Anonymous wrote:There are ways that events could be structured to even the playing field for summer vs. year round swimmers, but the leadership of leagues like mcsl are dominated by winter swim parents (some of whom don't even have kids swimming in the league anymore).

Isn’t it already structured like that by having A and B meets? This allows the fast kids to compete against each other, and the slower to kids to compete against each other and have the chance to win ribbons, etc. I am not understanding the issue here when all kids are being allowed to compete at meets.

Anonymous wrote:There are ways that events could be structured to even the playing field for summer vs. year round swimmers, but the leadership of leagues like mcsl are dominated by winter swim parents (some of whom don't even have kids swimming in the league anymore).

Out of curiosity what does it mean to level the playing field and what would you do? Basically you want to handicap (to use a golf phrase) kids who happen to be faster or stronger. What about the very average club swimmer, or the surprisingly fast summer-only swimmer? Do they benefit or get penalized under your system?

How would you even the playing field while still having a fun and inclusive team?

There are ways that events could be structured to even the playing field for summer vs. year round swimmers, but the leadership of leagues like mcsl are dominated by winter swim parents (some of whom don't even have kids swimming in the league anymore).

Anonymous wrote:This is depressing. Why can't the winter swimmers have their own meets? ...concerned my kids will lose interest if they're always B meet. But I am happy to hear the B meets can be fun. They certainly were at our last pool but everyone was in it together but every kid had a chance. They weren't outdone as a matter of course by the winter swim kids.

Winter swimmers and (at our swim team) RMSC swimmers dominate. IMO that's OK, if I wanted my kid to dominate I would push winter and specialized teams. My kids are solid B team but what matters the most is that they have fun and enjoy swim team. It's not a chore. If they decide to get serious about swim it will be a decision they will need to make themselves.

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Anonymous wrote:This is depressing. Why can't the winter swimmers have their own meets? ...concerned my kids will lose interest if they're always B meet. But I am happy to hear the B meets can be fun. They certainly were at our last pool but everyone was in it together but every kid had a chance. They weren't outdone as a matter of course by the winter swim kids.

I am sorry you find this depressing. Kids who swim year round LOVE the ease and fun of summer swim, including the fast paced A meets. Those kids deserve those A meets. Club swim is not nearly as fun as summer swim, and many kids count the days down until summer swim starts and they start to shine for a few weeks each summer before returning to the grind in the fall.

If your kid thinks winter swim is a grind and they can’t wait for it to be over why on Earth are they doing it? God what a depressing childhood.

My two LOVE LOVE LOVE swim. When they don't have practice they are bummed and bored. They enjoy how they feel afterwards and love their coaches. They have a love/hate with meets. They like the racing but hate how long they are - if they don't get a lot of meets they get upset. Summer swim is different though, it is their love. They are complete die hards for their team and would never want to join another team.

Are you the PP though? I am not asking why kids do winter swim. I know kids who love it. My kid does a sport I would hate, but he loves. I am asking why someone whose kid thinks it’s a grind would make their kids do it?

I’m a DP, but I think the people you see consistently posting about club swim being a grind and drudgery are the parents of kids that quit year round because they didn’t like it anymore. My DD is a club swimmer and she loves all of it, the meets, her teammates, coaches, etc. I don’t think the year round kids think of it that way, the ones that do quit.

Nope - I’m the “grind” poster. Swimming back and forth, hour after hour, is a grind. It’s hard. It can be boring. My kids DO love it. They love their teammates and their coaches. They love their time drops and the confidence they have. That doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s hard. My kid loves some of her AP classes - but they can definitely be a grind, too!

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Anonymous wrote:Not necessarily dominate, but they are the top swimmers. A few kids in our neighborhood who swim only in the summer are usually close behind. Its funny because some swim team families don't realize their year round swimmer is competing with just summer swim kids. They act like their kid is special, but really, the year round swim kids should be better than the summer only swimmers. Drove me crazy.

