Anonymous wrote:Have any parents with kids currently in RMSC heard anything about when they will hold tryouts for new members? My 8 year old with swim team experience wants to tryout but there have been no public updates on when they will resume allowing prospective members to tryout.

He’s 8, how much swim team experience does he have?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They used to have them twice a year but the. Reduced it to once over the summer. They reduced the team size per Covid so it’s unclear if they will have them this summer. If they do, generally there are few slots that age as someone has to drop out. Go to a private team for now.

Not OP, but my 9 yo is looking for a club team to join for the upcoming season too. If the clubs are taking new kids I would think there would be slots in the 8-10 groups because they didn’t take any new swimmers last year and there would be kids moving up to the next age group. Am I missing something that would make it harder for kids in that age group to join this year?

Limits on number of swimmers/lane.

It’s always hard as too many kids trying out but they have reduced schedules and kids in lane.

Anonymous wrote:This is probably going to seem like a ridiculous question, but is there a large pool of kids under 8 who are on these year round club teams? I always thought of 8 as being kind of the threshold age for joining these clubs.

Easiest to get in at 6 or 7.

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the club. There are a lot of 7 & 8 year olds at most clubs in the 8 & under programs. Some 6 year olds, and I think even the occasional 5 at a few clubs.

I agree, both my kids and their cohorts joined in 1st grade. They were 6 turning 7 in their first year. They had done summer swim at 5 and 6.

Depends on the club. There are a lot of 7 & 8 year olds at most clubs in the 8 & under programs. Some 6 year olds, and I think even the occasional 5 at a few clubs.

This is probably going to seem like a ridiculous question, but is there a large pool of kids under 8 who are on these year round club teams? I always thought of 8 as being kind of the threshold age for joining these clubs.

I would guess most clubs will be taking younger swimmer still. At least 8 and unders. 9/10s may be filled with current swimmers bc of COVID limits but each program will need 8 and unders or they will fold.

Tollefson, ASA, and NCAP seem like good programs to me.

I would contact each program directly with your kids’ times.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They used to have them twice a year but the. Reduced it to once over the summer. They reduced the team size per Covid so it’s unclear if they will have them this summer. If they do, generally there are few slots that age as someone has to drop out. Go to a private team for now.

Not OP, but my 9 yo is looking for a club team to join for the upcoming season too. If the clubs are taking new kids I would think there would be slots in the 8-10 groups because they didn’t take any new swimmers last year and there would be kids moving up to the next age group. Am I missing something that would make it harder for kids in that age group to join this year?

Limits on number of swimmers/lane.

Anonymous wrote:They used to have them twice a year but the. Reduced it to once over the summer. They reduced the team size per Covid so it’s unclear if they will have them this summer. If they do, generally there are few slots that age as someone has to drop out. Go to a private team for now.

Not OP, but my 9 yo is looking for a club team to join for the upcoming season too. If the clubs are taking new kids I would think there would be slots in the 8-10 groups because they didn’t take any new swimmers last year and there would be kids moving up to the next age group. Am I missing something that would make it harder for kids in that age group to join this year?

Anonymous wrote:Have any parents with kids currently in RMSC heard anything about when they will hold tryouts for new members? My 8 year old with swim team experience wants to tryout but there have been no public updates on when they will resume allowing prospective members to tryout.

When will your child turn 9? Piece of advice, steer clear of the RMSC Rockville location for the 8 and under group. The coach routinely yells and belittles swimmers in front of their peers which leads to a culture of children talking trash about each other. I regret not moving my child earlier.

It really depends on where you are located as some may be farther than it would be worth for an 8 yo. ASA is not taking new swimmers as they had to reduce numbers for COVID. I doubt NCAP would be either since they have had facility issues as well. I would try some of the smaller, lower key teams personally for a new-to-year-round swim team experience: Joe Flaherty's Dolphins in Gaithersburg, Tiburones in Rockville, Tollefson in Potomac (this year due to COVID, normally outside the beltway Bethesda), Sea Devils inside the beltway Bethesda or if in eastern MoCo then going over to PG County and teams that are at Fairland might be better (Patuxent, MSSC or Machine).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They used to have them twice a year but the. Reduced it to once over the summer. They reduced the team size per Covid so it’s unclear if they will have them this summer. If they do, generally there are few slots that age as someone has to drop out. Go to a private team for now.

OP here, thanks. If there is anyone with insight into what private teams there are in MoCo, and what ones are best for a young swimmer, please let me know.

NCAP and ASA are both excellent. You'd have to reach out to see if they are taking new swimmers.

Anonymous wrote:They used to have them twice a year but the. Reduced it to once over the summer. They reduced the team size per Covid so it’s unclear if they will have them this summer. If they do, generally there are few slots that age as someone has to drop out. Go to a private team for now.

OP here, thanks. If there is anyone with insight into what private teams there are in MoCo, and what ones are best for a young swimmer, please let me know.

They used to have them twice a year but the. Reduced it to once over the summer. They reduced the team size per Covid so it’s unclear if they will have them this summer. If they do, generally there are few slots that age as someone has to drop out. Go to a private team for now.

Have any parents with kids currently in RMSC heard anything about when they will hold tryouts for new members? My 8 year old with swim team experience wants to tryout but there have been no public updates on when they will resume allowing prospective members to tryout.