I have one son who started at 9 and one who started at 7. I think 10 and under is ideal, 11 is ok, and 12 and over is challenging, but not improbable. All of our sectionals/futures/jr nat swimmers started between 6 and 10 years olds. We have one 14 year old girl who started as a 12 year old, and she is close to sectionals.

There are some swimmers who are such exceptional athletes that they excel despite very limited club swimming backgrounds, for example, McKenzie Siroky and Liberty Clark. These types of swimmers are almost always single stroke sprinters, which narrows their utility on a swim team.

As for the underlying question of why you need an early start in swimming is because swimming is about athleticism, aerobic conditioning, strength, and coordination like all sports, but it also relies on the swimmer’s position, balance, and instinctive feel in the water. Ask a triathlete that never swam competitively how hard it is to improve on swimming and they will tell you that a started as a 12 year old. They will tell you that an out of shape former club swimmer who is 50 lbs overweight and hasn’t done a lap in 20 years, can easily out swim them. That would not be true of an out of shape former runner or cyclist. Knowledge of streamline, how to pull water, how to keep hips high are all things that swimmers learn at an early age.

And just being able to struggle down those 25m doesn't mean the kid is going to have a great time on the team they've just "made." The older they are, the more behind they will feel, and the harder practice will seem. The entire experience is less fun if they're not comfortable _swimmong laps_. Yes, littles just need to learn, and so many kids make truly amazing progress during a summer, but if you have a 10-12yo who can't really lap swim, try to get them ready during the spring so they can have the summer you want for them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At 5.5, my DC was in their first stroke and turn clinics and had just started lap swimming, total 3x/week. The swimming was NOT pretty at that time, but DC liked it and we were aiming to help DC get ready for their first summer team experience.

Different poster but just wanted to level-set here - the above is really beyond what is actually needed to "get ready for their first summer team experience". Which is to say, following the above is not wrong, but you can do much less than this to prepare adequately for entry to summer swim.

Agreed - the bar for summer swim for little kids on our team (8U) is, "can you make it across the pool for a 25m free without needing the lifeguard?"

+1

At the beginning of their first summer, my 6 year old couldn't even make it across without taking a break in the middle of the pool.

They wouldn't have been able to join summer swim at our pool. For safety reasons, kids really need to be able to swim a full length without looking like they're going to drown. We don't have a minis program either.

I think the lowest level our pool offers is minimum 25 meters. You can't stop and hold the lane line in the middle. Other reqs are treading water for 2 minutes and side breathing. I think all these make sense for safety reasons.

Anonymous wrote:We are not in DMV any more either, west coast. My not athletic 8 year old couldn't make his friend's pre-comp team because he was too old and didn't know all 4 strokes. That was not the posted requirement but they had so many younger kids who were better trying out. So I would definitely start soon depending on your club!

We just started a more relaxed team at age 9, pre-comp, he's the second oldest, the oldest kid is 11. Most of these kids are 7 or 8, everyone knows all 4 strokes and most kids practice 3-4x a week. This is the most relaxed team!

7 year olds on the most relaxed pre-comp team need to know butterfly? Wow!

We are not in DMV any more either, west coast. My not athletic 8 year old couldn't make his friend's pre-comp team because he was too old and didn't know all 4 strokes. That was not the posted requirement but they had so many younger kids who were better trying out. So I would definitely start soon depending on your club!

We just started a more relaxed team at age 9, pre-comp, he's the second oldest, the oldest kid is 11. Most of these kids are 7 or 8, everyone knows all 4 strokes and most kids practice 3-4x a week. This is the most relaxed team!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At 5.5, my DC was in their first stroke and turn clinics and had just started lap swimming, total 3x/week. The swimming was NOT pretty at that time, but DC liked it and we were aiming to help DC get ready for their first summer team experience.

Different poster but just wanted to level-set here - the above is really beyond what is actually needed to "get ready for their first summer team experience". Which is to say, following the above is not wrong, but you can do much less than this to prepare adequately for entry to summer swim.

Agreed - the bar for summer swim for little kids on our team (8U) is, "can you make it across the pool for a 25m free without needing the lifeguard?"

+1

At the beginning of their first summer, my 6 year old couldn't even make it across without taking a break in the middle of the pool.

They wouldn't have been able to join summer swim at our pool. For safety reasons, kids really need to be able to swim a full length without looking like they're going to drown. We don't have a minis program either.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Age 5-7, but anytime is good.

