novice summer swim questions

[Anonymous]

I know this is out of season, but I received my first camp pamphlet in the mail and realize right after the holidays, it's time to start booking camps and figuring out the summer. DS is six and this will be his first summer doing summer swim team - at a regular pool, not a country club. I have some questions for those who have been through it.

Do you prefer to have your kids go to camp and practice in the afternoons, or do you just have them do swim and hang out during the season and then focus on camp starting in mid-July? I can't decide if this will be a nice change of pace right after the school year or if it will drive me bonkers. I am a SAHM.

If DS is on developmental and never swimming in a meet, should I be signing up to volunteer at meets? Is he supposed to attend the meets?

Does developmental feel like part of the team, or more just like lessons and I shouldn't expect all of the 'team' stuff until the following year?

[Anonymous]

If you are a SAHM then I would have your son do morning swim practice which is when most kids do it. they also tend to have that every day versus at our pool where they only have afternoon practice for kids who go to camp 2 days a week. Kids make more progress the more they practice/swim. our pool also has Friday fun practice that the kids enjoy.

As far as being part of the team and feeling like they are part of the team, practice is practice. They will feel more like part of the team when they swim in the meets. i would definitely recommend that no matter how good your kid is or isn't that they swim in the meets. Our pool has "B"/"developmental meets" for kids who don't make the top team and anyone who want to swim in these meets can swim regardless of ability. Our pool even had a separate 6 under age category in which kids who weren't totally comfortable swimming the length of the pool could have a coach/older swim team member swim with them. At 6 my son loved swimming in these meets and being part of the team in this way.

You do not need to volunteer at the main meets if your child isn't swimming unless you really want to.

[Anonymous]

I agree - have your son swim mornings with the team. At our pool, the afternoon practices for campers were not as good - they tended to have younger coaches run them, and they weren't as focused and well run as the regular morning practices.

He'll likely participate in the B meets which are just as "real" as the A meets but are open to swimmers of all levels. Neither of my kids was particularly fast but they really enjoyed the experience and focused on swimming their best time versus winning against other swimmers. The great thing about swim team is most kids will see improvement over the 6 weeks of swim team if they practice.

Our swim team requires all parents to volunteer, but you only volunteer at the meets where your kid is actually swimming (e.g., at the B meets).

[Anonymous]

I'm a SAHM of slightly older kids. My kids get tired out by swimming, so they're pretty mellow for the rest of the day. For us, it's a nice change of pace to have swimming and no camps--just a chance to have relaxing summer time at home. Yes, they drive me crazy, too. Sometimes we add in a shorter half-day sort of camp.

Every pool is different, so I'd check for the details with someone from your pool. But here's our situation: Pre-team swims M-T-W-Th mornings only. Afternoon practices (three days a week) and Friday morning are just for main swim team. Kids in our pre-swim team don't compete at B meets on Wednesdays, but there are some race opportunities over the course of the season. Those 6-year-olds who are very strong swimmers can be part of the regular swim team, so those kids obviously race every week. Parents of kids on the pre-team have smaller volunteer responsibilities. They often choose to volunteer at the all-team events (pep rallies on Friday afternoons, special breakfasts, etc.), which do include the pre-team. All kids are encouraged to attend meets that they're not swimming in, but most of the time the only kids there and not swimming are siblings. Of course, when you have a home meet, it can be fun to stop by to cheer for a little while and see the "big kids" swim.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, I could never get swim team practices and camp to work out together, so I would suggest doing swim team during the season and then finding camps after swim season. The choice of half day camps is really limited, and we found our kids were worn out for practice.

Usually, you only volunteer to the meets in which your kid is swimming. The meets do go on and on because of the large number of heats (I estimate you will be at the pool 5 hours to see your kid swim 1 minute).