Summer swim brings out the crazy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is ladder?

It’s a list that ranks the swimmers for each event in a meet. Most of the pools that publish it do so because it dispels any conspiracy theories that coaches are not using the fastest swimmers in favor of their friend’s kid.

Whoa. Never have I ever been so happy to be in PMSL. We're in Division A, so a large and competitive team, but everyone is included in Saturday meets.

We are also in a league that doesn’t do A and B meets and after having been in one that does, I can say we have a much better overall summer swim experience with just 1 meet for everyone per week. Fewer meets to deal with (on top of my kid’s club commitments), and just a pleasant, fun environment where no one is trying to take anyone’s place in the “better” meet. Yes, the relay spots are coveted, but no one is freaking out over them or demanding to see a ladder because Joey is on the B relay instead of the A.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I had no idea there were pools where people didn't post a ladder. We have a few kids (and, yes, sadly a few parents) who stalk the ladder postings.

D1 team here. No ladder. I can only imagine how much that would kill the fun.

Nope, no way. Nice try. All the D1 pools post them.

Nope, not true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There a middle ground with the ladder where you just post the top 10 (or whatever number 5 or above) in each event so that people can’t see who is at the bottom, but there is some transparency to the selection for A meets.

We have a very large team and our ladder is only Top 5. Transparency for A meets but no need to humiliate kids way down the list.

+1, same with us, although we are not a huge team. Has always seemed like the best way to handle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I had no idea there were pools where people didn't post a ladder. We have a few kids (and, yes, sadly a few parents) who stalk the ladder postings.

D1 team here. No ladder. I can only imagine how much that would kill the fun.

Nope, no way. Nice try. All the D1 pools post them.

Highlands family. Our swim team has never posted the ladders. Parents are welcome to check out the NVSL website if they want a general idea of the times kids are swimming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I had no idea there were pools where people didn't post a ladder. We have a few kids (and, yes, sadly a few parents) who stalk the ladder postings.

D1 team here. No ladder. I can only imagine how much that would kill the fun.

Nope, no way. Nice try. All the D1 pools post them.

Our D1 pool does not post a ladder but all times/results are posted in SwimTopia so anyone can see them (if they can figure out how to use the app).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I had no idea there were pools where people didn't post a ladder. We have a few kids (and, yes, sadly a few parents) who stalk the ladder postings.

D1 team here. No ladder. I can only imagine how much that would kill the fun.

Nope, no way. Nice try. All the D1 pools post them.

Overlee does not.

[Anonymous]

Guys, Tuckahoe is leading the charge on posting the ladder, right?? Because those parents are by far the craziest summer swim parents around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I had no idea there were pools where people didn't post a ladder. We have a few kids (and, yes, sadly a few parents) who stalk the ladder postings.

D1 team here. No ladder. I can only imagine how much that would kill the fun.

Nope, no way. Nice try. All the D1 pools post them.

Our D1 pool does not post a ladder but all times/results are posted in SwimTopia so anyone can see them (if they can figure out how to use the app).

We use Swimtopia and at least for us we can only see our own swimmer's times.

[Anonymous]

Love our pool. We do not post a ladder, but, all times are online, so you can check there.

I do agree that there are always a handful of parents who are perfectly nice people at other times of the year but bring on the crazy during summer swim.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like there’s drama at every pool. Is anyone at a pool where the vibe is generally relaxed and friendly?

We love our pool and our team! So much mutual and unconditional support. Terrific coaches who won't let the kids bicker and who have the respect and trust of the parents. A and B reps who know their jobs cold and are great at getting everyone to pitch in. Families who just jump up and do stuff as needed. And no public ladder whatsoever. Head coach games out the A meet points in advance and sometimes gives unneeded slots to slower swimmers who are showing dedication or need a boost (I'd much rather that than maxing out the fastest kids, who still swim multiple events anyway and make all of the all-star qualifications they are entitled to). B meets are open to all without restrictions except for number of events. Social occasions celebrate the team and the community, not the competition side of things. Teenagers stay on the team all the way through high school and become coaches and lifeguards. The end result is that the team is huge and the summer is unforgettable. We are so lucky.

LOVE this. Are you a low division?

Thanks for the positive feedback! We're in about the top 1/3 in MCSL. So I'd say very medium. We fill all lanes with swimmers to spare, but we also never turn kids away from the team. I should also add how the coaches handle relays, which I think is really good: MCSL only has an open (really 15-18) medley and a graduated 175. The medley is taken by the teens that the coaches know can win, the standing best in each stroke. But the 175, which has one kid from each younger age group, is swum by the kids who put down the best freestyle time that day at that very meet. It doesn't matter what they came in with: it matters what they swam that morning. So there is no advance competition or second-guessing ahead of time, and there is no actual relay that practices together, so there is no envy over it.

[Anonymous]

I prefer the ladder being posted. Div 2.

I volunteer at everything I can. Hate sitting around.

[Anonymous]

I don’t understand how you guys can let parent chit chat get to you like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I overheard a parent at practice talking last night about his 10 year old and how basically his kid was the next Olympian. That their club team needed to be good with them not being able to attend club practices since she love summer swim practices. Also apparently not meeting club attendance requirements during the year due to other sports. That they need to deal with it because they needed her because she can make JOs and if they don't like her lack of commitment NCAP would kill to have her.

It was honestly kind of shocking and insane. The tone was crazy. I think the parents he was talking to were just floored by the hubris.

lol. Do you know how many JO swimmers NCAP has? It means nothing and just shows their ignorance.

[Anonymous]

Why do summer teams like mine use SwimTopia rather than Meet mobile?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've heard that a lot of pools don't post their ladders. We've been concerned that it will be perceived as a lack of transparency and foster rumors of favoritism over times (even though the rationale for not posting one is actually well-intentioned).

Our ladder is not posted. Parents know the NVSL times and will watch B times and sort of "know" where their kid is in the line up. Parents will ask the team rep all the time where their kid and she will tell them they are number three or number seven, etc. But doesn't name the other swimmers. The idea is just to encourage the swimmer to improve their time.

Just ask the rep.

I can only imagine the amount of emails this team rep receives inquiring about their swimmers’ rankings. I definitely wouldn’t want to be the team rep of this team.