Swim Team Drama

[Anonymous]

Summer swim team is all about fun, friendships, and camaraderie. Our team has been on a losing streak for years, dropping a division almost every year. But, the kids still come back because of the fun. Swim Team is about the team. Coaches put together the best lineup so the team can win. The coach should not be putting Johnny in butterfly just so he can get all-star time. Put Johnny in so he can score points. But the coach may put Johnny in back based on the times of the other swimmers and it's not his best event but he will score the points needed. Summer swim is more of a team event and winter swim is about the individual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This was our third season and there was more drama this year than either of the previous two years. We had a lot of new families this year and the team overall felt more competitive, with more kids jockeying for the A meet and divisional spots and some parents getting involved in the trash talking and egging on unsportsmanlike behavior. It’s making me kind of dread next summer. I worry our team culture is changing for the worse.

I feel the same. The infighting among parents is sad. The kids don't even know this is happening. They are just having fun. I think our team culture is changing for the worse also. Sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Summer swim team is all about fun, friendships, and camaraderie. Our team has been on a losing streak for years, dropping a division almost every year. But, the kids still come back because of the fun. Swim Team is about the team. Coaches put together the best lineup so the team can win. The coach should not be putting Johnny in butterfly just so he can get all-star time. Put Johnny in so he can score points. But the coach may put Johnny in back based on the times of the other swimmers and it's not his best event but he will score the points needed. Summer swim is more of a team event and winter swim is about the individual.

The drama arises when the coach puts Johnny in backstroke behind kids on his own team, perhaps to give another kid a better shot at the high point award, and Johnny doesn't score points, and then the team doesn't win butterfly, Johnny's best event, either. Numerous posters are pointing out that things like this happen in summer swim.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Summer swim team is all about fun, friendships, and camaraderie. Our team has been on a losing streak for years, dropping a division almost every year. But, the kids still come back because of the fun. Swim Team is about the team. Coaches put together the best lineup so the team can win. The coach should not be putting Johnny in butterfly just so he can get all-star time. Put Johnny in so he can score points. But the coach may put Johnny in back based on the times of the other swimmers and it's not his best event but he will score the points needed. Summer swim is more of a team event and winter swim is about the individual.

Oversimplistic post. You can’t say on one hand that it’s about the “team” and on the other hand have kids jockeying for high point, Divisionals, and all-stars. Top that with coaches that don’t actually seed meets to maximize points for the team, but rather to favor certain kids, and it’s a recipe for drama. This has been happening at our pool for a long time. I wish our coach would leave.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Wow. This makes me really glad I’m not at some of your pools. Our mcsl pool is a lovely experience with everyone pitching in and the high schools coaches are phenomenal with the kids.

Ha, same here. I wonder if I'm just oblivious to the drama or if my pool was drama free. As far as I could tell, it was all around great swim season, great coaching and nearly all of the kids enjoyed it. There are a few parents who take swimming way too seriously, but I tune that part out mostly.

Ha! Same here.

My kid enjoyed summer swim so much that we decided to try out for year round club swim. THAT was the first time I saw parents going insane. There were kids crying and it felt like another world. Maybe it was because nobody knew each other so there’s no social pressure to have a filter? Or maybe all those parents at tryouts belong to drama filled summer teams?

Without a doubt the parents who take swimming too seriously are also a part of the year round swim. However, my kid still enjoys the indoor swimming and I like working at those meets but it is a different vibe than summer for sure.

I actually find the year round meets much more relaxed. I think it's because kids get to swim all their events in every meet. In summer swim, kids can get bumped from "their" event by a friend or their coach can randomly put them in an event they'd rather not swim and are the #3 seed behind two teammates instead of in an event they could have won. That dynamic is a recipe for drama that you don't have in winter.

Agree winter swim seems much more focused on swimming and the structure (with kids picking their events and clear criteria for meets) just seems less drama inducing. Plus it is less social for parents with more reasonable volunteer requirements), which also cuts down on the drama. My family all decided we didn't like the drama of summer swim so now skip it but still do winter swim.

What do you all think High School swimming is going to be like? It's the same scenario. As are college meets. The coach puts the best line up in that they can. Sorry if that means your kid sits out or swims events they don't like.

