NCAP Locations - Different programs?

[Anonymous]

I have a 9 yo swimmer interested in transitioning from summer to winter swim. It seems like different NCAP locations have different programs for that age (some require 3x a week practice, others 2 for example). Can anyone break it down for me? We live closest to the AU location. Is that the most “intense” location and hardest to get into? Would be willing to explore other locations as well. I know some are conducting tryouts now, but AU has nothing scheduled. Can anyone give me insight?

[Anonymous]

AU, Holton, and Prep are all comparable programs- none are the “hardest” though there certainly is loyalty to your group once you join one. Contact the coach in charge of the appropriate age group for an assessment- though the enrollment period started a long time ago. If you wait too long, there will be no spots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AU, Holton, and Prep are all comparable programs- none are the “hardest” though there certainly is loyalty to your group once you join one. Contact the coach in charge of the appropriate age group for an assessment- though the enrollment period started a long time ago. If you wait too long, there will be no spots.

Thx. Do any of the sites have groups that require less of a commitment than others, or at least a Sep - May program only? How do swimmers with ncap travel in the summer or even go to camps if they are required to swim 11 months a year?

[Anonymous]

Thx. Do any of the sites have groups that require less of a commitment than others, or at least a Sep - May program only? How do swimmers with ncap travel in the summer or even go to camps if they are required to swim 11 months a year?

No, NCap is a centrally-run team despite all the different locations, so they all practice the same amount. However as a 9 yo, they won’t be swimming after June. They are expected to join a summer swim team, however. The 11 month commitment is for 11 yos and up. A lot of 11/12 yos will go to a few weeks of camp here and there but they too go summer league + NCap.

When you get to around 13, you can choose your commitment level- there are two different groups, one that practices 3 or 4 x week so that kids can do outside sports, and one that practices 5-6 x week with early morning practices and has a lot of meets (the kid has to be fast to get into this group, tho.) High school is same thing- but the highest group is a big time commitment including travel and very few days off- but most kids quit by then!

There are other teams in the area that are less intense- Sea Devils and Tollefson (sp?) come to mind. It will be easy to tell if your kid is a fit for NCap- they’ll either love it or they won’t, and the ones that do, well, the parents seem to make it work.

[Anonymous]

Adding that at the HS level there are major differences between locations and it's not uncommon for kids to move to a new location depending on what their stroke and training preferences are. I wouldn't worry about that at your young age, but if folks are approaching HS age--do your homework. For instance, we've seen multiple breastrokers join the GPrep site, only to move elsewhere within a year or two. At the elite level, GPrep is all about distance free style, 400 IM, and tons of yardage. This type of training can "break breastroke" technique. Stroke specialists seem to prefer the AU site.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Adding that at the HS level there are major differences between locations and it's not uncommon for kids to move to a new location depending on what their stroke and training preferences are. I wouldn't worry about that at your young age, but if folks are approaching HS age--do your homework. For instance, we've seen multiple breastrokers join the GPrep site, only to move elsewhere within a year or two. At the elite level, GPrep is all about distance free style, 400 IM, and tons of yardage. This type of training can "break breastroke" technique. Stroke specialists seem to prefer the AU site.

Never thought about that but it makes sense- the coaches are difference and from different backgrounds. Surprised GPrep is distance free since Gemmell is there but I suppose Katie Ledecky was trained there too (but by Sugiyama, not Gemmell)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adding that at the HS level there are major differences between locations and it's not uncommon for kids to move to a new location depending on what their stroke and training preferences are. I wouldn't worry about that at your young age, but if folks are approaching HS age--do your homework. For instance, we've seen multiple breastrokers join the GPrep site, only to move elsewhere within a year or two. At the elite level, GPrep is all about distance free style, 400 IM, and tons of yardage. This type of training can "break breastroke" technique. Stroke specialists seem to prefer the AU site.

