Hmm. My RMSC 10yo is in the water 5 days per week for a total of 7 hours. But admittedly probably won't increase practice time again until age 12. There's a meet a month, except for double-ups around December and March.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NCAP-DS and NCAP-CM have a minimum of 4.5 hours/week (3 1.5 hour practices) and many age 10 swimmers do more hours. So NCAP seems to be different at every site, and the prices are probably adjusted based on that too.

NCAP CM lists Bronze 2 as their 10 and Under group and it offers 3 1 hour practices. DS lists Bronze 2 as their 10 and Under group and its 2x a week for 1.5 hours. It looks like 10 and Unders can also do Bronze 1, but no one is mandating that a 10 and Under be in that group.

That’s odd. We were just sitting next to families from DS and CM, and both shared that their 10 year old swimmers did 4.5-6 hours per week. They shared practice schedules with us:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64653424960a494a35f8515b/t/66d9f8a8dad13c11ba35e5a8/1725561000649/2024-2025+NCAP+Dulles+South+Practice+Schedule.pdf

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64653424960a494a35f8515b/t/66e9abd7614cde62eb922831/1726589911917/Claude+Moore+Practice+Schedule+2024-2025++%281%29.pdf

The names for similarly-aged practice groups at each site were different. One 10 year old was in Silver I and another 10 year old was in Bronze I. Mine is in Bronze II. Three different sites. We were all surprised with how inconsistently each site runs.

Anonymous wrote:NCAP-DS and NCAP-CM have a minimum of 4.5 hours/week (3 1.5 hour practices) and many age 10 swimmers do more hours. So NCAP seems to be different at every site, and the prices are probably adjusted based on that too.

NCAP CM lists Bronze 2 as their 10 and Under group and it offers 3 1 hour practices. DS lists Bronze 2 as their 10 and Under group and its 2x a week for 1.5 hours. It looks like 10 and Unders can also do Bronze 1, but no one is mandating that a 10 and Under be in that group.

NCAP-DS and NCAP-CM have a minimum of 4.5 hours/week (3 1.5 hour practices) and many age 10 swimmers do more hours. So NCAP seems to be different at every site, and the prices are probably adjusted based on that too.

It's very rare for a Machine 10U to be more than 3 days a week. I can only think of one at our site and that was because the parents pushed for it. Maybe other sites are different. Generally, kids are only selected kids move to High Performance (4 days a week) the year they turn 11.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at NCAP-Burke, and your child would have the same coaches the other “high achieving” coaches have until Gold I, which is the national team. All of the coaches are equally good and spread throughout the different practice groups. Also, NCAP-Burke is an automatic 1 year contract, which includes 4 days of long course during June-first week in August. Some kids don’t do LC, but the family pays regardless. Finally, our kids get a Burke Racquet and Swim Club membership with our dues. It’s not a super nice gym, but it does the trick for the older kids who want to work out. The 12Us can also go up and reserve a swim lane to practice turns, technique, etc.

NCAP-Burke may be an outlier because it is the only club that uses BRSC. For our swimmers, we were sold on NCAP-Burke because
— the practice times were at a reasonable time in the evening and not early in the morning unless the family wanted early in the morning (also, kids can combine, eg, one morning and two evenings if needed to do other activities at night),
— the coaches were the same regardless if the child is AAA or BB until Gold I (the practice groups are different depending on the level, but the coaches are spread out),
— they have a full year program with the same coaches in summer,
— they don’t push kids into swimming a lot of hours per week before age 11 (despite what others may think, NCAP-Burke’s high performing 10Us practice only 3 total hours per week, which is less than other clubs nearby, eg, Makos (over an hour per practice) and Machine (over an hour per practice and 4 days per week))
— It is 5 minutes from our house
— my kids can go to the same place at a very similar time
— my kids get to swim with other kids from school/neighborhood/summer league

Anonymous wrote:That's hard to believe

It’s true though. At NCAP-Burke, Bronze II (ages 9-12) practice M/W/F 5:30-6:30 pm or M/W/F 6:30-7:30 am. And only a very small handful (like 6-10 kids total) move to Bronze I (4-5 days/week, 1.25 hours each) at 11-12. The rest of the 9-12 year olds stay in M/W/F 3 hours/week until 13. And 8Us (Bronze III) are only allowed to swim T/Th 5:30-6:30 pm. No exceptions.