The difference with HS and college is that coaches only accept a certain number of swimmers on the roster so everyone has a chance to swim something, even if it’s just a C relay or the third spot in one individual event. And in college there are usually at least two medley relays and two free relays which gives more swimmers a chance to be involved. I don’t understand why summer swim dual meets here don’t have A, B, and even C medley relays and why there’s not a free relay for each age group. Having additional relays in the same heat would not add time to a meet. They can be scored like individual events. Adding free relays would add time to the meet but they’re so much fun to watch. When a meet score comes down to the free relays you see kids really swimming their hearts out. The mixed age relay thing is dumb IMO. Those races are rarely close and it limits opportunities. Summer swim can be done in a better way and is done better in different areas.

Swim is no cut at our FCPS school and there are swimmers on the team who will never swim in a meet

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We had a drama free season because the family who causes all the drama was kicked out of the pool last year.

Is this the woman trying to sue?

Sue? I love this. The saga continues ……what is she suing for? Are lawyers involved! Awesome!!!

They are suing but managed to get into a highly ranked pool so seem to have let the suit fester all summer. You can look it up in Civil Court filings. It's like they tried to call the pool's bluff this spring and that didn't work out so they had to go forward with it. That's when things got sent to the whole membership, since it's the pool as an entity that's being sued.

What’s the name of the suit?!

Let’s just say it would be highly entertaining content for a real housewives of Arlington series.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Summer swim team is all about fun, friendships, and camaraderie. Our team has been on a losing streak for years, dropping a division almost every year. But, the kids still come back because of the fun. Swim Team is about the team. Coaches put together the best lineup so the team can win. The coach should not be putting Johnny in butterfly just so he can get all-star time. Put Johnny in so he can score points. But the coach may put Johnny in back based on the times of the other swimmers and it's not his best event but he will score the points needed. Summer swim is more of a team event and winter swim is about the individual.

The drama arises when the coach puts Johnny in backstroke behind kids on his own team, perhaps to give another kid a better shot at the high point award, and Johnny doesn't score points, and then the team doesn't win butterfly, Johnny's best event, either. Numerous posters are pointing out that things like this happen in summer swim.

The drama starts when Jonny doesn't get to swim fly for divisionals even though he would have a shot at all-stars. Johnny and his parents are going to start drama or leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a drama free season because the family who causes all the drama was kicked out of the pool last year.

Is this the woman trying to sue?

Sue? I love this. The saga continues ……what is she suing for? Are lawyers involved! Awesome!!!

They are suing but managed to get into a highly ranked pool so seem to have let the suit fester all summer. You can look it up in Civil Court filings. It's like they tried to call the pool's bluff this spring and that didn't work out so they had to go forward with it. That's when things got sent to the whole membership, since it's the pool as an entity that's being sued.

What’s the name of the suit?!

Let’s just say it would be highly entertaining content for a real housewives of Arlington series.

I’m definitely looking this up

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Summer swim team is all about fun, friendships, and camaraderie. Our team has been on a losing streak for years, dropping a division almost every year. But, the kids still come back because of the fun. Swim Team is about the team. Coaches put together the best lineup so the team can win. The coach should not be putting Johnny in butterfly just so he can get all-star time. Put Johnny in so he can score points. But the coach may put Johnny in back based on the times of the other swimmers and it's not his best event but he will score the points needed. Summer swim is more of a team event and winter swim is about the individual.

The drama arises when the coach puts Johnny in backstroke behind kids on his own team, perhaps to give another kid a better shot at the high point award, and Johnny doesn't score points, and then the team doesn't win butterfly, Johnny's best event, either. Numerous posters are pointing out that things like this happen in summer swim.

The drama starts when Jonny doesn't get to swim fly for divisionals even though he would have a shot at all-stars. Johnny and his parents are going to start drama or leave.

Hmm, at our pool Johnny could still swim it at Divisionals is he had a B meet time faster than other teammates . He’d be put in the slow heat as a NT though if coach never put him in the event at an A meet and that could hurt his chance at making an all-star cut. I think drama does ensue wrt letting kids jump over others in events that they would have won points in though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had parents angry we were seeding A meets to win (because their kid was not swum in multiple strokes)

We had parents mad the coach WASN’T seeding meets to win.

And when those parents of slow swimmers control the team hiring the coach who favors their kids, most fast swimmers go to other teams because the team starts to suck and less swimmers join the team next year with the same reason… End result: no more swim team. Really sad…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a drama free season because the family who causes all the drama was kicked out of the pool last year.

