i second the poster who said that ncap wouldn't be overly intense. my almost 8 year old is there and it's definitely pretty chill, at least in the stroke school/ developmental stages. the key to really improving in my opinion is a combination of good stroke instruction and spending a lot of time in the water. We're at NCAP once a week and while we're also not ready for anything overly intense/ competitive, our kid could definitely benefit from an extra day or two of practice. They do other sports and activities though, so we are also juggling that.

My kids do Old City Swim and we like it. 10 year old is on level 9 (in stroke school), 8 year old on level 7 (also stroke school, but separate sign up) and 6 year old on level 6. All are good swimmers now, 10 year old has all legal strokes and is exclusively working on finesse & speed. There are some middle & high school swimmers who use it to practice in the off-season (10 year old is youngest in her level every time — some kids as old as 16), so definitely not just little kids at the higher levels. I’d look into DC WAVE if you want real competition eventually, but you’re not there yet from your description. Also, once in stroke school, you can sign up every day if you want for no extra cost.

Look at Machine at UMD? That might be an easier commute from NE.

PP - for PAC you need to sign up if you're interested in learning more and in an evaluation https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080b4facab28a31-patuxent8#/ (it's not really a tryout - more like what level you'll start in)

We're also in NE DC. Here are two other options not yet mentioned:

A1 Stroke School (at an elementary school in Takoma Park, so not too far). It's once a week and small group instruction. We liked the instructors, but my kids were a little advanced for it (after 3-4 years of summer swim) https://www.aonesportscoaching.com/a1strokeschool

Patuxent Aquatics Club (one practice site is UMD, so 20-25 min from NE depending on where you live). It's 2-3 days a week, but pretty chill on attendance. Lots of water time, nice coaches, and much more laid back (and cheaper!) than other competitive teams in the area - although a bit of you get what you pay for vs instruction from an NCAP or Machine. It's been the perfect situation for our family given the cost, chill nature, and fun incentives (they're much more about encouraging trying new events and improving your own times throughout the season). You also pay month to month so you don't have to commit to the full year and can stop if it's not the right fit. https://pac.venitsports.com/

FAST at Fairland got my DC legal even in their Blue level 1 (there is also White level for even younger/less experienced kids). Fairland is also quite easy to reach and on the east side of the area which might work well for you.

I'd drive to Arlington and do Swim Farm. Traffic won't be bad for a weekend lesson.

I can’t speak to the other options on your list but my kids take lessons at old city swim and we’re very happy. We also know numerous other happy families there.

The learn to swim program includes a lot of little kids, but some slightly bigger kids as well. They evaluate the kids at their first lesson and place them in a level based on their skills. Our younger child, now 6 but 5 when they started, could swim freestyle but not float on their back when they started. They were placed in a lower level because floating on your back is a requirement for advancing, and received a few weeks of dedicated instruction on that skill, and have quickly advanced 2 levels since then. In learn to swim the lessons are 30 minutes at a set time, the kids are in the water with the instructor, and they have to hold onto the wall when not working with the instructor.

My older child (age 9) is in their “stroke school,” which is the program after learn to swim. Stroke school is very much stroke development. Lessons are 30-60 minutes, up to 6 kids, you set your schedule on an app and can go daily if desired, instructor is out of the water. My 9 year old works hard, has fun, and is improving. It isn’t really a team because the other swimmers and instructors may be different from lesson to lesson, which is a drawback for us so we’re hoping they get into the DC WAVE developmental program. But if that doesn’t work out we will continue with OCS because the growth is really apparent. This is a kid who previously took 1:1 swim lessons and did not advance stroke development at all - peer presence is critical for them to stay engaged.

9 yo started in learn to swim and spent about 5 months moving through those levels before leveling up to stroke school. They could swim, but similar to our younger child they didn’t have all the skills necessary to advance. OCS is appropriately strict about making sure the fundamentals are there before moving them up and are very transparent about what needs to be done.

It’s also convenient from NE DC.