This really isn’t that much different than most of the other NCAP sites for the 10Us. My kid swam 3 days a week for 1 hour at age 9, and added a 4th day most weeks when they turned 10 (4 wasn’t required though). Some of the other sites do have options for the fast 11-12s to swim more though, and probably not coincidentally also have some very fast kids in that age group.

It’s surprising that people think NCAP swims their 10Us so many hours. We’ve found that our swimmers are in the water far less (3 hours/week) than other clubs. Maybe some NCAP sites require more?

Maybe it’s because some sites offer more practices for that age group than are required? Our site offered 4 when my kid was 9, but 4 wasn’t required, it just gave you some flexibility on which days you wanted to practice.

Exactly! Even the select age 11-12 Bronze I swimmers at NCAP-Burke don’t necessarily go all 5 days. Many of the 11 year olds take a day off for another activity or just to have that day off.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at NCAP-Burke, and your child would have the same coaches the other “high achieving” coaches have until Gold I, which is the national team. All of the coaches are equally good and spread throughout the different practice groups. Also, NCAP-Burke is an automatic 1 year contract, which includes 4 days of long course during June-first week in August. Some kids don’t do LC, but the family pays regardless. Finally, our kids get a Burke Racquet and Swim Club membership with our dues. It’s not a super nice gym, but it does the trick for the older kids who want to work out. The 12Us can also go up and reserve a swim lane to practice turns, technique, etc.

NCAP-Burke may be an outlier because it is the only club that uses BRSC. For our swimmers, we were sold on NCAP-Burke because
— the practice times were at a reasonable time in the evening and not early in the morning unless the family wanted early in the morning (also, kids can combine, eg, one morning and two evenings if needed to do other activities at night),
— the coaches were the same regardless if the child is AAA or BB until Gold I (the practice groups are different depending on the level, but the coaches are spread out),
— they have a full year program with the same coaches in summer,
— they don’t push kids into swimming a lot of hours per week before age 11 (despite what others may think, NCAP-Burke’s high performing 10Us practice only 3 total hours per week, which is less than other clubs nearby, eg, Makos (over an hour per practice) and Machine (over an hour per practice and 4 days per week))
— It is 5 minutes from our house
— my kids can go to the same place at a very similar time
— my kids get to swim with other kids from school/neighborhood/summer league

Anonymous wrote:That's hard to believe

It’s true though. At NCAP-Burke, Bronze II (ages 9-12) practice M/W/F 5:30-6:30 pm or M/W/F 6:30-7:30 am. And only a very small handful (like 6-10 kids total) move to Bronze I (4-5 days/week, 1.25 hours each) at 11-12. The rest of the 9-12 year olds stay in M/W/F 3 hours/week until 13. And 8Us (Bronze III) are only allowed to swim T/Th 5:30-6:30 pm. No exceptions.

This really isn’t that much different than most of the other NCAP sites for the 10Us. My kid swam 3 days a week for 1 hour at age 9, and added a 4th day most weeks when they turned 10 (4 wasn’t required though). Some of the other sites do have options for the fast 11-12s to swim more though, and probably not coincidentally also have some very fast kids in that age group.

It’s surprising that people think NCAP swims their 10Us so many hours. We’ve found that our swimmers are in the water far less (3 hours/week) than other clubs. Maybe some NCAP sites require more?