Is this the woman trying to sue?

Sue? I love this. The saga continues ……what is she suing for? Are lawyers involved! Awesome!!!

They are suing but managed to get into a highly ranked pool so seem to have let the suit fester all summer. You can look it up in Civil Court filings. It's like they tried to call the pool's bluff this spring and that didn't work out so they had to go forward with it. That's when things got sent to the whole membership, since it's the pool as an entity that's being sued.

What’s the name of the suit?!

Let’s just say it would be highly entertaining content for a real housewives of Arlington series.

I’m definitely looking this up

Search DCUM for McCrazy too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a drama free season because the family who causes all the drama was kicked out of the pool last year.

Is this the woman trying to sue?

Sue? I love this. The saga continues ……what is she suing for? Are lawyers involved! Awesome!!!

They are suing but managed to get into a highly ranked pool so seem to have let the suit fester all summer. You can look it up in Civil Court filings. It's like they tried to call the pool's bluff this spring and that didn't work out so they had to go forward with it. That's when things got sent to the whole membership, since it's the pool as an entity that's being sued.

What’s the name of the suit?!

Let’s just say it would be highly entertaining content for a real housewives of Arlington series.

I’m definitely looking this up

Search DCUM for McCrazy too.

Exciting!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Summer swim team is all about fun, friendships, and camaraderie. Our team has been on a losing streak for years, dropping a division almost every year. But, the kids still come back because of the fun. Swim Team is about the team. Coaches put together the best lineup so the team can win. The coach should not be putting Johnny in butterfly just so he can get all-star time. Put Johnny in so he can score points. But the coach may put Johnny in back based on the times of the other swimmers and it's not his best event but he will score the points needed. Summer swim is more of a team event and winter swim is about the individual.

The drama arises when the coach puts Johnny in backstroke behind kids on his own team, perhaps to give another kid a better shot at the high point award, and Johnny doesn't score points, and then the team doesn't win butterfly, Johnny's best event, either. Numerous posters are pointing out that things like this happen in summer swim.

The drama starts when Jonny doesn't get to swim fly for divisionals even though he would have a shot at all-stars. Johnny and his parents are going to start drama or leave.

By divisionals the drama has already been building for several weeks. This is especially true when you have a kid who's capable of making All-Stars in their best events swimming in events where they're almost certainly going to score fewer points in dual meets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Summer swim team is all about fun, friendships, and camaraderie. Our team has been on a losing streak for years, dropping a division almost every year. But, the kids still come back because of the fun. Swim Team is about the team. Coaches put together the best lineup so the team can win. The coach should not be putting Johnny in butterfly just so he can get all-star time. Put Johnny in so he can score points. But the coach may put Johnny in back based on the times of the other swimmers and it's not his best event but he will score the points needed. Summer swim is more of a team event and winter swim is about the individual.

The drama arises when the coach puts Johnny in backstroke behind kids on his own team, perhaps to give another kid a better shot at the high point award, and Johnny doesn't score points, and then the team doesn't win butterfly, Johnny's best event, either. Numerous posters are pointing out that things like this happen in summer swim.

The drama starts when Jonny doesn't get to swim fly for divisionals even though he would have a shot at all-stars. Johnny and his parents are going to start drama or leave.

By divisionals the drama has already been building for several weeks. This is especially true when you have a kid who's capable of making All-Stars in their best events swimming in events where they're almost certainly going to score fewer points in dual meets.

That sucks. And doesn’t that hurt the team’s seeding for the next year too?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a drama free season because the family who causes all the drama was kicked out of the pool last year.

Is this the woman trying to sue?

Sue? I love this. The saga continues ……what is she suing for? Are lawyers involved! Awesome!!!

They are suing but managed to get into a highly ranked pool so seem to have let the suit fester all summer. You can look it up in Civil Court filings. It's like they tried to call the pool's bluff this spring and that didn't work out so they had to go forward with it. That's when things got sent to the whole membership, since it's the pool as an entity that's being sued.

What’s the name of the suit?!

Let’s just say it would be highly entertaining content for a real housewives of Arlington series.

I’m definitely looking this up

Pretty sure I found the case/docket but not being a lawyer I can’t get the filing or any details. The Arlington is a big hint as it limits it to 4 possible pools