NCAP and Machine pricing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:York does not have a 5 day per week option for 10&U. Maximum is 4 days.

as it should be. A 10 yr old should not be swimming 5 days a week. That is a recipe for very early burnout.

Agree. Our NCAP site limits 10Us to 3 hours or less per week. 3 practices total for 3 hours total is the max. Period. Full stop. No exceptions, notwithstanding language on the site that suggests otherwise. (I think they haven’t updated the website in awhile.)

Not an NCAP parent, but this is really smart. Is this site-specific or does all of NCAP do this?

Site specific. Marymount limits to 3 hrs/3 days. Tyson’s has a 4 day option for 10U

We are at a different site and it's also limited to 3 hours/3 days for 10U. At that age the coaches are really trying to guard against burnout. They'd rather have a kid who is excited and eager 2x a week than one who is reluctantly showing up 3 days a week, and that's been clearly communicated to us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:York does not have a 5 day per week option for 10&U. Maximum is 4 days.

as it should be. A 10 yr old should not be swimming 5 days a week. That is a recipe for very early burnout.

Agree. Our NCAP site limits 10Us to 3 hours or less per week. 3 practices total for 3 hours total is the max. Period. Full stop. No exceptions, notwithstanding language on the site that suggests otherwise. (I think they haven’t updated the website in awhile.)

Not an NCAP parent, but this is really smart. Is this site-specific or does all of NCAP do this?

Site specific. Marymount limits to 3 hrs/3 days. Tyson’s has a 4 day option for 10U

We are at a different site and it's also limited to 3 hours/3 days for 10U. At that age the coaches are really trying to guard against burnout. They'd rather have a kid who is excited and eager 2x a week than one who is reluctantly showing up 3 days a week, and that's been clearly communicated to us.

Tysons pushes 4 days per week, 11 months a year to 9-10s.

I’ve talked to Tysons parents that want to switch to other clubs for this reason and this reason only.

Tysons owns (maybe capital lease- same same) the pool, so they need to drive revenue by filling hours and extending through summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:York does not have a 5 day per week option for 10&U. Maximum is 4 days.

as it should be. A 10 yr old should not be swimming 5 days a week. That is a recipe for very early burnout.

Agree. Our NCAP site limits 10Us to 3 hours or less per week. 3 practices total for 3 hours total is the max. Period. Full stop. No exceptions, notwithstanding language on the site that suggests otherwise. (I think they haven’t updated the website in awhile.)

Not an NCAP parent, but this is really smart. Is this site-specific or does all of NCAP do this?

Site specific. Marymount limits to 3 hrs/3 days. Tyson’s has a 4 day option for 10U

We are at a different site and it's also limited to 3 hours/3 days for 10U. At that age the coaches are really trying to guard against burnout. They'd rather have a kid who is excited and eager 2x a week than one who is reluctantly showing up 3 days a week, and that's been clearly communicated to us.

Tysons pushes 4 days per week, 11 months a year to 9-10s.

I’ve talked to Tysons parents that want to switch to other clubs for this reason and this reason only.

Tysons owns (maybe capital lease- same same) the pool, so they need to drive revenue by filling hours and extending through summer.

As a Tysons parent I disagree. There are different levels of commitment and you can choose what works best for your child/family (bronze, silver, gold, etc). Even with the high performing group the coach encourages and supports kids in summer swim etc. As the parent, you have the control to pick the group and commitment level that works best for your family.

[Anonymous]

I’m not a Tysons parent but live nearby and it’s the most popular club at our summer pool. Multiple parents of 9-10s approached me, fleeing me what I wrote above- pushing 4 days, etc. and as a result asked about our club’s commitment, facilities, etc. By age 10, most of those kids rarely/never did summer practices, but did want to swim in A meets. Some at age 10/11 were swimming 6 days/ week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not a Tysons parent but live nearby and it’s the most popular club at our summer pool. Multiple parents of 9-10s approached me, fleeing me what I wrote above- pushing 4 days, etc. and as a result asked about our club’s commitment, facilities, etc. By age 10, most of those kids rarely/never did summer practices, but did want to swim in A meets. Some at age 10/11 were swimming 6 days/ week.