Maybe it’s because some sites offer more practices for that age group than are required? Our site offered 4 when my kid was 9, but 4 wasn’t required, it just gave you some flexibility on which days you wanted to practice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at NCAP-Burke, and your child would have the same coaches the other “high achieving” coaches have until Gold I, which is the national team. All of the coaches are equally good and spread throughout the different practice groups. Also, NCAP-Burke is an automatic 1 year contract, which includes 4 days of long course during June-first week in August. Some kids don’t do LC, but the family pays regardless. Finally, our kids get a Burke Racquet and Swim Club membership with our dues. It’s not a super nice gym, but it does the trick for the older kids who want to work out. The 12Us can also go up and reserve a swim lane to practice turns, technique, etc.

NCAP-Burke may be an outlier because it is the only club that uses BRSC. For our swimmers, we were sold on NCAP-Burke because
— the practice times were at a reasonable time in the evening and not early in the morning unless the family wanted early in the morning (also, kids can combine, eg, one morning and two evenings if needed to do other activities at night),
— the coaches were the same regardless if the child is AAA or BB until Gold I (the practice groups are different depending on the level, but the coaches are spread out),
— they have a full year program with the same coaches in summer,
— they don’t push kids into swimming a lot of hours per week before age 11 (despite what others may think, NCAP-Burke’s high performing 10Us practice only 3 total hours per week, which is less than other clubs nearby, eg, Makos (over an hour per practice) and Machine (over an hour per practice and 4 days per week))
— It is 5 minutes from our house
— my kids can go to the same place at a very similar time
— my kids get to swim with other kids from school/neighborhood/summer league

Anonymous wrote:That's hard to believe

It’s true though. At NCAP-Burke, Bronze II (ages 9-12) practice M/W/F 5:30-6:30 pm or M/W/F 6:30-7:30 am. And only a very small handful (like 6-10 kids total) move to Bronze I (4-5 days/week, 1.25 hours each) at 11-12. The rest of the 9-12 year olds stay in M/W/F 3 hours/week until 13. And 8Us (Bronze III) are only allowed to swim T/Th 5:30-6:30 pm. No exceptions.

This really isn’t that much different than most of the other NCAP sites for the 10Us. My kid swam 3 days a week for 1 hour at age 9, and added a 4th day most weeks when they turned 10 (4 wasn’t required though). Some of the other sites do have options for the fast 11-12s to swim more though, and probably not coincidentally also have some very fast kids in that age group.

It’s surprising that people think NCAP swims their 10Us so many hours. We’ve found that our swimmers are in the water far less (3 hours/week) than other clubs. Maybe some NCAP sites require more?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at NCAP-Burke, and your child would have the same coaches the other “high achieving” coaches have until Gold I, which is the national team. All of the coaches are equally good and spread throughout the different practice groups. Also, NCAP-Burke is an automatic 1 year contract, which includes 4 days of long course during June-first week in August. Some kids don’t do LC, but the family pays regardless. Finally, our kids get a Burke Racquet and Swim Club membership with our dues. It’s not a super nice gym, but it does the trick for the older kids who want to work out. The 12Us can also go up and reserve a swim lane to practice turns, technique, etc.

NCAP-Burke may be an outlier because it is the only club that uses BRSC. For our swimmers, we were sold on NCAP-Burke because
— the practice times were at a reasonable time in the evening and not early in the morning unless the family wanted early in the morning (also, kids can combine, eg, one morning and two evenings if needed to do other activities at night),
— the coaches were the same regardless if the child is AAA or BB until Gold I (the practice groups are different depending on the level, but the coaches are spread out),
— they have a full year program with the same coaches in summer,
— they don’t push kids into swimming a lot of hours per week before age 11 (despite what others may think, NCAP-Burke’s high performing 10Us practice only 3 total hours per week, which is less than other clubs nearby, eg, Makos (over an hour per practice) and Machine (over an hour per practice and 4 days per week))
— It is 5 minutes from our house
— my kids can go to the same place at a very similar time
— my kids get to swim with other kids from school/neighborhood/summer league

Anonymous wrote:That's hard to believe

It’s true though. At NCAP-Burke, Bronze II (ages 9-12) practice M/W/F 5:30-6:30 pm or M/W/F 6:30-7:30 am. And only a very small handful (like 6-10 kids total) move to Bronze I (4-5 days/week, 1.25 hours each) at 11-12. The rest of the 9-12 year olds stay in M/W/F 3 hours/week until 13. And 8Us (Bronze III) are only allowed to swim T/Th 5:30-6:30 pm. No exceptions.

https://www.gomotionapp.com/team/pvncbf/page/training-groups

This is their 10U high performing group then, 15 h/week offered.

