Anonymous
Post 07/02/2025 10:02     Subject: ASA

We are in NTG. College coaches liked that the kids did less mileage bc it meant they had room to grow in college. FWIW, most NTG kids do get recruited if they want it. Not sure what this threat is really about.
Anonymous
Post 07/02/2025 09:52     Subject: ASA

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I am actually surprised all of these programs are surviving due to the NCAA/House litigation that is shrinking swim rosters, particularly men’s. I think the threshold for swimming in college is going to get exponentially harder, so it is getting harder to justify the sacrifices made to not get a slot and probably hurt your chances in regular college admissions bc you have no other activities. I have always been told Winter juniors cuts and good grades will get a kid a slot at a D1 school. I think you are now going to need faster times than that, which is really hard.

As a parent of a kid staring down this reality and who loves to be in the water, it is depressing. I feel bad they have spent so much time on the sport (and achieved what used to be the needed standards) and it will likely go no where now. If I had a younger kid I would stick with summer swim and HS swim and try to develop other interests.

And, please save the criticism. I know there are worse problems in the world and I already blame myself for giving in when they asked to do all this.


This is crazy to me. My kids play different club sports. Not once did we go in with an expectation of a NCAA scholarship. Sports, including swim, are about so much more than getting a D1 scholarship.


Actually your kid is more likely to get. d1 scholarship after the NCAA House litigation. It is walk-ons who have been eliminated and roster size has been cut. But I guess my point is when you start aging into the elite HS groups I am not sure it is worth doing if you are not swimming in college and that is so much harder now. I too was a parent who agreed to club swim when my kid was little bc they absolutely loved it and it gave them another social outlet and seemed like healthy non-contact exercise. But now we are at a crossroads where my kid can’t participate in a lot of school activities or hold a job during the school year bc practice is so intense. It seemed worth it when they were chasing college dreams but now I am questioning it. I am just trying to provide this perspective to parents thinking about getting on the swim train. The world is wide and big!


I think this is a very well-taken point. Even my much younger kid worries about what they will have to miss out on when it is time for NDGs. The choices are hard even if you're not yet thinking about college swim. The sport can give so much good - but it requires so much time, even at younger ages.


You don’t have to give it so much time though, especially in the younger ages. There are plenty of teams that allow young swimmers to have lives and play other sports. This is a choice. And one that leads to a lot of burn out.


This sounds good on paper but once a kid hits 10-11, practices are generally 4-5 times week to stay in the competitive groups geographically located close to me. There are a lot of threads on this but at the end of the day, most clubs want the kids who are the most dedicated and I get it. But I do wish it were different.

As for ASA, they have kids getting sectionals cuts in the ASG and Seniors group so they may be a better club for HS kids who want to truly get better but also have other interests. And NTG seems less intense from a yardage perspective than other clubs fwiw.


+1. I know a couple of swimmers who have sectional times and offered a spot in NTG but happily stay with ASG. They are really good swimmers and can be in NTG in any other clubs too. Their NTG's training load is indeed much lighter than other clubs as well. They never do double swim sessions. It's 6 swim and 2 one hour gym sesseions per week all season long, the swim practice being maximum 2 hours mostly 90 minutes.
Anonymous
Post 07/02/2025 09:24     Subject: ASA

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I am actually surprised all of these programs are surviving due to the NCAA/House litigation that is shrinking swim rosters, particularly men’s. I think the threshold for swimming in college is going to get exponentially harder, so it is getting harder to justify the sacrifices made to not get a slot and probably hurt your chances in regular college admissions bc you have no other activities. I have always been told Winter juniors cuts and good grades will get a kid a slot at a D1 school. I think you are now going to need faster times than that, which is really hard.

As a parent of a kid staring down this reality and who loves to be in the water, it is depressing. I feel bad they have spent so much time on the sport (and achieved what used to be the needed standards) and it will likely go no where now. If I had a younger kid I would stick with summer swim and HS swim and try to develop other interests.

And, please save the criticism. I know there are worse problems in the world and I already blame myself for giving in when they asked to do all this.


This is crazy to me. My kids play different club sports. Not once did we go in with an expectation of a NCAA scholarship. Sports, including swim, are about so much more than getting a D1 scholarship.


Actually your kid is more likely to get. d1 scholarship after the NCAA House litigation. It is walk-ons who have been eliminated and roster size has been cut. But I guess my point is when you start aging into the elite HS groups I am not sure it is worth doing if you are not swimming in college and that is so much harder now. I too was a parent who agreed to club swim when my kid was little bc they absolutely loved it and it gave them another social outlet and seemed like healthy non-contact exercise. But now we are at a crossroads where my kid can’t participate in a lot of school activities or hold a job during the school year bc practice is so intense. It seemed worth it when they were chasing college dreams but now I am questioning it. I am just trying to provide this perspective to parents thinking about getting on the swim train. The world is wide and big!


I think this is a very well-taken point. Even my much younger kid worries about what they will have to miss out on when it is time for NDGs. The choices are hard even if you're not yet thinking about college swim. The sport can give so much good - but it requires so much time, even at younger ages.


You don’t have to give it so much time though, especially in the younger ages. There are plenty of teams that allow young swimmers to have lives and play other sports. This is a choice. And one that leads to a lot of burn out.


This sounds good on paper but once a kid hits 10-11, practices are generally 4-5 times week to stay in the competitive groups geographically located close to me. There are a lot of threads on this but at the end of the day, most clubs want the kids who are the most dedicated and I get it. But I do wish it were different.

As for ASA, they have kids getting sectionals cuts in the ASG and Seniors group so they may be a better club for HS kids who want to truly get better but also have other interests. And NTG seems less intense from a yardage perspective than other clubs fwiw.
Anonymous
Post 07/02/2025 09:20     Subject: ASA

Anonymous wrote:I am actually surprised all of these programs are surviving due to the NCAA/House litigation that is shrinking swim rosters, particularly men’s. I think the threshold for swimming in college is going to get exponentially harder, so it is getting harder to justify the sacrifices made to not get a slot and probably hurt your chances in regular college admissions bc you have no other activities. I have always been told Winter juniors cuts and good grades will get a kid a slot at a D1 school. I think you are now going to need faster times than that, which is really hard.

As a parent of a kid staring down this reality and who loves to be in the water, it is depressing. I feel bad they have spent so much time on the sport (and achieved what used to be the needed standards) and it will likely go no where now. If I had a younger kid I would stick with summer swim and HS swim and try to develop other interests.

And, please save the criticism. I know there are worse problems in the world and I already blame myself for giving in when they asked to do all this.


Swimming is really popular in this area. Lots of kids continue to swim even once they realize they are not D1 material (most swimmers in all of these clubs). ASA will be fine.