RMSC, NCAP or ASA, in no particular order. Just find one that works for you in terms of location and price.

Tollefson, Tiburon and all others are meh. Definitely not for the good swimmers. They are mid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asa tryouts have passed and they are a small club without space. Unless your 8 year old is winning all their A meet races they won’t take you

And like PP said, winter swim is a different beast than summer. It’s not fun for kids or parents. You do it to improve and to crush summer swim and maybe swim in high school. But just because your child likes A meets doesn’t mean winter swim is for them

I hate when people spew this nonsense. Winter swim is not for everyone, just like volleyball or lacrosse or basketball isn’t for everyone, but there are plenty of kids that love club swim because they love the sport. A stroke program can be good for kids new to swimming, but if part of what your kid likes about swimming is the competition, a stroke class probably isn’t what you’re looking for. There are plenty of clubs in this area for kids of all abilities that also participate in meets. So much is dependent on what your kid likes about swimming and what they want to do with it.

PP was right though. We saw lots of kids join club swimming bc of how fun summer swimming is. Our summer team: has meet themes (dress up), social events (pancake breakfast, decorate the pool before home meets, potluck dinners, game nights, team outings like to the movies), team cheers, team sponsored body paint (all kids can participate on the team), a team photographer, a team slide show, etc. our club team does none of that.

My kids love swim BUT they don’t in any way have the same “fun” that summer swim provides. Over the years, we’ve seen lots of kids join and quit club swim bc it is not the fun they thought swim was.

OP should know this.

+1. Winter swim isn't even social: it's all business, and most of that business is solitary, in the pool. A little friendly conversation at the ends of the lane and that's it. I was shocked when my DC came up with a few kids they consider friends, although they don't see each other outside of swim. The good news is that the kids obviously share an enjoyment of the sport and treat each other decently.

Make sure that DC knows this and that there is nothing explicitly wrong with it. Summer is the reward for winter in some ways.

My extroverted kid sure has made it social… I swear there were a couple of times he spent more time socializing with his buddies in the locker room post-practice than he did in the water swimming 🤣 Not at a low-key club, either

+1, I have an NCAP swimmer and she is extremely tight with her teammates. They work hard and push each other but are also best friends and spend a ton of time together outside of the pool. I regularly don’t come to pick my kid up until 10 minutes after the end of practice because they are normally chatting with each other and the coaches after practice. None of them actually care about summer swim that much, club is their focus. My kid’s least favorite time of year is the club break in August, after a week or so off she’ll be looking at training sets for her best stroke on YouTube and asking me to take her to the pool. All of this is to say that some kids just love the sport and don’t need the extras of summer swim to stay engaged. It’s not a bad thing either way, it’s why both clubs and recreation leagues co-exist in sports.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asa tryouts have passed and they are a small club without space. Unless your 8 year old is winning all their A meet races they won’t take you

And like PP said, winter swim is a different beast than summer. It’s not fun for kids or parents. You do it to improve and to crush summer swim and maybe swim in high school. But just because your child likes A meets doesn’t mean winter swim is for them

I hate when people spew this nonsense. Winter swim is not for everyone, just like volleyball or lacrosse or basketball isn’t for everyone, but there are plenty of kids that love club swim because they love the sport. A stroke program can be good for kids new to swimming, but if part of what your kid likes about swimming is the competition, a stroke class probably isn’t what you’re looking for. There are plenty of clubs in this area for kids of all abilities that also participate in meets. So much is dependent on what your kid likes about swimming and what they want to do with it.

PP was right though. We saw lots of kids join club swimming bc of how fun summer swimming is. Our summer team: has meet themes (dress up), social events (pancake breakfast, decorate the pool before home meets, potluck dinners, game nights, team outings like to the movies), team cheers, team sponsored body paint (all kids can participate on the team), a team photographer, a team slide show, etc. our club team does none of that.

My kids love swim BUT they don’t in any way have the same “fun” that summer swim provides. Over the years, we’ve seen lots of kids join and quit club swim bc it is not the fun they thought swim was.

OP should know this.

+1. Winter swim isn't even social: it's all business, and most of that business is solitary, in the pool. A little friendly conversation at the ends of the lane and that's it. I was shocked when my DC came up with a few kids they consider friends, although they don't see each other outside of swim. The good news is that the kids obviously share an enjoyment of the sport and treat each other decently.

Make sure that DC knows this and that there is nothing explicitly wrong with it. Summer is the reward for winter in some ways.