This is very hard to believe- parents of club swimmers know other kids aren’t swimming year round. They can usually tell from how the kid swims or by talking to the parent.

I’ve seen this too!!! My summer swimmer made an A meet on a fluke and I got so many patronizing compliments.

Sure, but this isn’t a frequent occurrence, esp once over 8, if your team has a lot of club swimmers. It happens, but far less frequently. Esp since you’re seeing the same families year after year, so you already know.

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Anonymous wrote:This is depressing. Why can't the winter swimmers have their own meets? ...concerned my kids will lose interest if they're always B meet. But I am happy to hear the B meets can be fun. They certainly were at our last pool but everyone was in it together but every kid had a chance. They weren't outdone as a matter of course by the winter swim kids.

I am sorry you find this depressing. Kids who swim year round LOVE the ease and fun of summer swim, including the fast paced A meets. Those kids deserve those A meets. Club swim is not nearly as fun as summer swim, and many kids count the days down until summer swim starts and they start to shine for a few weeks each summer before returning to the grind in the fall.

If your kid thinks winter swim is a grind and they can’t wait for it to be over why on Earth are they doing it? God what a depressing childhood.

My two LOVE LOVE LOVE swim. When they don't have practice they are bummed and bored. They enjoy how they feel afterwards and love their coaches. They have a love/hate with meets. They like the racing but hate how long they are - if they don't get a lot of meets they get upset. Summer swim is different though, it is their love. They are complete die hards for their team and would never want to join another team.

Are you the PP though? I am not asking why kids do winter swim. I know kids who love it. My kid does a sport I would hate, but he loves. I am asking why someone whose kid thinks it’s a grind would make their kids do it?

I’m a DP, but I think the people you see consistently posting about club swim being a grind and drudgery are the parents of kids that quit year round because they didn’t like it anymore. My DD is a club swimmer and she loves all of it, the meets, her teammates, coaches, etc. I don’t think the year round kids think of it that way, the ones that do quit.

Anonymous wrote:Is your summer coach the same as your club coach, pp? that is unusual.

Actually quite common that coaches overlap. There's a coaching shortage and it's not like it's a highly paid position. We are in Arlington. As I think about the pools that I know at least 2 middle school swim coaches are coaches at summer pools. Both my kids swim for AAC. The overall head coach is also a high school AND a summer swim coach in addition to leading the club. Most of the AAC coaches are also summer swim coaches, and it's not unusual for a kid to end up with the same coach as their summer coach. Can't speak to other geographies within NVSL or in Maryland, so YMMV.

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Anonymous wrote:This is depressing. Why can't the winter swimmers have their own meets? ...concerned my kids will lose interest if they're always B meet. But I am happy to hear the B meets can be fun. They certainly were at our last pool but everyone was in it together but every kid had a chance. They weren't outdone as a matter of course by the winter swim kids.

They aren’t outdone as a matter of course, they are outdone by kids who are working hard at their sport and practicing 4-5 times a week 🙄 The entitlement here is a lot.

Winter swim costs a fortune compared to most other sports and it requires committed parents. We're fortunate that our kid who wants to swim winters can, but summer gets ridiculous when they're at the pool at 6:00 being coached by their summer coach as part of their club's summer program and then get another half assed practice at 8:00 with the summer team. If my kid is messing something up in a meet, their coach works with them at their club practice. The kids the coach coaches for club doing divisionals get a ton of work whereas the summer only kids get almost none.

Summer swim is cheap, club swim is not cheap - that is why the club swimmer gets more attention at club practices. You literally get what you pay for. That is not wrong.

Is your summer coach the same as your club coach, pp? that is unusual.

Yes. Actually, my kids club has the head coaches from the majority of the local pools so it's not unusual where I live.

