RMSC tryouts for 2025-26 season

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have experience with the RMSC Germantown? We're trying to get a sense of how strong the program is, especially for the Junior and Advanced Junior groups. How are the coaches and the overall environment?

My 12-year-old daughter recently tried out for a few teams and we've already heard back from another one, so now we're trying to decide between RMSC (if she gets in) and the other option. Any insights would be really appreciated!

I’ve heard it described as a swim farm, with less attention paid to the weaker swimmers. The cost is far cheaper than swimming elsewhere.

I’ve heard it referred to a puppy mill for swimmers. It’s cheap with several convenient practice and meet locations. Local orthopedics hate RMSC because the kids always get hurt.

Could you say more about this?

Multiple 13-18’s with shoulder injuries. When they get treated for these injuries the first thing the specialists ask them is what club team they swim for and they complain about RMSC.

Not sure which thread it is, maybe the ASA one? RMSC requires much more time in the pool in their advanced groups and it’s not healthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone heard anything yet? We are waiting to hear from KSAC but assume they won’t email until champs is done this weekend. When is the final tryout?

Move ups for the kids who are already on the team will be decided first, then the new kids are placed. JO's just finished on Monday, based on that they offer spots in higher groups, then work their way down.

Moves and commitments from existing RMSC swimmers already happened by the 13th. So the number of open slots for each group/site is known, the only thing outstanding was last night's tryouts.

That’s not the full picture. They also move swimmers around following JOs, which just happened Tuesday this week at the site we’re at. The they see the whole landscape of where they can place new swimmers.

These are very few corner case situations - not a lot of kids in this circumstance moving around at this point. There is also "off cycle" movement at other times of the year as well but right now the focus is on who did what at the tryouts. Regardless of group, returning swimmer registration ended on the 13th, so they minimally know who isn't coming back.

This final sessions were on the 22nd and at this point, all the kids that were evaluated to be the top for a given group/location would have already received their offers which they then have 48hrs to accept before they move down the list.

You are less informed than you believe. At least nine swimmers at our RMSC site found out on Tuesday that they were moving groups following JOs performance. It’s not true that the RMSC sites have known for two weeks what spots they will have available for those trying out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone heard anything yet? We are waiting to hear from KSAC but assume they won’t email until champs is done this weekend. When is the final tryout?

Move ups for the kids who are already on the team will be decided first, then the new kids are placed. JO's just finished on Monday, based on that they offer spots in higher groups, then work their way down.

Moves and commitments from existing RMSC swimmers already happened by the 13th. So the number of open slots for each group/site is known, the only thing outstanding was last night's tryouts.

That’s not the full picture. They also move swimmers around following JOs, which just happened Tuesday this week at the site we’re at. The they see the whole landscape of where they can place new swimmers.

These are very few corner case situations - not a lot of kids in this circumstance moving around at this point. There is also "off cycle" movement at other times of the year as well but right now the focus is on who did what at the tryouts. Regardless of group, returning swimmer registration ended on the 13th, so they minimally know who isn't coming back.

This final sessions were on the 22nd and at this point, all the kids that were evaluated to be the top for a given group/location would have already received their offers which they then have 48hrs to accept before they move down the list.

So no news is bad news?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone heard anything yet? We are waiting to hear from KSAC but assume they won’t email until champs is done this weekend. When is the final tryout?

Move ups for the kids who are already on the team will be decided first, then the new kids are placed. JO's just finished on Monday, based on that they offer spots in higher groups, then work their way down.

Moves and commitments from existing RMSC swimmers already happened by the 13th. So the number of open slots for each group/site is known, the only thing outstanding was last night's tryouts.

That’s not the full picture. They also move swimmers around following JOs, which just happened Tuesday this week at the site we’re at. The they see the whole landscape of where they can place new swimmers.

