Not Good Enough for Swim Teams
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Anonymous
| What to do if 12 yo child did not make ASA Jr team but wants to swim 4 times a week? Wants to be on a team? Has the capacity and genetics (both bio parents were division one athletes) to excel but needs an opportunity to be taught and practice. He has some form issues that were not addressed in once a week stroke and turn clinics. He’s currently taking private lessons. He’s signed up to tryout for RMSC in August but that’s just as doubtful. I regret not accepting offered spots on teams when he was little but can’t do anything about that now. Do you have suggestions based on experience w your child? |
Anonymous
| I think it would be helpful to post your locations and you may get suggestions for no tryout teams. |
Anonymous
| Check with SeaDevils, they have different levels and about same quality as ASA juniors |
Anonymous
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Don't despair. I was reading about the South African swimmer Roland Schoeman who started swimming at 13 and ended up breaking the 100m free world record.
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Anonymous
I believe Ed Moses didn’t swim til HS! |
Anonymous
Thank you. We live in lower montgomery County — BETHESDA/Rockville/Potomac. To clarify, I don’t just want child in the pool swimming—although endurance is priority. Seeking instruction, guidance and ideally encouragement. |
Anonymous
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I know a swimmer who started at age 11, now at age 13 is about to move up to RMSC/NTG. And his parents were not any division athletes at all.
Where there's a will there's a way, here is my recommendation sign up a non-team with a swimming club to learn the strokes, supplement with his own practices on weekends. this should be enough to make up 4 times a week. whenever he is ready, contact a team coach, some clubs are more flexible on accepting new swimmers. |
Anonymous
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I believe the private lessons with as good as coach as you can pay for, is key here. The rest is reminding your child to use the correct strokes on whichever team he ends up in. |
Anonymous
Are you ready to drive 30 min ? Can give you a great idea how your son can make it into l those teams in a year |
Anonymous
Privates may help but at 12-15 building endurance is a must, even more important than strokes. Without sufficient training his heart and lungs volume, body muscular strength and core would never develop for competitive swimming. |
Anonymous
| Tollefson - Team TOLL. |
Anonymous
Maybe. What is it? |
Anonymous
shoot me a message ling_fu2019@outlook.com |
Anonymous
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Lots of options. People mentioned SDS, Toll above. Also Joe Flaherty's Dolphins.
You could also cobble together a 4 day a week program by doing 4 stroke clinics or 3 stroke clinics and an endurance class. It might be more helpful to your child catching up than being on a team at this point anyway. Don't forget about Virginia. They don't have an RMSC that dominates everything so there are a lot more smaller clubs that will give your child more individual attention than the mass RMSC tryouts. |
Anonymous
| JFD wont take him, likely. Toll is only 30 min, very expensive and won’t give him much for endurance. There are stone clad options in Virginia about 30 min drive for her (combinations of stroke and endurance, cheaper and better than any juniors in MD). |