My extroverted kid sure has made it social… I swear there were a couple of times he spent more time socializing with his buddies in the locker room post-practice than he did in the water swimming 🤣 Not at a low-key club, either

My 8 year old loved DC Junior Wave (DC Wave stroke clinic, pretty much) much more than she liked summer swim. Because she loves swimming, but does not like competition, swimming or otherwise. Are there any winter teams that are low key, but a step up from the developmental clinics? Maybe Sea Devils, per PP?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asa tryouts have passed and they are a small club without space. Unless your 8 year old is winning all their A meet races they won’t take you

And like PP said, winter swim is a different beast than summer. It’s not fun for kids or parents. You do it to improve and to crush summer swim and maybe swim in high school. But just because your child likes A meets doesn’t mean winter swim is for them

I hate when people spew this nonsense. Winter swim is not for everyone, just like volleyball or lacrosse or basketball isn’t for everyone, but there are plenty of kids that love club swim because they love the sport. A stroke program can be good for kids new to swimming, but if part of what your kid likes about swimming is the competition, a stroke class probably isn’t what you’re looking for. There are plenty of clubs in this area for kids of all abilities that also participate in meets. So much is dependent on what your kid likes about swimming and what they want to do with it.

PP was right though. We saw lots of kids join club swimming bc of how fun summer swimming is. Our summer team: has meet themes (dress up), social events (pancake breakfast, decorate the pool before home meets, potluck dinners, game nights, team outings like to the movies), team cheers, team sponsored body paint (all kids can participate on the team), a team photographer, a team slide show, etc. our club team does none of that.

My kids love swim BUT they don’t in any way have the same “fun” that summer swim provides. Over the years, we’ve seen lots of kids join and quit club swim bc it is not the fun they thought swim was.

OP should know this.

My kid loves winter swim, her best friends are her swim teammates, they are together outside the pool all the time, they have team bonding activities, etc. Practice for a club sport, no matter what it is, is not “fun”. Yes, there are elements of fun worked in, but the whole point is working hard to get better. You think an AAU basketball practice when they are doing sprints, etc. is “fun”? Sure, people should know winter swim is a club sport vs. the rec league that summer swim is and they differ the same way rec and club do in other sports, but the PPs statement that kids don’t have fun doing winter swim is actually just not true.

Agree, as a parent of a young club swimmer. At the end of the day, it matters not what the parents on this thread think about the level of fun inherent to club swim. Some kids enjoy it greatly, some hate it, and everything in between. What does matter is having the conversation with your individual kid about what club swimming entails to assess whether they would find club swimming rewarding and enjoyable. Can also seek to place your kid in a club environment with existing friends and/or that fosters enjoyment of the sport.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As PP have said, most clubs have tryouts and many tryouts have passed or are full. DC Wave is a lottery system and is very hard to get into - first a tryout and then into the lottery for if there is space. Doing a clinic or lower key program could be a good bridge from summer swim into winter as they are very different!!

NCAP AU/Holton may have a 1x a week stroke class also, which could be a good bridge. Capitol Sea Devils has options in DC and at Holton and has a 1x a week clinic option. I think ASA has also had a clinic option but they are at Stone Ridge (don't know where in CC you are and how far is too far). Tollefson does some stroke classes at St. Albans as well as Prep.

Can you speak more to these options? We live near AU and my 8 year old does summer swim and passed the tryout for DC Wave, but then decided she wasn't ready for year round competitive swim. And I'm happy to avoid the commute to Takoma or time commitment for now as well! The NCAP AU stroke clinic sounds perfect for her needs/interest, and would be incredibly convenient. But Capitol Sea Devils or Tollefson could work as well. I don't know anything about any of these programs, so would love more info on whether they would be a good fit for a kid that loves to swim and enjoys the social aspect of the team, but doesn't want a ton of pressure or tough love.

I'm a different poster but my child recently tried out with Sea Devils and from what you're describing it sounds like it would be a good fit for your child. They do have some competitive programs, but the vibe I was getting definitely felt like it would be more on the fun side and not a ton of pressure. I spoke with the Executive Director at the tryout and she even said their philosophy is that kids under 12 don't need to be swimming intensely year round and should do other sports. Which is not say they do not have a program to accommodate that when the time comes, but their main programs are 3 days a week and run from September through May.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asa tryouts have passed and they are a small club without space. Unless your 8 year old is winning all their A meet races they won’t take you

And like PP said, winter swim is a different beast than summer. It’s not fun for kids or parents. You do it to improve and to crush summer swim and maybe swim in high school. But just because your child likes A meets doesn’t mean winter swim is for them

I hate when people spew this nonsense. Winter swim is not for everyone, just like volleyball or lacrosse or basketball isn’t for everyone, but there are plenty of kids that love club swim because they love the sport. A stroke program can be good for kids new to swimming, but if part of what your kid likes about swimming is the competition, a stroke class probably isn’t what you’re looking for. There are plenty of clubs in this area for kids of all abilities that also participate in meets. So much is dependent on what your kid likes about swimming and what they want to do with it.