I’m not a Tyson’s parent but my kid at a different site has gotten to know the Tyson’s coaches and absolutely loves them. I will call BS on the claim that their 10/11 year olds are swimming 6 days a week. Their practice schedule is on the NCAP website and they do not even offer 6 practices a week for 10 year olds, and only their very best 11 year olds are eligible for a group that is offering 6 practices per week. The Bronze 1 group, which only the advanced 9-10 year olds are eligible for, offers 4 days a week, 75 minutes a practice. That is not an absurd amount of practice for an advanced swimmer, it’s 5 hours per week if a kid attends all practices. My kid at age 10 also rarely did summer swim practices because most of the summer swim 10 year olds that weren’t year round were focused on basics. It was pointless for my kid to be there, the other kids their age would get salty at them, and our summer coaches encouraged the club swimmers to continue club practices so they could focus on the kids that were barely legal in the strokes. As a teen my kid now attends more summer swim practices to see friends and help coach the little ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not a Tysons parent but live nearby and it’s the most popular club at our summer pool. Multiple parents of 9-10s approached me, fleeing me what I wrote above- pushing 4 days, etc. and as a result asked about our club’s commitment, facilities, etc. By age 10, most of those kids rarely/never did summer practices, but did want to swim in A meets. Some at age 10/11 were swimming 6 days/ week.

I’m not a Tyson’s parent but my kid at a different site has gotten to know the Tyson’s coaches and absolutely loves them. I will call BS on the claim that their 10/11 year olds are swimming 6 days a week. Their practice schedule is on the NCAP website and they do not even offer 6 practices a week for 10 year olds, and only their very best 11 year olds are eligible for a group that is offering 6 practices per week. The Bronze 1 group, which only the advanced 9-10 year olds are eligible for, offers 4 days a week, 75 minutes a practice. That is not an absurd amount of practice for an advanced swimmer, it’s 5 hours per week if a kid attends all practices. My kid at age 10 also rarely did summer swim practices because most of the summer swim 10 year olds that weren’t year round were focused on basics. It was pointless for my kid to be there, the other kids their age would get salty at them, and our summer coaches encouraged the club swimmers to continue club practices so they could focus on the kids that were barely legal in the strokes. As a teen my kid now attends more summer swim practices to see friends and help coach the little ones.

I’m a parent of an NCAP 10 year old whose child is also high performing (not as high performing as the best NCAP-Tyson’s 10 year old, but my child would be in that child’s practice group if we were at Tyson’s). Our site would NEVER allow 10Us to practice 4 days per week at 75 minutes per practice. The max we are allowed is 3 practices/week, and all practices are 1 hour each (so 3 hours per week total, with absolutely no extra days of swimming, no exceptions). The NCAP head coach is at our site, and given he’s been around the sun many many times, I trust his decisions and guidance to our site on what is appropriate for 10 year olds.

This said, it is always clear that our kids don’t practice as much as most of the other similarly-situated (ie, AA and up) 10U swimmers against whom we compete, and the parents *of similarly-situated* kids whom we meet in the stands at championship meet finals, travel meets, etc largely affirm that we are the lowest end of practice hours/week. That changes for our kids at age 11, where they will move to a 4-5 day option, but for now — at age 10U — it is 3 hours/week max spread across only 3 practices/week max.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:York does not have a 5 day per week option for 10&U. Maximum is 4 days.

as it should be. A 10 yr old should not be swimming 5 days a week. That is a recipe for very early burnout.

Agree. Our NCAP site limits 10Us to 3 hours or less per week. 3 practices total for 3 hours total is the max. Period. Full stop. No exceptions, notwithstanding language on the site that suggests otherwise. (I think they haven’t updated the website in awhile.)

Not an NCAP parent, but this is really smart. Is this site-specific or does all of NCAP do this?

Site specific. Marymount limits to 3 hrs/3 days. Tyson’s has a 4 day option for 10U

We are at a different site and it's also limited to 3 hours/3 days for 10U. At that age the coaches are really trying to guard against burnout. They'd rather have a kid who is excited and eager 2x a week than one who is reluctantly showing up 3 days a week, and that's been clearly communicated to us.

Tysons pushes 4 days per week, 11 months a year to 9-10s.

I’ve talked to Tysons parents that want to switch to other clubs for this reason and this reason only.

Tysons owns (maybe capital lease- same same) the pool, so they need to drive revenue by filling hours and extending through summer.

I’m pretty sure every NCAP site requires a 12 month contract, so you are paying for summer long course even if the swimmers don’t go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:York does not have a 5 day per week option for 10&U. Maximum is 4 days.

as it should be. A 10 yr old should not be swimming 5 days a week. That is a recipe for very early burnout.

Agree. Our NCAP site limits 10Us to 3 hours or less per week. 3 practices total for 3 hours total is the max. Period. Full stop. No exceptions, notwithstanding language on the site that suggests otherwise. (I think they haven’t updated the website in awhile.)

Not an NCAP parent, but this is really smart. Is this site-specific or does all of NCAP do this?