These are very few corner case situations - not a lot of kids in this circumstance moving around at this point. There is also "off cycle" movement at other times of the year as well but right now the focus is on who did what at the tryouts. Regardless of group, returning swimmer registration ended on the 13th, so they minimally know who isn't coming back.

This final sessions were on the 22nd and at this point, all the kids that were evaluated to be the top for a given group/location would have already received their offers which they then have 48hrs to accept before they move down the list.

So no news is bad news?

I was told we would hear something next week.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone heard anything yet?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have experience with the RMSC Germantown? We're trying to get a sense of how strong the program is, especially for the Junior and Advanced Junior groups. How are the coaches and the overall environment?

My 12-year-old daughter recently tried out for a few teams and we've already heard back from another one, so now we're trying to decide between RMSC (if she gets in) and the other option. Any insights would be really appreciated!

I’ve heard it described as a swim farm, with less attention paid to the weaker swimmers. The cost is far cheaper than swimming elsewhere.

I’ve heard it referred to a puppy mill for swimmers. It’s cheap with several convenient practice and meet locations. Local orthopedics hate RMSC because the kids always get hurt.

Could you say more about this?

Multiple 13-18’s with shoulder injuries. When they get treated for these injuries the first thing the specialists ask them is what club team they swim for and they complain about RMSC.

Not sure which thread it is, maybe the ASA one? RMSC requires much more time in the pool in their advanced groups and it’s not healthy.

Which orthopedist? Your comment seems troll-ish. Is someone really going around collecting information from doctors about the number of patients they have with shoulder injuries from the same club? It’s not like Montgomery County is in a rural area. Just doesn’t come off as a plausible claim.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have experience with the RMSC Germantown? We're trying to get a sense of how strong the program is, especially for the Junior and Advanced Junior groups. How are the coaches and the overall environment?

My 12-year-old daughter recently tried out for a few teams and we've already heard back from another one, so now we're trying to decide between RMSC (if she gets in) and the other option. Any insights would be really appreciated!

I’ve heard it described as a swim farm, with less attention paid to the weaker swimmers. The cost is far cheaper than swimming elsewhere.

I’ve heard it referred to a puppy mill for swimmers. It’s cheap with several convenient practice and meet locations. Local orthopedics hate RMSC because the kids always get hurt.

Could you say more about this?

Multiple 13-18’s with shoulder injuries. When they get treated for these injuries the first thing the specialists ask them is what club team they swim for and they complain about RMSC.

Not sure which thread it is, maybe the ASA one? RMSC requires much more time in the pool in their advanced groups and it’s not healthy.

Which orthopedist? Your comment seems troll-ish. Is someone really going around collecting information from doctors about the number of patients they have with shoulder injuries from the same club? It’s not like Montgomery County is in a rural area. Just doesn’t come off as a plausible claim.

Think about it. If your kid injures there shoulder form swimming, wouldn’t you ask other swim parents what doctors they’ve used for their kid’s injury?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have experience with the RMSC Germantown? We're trying to get a sense of how strong the program is, especially for the Junior and Advanced Junior groups. How are the coaches and the overall environment?

My 12-year-old daughter recently tried out for a few teams and we've already heard back from another one, so now we're trying to decide between RMSC (if she gets in) and the other option. Any insights would be really appreciated!

I’ve heard it described as a swim farm, with less attention paid to the weaker swimmers. The cost is far cheaper than swimming elsewhere.

I’ve heard it referred to a puppy mill for swimmers. It’s cheap with several convenient practice and meet locations. Local orthopedics hate RMSC because the kids always get hurt.

Could you say more about this?

Multiple 13-18’s with shoulder injuries. When they get treated for these injuries the first thing the specialists ask them is what club team they swim for and they complain about RMSC.

Not sure which thread it is, maybe the ASA one? RMSC requires much more time in the pool in their advanced groups and it’s not healthy.

I see you trust what you read on DC Urban Mom. What I see as a parent is coaches working to correct strokes that will lead to injuries and holding kids back who have good times but unsustainable mechanics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone heard anything yet? We are waiting to hear from KSAC but assume they won’t email until champs is done this weekend. When is the final tryout?