Bronze I:

Highest performing 11-12 + Select 10 year-olds who have competitive experience and are continuing to work on technique but are ready for more advanced competitive training 5 days a week.

Practice times: AM - M-F 5:00 - 6:30 AM PM - 5:00 - 6:30 PM.

Coaches: AM – Kim Spina PM - Jake Anderson

There isn’t in practice though. Even our AAA swimmers who were ready were not permitted to move up to Bronze I. It’s just not something Coach Kim does.

There are probably 48-54 age 9-12 swimmers at NCAP-Burke in Bronze II (we don’t have an updated roster) that only go 3 hours/week.

MySwimIO doesn’t have one of the AAA NCAP-Burke swimmers properly listed on the NCAP-Burke Team, but if you look at the 9-10 A-AAA swimmers listed below, every one is in Bronze II (3 hours/week), one is in Bronze III (2 hours/week, 8Us), and many of these A-AAA swimmers will stay in Bronze II again next year because they are only going to be age 9 or 10. (The oldest of the 9-10 A-AAA swimmers below has a June or July birthday, so each of these 9-10 swimmers are fairly young.)

We haven’t gotten our placements yet, but last year even age 10 A swimmers remained in 3 hours/week this year, notwithstanding being 11 and turning 12 this season. Indeed, one NCAP-B 11 year old AA swimmer still only practice 3 hours/week.

https://www.myswimio.com/teams.php?teamid=20667

One of the top 10U NCAP males on this list is actually NCAP-B, and he also swims only 3 hours/week: https://www.myswimio.com/teams.php?teamid=10544&level=team

Anonymous wrote:2-3x is a bit of an exaggeration. Nothing outside of county subsidized programs are that much cheaper.

Most people choose their club based on practice schedules and location. If a less expensive one works for you then go for it. I do think you get what you pay for in terms of coaching, practice schedule, club organization, and meets attended.

+1

My kids are with Machine, which we chose after extensively researching all the options in our area (Maryland, so this included NCAP, TOLL, RMSC, JFD). With Machine, all three of my kids could swim at the same time - which is *huge*. RMSC was the only significantly cheaper option and none of the other clubs afforded the chance for all three to have the same practice schedule. Even when my oldest moved up, her group maintained the same times, just more days a week.

We're also very, very happy with the coaching at Machine. There are always multiple coaches on deck during practice and at meets. At the latter, they support the kids well, even the coaches who don't regularly work with our kids. The communication is excellent. There are multiple options for intensity within different age groups and zero pressure for our kids to care about swimming more than they do. If a club with outstanding coaching and the same practice times at less money had been available, we probably would have taken it. But they weren't (and aren't), so we didn't.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at NCAP-Burke, and your child would have the same coaches the other “high achieving” coaches have until Gold I, which is the national team. All of the coaches are equally good and spread throughout the different practice groups. Also, NCAP-Burke is an automatic 1 year contract, which includes 4 days of long course during June-first week in August. Some kids don’t do LC, but the family pays regardless. Finally, our kids get a Burke Racquet and Swim Club membership with our dues. It’s not a super nice gym, but it does the trick for the older kids who want to work out. The 12Us can also go up and reserve a swim lane to practice turns, technique, etc.

