Yorkotwn HS's swim team in Arlington won the state champs at least twice in the past decade. The school has its own indoor pool (which is practically brand new--the school was rebuilt 4 years ago).

Tom Dolan is a Yorktown alum. And I believe he swam for Overlee's swim team, one of the dominant, if not the dominant, summer swim leagues in the region.

FWIW, I went to McLean High School back in the mid-late 90's. It's been 15-20 years, but assuming things haven't changed much, swimming is a lot more competitive at the club level, as many have mentioned here, than it is at the HS level. I didn't swim, but I can tell you it's a sport that is barely on the HS radar from a social aspect, compared to football, basketball, baseball, etc. When I was in school, we had a girl who was an All American diver, got a full ride to college, and barely anyone knew about it unless it was announced during the morning notes, or in the school paper. It's just not a sport that registers with most kids. Not to paint McLean or most schools as football-centric, the town doesn't stop for games, academics are certainly #1. But as much as sports "matter" in this area, the traditional ones are still more popular, without question. The main thing we knew about swimmers is that we thought they were insane to wake up at 4:00 a.m. or whatever ungodly hour it was and drive out to Spring Hill Rec Center to practice before school. Having small kids myself, who may or may not be into sports, I'm not sure if I could handle that mentally, having to drive them before they're old enough to drive themselves.

I played sports, though I did not swim or dive. I was also not in the band, but I can attest that McLean has an incredibly accomplished band program that has won a number of awards and gone to some pretty cool competitions. It would certainly be a good location for your kids considering what you've mentioned here. I know nothing about club swimming, others have answered that, I'm only familiar with the local swimming pools (Chesterbrook, etc.) having their own teams, but I have no idea how competitive they are.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Year round swimming aint cheap and you spend a lot of time at a pool on the weekends. But it has been a great experience for my kids. Here is the link for PVS: http://www.pvswim.org it can help you find a team.

Do some kids only do the school swim team or do most kids on the school team do year round swimming?

My kids do both.

There are many, many members of my kids' high school swim team that do not swim year round, but the better swimmer who are selected for meets against other schools certainly tend to be year-round club swimmers. I have a hard time as a parent because obviously I want my kids to do well at the sport, but we don't do swim clubs because my kids like doing other sports and don't want to specialize. I don't know if it is all that extra training, if it is just self selective (better swimmer join swim club) but the club kids are just faster that the other team members. I think my kids get discouraged because the gap between them and the year-round swimmer gets bigger every year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Local Swim Coach here - in VA/MD/and DC swimmers train with their club team year round and compete on their high school team as well during the Winter Season (Nov-Feb). Club swimming is significantly more important in this area than HS swimming. In fact most swimmers don't even attend their HS swim practices (most schools have a policy that USS Swimmers attend 1 practice a week). I'd suggest checking out pvswim.org (our USA Swimming LSC) to find information about all of the USS teams in the area. On the PVS website you can also find the results to current (2015) and previous HS championship meet results to help give you a better idea of HS swimming in this area. Of the schools you mentioned, Robinson has historically had the strongest team. Their girls were third at States this year and their boys were second.

So for kids from a lower SES whose parents can't afford the year round clubs, is being on the school swim team out of the question because of all the kids who do year round clubs?

Can someone with a child who does a high school swim team but not a year round team comment?

Anonymous wrote:Local Swim Coach here - in VA/MD/and DC swimmers train with their club team year round and compete on their high school team as well during the Winter Season (Nov-Feb). Club swimming is significantly more important in this area than HS swimming. In fact most swimmers don't even attend their HS swim practices (most schools have a policy that USS Swimmers attend 1 practice a week). I'd suggest checking out pvswim.org (our USA Swimming LSC) to find information about all of the USS teams in the area. On the PVS website you can also find the results to current (2015) and previous HS championship meet results to help give you a better idea of HS swimming in this area. Of the schools you mentioned, Robinson has historically had the strongest team. Their girls were third at States this year and their boys were second.