So she is right that most kids start very young, but you’re saying kids who join later can often still be competitive?

Maybe. If by “competitive,” you mean “swim for their HS,” then yes. If you mean swim seriously with a good winter team, probably not.

Swim culture around the DMV is insane.

Swim culture is insane here but it is absolutely not true that if you are not on a team by age 7 you cannot swim seriously with good winter team. There are kids at our site of a big club that didn’t start year round swim until age 9 and started hitting sectional cuts at 13 (girls). I wouldn’t recommend waiting past age 10, but saying you have to be between the ages of 5-7 is ridiculous.

If all your kid is interested in is being able to make the HS team that is very dependent on the school. Some of the local HS swim teams are no cut, some have cuts but you don’t need to be much more than legal in the strokes to make it, and some you need to be a better than mediocre year round swimmer to make it. If you are mapping out a starting point for a young kid, I would start this winter/spring with a once a week stroke and turn type program. If the kid enjoys it, do summer swim team this summer. If your kid enjoys summer swim and participating in meets then consider whether they want to join a club team or do a non competitive year round program to stay in the water and work on their strokes. Most of the clubs around here have a mini program if your kid is 8 and under, and the meets they do have short distance options like summer swim.

It can be highly strategic to join minis if your club has limited spaces in its older levels. It will be far easier to pass the mini tryouts than the tryouts for the next group up. If you can take on the activity and are contemplating either trying out for minis or waiting a year to see if your swimmer improves, the best plan is often to go for minis.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At 5.5, my DC was in their first stroke and turn clinics and had just started lap swimming, total 3x/week. The swimming was NOT pretty at that time, but DC liked it and we were aiming to help DC get ready for their first summer team experience.

Different poster but just wanted to level-set here - the above is really beyond what is actually needed to "get ready for their first summer team experience". Which is to say, following the above is not wrong, but you can do much less than this to prepare adequately for entry to summer swim.

Agreed - the bar for summer swim for little kids on our team (8U) is, "can you make it across the pool for a 25m free without needing the lifeguard?"

+1

At the beginning of their first summer, my 6 year old couldn't even make it across without taking a break in the middle of the pool.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Age 5-7, but anytime is good.

So she is right that most kids start very young, but you’re saying kids who join later can often still be competitive?

Maybe. If by “competitive,” you mean “swim for their HS,” then yes. If you mean swim seriously with a good winter team, probably not.

Swim culture around the DMV is insane.

Swim culture is insane here but it is absolutely not true that if you are not on a team by age 7 you cannot swim seriously with good winter team. There are kids at our site of a big club that didn’t start year round swim until age 9 and started hitting sectional cuts at 13 (girls). I wouldn’t recommend waiting past age 10, but saying you have to be between the ages of 5-7 is ridiculous.

If all your kid is interested in is being able to make the HS team that is very dependent on the school. Some of the local HS swim teams are no cut, some have cuts but you don’t need to be much more than legal in the strokes to make it, and some you need to be a better than mediocre year round swimmer to make it. If you are mapping out a starting point for a young kid, I would start this winter/spring with a once a week stroke and turn type program. If the kid enjoys it, do summer swim team this summer. If your kid enjoys summer swim and participating in meets then consider whether they want to join a club team or do a non competitive year round program to stay in the water and work on their strokes. Most of the clubs around here have a mini program if your kid is 8 and under, and the meets they do have short distance options like summer swim.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At 5.5, my DC was in their first stroke and turn clinics and had just started lap swimming, total 3x/week. The swimming was NOT pretty at that time, but DC liked it and we were aiming to help DC get ready for their first summer team experience.

Different poster but just wanted to level-set here - the above is really beyond what is actually needed to "get ready for their first summer team experience". Which is to say, following the above is not wrong, but you can do much less than this to prepare adequately for entry to summer swim.

Agreed - the bar for summer swim for little kids on our team (8U) is, "can you make it across the pool for a 25m free without needing the lifeguard?"

Anonymous wrote:At 5.5, my DC was in their first stroke and turn clinics and had just started lap swimming, total 3x/week. The swimming was NOT pretty at that time, but DC liked it and we were aiming to help DC get ready for their first summer team experience.

Different poster but just wanted to level-set here - the above is really beyond what is actually needed to "get ready for their first summer team experience". Which is to say, following the above is not wrong, but you can do much less than this to prepare adequately for entry to summer swim.