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't bother with MoCo stroke and turn clinic. The cost is reasonable, but my kids weren't legal in breaststroke or butterfly after a year of doing it. A developmental program with a club is a better option in my opinion.

+1, my kid did MoCo stroke and turn clinic at age 8 and didn’t get much out of it other than the conditioning of being in the water 1x per week. They got more out of FINS. I wasn’t really aware of club developmental clinics at that time (this was 5 years ago so Covid also impacted what was available) but definitely would recommend exploring that over the county stroke and turn clinic.

Fins swimming is another option. They’re mainly at Georgetown Prep on weekends but have other options that could be a better location for you.

Also Tollefson Swimming stroke and turn. Really good technique instruction but pricy.

I wouldn't bother with MoCo stroke and turn clinic. The cost is reasonable, but my kids weren't legal in breaststroke or butterfly after a year of doing it. A developmental program with a club is a better option in my opinion.

Anonymous wrote:NCAP developmental once a week program will not be intense or competitive.

+1 this is the best option

Would you travel to Arlington/McLean?

NCAP developmental once a week program will not be intense or competitive.

Hi all, I'm trying to figure out where to enroll my DD (age 8) for swim during the school year. I feel a bit overwhelmed with options and am also totally new to swimming, so thought I'd ask for some feedback here. Based on recommendations at our pool, these are the options I'm currently considering, but I'm very open to other suggestions.

Logistics: we live in NE DC. Swim options in the District seem really limited. We do a summer league in MoCo, it's a huge pain and I don't know if we will do it again next year because it takes 30 minutes to get there and it's multiple days a week, plus some of the meets are further.

DD swim level: right now DD swims a "legal" freestyle stroke and usually a legal backstroke. Her breathing is good. She has started to learn breast and fly but they are messy and need a lot of work. She wants to keep building endurance/speed in freestyle/backstroke, and wants to get good enough at breast and fly that she could race in those in the summer, and just as a challenge because she likes swim challenges. She is obsessed with swimming, happiest in the pool, it's just her favorite thing and she doesn't like other sports so we're trying to support that.

Option #1: Weekly lessons at Old City Swim school. I just learned about this school from a neighborhood friend. It looks like they do offer lessons for her level but might be more of a "learn to swim" place for younger kids? I got on the waitlist as they have no open classes listed on their website. If you have more info about this place let me know! It would definitely be most convenient.

Option #2: NCAP Developmental lessons at AU. This is a bit of a trek for us but it's on Sunday so we could probably make it work. Looks like it gets very well reviewed and would work on technique, which is what she wants. Worried it might be too strict or competitive -- she loves swimming and follows instruction very well but she's not intense. For her it's fun and she likes progressing. But she's not obsessed with winning and I think an over-focus on that will kill her interest.

Option #3: MoCo stroke and turn clinic. One of these is not far from our summer pool. I'm again not thrilled about the distance but again it's Sunday nights so probably fine. Definitely most cost-friendly option. It seems a lot of people from our pool do this so maybe some friendly faces there (though this is not really an issue for her -- she's good at going into activities where she doesn't know anyone). I've seen mixed reviews on how much direct instruction kids get though. Is it a way to really grow and progress, and is it just kind of a placeholder swim practice for kids who do summer swim and want to swim in the winter but not on a competitive team.

Option #4: Private lessons nearby (Old City offers them and also I'm sure we could find a college student or something willing to give lessons). If we do this, I don't think we can do it weekly due to cost. Once or twice a month and then we'd just take her to an indoor pool when we could to practice. Plus side is that it's 1:1 and would be customize, downside is that it would not be as consistent, no social benefit, doesn't really help us as a family get to know the swim world better.

WWYD? Are there other options I'm not recognizing? I know I just wrote a ton and probably sound like a crazy obsessive mom. I'm not. I'm just clueless, like to do a lot of research before committing to something like this, and know that the NCAP and MoCo stroke and turn will do sign ups later in July so I want to figure it out before then. Thanks in advance for any advice or info!