Move ups for the kids who are already on the team will be decided first, then the new kids are placed. JO's just finished on Monday, based on that they offer spots in higher groups, then work their way down.

Moves and commitments from existing RMSC swimmers already happened by the 13th. So the number of open slots for each group/site is known, the only thing outstanding was last night's tryouts.

That’s not the full picture. They also move swimmers around following JOs, which just happened Tuesday this week at the site we’re at. The they see the whole landscape of where they can place new swimmers.

These are very few corner case situations - not a lot of kids in this circumstance moving around at this point. There is also "off cycle" movement at other times of the year as well but right now the focus is on who did what at the tryouts. Regardless of group, returning swimmer registration ended on the 13th, so they minimally know who isn't coming back.

This final sessions were on the 22nd and at this point, all the kids that were evaluated to be the top for a given group/location would have already received their offers which they then have 48hrs to accept before they move down the list.

So no news is bad news?

No news is just no news...

The Rockville site may be different but for the other sites, they said the following:

"Tryout decisions will be made after both tryout dates have taken place and will be emailed no later than July 27."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have experience with the RMSC Germantown? We're trying to get a sense of how strong the program is, especially for the Junior and Advanced Junior groups. How are the coaches and the overall environment?

My 12-year-old daughter recently tried out for a few teams and we've already heard back from another one, so now we're trying to decide between RMSC (if she gets in) and the other option. Any insights would be really appreciated!

I’ve heard it described as a swim farm, with less attention paid to the weaker swimmers. The cost is far cheaper than swimming elsewhere.

That is true. For younger swimmers who need consistent corrections, other clubs may be better to start with. Private lessons are generally needed in addition to practice in RMSC to be not weak.

+1 Transferring into RMSC as a fast swimmer is much easier than trying to make it at a young age with only summer swim times (unless your kid has All Star times as 8&U).

It’s the opposite. Best time to make RMSC is as an 8&u. You can’t just “transfer in” as a faster older swimmer- the club does not operate that way. There is intense competition for the small number of open slots at the 9+ age groups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have experience with the RMSC Germantown? We're trying to get a sense of how strong the program is, especially for the Junior and Advanced Junior groups. How are the coaches and the overall environment?

My 12-year-old daughter recently tried out for a few teams and we've already heard back from another one, so now we're trying to decide between RMSC (if she gets in) and the other option. Any insights would be really appreciated!

I’ve heard it described as a swim farm, with less attention paid to the weaker swimmers. The cost is far cheaper than swimming elsewhere.

That is true. For younger swimmers who need consistent corrections, other clubs may be better to start with. Private lessons are generally needed in addition to practice in RMSC to be not weak.

Do you have any personal experience with RMSC? As a parent of a younger RMSC swimmer, this has not been our experience at all. My 8&u attends practices twice a week, does not receive any private coaching during the club season, has progressed nicely (both in terms of time drops and technique improvements), and in terms of times, is among the top group of same-age swimmers club wide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have experience with the RMSC Germantown? We're trying to get a sense of how strong the program is, especially for the Junior and Advanced Junior groups. How are the coaches and the overall environment?

My 12-year-old daughter recently tried out for a few teams and we've already heard back from another one, so now we're trying to decide between RMSC (if she gets in) and the other option. Any insights would be really appreciated!

I’ve heard it described as a swim farm, with less attention paid to the weaker swimmers. The cost is far cheaper than swimming elsewhere.

That is true. For younger swimmers who need consistent corrections, other clubs may be better to start with. Private lessons are generally needed in addition to practice in RMSC to be not weak.

+1 Transferring into RMSC as a fast swimmer is much easier than trying to make it at a young age with only summer swim times (unless your kid has All Star times as 8&U).

