We are a FISH family and have been extremely happy with the program and coaches.

The enrollment is much lower than some of the larger area clubs which allows the children to build friendships and the parents to also get to know each other well.

I have two children who swim in two different groups, but know many of the parents of younger children as well as parents of the older children. One of my favorite things about the club is that there is a clear support system. The older "senior group" swimmers high five the younger swimmers at the same meet, tell them good job, and various ages cheer for their teammates. It's a supportive, fun environment that the kids seem to love.

I think being happy and supported leads to a life long love of the sport and also helps the swimmers perform their best! The coaches are very good, communicative, and help tailor plans that are best for the swimmer's current ability. I have seen this over the last numerous years with my children and cannot say enough good things about the club. The coaches know the swimmers' names and I don't think my children are just a number in a sea of swimmers which I truly appreciate and value.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was watching a lot of Fish swimmers at the January Open. Their technique leaves a lot to desired.

clubs/practice groups can have different goal meets. Don't expect the swimmers you see at open meets to be a representative sample.

Really? If anything, it highlights the divide in a program. They only focus on those with potential/fast times and who cares about everyone else... Everyone should get the same instruction.

Do you have children? Have your children been raised the same way - and is their output the same? Does every kid in every class have the same output even after the same instruction? Does height, early growth, effort, practice attendance, natural ability, stress, body type, desire, competitiveness, etc. result in different outcomes?

FISH is a great team and it focuses on all swimmers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was watching a lot of Fish swimmers at the January Open. Their technique leaves a lot to desired.

clubs/practice groups can have different goal meets. Don't expect the swimmers you see at open meets to be a representative sample.

Really? If anything, it highlights the divide in a program. They only focus on those with potential/fast times and who cares about everyone else... Everyone should get the same instruction.

Not everyone has the same results even with identical instruction.

Even within practices there are separations by lane that aren not exclusively speed-based: different lanes in the same practice group do different drills and sets. It can get very specific, and it should. The slower/less experienced kids don't get ignored. If anything the coaches are trying to figure out how to make them faster.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was watching a lot of Fish swimmers at the January Open. Their technique leaves a lot to desired.

clubs/practice groups can have different goal meets. Don't expect the swimmers you see at open meets to be a representative sample.

Really? If anything, it highlights the divide in a program. They only focus on those with potential/fast times and who cares about everyone else... Everyone should get the same instruction.

Same instruction/ one size fits all doesn’t work for anyone. seniors don’t practice with 8&unders for obvious reasons. Within any particular age group, there can be a wide disparity in skill, speed, endurance, etc. so it makes sense to divide to best suit the need of each subset.

Having lower skill swimmers focus on the detail that higher skill swimmers work on will frequently not make sense, because they need to continue to do more basic progressions.

So the coach at the “slow kid practice” will give full effort and attention to that group. And the coach at the “fast kid practice” will give full effort and attention to that group.

TLDR: you don’t want the same instruction for all. You want tailored instruction for your swimmer’s needs.