Look for county classes or ones through a private group. He needs to start swimming a few days a week minimum as he needs to be able to swim a 50 legally in all four strokes. Some school teams take everyone who can get across the pool like ours and and some are super competitive. He also needs to know how to dive in and do starts.

Anonymous wrote:My son is an 8th grader and has never swam competitively before. We’re looking at Arlington and Alexandria privates for high school next year.

He expressed interest in swimming next year, and I would like for him to try it. I have no illusions that he’s going to be a champion swimmer, but I’m hoping he can make the team.

We’re new to this—what’s the best place to start? Some private lessons—any recommendations of a coach who does this? A class? What about a club team this Spring or Summer? I’m guessing it’s too late for winter.

Ideally based out of Long Bridge or somewhat nearby? But we can be flexible too.

We’re very new to this (obviously!)—any advice is helpful.

He should join the no-cut middle school swim team to see if he likes it as a sport. The six Arlington public middle schools have competitive swim/dive. The friendly competition among the schools is good.

My DS started competitively at age 12. He had swim lessons and knew all 4 strokes previously though. He joined a club at their lowest level and found a fantastic coach who pushed him hard and he was making “A” times his first year. He’s made the high school team, which had cuts. He was not very athletic before this either. So it’s very possible!

Anonymous wrote:Extremely unlikely he'll make the team. I would steer him towards other sports. Swim is very competitive in this area.

Disregard this. It depends on the school, of course. Swimming is one of the dwindling high school sports that newcomers can be a part of and thrive. Many high school swim teams have three main groups of swimmers - year round club swimmers, water polo players, and non club swimmers. I have two club swimmers and they have many kids on their hs team who are non club swimmers, some cannot do legal butterfly and breaststroke. Good luck to your son!

OP, this is Phil Caslavka from The Swim Farm. Someone shared your post with me, and I thought I’d reach out.

It’s never too late to develop a love for swimming or to start swimming competitively. I coach one of the Arlington middle school teams, and we’ve worked with many 7th and 8th graders who were brand new to the sport and went on to become competitive high school swimmers (and not just in dual meets!).

While our program might not be exactly what you’re looking for, I’d love to invite your son to a few of our practices—on the house—to give it a try. Worst case, we can assess his current skill level and point you toward the best next steps.

If you’re interested, feel free to reach out to me directly at CoachPhil@theswimfarm.com.

Wishing you and your son the best of luck as he starts his swimming journey!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can he swim the 4 strokes legally? I think it’s possible to catch up, but may take some more time than you think if it’s not already something he knows how to do. Why swimming over the other sports?

He just expressed interest—says he likes to swim and wants to try it. We’ve floated it before and he wasn’t interested 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

I think can with maybe the exception of butterfly

Get him private lessons through Swim Farm. Phil will design a program for him and monitor his progress.

This is a good idea. My DD did swim farm last year and we had a good experience. They have different levels and private lessons. The main coach is the swim coach for one of the local Arlington pools.

Anonymous wrote:If he knows 3 of the 4 strokes and wants to work on stoke skills and building endurance I would look into any of these programs.

https://www.ncapswim.com/developmental

Also summer swim would be a great step. Either NVSL or Colonial League or one of the others in your area. Some pools have zones and long waitlists. Some don’t and anyone can join. This list is a little dated but gives you all the NVSL pools and whether they have waitlists https://www.mynvsl.com/file/36524/2023_Join_a_Pool_that_has_an_NVSL_Team_BY_CITY_3_31_23_pdf

Op here: This is exactly what I am looking for! Thank you! Who knows if nothing else he’ll get some swim time in and good exercise!

If he knows 3 of the 4 strokes and wants to work on stoke skills and building endurance I would look into any of these programs.

https://www.ncapswim.com/developmental

Also summer swim would be a great step. Either NVSL or Colonial League or one of the others in your area. Some pools have zones and long waitlists. Some don’t and anyone can join. This list is a little dated but gives you all the NVSL pools and whether they have waitlists https://www.mynvsl.com/file/36524/2023_Join_a_Pool_that_has_an_NVSL_Team_BY_CITY_3_31_23_pdf

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can he swim the 4 strokes legally? I think it’s possible to catch up, but may take some more time than you think if it’s not already something he knows how to do. Why swimming over the other sports?

He just expressed interest—says he likes to swim and wants to try it. We’ve floated it before and he wasn’t interested 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

I think can with maybe the exception of butterfly

Get him private lessons through Swim Farm. Phil will design a program for him and monitor his progress.

Any chance a summer league team? This would be supplemental to any lesson options you find. I think the 2 challenges will be technique/conditioning. They go hand-in-hand. It's hard to get better technique without some conditioning foundation. If he's a decent athlete and coachable then he can make solid progress over time and enjoy competing at the high school dual meet level. And if this something more serious, then he has at least the foundation to explore club programs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can he swim the 4 strokes legally? I think it’s possible to catch up, but may take some more time than you think if it’s not already something he knows how to do. Why swimming over the other sports?

He just expressed interest—says he likes to swim and wants to try it. We’ve floated it before and he wasn’t interested 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

I think can with maybe the exception of butterfly

Get him private lessons through Swim Farm. Phil will design a program for him and monitor his progress.

Extremely unlikely he'll make the team. I would steer him towards other sports. Swim is very competitive in this area.

Anonymous wrote:Can he swim the 4 strokes legally? I think it’s possible to catch up, but may take some more time than you think if it’s not already something he knows how to do. Why swimming over the other sports?

He just expressed interest—says he likes to swim and wants to try it. We’ve floated it before and he wasn’t interested 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

I think can with maybe the exception of butterfly

Can he swim the 4 strokes legally? I think it’s possible to catch up, but may take some more time than you think if it’s not already something he knows how to do. Why swimming over the other sports?

My son is an 8th grader and has never swam competitively before. We’re looking at Arlington and Alexandria privates for high school next year.

He expressed interest in swimming next year, and I would like for him to try it. I have no illusions that he’s going to be a champion swimmer, but I’m hoping he can make the team.

We’re new to this—what’s the best place to start? Some private lessons—any recommendations of a coach who does this? A class? What about a club team this Spring or Summer? I’m guessing it’s too late for winter.

Ideally based out of Long Bridge or somewhat nearby? But we can be flexible too.

We’re very new to this (obviously!)—any advice is helpful.