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Anonymous wrote:This is depressing. Why can't the winter swimmers have their own meets? ...concerned my kids will lose interest if they're always B meet. But I am happy to hear the B meets can be fun. They certainly were at our last pool but everyone was in it together but every kid had a chance. They weren't outdone as a matter of course by the winter swim kids.

I am sorry you find this depressing. Kids who swim year round LOVE the ease and fun of summer swim, including the fast paced A meets. Those kids deserve those A meets. Club swim is not nearly as fun as summer swim, and many kids count the days down until summer swim starts and they start to shine for a few weeks each summer before returning to the grind in the fall.

If your kid thinks winter swim is a grind and they can’t wait for it to be over why on Earth are they doing it? God what a depressing childhood.

My two LOVE LOVE LOVE swim. When they don't have practice they are bummed and bored. They enjoy how they feel afterwards and love their coaches. They have a love/hate with meets. They like the racing but hate how long they are - if they don't get a lot of meets they get upset. Summer swim is different though, it is their love. They are complete die hards for their team and would never want to join another team.

Are you the PP though? I am not asking why kids do winter swim. I know kids who love it. My kid does a sport I would hate, but he loves. I am asking why someone whose kid thinks it’s a grind would make their kids do it?

Anonymous wrote:Of course the kids who practice 100 days a week will dominate. I go to a pressure cooker swim team pool. The summer kids mostly swim in B meets. They are still on the team and have fun.

It’s just unfair and it doesn’t incentivize the summer swim kiddos!!

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Anonymous wrote:This is depressing. Why can't the winter swimmers have their own meets? ...concerned my kids will lose interest if they're always B meet. But I am happy to hear the B meets can be fun. They certainly were at our last pool but everyone was in it together but every kid had a chance. They weren't outdone as a matter of course by the winter swim kids.

I am sorry you find this depressing. Kids who swim year round LOVE the ease and fun of summer swim, including the fast paced A meets. Those kids deserve those A meets. Club swim is not nearly as fun as summer swim, and many kids count the days down until summer swim starts and they start to shine for a few weeks each summer before returning to the grind in the fall.

If your kid thinks winter swim is a grind and they can’t wait for it to be over why on Earth are they doing it? God what a depressing childhood.

My two LOVE LOVE LOVE swim. When they don't have practice they are bummed and bored. They enjoy how they feel afterwards and love their coaches. They have a love/hate with meets. They like the racing but hate how long they are - if they don't get a lot of meets they get upset. Summer swim is different though, it is their love. They are complete die hards for their team and would never want to join another team.

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Anonymous wrote:This is depressing. Why can't the winter swimmers have their own meets? ...concerned my kids will lose interest if they're always B meet. But I am happy to hear the B meets can be fun. They certainly were at our last pool but everyone was in it together but every kid had a chance. They weren't outdone as a matter of course by the winter swim kids.

I am sorry you find this depressing. Kids who swim year round LOVE the ease and fun of summer swim, including the fast paced A meets. Those kids deserve those A meets. Club swim is not nearly as fun as summer swim, and many kids count the days down until summer swim starts and they start to shine for a few weeks each summer before returning to the grind in the fall.

If your kid thinks winter swim is a grind and they can’t wait for it to be over why on Earth are they doing it? God what a depressing childhood.

Of course the kids who practice 100 days a week will dominate. I go to a pressure cooker swim team pool. The summer kids mostly swim in B meets. They are still on the team and have fun.

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Anonymous wrote:Not necessarily dominate, but they are the top swimmers. A few kids in our neighborhood who swim only in the summer are usually close behind. Its funny because some swim team families don't realize their year round swimmer is competing with just summer swim kids. They act like their kid is special, but really, the year round swim kids should be better than the summer only swimmers. Drove me crazy.

This is very hard to believe- parents of club swimmers know other kids aren’t swimming year round. They can usually tell from how the kid swims or by talking to the parent.

I’ve seen this too!!! My summer swimmer made an A meet on a fluke and I got so many patronizing compliments.