Reply to Feedback on strong programs for Middle School-aged swimmers

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If your kid is 13 or 14, I would think they'd be above Bronze 1 at NCAP burke?  with AA and AAA times?  I would look into that more before moving heaven and earth to go there.

Also, NCAP is fast, but they require 5 or 6 days at an early age.  Is your kid on board with that?  Mako, FAA, and others can give them opportunity with 4/5 days in middle school.

Take it from an older swim parent who is currently watching many of  the high schoolers who have been doing this forever get burned out.  Injuries happen too.    [/quote]

Exactly what I am thinking.  A middle schooler with those times would not be in Bronze 1.  My 9 yr moved out of Bronze with A times.  A swimmer in MS with AAA/AAAA times would be in Gold.  No way it would be Bronze. [/quote]
Different sites of NCAP use different ages for the programs. At our site you can’t move out of Bronze until age 13 and you can’t get into Gold until HS. Silver is a select group, you have to have certain times, attendance etc. and those are the kids tracking to Gold 1 or 2, the more low key HS group is Gold 3 and you go there directly from Bronze 1 if you aren’t going to Silver.[/quote]

We are at NCAP-Burke. Most of the swimmers in Bronze I have AA times. A few have AAA times. Most are age 11-12, but several elite 10 year olds are in it. They practice 5 mornings or 5 nights per week for 1.25 or 1.5 hours (NCAP-Burke swimmers under age 12 practice far far less than Machine and RMSC due to coaches’ philosophy that kids should have many activities. 12U NCAP-Burke swimmers are usually multi-sport athletes/dancers/competitive cheer/gymnasts). A few NCAP-Burke swimmers go to Silver I at age 12, but it is only the elite swimmers (similar to the very few 10 year olds that move into Bronze I). At NCAP-Burke, Bronze I is a smaller, coach-selected group, ie, swimmers from Bronze II may never go to Bronze I, and Bronze I is the group that moves into Silver I and Gold I. My daughter is a young nine with BB times and close to one A time, and she will not move into Bronze I until, minimally, age (almost) 11.[/quote]

That is a nutty amount of swimming for 11-12 yos. BS that those kids are doing “multiple sports” if they’re in the pool 5 nights a week for 1.25-1.5 hours. And RMSC 11-12 yos swim less than that, even the advanced groups.[/quote]

NP: Pages 10-14: https://www.rockvillemd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/42190/RMSC---Rockville-Fall23-Winter24-Registration-Packet[/quote]

That info is specific to the Rockville RMSC site which has different rules, groups, and requirements than the other RMSC sites (for example, junior group is kids aged 9-14, whereas its 9-12 at the other sites). For example, see KSAC packet here, bottom of p.3- the RMSC KSAC advanced junior (9-12) group has 5 avail practices but only a 3x week min practice requirement. Sure, there will be kids who choose to swim 4 or all 5 practices but it is not a requirement.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/50d3725de4b0fbb8d67420a1/t/64a05493b39a4861b777d555/1688229011693/RMSC+2023-2024+Season+-+KSAC+Returning+Swimmer+Information.pdf[/quote] 
For OPs purposes, given her kid’s times, she is probably looking at the equivalent of the 11-14 year old NDG, which requires 5 practices a week. Once the elite kids hit the 11-12 age group the training groups they are in generally expect 5 days a week. Obviously though an elite kid can choose to stay a step below an NDG so they can still play another sport. [/quote]

OP here…thank you for all of the great info.  Maryland isn’t a viable option for us as dad is commuting to Fort Belvoir. 
Getting back to the original question.  If we are offered housing on Belvoir it seems like the closest teams are Marlins at Geo Washington and NCAP Alexandria (J&M) at Franconia (hopefully moving to new Mt Vernon Rec when it reopens next year).  I’ve received feedback that Marlins at Geo Washington probably isn’t at the right level for DS.

Does anyone have personal experience with the Age Group Performance or the 3+ group at NCAP-Alexandria (currently practicing at Franconia)? What’s on their website doesn’t match what we were told via email.  It’s a bit confusing.  Thank you 😊 [/quote]

While not useful in terms of coaching, culture, etc, you can identify who othe NCAP-Alexandria swimmers are by looking at NCAP-hosted meets on the PVS web site. Here are the NCAP Invitational results: https://www.pvswim.org/2324meet/24-35rm.html

I have observed the age group coaches at meets and I absolutely love how they interact with their swimmers. They also treat officials and other swimmers with great respect. [/quote]

Here are the Autumn Kingfish meet results, which also disaggregate by NCAP location: https://www.pvswim.org/2324meet/24-08rx.html[/quote]

This is the NCAP Winter Qualifier, which denotes NCAP-Alexandria as “NCAP-J&M”: https://www.pvswim.org/2324meet/24-66rx.html[/quote]

Thank you! These are very helpful to get an idea about cohorts. [/quote]

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