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[quote=Anonymous]The "they won't get a spot" idea is perpetuated on this site... "My" opinion and experience is that this is false. People will argue that my kids are not the norm but I have seen plenty of kids who started "late" get in to plenty of "good" area clubs.

Kids with a good technical background who are multisport athletes may not get a spot right away in an advanced or national training group because they don't have the training background for it. However, it does not mean they will not eventually move into such a group. You can not make up for poor technique. The naysayers about getting in are looking most likely at RMSC or top groups at a club like ASA or NCAP or AAC or MACH. The top groups at these clubs are hard to get into for a variety of reasons. Many clubs have limited lane time and groups are capped at certain numbers. Many (MANY!!!!) kids change clubs because they connect with different coaches better or the schedule works better for their family at your child's age and up until senior year before college! And many, many kids quit swimming because it was too much too soon (this is probably the biggest number in reality). If your child is a technically sound swimmer and does summer league there's enough of a "paper trail" that area clubs will offer spots. Talk to people in clubs besides the one your kid tried out for (which also makes me think it's RMSC as they just had try-outs and should be sending out invites).

Waiting so your child can decide to prioritize swimming, even until 13-14 or winnowing down the sports then (because doing a lot of outside of school stuff gets harder in high school), is a more positive approach IMO. Giving them a good technical foundation now [u]is the most important thing[/u]. Tollefson is better than FINS for this but if your child has never done winter swim at all either of these options are a good starting point. At almost 9, whichever works best for your family for year one is the best. I do agree that a club will offer better instruction than an organization like FINS. NCAP and ASA both have 1x a week programs. MACH has offered such a program in the past. And to bring out the black cat from the dark room - not starting on the "grind" that is winter swim will allow your child to most likely forestall injuries due to overtraining only certain muscle groups (go to any orthopedic practice in this area - tons of swimmers there). [/quote]

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