PP was right though. We saw lots of kids join club swimming bc of how fun summer swimming is. Our summer team: has meet themes (dress up), social events (pancake breakfast, decorate the pool before home meets, potluck dinners, game nights, team outings like to the movies), team cheers, team sponsored body paint (all kids can participate on the team), a team photographer, a team slide show, etc. our club team does none of that.

My kids love swim BUT they don’t in any way have the same “fun” that summer swim provides. Over the years, we’ve seen lots of kids join and quit club swim bc it is not the fun they thought swim was.

OP should know this.

My kid loves winter swim, her best friends are her swim teammates, they are together outside the pool all the time, they have team bonding activities, etc. Practice for a club sport, no matter what it is, is not “fun”. Yes, there are elements of fun worked in, but the whole point is working hard to get better. You think an AAU basketball practice when they are doing sprints, etc. is “fun”? Sure, people should know winter swim is a club sport vs. the rec league that summer swim is and they differ the same way rec and club do in other sports, but the PPs statement that kids don’t have fun doing winter swim is actually just not true.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asa tryouts have passed and they are a small club without space. Unless your 8 year old is winning all their A meet races they won’t take you

And like PP said, winter swim is a different beast than summer. It’s not fun for kids or parents. You do it to improve and to crush summer swim and maybe swim in high school. But just because your child likes A meets doesn’t mean winter swim is for them

I hate when people spew this nonsense. Winter swim is not for everyone, just like volleyball or lacrosse or basketball isn’t for everyone, but there are plenty of kids that love club swim because they love the sport. A stroke program can be good for kids new to swimming, but if part of what your kid likes about swimming is the competition, a stroke class probably isn’t what you’re looking for. There are plenty of clubs in this area for kids of all abilities that also participate in meets. So much is dependent on what your kid likes about swimming and what they want to do with it.

PP was right though. We saw lots of kids join club swimming bc of how fun summer swimming is. Our summer team: has meet themes (dress up), social events (pancake breakfast, decorate the pool before home meets, potluck dinners, game nights, team outings like to the movies), team cheers, team sponsored body paint (all kids can participate on the team), a team photographer, a team slide show, etc. our club team does none of that.

My kids love swim BUT they don’t in any way have the same “fun” that summer swim provides. Over the years, we’ve seen lots of kids join and quit club swim bc it is not the fun they thought swim was.

OP should know this.

+1. I have a 8U and I concurred. It is not easy going to practice in say January at 6:30pm when it is dark and cold and we have to drive to the swim center. Lucky for us, she doesn’t seem to mind it.

I agree as well. Some kids enjoy winter swim, some don't, but no one will ever say it as fun as summer swim.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asa tryouts have passed and they are a small club without space. Unless your 8 year old is winning all their A meet races they won’t take you

And like PP said, winter swim is a different beast than summer. It’s not fun for kids or parents. You do it to improve and to crush summer swim and maybe swim in high school. But just because your child likes A meets doesn’t mean winter swim is for them

I hate when people spew this nonsense. Winter swim is not for everyone, just like volleyball or lacrosse or basketball isn’t for everyone, but there are plenty of kids that love club swim because they love the sport. A stroke program can be good for kids new to swimming, but if part of what your kid likes about swimming is the competition, a stroke class probably isn’t what you’re looking for. There are plenty of clubs in this area for kids of all abilities that also participate in meets. So much is dependent on what your kid likes about swimming and what they want to do with it.

PP was right though. We saw lots of kids join club swimming bc of how fun summer swimming is. Our summer team: has meet themes (dress up), social events (pancake breakfast, decorate the pool before home meets, potluck dinners, game nights, team outings like to the movies), team cheers, team sponsored body paint (all kids can participate on the team), a team photographer, a team slide show, etc. our club team does none of that.

My kids love swim BUT they don’t in any way have the same “fun” that summer swim provides. Over the years, we’ve seen lots of kids join and quit club swim bc it is not the fun they thought swim was.

OP should know this.

+1. I have a 8U and I concurred. It is not easy going to practice in say January at 6:30pm when it is dark and cold and we have to drive to the swim center. Lucky for us, she doesn’t seem to mind it.