Site specific. Marymount limits to 3 hrs/3 days. Tyson’s has a 4 day option for 10U

We are at a different site and it's also limited to 3 hours/3 days for 10U. At that age the coaches are really trying to guard against burnout. They'd rather have a kid who is excited and eager 2x a week than one who is reluctantly showing up 3 days a week, and that's been clearly communicated to us.

Tysons pushes 4 days per week, 11 months a year to 9-10s.

I’ve talked to Tysons parents that want to switch to other clubs for this reason and this reason only.

Tysons owns (maybe capital lease- same same) the pool, so they need to drive revenue by filling hours and extending through summer.

I’m pretty sure every NCAP site requires a 12 month contract, so you are paying for summer long course even if the swimmers don’t go.

This isn’t true, some of the NCAP groups, those for the youngest kids and the low key HS swimmers, have a 9 month option that doesn’t include LC season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not a Tysons parent but live nearby and it’s the most popular club at our summer pool. Multiple parents of 9-10s approached me, fleeing me what I wrote above- pushing 4 days, etc. and as a result asked about our club’s commitment, facilities, etc. By age 10, most of those kids rarely/never did summer practices, but did want to swim in A meets. Some at age 10/11 were swimming 6 days/ week.

I’m not a Tyson’s parent but my kid at a different site has gotten to know the Tyson’s coaches and absolutely loves them. I will call BS on the claim that their 10/11 year olds are swimming 6 days a week. Their practice schedule is on the NCAP website and they do not even offer 6 practices a week for 10 year olds, and only their very best 11 year olds are eligible for a group that is offering 6 practices per week. The Bronze 1 group, which only the advanced 9-10 year olds are eligible for, offers 4 days a week, 75 minutes a practice. That is not an absurd amount of practice for an advanced swimmer, it’s 5 hours per week if a kid attends all practices. My kid at age 10 also rarely did summer swim practices because most of the summer swim 10 year olds that weren’t year round were focused on basics. It was pointless for my kid to be there, the other kids their age would get salty at them, and our summer coaches encouraged the club swimmers to continue club practices so they could focus on the kids that were barely legal in the strokes. As a teen my kid now attends more summer swim practices to see friends and help coach the little ones.

I’m a parent of an NCAP 10 year old whose child is also high performing (not as high performing as the best NCAP-Tyson’s 10 year old, but my child would be in that child’s practice group if we were at Tyson’s). Our site would NEVER allow 10Us to practice 4 days per week at 75 minutes per practice. The max we are allowed is 3 practices/week, and all practices are 1 hour each (so 3 hours per week total, with absolutely no extra days of swimming, no exceptions). The NCAP head coach is at our site, and given he’s been around the sun many many times, I trust his decisions and guidance to our site on what is appropriate for 10 year olds.

This said, it is always clear that our kids don’t practice as much as most of the other similarly-situated (ie, AA and up) 10U swimmers against whom we compete, and the parents *of similarly-situated* kids whom we meet in the stands at championship meet finals, travel meets, etc largely affirm that we are the lowest end of practice hours/week. That changes for our kids at age 11, where they will move to a 4-5 day option, but for now — at age 10U — it is 3 hours/week max spread across only 3 practices/week max.

We know, Burke 10 Us only practice 3x a week max. I do not think my kid who practiced 4x a week at age 10 was done a disservice, 1 extra hour over the course of a week is really not that big of a deal. It was not mandated that they practice 4x a week either, 3 was the expected number of practices, some kids did 4 and some kids did 3. Our site’s head coach is probably the best of NCAPs head coaches, so I also trusted their judgment on what was appropriate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not a Tysons parent but live nearby and it’s the most popular club at our summer pool. Multiple parents of 9-10s approached me, fleeing me what I wrote above- pushing 4 days, etc. and as a result asked about our club’s commitment, facilities, etc. By age 10, most of those kids rarely/never did summer practices, but did want to swim in A meets. Some at age 10/11 were swimming 6 days/ week.

I’m not a Tyson’s parent but my kid at a different site has gotten to know the Tyson’s coaches and absolutely loves them. I will call BS on the claim that their 10/11 year olds are swimming 6 days a week. Their practice schedule is on the NCAP website and they do not even offer 6 practices a week for 10 year olds, and only their very best 11 year olds are eligible for a group that is offering 6 practices per week. The Bronze 1 group, which only the advanced 9-10 year olds are eligible for, offers 4 days a week, 75 minutes a practice. That is not an absurd amount of practice for an advanced swimmer, it’s 5 hours per week if a kid attends all practices. My kid at age 10 also rarely did summer swim practices because most of the summer swim 10 year olds that weren’t year round were focused on basics. It was pointless for my kid to be there, the other kids their age would get salty at them, and our summer coaches encouraged the club swimmers to continue club practices so they could focus on the kids that were barely legal in the strokes. As a teen my kid now attends more summer swim practices to see friends and help coach the little ones.

