Summer swim team questions

[Anonymous]

We are thinking of having our 6 yo join a summer swim team this year, but I have some questions about how all of this works. I assume one needs to be a member of a pool for their kid to join the team, right? We are in Arlington, and many pools have wait lists, but we can find something nearby, I think. I looked at one website, and practices were listed for every day, with a statement saying kids need to commit to coming up every practice. So does that mean travel in July is incompatible with swim team? Or is there flexibility? And when does sign-up usually occur? Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

We are in NVSL so may be different league in Arlington but may work the same:

Practice everyday for an hour
Stroke and Turn additional 2x a week. So may stay or go back later. Is optional
Monday night meets for all
Saturday meets only top 3 swimmers in each stroke. Kids can do 2 strokes and 2 relays - so potentially 4 sat events

Meets start at 7 :30 and last til 11:30 or noon
Season starts after Memorial Day and goes til Aug 3 or so

My DC is big swimmer year round. Does summer for fun as lots of social events as well so keep that in mind...fri night pep rallies, bowling, etc
Also swims every sat meet BUT you may not do this for a few years or ever. We have friends in Div 1-5 and the kids are all so fast their DC has rarely made a sat meet.
So, yes , for us no vacations until after Aug 5 the last few years but when younger it was not an issue. As they age and get better, it is hard as they want to do it and the team wants them there to place and win.
We have a great team. Hope you find one too!

[Anonymous]

Our children have done swim team for about 3 years, and based on our experience at (a pool in McLean that is part of the NVSL):

I believe all swimmers are members of the pool; summer rental members may be able to join to
starting after Memorial day, after school practice begins, 4x week; not mandatory to attend
during summer, morning practice for 45 minutes or 1 hour (depending on age); the pool also has an afternoon practice for kids who are in camps during the day (so if kid does a week of camp in July, she can go to the afternoon practices that week)
practices are not mandatory/plenty of families vacation before August (other pools may have a more intense swim team culture but ours certainly not)
Some kids love swim team, especially the social component; others try and decide it's not their thing

[Anonymous]

Depends on the pool.
Our community pool has practice 2x a day (morn and afternoon) andthe younger kids (8 and under) have the choice of either one.

Your kid is 6 so practice and meets aren't as competitive and more laid back than the upper age groups.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for everyone's replies thus far.

[Anonymous]

PP is right. Culture really varies from pool to pool. Some are ok with kids missing practice and some aren't. Do your research before committing.

[Anonymous]

You may or may not need to be a member of the pool. Many pools--especially those with older populations--will allow the children of non-members to join in order to keep the team competitive.

I'm not sure of the process for that, but definitely something to look into as the major pools in Arlington (Overlee, DRRA, Arlington Forest) all have waiting lists that can stretch several years.

As far as summer travel, it's true that the coaches will expect you to be available for all of the "A" meets if your kid qualifies. Most swim families I know vacation in August for that reason.

[Anonymous]

You must be a stockholding member to join the swim team at our pool. I am thinking about having DD join the team this year. She is 7. I know our team is very strong and says "must attend all practices" but I know from experience that kids miss here and there. Not for weeks at a time but one or two practices etc.

[Anonymous]

At our pool, lease members are allowed to be on the swim team. You should look into practice times before you commit. Our pool makes no accommodations for working parents. Some practices are from 9-10am and 10-11am, depending on age. There are two evening practices per week, but those often are cancelled for dive team activities. The coaches also stress the no vacation before August idea. We belong to the pool because all our friends and kids' friends belong to the pool, and its a great social environment for the kids. The swim team situation is, however, not ideal for working parent, and the coaches don't do a good job working with younger kids and expect them to take lessons to be very good swimmers before being on the team specifically for younger kids. Other pools are way better at working with younger kids. These are the some of the things you should figure out when selecting a pool.

[Anonymous]

Would ask yourself what you want to get out of it, how good of a swimmer your child is, whether you can commit to being there nearly everyday, and what division the pool is in. If your goal is to go when you can, have your kid have fun, do weekly (B) meets in Monday nights, and enjoy the social aspect, join, if you can get your kid to the practices and meets! If your goal is for your child to improve at swimming and you can get to most practices and meets, join! If your child is a really good swimmer or developing into a really good swimmer, you need to think about the division the swim team is in, how fast general swimmers are in that age range for A meets, and whether your child can be okay possibly not being a star for a year or two. We definitely have kids who are 6 who make it to A meets, but our pool is a division 1 team. That same kid may not make any A meets as a 9 year old when swimming with 10 and some 11 year olds with good summer birthdays and she may feel poorly.

[Anonymous]

chesterbrook pool in mclean might be a good option if you want a close-by swim team without the pressure of the competitive swim teams affiliated with the arlington pools. more laid back and pretty atmosphere.

[Anonymous]

Two pools nearby me supposedly allow non-members. Not sure why, or if it has been an issue getting membership up. I'm interested to get my kids involved (they aren't swimmers ... yet), but not sure how it would work in our case as kids will be gone for 2-3 weeks in summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:chesterbrook pool in mclean might be a good option if you want a close-by swim team without the pressure of the competitive swim teams affiliated with the arlington pools. more laid back and pretty atmosphere.

Huh? Cheater rook is in division 1!!! Here is a sample of the times from one of their meets last summer. http://www.mynvsl.com/results/10164?back=dt

The "slowest" kid at their A meet for 8 and unders:

25 meter free boy 22:06, girl 21:17

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two pools nearby me supposedly allow non-members. Not sure why, or if it has been an issue getting membership up. I'm interested to get my kids involved (they aren't swimmers ... yet), but not sure how it would work in our case as kids will be gone for 2-3 weeks in summer.

If they are part of nvsl they shouldn't. Nvsl bylaws restrict swimmer Eligibility to pool members

[Anonymous]

Thanks again for everyone's replies. Does anyone have experience with the Knights of Columbus swim team?