NCAP-Burke may be an outlier because it is the only club that uses BRSC. For our swimmers, we were sold on NCAP-Burke because
— the practice times were at a reasonable time in the evening and not early in the morning unless the family wanted early in the morning (also, kids can combine, eg, one morning and two evenings if needed to do other activities at night),
— the coaches were the same regardless if the child is AAA or BB until Gold I (the practice groups are different depending on the level, but the coaches are spread out),
— they have a full year program with the same coaches in summer,
— they don’t push kids into swimming a lot of hours per week before age 11 (despite what others may think, NCAP-Burke’s high performing 10Us practice only 3 total hours per week, which is less than other clubs nearby, eg, Makos (over an hour per practice) and Machine (over an hour per practice and 4 days per week))
— It is 5 minutes from our house
— my kids can go to the same place at a very similar time
— my kids get to swim with other kids from school/neighborhood/summer league

Anonymous wrote:That's hard to believe

It’s true though. At NCAP-Burke, Bronze II (ages 9-12) practice M/W/F 5:30-6:30 pm or M/W/F 6:30-7:30 am. And only a very small handful (like 6-10 kids total) move to Bronze I (4-5 days/week, 1.25 hours each) at 11-12. The rest of the 9-12 year olds stay in M/W/F 3 hours/week until 13. And 8Us (Bronze III) are only allowed to swim T/Th 5:30-6:30 pm. No exceptions.

This really isn’t that much different than most of the other NCAP sites for the 10Us. My kid swam 3 days a week for 1 hour at age 9, and added a 4th day most weeks when they turned 10 (4 wasn’t required though). Some of the other sites do have options for the fast 11-12s to swim more though, and probably not coincidentally also have some very fast kids in that age group.

4 days, 6-8 h/week for 10U is normal. All high performing 10Us around us (AAA+) are in the water at least 5 days a week, 8-10 hours. 3 hours per week is unheard of.

For 10Us?! That’s crazy, and I have a 12 year old who swims 5-6 days a week for 90 minutes which I know some people here think is ridiculous.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at NCAP-Burke, and your child would have the same coaches the other “high achieving” coaches have until Gold I, which is the national team. All of the coaches are equally good and spread throughout the different practice groups. Also, NCAP-Burke is an automatic 1 year contract, which includes 4 days of long course during June-first week in August. Some kids don’t do LC, but the family pays regardless. Finally, our kids get a Burke Racquet and Swim Club membership with our dues. It’s not a super nice gym, but it does the trick for the older kids who want to work out. The 12Us can also go up and reserve a swim lane to practice turns, technique, etc.

NCAP-Burke may be an outlier because it is the only club that uses BRSC. For our swimmers, we were sold on NCAP-Burke because
— the practice times were at a reasonable time in the evening and not early in the morning unless the family wanted early in the morning (also, kids can combine, eg, one morning and two evenings if needed to do other activities at night),
— the coaches were the same regardless if the child is AAA or BB until Gold I (the practice groups are different depending on the level, but the coaches are spread out),
— they have a full year program with the same coaches in summer,
— they don’t push kids into swimming a lot of hours per week before age 11 (despite what others may think, NCAP-Burke’s high performing 10Us practice only 3 total hours per week, which is less than other clubs nearby, eg, Makos (over an hour per practice) and Machine (over an hour per practice and 4 days per week))
— It is 5 minutes from our house
— my kids can go to the same place at a very similar time
— my kids get to swim with other kids from school/neighborhood/summer league

Anonymous wrote:That's hard to believe

It’s true though. At NCAP-Burke, Bronze II (ages 9-12) practice M/W/F 5:30-6:30 pm or M/W/F 6:30-7:30 am. And only a very small handful (like 6-10 kids total) move to Bronze I (4-5 days/week, 1.25 hours each) at 11-12. The rest of the 9-12 year olds stay in M/W/F 3 hours/week until 13. And 8Us (Bronze III) are only allowed to swim T/Th 5:30-6:30 pm. No exceptions.