Never thought about that but it makes sense- the coaches are difference and from different backgrounds. Surprised GPrep is distance free since Gemmell is there but I suppose Katie Ledecky was trained there too (but by Sugiyama, not Gemmell)

Ledecky was trained by Gemmell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Adding that at the HS level there are major differences between locations and it's not uncommon for kids to move to a new location depending on what their stroke and training preferences are. I wouldn't worry about that at your young age, but if folks are approaching HS age--do your homework. For instance, we've seen multiple breastrokers join the GPrep site, only to move elsewhere within a year or two. At the elite level, GPrep is all about distance free style, 400 IM, and tons of yardage. This type of training can "break breastroke" technique. Stroke specialists seem to prefer the AU site.

This is the truth. I was a good breaststroker from a young age. Then we got a coach that made us all train distance free/lots of yardage and I "lost" my breaststroke. I got incredibly frustrated with it and stopped wanting to swim it at meets and could not figure out what was happening. Then my senior year I switched teams and had a coach that was better at training stroke specialists... less yardage and more high intensity/race pace training. My stroke "came back" and ended up a D1 school record holder in the 100 and 200. I didn't grow up in an area where we had all these choices. If you kid is good enough to train with an elite group these things are worth paying attention to. It caused me a lot of heartache.

[Anonymous]

Does the fact that the AU location isn’t advertising practices mean that it’s full?

[Anonymous]

How do you know which team/coach specializes in what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you know which team/coach specializes in what?

You don't. NCAP doesn't have sites that focus on one stroke or distance. If you have a younger swimmer, pick the site that has an engaged coach and is an easy commute. All of the programs across NCAP are excellent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thx. Do any of the sites have groups that require less of a commitment than others, or at least a Sep - May program only? How do swimmers with ncap travel in the summer or even go to camps if they are required to swim 11 months a year?

No, NCap is a centrally-run team despite all the different locations, so they all practice the same amount. However as a 9 yo, they won’t be swimming after June. They are expected to join a summer swim team, however. The 11 month commitment is for 11 yos and up. A lot of 11/12 yos will go to a few weeks of camp here and there but they too go summer league + NCap.

When you get to around 13, you can choose your commitment level- there are two different groups, one that practices 3 or 4 x week so that kids can do outside sports, and one that practices 5-6 x week with early morning practices and has a lot of meets (the kid has to be fast to get into this group, tho.) High school is same thing- but the highest group is a big time commitment including travel and very few days off- but most kids quit by then!

There are other teams in the area that are less intense- Sea Devils and Tollefson (sp?) come to mind. It will be easy to tell if your kid is a fit for NCap- they’ll either love it or they won’t, and the ones that do, well, the parents seem to make it work.
I wouldn’t say that kids under 9 aren’t swimming with NCAP after June because the tryouts for kids that age at GP at least are running through July, and the tryout consists of the prospective swimmer joining a practice with their age group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AU, Holton, and Prep are all comparable programs- none are the “hardest” though there certainly is loyalty to your group once you join one. Contact the coach in charge of the appropriate age group for an assessment- though the enrollment period started a long time ago. If you wait too long, there will be no spots.

Thx. Do any of the sites have groups that require less of a commitment than others, or at least a Sep - May program only? How do swimmers with ncap travel in the summer or even go to camps if they are required to swim 11 months a year?

At our location, at least, the high school group (formerly High School Prep, will be called Gold Prep in the fall) is 9 months. All other groups are an 11 month program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adding that at the HS level there are major differences between locations and it's not uncommon for kids to move to a new location depending on what their stroke and training preferences are. I wouldn't worry about that at your young age, but if folks are approaching HS age--do your homework. For instance, we've seen multiple breastrokers join the GPrep site, only to move elsewhere within a year or two. At the elite level, GPrep is all about distance free style, 400 IM, and tons of yardage. This type of training can "break breastroke" technique. Stroke specialists seem to prefer the AU site.

Never thought about that but it makes sense- the coaches are difference and from different backgrounds. Surprised GPrep is distance free since Gemmell is there but I suppose Katie Ledecky was trained there too (but by Sugiyama, not Gemmell)

Ledecky was trained by Gemmell.

https://swimmingcoach.org/training-katie-ledecky-by-yuri-suguiyama-curl-burke-swim-club-2012/[url]

[Anonymous]

He got poached by Wisconsin bc he trained Ledecky at Prep