Makos or Marlins?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“Ncap Burke practice facility is old, dated, and not nice.”

So true! But my kid isn’t swimming there in order to use the old treadmills or tiny weight room. And here’s something to consider—I find the tiny NCAP Burke facility to have a much safer vibe for my young teen daughter. My girls have swam at rec centers and the St James and I can’t stand the crowds of loitering randos that pop up there. If I’m running late for a pick up my daughter can wait in the tiny ugly lobby at Burke and not be approached by chatty adult men. The front desk staff is right there. Also no obvious spots for sexual assaulters to lurk. Sorry to take it down a dark path, but it is a big redeeming quality of the old facility in my mind.

And the important part—the coaches are good and my kid has friends there.

+100!!!

I was talking about the pool and locker rooms being old, dated and not nice. Did they update the pool and locker room in the last year? When I visited the pool, I thought the pool and locker room facility was gross, old, and small. GMU aquatic center (mako practice site) is new, clean, modern, and spacious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“Ncap Burke practice facility is old, dated, and not nice.”

So true! But my kid isn’t swimming there in order to use the old treadmills or tiny weight room. And here’s something to consider—I find the tiny NCAP Burke facility to have a much safer vibe for my young teen daughter. My girls have swam at rec centers and the St James and I can’t stand the crowds of loitering randos that pop up there. If I’m running late for a pick up my daughter can wait in the tiny ugly lobby at Burke and not be approached by chatty adult men. The front desk staff is right there. Also no obvious spots for sexual assaulters to lurk. Sorry to take it down a dark path, but it is a big redeeming quality of the old facility in my mind.

And the important part—the coaches are good and my kid has friends there.

+100!!!

I was talking about the pool and locker rooms being old, dated and not nice. Did they update the pool and locker room in the last year? When I visited the pool, I thought the pool and locker room facility was gross, old, and small. GMU aquatic center (mako practice site) is new, clean, modern, and spacious.

The facility is fine. What matters much more is the coaching staff, location and practice times which Burke has in spades. We’re super happy with the program. The facility is older but it’s absolutely fine….quaint even. Feels comfortable and safe. We’ve lived all over the world and in several US States and had kids swimming at a variety of facilities and the Burke facility has never struck me as having any issues. Love that they have 12 lanes and multiple groups practice at the same time (helps with siblings and carpools) and it’s much less chaotic than a county rec center or St James.

[Anonymous]

For the OP: We were at GMU today for a meet. The blocks are outdated and the pool had a remarkable amount of wash considering it is 50 metres and has a gutter. There was limited deck space and terrible spectator seating. Parking is not super fun. College kids share locker rooms with the kids and the kids are alone throughout the hallways leading to the locker rooms and pools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the OP: We were at GMU today for a meet. The blocks are outdated and the pool had a remarkable amount of wash considering it is 50 metres and has a gutter. There was limited deck space and terrible spectator seating. Parking is not super fun. College kids share locker rooms with the kids and the kids are alone throughout the hallways leading to the locker rooms and pools.

GMU? Seating is fine. The facility is bright. There are two huge lots in the back and you can find spaces (unlike UMD). If you volunteered for the meet you would know that there are lots of volunteers down with the kids in the hallway just not in the locker room. The pool is decently fast for this area. Agree on the wash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Traffic is a big deal. And something to consider.

Makos has a great cohort at that age group. And although Marlins is a big club, they do not have a strong group of swimmers nor a cohort for your swimmer.

They are not known for fun either. The head coach is way too intense and burns out a lot of kids. It seems to work for the few good swimmers that they have but not for most. With those times though, I can guarantee your kid would be focused on heavily.

+1 I'd pick whatever club practices closest to home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the OP: We were at GMU today for a meet. The blocks are outdated and the pool had a remarkable amount of wash considering it is 50 metres and has a gutter. There was limited deck space and terrible spectator seating. Parking is not super fun. College kids share locker rooms with the kids and the kids are alone throughout the hallways leading to the locker rooms and pools.

This is a very strange counter-factual post. Are you basing your entire experience at GMU on one meet? Some of what you say is really inaccurate. I'm guessing you are a parent of a young child and were freaked out by the fact that you could not accompany them to the locker room. I often encounter this type of parent at the door of GMU begging the volunteer manning the door to allow them to escort their child. I can appreciate that it feels like you are sending your 6 year old off into the unknown. But the reality is that there is one hallway and it leads directly to the pool and locker room- there is no way to get lost in the hallway. College students are definitely not in the locker rooms during a swim meet. Indeed- no adults are allowed in the locker rooms. The deck space at GMU is vastly better than most other pools PVS swims at. Similarly, the spectator seating is much better. The only way I can think of that you could think the spectator seating was bad is if you somehow sat down on the wrong end from the pool your kid was swimming, and then didn't want to move???? Or alternatively that you couldn't see where your kid was sitting on deck- and were concerned about whether or not they had actually made it onto the deck or were lost in the hallway??
GMU is one of the easiest, if not the easiest pool to park at. Have you ever been to the St. James? Such limited parking and so many other things going on that you can be searching for street parking 1/2 mile away.