This really isn’t that much different than most of the other NCAP sites for the 10Us. My kid swam 3 days a week for 1 hour at age 9, and added a 4th day most weeks when they turned 10 (4 wasn’t required though). Some of the other sites do have options for the fast 11-12s to swim more though, and probably not coincidentally also have some very fast kids in that age group.

4 days, 6-8 h/week for 10U is normal. All high performing 10Us around us (AAA+) are in the water at least 5 days a week, 8-10 hours. 3 hours per week is unheard of.

You are right. NCAP-Burke is an outlier, but Coach Kim feels very strongly that she wants the kids in only 3 hours/week until age 11 minimum, and even then, it’s just a handful of 11 year olds who move up. There are only 12 swimmers in Bronze I PM, and about the same or less in Bronze I AM.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at NCAP-Burke, and your child would have the same coaches the other “high achieving” coaches have until Gold I, which is the national team. All of the coaches are equally good and spread throughout the different practice groups. Also, NCAP-Burke is an automatic 1 year contract, which includes 4 days of long course during June-first week in August. Some kids don’t do LC, but the family pays regardless. Finally, our kids get a Burke Racquet and Swim Club membership with our dues. It’s not a super nice gym, but it does the trick for the older kids who want to work out. The 12Us can also go up and reserve a swim lane to practice turns, technique, etc.

NCAP-Burke may be an outlier because it is the only club that uses BRSC. For our swimmers, we were sold on NCAP-Burke because
— the practice times were at a reasonable time in the evening and not early in the morning unless the family wanted early in the morning (also, kids can combine, eg, one morning and two evenings if needed to do other activities at night),
— the coaches were the same regardless if the child is AAA or BB until Gold I (the practice groups are different depending on the level, but the coaches are spread out),
— they have a full year program with the same coaches in summer,
— they don’t push kids into swimming a lot of hours per week before age 11 (despite what others may think, NCAP-Burke’s high performing 10Us practice only 3 total hours per week, which is less than other clubs nearby, eg, Makos (over an hour per practice) and Machine (over an hour per practice and 4 days per week))
— It is 5 minutes from our house
— my kids can go to the same place at a very similar time
— my kids get to swim with other kids from school/neighborhood/summer league

Anonymous wrote:That's hard to believe

It’s true though. At NCAP-Burke, Bronze II (ages 9-12) practice M/W/F 5:30-6:30 pm or M/W/F 6:30-7:30 am. And only a very small handful (like 6-10 kids total) move to Bronze I (4-5 days/week, 1.25 hours each) at 11-12. The rest of the 9-12 year olds stay in M/W/F 3 hours/week until 13. And 8Us (Bronze III) are only allowed to swim T/Th 5:30-6:30 pm. No exceptions.

https://www.gomotionapp.com/team/pvncbf/page/training-groups

This is their 10U high performing group then, 15 h/week offered.

Bronze I:

Highest performing 11-12 + Select 10 year-olds who have competitive experience and are continuing to work on technique but are ready for more advanced competitive training 5 days a week.

Practice times: AM - M-F 5:00 - 6:30 AM PM - 5:00 - 6:30 PM.

Coaches: AM – Kim Spina PM - Jake Anderson

There isn’t in practice though. Even our AAA swimmers who were ready were not permitted to move up to Bronze I. It’s just not something Coach Kim does.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at NCAP-Burke, and your child would have the same coaches the other “high achieving” coaches have until Gold I, which is the national team. All of the coaches are equally good and spread throughout the different practice groups. Also, NCAP-Burke is an automatic 1 year contract, which includes 4 days of long course during June-first week in August. Some kids don’t do LC, but the family pays regardless. Finally, our kids get a Burke Racquet and Swim Club membership with our dues. It’s not a super nice gym, but it does the trick for the older kids who want to work out. The 12Us can also go up and reserve a swim lane to practice turns, technique, etc.

