I am the mom of a HS swimmer too. It feels pretty brutal and I feel for the pp who said his mom would not drive him. I don't think my mom would have either if I was into swimming at that age. My kid loves swimming but it frustrates me how time consuming it is - 5,6 days a week for 11 months a year. It is hard to do anything else which is hard if you don't want to or aren't good enough to swim in college. I make sure my kid gets to practice but I can't stand swim meets and always skip them. Just do curbside drop off and pick up. My husband will go watch a meet occasionally. I'm wondering if that makes us bad parents. I hope not but I am sick of how swimming has taken over our kids life. We could not even go over for winter break as apparently that is a super important training time and your spring season is doomed if you miss winter break training. Whatever! It does get a bit much. Upside is my kid loves it and I don't have to worry about them partying too much as there is hardly any free time. We used to carpool but other kids quit and now we don't have anyone very close by.

Anonymous wrote:Uber.

I wanted to suggest this also. Has anyone tried it? I was thinking about it too.

Uber.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:carpool with others, i know this is a new concept but it might take off, you contact other parents on the team and you each take turns driving.

Not sure if your kids are swimmers, but lots of kids on high level club swim teams do not live near each other. So finding carpool buddies before 5am is not the same as driving carpool to evening rec soccer practice.

Hire someone to drive your child then.

We have a mini swimmer and it's already brutal. I feel you. One swim family nearby got an Au Pair to drive the high school kids to practice. Consider the "educare" program.

I gave up and no longer was willing to schlep my kid to swim team last year. My kid is a good swimmer but realistically is never going to be able to cut her times down to be competitive at a national level. She was in 7th grade and will be able to make her high school team so if she wants to swim then that's great. I feel like I got my life back after 7 years (she started at 5 and I quit when she was 12). She wasn't happy but in the end it has been great. She is playing rec basketball and loving it! Even though she was on a swim team it isn't the same as being on a team like basketball with only a few girls. The games are quick - one hour!!!!!!!- compared to all day swim meets. Being a swim team mom is such a huge sacrifice.

I was a competitive swimmer in HS and drove myself to AM practices once I had my drivers license. So you might be looking at 2-3 years rather than 4, which might make it less overwhelming. You're doing a good thing supporting your DC. My dad took me to early morning meets my whole childhood and did all the nighttime practice pickups. It was great bonding time for us and I think we're closer for it. I have great memories of it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:carpool with others, i know this is a new concept but it might take off, you contact other parents on the team and you each take turns driving.

Not sure if your kids are swimmers, but lots of kids on high level club swim teams do not live near each other. So finding carpool buddies before 5am is not the same as driving carpool to evening rec soccer practice.

Yes they are and soccer and basketball and chess there are carpools they might not be as convenient as they were for a neighborhood soccer team but a kid in chevy chase can grab the kid in behtesda then the kid in gaithersburg on the way tot the soccerpelx. just takes some work

For many of us, carpools really aren't worth it when they end up being more work. Your example above is convenient for the kid in Chevy Chase, but not so much for the parent in Gaithersburg who would need to reciprocate. We used to live close to our practice field so were on the way for people to pick up our DD. However, when it was our turn to drive, it added so much driving out of the way to get the other kids that the carpool was more trouble than it was worth.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:carpool with others, i know this is a new concept but it might take off, you contact other parents on the team and you each take turns driving.

Not sure if your kids are swimmers, but lots of kids on high level club swim teams do not live near each other. So finding carpool buddies before 5am is not the same as driving carpool to evening rec soccer practice.

Yes they are and soccer and basketball and chess there are carpools they might not be as convenient as they were for a neighborhood soccer team but a kid in chevy chase can grab the kid in behtesda then the kid in gaithersburg on the way tot the soccerpelx. just takes some work

As the PP above explained, these out of neighborhood carpools are very unattractive to the early morning practice. My kid lives close to the pool so others might be passing nearby my house on their way. But to reciprocate, I'm be adding 20 minutes to my drive. So I rely on friends in a pinch to drop my kid if something unusual comes up, but I don't like being in a carpool regularly because it's more trouble than it's worth.

Anonymous wrote:Is there a way to continue with swimming in high school without committing to these early mornings? Do all teams require 5 a.m. practices?

Yes. There are certainly HS swimmers that don't do 5 a.m. practice. Most, but not all, HS swimmers do most of their training with a club team (at least in MoCo). Each club has its own schedule and may offer several practice scheduled based on ability and commitment level. But, the most competitive swimmers are almost certainly doing some early morning practices and some "doubles" meaning they swim before school and after school on the same day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:carpool with others, i know this is a new concept but it might take off, you contact other parents on the team and you each take turns driving.

Not sure if your kids are swimmers, but lots of kids on high level club swim teams do not live near each other. So finding carpool buddies before 5am is not the same as driving carpool to evening rec soccer practice.

Yes they are and soccer and basketball and chess there are carpools they might not be as convenient as they were for a neighborhood soccer team but a kid in chevy chase can grab the kid in behtesda then the kid in gaithersburg on the way tot the soccerpelx. just takes some work

Is there a way to continue with swimming in high school without committing to these early mornings? Do all teams require 5 a.m. practices?

We are going through this now. To be honest, am carpools are the worst and I won't do again next year. It's hard enough to get up at 4:30 to make a 5 am practice. When you add one or two more pick ups you are now looking at a 4 or 4:15 wake up to do pick ups. At that time of day, an extra 15 mins is huge!

Or, it's,your turn to drive at 4:30 am and your DC comes in at 11 pm sick or crying about a big test and does not want to go to swim but you have committed to driving. AM Swim carpools are the worst!

Our DC says they love it and want to continue but it's getting harder and harder as the homework increases. DC is good but not Olympic or even D1 good as the sport has gotten so competitive n the DC area. They are truly doing it for the " here and Now."

We try and balance with " you made a commitment", team/coach counting on you --with it's okay to say you are burning out and need a skip every now and then. We've always said once paid but you find too much we will cut back and re-evaluate next year.

At our DC level it is two a days and even weekend practice or weekend meets -who wouldn't burn out.

And defintely, we the parents are exhausted. However, the comments above that it will be over in 4 years rings true. It does go fast!

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all. Car pools are a mixed bag but I will have to revisit in HS. I live far enough away from possible car pools that it requires driving out of our way and therefore getting up even earlier. Many practices are in the evening and have to be coordinated with other child's coming and going so car pool has not been attractive in the recent past. Dad helps in the evening and I am very productive in my early mornings. I do need to start carrying a book for those waiting minutes. Thanks especially to the poster who wished he could have made more practices. Important perspective! For those who don't know. Part of the issue is the sheer number of practices (7 a week next year). It's 5 days a week after school plus Sat am and and at least one morning before school. And it's a near constant never-ending season.

Uber.

Thank you all. Car pools are a mixed bag but I will have to revisit in HS. I live far enough away from possible car pools that it requires driving out of our way and therefore getting up even earlier. Many practices are in the evening and have to be coordinated with other child's coming and going so car pool has not been attractive in the recent past. Dad helps in the evening and I am very productive in my early mornings. I do need to start carrying a book for those waiting minutes. Thanks especially to the poster who wished he could have made more practices. Important perspective! For those who don't know. Part of the issue is the sheer number of practices (7 a week next year). It's 5 days a week after school plus Sat am and and at least one morning before school. And it's a near constant never-ending season.