I’m a parent of an NCAP 10 year old whose child is also high performing (not as high performing as the best NCAP-Tyson’s 10 year old, but my child would be in that child’s practice group if we were at Tyson’s). Our site would NEVER allow 10Us to practice 4 days per week at 75 minutes per practice. The max we are allowed is 3 practices/week, and all practices are 1 hour each (so 3 hours per week total, with absolutely no extra days of swimming, no exceptions). The NCAP head coach is at our site, and given he’s been around the sun many many times, I trust his decisions and guidance to our site on what is appropriate for 10 year olds.

This said, it is always clear that our kids don’t practice as much as most of the other similarly-situated (ie, AA and up) 10U swimmers against whom we compete, and the parents *of similarly-situated* kids whom we meet in the stands at championship meet finals, travel meets, etc largely affirm that we are the lowest end of practice hours/week. That changes for our kids at age 11, where they will move to a 4-5 day option, but for now — at age 10U — it is 3 hours/week max spread across only 3 practices/week max.

We know, Burke 10 Us only practice 3x a week max. I do not think my kid who practiced 4x a week at age 10 was done a disservice, 1 extra hour over the course of a week is really not that big of a deal. It was not mandated that they practice 4x a week either, 3 was the expected number of practices, some kids did 4 and some kids did 3. Our site’s head coach is probably the best of NCAPs head coaches, so I also trusted their judgment on what was appropriate.

There are many Burke and MM parents who would appreciate the options you have. I think that’s what the PP intimated in the second paragraph. I imagine it all works out in the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not a Tysons parent but live nearby and it’s the most popular club at our summer pool. Multiple parents of 9-10s approached me, fleeing me what I wrote above- pushing 4 days, etc. and as a result asked about our club’s commitment, facilities, etc. By age 10, most of those kids rarely/never did summer practices, but did want to swim in A meets. Some at age 10/11 were swimming 6 days/ week.

I’m not a Tyson’s parent but my kid at a different site has gotten to know the Tyson’s coaches and absolutely loves them. I will call BS on the claim that their 10/11 year olds are swimming 6 days a week. Their practice schedule is on the NCAP website and they do not even offer 6 practices a week for 10 year olds, and only their very best 11 year olds are eligible for a group that is offering 6 practices per week.

Some under 12s do the full allotment of practice plus multiple weekly private lessons putting them at 6x/ week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not a Tysons parent but live nearby and it’s the most popular club at our summer pool. Multiple parents of 9-10s approached me, fleeing me what I wrote above- pushing 4 days, etc. and as a result asked about our club’s commitment, facilities, etc. By age 10, most of those kids rarely/never did summer practices, but did want to swim in A meets. Some at age 10/11 were swimming 6 days/ week.

I’m not a Tyson’s parent but my kid at a different site has gotten to know the Tyson’s coaches and absolutely loves them. I will call BS on the claim that their 10/11 year olds are swimming 6 days a week. Their practice schedule is on the NCAP website and they do not even offer 6 practices a week for 10 year olds, and only their very best 11 year olds are eligible for a group that is offering 6 practices per week.

Some under 12s do the full allotment of practice plus multiple weekly private lessons putting them at 6x/ week.

That’s the parents choosing multiple weekly private lessons (which I’m going to say I also doubt is actually happening), it has nothing to do with the club and their requirements.

[Anonymous]

After reading most of this thread I was wondering how many weeks of practice you get at NCAP and other clubs for these prices. I don't see actual calendars on these websites. Like when it actually starts and how many weeks are off for winter break etc ...

Also how much are the US swimming fees? Does NCAP include them in the registration dues?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After reading most of this thread I was wondering how many weeks of practice you get at NCAP and other clubs for these prices. I don't see actual calendars on these websites. Like when it actually starts and how many weeks are off for winter break etc ...

Also how much are the US swimming fees? Does NCAP include them in the registration dues?

My swimmer was 12-13 this season. They started September 9th and the last practice is on Friday. My swimmer had some time off around Christmas (it was a little less than a week) and then a week off for Spring break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After reading most of this thread I was wondering how many weeks of practice you get at NCAP and other clubs for these prices. I don't see actual calendars on these websites. Like when it actually starts and how many weeks are off for winter break etc ...

Also how much are the US swimming fees? Does NCAP include them in the registration dues?

My swimmer was 12-13 this season. They started September 9th and the last practice is on Friday. My swimmer had some time off around Christmas (it was a little less than a week) and then a week off for Spring break.

Machine is similar. They really do swim the full 9 or 11 months with just a short break at Christmas. They get the week off for spring break but that is largely because champs/NCSAs are over.