NCAP-Burke may be an outlier because it is the only club that uses BRSC. For our swimmers, we were sold on NCAP-Burke because
— the practice times were at a reasonable time in the evening and not early in the morning unless the family wanted early in the morning (also, kids can combine, eg, one morning and two evenings if needed to do other activities at night),
— the coaches were the same regardless if the child is AAA or BB until Gold I (the practice groups are different depending on the level, but the coaches are spread out),
— they have a full year program with the same coaches in summer,
— they don’t push kids into swimming a lot of hours per week before age 11 (despite what others may think, NCAP-Burke’s high performing 10Us practice only 3 total hours per week, which is less than other clubs nearby, eg, Makos (over an hour per practice) and Machine (over an hour per practice and 4 days per week))
— It is 5 minutes from our house
— my kids can go to the same place at a very similar time
— my kids get to swim with other kids from school/neighborhood/summer league

Anonymous wrote:That's hard to believe

It’s true though. At NCAP-Burke, Bronze II (ages 9-12) practice M/W/F 5:30-6:30 pm or M/W/F 6:30-7:30 am. And only a very small handful (like 6-10 kids total) move to Bronze I (4-5 days/week, 1.25 hours each) at 11-12. The rest of the 9-12 year olds stay in M/W/F 3 hours/week until 13. And 8Us (Bronze III) are only allowed to swim T/Th 5:30-6:30 pm. No exceptions.

This really isn’t that much different than most of the other NCAP sites for the 10Us. My kid swam 3 days a week for 1 hour at age 9, and added a 4th day most weeks when they turned 10 (4 wasn’t required though). Some of the other sites do have options for the fast 11-12s to swim more though, and probably not coincidentally also have some very fast kids in that age group.

4 days, 6-8 h/week for 10U is normal. All high performing 10Us around us (AAA+) are in the water at least 5 days a week, 8-10 hours. 3 hours per week is unheard of.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at NCAP-Burke, and your child would have the same coaches the other “high achieving” coaches have until Gold I, which is the national team. All of the coaches are equally good and spread throughout the different practice groups. Also, NCAP-Burke is an automatic 1 year contract, which includes 4 days of long course during June-first week in August. Some kids don’t do LC, but the family pays regardless. Finally, our kids get a Burke Racquet and Swim Club membership with our dues. It’s not a super nice gym, but it does the trick for the older kids who want to work out. The 12Us can also go up and reserve a swim lane to practice turns, technique, etc.

NCAP-Burke may be an outlier because it is the only club that uses BRSC. For our swimmers, we were sold on NCAP-Burke because
— the practice times were at a reasonable time in the evening and not early in the morning unless the family wanted early in the morning (also, kids can combine, eg, one morning and two evenings if needed to do other activities at night),
— the coaches were the same regardless if the child is AAA or BB until Gold I (the practice groups are different depending on the level, but the coaches are spread out),
— they have a full year program with the same coaches in summer,
— they don’t push kids into swimming a lot of hours per week before age 11 (despite what others may think, NCAP-Burke’s high performing 10Us practice only 3 total hours per week, which is less than other clubs nearby, eg, Makos (over an hour per practice) and Machine (over an hour per practice and 4 days per week))
— It is 5 minutes from our house
— my kids can go to the same place at a very similar time
— my kids get to swim with other kids from school/neighborhood/summer league

Anonymous wrote:That's hard to believe

It’s true though. At NCAP-Burke, Bronze II (ages 9-12) practice M/W/F 5:30-6:30 pm or M/W/F 6:30-7:30 am. And only a very small handful (like 6-10 kids total) move to Bronze I (4-5 days/week, 1.25 hours each) at 11-12. The rest of the 9-12 year olds stay in M/W/F 3 hours/week until 13. And 8Us (Bronze III) are only allowed to swim T/Th 5:30-6:30 pm. No exceptions.

This really isn’t that much different than most of the other NCAP sites for the 10Us. My kid swam 3 days a week for 1 hour at age 9, and added a 4th day most weeks when they turned 10 (4 wasn’t required though). Some of the other sites do have options for the fast 11-12s to swim more though, and probably not coincidentally also have some very fast kids in that age group.