Anonymous wrote:Make a realistic assessment of your kids times. No rose colored glasses. Yes, coaching makes a difference, but no coach turns water in to wine. Natural talent is the driving factor, especially after years of club swimming. Is your kid a real, *real* D1 prospect? If no, and $510/mo is a strain, do something else.

I would agree with this, why are you pushing a kid to compete (and pay) at this level when they have no interest swimming D1 or at a National Level. And it is not meant to be mean. You can easily swim at the Marlins or some other cheaper club and get the same results. If your kid has talent, drive and a passion for swim (and I have been in this world for 15 years and that is a rare thing) then NCAP or Machine would be the right call.

But usually it is the parents driving the bus on this, and it never ends well. When your kid is 16 and says I am done. You have to let them be done.

Anonymous wrote:Make a realistic assessment of your kids times. No rose colored glasses. Yes, coaching makes a difference, but no coach turns water in to wine. Natural talent is the driving factor, especially after years of club swimming. Is your kid a real, *real* D1 prospect? If no, and $510/mo is a strain, do something else.

If you reclass NCAP is offering a free car magnet and one year of no price increases.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Potomac Marlins did not raise their fees this year and they start their coaches at $10 more than NCAP does.

NCAP always been money hungry

Potomac Marlins does not have coaches on salary with benefits (health insurance, 401k, etc) most of NCAP and Machine coaches are full time professional coaches with benefits.

The NCAP Burke site is a franchise. Pete Morgan sets those prices. Not Tom Ugast.

Speaking of Pete Morgan, has he announced any plans to retire? Either way, do they have any strong candidates to fill that void? I would imagine the loss of a coach of that stature could be more impactful than the level of price increases some posters have complained about.

Anonymous wrote:Make a realistic assessment of your kids times. No rose colored glasses. Yes, coaching makes a difference, but no coach turns water in to wine. Natural talent is the driving factor, especially after years of club swimming. Is your kid a real, *real* D1 prospect? If no, and $510/mo is a strain, do something else.

Agree. No need unless you have a swimmer that needs a strong peer cohort and coaches at that level. However, I suspect that is hard for many to accept.

Anonymous wrote:We drive almost half an hour to AAC because it’s less than half the cost of NCAP and it’s a solid team with good coaches. You could try to recruit some of your carpool buddies to switch with you.

This. We do our own version of this in MD (to RMSC).

Make a realistic assessment of your kids times. No rose colored glasses. Yes, coaching makes a difference, but no coach turns water in to wine. Natural talent is the driving factor, especially after years of club swimming. Is your kid a real, *real* D1 prospect? If no, and $510/mo is a strain, do something else.

We switched to Centreville Swim Club at George Mason and the prices are great. We’ve been with a good amount of coaches and love these coaches. You should definitely look into it!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are even thinking about spending $500/ mo on swimming, you aren't middle class.

Ha ha. We would be middle class if I didn’t have to pay for all my children’s activities!

+1,000,000

Anonymous wrote:If you are even thinking about spending $500/ mo on swimming, you aren't middle class.

Ha ha. We would be middle class if I didn’t have to pay for all my children’s activities!