. What we did was S & T all year, then added the spring session of SwimMontgomery to get pumped up for summer swim. SwimMontgomery also fills superfast, so be prepared to logon to ActiveMontgomery early to register.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of two minis here, and my third will be trying out on the 15th. Its definitely competitive, but the younger you are, the lower the requirements, so better to try out early. Mine have all had a lot of success with the Stroke and Turn and SwimMontgomery programs as sort of a pre-team prep program the year before we tried out. Both these development programs have no competitions, but they get a lot of stroke development and reps in the pool so that RMSC is not a hugely different experience from what they're used to.

Good Luck! [/quote
Thanks for this. What were the differences between stroke and turn and swimontgomery? Did you do both at the same time?

Both of these programs are run at all the RMCS sites, I only have personal experience at MLK, but I'm sure they're all comparable.
Stroke & Turn is a Sept - May program, every Sunday evening at either 5,6 or 7. They do fill, so look for when registration opens to get into the slot you want. This is an excellent low commitment, once a week program that keeps your swimmer in the water all year. For the littlest swimmers, there is often a coach in the water with them to work on strokes.
SwimMontgomery has I believe 4? 8 week long sessions. This one differs by site, but its twice a week, Mondays & Wednesday at MLK. A bit more intense of a workout than Stroke & Turn, and has some excellent coaching.
You can do one program or both, depending on how much time you want to spend at the pool. What we did was S & T all year, then added the spring session of SwimMontgomery to get pumped up for summer swim. SwimMontgomery also fills superfast, so be prepared to logon to ActiveMontgomery early to register.

]

Thank you for this helpful post!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Really appreciate the feedback! The try outs for non-KSAC sites being on the same day/time is a challenge. I got freaked out reading on here that they have 100 kids trying out for just 15-20 spots. How do they differentiate with such a large group of kids?? And does RMSC really give feedback if you don’t make the cut? We tried out for ASA and they told us nothing.

We asked for feedback when DC tried out and did not make RMSC. The feedback was general I think, they said he was not legal in breast and fly but we have a video of him doing breast at the trail-- I wasn't there so my wife took videos for me.

For 8u, coaches want kids who can focus, follow directions, and do not need constant redirection in the pool. Being legal in all strokes is a definite bonus, but imagine being a kindergarten teacher who has to select students for their class. Do you select the kid who can write his name well but also can’t sit still and distracts all the other kids? Or the kid who isn’t perfect, but listens well and follows all the directions?

Also, taking video of your child at tryouts is not going to endear you to the coaches, no matter what the reason. It kind of has “crazy swim parent” vibes, so I wouldn’t recommend.

I’m going to second the advice regarding taking a video of your kid at their tryout. For anyone out there getting ready for a tryout, don’t do this, it makes you look crazy. Second, plenty of kids make it across the pool in what looks above the water to be legal breaststroke, but their kick may be illegal which a parent in the stands (especially if not a former swimmer) wouldn’t see/understand. I am going to disagree though about the importance of being legal in all 4 strokes for the 8 year olds. Because of how competitive the limited slots are at RMSC if your 8 year old is trying out, they need to be legal in all 4 strokes. A 6 year old not so much, but an 8 year old needs to be.

Depends on the site, I suppose, but at KSAC all parents are up on the viewing deck behind glass. Guarantee the coaches are paying attention to the swimmers and are not trying to match the 100 + swimmers to their parents who aren’t visible anyway. Just not happening. And, it’s not at all crazy to take video of an important assessment as a data point to reflect back on later. Plenty of coaches take video of their swimmers to provide feedback - it’s a useful tool.

Yep, we did the KSAC tryout a couple of years ago. There is ZERO chance the coaches noticed any parents taking videos and even if they did, they'd have no idea which kid was being recorded since there are so many kids swimming at the same time.

Why are you all missing the point that whether a coach catches it or not, you are still being that crazy parent if you’re recording your kid’s club tryout?!! We’re not talking recording a race at a meet, we’re talking about recording a tryout!

Some of us parents have swim backgrounds and even swim coaching experience and can give our kids useful feedback, believe it or not! This is especially useful if kid does not get selected and no feedback is given from the site.

So you’re that parent giving your kids feedback, got it.

Oh get off it - it's totally normal to help/teach your kids. Like working with them on math homework; giving them some swimming tips is really not any different. Lots of kids learn better with the visual and it's not like the swim team coaches are doing much by way of stroke technique. I think you just wanted to cut someone down with your snide comment

PP you’re replying to is just jealous they don’t have the skillset/experience to provide this “edge” to their kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent of two minis here, and my third will be trying out on the 15th. Its definitely competitive, but the younger you are, the lower the requirements, so better to try out early. Mine have all had a lot of success with the Stroke and Turn and SwimMontgomery programs as sort of a pre-team prep program the year before we tried out. Both these development programs have no competitions, but they get a lot of stroke development and reps in the pool so that RMSC is not a hugely different experience from what they're used to.

Good Luck!

How old were your minis when they tried out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

How old were your minis when they tried out?

They were 7. Which has been nice, they will get two full years of minis. Now having accidentally fallen deep into this swimming world, the next one is trying out at 6. He does not like to be left behind his older siblings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

How old were your minis when they tried out?

They were 7. Which has been nice, they will get two full years of minis. Now having accidentally fallen deep into this swimming world, the next one is trying out at 6. He does not like to be left behind his older siblings.

What was their skill level when they tried out? Legal in all 4? What kind of times?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

How old were your minis when they tried out?

They were 7. Which has been nice, they will get two full years of minis. Now having accidentally fallen deep into this swimming world, the next one is trying out at 6. He does not like to be left behind his older siblings.

What was their skill level when they tried out? Legal in all 4? What kind of times?

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