It’s the opposite. Best time to make RMSC is as an 8&u. You can’t just “transfer in” as a faster older swimmer- the club does not operate that way. There is intense competition for the small number of open slots at the 9+ age groups.

+1000. The earlier kids try out, the better. New families with kids of Minis age often think that they need to wait until their kids are another year stronger or more skilled before they try out, and in reality they should just make the attempt as soon as they can, and keep trying out at as many different sites as possible. It gets harder to get in with every passing year of a kid's age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have experience with the RMSC Germantown? We're trying to get a sense of how strong the program is, especially for the Junior and Advanced Junior groups. How are the coaches and the overall environment?

My 12-year-old daughter recently tried out for a few teams and we've already heard back from another one, so now we're trying to decide between RMSC (if she gets in) and the other option. Any insights would be really appreciated!

I’ve heard it described as a swim farm, with less attention paid to the weaker swimmers. The cost is far cheaper than swimming elsewhere.

That is true. For younger swimmers who need consistent corrections, other clubs may be better to start with. Private lessons are generally needed in addition to practice in RMSC to be not weak.

+1 Transferring into RMSC as a fast swimmer is much easier than trying to make it at a young age with only summer swim times (unless your kid has All Star times as 8&U).

It’s the opposite. Best time to make RMSC is as an 8&u. You can’t just “transfer in” as a faster older swimmer- the club does not operate that way. There is intense competition for the small number of open slots at the 9+ age groups.

There is always space for a truly fast swimmer (not BB/A, more like AA/AAA), even at RMSC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have experience with the RMSC Germantown? We're trying to get a sense of how strong the program is, especially for the Junior and Advanced Junior groups. How are the coaches and the overall environment?

My 12-year-old daughter recently tried out for a few teams and we've already heard back from another one, so now we're trying to decide between RMSC (if she gets in) and the other option. Any insights would be really appreciated!

I’ve heard it described as a swim farm, with less attention paid to the weaker swimmers. The cost is far cheaper than swimming elsewhere.

That is true. For younger swimmers who need consistent corrections, other clubs may be better to start with. Private lessons are generally needed in addition to practice in RMSC to be not weak.

Do you have any personal experience with RMSC? As a parent of a younger RMSC swimmer, this has not been our experience at all. My 8&u attends practices twice a week, does not receive any private coaching during the club season, has progressed nicely (both in terms of time drops and technique improvements), and in terms of times, is among the top group of same-age swimmers club wide.

Which site are you referring to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have experience with the RMSC Germantown? We're trying to get a sense of how strong the program is, especially for the Junior and Advanced Junior groups. How are the coaches and the overall environment?

My 12-year-old daughter recently tried out for a few teams and we've already heard back from another one, so now we're trying to decide between RMSC (if she gets in) and the other option. Any insights would be really appreciated!

I’ve heard it described as a swim farm, with less attention paid to the weaker swimmers. The cost is far cheaper than swimming elsewhere.

I’ve heard it referred to a puppy mill for swimmers. It’s cheap with several convenient practice and meet locations. Local orthopedics hate RMSC because the kids always get hurt.

Could you say more about this?

Multiple 13-18’s with shoulder injuries. When they get treated for these injuries the first thing the specialists ask them is what club team they swim for and they complain about RMSC.

Not sure which thread it is, maybe the ASA one? RMSC requires much more time in the pool in their advanced groups and it’s not healthy.

Which orthopedist? Your comment seems troll-ish. Is someone really going around collecting information from doctors about the number of patients they have with shoulder injuries from the same club? It’s not like Montgomery County is in a rural area. Just doesn’t come off as a plausible claim.

Think about it. If your kid injures there shoulder form swimming, wouldn’t you ask other swim parents what doctors they’ve used for their kid’s injury?

Right but let’s say a dozen swimmers experience shoulder pain, what are the odds that they all see the same orthopedist and they all swim for one club and location? On top of that, that orthopedist happened to comment on that to the PP. Not likely!

The fact is shoulder injuries are common with swimmers.