So for kids from a lower SES whose parents can't afford the year round clubs, is being on the school swim team out of the question because of all the kids who do year round clubs?

OP rather than focus on high school swimming, you need to focus on living close to either NCAP or Fish (No VA) swim club workout pools. Northern VA and Baltimore are swimming powerhouses but it is through the clubs, with top kids swimming at HS but just as an aside if they are excellent swimmers. Your son if talented will find his needs meet there rather than a few short months in high school.

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Fairfax Co and knew very few HS swimmers--but my HS didn't even have a pool. They trained elsewhere.

It's not SoCal, but there have been well-known swimmers from the DC area. Melissa Belote from Springfield, Tom Dolan from Arlington, Katie Ledecky from Bethesda, Markus Rogan (an Austrian national) swam for Mount Vernon in Alexandria, and both of the Seliskar brothers from McLean are well-known nationally.

It doesn't have much to do whether you swim at a HS vs. an Olympic-sized pool at a community center.

I grew up in Fairfax Co and knew very few HS swimmers--but my HS didn't even have a pool. They trained elsewhere.

Some of the McLean-area swimmers compete with NCAP: http://www.nationscapitalswimming.com/ We know a boy at Madison in Vienna at FISH: http://www.pvfish.org/Home.jsp?team=pvtf

But there are a number of different clubs.

McLean HS has a really good band program. There's a fair amount of information on its Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/McLeanHighSchoolBand

Anonymous wrote:Local Swim Coach here - in VA/MD/and DC swimmers train with their club team year round and compete on their high school team as well during the Winter Season (Nov-Feb). Club swimming is significantly more important in this area than HS swimming. In fact most swimmers don't even attend their HS swim practices (most schools have a policy that USS Swimmers attend 1 practice a week). I'd suggest checking out pvswim.org (our USA Swimming LSC) to find information about all of the USS teams in the area. On the PVS website you can also find the results to current (2015) and previous HS championship meet results to help give you a better idea of HS swimming in this area. Of the schools you mentioned, Robinson has historically had the strongest team. Their girls were third at States this year and their boys were second.

Local Swim Coach. This setup is what is turning us off from encouraging our kids to go into swimming as a main sport. They love to swim, but being on a team that isn't really a team defeats the purpose of having a team at all. In addition, the local clubs seem to have no spirit behind them. The only spirit and bonding we've seen is at the local summer swim clubs. Overall I'm not impressed with the year round swim atmosphere although in the summer it's terrific to have so many children of different sexes and ages together.

Its all about the club team. HS doesn't matter as much. My sense is that MD has stronger programs - Holton, SR, GP, etc.

Unbelievably helpful - Thank you Local Swim coach!! Looking to move from Dayton, Ohio to Arlington area. My son is a club swimmer here and trying to find the right fit for club/HS/and commute for my husband into Rosslyn. I think I've narrowed down to McLean and Oakton (as of today).

Which club teams do kids swim on from those HS?

any other suggestions??? town to live in, with walkability and some life!!??

Do these HS have good marching bands or musical programs?? I have a daughter interested in this area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean is the closest to Yorktown, which has year round swimming team.

Which schools have year round swimming? Is year round high school swimming cheaper than year round club swimming?

No school I know has year round swimming. I was refering to the Yorktown swimming club that has year round swimming, not Yorktown HS.

I think you mean York Swim Club, not Yorktown.

Well, they swim at Yorktown HS pool, forgive my error.

Local Swim Coach here - in VA/MD/and DC swimmers train with their club team year round and compete on their high school team as well during the Winter Season (Nov-Feb). Club swimming is significantly more important in this area than HS swimming. In fact most swimmers don't even attend their HS swim practices (most schools have a policy that USS Swimmers attend 1 practice a week). I'd suggest checking out pvswim.org (our USA Swimming LSC) to find information about all of the USS teams in the area. On the PVS website you can also find the results to current (2015) and previous HS championship meet results to help give you a better idea of HS swimming in this area. Of the schools you mentioned, Robinson has historically had the strongest team. Their girls were third at States this year and their boys were second.