It's much less about technique than size/strength when you're talking about the sprints in the summer

Disagree. Although size and strength can help, my tiny but technically adept swimmers routinely trounce big kids who have inferior technical swimming skills. Even in 25 m.

Anonymous wrote:

however the level is so incredibly high around here that if you're not swimming as much as possible, you're just not going to win races.

This is a very common thought...but is just not true at the short distances kids swim in summer swim. I know this is the common thought, I understand why people think it, but I know from years and years of experience (my kids routinely swim fast times) that technique trumps yardage any day.

It's much less about technique than size/strength when you're talking about the sprints in the summer. Summer swimming is not real swimming... it's chill and relax or at least it should be. Go to practice when you want. If the coach has a problem, find a new team. Real swimming happens year round and kids swim real distances.

Our team is very chill. But if you don't go to practice and don't get good times, don't expect to go to A meets.

you can miss some practice but checkout the team rules. For our team you can still swim in A meets even if you miss practices, however, if you don't attend at least 75% of the practices you don't get your team pin.

“ Lots of families go on vacation for a week or more during the swim season. But they are usually not the ones that are the top swimmers. The top swimmer parents know the schedule and they keep their child in town the whole regular season and then through divisionals and all-stars”

This is a bit self reinforcing. When we were on a less competitive team where dc swum A meets we made sure to stay in town. Current team is huge and very competitive so DC swims no a meets; given that I do not feel bad about missing someeets

We go every day, but will miss a day here or there. Some kids go a few times a week, some every day. Its only 8 weeks or so of team and you need to go daily for endurance or there really is no point to it all. Part is social but they cannot keep up with the other kids if they swim once a week.

It really depends on the team.

however the level is so incredibly high around here that if you're not swimming as much as possible, you're just not going to win races.

This is a very common thought...but is just not true at the short distances kids swim in summer swim. I know this is the common thought, I understand why people think it, but I know from years and years of experience (my kids routinely swim fast times) that technique trumps yardage any day.

Our swim coach is used to kids going away to overnight camp for boy and girl scouts one week during the summer. It's scheduled by that group and is only one week in the summer so they seem to understand. They are also understanding about sports finishing up in June. The rest not so much.

What's wonderful about swimming, as compared to classic team sports, is how objective it is.
You know your exact times on the races, and you know everyone else's exact time. No arguing over whose better or worse.
With that said, swim team coaches preach non-stop about "dropping time", and can, and will, put swimmers with slightly lower scores into A meets if they're improving, over someone with better scores that have plateaued.
TL;DR version...the more practice you go to the better, but if you miss a few it won't kill you.

+1 Our experience, too. Lots of families go on vacation for a week or more during the swim season. But they are usually not the ones that are the top swimmers. The top swimmer parents know the schedule and they keep their child in town the whole regular season and then through divisionals and all-stars.

I think it depends on the team. For the next month when kids are still wrapping up school and spring sports, our coaches understand. They do say that if a family is regularly blowing off summer practices they'll think twice before scheduling them in A meets if there are other kids who might be competitive. It's unsaid, but I'm sure the star swimmers would certainly be picked for A meets even if they didn't show. But the star swimmers are also the ones that never miss and the families schedule vacations for August after swim season is over.

Not at all, unless your child is the top swimmer and likely to make the team win.

Coaches do not expect perfect attendance, however the level is so incredibly high around here that if you're not swimming as much as possible, you're just not going to win races. That's the incentive to go to every practice. However, nearly every family misses some practicing because of vacation or other commitments, and that's understood by the coaches.

My kids go every day, but they love it. Coaches don't really care if they skip a day here and there, esp at the beginning of the season when other sports are still wrapping up. Just be sure to scratch for meets if you can't make it/have no intention of swimming that day. That's what will annoy the coaches!

First time swim team parent here. Do your kids go to practice every single day? What happens if once a week they skip? Do the coaches get mad?